The book and movie scared millions across the world and left us on the tip of our toes. The Mist is one of the best Stephen King books ever written in the 1980s. The movie screenplay was adapted, produced, and directed by Frank Darabont back in 2007. The Mist takes horror to a whole new level since the horror is everywhere; between humans as well as outside in the mysterious Mist. Even though the Mist ending is different in the book and the movie, I would join the side that would pick a more pessimistic and overall darker ending from the movie. It’s finally time to assemble once and for all the ultimate 20 sci-fi horror movies like The Mist.
20. Underwater [2020]
Photo Credits: 20th Century Fox
We’re starting this list with another Cthulian-themed sci-fi horror movie Underwater. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic and all the restrictions, the movie went unnoticed and it deserves more attention. It wasn’t the best underwater sci-fi movie but it tried hard to be one. Just like in other movies like The Mist, we follow a group of people but this time it’s deep underwater. The group of miners is attracted after drilling in the Marians Trench and an earthquake wrecks the station. Underwater is a must-watch especially if you’re both a Kings and Lovecraft fan.
Other than that, the movie was directed by William Eubank and it stars Kristen Stewart, Vincent Cassel, Jessica Henwick, and many others. Our Twiligight girl is once again getting a call but this time it’s not from a friendly neighborhood diamond skin vampire.
19. Pandorum [2009]
Photo Credits: Constantin Film
One of the most underrated movies from the 2000s is Pandorum. This movie deals with paranoia, deep space, psychosis, and other sci-fi horror elements, better than most other movies. Pandorum is about a group of people traveling to colonize another Earth-like planet in the future since Earth is overpopulated. The name of the movie “Pandorum” is a state in which one finds self in after waking up from deep-space sleep. The plot twist at the end of the movie is amazing and horror is pure genius.
Pandorum was directed by Christian Alvert and it stars Dennis Quaid and Ben Foster. Movies like The Mist and Pandorum brought something new to the sci-fi horror genre. The Mist did it about monsters being outside, while Pandorum did it the other way around. Grab that microwaved popcorn and trust me on this one, the ending is genius.
18. Sphere [1998]
Photo Credits: Baltimore Pictures
And the 90s sci-fi award goes to Sphere! One movie that’s easily overlooked and sometimes even forgotten by the sci-fi and horror fans is Sphere. What this movie covers to a great extent and better than most movies is paranoia. That feeling of helplessness, hallucination, and confinement is just how it feels to be 20,000 leagues under these. The movie is about a group of scientists who discover a spaceship in the Pacific Ocean. The ship is over 300 years old and the ship is not alone, as there’s a certain threat onboard, just the treat isn’t as anything you’ve ever seen before.
Sphere was directed by Christian Alvart and the cast included Dustin Hoffman, Sharon Stone, and Samuel L. Jackson, who were the best trio at the time. If you’ve read the novel of the same name by Michael Crichton, it’s to give this film a chance. Just like The Mist, the movie is about a group of people in a remote location, that can’t get out; horror, suspense, thriller, and sci-fi elements are all included.
17. The Cabin in the Woods [2011]
Photo Credits: Mutant Enemy Productions
Some would even say that this was kinda parody of the genre itself, but it’s maybe the best horror movie out there. In my humble opinion, it just does everything that sci-fi supernatural horror movies should. The part is how well sci-fi, parody, horror, comedy, gore, action, and drama are combined into one movie. Even though the effects are great, the characters are memorable even if they’re stereotypical. The Cabin in the Woods follows five stereotypical friends the whore, the athlete, the scholar, the fool, and the virgin; as they’re spending a weekend in someone’s cousin’s cabin remote in the woods.
You need to trust me on this one. Even if the movie is advertised as a comedy, and it parodies the genre; it’s one of the best horror movies ever made. It’s one of the rare movies that are like The Mist, but you’d never tell that from the trailer. The Cabin in the Woods is a masterpiece and a rare movie that parodied the genre but was scary. Trust me, it’s not another Scary Movie.
16. The Watchers [2024]
Photo Credits: Blinding Edge Pictures
Probably the latest film on the list is The Watchers, directed by Ishana Night Shyamalan. The movie is based on a book of the same name. If you ask me, I’d put this movie a bit lower on the list, but it is still pretty “new” I guess. The Watchers does a great job of capturing that sense of loneliness and forbids it. Like in the Mist when you can walk to the door and then you can back off, since something strange is out there and you don’t know what it is. You just know that you’re gonna die if you cross the line. Group dynamics is also really good as well as the plot twist, which was kinda different than other movies like The Mist.
