Movies like The Paralytic
The best movies like The Paralytic are Come True (2020), Dark City (1998) and Awake (2021). If The Paralytic hooked you with its science fiction, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
The Paralytic
Quick picks
- Highest ratedInterstellar (2014)8.5/10 from 41,850 votes
- NewestSwitches (2026)Released 2026
Come True (2020)
Looking for an escape from her recurring nightmares, 18-year-old Sarah submits to a university sleep study, but soon realizes she's become the conduit to a frightening new discovery.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both science fiction
SnoozefestMovies like thisDark City (1998)
A man struggles with memories of his past, including a wife he cannot remember, in a nightmarish world with no sun and run by beings with telekinetic powers who seek the souls of humans.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both science fiction
Worth the HypeMovies like thisAwake (2021)
After a sudden global event wipes out all electronics and takes away humankind’s ability to sleep, chaos quickly begins to consume the world. Only Jill, an ex-soldier with a troubled past, may hold the key to a cure in the form of her own daughter. The question is, can Jill safely deliver her daughter and save the world before she herself loses her mind.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both science fiction
SnoozefestMovies like thisReturn of the Fly (1959)
Fifteen years after his father's experiments with matter transmission fail, Philippe Delambre and his uncle François attempt to create a matter transmission device on their own. However, their experiments have disastrous results, turning Philippe into a horrible half-man, half-fly creature.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both science fiction
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Devil-Doll (1936)
Respected Parisian banker Paul Lavond is framed for robbery and murder by crooked associates and sent to prison. Years later, he escapes with a friend, a scientist who was working on a method to reduce humans to a height of mere inches (all for the good of humanity, of course). Lavond, however, is consumed with hatred for those who betrayed him, and takes the scientist's methods back to Paris to exact painful revenge.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both science fiction
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHollow Man (2000)
Cocky researcher Sebastian Caine is working on a project to make living creatures invisible. Determined to achieve the ultimate breakthrough, Caine pushes his team to move to the next phase — using himself as the subject. The test is a success, but when the process can't be reversed and Caine seems doomed to future without flesh, he starts to turn increasingly dangerous.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both science fiction
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDouble Blind (2024)
After an experimental drug trial goes awry, the test subjects face a terrifying side effect: if you fall asleep you die. Trapped in an isolated facility, panic ensues as they try to escape and somehow stay awake.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both science fiction
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisFrankenstein and the Monster from Hell (1974)
Dr Simon Helder, sentenced to an insane asylum for crimes against humanity, recognises its director as the brilliant Baron Frankenstein, the man whose work he had been trying to emulate before his imprisonment. Frankenstein utilises Helder's medical knowledge for a project he has been working on for some time. He is assembling a man from vital organs extracted from various inmates in the asylum. And the Baron will resort to murder to acquire the perfect specimens for his most ambitious project ever.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both science fiction
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisReplicas (2018)
A scientist becomes obsessed with returning his family to normalcy after a terrible accident.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both science fiction
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMonkey Shines (1988)
A quadriplegic man is given a trained monkey help him with every day activities, until the little monkey begins to develop feelings, and rage, against its new master and those who get too close to him.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both science fiction
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMan-Made Monster (1941)
Mad scientist turns a man into an electrically-controlled monster to do his bidding.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both science fiction
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Man They Could Not Hang (1939)
Dr. Henryk Savaard is a scientist working on experiments to restore life to the dead. When he is unjustly hanged for murder, he is brought back to life by his trusted assistant. Re-animated he turns decidedly nasty and sets about murdering the jury that convicted him.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both science fiction
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBlood of the Vampire (1958)
A man and wife are terrorized by Mad Scientist Dr. Callistratus who was executed but has returned to life with a heart transplant. Along with his crippled assistant Carl, the 'anemic' Mad Scientist, believed to be a vampire, conducts blood deficiency research on the inmates of a prison hospital for the criminally insane to sustain his return to life.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both science fiction
SnoozefestMovies like thisInterstellar (2014)
The adventures of a group of explorers who make use of a newly discovered wormhole to surpass the limitations on human space travel and conquer the vast distances involved in an interstellar voyage.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both science fiction
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisThe Quiet Earth (1985)
After a top-secret experiment misfires, a scientist may be the only man left alive in the world.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both science fiction
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Tingler (1959)
