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Movies like The Hidden Staircase

The best movies like The Hidden Staircase are Hard Luck (1921), Voyage of Time: The IMAX Experience (2016) and The Experiment (2010). If The Hidden Staircase hooked you, these 20 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.

Quick picks

  1. Hard Luck (1921)

    A down on his luck young man makes several attempts at committing suicide but fails them too. He then finds himself becoming more confident through a series of petty adventures, to such an extent that this becomes his undoing.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers

    Popcorn FlickMovies like this
  2. Voyage of Time: The IMAX Experience (2016)

    A celebration of the universe, displaying the whole of time, from its start to its final collapse. This film examines all that occurred to prepare the world that stands before us now: science and spirit, birth and death, the grand cosmos and the minute life systems of our planet.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers

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  3. The Experiment (2010)

    20 men are chosen to participate in the roles of guards and prisoners in a psychological study that ultimately spirals out of control.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers

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  4. Very Nice, Very Nice (1961)

    Arthur Lipsett's first film is an avant-garde blend of photography and sound. It looks behind the business-as-usual face we put on life and shows anxieties we want to forget. It is made of dozens of pictures that seem familiar, with fragments of speech heard in passing and, between times, a voice saying, "Very nice, very nice." The film was nominated for an Oscar for Best Live Action Short Film.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers

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  5. Extremis (2016)

    A purely observational non-fiction film that takes viewers into the ethically murky world of end-of-life decision making in a public hospital.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers

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  6. As I Was Moving Ahead Occasionally I Saw Brief Glimpses of Beauty (2000)

    A compilation of over 30 years of private home movie footage shot by Lithuanian-American avant-garde director Jonas Mekas, assembled by Mekas "purely by chance", without concern for chronological order.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers

    Worth the HypeMovies like this
  7. Being James Bond (2021)

    Daniel Craig candidly reflects on his 15 year adventure as James Bond. Including never-before-seen archival footage from Casino Royale to the upcoming 25th film No Time To Die, Craig shares his personal memories in conversation with 007 producers, Michael G Wilson and Barbara Broccoli.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers

    Worth the HypeMovies like this
  8. The Cowboy and the Frenchman (1988)

    A grizzled, hard-of-hearing cowboy, Slim, and his two friends, Dusty and Pete, capture a mysterious, well-dressed Frenchman.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers

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  9. Embrace the Panda: Making Turning Red (2022)

    A feature length documentary about the all-women team at the helm of Pixar's original feature, Turning Red. With unprecedented behind-the-scenes access to Director Domee Shi and her core leadership crew, this story shines a light on the powerful professional and personal journeys that brought this incredibly comical, utterly relatable, and deeply heartfelt story to the screen.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers

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  10. Seduced and Abandoned (2013)

    SEDUCED AND ABANDONED combines acting legend Alec Baldwin with director James Toback as they lead us on a troublesome and often hilarious journey of raising financing for their next feature film. Moving from director to financier to star actor, the two players provide us with a unique look behind the curtain at the world's biggest and most glamourous film festival, shining a light on the bitter-sweet relationship filmmakers have with Cannes and the film business. Featuring insights from directors Martin Scorsese, 'Bernando Bertolucci' and Roman Polanski; actors Ryan Gosling and Jessica Chastain and a host of film distribution luminaries.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers

    Popcorn FlickMovies like this
  11. Bride of Re-Animator (1990)

    Unperturbed by the disastrous outcome of his previous meddling with the dead, Dr. West continues his research into the phenomenon of re-animation; only this time, he plans to create life – starting with the heart of his young protégé Dan's dearly deceased Meg Halsey.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers

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  12. Shanghaied (1915)

    A shipowner intends to scuttle his ship on its last voyage to get the insurance money. Charlie, a tramp in love with the owner's daughter, is grabbed by the captain and promises to help him shanghai some seamen. The daughter stows away to follow Charlie. Charlie assists in the galley and attempts to serve food during a gale.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers

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  13. Powder Keg (2001)

    The Driver is drafted by the UN to rescue a wounded war photographer named Harvey Jacobs from out of hostile territory. While they are leaving Jacobs tells the Driver about the horrors he saw as a photographer, but he regrets his inability to help war victims. Jacobs answers the driver curiosity about why he is a photographer by saying how his mother taught him to see. He gives the Driver the film needed for a New York Times story and also his dog tags to give to his mother. When they reach the border, they are confronted by a guard who begins to draw arms as Jacobs begins taking pictures, trying to get himself killed. The Driver drives through a hail of gunfire to the border, but finds Jacobs killed by a bullet through the seat. The Driver arrives in America to visit Jacobs' mother and share the news of him winning the Pulitzer prize and hand over the dog tags, only to discover that she is blind.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers

    Popcorn FlickMovies like this
  14. Avatar: Creating the World of Pandora (2010)

    The Making-of James Cameron's Avatar. It shows interesting parts of the work on the set.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers

    Popcorn FlickMovies like this
  15. The Curious Birth of Benjamin Button (2009)

    A documentary about the making of David Fincher's 2008 film THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON. Virtually every element in the evolution of the Fincher's film is documented here, from the project's attachment to numerous other directors during the 1990s, to its shoot in 2006 and 2007 in New Orleans, to its complex, CGI-intensive postproduction process.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers

    Worth the HypeMovies like this
  16. Aquaman: Heroines of Atlantis (2019)

    Amber Heard and Nicole Kidman discuss their characters Mera and Atlanna.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers

    Popcorn FlickMovies like this
  17. Interstellar: Nolan's Odyssey (2014)

    A look behind the lens of Christopher Nolan's space epic.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers

    Worth the HypeMovies like this
  18. My Beautiful Broken Brain (2014)

    A profoundly personal voyage into the complexity, fragility and wonder of the human brain, after Lotje Sodderland miraculously survives a hemorrhagic stroke and finds herself starting again in an alien world, bereft of language and logic. This feature documentary takes us on a genre-twisting tale that is by turns excruciating and exquisite - from the devastating consequences of a first-time neurological experiment, through to the extraordinary revelations of her altered sensory perception.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers

    Worth the HypeMovies like this
  19. Joker: Put on a Happy Face (2020)

    Featuring interviews with filmmakers and industry legends, discover the origins and evolution of The Joker, and learn why The Clown Prince of Crime is universally hailed as the greatest comic-book supervillain of all time.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers

    Absolute CinemaMovies like this
  20. Heart of a Dog (2015)

    Musician and performance artist Laurie Anderson reflects on the deaths of her husband Lou Reed, her mother and her beloved dog.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers

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Like The Hidden Staircase and something else?

Blend two favourites and we’ll find the films in between.

Frequently asked questions

What are the best movies like The Hidden Staircase?

The closest matches to The Hidden Staircase are Hard Luck (1921), Voyage of Time: The IMAX Experience (2016) and The Experiment (2010). Below are 17 more, each with the reason it matches.

What should I watch after The Hidden Staircase?

Start with Hard Luck (1921), the closest match to The Hidden Staircase.

What is the highest-rated movie like The Hidden Staircase?

The Experiment (2010), rated 6.4/10 by 1,384 TMDB users.

What is the newest movie like The Hidden Staircase?

Embrace the Panda: Making Turning Red (2022) is the most recent release on this list.

Are there English movies like The Hidden Staircase?

Yes: Hard Luck (1921), Voyage of Time: The IMAX Experience (2016) and The Experiment (2010).

How are movies similar to The Hidden Staircase chosen?

First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside The Hidden Staircase, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.

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