Movies like Sam's Town (2024)
The best movies like Sam's Town (2024) are I'm Not Ashamed (2016), The Experiment (2010) and Embattled (2020). If Sam's Town hooked you with its drama, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedRequiem for a Dream (2000)8.0/10 from 11,478 votes
- NewestOne Last Shot (2026)Released 2026
I'm Not Ashamed (2016)
Based on the journal entries of Rachel Joy Scott, the first student killed in the Columbine High School shooting in 1999.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe 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 · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisEmbattled (2020)
The eldest son of a ruthlessly tough MMA champion must fight his way out of the abusive cycle his father has continued.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisI Never Promised You a Rose Garden (1977)
A disturbed and institutionalized 16-year-old girl struggles between fantasy and reality.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisMagazine Dreams (2025)
Aspiring bodybuilder Killian Maddox struggles to find human connection in an exploration of celebrity and violence. Nothing deters him from his fiercely protected dream of superstardom, not even the doctors who warn him of the permanent damage he causes to himself with his quest.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisMaps to the Stars (2014)
Driven by an intense need for fame and validation, members of a dysfunctional Hollywood family chase celebrity, one another, and the relentless ghosts of their pasts. Their fragile ecosystem is disrupted by the arrival of Agatha, the scarred and estranged pyromaniac daughter.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHelen (2009)
On the outside, Helen has it all – a loving family and a successful career – but when her suppressed mental illness resurfaces, the world crumbles around her. Crippled by depression, Helen finds solace through her friendship with Mathilda, a kindred spirit struggling with bipolar disorder.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMammal (2016)
After Margaret, a divorcée living in Dublin, loses her teenage son, she develops an unorthodox relationship with Joe, a homeless youth. Their tentative trust is threatened by his involvement with a violent gang and the escalation of her ex-husband's grieving rage.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBrave the Dark (2025)
When Mr. Deen discovers one of his students has been living out of his car and thrown into jail, he decides to bail him out. Determined to curb Nate’s self-destructive behavior, Deen quickly discovers a host of dark secrets slowly tearing Nate apart. What began as a good deed becomes a desperate fight to save Nate from his own demons. As Nate spirals deeper into despair, Deen must decide how far he’s willing to go to save a kid on the brink of losing everything—even himself.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAlex of Venice (2015)
After her stay-at-home husband leaves her, a workaholic lawyer finds that she is not completely up to the tasks of caring for her young son, ailing father and household all by herself.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisBlackbird (2019)
A terminally ill mother invites her family to their country house for one final gathering, but tensions quickly boil over between her two daughters.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHardball (2001)
An aimless young man who is scalping tickets, gambling and drinking, agrees to coach a Little League team from the Cabrini Green housing project in Chicago as a condition of getting a loan from a friend.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHounddog (2008)
A drama set in the American South, where a precocious, troubled girl finds a safe haven in the music and movement of Elvis Presley.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisEl Chicano (2019)
A pair of twin brothers from East L.A. choose to live their lives differently and end up on opposite sides of the law.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisIf I Had Legs I'd Kick You (2025)
With her life crashing down around her, Linda attempts to navigate her child's mysterious illness, her absent husband, a missing person, and an increasingly hostile relationship with her therapist.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCowboys (2020)
Troy and his young transgender son Joe are on the run from his conservative mother in the Montana wilderness, with a detective in hot pursuit.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAll Day and a Night (2020)
While serving life in prison, a young man looks back at the people, the circumstances and the system that set him on the path toward his crime.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisStrange Weather (2016)
Years after her son's suicide, a woman longs to confront both the past and a friend of his who took his business idea.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisRequiem for a Dream (2000)
The drug-induced utopias of four Coney Island residents are shattered when their addictions run deep.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisUnconditional (2012)
Samantha Crawford is living a storybook life: she’s happily married, she lives on a ranch where she keeps her beloved horse, and the stories she’s told and illustrated since childhood have become published books. When her husband Billy is killed in a senseless act of violence, Sam loses her faith and her will to live. But a death-defying encounter with two children leads to a reunion with Joe, her oldest friend. As Sam watches “Papa” Joe care for and love the kids in his under-resourced neighborhood, she begins to realize that no matter life’s circumstances, the love of God is always reaching out to us.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisTere Bin : Brain Overpowering Heart (TBA)
In a near-future world where emotions can be scientifically altered, a young man is confronted with a revolutionary neural technology designed to suppress emotional pain. As love, memory, and logic collide, he must decide whether a life free from heartbreak is worth the cost of losing genuine human emotion.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
One Last Shot (2026)
June and her friends give everything they've got to complete a movie for her college application project.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Atlantis, 2003 (2018)
2003. Martin and Denisija, a young couple from Ukraine, are trying to get to Germany.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Nobody Knows (2004)
In a small Tokyo apartment, twelve-year-old Akira must care for his younger siblings after their mother leaves them and shows no sign of returning.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisDéprivation (2024)
Matheo is a 17 years old students. Despite being a good one he is lonely and has no friends. His family is precarious. Born from an alcoholic father and a housewife mother Mathéo did not have the best childhood… It’s during his puberty than he discovers not only himself but his sexuality however he will soon assimilate the taste of sex to taking part of other people’s suffering. He will start by first torturing animals in vicious ways but he will soon change up his mind to tackle bigger species. Men and women that will cross his path.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
The Grass Snake (2009)
The film tells the story of two blind men who stand on the side of a road between oil wells and beg, and the conflict between them. The young blind man, who was born blind, sees the old blind man, who later lost his sight, as his rival. Each blind man represents a large crowd in himself.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Steakhouse (2021)
The steak has been marinating for a few days now. The pan is heated. Franc's stomach is rumbling. But Liza's co-workers surprise her with a birthday party. Will she be home on time?
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
A Short Film About Killing (1988)
Jacek climbs into the taxi driven by Waldemar, tells him to drive to a remote location, then brutally strangles him, seemingly without motive.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisTales of the Bizarre: 2022 Fall Special (2022)
As part of the long-running anthology series, which began in 1990, this special features a collection of mysterious and thought-provoking stories. Episode Summaries: 1. "Love Triangle with My Ex" Mika's ex-boyfriend reappears in her life as a robot, complicating her current relationship. 2. "The Concierge" A single mother moves into a new apartment where a mysterious concierge begins to fulfill her every wish with unsettling consequences. 3. "Waga-sama" A workaholic CEO returns to his hometown and encounters a strange boy tied to his childhood and eerie events. 4. "Wait a Minute!" A man’s love confession is interrupted by two versions of his crush from the future, causing chaos.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
You Return to Me in My Dreams (TBA)
After a breakup marked by violence, Flor tries to rebuild her life as her abuser returns in her dreams in the loving form she needs in order to survive.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Sam's Town?
The closest matches to Sam's Town are I'm Not Ashamed (2016), The Experiment (2010) and Embattled (2020). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Sam's Town?
Start with I'm Not Ashamed (2016), the closest match to Sam's Town.
What is the highest-rated movie like Sam's Town?
Requiem for a Dream (2000), rated 8.0/10 by 11,478 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Sam's Town?
One Last Shot (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like Sam's Town?
Yes: I'm Not Ashamed (2016), The Experiment (2010) and Embattled (2020).
How are movies similar to Sam's Town chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Sam's Town, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.