Movies like Cruel Tale (1930)
The best movies like Cruel Tale (1930) are Figures in a Landscape (1970), The Tall Man (2012) and The Pit and the Pendulum (1961). If Cruel Tale hooked you, these 20 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedA Perfect World (1993)7.5/10 from 1,976 votes
- NewestKarma (2026)Released 2026
- In FrenchThe Crook (1970)Also in French
Figures in a Landscape (1970)
Two escaped convicts are on the run in an unnamed Latin American country. But everywhere they go, they are followed and hounded by a menacing black helicopter.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Tall Man (2012)
When her child goes missing, a mother looks to unravel the legend of the Tall Man, an entity who allegedly abducts children.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Pit and the Pendulum (1961)
In the sixteenth century, Francis Barnard travels to Spain to clarify the strange circumstances of his sister's death after she had married the son of a cruel Spanish Inquisitor.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisA Perfect World (1993)
A kidnapped boy strikes up a friendship with his captor: an escaped convict on the run from the law, headed by an honorable U.S. Marshal.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisShe Made Them Do It (2012)
"She Made Them Do It" follows the twisted life of Sarah Pender, a charismatic, intelligent young woman who would become one of the country’s most sought after fugitives.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
SnoozefestMovies like thisThe Escapist (2008)
Frank Perry is an institutionalized convict twelve years into a life sentence without parole. When his estranged daughter falls ill, he is determined to make peace with her before it's too late. He develops an ingenious escape plan, and recruits a dysfunctional band of escapists - misfits with a mutual dislike for one other but united by their desire to escape their hell hole of an existence.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Crook (1970)
A thief known as Simon the Swiss faces up and downs in his criminal profession.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Imposter (2012)
In 1994, a 13-year-old boy disappeared without a trace from his home in San Antonio, Texas. Three-and-a-half years later, he is found alive in a village in southern Spain with a horrifying story of kidnap and torture. His family is overjoyed to bring him home. But all is not quite as it seems.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisKarma (2026)
In a village in northern Spain, Jeanne tries to rebuild her life with Daniel, who knows nothing about her troubled past. One day, Jeanne's six-year-old godson mysteriously disappears and Jeanne becomes the main suspect.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisAll the Money in the World (2017)
The story of the kidnapping of 16-year-old John Paul Getty III and the desperate attempt by his devoted mother to convince his billionaire grandfather Jean Paul Getty to pay the ransom.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMan of La Mancha (1972)
In the 16th century, poet, playwright and part-time actor Miguel de Cervantes has been arrested, together with his manservant, by the Spanish Inquisition. They're accused of presenting an entertainment offensive to the Inquisition. Inside the huge dungeon into which they have been cast, the other inmates gang up on Cervantes and his manservant, staging a mock trial, with the intention of stealing or burning his possessions. Cervantes wishes to desperately save a manuscript he carries with him and stages, with costumes, makeup, and the participation of the other prisoners, an unusual defense—the story of Don Quixote.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Limits of Control (2009)
A mysterious stranger works outside the law and keeps his objectives hidden, trusting no one. While his demeanor is paradoxically focused and dreamlike all at once, he embarks on a journey that not only takes him across Spain, but also through his own consciousness.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisNick of Time (1995)
An ordinary man is suddenly forced into a plot to kill a politician in exchange for his kidnapped daughter's freedom.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisEvery Secret Thing (2014)
One clear summer day in a Baltimore suburb, a baby goes missing from her front porch. Two young girls serve seven years for the crime and are released into a town that hasn't fully forgiven or forgotten. Soon, another child is missing, and two detectives are called in to investigate the mystery in a community where everyone seems to have a secret.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMurphy's Law (1986)
A tough police detective escapes from custody after being framed and arrested for the murder of his ex-wife, and must now find the real killer and prove his innocence.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMaze (2017)
Inspired by the true events of the infamous 1983 prison breakout of 38 IRA prisoners from HMP Maze, which was to become the biggest prison escape in Europe since World War II.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
SnoozefestMovies like thisThe Emperor's New Clothes (2001)
Napoleon, exiled, devises a plan to retake the throne. He'll swap places with commoner Eugene Lenormand, sneak into Paris, then Lenormand will reveal himself and Napoleon will regain his throne. Things don't go at all well; first, the journey proves more difficult than expected, but more disastrously, Lenormand enjoys himself too much to reveal the deception. Napoleon adjusts somewhat uneasily to the life of a commoner while waiting, while Lenormand gorges on rich food.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSpooks: The Greater Good (2015)
During a handover to the head of counter-terrorism of MI5, Harry Pearce, a terrorist escapes custody. When Harry disappears soon after, his protégé is tasked with finding out what happened as an impending attack on London looms, and eventually uncovers a deadly conspiracy.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisGuns for San Sebastian (1967)
Leon Alastray is an outlaw who has been given sanctuary by Father John, whom he then escorts to the village of San Sebastian. The village is deserted, with its cowardly residents hiding in the hills from Indians, who regularly attack the village and steal all their supplies. When Father John is murdered, the villagers mistakenly think the outlaw is the priest. Alastray at first tells them he is not a priest, but they don't believe it, and an apparent miracle seems to prove they are correct. Eventually, he assists them in regaining their confidence and defending themselves.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisChase a Crooked Shadow (1958)
A woman who lives in Spain has trouble convincing anybody that a complete stranger has taken her dead brother's identity.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like this
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Cruel Tale?
The closest matches to Cruel Tale are Figures in a Landscape (1970), The Tall Man (2012) and The Pit and the Pendulum (1961). Below are 17 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Cruel Tale?
Start with Figures in a Landscape (1970), the closest match to Cruel Tale.
What is the highest-rated movie like Cruel Tale?
A Perfect World (1993), rated 7.5/10 by 1,976 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Cruel Tale?
Karma (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there French movies like Cruel Tale?
Yes: The Crook (1970) and Karma (2026).
How are movies similar to Cruel Tale chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Cruel Tale, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.