The crew from the movie was fantastic as the main protagonist is played by Dakota Fanning, followed by Georgina Campbell, Olwen Fouéré, and Oliver Finnegan. Like movies similar to The Mist it uniquely captures the horror of the night creatures.
15. Pitch Black [2000]
Photo Credits: Gramercy Pictures
The Chronicles of Riddick: Pitch Black a.k.a. Pitch Black is a totally 2000s sci-fi horror movie. What I mean is that it captures the early stages of 2000s movies and the ending of the 90s era. With Vin Diesel as the main protagonist, you don’t have to worry about it. The only problem is that Ridick only got one sequel, unlike other Vin Diesel movies. Jokes aside, this movie just like The Mist captures that part when people start to socially crumble, betray each other, and sacrifice. Pitch Black is about a spaceship that transports a prisoner and the ship crashes on a desert planet.
Yey, another thing in movies like The Mist is the feeling of hopelessness, and that’s why Pitch Black does great. Acting was great in the movie and besides Diesel, Radha Mitchell, Cole Hauser, and Keith David did a great job. The whole cast is brilliant. Pitch Black did a very good job in not only that but with special effects, and CGI; just keep in mind that it’s the year 2000 (it’s still the 20th century).
14. Life [2017]
Photo Credits: Columbia Pictures
Yet another great sci-fi horror with an accent of horror is 2017’s Life. This Daniel Espinosas film has a great cast made of consisting of Jake Gyllenhaal, Reynolds, Rebecca Ferguson, Hiroyuki Sanada, Olga Dihovichnaya, and Ariyon Bakare. The story is pretty straightforward, a group of scientists on the International Space Station find the first form of life on Mars. Moments after getting in touch with this alien form of life, things take a dark turn. You’ll have to watch to find out, but as the movie gets fast to the point, this form of alien life is evolving at a breakneck speed.
As a fan of horror and sci-fi, I was furious that this movie was poorly received, but it’s worth your time. Yes, it didn’t bring anything to the movies but do movies do that anymore? Especially after what Marvel did to the entertainment industry. All in all it’s a nicely told sci-fi horror movie like The Mist with great actors and, a nice story and it’s only 104 minutes long.
13. Event Horizon [1997]
Photo Credits: Paramount Pictures
Out of all sci-fi horror movies like The Mist, this one is in a way more similar to the book. The novel “The Mist” by Stephen King had a darker tone and ending. All the elements from Stephen’s novel and movie are here. We have crew getting into fights, monsters, and horrors, but here things are more psychological. There are some gory moments but it’s a 90s horror so you must get used to it. The movie is set in 2047 when a spaceship picks up a distress signal from another ship called Event Horizon. Once they board the Event Horizon the whole hell breaks loose as the horror awaits them,
Event Horizon was directed by Paul W. S. Anderson and the screenplay was written by Philip Eisner. The main cast is composed of Laurence Fishburne, Sam Neill, Joely Richardson, and Kathleen Quinlan. The movie has flopped as it was heavily edited by Paramount Studio, but it remains a sci-fi horror classic.
12. Alien [1979]
Photo Credits: 20th Century-Fox
There’s not much to say about this one, since there aren’t many people who didn’t see Alien. This was probably going on a rewatch list for most of the fans. Anyway Alien is a 1979 Ridley Scots masterpiece about an alien infiltrating a spaceship. If by any chance you didn’t see the movie I won’t spoil anything more. There are a ton of things that are good about this movie like costumes, cinematography, props of aliens, weapon design, ship design, story, cast, music, and just about everything else. One of my all-time favorites and now a classic in the sci-fi horror genre, the one that defined the genre and brought it to a wider audience.
Films like The Mist usually have some of these social decay, fights between companions, mysterious creatures or creatures, and feelings of hopelessness of the situation. Alien has all of them just they’re not in a supermarket but rather in a spaceship; where no one can hear you scream.
11. The Fog [1980]
Photo Credits: Debra Hill Productions
Unlike any other movies like The Mist on this list, this one has the most similar setting. For god sake, it’s called Fog and it’s about a small coastal town that gets filled with mysterious fog which awakens dark spirits. Since it’s 2024 and the horror genre has moved a lot since the 80s it’ll maybe be a bit silly for some of you. On the other hand, for me, it’s creepy and scary since I watched it as a kid back in the 90s. Fog is directed by John Carpenter, who co-wrote the script and composed the music for the movie. The cast is formed of now well-known stars like Adrienne Barbeau, Jamie Lee Curtis, Tom Atkins, Hal Holbrook, and Janet Leigh
John Carpenter has movies similar to The Mist since he was probably the most famous horror director of all time. This movie in particular had a modern remake in 2005, but I recommend not watching it, it’s just terrible. Anyway grab yourself a big bucket of popcorn, and a gallon of soda, and let John Carpenter and leprous sailors awaked from the depths of the ocean scare the hell out of you.
