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The Terminator poster

Movies that feel likeThe Terminator (1984)

In the post-apocalyptic future, reigning tyrannical supercomputers teleport a cyborg assassin known as the "Terminator" back to 1984 to kill Sarah Connor, whose unborn son is destined to lead insurgents against 21st century mechanical hegemony. Meanwhile, the human-resistance movement dispatches a lone warrior to safeguard Sarah. Can he stop the virtually indestructible killing machine?

If you loved The Terminator, the closest films we have are RoboCop (1987), Mad Max 2 (1981) and Escape from New York (1981). All three share The Terminator's kinetic and tense feel, which is what we rank on before quality.

Seen the big three already? The under-the-radar pick below is District B13 (2004).

🍅 90% Rotten Tomatoes★ 8.1 IMDb ↗TMDB ↗dir. James Cameronkinetictensecerebralbleak
9 of 12 streaming nowAmazon Prime Video · Apple TV · Paramount Plus Premium

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If The Terminator hit the spot, these will too

Looking for the series itself? Also in this series: Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991) · Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines (2003) · Terminator Salvation (2009) · Terminator Genisys (2015) · Terminator: Dark Fate (2019)

RoboCop poster
RoboCop
1987 · dir. Paul Verhoeven
🍅 84%★ 7.6action · thriller · science fiction

Chrome and gunmetal dread, a machine body carrying a human ghost

The difference: Satirical and splattery, aimed at corporate rot more than fate

In a violent, near-apocalyptic Detroit, evil corporation Omni Consumer Products wins a contract from the city government to privatize the police force. To test their crime-eradicating cyborgs, the company leads street cop Alex Murphy into an armed confrontation with crime lord Boddicker so they can use his body to support their untested RoboCop prototype. But when RoboCop learns of the company's nefarious plans, he turns on his masters.

Mad Max 2 poster
Mad Max 2
1981 · dir. George Miller
🍅 93%★ 7.6action · thriller · science fiction

Lean, grease-streaked action in a future already past saving

The difference: Nothing hunting you across time — just the road and the fuel

Max Rockatansky returns as the heroic loner who drives the dusty roads of a postapocalyptic Australian Outback in an unending search for gasoline. Arrayed against him and the other scraggly defendants of a fuel-depot encampment are the bizarre warriors commanded by the charismatic Lord Humungus, a violent leader whose scruples are as barren as the surrounding landscape.

Escape from New York poster
Escape from New York
1981 · dir. John Carpenter
🍅 70%★ 7.1action · thriller · science fiction

A lean, nocturnal 80s chase through a hostile urban wasteland

The difference: Sardonic antihero cool — no unstoppable pursuer stalking you

In a world ravaged by crime, the entire island of Manhattan has been converted into a walled prison where brutal prisoners roam free. After the US president crash-lands inside, war hero Snake Plissken has 24 hours to bring him back.

They Live poster
They Live
1988 · dir. John Carpenter
🍅 86%★ 7.2science fiction · action · thrillerPrime Video

Working-class grit against a takeover hiding in plain sight

The difference: Satire first — the menace comes with a smirk

A lone drifter stumbles upon a unique pair of sunglasses that reveal aliens are systematically gaining control of the Earth by masquerading as humans and lulling the public into submission.

Children of Men poster
Children of Men
2006 · dir. Alfonso Cuarón
🍅 92%★ 7.9science fiction · thriller · action

A desperate escort mission through a world running out of time

The difference: Political and mournful, its dread coming from people, not machines

In 2027, in a chaotic world in which humans can no longer procreate, a former activist agrees to help transport a miraculously pregnant woman to a sanctuary at sea, where her child's birth may help scientists save the future of humankind.

eXistenZ poster
eXistenZ
1999 · dir. David Cronenberg
🍅 77%★ 6.8action · thriller · science fiction

One thread runs through both: dystopia

A game designer on the run from assassins must play her latest virtual reality creation with a marketing trainee to determine if the game has been damaged.

The Running Man poster
The Running Man
1987 · dir. Paul Michael Glaser
🍅 59%★ 6.6action · thriller · science fictionParamount+Starz

One hunted man versus a system broadcasting his death

The difference: Campy 80s satire — one-liners outnumber the thrills

By 2017, the global economy has collapsed and U.S. society has become a totalitarian police state, censoring all cultural activity. The government pacifies the populace by broadcasting a number of game shows in which convicted criminals fight for their lives, including the gladiator-style The Running Man, hosted by the ruthless Damon Killian, where “runners” attempt to evade “stalkers” and certain death for a chance to be pardoned and set free.

Equilibrium poster
Equilibrium
2002 · dir. Kurt Wimmer
🍅 40%★ 7.3action · science fiction · thrillerParamount+

An enforcer's world of grey concrete and rules built to crush feeling

The difference: Stylized gunplay and allegory rather than mounting physical fear

In a dystopian future, a totalitarian regime maintains peace by subduing the populace with a drug, and displays of emotion are punishable by death. A man in charge of enforcing the law rises to overthrow the system.

RoboCop poster
RoboCop
2014 · dir. José Padilha
🍅 50%★ 6.1action · science fiction · thriller

Asks what is left of a person once the machinery takes over

The difference: Sleek and tidy, trading grime and menace for boardroom debate

In RoboCop, the year is 2028 and multinational conglomerate OmniCorp is at the center of robot technology. Overseas, their drones have been used by the military for years, but have been forbidden for law enforcement in America. Now OmniCorp wants to bring their controversial technology to the home front, and they see a golden opportunity to do it. When Alex Murphy – a loving husband, father and good cop doing his best to stem the tide of crime and corruption in Detroit – is critically injured, OmniCorp sees their chance to build a part-man, part-robot police officer. OmniCorp envisions a RoboCop in every city and even more billions for their shareholders, but they never counted on one thing: there is still a man inside the machine.

District B13 poster
District B13
2004 · dir. Pierre Morel
🍅 81%★ 7.1action · thriller · science fictionPrime Video

Both keep coming back to the same thing: dystopia

The difference: Made in the 2000s, in a different era of the craft

Set in the ghettos of Paris in 2010, an undercover cop and ex-thug try to infiltrate a gang in order to defuse a neutron bomb.

I, Robot poster
I, Robot
2004 · dir. Alex Proyas
★ 7.1action · science fictionApple TV+

Machines turning on their makers, with one cop in the way

The difference: Glossy PG-13 detective sci-fi — dread diluted to a sheen

In 2035, where robots are commonplace and abide by the three laws of robotics, a technophobic cop investigates an apparent suicide. Suspecting that a robot may be responsible for the death, his investigation leads him to believe that humanity may be in danger.

Surrogates poster
Surrogates
2009 · dir. Jonathan Mostow
🍅 37%★ 6.3science fiction · action · thriller

The same preoccupation in both: murder

The difference: The scrappier of the two with critics

Set in a futuristic world where humans live in isolation and interact through surrogate robots, a cop is forced to leave his home for the first time in years in order to investigate the murders of others' surrogates.

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The best-reviewed films that share The Terminator’s defining feeling.