Movies like Distressing Images (2023)
The best movies like Distressing Images (2023) are Legacy (2020), Luce (2019) and 180 (2026). If Distressing Images hooked you, these 20 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedPalmer (2021)8.1/10 from 2,028 votes
- Newest180 (2026)Released 2026
Legacy (2020)
While on a hunting trip in the isolated wilderness, a father and his adopted teenage son are turned into the prey of unknown assailants. They are unexpectedly joined in their fight for survival by a stranger who reveals the disturbing truth about the son's biological father, an international crime lord, and why that crime lord has sent trained assassins to kill the teenager.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisLuce (2019)
A star athlete and top student, Luce's idealized image is challenged by one of his teachers when his unsettling views on political violence come to light, putting a strain on family bonds while igniting intense debates on race and identity.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like this180 (2026)
When an unexpected road rage incident puts his son in critical condition, an enraged father spirals down a dark path of emotional turmoil and vengeance.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
SnoozefestMovies like thisZ (2019)
A family find themselves terrorized by their eight-year-old son's imaginary friend.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
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
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Art of Self-Defense (2019)
Casey is attacked at random on the street and enlists in a local dojo led by a charismatic and mysterious Sensei in an effort to learn how to defend himself. What he uncovers is a sinister world of fraternity, violence and hypermasculinity and a woman fighting for her place in it.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisArt of Eight Limbs (2024)
Four canisters of deadly VX nerve gas have fallen into the hands of an international arms dealer in Myanmar. A CIA recruit delivers a high-tech detection device to an agent already on the ground.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisM.O.M. Mothers of Monsters (2020)
A distraught mother suspects her teenage son is a psychopath who may shoot up his high school, but when he outsmarts the mental healthcare system she is forced to take matters into her own hands.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDrop (2025)
Violet, a widowed mother on her first date in years, arrives at an upscale restaurant where she is relieved that her date, Henry, is more charming and handsome than she expected. But their chemistry begins to curdle as Violet begins being irritated and then terrorized by a series of anonymous drops to her phone.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMa (2019)
Sue Ann is a loner who keeps to herself in her quiet Ohio town. One day, she is asked by Maggie, a new teenager in town, to buy some booze for her and her friends, and Sue Ann sees the chance to make some unsuspecting, if younger, friends of her own.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
SnoozefestMovies like thisThe Unsaid (2001)
A doctor dealing with the aftermath of his son's death tries to help a troubled young man.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisPalmer (2021)
After 12 years in prison, former high school football star Eddie Palmer returns home to put his life back together—and forms an unlikely bond with Sam, an outcast boy from a troubled home. But Eddie's past threatens to ruin his new life and family.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisFright Night (1985)
Charley Brewster, a high school student, accidentally discovers the true and creepy nature of Jerry Dandrige, his dashing and enigmatic new neighbor; but no one seems willing to believe him.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Mean Season (1985)
A routine investigation of a shocking murder takes a bizarre twist when the killer contacts the reporter and appoints him his personal spokesman. As the killer's calls and clues increase, the reporter is lured into a deadly trap.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Clovehitch Killer (2018)
A picture-perfect family is torn apart after Tyler finds a cache of disturbing images in his father's possession. He begins to suspect that the man he trusts most in the world may be responsible for the murder of 13 women ten years prior.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe People Under the Stairs (1991)
Trapped inside a fortified home owned by a mysterious couple, a young boy quickly learns the true nature of the homicidal inhabitants, and secret creatures hidden deep within the walls.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSerial Mom (1994)
Beverly is the perfect happy homemaker, along with her doting husband and two children, but this nuclear family just might explode when her fascination with serial killers collides with her ever-so-proper code of ethics.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSleepwalkers (1992)
Charles Brady and his mother, Mary, are the last of a dying breed whose needs are not of this world. They are Sleepwalkers - able to stay alive only by feeding on the life-force of the innocent, but destined to roam the earth, avoiding discovery while searching for their next victim. That search takes them to the sleepy little town of Travis, Indiana, where beautiful teenager Tanya Robertson is about to become an unwilling pawn in their nightmarish fight for survival.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisRed (2008)
Avery, a reclusive older man, has a best friend in his dog, Red. When three teens kill Red without reason, Avery sets out for justice and redemption, attempting to follow the letter of the law. But when the law fails him, and the boys' father clearly defines right and wrong in his own way, Avery must avenge himself by any means possible.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisWhy Did You Kill Me? (2021)
The line between justice and revenge blurs when a devastated family uses social media to track down the people who killed 24-year-old Crystal Theobald.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
SnoozefestMovies like this
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Distressing Images?
The closest matches to Distressing Images are Legacy (2020), Luce (2019) and 180 (2026). Below are 17 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Distressing Images?
Start with Legacy (2020), the closest match to Distressing Images.
What is the highest-rated movie like Distressing Images?
Palmer (2021), rated 8.1/10 by 2,028 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Distressing Images?
180 (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like Distressing Images?
Yes: Legacy (2020), Luce (2019) and 180 (2026).
How are movies similar to Distressing Images chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Distressing Images, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.