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21 Movies like The Fifth Wave: From Sci-Fi Thriller to Grim Dystopia

About The Fifth Wave

Directed by J Blakeson, The Fifth Wave is about an alien invasion of earth where the aliens use a number of techniques to easily destabilise world governments and allow for an easier take over. The techniques range from creating tsunamis and other natural disasters to taking human hosts to unleashing a flu-like pandemic. These are all done in “waves.” Whereas, the “fifth wave” is when the humans decide to fight back.

If you're like me and you enjoyed this sci-fi about aliens invading then below is a bunch of movies like The Fifth Wave.

Oblivion (2013)

Directed by Joseph Kosinski, Oblivion is a post-apocalyptic science fiction film starring Tom Cruise, Morgan Freeman, Olga Kurylenko, Andrea Riseborough, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, and Melissa Leo. It was released in the year 2013.

Oblivion focuses on a lone maintenance technician who has almost completed his mission on an Earth completed decimated from an alien war. Completely alone, or so he thought, the maintenance tech discovers woman who survived when her space ship crashed into earth. Together, they do what they can to survive and along the way they discover the truth behind the war with the aliens.

Super 8 (2011)

Directed and written by J.J. Abrams, Super 8 is a science fiction film starring Elle Fanning, Kyle Chandler, Joel Courtney, Gabriel Basso, Noah Emmerich, Ron Eldard, Riley Griffiths, Ryan Lee and Zach Mills. It was released in the year 2011.

Super 8 is a period specific film set in the late 1970s where a groups of teens who are filming their own 'Super 8' movie when they witness a mysterious train derailing. Strange occurences unfold in their small town when they realise that something dangerous has been unleashed onto their small town by the mysterious town.

Super 8 blends in elements of mystery, easy to digest sci-fi and coming-of-age shenanigans due to the main characters being so young. Trust me, if you like E.T., The Goonies or maybe even Stand By Me then you are sure to love this film!

Chaos Walking (2021)

Directed by Doug Liman, Chaos Walking stars Daisy Ridley, Tom Holland, Mads Mikkelsen, Demián Bichir, Cynthia Erivo, Nick Jonas, and David Oyelowo. It was released in the year 2021.

Chaos Walking follows a young man who lives in a dystopian world without women, where all living creatures can hear each other’s thoughts in streams of images, words and sounds, called “Noise”. Then when a woman crash-lands on the planet, he does everything he can to try and protect her from danger.

Moonfall (2022)

Co-written and directed by Roland Emmerich, Moonfall stars Halle Berry, Patrick Wilson, John Bradley, Michael Peña, Charlie Plummer, Kelly Yu, Donald Sutherland, and Carolina Bartczak. It was released in the year 2022.

Moonfall follows two former astronauts alongside a conspiracy theorist who discover the hidden truth about Earth’s moon when it suddenly leaves its orbit. Despite the incredible cast and visual effects, Moonfall was an absolute flop but it’s certainly worth a watch if you’ve got a lazy afternoon planned.

Extinction (2018)

Directed by Ben Young, Extinction is a science fiction action film starring Michael Peña, Lizzy Caplan, Mike Colter, Amelia Crouch, Erica Tremblay, Israel Broussard, Lex Shrapnel, and Emma Booth. It was released in the year 2018.

Extinction focused on the character Peter, who is an engineer that lives an relatively uneventful life, and has nightmares of the end of the world. One day these alien looking shock troops descend from the skies and start slaughtering everyone in the streets.

I won’t ruin the ending but suffice to say the “humans” start to fight back until Peter makes a startling discovery about the “aliens” that are slaughtering everyone, his family and his friends. Trust me when I say you won’t see the twist coming.

Greenland (2020)

Directed by Ric Roman Waugh, Greenland is survival thriller starring Gerard Butler, Morena Baccarin, Roger Dale Floyd, Scott Glenn, David Denman and Hope Davis. It was released in the year 2020.

Greenland follows Gerard Butler and Morena Baccarin's characters who do their very best to survive while the world is getting absolutely pummeled by extinction event-level asteroids. What adds to the thrill of this film is this dynamic of their characters being forced to get along, despite being estranged, and what that can do to two people who are on the verge of their marriage breaking down but who will also do anything to keep their son safe.

