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Movies that feel like The Thing (2011)

If you loved The Thing, the closest films we have are Smile (2022), Barbarian (2022) and The Little Stranger (2018). All three share The Thing's dread and unsettling feel, which is what we rank on before quality. 9 of the 12 picks below are included with a subscription right now on Netflix, HBO Max and Amazon Prime Video and others, checked against today's data.

When paleontologist Kate Lloyd travels to an isolated outpost in Antarctica for the expedition of a lifetime, she joins an international team that unearths a remarkable discovery. Their elation quickly turns to fear as they realize that their experiment has freed a mysterious being from its frozen prison. Paranoia spreads like an epidemic as a creature that can mimic anything it touches will pit human against human as it tries to survive and flourish in this spine-tingling thriller.

πŸ… 34% Rotten Tomatoesβ˜… 6.2 IMDb β†—TMDB β†—dir. Matthijs van Heijningen Jr.dreadunsettlingcerebraltwistyparanoid
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If The Thing hit the spot, these will too

Looking for the series itself? Also in this series: The Thing (1982)

Smile poster
Smile
2022 Β· dir. Parker Finn
πŸ… 79%β˜… 6.5horror Β· mystery

Both keep coming back to the same thing: paranoia

The difference: Critics rated this one higher still

After witnessing a bizarre, traumatic incident involving a patient, Dr. Rose Cotter starts experiencing frightening occurrences that she can't explain.

Feels alike?
Barbarian poster
Barbarian
2022 Β· dir. Zach Cregger
πŸ… 92%β˜… 7horror Β· mystery Β· thriller

One thread runs through both: paranoia

The difference: Not nearly as cerebral as The Thing

In town for a job interview, a young woman arrives at her Airbnb late at night only to find that it has been mistakenly double-booked and a strange man is already staying there. Against her better judgement, she decides to stay the night anyway.

Feels alike?
The Little Stranger poster
The Little Stranger
2018 Β· dir. Lenny Abrahamson
πŸ… 64%β˜… 5.5mystery Β· horror

The same mix in both: dread, then unease

The difference: None of the ideas The Thing is built on

In a dusty post-war summer in rural Warwickshire, a doctor is called to a patient at lonely Hundreds Hall. Home to the Ayres family for over two centuries, the Georgian house is now in decline. But are the Ayreses haunted by something more sinister than a dying way of life?

Feels alike?
They Look Like People poster
They Look Like People
2016 Β· dir. Perry Blackshear
πŸ… 92%β˜… 5.8drama Β· horror Β· mystery

Both land twists and paranoia at once

The difference: Sits closer to drama than The Thing does

Suspecting that people are transforming into malevolent shape-shifters, Wyatt flees to New York City to seek out his estranged childhood friend Christian.

Feels alike?
Final Destination 5 poster
Final Destination 5
2011 Β· dir. Steven Quale
πŸ… 64%β˜… 5.9horror Β· mystery

Horror with a pulse of dread, in both cases

Death is just as omnipresent as ever, and is unleashed after one man’s premonition saves a group of coworkers from a terrifying suspension bridge collapse. But this group of unsuspecting souls was never supposed to survive, and, in a terrifying race against time, the ill-fated group frantically tries to discover a way to escape Death’s sinister agenda.

Feels alike?
Hostel poster
Hostel
2006 Β· dir. Eli Roth
πŸ… 60%β˜… 5.9horror

Unsettling science fiction, and it commits to that

Three backpackers head to a Slovakian city that promises to meet their hedonistic expectations, with no idea of the hell that awaits them.

Feels alike?
A Quiet Place: Day One poster
A Quiet Place: Day One
2024 Β· dir. Michael Sarnoski
πŸ… 86%β˜… 6.2horror Β· science fiction Β· thriller

The same two preoccupations: survival, and survival horror

As New York City is invaded by alien creatures who hunt by sound, a woman named Sam fights to survive with her cat.

Feels alike?
A Cure for Wellness poster
A Cure for Wellness
2017 Β· dir. Gore Verbinski
πŸ… 42%β˜… 6.4horror Β· mystery Β· science fiction

Both lean on ideas more than on mystery

An ambitious young executive is sent to retrieve his company's CEO from an idyllic but mysterious "wellness center" at a remote location in the Swiss Alps but soon suspects that the spa's miraculous treatments are not what they seem.

Feels alike?
Jigsaw poster
Jigsaw
2017 Β· dir. Michael Spierig
πŸ… 32%β˜… 5.7horror Β· mystery

Common ground: survival horror

Law enforcement finds itself chasing the ghost of a man dead for over a decade, embroiled in a diabolical new game that's only just begun.

Feels alike?
The Medium poster
The Medium
2021 Β· dir. Banjong Pisanthanakun
πŸ… 83%β˜… 6.5horror Β· mystery

Both are built on the same subject: aggressive

A shaman's family learn that their goddess is supposedly controlling one of them. However, their lives take a frightening turn when they realise the goddess has nothing to do with the possession.

Feels alike?
The Invitation poster
The Invitation
2016 Β· dir. Karyn Kusama
πŸ… 90%β˜… 6.6thriller Β· horror

Paranoid horror in both cases

Will and his new girlfriend Kira are invited to a dinner with old friends at the house of Will’s ex Eden and her new partner David. Although the evening appears to be relaxed, Will soon gets a creeping suspicion that their charming host David is up to something.

Feels alike?
10 Cloverfield Lane poster
10 Cloverfield Lane
2016 Β· dir. Dan Trachtenberg
πŸ… 91%β˜… 7.2thriller Β· science fiction Β· drama

Science fiction built on ideas, twice over

After a catastrophic car crash, a young woman wakes up in a survivalist's underground bunker, where he claims to have saved her from an apocalyptic attack that has left the outside world uninhabitable.

Feels alike?

In the mood for more dread?

all dread movies β†’

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