Movies like Heat Wave (2023)
The best movies like Heat Wave (2023) are Celia (1989), No Such Thing (2002) and Medusa (2020). If Heat Wave hooked you with its drama and fantasy, these 20 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedWhile the Wolf's Away (2017)8.0/10 from 202 votes
- NewestDon't Leave the Kids Alone (2026)Released 2026
- In SpanishDon't Leave the Kids Alone (2026)Also in Spanish
Celia (1989)
In 1950s Australia, young Celia is growing up with a sense of isolation and mistrust of the world that surrounds her. Her mother and father won't let her play with the kids next door because their parents are communists. Then her pet bunny is taken away because of rabbit overpopulation. And, more traumatizing yet, when her grandmother dies, she's the one to discover the corpse. To cope, she retreats into elaborate fantasies.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & fantasy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisNo Such Thing (2002)
A young journalist journeys to Iceland to find her missing fiancé only to encounter a mythical creature who longs to die.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both fantasy & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMedusa (2020)
After being bitten by a lethal snake, a young woman experiences changes in her senses and appearance, as she sheds her old self and slowly turns into a deadly weapon.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Surrender (2025)
A fraught mother-daughter relationship is put to a terrifying test when the family patriarch dies, and the grieving mother hires a mysterious stranger to bring her husband back from the dead.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & horror
SnoozefestMovies like thisDon't Leave the Kids Alone (2026)
A mother moves into a new house with her two children. One night she must leave the siblings home alone. What begins as a blast of carefree play soon turns into a claustrophobic horror story.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisRisa and the Wind Phone (2026)
Risa, after her father's death, discovers she has the ability to communicate with him from beyond the grave. As she explores this supernatural connection, she faces emotional challenges and family secrets that will test her faith in what she thought was possible.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & fantasy
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisThe Sleeping Woman (2024)
Ana, a nursing assistant, begins to feel attracted to Agustín, the husband of the woman in a vegetative state that she has been hired to take care of. Soon she begins to be harassed by strange paranormal phenomena that seem to try to throw her out of the house and separate her from Agustín.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror & fantasy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Unhealer (2021)
A botched faith healing bestows supernatural Shaman powers on a bullied teenager. When his lifelong tormentors pull a prank that kills someone he loves, he uses his powers for revenge and goes on a bloody rampage to settle the score.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both fantasy & horror
SnoozefestMovies like thisHorns (2013)
In the aftermath of his girlfriend's mysterious death, a young man awakens to strange horns sprouting from his temples.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & fantasy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDon't Listen (2020)
After a tragic turn of events at the new home he's fixing up, Daniel hears a ghostly plea for help, spurring him to seek out a famous paranormal expert.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisWerewolf: The Beast Among Us (2012)
Set in a 19th century village, a young man studying under a local doctor joins a team of hunters on the trail of a wolf-like creature.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & horror
SnoozefestMovies like thisHuesera: The Bone Woman (2023)
Valeria's joy at becoming a first-time mother is quickly taken away when she's cursed by a sinister entity. As danger closes in, she's forced deeper into a chilling world of dark magic that threatens to consume her.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror & drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisRaging Grace (2023)
An undocumented Filipina immigrant lands a job as a careworker for a seemingly terminal old man, securing a better life for her and her daughter. But a dark discovery threatens to destroy everything she’s strived for and holds dear.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like this13 Exorcisms (2022)
After participating in a séance, young Laura begins to behave strangely. Alarmed, her parents ask Father Olmedo, one of the few exorcists authorized by the Vatican to intervene in cases of demonic possession, for help.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & horror
SnoozefestMovies like thisWhile the Wolf's Away (2017)
A young teen and his misfit group of friends try to escape from a strict boarding school that holds dangerous secrets.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & horror
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisThe Shepherd (2023)
On Christmas Eve, a fighter pilot on his way home becomes lost while flying over water and needs a miracle to land safely.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & fantasy
Worth the HypeMovies like thisNocebo (2022)
A fashion designer suffers from a mysterious illness that puzzles her doctors and frustrates her husband until help arrives in the form of a Filipino caregiver who uses traditional folk healing to reveal a horrifying truth.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror & fantasy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDust Bunny (2025)
Ten-year-old Aurora asks her hitman neighbor to kill the monster under her bed that she claims ate her family. To protect her, he must battle an onslaught of assassins while accepting that some monsters are real.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both fantasy & horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisNine Days (2021)
A bureaucrat interviews five souls to decide which of them will be given a life on Earth. But he soon faces an existential challenge of his own.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & fantasy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisIntruders (2015)
Anna suffers from agoraphobia so crippling that when a trio of criminals break into her house, she cannot bring herself to flee. But what the intruders don't realize is that agoraphobia is not her only psychosis.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & horror
SnoozefestMovies like this
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Heat Wave?
The closest matches to Heat Wave are Celia (1989), No Such Thing (2002) and Medusa (2020). Below are 17 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Heat Wave?
Start with Celia (1989), the closest match to Heat Wave.
What is the highest-rated movie like Heat Wave?
While the Wolf's Away (2017), rated 8.0/10 by 202 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Heat Wave?
Don't Leave the Kids Alone (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there Spanish movies like Heat Wave?
Yes: Don't Leave the Kids Alone (2026), Risa and the Wind Phone (2026) and The Sleeping Woman (2024).
How are movies similar to Heat Wave chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Heat Wave, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.