arloGet the appMovies like City of Ember
2008 · Movie · PG · your starting pointIf City of Ember is the itch, these scratch it — some louder, some quieter. Free ones first.
Movies like City of Ember, ranked
2. Mortal Engines (2018)
The intricate steampunk machinery and crumbling infrastructure that drive both narratives create environments where resourcefulness and discovery become as vital as the adventure itself.
3. The Electric State (2025)
A resourceful teen navigates crumbling infrastructure and deciphered blueprints to uncover the truth about her world's past, combining post-apocalyptic mystery with the same sense of discovery through forgotten technology.
4. The City and the City (2018)
The layered mystery unfolds through protagonists decoding the rules and hidden geography of their enclosed world, revealing uncomfortable truths about how their society was constructed to keep them separated from reality.
5. The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones (2013)
Clary's discovery of a hidden supernatural world beneath New York mirrors the teenage protagonists' race to uncover their city's secrets, with both films using elaborate urban environments as central mysteries to decode.
6. City on Fire (1987)
The ticking-clock desperation that drives both narratives—where protagonists must navigate a corrupt system while racing against inevitable collapse—creates the same breathless tension as the generator's final countdown.
7. Underground (2010)
The claustrophobic underground setting and decaying infrastructure create the same sense of escalating danger as failing systems force characters to confront what lies beneath their sealed world.
Tell me what kind of night it is — I'll pick the one for you.