Movies like I Am Kathalan (2024)
The best movies like I Am Kathalan (2024) are Trance (2020), Each Dawn I Die (1939) and The Quiller Memorandum (1966). If I Am Kathalan hooked you with its thriller and drama, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedThe Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2009)7.5/10 from 3,379 votes
- NewestBallistic (2026)Released 2026
- In MalayalamTrance (2020)Also in Malayalam
Trance (2020)
A disheartened motivational speaker gets hired by a corporate to become a preacher until his live stint on television puts him and his service under the scanner.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisEach Dawn I Die (1939)
A corrupt D.A. with governatorial ambitions is annoyed by an investigative reporter's criticism of his criminal activities and decides to frame the reporter for manslaughter in order to silence him.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Quiller Memorandum (1966)
After two British Secret Intelligence Service agents are murdered at the hands of a cryptic neo-Nazi group known as Phoenix, the suave agent Quiller is sent to Berlin to investigate.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller & drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisManjummel Boys (2024)
A carefree vacation turns into a desperate race against time when a group of lifelong friends must unite to save one of their own from a notoriously perilous, uncharted abyss deep within the Guna Caves.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller & drama
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisWoman of Straw (1964)
Anthony Richmond schemes to get the fortune of his tyrannical, wheelchair-using tycoon uncle Charles Richmond by persuading Maria, a nurse he employs, to marry him.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBallistic (2026)
When a soldier's mother discovers the bullet that killed her son in Afghanistan was made at the factory where she works, she sets out on a path of revenge against those responsible.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller & drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisThe Words (2012)
The Words follows young writer Rory Jansen who finally achieves long sought after literary success after publishing the next great American novel. There's only one catch - he didn't write it. As the past comes back to haunt him and his literary star continues to rise, Jansen is forced to confront the steep price that must be paid for stealing another man's work, and for placing ambition and success above life's most fundamental three words.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisIratta (2023)
After a cop is found dead, a policeman's investigation sparks a chilling search for the truth connected to his estranged twin and their fraught past.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & thriller
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Locket (1946)
A dark personal secret drives a young woman to use every man she encounters.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisTime Without Pity (1957)
Alec Graham is sentenced to death for the murder of his girlfriend Jennie, with whom he spent a weekend at the English country home of the parents of his friend Brian Stanford. Alec’s father, David Graham, a not-so-successful writer and alcoholic who has neglected his son in the past, flies in from Canada to visit his son on death row. David then goes on a quest to try and clear his son’s name while battling “the bottle.”
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisEleanor the Great (2025)
94-year-old Eleanor Morgenstein tries to rebuild her life after the death of her best friend. As a result, she moves back to New York City after living in Florida for decades.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSkater Girl (2021)
Prerna, a teenager growing up in rural India, comes of age when she’s introduced to the sport of skateboarding. As a result, she has to fight the odds to follow her dreams and compete in the national championship.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisNo Name on the Bullet (1959)
When hired killer John Gant rides into Lordsburg, the town's folk become paranoid as each leading citizen has enemies capable of using the services of a professional killer for personal revenge.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisFlicka (2006)
Katy McLaughlin desires to work on her family's mountainside horse ranch, although her father insists she finish boarding school. Katy finds a mustang in the hills near her ranch. The headstrong 16 year old then sets her mind to tame a mustang and prove to her father she can run the ranch. But when tragedy happens, it will take all the love and strength the family can muster to restore hope.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBlack Widow (1987)
Federal agent Alexandra Barnes believes that Catherine Petersen is a serial killer who marries rich men and then murders them for their money. But since Catherine is seemingly a master of disguise and has multiple identities, Alexandra can't prove anything with conventional detective work. With no other option, she goes undercover, pursuing the same man as Catherine, and hoping that Catherine will slip up and reveal her true identity.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHurry Sundown (1967)
A ruthless Southern opportunist tries to buy his cousin's land, and when thwarted, brings several tragedies to the lives of his loved ones.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisWWE Fastlane 2021 (2021)
The final stop on the Road to WrestleMania 37 shifts into high gear as Nia Jax & Shayna Baszler take on Bianca Belair & SmackDown Women's Champion Sasha Banks for the Women's Tag Team Championships, Braun Strowman gets his chance at revenge against Shane McMahon, Big E defends his Intercontinental Championship against Apollo Crews, and "The Head of the Table" Roman Reigns faces off with Daniel Bryan for the Universal Championship.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisWhere the Red Fern Grows (1974)
