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Movies that feel like They Live (1988)

If you loved They Live, the closest films we have are Escape from New York (1981), The Running Man (1987) and Predator 2 (1990). All three share They Live's cerebral and kinetic feel, which is what we rank on before quality. 8 of the 12 picks below are included with a subscription right now on Amazon Prime Video, Paramount Plus Premium and Criterion Channel and others, checked against today's data.

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.

πŸ… 86% Rotten Tomatoesβ˜… 7.2 IMDb β†—TMDB β†—dir. John Carpentercerebralkinetictensebleak
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If They Live hit the spot, these will too

Escape from New York poster
Escape from New York
1981 Β· dir. John Carpenter
πŸ… 70%β˜… 7.1action Β· thriller Β· science fiction

John Carpenter working the same nerve twice

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.

Feels alike?
The Running Man poster
The Running Man
1987 Β· dir. Paul Michael Glaser
πŸ… 59%β˜… 6.6action Β· thriller Β· science fiction

The same preoccupation in both: dystopia

The difference: Critics were much harder on this one

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 β€œrunners” attempt to evade β€œstalkers” and certain death for a chance to be pardoned and set free.

Feels alike?
Predator 2 poster
Predator 2
1990 Β· dir. Stephen Hopkins
πŸ… 36%β˜… 6.3science fiction Β· action Β· thriller

Los Angeles shapes both of them

The difference: Missing the bleakness of They Live

A police chief in the war-torn streets of Los Angeles discovers that an extraterrestrial creature is hunting down residents - and that he is the next target.

Feels alike?
eXistenZ poster
eXistenZ
1999 Β· dir. David Cronenberg
πŸ… 77%β˜… 6.8action Β· thriller Β· 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.

Feels alike?
Mad Max 2 poster
Mad Max 2
1981 Β· dir. George Miller
πŸ… 93%β˜… 7.6action Β· thriller Β· science fiction

Cerebral and kinetic in the same breath

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.

Feels alike?
RoboCop poster
RoboCop
1987 Β· dir. Paul Verhoeven
πŸ… 84%β˜… 7.6action Β· thriller Β· science fiction

The same mix in both: tension, then bleakness

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.

Feels alike?
District B13 poster
District B13
2004 Β· dir. Pierre Morel
πŸ… 81%β˜… 7.1action Β· thriller Β· science fiction

Science fiction with a pulse of ideas, in both cases

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.

Feels alike?
Mad Max poster
Mad Max
1979 Β· dir. George Miller
πŸ… 89%β˜… 6.8action Β· thriller Β· science fiction

Kinetic action, and it commits to that

In the ravaged near-future, a savage motorcycle gang rules the road. Terrorizing innocent civilians while tearing up the streets, the ruthless gang laughs in the face of a police force hell-bent on stopping them.

Feels alike?
Equilibrium poster
Equilibrium
2002 Β· dir. Kurt Wimmer
πŸ… 40%β˜… 7.3action Β· science fiction Β· thriller

Tense thriller in both cases

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.

Feels alike?
Surrogates poster
Surrogates
2009 Β· dir. Jonathan Mostow
πŸ… 37%β˜… 6.3science fiction Β· action Β· thriller

Science fiction built on bleakness, twice over

The difference: 21 years apart, and the 2000s show

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.

Feels alike?
Death Race poster
Death Race
2008 Β· dir. Paul W. S. Anderson
πŸ… 41%β˜… 6.4action Β· thriller Β· science fiction

Both lean on ideas more than on action

Terminal Island, New York: 2020. Overcrowding in the US penal system has reached a breaking point. Prisons have been turned over to a monolithic Weyland Corporation, which sees jails full of thugs as an opportunity for televised sport. Adrenalized inmates, a global audience hungry for violence and a spectacular, enclosed arena come together to form the 'Death Race', the biggest, most brutal event.

Feels alike?
The Omega Man poster
The Omega Man
1971 Β· dir. Boris Sagal
πŸ… 65%β˜… 6.4science fiction Β· action Β· drama

Both lean on momentum more than on thriller

The difference: Sits closer to drama than They Live does

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.

Feels alike?

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