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Movies that feel like The Andromeda Strain (1971)

If you loved The Andromeda Strain, the closest films we have are Contagion (2011), Primer (2004) and The Platform (2019). All three share The Andromeda Strain's cerebral and tense feel, which is what we rank on before quality. 6 of the 12 picks below are included with a subscription right now on HBO Max Amazon Channel, Cinemax Amazon Channel and HBO Max and others, checked against today's data.

When virtually all of the residents of Piedmont, New Mexico are found dead after the return to Earth of a space satellite, the head of the US Air Force's Project Scoop declares an emergency. A group of eminent scientists led by Dr. Jeremy Stone scrambles to a secure laboratory and tries first to isolate the life form while determining why two people from Piedmont - an old alcoholic and a six-month-old baby - survived. The scientists methodically study the alien life form, unaware that it has already mutated and presents a far greater danger in the lab, which is equipped with a nuclear self-destruct device designed to prevent the escape of dangerous biological agents.

πŸ… 68% Rotten Tomatoesβ˜… 7.2 IMDb β†—TMDB β†—dir. Robert Wisecerebraltensecontemplative

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If The Andromeda Strain hit the spot, these will too

Contagion poster
Contagion
2011 Β· dir. Steven Soderbergh
πŸ… 85%β˜… 6.8drama Β· thriller Β· science fiction

Epidemic sits at the heart of each

The difference: 40 years apart, and the 2010s show

As an epidemic of a lethal airborne virus - that kills within days - rapidly grows, the worldwide medical community races to find a cure and control the panic that spreads faster than the virus itself.

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Primer poster
Primer
2004 Β· dir. Shane Carruth
πŸ… 72%β˜… 6.7science fiction Β· drama Β· thriller

The same mix in both: ideas, then tension

A group of fledgling inventors discover a complex method to manipulate reality. At first, they successfully game the stock market with it, but the consequences of the invention start to catch up with them.

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The Platform poster
The Platform
2019 Β· dir. Galder Gaztelu-Urrutia
πŸ… 81%β˜… 7drama Β· science fiction Β· thriller

Contemplative science fiction, and it commits to that

A slab of food descends down a vertical facility. The residents above eat heartily, leaving those below starving and desperate. A rebellion is imminent.

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Under the Skin poster
Under the Skin
2014 Β· dir. Jonathan Glazer
πŸ… 83%β˜… 6.3thriller Β· science fiction Β· drama

Thriller with a pulse of ideas, in both cases

A seductive stranger prowls the streets of Glasgow in search of prey: unsuspecting men who fall under her spell.

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Blade Runner poster
Blade Runner
1982 Β· dir. Ridley Scott
πŸ… 89%β˜… 8.1science fiction Β· drama Β· thriller

Drama built on tension, twice over

In the smog-choked dystopian Los Angeles of 2019, blade runner Rick Deckard is called out of retirement to terminate a quartet of replicants who have escaped to Earth seeking their creator for a way to extend their short life spans.

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The Quiet Earth poster
The Quiet Earth
1985 Β· dir. Geoff Murphy
πŸ… 75%β˜… 6.7drama Β· science fiction Β· thriller

The same preoccupation in both: disaster

After a top-secret experiment misfires, a scientist may be the only man left alive in the world.

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Glass poster
Glass
2019 Β· dir. M. Night Shyamalan
πŸ… 37%β˜… 6.6thriller Β· drama Β· science fiction

Both trade on stillness more than on being science fiction

The difference: Reviewed a good deal more coolly

In a series of escalating encounters, former security guard David Dunn uses his supernatural abilities to track Kevin Wendell Crumb, a disturbed man who has twenty-four personalities. Meanwhile, the shadowy presence of Elijah Price emerges as an orchestrator who holds secrets critical to both men.

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Europa Report poster
Europa Report
2013 Β· dir. SebastiΓ‘n Cordero
πŸ… 81%β˜… 6.4science fiction Β· thriller Β· drama

Cerebral thriller in both cases

A crew travels to Europa, Jupiter’s icy moon, to investigate signs of life in its subsurface ocean, but disaster cuts them off from Earth, leading to a tense and dangerous exploration.

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Colossus: The Forbin Project poster
Colossus: The Forbin Project
1970 Β· dir. Joseph Sargent
πŸ… 90%β˜… 7.1science fiction Β· thriller

Both trade on tension more than on being drama

The difference: None of the stillness that defines The Andromeda Strain

The U.S. has handed over control of its nuclear defense system to the Colossus supercomputer designed by scientist Dr. Charles Forbin. It soon becomes clear, that the now-sentient Colossus is far more intelligent than its creator realizedβ€”with the fate of the world hanging in the balance.

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The Day the Earth Stood Still poster
The Day the Earth Stood Still
2008 Β· dir. Scott Derrickson
πŸ… 21%β˜… 5.5drama Β· science fiction Β· thriller

Contemplative science fiction in both cases

A representative of an alien race that went through drastic evolution to survive its own climate change, Klaatu comes to Earth to assess whether humanity can prevent the environmental damage they have inflicted on their own planet. When barred from speaking to the United Nations, he decides humankind shall be exterminated so the planet can survive.

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The Circle poster
The Circle
2017 Β· dir. James Ponsoldt
πŸ… 16%β˜… 5.4drama Β· thriller Β· science fiction

Both are science fiction through and through

A young tech worker takes a job at a powerful Internet corporation, quickly rises up the company's ranks, and soon finds herself in a perilous situation concerning privacy, surveillance and freedom. She comes to learn that her decisions and actions will determine the future of humanity.

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I Am Legend poster
I Am Legend
2007 Β· dir. Francis Lawrence
πŸ… 68%β˜… 7.2drama Β· science fiction Β· thriller

Thriller approached the same way

Robert Neville is a scientist who was unable to stop the spread of the terrible virus that was incurable and man-made. Immune, Neville is now the last human survivor in what is left of New York City and perhaps the world. For three years, Neville has faithfully sent out daily radio messages, desperate to find any other survivors who might be out there. But he is not alone.

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The best-reviewed films that share The Andromeda Strain's defining feeling.