How It Ends (2018)

Directed by David M. Rosenthal, How It Ends is an action thriller starring Theo James, Forest Whitaker, Grace Dove, Nicole Ari Parker, Kat Graham and Mark O’Brien. It was released in the year 2018.

How It Ends is about a former marine who tries to find his pregnant partner when the city she was in is struck by a natural disaster — which turns out to be an orchestrated manmade attack.

The Darkest Minds (2018)

Directed by Jennifer Yuh Nelson, The Darkest Minds is a survival superhero thriller starring Amanda Stenberg, Harris Dickinson, Mandy Moore, Patrick Gibson, Skylan Brooks, Miya Cech, Bradley Whitford, and Gwendoline Christie. It was released in the year 2018.

The Darkest Minds is set in a world where a contagious kills 90% of children and leaves those who survive it with strange and unusual abilities. The surviving children are then imprison for “their own safety.” This film is about a group of children breaking out of prison and being on the run from the authorities who seek to capture and re-imprison them. If you’re getting X-Men vibes then you’re bang on. This is basically Mutants for Kids.

The Thinning (2016)

Directed and co-written by Michael J. Gallagher, The Thinning is a science fiction thriller movie starring Logan Paul, Peyton List, Lia Marie Johnson, Calum Worthy, Matthew Glave, Michael Traynor and Stacey Dash. It was released in the year 2016.

The Thinning is a dystopian sci-fi where population control is enforced through a school aptitude test and those who fail - are executed. However, this "perfect" system is subverted when a student swaps test scores with another brilliant student. Surviving at the expense of another but throwing the school and its students into chaos.

The Host (2013)

Directed by Andrew Niccol, The Host is a science fiction thriller starring Saoirse Ronan, Jake Abel, Max Irons, Frances Fisher, Chandler Canterbury, Diane Kruger, and William Hurt. It was released in the year 2013.

The Host is about an alien race of parasites (called “souls”) that has conquered earth by taking human hosts. One human on the run, Melanie, is captured and implanted with an alien “soul” whose plan is to access her memories and learn of the location of the remaining humans without “souls” implanted in them. Eventually, however, the Melanie and her “soul” become friends and it eventually switches sides, beginning to work with the human resistance.

The Day The Earth Stood Still (2008)

Directed by Scott Derrickson, The Day The Earth Stood Still is a science fiction action movie starring Keanu Reeves, Jennifer Connelly, Jaden Smith, John Cleese, Jon Hamm and Kathy Bates. It was released in the year 2008.

The Day The Earth Stood Still depicts an alien named Klaatu who is sent to earth to try to change human behaviour to try to change humanity’s current path towards its own self annihilation.

The Midnight Sky (2020)

Directed by George Clooney, The Midnight Sky is a science fiction movie starring George Clooney, Felicity Jones, David Oyelowo, Tiffany Boone, Demián Bichir, Kyle Chandler and Caoilinn Springall. It was released in the year 2020.

Based on Lily Brooks-Dalton's Good Morning, Midnight, The Midnight Sky follows Clooney's character as he rushes across the Arctic Circle to warn away a spaceship from Earth and the global catastrophe that has already occurred on Earth. So, in a way, its rather post-apocalyptic without the usual schtick of zombies and killer robots!

Voyagers (2021)

Directed and written by Neil Burger, Voyagers is a science fiction thriller starring Tye Sheridan, Lily-Rose Depp, Fionn Whitehead, Colin Farrell, Chanté Adams, Isaac Hempstead Wright, Viveik Kalra, Archie Madekwe and Quintessa Swindell. It was released in the year 2021.

Voyagers follows an multi-generational spaceship journeying to a far away planet where its teenagers discover their personalities and emotions are being artificially suppressed. What follows is utter mayhem!

65 (2023)

Directed and written by Scott Beck and Bryan Woods, 65 is an apocalyptic sci-fi movie starring Adam Driver and Ariana Greemblatt. It was released in the year 2023.

65 is about an astronaut from 65 million years ago who crash lands on an unknown planet which turns out to be Earth. While he tries to fix his ship he dodges being eaten by a relentless Tyrannosaurus Rex, being swept up by lava and helping a young girl survive.

