Movies like Down by the Water (2023)
The best movies like Down by the Water (2023) are Palm Trees and Power Lines (2023), Yes, God, Yes (2020) and Pariah (2011). If Down by the Water hooked you, these 20 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedChemical Hearts (2020)7.3/10 from 1,177 votes
- NewestLeviticus (2026)Released 2026
Palm Trees and Power Lines (2023)
Seventeen-year-old Lea spends her summer break tanning in her backyard, and drifting between tiptoeing around her needy mother, and aimlessly trailing her best friend and boys from school. This monotony is interrupted by a chance encounter with Tom, a seductive man twice her age who promises an alternative to Lea's unsatisfying adolescent life.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisYes, God, Yes (2020)
Alice, a young innocent Catholic girl, is tempted into masturbating after an AOL chat suddenly turns sexual, however is conflicted as the act would be considered a sin.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisPariah (2011)
A Brooklyn teenager juggles conflicting identities and risks friendship, heartbreak, and family in a desperate search for sexual expression.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThirteen (2003)
When 13-year-old Tracy befriends Evie, the most popular girl in school, her life is turned upside down as Evie introduces her to a world of sex, drugs, and money. But it isn’t long before Tracy’s new lifestyle begins to take a heavy toll on her and her family.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisReal Women Have Curves (2002)
In East Los Angeles, an 18-year-old struggles between her ambitions of going to college and the desires of her domineering mother for her to get married, have children, and oversee the small, rundown family-owned textile factory.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSmooth Talk (1985)
Connie, the fifteen-year-old black sheep of her family, finds her summertime idyll of beach trips, mall hangouts, and innocent flirtations shattered by an encounter with a mysterious stranger.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisFitting In (2024)
A teenage girl gets diagnosed with a reproductive condition that upends her plans to have sex and propels her into exploring unusual methods to have a sex life, challenging her relationships with everyone in her life, but most importantly, herself.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisLeviticus (2026)
Two teenage boys must escape a violent entity that takes the form of the person they desire most: each other.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisOh, Ramona! (2019)
Oh, Ramona! seeks the transformation of Andrew from a teenager into an adult who lives candidly and selflessly his first love story, innocent and uninvolved, alternating with the second, intense and insane story, incapable of making a choice.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
SnoozefestMovies like thisGnome Alone (2017)
When Chloe discovers that her new home's garden gnomes are not what they seem, she must decide between the pursuit of a desired high school life and taking up the fight against the Troggs.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisElectrick Children (2012)
Rachel is a rambunctious girl from a polygamist colony in southern Utah. On Rachel’s 15th birthday, she finds a forbidden cassette tape. Having never seen anything like it before, Rachel plays the cassette tape, and finds glorious rock & roll thereupon. Weeks later, Rachel realizes a miracle has occurred - and the cassette tape must have something to do with it. She leaves her family and runs away to the closest city: Las Vegas. There she searches for the singer of the band on the cassette tape.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSummer '03 (2018)
16-year-old Jamie Winkle and her extended family are left reeling after her calculating grandmother unveils an array of secrets on her deathbed. As her family deals with her grandmother's surprising dying messages, Jamie sets out to make the most of her summer and explores her sexuality.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
SnoozefestMovies 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
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisGeography Club (2013)
A coming-of-age movie that tells a story unfolding in every high school around the country -- a story of kids hiding their true identities in plain sight, even as they feverishly pursue their hearts' desires.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisTeen Witch (1989)
Louise is not very popular at her highschool. Then she learns that she's descended from the witches of Salem and has inherited their powers. At first she uses them to get back at the girls and teachers who teased her and to win the heart of the handsome footballer's captain. But soon she has doubts if it's right to 'cheat' her way to popularity.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisChemical Hearts (2020)
When a hopelessly romantic high school senior falls for a mysterious new classmate, it sets them both on an unexpected journey that teaches them about love, loss, and most importantly themselves.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisAlex Strangelove (2018)
Alex Truelove is on a quest to lose his virginity, an event eagerly awaited by his patient girlfriend and cheered on with welcome advice by his rowdy friends. But Alex, a super gregarious dude, is oddly unmotivated. A magical house party throws Alex into the presence of Elliot, a hunky college guy, who pegs Alex as gay and flirts hard. Alex is taken aback but after a series of setbacks on the girlfriend front he takes the plunge and learns some interesting new facts about himself.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHow to Have Sex (2023)
Three British teenage girls go on a rites-of-passage holiday—drinking, clubbing and hooking up, in what should be the best summer of their lives.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisLOL (2012)
In a world connected by YouTube, iTunes, and Facebook, Lola and her friends navigate the peer pressures of high school romance and friendship while dodging their sometimes overbearing and confused parents. When Lola's mom, Anne, "accidentally" reads her teenage daughter's racy journal, she realizes just how wide their communication gap has grown.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisTall Girl (2019)
Jodi, the tallest girl in her high school, has always felt uncomfortable in her own skin. But after years of slouching, being made fun of, and avoiding attention at all costs, Jodi finally decides to find the confidence to stand tall.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Down by the Water?
The closest matches to Down by the Water are Palm Trees and Power Lines (2023), Yes, God, Yes (2020) and Pariah (2011). Below are 17 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Down by the Water?
Start with Palm Trees and Power Lines (2023), the closest match to Down by the Water.
What is the highest-rated movie like Down by the Water?
Chemical Hearts (2020), rated 7.3/10 by 1,177 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Down by the Water?
Leviticus (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like Down by the Water?
Yes: Palm Trees and Power Lines (2023), Yes, God, Yes (2020) and Pariah (2011).
How are movies similar to Down by the Water chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Down by the Water, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.