A pathologist experiments with a deaf-mute woman who is unable to scream to prove that humans die of fright due to an organism he names The Tingler that lives within each person on the spinal cord and is suppressed only when people scream when scared.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both science fiction
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Invisible Man (1933)
After experimenting on himself and becoming invisible, scientist Jack Griffin, now aggressive due to the drug's effects, seeks a way to reverse the experiment at any cost.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both science fiction
Worth the HypeMovies like thisScanners (1981)
A scientist trains a man with an advanced telepathic ability called 'scanning' to stop a dangerous Scanner with extraordinary psychic powers from waging war against non-Scanners.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both science fiction
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisTau (2018)
Held captive in a futuristic smart house, a woman hopes to escape by befriending the A.I. program that controls the house.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both science fiction
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisLaboratory Conditions (2018)
A physician investigating a missing body disrupts an unlawful experiment.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both science fiction
Worth the HypeMovies like thisUnforgettable (1996)
Seattle medical examiner David Krane is obsessed with solving his wife's murder. A possible solution presents itself in an experimental "memory" serum designed by a neurobiology professor, which has the ability to transfer memories from one person to another, but with potentially fatal consequences.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both science fiction
SnoozefestMovies like thisAbductee (2024)
One man's descent into madness as he tries to discover what comes for him in the middle of the night.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both science fiction
The Wisdom Tree (2013)
Three very different people — a quantum physicist, a neuroscientist (Sheetal Sheth), and an FBI agent — find themselves drawn into a spiraling mystery. Confronted with a mysterious car accident, the three must interpret clues that defy common sense. Their collective quest takes them from science to art to music to mysticism in a widening search for answers. After an intense outward chase to satisfy their rational minds, the trio realizes the answers they desire lie buried deep within themselves. As each seeker begins to embrace the true nature of reality, each is rewarded with revelations beyond their wildest imaginings. What they learn leaves them humbled and in awe of the strange and beautiful universe we call home. When everything makes sense, nothing makes sense. This highly philosophical narrative has been applauded by scientists, artists, thinkers, scholars, media, academia, students and audiences from 10 to 80+ years old.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both science fiction
O Horizon (2026)
Abby, a brilliant, young neuroscientist who has recently lost her father, drowns her grief by spending her days working with a monkey named Dorey. Abby meets a programmer, Sam, who has created a technology that reconnects Abby with her beloved father. Her relationship with her digitized dad then forces her to re-examine everything from her romantic relationships to her life’s work.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both science fiction
Bravo Satyam! (1969)
Satyam, who works at his uncle Dayanand's cancer research facility, falls in love with Dayanand's daughter Chaya, but her family has different plans for Chaya. Chaya's relatives set up a lab accident, and Satyam is turned invisible. Now Satyam must find a way to become visible again and win his love.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both science fiction
The Sleep Trilogy (2024)
Sleep demons, crazy crows and terrific friends embark an adventure into the subconscious. In this compilation of three videos, originally posted on the "Victor Marp" youtube channel, three concepts about sleep are explained. They are sleep paralysis, somnambulism and common quotes?
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both science fiction
The Wrong Girls (2026)
Two codependent best friends living paycheck to paycheck and bong rip to bong rip get caught in a case of mistaken identity that throws their lives into chaos.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both science fiction
APOTHEOSIS 85 (2025)
In 1985, a spy risks everything to stop a conspiracy that threatens to prolong the dictatorship in Brazil. While facing the military, she becomes involved in a forbidden romance with the heiress of a megacorp.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both science fiction
Switches (2026)
Jake and Dawn, a married couple sliding towards divorce. Two people who once had it all--the career momentum, the chemistry, the “it couple” energy-- are now buried under bills, resentment, and distance. Enter Switch, the trial drug from a hush-hush pharmaceutical company promising an “empathy revolution” by letting couples swap consciousness for 24 hours.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both science fiction
Starshine (2025)
A girl in makes a deal with the beyond for sacred knowledge.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both science fiction
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like The Paralytic?
The closest matches to The Paralytic are Come True (2020), Dark City (1998) and Awake (2021). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after The Paralytic?
Start with Come True (2020), the closest match to The Paralytic.
What is the highest-rated movie like The Paralytic?
Interstellar (2014), rated 8.5/10 by 41,850 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like The Paralytic?
Switches (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like The Paralytic?
Yes: Come True (2020), Dark City (1998) and Awake (2021).
How are movies similar to The Paralytic chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside The Paralytic, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.