Movies like City of Lost Souls (1983)
The best movies like City of Lost Souls (1983) are Bo Burnham: Words, Words, Words (2010), The Festival (2018) and Shane Gillis: Beautiful Dogs (2023). If City of Lost Souls hooked you with its comedy and music, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedLouis C.K.: Oh My God (2013)7.6/10 from 229 votes
- NewestRicky Gervais: Mortality (2025)Released 2025
- In GermanHomesick Scientists (2011)Also in German
Bo Burnham: Words, Words, Words (2010)
Bo Burnham is back with a new one-man show full of his patented songs and wordplay, as well as haikus, dramatic readings, blasphemy, and so much more in his first hour-long special, shot live in his home town of Boston.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & music
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Festival (2018)
After Nick's girlfriend dumps him, his best mate Shane has the perfect antidote to his break-up blues: three days at an epic music festival.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & music
SnoozefestMovies like thisShane Gillis: Beautiful Dogs (2023)
In a rowdy stand-up set, Shane Gillis riffs on his girlfriend's Navy SEAL ex, touring George Washington's house and being bullied by an Australian Goth.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Worth the HypeMovies like thisJeff Dunham: Arguing with Myself (2006)
A recorded live performance of ventriloquist Jeff Dunham portrays a comedian whose revival of an old-fashioned art has made ventriloquism more relevant to modern societal concerns. Starring his six main characters, from Bubba Jay, a Nascar-obsessed hick, to Peanut, a flamboyant gay monkey, Dunham’s puppets have dirty but inoffensive senses of humor that mock the American Dream.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisRicky Gervais: Armageddon (2023)
Ricky Gervais dishes out controversial takes on political correctness and oversensitivity in a taboo-busting comedy special about the end of humanity.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Worth the HypeMovies like thisHard to Die (1990)
While doing the inventory for a lingerie outlet in a high rise office building, five attractive women are terrorized by a series of bizarre killings. They suspect that the strange janitor, who witnessed another series of killings six months previously, is at the bottom of the whole thing. Little do they know the real horror that they face in the end.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisGoltzius & the Pelican Company (2012)
Hendrik Goltzius, a late-16th-century Dutch printer and engraver of erotic prints, seduces the Margrave of Alsace into paying for a printing press to make and publish illustrated books.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisKing of Jazz (1930)
A large-scale revue musical built around Paul Whiteman and his orchestra, presenting a series of musical performances, sketches, and staged tableaux in early two-color Technicolor, emblematic of Hollywood’s early sound-era “all-star” musical productions.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both music
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisRicky Gervais Live 2: Politics (2004)
A year after Animals, Ricky Gervais comes back with his second stand up comedy tour: Politics.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisLouis C.K.: Oh My God (2013)
Filmed at the Celebrity Theatre in Phoenix, AZ on February 15th and 16th, 2013, Oh My God is Louis C.K.'s fifth stand-up special, his first for HBO since 2007's Shameless, and his first since winning a Emmy Award for writing on his acclaimed show on FX, Louie. Performed in the round in front of a live audience, he discusses such topics as the food chain, animals, divorce, strange anecdotes, broken morality, murder and mortality.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Worth the HypeMovies like thisBill Burr: Drop Dead Years (2025)
In what might be his most personal and introspective hour yet, Bill offers hilarious takes on everything from male sadness to dating advice.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Worth the HypeMovies like thisDave Chappelle: The Unstoppable... (2025)
Facing a world gone sideways, comedy icon Dave Chappelle delivers bold truths and potent punchlines in this no-holds-barred special.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisRicky Gervais: Mortality (2025)
Ricky Gervais tackles life, death and the state of the world in a brutally honest special that spares no topic, even his own mortality.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisPretty Persuasion (2005)
A 15-year-old girl incites chaos among her friends and a media frenzy when she accuses her drama teacher of sexual harassment.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
SnoozefestMovies like thisJimmy Carr: Natural Born Killer (2024)
Jimmy Carr refutes the idea that you can't joke about anything these days with his edgy takes on gun control, religion, cancel culture and consent.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Horse's Mouth (1958)
Gulley Jimson is a boorish aging artist recently released from prison. A swindler in search of his next art project, he hunkers down in the penthouse of would-be patrons the Beeders while they go on an extended vacation; he paints a mural on their wall, pawns their valuables and, along with the sculptor Abel, inadvertently smashes a large hole in their floor. Jimson's next project is an even larger wall in an abandoned church.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisRobin Williams: An Evening at the Met (1986)
In this hilarious stand up comedy, Robin Williams is energetic, witty and again hilarious. It's the number one stand up comedy of all time.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisJimmy Carr: Telling Jokes (2009)
