Heart Pounding Monster Movies Like Cloverfield You Need to See

A tense, claustrophobic thriller that expands the Cloverfield universe, shifting from found-footage chaos to psychological survival while maintaining the mystery and dread central to Cloverfield.

After a catastrophic car crash, a young woman wakes up in a survivalist's underground bunker, where he claims to have saved her from an apocalyptic attack that has left the outside world uninhabitable. 10 Cloverfield Lane is a movie from United States of America in English, with a total 1h 44m runtime, released in 2016 with an average rating of 7.0 by 8,447 people. The movie made an estimated total of $110,216,998 in the box office.

A sci-fi thriller directly tied to Cloverfield, exploring cosmic horror and alternate realities that deepen the franchise’s overarching mystery.

Orbiting above a planet on the brink of war, scientists test a device to solve an energy crisis and end up face-to-face with a dark alternate reality. The Cloverfield Paradox is a movie from United States of America in English, with a total 1h 42m runtime, released in 2018 with an average rating of 5.6 by 3,470 people.

Uses a found-footage style to depict a massive creature threat, mirroring Cloverfield’s immersive, ground-level perspective on monster chaos.

A group of students investigates a series of mysterious bear killings, but learns that there are much more dangerous things going on. They start to follow a mysterious hunter, learning that he is actually a troll hunter. Troll Hunter is a movie from Norway in Norwegian, with a total 1h 44m runtime, released in 2010 with an average rating of 6.7 by 1,701 people. The movie made an estimated total of $4,159,678 in the box office.

An intimate, realistic take on a giant creature encounter, sharing Cloverfield’s restrained scale and focus on human survival.

Six years ago NASA discovered the possibility of alien life within our solar system. A probe was launched to collect samples, but crashed upon re-entry over Central America. Soon after, new life forms began to appear and half of Mexico was quarantined as an infected zone. Today, the American and Mexican military still struggle to contain "the creatures," while a journalist agrees to escort a shaken tourist through the infected zone in Mexico to the safety of the U.S. border. Monsters is a movie from United States of America in English, with a total 1h 34m runtime, released in 2010 with an average rating of 6.2 by 1,720 people. The movie made an estimated total of $5,639,730 in the box office.

Found-footage storytelling with escalating destruction and moral ambiguity, echoing Cloverfield’s raw immediacy and personal viewpoint.

Three high school students make an incredible discovery, leading to their developing uncanny powers beyond their understanding. As they learn to control their abilities and use them to their advantage, their lives start to spin out of control, and their darker sides begin to take over. Chronicle is a movie from United States of America in English, with a total 1h 24m runtime, released in 2012 with an average rating of 6.8 by 5,589 people. The movie made an estimated total of $145,000,000 in the box office.

A landmark found-footage horror film whose real-time panic and chaos strongly influenced Cloverfield’s visual and narrative style.

A television reporter and cameraman follow emergency workers into a dark apartment building and are quickly locked inside with something terrifying. [REC] is a movie from Spain in Spanish, with a total 1h 18m runtime, released in 2007 with an average rating of 7.2 by 4,739 people. The movie made an estimated total of $32,511,655 in the box office.

An American remake of [REC] that shares Cloverfield’s frantic camerawork, limited perspective, and sense of unfolding catastrophe.

A television reporter and her cameraman are trapped inside a building quarantined by the CDC after the outbreak of a mysterious virus which turns humans into bloodthirsty killers. Quarantine is a movie from United States of America in English, with a total 1h 29m runtime, released in 2008 with an average rating of 5.8 by 1,330 people. The movie made an estimated total of $40,855,419 in the box office.

A pioneering found-footage film whose immersive realism and unseen threat laid the groundwork for movies like Cloverfield.

In October of 1994 three student filmmakers disappeared in the woods near Burkittsville, Maryland, while shooting a documentary. A year later their footage was found. The Blair Witch Project is a movie from United States of America in English, with a total 1h 21m runtime, released in 1999 with an average rating of 6.4 by 5,274 people. The movie made an estimated total of $248,639,099 in the box office.

A suburban alien-invasion story with mystery-driven spectacle, often compared to Cloverfield for its suspenseful buildup and creature reveals.

In late 1970s Ohio, a group of friends filming a homemade zombie movie witness a devastating train derailment. Soon after, their quiet town is gripped by unexplained disappearances, strange phenomena, and a growing sense of fear, as they uncover that something terrifying has been set loose. Super 8 is a movie from United States of America in English, with a total 1h 52m runtime, released in 2011 with an average rating of 6.8 by 6,919 people. The movie made an estimated total of $260,100,000 in the box office.

Depicts ordinary people trapped by an otherworldly threat, aligning with Cloverfield’s themes of cosmic horror and human fragility.

After a violent storm, a dense cloud of mist envelops a small Maine town, trapping David Drayton and his five-year-old son in a local grocery store with other local residents. They soon discover that the mist conceals deadly horrors that threaten their lives, and worse, their sanity. The Mist is a movie from United States of America in English, with a total 2h 6m runtime, released in 2007 with an average rating of 6.9 by 5,657 people. The movie made an estimated total of $57,470,220 in the box office.

A monster movie grounded in social realism, similar to Cloverfield’s focus on civilian experience during a large-scale creature attack.

A teenage girl is captured by a giant mutated squid-like creature that appears from Seoul's Han River after toxic waste was dumped in it, prompting her family into a frantic search for her. The Host is a movie from South Korea in Korean, with a total 2h 0m runtime, released in 2006 with an average rating of 7.0 by 3,027 people. The movie made an estimated total of $88,489,643 in the box office.

