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Movies that feel like The War of the Worlds (1953)

If you loved The War of the Worlds, the closest films we have are Escape from the Planet of the Apes (1971), Rollerball (1975) and Logan's Run (1976). All three share The War of the Worlds' cerebral and kinetic feel, which is what we rank on before quality. 6 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.

The residents of a small town are excited when a flaming meteor lands in the hills, until they discover it is the first of many transport devices from Mars bringing an army of invaders invincible to any man-made weapon, even the atomic bomb.

7 IMDb ↗TMDB ↗dir. Byron Haskincerebralkineticbleakawe

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If The War of the Worlds hit the spot, these will too

Escape from the Planet of the Apes poster
Escape from the Planet of the Apes
1971 · dir. Don Taylor
🍅 75%6.3action · science fiction

Both keep coming back to the same thing: dystopia

The world is shocked by the appearance of three talking chimpanzees, who arrived mysteriously in a spacecraft. Intrigued by their intelligence, humans use them for research - until the apes attempt to escape.

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Rollerball poster
Rollerball
1975 · dir. Norman Jewison
🍅 55%6.5science fiction · action

Both are built on the same subject: dystopia

The difference: None of the awe The War of the Worlds is built on

In a corporate-controlled future, an ultra-violent sport known as Rollerball represents the world, and one of its powerful athletes is out to defy those who want him out of the game.

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Logan's Run poster
Logan's Run
1976 · dir. Michael Anderson
🍅 58%6.8action · science fiction

The same mix in both: ideas, then momentum

The difference: 23 years apart, and the 1970s show

In the 23rd century, inhabitants of a domed city freely experience all of life's pleasures — but no one is allowed to live past 30. Citizens can try for a chance at being "renewed" in a civic ceremony on their 30th birthday. Escape is the only other option.

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Silent Running poster
Silent Running
1972 · dir. Douglas Trumbull
🍅 71%6.6adventure · science fiction · drama

Bleak and awestruck in the same breath

The difference: Leans harder into adventure than The War of the Worlds does

After the entire flora goes extinct, ecologist Lowell maintains a greenhouse aboard a space station for the future with his android companions. However, he rebels after being ordered to destroy the greenhouse in favor of carrying cargo, a decision that puts him at odds with everyone but his mechanical companions.

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Aniara poster
Aniara
2019 · dir. Pella Kågerman
🍅 70%6.3science fiction · drama

Cerebral science fiction, and it commits to that

The difference: Sits closer to drama than The War of the Worlds does

A ship carrying settlers to a new home on Mars after Earth is rendered uninhabitable is knocked off-course, causing the passengers to consider their place in the universe.

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Fantastic Planet poster
Fantastic Planet
1973 · dir. René Laloux
🍅 91%7.7animation · science fiction

Action with a pulse of bleakness, in both cases

The difference: Made in the 1970s, in a different era of the craft

On the planet Ygam, the Draags, extremely technologically and spiritually advanced blue humanoids, consider the tiny Oms, human beings descendants of Terra's inhabitants, as ignorant animals. Those who live in slavery are treated as simple pets and used to entertain Draag children; those who live hidden in the hostile wilderness of the planet are periodically hunted and ruthlessly slaughtered as if they were vermin.

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Planet of the Apes poster
Planet of the Apes
1968 · dir. Franklin J. Schaffner
🍅 86%8science fiction · adventure · drama

Both lean on momentum more than on science fiction

Astronaut Taylor crash lands on a distant planet ruled by apes who use a primitive race of humans for experimentation and sport. Soon Taylor finds himself among the hunted, his life in the hands of a benevolent chimpanzee scientist.

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Tron poster
Tron
1982 · dir. Steven Lisberger
🍅 60%6.7science fiction · action · adventure

Action built on awe, twice over

When brilliant video game maker Flynn hacks the mainframe of his ex-employer, he is beamed inside an astonishing digital world and becomes part of the very game he is designing. In his mission through cyberspace, Flynn matches wits with a maniacal Master Control Program and teams up with Tron, a security measure created to bring balance to the digital environment.

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The Omega Man poster
The Omega Man
1971 · dir. Boris Sagal
🍅 65%6.4science fiction · action · drama

Cerebral science fiction in both cases

Due to an experimental vaccine, Dr. Robert Neville is the only human survivor of an apocalyptic war waged with biological weapons. Besides him, only a few hundred deformed, nocturnal people remain; sensitive to light, and homicidally psychotic.

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The Chronicles of Riddick poster
The Chronicles of Riddick
2004 · dir. David Twohy
🍅 29%6.6action · science fiction

Kinetic action in both cases

After years of outrunning ruthless bounty hunters, escaped convict Riddick suddenly finds himself caught between opposing forces in a fight for the future of the human race. Now, waging incredible battles on fantastic and deadly worlds, this lone, reluctant hero will emerge as humanity's champion - and the last hope for a universe on the edge of annihilation.

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Fahrenheit 451 poster
Fahrenheit 451
1966 · dir. François Truffaut
🍅 82%7.2drama · science fiction

A streak of bleakness through both

In the future, the government maintains control of public opinion by outlawing literature and maintaining a group of enforcers, known as “firemen,” to perform the necessary book burnings. Fireman Montag begins to question the morality of his vocation…

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Battle: Los Angeles poster
Battle: Los Angeles
2011 · dir. Jonathan Liebesman
🍅 37%5.7science fiction · action

Both rooted in Los Angeles

When once distant UFOs become a terrifying threat and an alien invasion force begins attacking Earths major costal and riverside cities, a U.S Marine staff sergeant and his team are sent into battle only to find they must take it upon themselves to defeat an unknown enemy and protect what remains of Los Angeles.

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The best-reviewed films that share The War of the Worlds’ defining feeling.