Movies like HELENA
The best movies like HELENA are The Young One (1960), The Dreamseller (2016) and Whitney Houston: I Wanna Dance with Somebody (2022). If HELENA hooked you with its drama, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedBeast (2026)7.5/10 from 227 votes
- NewestInsígnia (2026)Released 2026
The Young One (1960)
A jazz musician seeks refuge from a lynch mob on a remote island, where he meets a hostile game warden and the young object of his attentions.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Dreamseller (2016)
A disillusioned psychologist tries to commit suicide until he strikes up a friendship with an unlikely saviour who teaches him a new way of living.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisWhitney Houston: I Wanna Dance with Somebody (2022)
The joyous, emotional, heartbreaking celebration of the life and music of Whitney Houston, the greatest female R&B pop vocalist of all time. Tracking her journey from obscurity to musical superstardom.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisCome Sunday (2018)
Evangelist Carlton Pearson is ostracized by his church for preaching that there is no Hell.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisBeast (2026)
MMA legend Patton James, now a commercial fisherman, is pulled back into the cage when his brother is in danger. Reuniting with his old coach Sammy, he commits to one final fight in one championship against the brutal champion Xavier Grau.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Son of a Thousand Men (2025)
In a small village, a lonely fisherman yearning for a son is drawn to an ethereal light that links him to others and their long-buried secrets.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisEl Chicano (2019)
A pair of twin brothers from East L.A. choose to live their lives differently and end up on opposite sides of the law.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like this44 Minutes: The North Hollywood Shoot-Out (2003)
After a failed bank robbery, two heavily armed men hold the Los Angeles Police Department at bay for 44 minutes.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisKicks (2016)
When his hard-earned kicks get snatched by a local hood, fifteen-year old Brandon and his two best friends go on an ill-advised mission across the Bay Area to retrieve the stolen sneakers.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Smashing Machine (2025)
In the late 1990s, up-and-coming mixed martial artist Mark Kerr aspires to become the greatest fighter in the world. However, he must also battle his opioid dependence and a volatile relationship with his girlfriend Dawn.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Visit (1964)
Carla Zachanassian had a child by Serge Miller as a teenager. When Serge refused to marry her, she was driven out of town. By her own wit and cunning, she has returned as a multi-millionaire for a visit. The town lays out the red carpet expecting big things from Carla, only to learn that her sole purpose is to see Serge Miller killed...
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Truth About Emanuel (2013)
A troubled young woman becomes obsessed with her mysterious new neighbor, who bears a striking resemblance to the girl's dead mother.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisFramed for Murder: A Fixer Upper Mystery (2017)
In the small resort town of Lighthouse Cove, everyone knows that the best man for the job is a woman. And that woman is Shannon Hughes, owner of a construction company and an expert in Victorian home restoration and renovation. Through her renovations she will find clues to uncover the house’s secret past and in turn become an unlikely sleuth to help crack these unsolved mysteries
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Secrets We Keep (2020)
In post-World War II America, a woman, rebuilding her life in the suburbs with her husband, kidnaps her neighbor and seeks vengeance for the heinous war crimes she believes he committed against her.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Valachi Papers (1972)
When Joe Valachi has a price put on his head by Don Vito Genovese, he must take desperate steps to protect himself while in prison. An unsuccessful attempt to slit his throat puts him over the edge to break the sacred code of silence.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAn Ordinary Man (2017)
A war criminal in hiding forms a relationship with his only connection to the outside world - his maid.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisTalhotBlond (2012)
Thomas Montgomery, a married father of two young daughters, gets seduced by the world of online gambling and chat rooms where a virtual romance and sexual obsession ultimately leads to the murder of an innocent man.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCoffy (1973)
After her younger sister gets involved in drugs and is severely injured by contaminated heroin, a nurse sets out on a mission of vengeance and vigilante justice, killing drug dealers, pimps, and mobsters who cross her path.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisGirl in the Box (2016)
The true story of 20-year-old Colleen Stan, a hitchhiking woman abducted by a young couple and held captive for seven years, during which time she's tortured and forced to live as a slave to her captors.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisEach Dawn I Die (1939)
A corrupt D.A. with governatorial ambitions is annoyed by an investigative reporter's criticism of his criminal activities and decides to frame the reporter for manslaughter in order to silence him.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMaría Rita (TBA)
María Rita is a 4-month-old baby; her parents, Raúl and Aida, are two drug addicts from a small coastal town in Galicia. Social services are aware of the situation they live in and their means of livelihood, so they will take the baby to a foster home.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
A Balada de um Artista em Extinção (2025)
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
SHEUT (2025)
A young college artist tries to sketch his next piece, vainly. Frustrated, decides to get out from his house and get some fresh air. But then, a shadow springs forth from one of his rejected ideas, determined to reach him. Short silent film inspired by Nosferatu (1922) and The Gabinet of Dr. Caligari (1920).
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
GDL (2027)
GDL is a Mexican dark comedy-drama film set in Guadalajara. We meet Daniel Lurdez, a young man who, after arriving in the city, ends up in a psychologist’s office. Seeing that he is clearly struggling, she asks him, “Why do you feel like you feel this way?” Daniel begins to tell his story, and through his memories, we experience his first year in Guadalajara: the people he met, his relationships, parties, hopes, disappointments, and failures. Throughout this year, we discover a gigantic, contradictory, and vibrant city; a monster that slowly transforms everyone who arrives. Guadalajara promises opportunities and a new life, but it can also destroy the dreams of those trying to find their place in it. Daniel arrived looking to become someone different. In the end, the city turned him into someone he never imagined he would become. GODS, DEVILS AND LIARS.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Coming SoonMovies like thisCarapicuíba City O Filme (TBA)
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Refulgent (2025)
A young sculptor struggles to finish his masterpiece, a sculpture of a woman, as it inexplicably cracks.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Like HELENA and something else?
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like HELENA?
The closest matches to HELENA are The Young One (1960), The Dreamseller (2016) and Whitney Houston: I Wanna Dance with Somebody (2022). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after HELENA?
Start with The Young One (1960), the closest match to HELENA.
What is the highest-rated movie like HELENA?
Beast (2026), rated 7.5/10 by 227 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like HELENA?
Insígnia (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
How are movies similar to HELENA chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside HELENA, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.