10. Knock at the Cabin [2023]
Photo Credits: Universal Pictures
Knock at the Cabin is an apocalyptic mystery horror movie that opens doors to new ideas. Unlike other movies, this one has a unique plot where a group of four strangers from different parts of the US has a vision that the end of the world is coming. Unlike in The Mist, everything is clear but for residents of the cabin who are taken hostage by the group of four weirdos. The biggest mystery here is actually that they don’t want to harm people inside the cabin but they want them to “fulfill” the prophecy which is composed of hard tasks; one of them must die. In other words, one of the three family members must be sacrificed.
The movie is based on the 2018 novel The Cabin at the End of the World written by Paul G. Tremblay. Knock at the Cabin was directed by M. Night Shyamalan and it stars Dave Bautista, Jonathan Groff, Ben Aldridge, Nikki Amuka-Bird, Kristen Cui, Abby Quinn, and Rupert Grint.
9. The Ritual [2017 ]
Photo credits: Netflix
This is a British horror movie with elements of cosmic horror and if you want to be spooked, we recommend you watch this one. We’re introduced to Luke, Hutch, Phil, and Dom who are having a hike through Swedish forests to honor their friend Robert; who was killed during a supermarket heist. As the story goes on we’re introduced to how Robert was killed while the group finds a ritual place deep in the woods. As the night falls they finally meet the best otherwordly beast that’s haunting them. That’s where the group’s fights start and end similar to in The Mist.
This movie unlike others on this list is more “superstitious” and is more oriented towards Scandinavian folklore. On the other hand, the movie is dealing with the guilt, regrets, and fears of Luke, Hutch, Phil, and Dom. This horror movie is relatable to the crowd that liked The Mist even if The Mist since it’s exploring the isolated group of people that is getting divided because of the fear of the unknown. If you haven’t watched this one be sure to do it, it’s spine-chilling and the ending is great too.
8. It Comes at Night [2017]
Photo credits: A24
It Comes at Night is a psychological movie set in a post-apocalyptic world. Most of humanity is wiped out by the mysterious disease, and we follow a small family that lives in a cabin deep in the woods. As in any movie of this type, newcomers ain’t welcome, but eventually, they welcome another family to join their home. The family shares rules with the new family, as well as food and fresh water. Many fans would argue that this isn’t one of the movies like The Mist since there aren’t many monsters or that it should rather be on the zombie movie list, but we’d respectfully disagree.
If we take out monsters from the Mist, which isn’t there for most of the time, we’re left with suspense, tension, and human drama for most of the time. This is what this movie is with occasional zombified or monstrous humans lurking and appearing in dream-like hallucinations. Overall, the movie’s acting is phenomenal; every second of it is filled with tension and fear that anyone at any given moment can be an imposter (or infected) just like in The Thing.
7. Silent Hill [2006]
Photo credits: Davis Films
Based on a video game series, Silent Hill is a psychological horror movie set in the remote city of Silent Hill. The game series and the movie are famous for their bizarre creatures and grotesque monsters, which could be said for The Mist too. We follow a woman, Rose Da Silva, who is searching for answers about her adopted daughter, Sharon. The city of Silent Hill is filled with fog (or Mist) from which the monsters are coming out. From dark nurses, and creepers to pyramid heads and other terrifying monsters.
Movies like The Mist feature themes of sci-fi horror, while Silent Hill is more psychological cult horror. Except for hideous monsters, creepy places, and scary towns, both movies also embark on topics of humanity and what it means to be a human, as well as to stick together or divide in times of crisis.
6. A Quiet Place [2018]
Photo credits: Paramount Pictures
Imagine that A Quiet Place is something like a sequel to The Mist since it’s a post-apocalyptic science fiction horror movie. Imagine that things just got worse and that you now live in a world where sound is the only problem that you’ve got. In this post-apocalyptic world overrun by Death Angels aka The Creatures, you only got to stay quiet to stay alive. We’re following an Abbott family – mother Evelyn, father Lee, deaf daughter Regan, and sons Marcus and Beau who are living on a farm. They’re using Sign Language to communicate, and they’re walking over the sand paths that they’ve created themselves.
This movie took the world by storm just like Bird Box did. The plot, characters, and overall story were really good, as well as the editing and cast. The ending was great, and if you liked it, there is a sequel A Quiet Place Part II from 2020. As I’ve mentioned, this is more like a sequel to what might’ve happened if the Mist didn’t end as it did.