Knowing (2009)

Directed by Alex Proyas, Knowing is a sci-fi thriller starring Nicolas Cage, Rose Byrne and Chandler Canterbury. It was released in the year 2009.

Knowing is about a young girl in the 1950s, named Lucinda, who's asked to draw what she thinks will happen in the future so it can be stored in a school time capsule and revealed 50 years later. Instead, she draws a bunch of numbers. 50 years later, Lucinda's papers are given to a 9 year old boy called Caleb. Caleb, like Lucinda, hears the voices that whisper the numbers to him.

And what do the numbers means? They're a series of future dates and the total death toll on those dates. Leading to an extinction level event as forecasted in both Caleb and Lucinda's visions.

But the twist? Let's say things get a bit extra-terrestrial. It's typical Alex Proyas weird sci-fi storytelling - and that's certainly not a bad thing.

Alita: Battle Angel (2019)

Directed by Robert Rodriguez, Alita: Battle Angel stars Rosa Salazar, Christoph Waltz, Jennifer Connelly, Mahershala Ali, Ed Skrein, Jackie Earle Haley and Keean Johnson. It was released in the year 2019.

Alita is a battle cyborg who is revived by Ido, a doctor, who realises that she actually has the soul of a teenager. Alita then sets out to learn about her past and find her true identity. Meanwhile, just like all good dystopian hellscapes, there’s the constant looming threat of augmented human-cyborgs and evil corporation to keep Alita busy.

Skylines (2020)

Directed and co-produced by Liam O'Donnell, Skylines is a science fiction action film starring Lindsey Morgan, Jonathan Howard, Daniel Bernhardt, Rhona Mitra, James Cosmo and Alexander Siddig. It was released in the year 2020 and is the third film in the Skyline franchise.

Skylines focuses on Rose, who leads the human fleet against the aliens (the "Harvesters"), 10 years after the previous Skyline film. During the battle she's forced to fire at the alien's mother ship to save earth but in doing so she destroys an earth ship which is caught in the crossfire.

The majority of the film then follows the events that unfold five years later which involves a pandemic virus which is attacking the human-alien hybrid Pilots. Rose then embarks on a mission back to the Harvesters homeworld in search of a cure.

Despite the well crafted storyline, Skylines was an absolute flop. Grossing less than $200,000 at the Box Office.

Captive State (2019)

Directed by Rupert Wyatt, Captive State is a science fiction thriller movie starring John Goodman, Ashton Sanders, Jonathan Majors, Colson Baker and Vera Farmiga. It was released in the year 2019.

Captive State follows a young man who gets involved in a conspiracy to rebel against an alien race. An alien race which rules the earth alongside their human collaborators. It’s a dystopian story filled with many twists that will keep you guessing til the end. With an ending you won’t see coming!

Valerian and the City of A Thousand Planets (2017)

Directed by Luc Besson, Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets stars Dane DeHaan, Cara Delevingne, Clive Owen, Rihanna, Ethan Hawke, Herbie Hancock, Kris Wu and Rutger Hauer. It was released in the year 2017.

Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets is about a vast metropolis and home to species from a thousand planets. When this metropolis comes under threat by a dark force, Special operatives Valerian and Laureline must race to identify the marauding menace which may threaten the entire universe.

A Scanner Darkly (2006)

Written and directed by Richard Linklater, A Scanner Darkly stars Keanu Reeves, Robert Downey Jr., Woody Harrelson, Winona Ryder, and Rory Cochrane. It was released in the year 2006.

A Scanner Darkly is an adult animated science fiction/mystery drama based on the 1977 Philip K Dick novel of the same name. A Scanner Darkly is set around a dystopia which is constantly under police surveillance while a drug addiction epidemic is breaking out. Do yourself a favour, watch this film as sober as possible or don’t. Either way, it’s a butt load of fun!

The Hunger Games (2012)

Directed by Gary Ross, The Hunger Games is a dystopian science fiction action film based on novels of the same name. It stars Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson, Liam Hemsworth, Woody Harrelson, Elizabeth Banks, Lenny Kravitz, Stanley Tucci, and Donald Sutherland. It was released in the year 2012.

The Hunger Games is set in the future in the nation of Panem, where a boy and a girl from each of the nation’s 12 Districts are chosen annually as “tributes” and are forced to fight to the death in ‘The Hunger Games.’