Not many people saw the Anthony Mackie and Morena Baccarin-led Elevation when it hit theaters at the tail end 2024, but the film has found new life streaming on Max. Since Elevation is finally getting audience attention, what movies make for solid companion pieces? There are quite a few options, considering Elevation follows a series of other monster-laden, post-apocalyptic flicks where there’s a certain caveat to the invasion. With A Quiet Place (more on that later), the threat was attracted to sound. In Bird Box, it was important not to look at the threat, and so on. In War of the Worlds, well, the aliens just couldn’t take our environment in general.

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What’s the catch in Elevation? The insectoid invaders cannot survive above 8,000 feet. The following movies laid the groundwork for Elevation, and viewers would do well to make them part of a double feature night.

10 Cloverfield Lane

Cloverfield was a sizable hit in 2008, but the found footage approach could be a bit nauseating. Furthermore, while it was an entertaining film, it never seemed to have much on its mind. 10 Cloverfield Lane, however, does.

Prey director Dan Trachtenberg made his feature film debut with 10 Cloverfield Lane, and like many other films from J.J. Abrams’ Bad Robot, it prided itself on being laced with twists. In fact, its very existence was a surprise, as the movie was only announced two months prior to release when the first trailer premiered. With brilliant work from Mary Elizabeth Winstead, John Goodman, and John Gallagher Jr., this intimate, claustrophobic film is one of the best sci-fi thrillers of the 2010s.

Stream 10 Cloverfield Lane on Prime Video.

28 Days Later

Easily one of the 2000’s best horror movies, Danny Boyle’s 28 Days Later was sadly unavailable to watch (unless you had the DVD or Blu-ray) for a bizarrely long time. But now that’s changed, and for anyone who hasn’t seen it, there’s no better time to watch this star-studded reinvention of the zombie subgenre.

With airtight direction from Boyle and more than a handful of genuinely tense scenes, 28 Days Later is a modern classic. Like Elevation it follows a small group of survivors stuck in an impossible survival situation and desperate for help. Its sequel, 28 Weeks Later is also excellent, so here’s hoping this year’s 28 Years Later can live up to the high bar set for it.

Rent 28 Days Later on Amazon Video.

A Quiet Place

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A film so popular and critically lauded it inspired a masterpiece of a sequel, a prequel, and even a video game, John Krasinski’s A Quiet Place announced The Office vet as a major directorial talent to watch. Like A Quiet Place, Elevation is an original IP, and if there’s any project whose influence it wears on its sleeve, it’s this one.

Aliens with one particular caveat to their ability? Check. With A Quiet Place‘s monsters, they can’t see. A narrative focusing on protecting offspring? Check again. A Quiet Place is the superior film, but Elevation does a pretty good job following in its footsteps.

Stream A Quiet Place on Paramount+.

Arcadian

Before Elevation was following in A Quiet Place‘s footsteps, 2024’s Arcadian was walking a similar path. Even with a mid-comeback Nicolas Cage in the lead role, Arcadian seems to still be flying under the radar for film fans.

For the most part, Arcadian follows Cage’s Paul and his two teenage sons, Joseph (It‘s Jaeden Martell) and Thomas (Joe Bell‘s Maxwell Jenkins). Surrounding their little farmhouse is an increasingly large horde of photophobic monsters dead set on taking out what few members of humanity they haven’t already slaughtered. Again, very similar to A Quiet Place, just with an aversion to light as opposed to an attraction to sound, but tonally the movie manages to stand apart and some would argue has even better creature design.

Stream Arcadian on Hulu.

The Thing

One of the best horror remakes ever made, if not the best, John Carpenter’s The Thing is an absolute masterclass on tension-building and a full display of the miracle of practical effects. It’s also one of the most rewatchable movies out there, practically begging to be viewed multiple times if only to figure out who has been assimilated when (though even if seen 20 times, the answer to that question can sometimes still prove elusive, much to the credit of the film’s script).

It’s not a post-apocalypse monster movie like the other films listed here, but The Thing comes mighty close. If anything, it’s a just-shy-of-the-apocalypse monster movie that leaves the viewer scratching their head as to whether that event was right around the corner. Fans of Elevation will find its isolated characters and unique problem solving a key similarity between the two movies.

Rent The Thing on Amazon Video.