Movies like Mike Builds a Shelter (1985)
The best movies like Mike Builds a Shelter (1985) are Mikey (1992), Take Shelter (2011) and Blast from the Past (1999). If Mike Builds a Shelter hooked you, these 20 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedPalmer (2021)8.1/10 from 2,030 votes
- NewestRicky Stanicky (2024)Released 2024
Mikey (1992)
Mikey just needs a good stable home. He's bounced from foster home to foster home his whole life. He finally lands himself with a new loving family, but their perfect little child is not what he appears to be. His previous caretakers all died of mysterious "accidents" that weren't really accidents at all. Mikey is a cold blooded killer, and it doesn't take long for him to aim his sights on his new adoptive family and anyone else who stands in his way.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
SnoozefestMovies like thisTake Shelter (2011)
Plagued by a series of apocalyptic visions, a young husband and father questions whether to shelter his family from a coming storm, or from himself.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisBlast from the Past (1999)
Following a bomb scare in the 1960s that locked the Webbers into their bomb shelter for 35 years, Adam now ventures forth into Los Angeles to obtain food and supplies for his family, and a non-mutant wife for himself.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisPalmer (2021)
After 12 years in prison, former high school football star Eddie Palmer returns home to put his life back together—and forms an unlikely bond with Sam, an outcast boy from a troubled home. But Eddie's past threatens to ruin his new life and family.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisAsylum (1972)
A young psychiatrist applies for a job at a mental asylum and must pass a test by interviewing four patients. He must figure out which of the patients, is in fact, the doctor that he would be replacing if hired.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHidden (2015)
A family takes refuge in a fallout shelter to avoid a dangerous outbreak.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMidnight Cowboy (1969)
Joe Buck is a wide-eyed hustler from Texas hoping to score big with wealthy New York City women; he finds a companion in Enrico "Ratso" Rizzo, an ailing swindler with a bum leg and a quixotic fantasy of escaping to Florida.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisAnnie (1982)
An orphan in a facility run by the mean Miss Hannigan, Annie believes that her parents left her there by mistake. When a rich man named Oliver "Daddy" Warbucks decides to let an orphan live at his home to promote his image, Annie is selected. While Annie gets accustomed to living in Warbucks' mansion, she still longs to meet her parents. So Warbucks announces a search for them and a reward, which brings out many frauds.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Long, Hot Summer (1958)
Accused barn burner and conman Ben Quick arrives in a small Mississippi town and quickly ingratiates himself with its richest family, the Varners.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Climb (2020)
Kyle and Mike are best friends who share a close bond — until Mike sleeps with Kyle’s fiancée. A stormy but enduring relationship ensues between Kyle, with limitless patience, and Mike, who only lives his life by sowing discord in that of others, across many years of laughter, heartbreak, and rage.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAfter the Dark (2013)
At an international school in Jakarta, a philosophy teacher challenges his class of twenty graduating seniors to choose which ten of them would take shelter underground and reboot the human race in the event of a nuclear apocalypse.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like this¡Three Amigos! (1986)
A trio of unemployed silent film actors are mistaken for real heroes by a small Mexican village in search of someone to stop a malevolent bandit.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBeing Flynn (2012)
Working in a Boston homeless shelter, Nick Flynn re-encounters his father, a con man and self-proclaimed poet. Sensing trouble in his own life, Nick wrestles with the notion of reaching out yet again to his dad.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisRicky Stanicky (2024)
When three childhood best friends pull a prank gone wrong, they invent the imaginary Ricky Stanicky to get them out of trouble. Twenty years later, the trio still uses the nonexistent Ricky as a handy alibi for their immature behavior. But when their spouses and partners get suspicious and demand to finally meet the fabled Mr. Stanicky, the guilty trio decide to hire a washed-up actor and raunchy celebrity impersonator to bring him to life.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSpider (2002)
A mentally disturbed man takes residence in a halfway house. His mind gradually slips back into the realm created by his illness, where he replays a key part of his childhood.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSmoke Signals (1998)
Young Native American man Thomas is a nerd in his reservation, wearing oversize glasses and telling everyone stories no-one wants to hear. His parents died in a fire in 1976, and Thomas was saved by Arnold. Arnold soon left his family, and Victor hasn't seen his father for 10 years. When Victor hears Arnold has died, Thomas offers him funding for the trip to get Arnold's remains.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisPoor Cow (1967)
Joy lives a life filled with bad choices. At a young age, she marries and has a child–with an abusive thief who quickly ends up incarcerated. Left alone, she takes up with the guy's mate, another thief, who seems to give her some happiness but who also ends up locked up. She then takes up with a series of seedy types who offer nothing but momentary pleasure–if that.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMartian Child (2007)
A recently-widowed science fiction writer considers whether to adopt a hyper-imaginative 6-year-old abandoned and socially-rejected boy who says he's really from Mars.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDrillbit Taylor (2008)
Dealing with a sociopathic school bully, three high school freshmen hire a low-budget bodyguard to protect them, not realizing he is just a homeless beggar and petty thief looking for some easy cash.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
SnoozefestMovies like thisThe Ritz (1976)
To escape from a mobster, businessman Gaetano Proclo orders a cab driver to take him to a place where he can't be found. Unfortunately for Gaetano, the place turns out to be a gay bathhouse.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like this
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Mike Builds a Shelter?
The closest matches to Mike Builds a Shelter are Mikey (1992), Take Shelter (2011) and Blast from the Past (1999). Below are 17 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Mike Builds a Shelter?
Start with Mikey (1992), the closest match to Mike Builds a Shelter.
What is the highest-rated movie like Mike Builds a Shelter?
Palmer (2021), rated 8.1/10 by 2,030 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Mike Builds a Shelter?
Ricky Stanicky (2024) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like Mike Builds a Shelter?
Yes: Mikey (1992), Take Shelter (2011) and Blast from the Past (1999).
How are movies similar to Mike Builds a Shelter chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Mike Builds a Shelter, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.