Jimmy Carr delivers more of his cynical take on life's little absurdities in his trademark deadpan style in this live stand-up release. Jimmy unleashes his rapid-fire joke-telling and razor-sharp wit on topics ranging from religion and sex, to bullying and political correctness. Those brave enough to heckle are quickly put in their place by an array of colourful if brutal put-downs.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Worth the HypeMovies like thisSouth Park (Not Suitable for Children) (2023)
After it's discovered that a teacher at South Park Elementary has an OnlyFans page, Randy is compelled to take a closer look at the seedy underbelly of the world of online influencers.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Worth the HypeMovies like thisBill Hicks: Relentless (1992)
Bill Hicks tells us how he feels about non-smokers, blow-jobs, religion, war and peace, and drugs and music.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Worth the HypeMovies like thisSay! Young Fellow (1918)
A lost film. "The Young Fellow"(Fairbanks), has recently been hired as a cub newspaper reporter for the New York Herald. His editor tasks him with unearthing "the facts concerning a scheme to defraud a group of minor stockholders in the town of Melford. Unless certain papers in the possession of an old bachelor(Neill) are delivered to a board meeting, the villainous financier(Campeau) will win complete control of a local company, and the stockholders will lose their investments. The Young Fellow enlists the help of his spinster landlady(Chapman) and the old bachelor's beautiful secretary(Daw) to thwart the evil millionaire.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy
Crazy Crooks (1980)
Slapstick movie about 2 swindlers, Kong Kun Chat (Karl Maka) and Moo Pi Chide (Dean Shek) who gambled with fake money with someone else to get back real money. At least Kong and Moo thought it was real money. Turned out the money was also fake, and a death warrent is issued for them. Luckily, a little kid Mak Tau saves their lives. - Yellow Hammer
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy
My Favorite Wedding (2017)
Potential Northwestern fellow Tess Harper lasers through her best friend's wedding planning like the star doctor she hopes to soon become. In fact, Tess puzzles through any problem - provided it's not her own. When she meets divorce lawyer and groom's best friend, Michael, Tess maneuvers around him like a gurney in the emergency room until she discovers this best man has a few moves of his own.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Peanut Butter Falcon (2019)
A down-on-his-luck crab fisherman embarks on a journey to get a young man with Down syndrome to a professional wrestling school in rural North Carolina and away from the retirement home where he’s lived for the past two and a half years.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy
Worth the HypeMovies like thisColossal Youth (2018)
When his dream girl returns to school a hopeless romantic teen tries to win her heart, until he hits rock bottom and realizes his true love has been there all along.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy
Homesick Scientists (2011)
Four field researchers want to go home. Unfortunately, one of them apparently lost his mind. Since the return is not possible, as long as they remain in this state, ignited a controversy about what to do with him. Where do they come back and what was the object of their research, now becomes a much more important question.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy
The Light in the Piazza: Live from Lincoln Center (2006)
In the summer of 1953, Margaret Johnson, the wife of an American businessman, is touring Italy with her daughter, Clara. While sightseeing, Clara—a beautiful, surprisingly childish young woman—loses her hat in a sudden gust. As if guided by an unseen hand, the hat lands at the feet of Fabrizio Naccarelli, a handsome Florentine, who returns it to Clara. This brief episode, charged with coincidence and fate, sparks an immediate and intense romance between Clara and Fabrizio. Margaret, extremely protective of her daughter, attempts to keep Clara and Fabrizio apart.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both music
The Peter Kay Story (2016)
Documentary tracing the remarkable career of one of Britain’s best-loved and most successful comedians. Charting Peter’s journey from humble beginnings to superstardom featuring contributions from people who know him or have worked with him, as well as his fans and biographers.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy
Pride and Prejudice and Romance (TBA)
A modern twist on Jane Austen's beloved novel, Pride and Prejudice, set in a quaint English village at Christmastime.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy
Buy (2021)
A touching, at the same time funny and sad story of love and separation, which fit into one broadcast of the program "Shop on the couch". What is it – a vivid cross-section of modern trends or an old-as-the-world history of the relationship between a man and a woman? He is not ambitious enough, she is not romantic enough, and, of course, there is someone third between them. A story of one love, sold in the "Shop on the couch" for the price of one sweater.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like City of Lost Souls?
The closest matches to City of Lost Souls are Bo Burnham: Words, Words, Words (2010), The Festival (2018) and Shane Gillis: Beautiful Dogs (2023). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after City of Lost Souls?
Start with Bo Burnham: Words, Words, Words (2010), the closest match to City of Lost Souls.
What is the highest-rated movie like City of Lost Souls?
Louis C.K.: Oh My God (2013), rated 7.6/10 by 229 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like City of Lost Souls?
Ricky Gervais: Mortality (2025) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there German movies like City of Lost Souls?
Yes: Homesick Scientists (2011).
How are movies similar to City of Lost Souls chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside City of Lost Souls, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.