Based on Hugh Howey’s books, Silo is the perfect sci-fi show for the moment: Pessimistic about government, optimistic about the potential for individual courage and heroism, and crammed full of dark mysteries. Every episode peels back a tiny bit of the curtain obscuring the truth from both the audience and the residents of Silo 18, the huge underground bunker hosting part of what’s left of humanity after a global cataclysm, and it’s a thrill to find out just how awful the secrets actually are. If you’re looking for more of that in your life, and you’ve already watched all the other grim sci-fi series scratching that itch, there’s one movie you should check out: 2013’s Snowpiercer.
Why you should watch Snowpiercer after Silo
We also suggested the TV series as a streamalike, but it’s well worth it for Silo fans to dive into the theatrical film as well. The movie is tighter and darker than the series, and Chris Evans’ performance as Curtis is ferocious—he’s a man haunted by his own secrets and willing to burn everything down to discover the bigger ones that drove him to desperation.
Like Silo, Snowpiercer is set in an enclosed, self-sustaining environment that might support the last remnants of humanity. After an attempt to reverse climate change accidentally ushers in a new ice age, a small group of survivors exists on a huge bullet train, the Snowpiercer, that continuously circles the globe. Like the Silo, the train is divided into sections that represent strata of society: In the rear, packed in tightly and living in squalor, are the poor, and as you advance closer to the engine, everyone gets richer and more comfortable. And like Silo, a rebellion stirs up the dark secrets behind everything on the train, leading to one of the darkest revelations ever uncovered.
Snowpiercer matches Silo’s tone, look, and feel so closely you might wonder if the train exists in the same universe, if Juliette (Rebecca Ferguson) is going to pop out of a manhole at some point and stare incredulously at the train speeding by. And at the core of both the series and the movie is a firm belief that while human beings may accept levels of conformity and control in exchange for perceived security for a while, they will always ultimately demand their freedom—and the truth. Stream Snowpiercer on Kanopy
, Hoopla
, Tubi
, or Hulu
, or rent it on Prime Video
.
More movies to watch after Silo
Need more movies that will convince you the future might be worth saving, but won’t be any fun? You’re in luck: There are lots. Here are some of the best alternatives after you’ve watched Snowpiercer.
I Am Mother (2019)
Want more apocalypse mystery box? Watch I Am Mother. In a sleek, modern bunker, a young girl is raised from an embryo by a sentient robot called Mother. Named Daughter, the girl is drilled in lessons centered on morality and ethics in preparation for an upcoming exam and is forbidden to leave the bunker because of supposed “contamination” outside. When she hears a woman pleading for assistance through the airlock, Daughter lets the stranger in—setting in motion a chain of events that reveal the truth to her. Just like Silo, Daughter soon learns that her life isn’t what she thought it was, and that she has fewer choices than she’d hoped. Stream I Am Mother on Netflix
.
The Platform (2019)
If it’s the extended metaphor about existence and society that you love about Silo, this Spanish horror film is the perfect choice. A man named Goreng wakes up in cell 48 in a mysterious vertical prison. He soon learns that every day, a platform in the center of the cell descends from above, laden with enormous amounts of food. The platform stays for two minutes, and the occupants of each cell can eat as much as they can during that time but will be killed if they try to hoard any food. Each month, the prisoners are randomly reassigned to a new level—and the lower you are, the less likely there will be enough food left to survive on. It’s grim, but as Goreng tries to find ways to fight back, the secrets of another vertical sci-fi puzzle are slowly discovered. Stream The Platform on Netflix
.
High Rise (2016)
Silo explores, in part, the nature of civilization and the necessity of control—can people be trusted to govern themselves, or must they be lied to and manipulated to ensure survival? High Rise, based on the classic novel by J.G. Ballard, follows Dr. Robert Laing (Tom Hiddleston), who moves into a luxury London apartment building in 1975. The building is the epitome of modern convenience, and is stratified by class—the wealthy live on the upper floors, and the poorer tenants down below. Over the next few months, the mini society in the building breaks down as services stop, the power becomes unreliable, and violence breaks out, seemingly without any intervention from outside. It’s a paranoid story set in a shelter that’s actually a trap, a setup that will be familiar to Silo fans. Stream High Rise on Kanopy
, Hoopla
, or Tubi
, or rent it on Prime Video
.
Logan’s Run (1976)
Population is a big concern for Silo—controlling it, limiting it, planning for it. Logan’s Run (based on the novel by William F. Nolan and George Clayton Johnson) is the goofy 1970s sci-fi answer to that, set in a post-apocalyptic future where humanity lives in a sealed city run by a computer. Resource scarcity and overpopulation are solved by the ritualistic execution of every citizen at age 30. Citizens are told they will be reincarnated after this, and it’s enforced by “Sandmen” who hunt anyone who resists their fate. Sandman Logan 5 (Michael York) is ordered to find and destroy a secret place where “runners” are hiding, and finds himself designated for execution as a grim bit of motivation, and decides that he’ll take his chances as a Runner, seeking to find out what’s really outside the city’s dome. Stream Logan’s Run on Hoopla
, Plex
, or Tubi
, or rent it on Prime Video
.
Soylent Green (1973)
Even if you’ve never seen it, you probably already know what Soylent Green is made of. Another classic 1970s sci-fi movie concerned with overpopulation, Soylent Green (based on Harry Harrison’s 1966 novel) doesn’t have the dark, constricted setting of Silo, but it has all of its sense of building, violent pressure in a desperate population that’s being lied to. In the 21st century, overpopulation and climate collapse have left society barely functioning, with the elites living in fortified mansions sustained by slaves and the teeming millions surviving on ultraprocessed foods from the Soylent Corporation. Just like in Silo, it falls to a committed cop, NYPD Detective Robert Thorn (Charlton Heston being the most Charlton Heston he’d ever been), to investigate the horrifying truth. Rent Soylent Green on Prime Video
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