Nothing quite builds suspense like trapping your protagonists in one location, and movies like The Mist thrive on milking the claustrophobic set-up for thrills and chills.
Frank Darabont’s classy adaptation of Stephen King’s novel is about a small town engulfed by a mysterious mist that is home to huge, Lovecraftian creatures. The survivors hide out in the local supermarket, but they can’t stay there forever…
If you’re looking for more suspenseful horror movies like The Mist, check out these great picks…
10 Sci-Fi Terrifying Horror Movies like The Mist
1. Night of the Living dead (1968)
You could add almost any classic zombie film to a list of movies like The Mist, so we’re going with Night of the Living Dead. It focuses on a small group of people who hole up in a remote farmhouse as zombies build up outside… yet tensions inside the house are almost as deadly.
George A. Romero’s low budget shocker still has the power to chill, and its stark black and white photography creates a nightmarish atmosphere of inescapable dread.
Night of the Living Dead pioneered the style of zombie movies that are still so popular today, and remains one of the most influential horror films of all time.
2. The Descent (2005)
A group of women go on a spelunking expedition and find themselves trapped underground. To make matters worse, they’re preyed upon by a ghoulish tribe of predatory cave-dwellers…
Neil Marshall’s ruthless horror thriller is scary even before the creatures show up, then it gets truly frightening.Â
Strong performances and unrelenting terror make The Descent a perfect choice for people who want more movies like The Mist.
3. Pontypool (2008)
A grizzled shock jock finds himself in the unenviable situation of reporting a deadly virus that turns people into blood-crazed maniacs. He soon realizes that language transmits the disease…
Bruce McDonald’s claustrophobic horror is a quirky chiller, with Stephen McHattie delivering a brilliant performance as the man capable of warning the town, but also potentially spreading the infection.
Pontypool relies on the viewer’s imagination to picture most of the carnage and has strong echoes of Orson Welles’ infamous War of the Worlds broadcast. If you like your horror cerebral as well as visceral, it’s a must-see.
4. Midsommar (2019)
Movies like The Mist are really memorable for their bleak ending, which is why it shares a similarity with Midsommar, Ari Aster’s follow up to his devastating Hereditary.
A couple whose relationship is on the rocks travel to Sweden with friends to visit a midsummer festival in a remote village. Their hosts are welcoming but their rituals take a disturbing and deadly turn…
The 24/7 sunshine of Midsommar’s setting creates an eerie atmosphere for the sinister events and Florence Pugh puts in a strong central performance in this modern folk horror hit.
5. The Village (2004)
The residents of a small 19th century rural village live in constant fear of monsters living in the woods surrounding their community. After a violent incident, one villager must venture through the woods to the outside world for medical supplies…
M. Night Shyamalan conjures up an aura of fear in his fourth feature, helped by the all-star cast including Joaquin Phoenix, Adrien Brody, Sigourney Weaver and Bryce Dallas Howard.
Since it’s a Shyamalan film it’s not a spoiler to reveal there’s a twist – one that will make or break the movie for you!
6. The Ritual (2017)
A group of old friends decide to go on a hiking trip in Sweden. When one of them sprains his ankle, they decide to take a shortcut through the spooky forest, where they are stalked by a menacing creature…
David Bruckner directs this efficiently creepy horror, with Rafe Spall starring as a man haunted by the past.
Movies like The Mist and impress with their fantastic creatures, and The Ritual has one of the most horrifically imaginative film monsters in recent times.
7. 10 Cloverfield Lane (2016)
A young woman awakes to find herself held captive in an underground bunker by two men, who tell her that the surface has been poisoned in the wake of an alien attack. Are they telling the truth or are their motives more sinister?
Dan Trachtenberg’s nail-biting horror thriller expertly builds suspense as distrust grows. Mary Elizabeth Winstead is an appealing lead, and John Goodman gives one of the best performances of his career as the owner of the bunker.
10 Cloverfield Lane thrives on the paranoia of its characters, making it a perfect choice for this list of movies like The Mist.
8. The Others (2001)
A woman waits for her husband to return home from the war in a gloomy, mist-shrouded mansion with her two children who are sensitive to sunlight. Soon it becomes apparent that they are not the only residents…
Alejandro Amenábar ladles on the atmosphere in this ghost story starring a superb Nicole Kidman as the mother who rapidly unravels when things start going bump in the night.
The Others is a slow-burning yarn with some truly frightening moments, perfect for cuddling up on the sofa on a dark winter’s night.
9. A Quiet Place (2018)
More monsters are lurking in A Quiet Place, a post-apocalyptic horror about a family trying to survive in a world ravaged by creatures who hunt by their acute sense of hearing…
John Krasinski directs this suspenseful thriller starring Emily Blunt as the pregnant mother of the family, doing her best to keep things quiet even when going into labour.
A Quiet Place was a big hit and proves that silence is such an effective tool for generating scares. A tip: opt for non-crunchy snacks while watching this one!
10. The Fog (1980)
No list of movies like The Mist would be complete without John Carpenter’s cinematic equivalent of a campfire tale. On the eve of a small coastal town’s 100th anniversary a mysterious fog rolls in off the sea, bringing with it a supernatural menace…
Carpenter gives The Fog an eerie night owl vibe, while Adrienne Barbeau is terrific as the DJ warning the town of danger from her lighthouse studio.
With another great synth score from Carpenter and great cinematography from Dean Cundy, The Fog is an atmospheric minor classic.