Billy Coleman works hard and saves his earnings for two years to achieve his dream of buying two red-bone coonhound pups. He develops a new trust in life as he faces overwhelming challenges in adventure and tragedy roaming the river bottoms of Cherokee country with his dogs, Old Dan and Little Ann.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisLady Driver (2020)
When a rebellious teen embarks on a solo summer journey to connect with her roots, she finds herself in a new world, geared up for the ride of her life, and discovers she had the drive in her all along.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAll That Money Can Buy (1941)
Farmer Jabez Stone, about to lose his land, agrees to sell his soul to the devil, known as Mr. Scratch, who gives Jabez seven years to enjoy the fruits of his sale before he collects. Over that time, Jabez pays off his debts and helps many neighboring farmers, then becomes an advocate for the upstanding Sen. Daniel Webster. When Jabez's contract with Mr. Scratch concludes, he desperately turns to Webster to represent him in a trial for his soul.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisHackers (1995)
Along with his new friends, a teenager who was arrested by the US Secret Service and banned from using a computer for writing a computer virus discovers a plot by a nefarious hacker, but they must use their computer skills to find the evidence while being pursued by the Secret Service and the evil computer genius behind the virus.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisWarGames (1983)
High school student David Lightman has a talent for hacking. But while trying to hack into a computer system to play unreleased video games, he unwittingly taps into the Department of Defense's war computer and initiates a confrontation of global proportions. Together with his friend and a wizardly computer genius, David must race against time to outwit his opponent and prevent a nuclear Armageddon.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & thriller
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2009)
Swedish thriller based on Stieg Larsson's novel about a male journalist and a young female hacker. In the opening of the movie, Mikael Blomkvist, a middle-aged publisher for the magazine Millennium, loses a libel case brought by corrupt Swedish industrialist Hans-Erik Wennerström. Nevertheless, he is hired by Henrik Vanger in order to solve a cold case, the disappearance of Vanger's niece
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & thriller
Worth the HypeMovies like thisNirvana (1997)
Jimi, a computer game designer, finds that his latest product has been infected by a virus which has given consciousness to the main character of the game, Solo. Tormented by the memory of his fled girlfriend Lisa and begged by Solo to end its useless "life", Jimi begins a search for people who can help him both to discover what happened to Lisa and to delete his game before it is released.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisFisher (2021)
A naive teenage girl who catfishes people online for gifts attracts the attention of the wrong person, setting off a chain of events that puts her and her friends in danger.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller & drama
Solid Rock Trust (2022)
Armed with only a collection of cell phones and a unique talent, a hacker orchestrates an elaborate bank heist from an abandoned building. But when things spin out of control, she has her wits to hold it all together.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller & drama
Pi (1998)
A mathematical genius discovers a link between numbers and reality, and thus believes he can predict the future.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & thriller
Worth the HypeMovies like thisRatter (2015)
Emma is a young and beautiful graduate student just starting a new life in New York City. Like most people her age, she is always connected - her phone and laptop are constant companions, documenting her most intimate moments. What she doesn't realize is that she's sharing her life with an uninvited and dangerous guest. A hacker is following Emma’s every move. When the voyeuristic thrill of watching her digitally isn't enough, the situation escalates to a dangerous and terrifying level.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & thriller
SnoozefestMovies like thisHacker's Game (2015)
A love story between two hackers, Soyan and Loise. Like many other hackers, Soyan works for a company he previously hacked.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller & drama
eXistenZ (1999)
A game designer on the run from assassins must play her latest virtual reality creation with a marketing trainee to determine if the game has been damaged.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like this
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like I Am Kathalan?
The closest matches to I Am Kathalan are Trance (2020), Each Dawn I Die (1939) and The Quiller Memorandum (1966). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after I Am Kathalan?
Start with Trance (2020), the closest match to I Am Kathalan.
What is the highest-rated movie like I Am Kathalan?
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2009), rated 7.5/10 by 3,379 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like I Am Kathalan?
Ballistic (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there Malayalam movies like I Am Kathalan?
Yes: Trance (2020), Manjummel Boys (2024) and Iratta (2023).
How are movies similar to I Am Kathalan chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside I Am Kathalan, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.