5. Annihilation [2018]
Photo credits: Netflix
The story of Annihilation revolves around a group of female scientists entering the Shimmer; the Shimmer is some sort of a bubble formed by an unknown, probably alien entity. Once the team enters the Shimmer, it finds mutated animals such as bears, crocodiles, and others. The team itself starts to mutate as it draws close to the source. In the end, what they find is both disturbing and the ending is unbelievable. The movie was directed by Alex Garland, and the main protagonist is Lena, a professor of cellular biology played by Natalie Portman. Both acting, cinematography, and the story were amazing.
There are many reasons why 2018 Annihilation bombed the box office, but being a “bad sci-fi psychological horror” ain’t one of them for sure. This is probably one of the best sci-fi movies within the 2010-2020 decade. It features some fantastic acting and the story deserves a cult following and the CGI. This movie really put some effort into psychology, biology, sci-fi, and horror, but it didn’t go well for many other reasons; that you can find all over the Internet. If you didn’t like the movie for some reason, you can give a chance to a book of the same name written by Jeff VanderMeer.
4. Bird Box [2018]
Photo credits: Netflix
This is the one that marked 2018 for me, and it was my favorite movie of the year, followed by A Quiet Place. This Netflix adaptation of a post-apocalyptic horror thriller novel written by Josh Malerman was directed by Susanne Bier. The Bird Box movie features invisible creatures to the audience as only some people can see them, after which most of them commit suicide. These are monsters probably taken from the Lovecraft universe, some sort of Cthulhu-like gods that drive people mad. On the other hand, some people are their messengers who help them uncover those who are hiding.
Out of all movies like The Mist from this list, this one is most like it. The movie is set exactly when the apocalypse is starting, just like in The Mist. We can also experience the best and worst things coming from people and society as a whole; from division to heartbreaking moments. The only difference is that monsters from the Mist can enter homes or supermarkets whenever they like, unlike the creatures from Bird Box.
3. 10 Cloverfield Lane [2016]
Photo credits: Paramount Pictures
Following the events of 2008’s science fiction horror thriller Cloverfield, the sequel 10 Cloverfield Lane is set in the future once the invasion has already happened. We follow Michelle (played by Mary Elizabeth Winstead) who wakes up after a car accident in Howard’s bunker (played by John Goodman). Howard believed that there’s been a catastrophic event in the outside world so he is saving people by keeping them in his prison-like bunker.
At the end of the movie, we can see that there’s been an alien invasion, thus making it fall exactly into a category of movies like The Mist. The movie is both a psychological horror when it comes to human interactions as well as sci-fi horror when we see the monsters (aliens) at the end. If you’ve already watched Cloverfield or 10 Cloverfield Lane, you could give a chance to 2018’s The Cloverfield Paradox.
2. The Road [2009]
Photo credits: Dimension Films
The Road is a fantastic movie based on a post-apocalyptic novel by Cormac McCarthy. The movie features a father and his son as they travel through the desolate post-apocalyptic world. Something that would also seem more like a sequel to The Mist due to its setting. We don’t know the names of either Man played by Viggo Mortensen or his Boy played by Kodi Smit-McPhee. We’re not explained what caused civilization to collapse but you’ll quickly agree that it’s not that important.
The movie was directed by John Hillcoat and the screenplay was written by Joe Penhall. It’s not some over-budgeted movie with millions of dollars but it shows us that even with a small budget we can create great stories and show how the world can feel empty and hostile once we’re left all alone. This is something that might’ve gone under your radar, so if you didn’t watch it give it a chance.
1. The Thing [1982]
Photo credits: Universal Pictures
Out of all movies like The Mist, this one is The One since it’s written by the same author, Stephen King. While The Thing is one of the best book adaptations of all time, at least when it comes to Stephen King’s work. For younger audiences that haven’t watched or heard about the movie, the plot is very simple; a group of scientists is fighting against a shape-shifting monster that’s taking over human form and invading the bodies of people. Both The Mist and The Thing share themes of isolation, claustrophobia, fear of the unknown, and trust. It’s really hard in movies and books like this to know whom to trust and who’ll betray you, as well as what’s in luring in the dark or the mist.
There is a prequel that you could watch; it was made in 2011 and it’s called just like the original movie “The Thing”. For some hardcore fans, I’d recommend you go and check it out, while for others, it may be a bit boring from time to time. Stephen King is probably the most famous sci-fi mystery horror writer of the 20th and possibly 21st century. His works are well recognizable even though not all of them are greatly presented and welcomed on the big screen. Overall, with this movie, we conclude the list of the ultimate 20 sci-fi horror movies like The Mist.
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