Movies like Instinct
The best movies like Instinct are Pink Narcissus (1971), Blue (1993) and Waking Life (2001). If Instinct hooked you with its drama, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedWaking Life (2001)7.5/10 from 996 votes
- NewestNo Signal (2025)Released 2025
Pink Narcissus (1971)
An outrageous erotic poem focusing on the daydreams of a beautiful boy prostitute who, from the seclusion of his ultra-kitsch apartment, conceives a series of interlinked narcissistic fantasies populated by matadors, dancing boys, slaves, and leather-clad bikers.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBlue (1993)
Against a plain, unchanging blue screen, a densely interwoven soundtrack of voices, sound effects and music attempt to convey a portrait of Derek Jarman's experiences with AIDS, both literally and allegorically, together with an exploration of the meanings associated with the colour blue.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisWaking Life (2001)
Waking Life is about a young man in a persistent lucid dream-like state. The film follows its protagonist as he initially observes and later participates in philosophical discussions that weave together issues like reality, free will, our relationships with others, and the meaning of life.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies 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 thisThe Zero Theorem (2013)
A computer hacker's goal to discover the reason for human existence continually finds his work interrupted thanks to the Management; this time, they send a teenager and lusty love interest to distract him.
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 thisI Believe in Unicorns (2015)
Feeling awkward and isolated, an imaginative and strong-willed teenage girl runs away from home with an older punk rock drifter.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisNothing Personal (2009)
Alone in her empty flat, from her window Anne observes the people passing by who nervously snatch up the personal belongings and pieces of furniture she has put out on the pavement. Her final gesture of taking a ring off her finger signals she is leaving her previous life in Holland behind. She goes to Ireland, where she chooses to lead a solitary, wandering existence, striding through the austere landscapes of Connemara. During her travels, she discovers a house that is home to a hermit, Martin.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSky (2016)
A woman embarks on a journey alone across the United States after fleeing from her violent husband.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBastard Out of Carolina (1996)
A poor, struggling South Carolinian mother and daughter face painful choices with their resolve and pride. Bone, the eldest daughter, and Anney her tired mother, grow both closer and farther apart: Anney sees Glen as her last chance.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisCall Me Crazy: A Five Film (2013)
A psychotherapist helps a law student cope with schizophrenia in one of five interconnected tales dealing with mental illness.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Giver (2014)
In a seemingly perfect community, without war, pain, suffering, differences or choice, a young boy is chosen to learn from an elderly man about the true pain and pleasure of the "real" world.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisXOXO (2016)
XOXO follows six strangers whose lives collide in one frenetic, dream-chasing, hopelessly romantic night.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisThe Rain People (1969)
When a housewife finds out she is pregnant, she runs out of town looking for freedom to reevaluate her life decisions.
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 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 thisThe Trials of Cate McCall (2013)
In order to be reinstated to the bar and recover custody of her daughter, a hotshot lawyer, now in recovery and on probation, must take on the appeal of a woman wrongfully convicted of murder.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-in-the-Moon Marigolds (1972)
Middle-aged widow Beatrice Hunsdorfer and her daughters Ruth and Matilda are struggling to survive in a society they barely understand. Beatrice dreams of opening an elegant tea room but does not have the wherewithal to achieve her lofty goal. Epileptic Ruth is a rebellious adolescent, while shy but highly intelligent and idealistic Matilda seeks solace in her pets and school projects, including one designed to show how small amounts of radium affect marigolds.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Young One (1960)
A jazz musician seeks refuge from a lynch mob on a remote island, where he meets a hostile game warden and the young object of his attentions.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Girl in the Book (2015)
The story of a young writer's transformation when her past invades her present.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisA Wicked Tale (2005)
A Wicked Tale is a thriller based on the story of the Little Red Riding Hood, a tale about manipulation, seduction and innocence lost.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
2bhk (2024)
2 flatmates unfold the layers of their relationship on a random Sunday afternoon after they encounter a power cut.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Hasta encontrarte (2013)
Javier chats online with a girl called sofi_dark, a mysterious girl who indulges in a subtle game of perversions. As the relationship grown, he wants to meet her in person. He begins to desperately look for her through the city, until a series of photographs that he discovers on the Internet disrupts his plans.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
No Signal (2025)
All she knows comes from the screens. All she has known is the screens. A screen breaks and everything changes.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Takva: A Man's Fear of God (2006)
Humble and introvert Muharrem lives in a solitary and meager existence of a prayer and sexual abstinence adhering strictly to the most severe Islamic doctrines.His extraordinary devotion attracts the attention of the leader of a rich and powerful Istanbul religious group and he offers him an administrative post as a rent collector for their numerous properties. Muharrem's new job throws him into the modern outside world he has successfully avoided for so long. He soon witnesses conflict attitude toward alcohol consumption and goodwill.He notices that he himself has become proud, domineering and even dishonest.To make matters worse, Muharrem's inner peace is unnerved by the tormenting image of seductive woman who tempts him in his dreams,both night and day.With the balance of his devotion now upset,his fear of God begins to eat away at his senses.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Astronaut Farmer (2007)
Texan Charles Farmer left the Air Force as a young man to save the family ranch when his dad died. Like most American ranchers, he owes his bank. Unlike most, he's an astrophysicist with a rocket in his barn - one he's built and wants to take into space. It's his dream. The FBI puts him under surveillance when he tries to buy rocket fuel, and the FAA stalls him when he files a flight plan – but Charles is undeterred.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisa-B-C-D-e-F-G-H-i-JONESTOWN (2023)
A children's film about the largest mass suicide of the 20th century reconstructs the 1978 event. The Reverend Jim Jones forced nearly a thousand followers of his People's Temple sect to drink poison in the settlement of Jonestown, Guyana, South America. A third of them were children. Jan Bušta gives sadists, voyeurs, and necrophiliacs one minute to leave the cinema. His self-reflective documentary, which is the result of ten years of time-lapse filming, does not depict dramatic scenes. To the sound of an audio recording from that fateful day, we see a collage of child ghosts preaching about escaping the corruption of the world.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Clench (TBA)
Lav is an underground private investigator with the psychic prowess allowing her to read the minds of the living and the recently dead. After a series of seemingly random murders Lav stumbles into a mystery involving a far more omniscient and maleficent force. A force she tries to stop while also battling her own crumbling mental health.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
We Go Past Future (2024)
"We Go Past Future" is an experimental paper collage film by Anna Malina. The film reimagines a series of Soviet films from 1919 to 1953, blending them into a unique visual narrative.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Nocturnal Animals (2025)
A college student calls his groupmate to talk about their group project. A storm is raging outside — and inside.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Like Instinct and something else?
Blend two favourites and we’ll find the films in between.
Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Instinct?
The closest matches to Instinct are Pink Narcissus (1971), Blue (1993) and Waking Life (2001). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Instinct?
Start with Pink Narcissus (1971), the closest match to Instinct.
What is the highest-rated movie like Instinct?
Waking Life (2001), rated 7.5/10 by 996 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Instinct?
No Signal (2025) is the most recent release on this list.
How are movies similar to Instinct chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Instinct, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.