Shows an alien invasion from a soldier’s ground-level perspective, paralleling Cloverfield’s street-level view of urban destruction.

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. Battle: Los Angeles is a movie from United States of America in English, with a total 1h 56m runtime, released in 2011 with an average rating of 5.8 by 3,644 people. The movie made an estimated total of $211,800,000 in the box office.

A modern alien-invasion classic that, like Cloverfield, emphasizes human vulnerability amid overwhelming extraterrestrial forces.

Ray Ferrier is a divorced dockworker and less-than-perfect father. Soon after his ex-wife and her new husband drop off his teenage son and young daughter for a rare weekend visit, a strange and powerful lightning storm touches down. War of the Worlds is a movie from United States of America in English, with a total 1h 57m runtime, released in 2005 with an average rating of 6.5 by 8,930 people. The movie made an estimated total of $603,873,119 in the box office.

Reimagines a classic kaiju with a serious tone, sharing Cloverfield’s emphasis on scale, destruction, and limited human control.

Ford Brody, a Navy bomb expert, has just reunited with his family in San Francisco when he is forced to go to Japan to help his estranged father, Joe. Soon, both men are swept up in an escalating crisis when an ancient alpha predator arises from the sea to combat malevolent adversaries that threaten the survival of humanity. The creatures leave colossal destruction in their wake, as they make their way toward their final battleground: San Francisco. Godzilla is a movie from United States of America in English, with a total 2h 3m runtime, released in 2014 with an average rating of 6.4 by 9,570 people. The movie made an estimated total of $524,978,362 in the box office.

A large-scale monster-versus-monster film that expands the kaiju concept Cloverfield helped modernize, though with a more epic scope.

Using massive piloted robots to combat the alien threat, earth's survivors take the fight to the invading alien force lurking in the depths of the Pacific Ocean. Nearly defenseless in the face of the relentless enemy, the forces of mankind have no choice but to turn to two unlikely heroes who now stand as earth's final hope against the mounting apocalypse. Pacific Rim is a movie from United States of America in English, with a total 2h 11m runtime, released in 2013 with an average rating of 6.9 by 13,078 people. The movie made an estimated total of $411,000,000 in the box office.

Found-footage eco-horror that mirrors Cloverfield’s documentary-style realism and escalating sense of unseen catastrophe.

Two million fish washed ashore. One thousand blackbirds dropped from the sky. On July 4, 2009 a deadly menace swept through the quaint seaside town of Claridge, Maryland, but the harrowing story of what happened that Independence Day has never been told—until now. The authorities believed they had buried the truth about the tragedy that claimed over 700 human lives. Now, three years later, a reporter has emerged with footage revealing the cover-up and an unimaginable killer: a mysterious parasitic outbreak. Told from the perspective of those who were there and saw what happened, The Bay unfolds over 24 hours through people's iPhones, Androids, 911 calls, webcams, and whatever else could be used to document the nightmare in Claridge. What follows is a nerve-shredding tale of a small town plunged into absolute terror. The Bay is a movie from United States of America in English, with a total 1h 24m runtime, released in 2012 with an average rating of 5.8 by 834 people. The movie made an estimated total of $1,581,252 in the box office.

An anthology of found-footage horror segments that echo Cloverfield’s raw, unpolished style and first-person terror.

When a group of misfits is hired by an unknown third party to burglarize a desolate house and acquire one rare VHS tape, they discover more found footage than they had bargained for. V/H/S is a movie from United States of America in English, with a total 1h 56m runtime, released in 2012 with an average rating of 6.1 by 1,668 people. The movie made an estimated total of $100,345 in the box office.

Blends found-footage realism with escalating horror, similar to how Cloverfield grounds extraordinary events in believable chaos.

What starts as a poignant medical documentary about Deborah Logan's descent into Alzheimer's disease and her daughter's struggles as caregiver degenerates into a maddening portrayal of dementia at its most frightening, as hair-raising events begin to plague the family and crew and an unspeakable malevolence threatens to tear the very fabric of sanity from them all. The Taking of Deborah Logan is a movie from United States of America in English, with a total 1h 30m runtime, released in 2014 with an average rating of 6.6 by 1,416 people.

A mockumentary-style creature feature that closely resembles Cloverfield in structure, pacing, and urban monster mystery.

In 2007, in the midst of the drought and water shortages, the NSW State government has unveiled plans to tap into and recycle millions of litres of water trapped in a network of abandoned train tunnels just beneath the heart of Sydney. However the government suddenly goes cold on the plan and it is not made public why. There is talk of homeless people who use the tunnel as shelter going missing, even though the government states that there are no homeless people in there. This, and the silence from the officials and ministers, leads a journalist, Natasha to begin an investigation into a government cover-up. She and her crew Pete (Producer), Steve (Cameraman) and Tangles (Sound Technichian) decide to investigate the story in the tunnel. The Tunnel is a movie from Australia in English, with a total 1h 30m runtime, released in 2011 with an average rating of 5.8 by 429 people.

A faux-documentary horror film whose unsettling realism and investigative framing align with the immersive approach used in Cloverfield.

When hundreds of videotapes showing torture, murder and dismemberment are found in an abandoned house, they reveal a serial killer's decade-long reign of terror and become the most disturbing collection of evidence homicide detectives have ever seen. The Poughkeepsie Tapes is a movie from United States of America in English, with a total 1h 21m runtime, released in 2007 with an average rating of 6.6 by 722 people.