Movies like El Salvador: The Day Fear Changed Sides (2026)
The best movies like El Salvador: The Day Fear Changed Sides (2026) are Tyson (2008), A Toxic Love Story (2026) and Fuck (2006). If El Salvador: The Day Fear Changed Sides hooked you with its documentary and drama, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedSalvador (1986)7.0/10 from 435 votes
- NewestA Toxic Love Story (2026)Released 2026
Tyson (2008)
Director James Toback takes an unflinching, uncompromising look at the life of Mike Tyson--almost solely from the perspective of the man himself. TYSON alternates between the controversial boxer addressing the camera and shots of the champion's fights to create an arresting picture of the man.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisA Toxic Love Story (2026)
A string of threatening emails escalates into a revenge plot involving a newly married US marshal and his ex-girlfriend.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisFuck (2006)
A documentary on the expletive's origin, why it offends some people so deeply, and what can be gained from its use.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMcQueen (2018)
Alexander McQueen's rags-to-riches story is a modern-day fairy tale, laced with the gothic. Mirroring the savage beauty, boldness and vivacity of his design, this documentary is an intimate revelation of McQueen's own world, both tortured and inspired, which celebrates a radical and mesmerizing genius of profound influence.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisEx Libris: The New York Public Library (2017)
A documentary about how a dominant cultural and demographic institution both sustains their traditional activities and adapts to the digital revolution.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisTo Kill a Tiger (2023)
Ranjit, a farmer in India, takes on the fight of his life when he demands justice for his 13-year-old daughter, the victim of a brutal gang rape. His decision to support his daughter is virtually unheard of, and his journey unprecedented.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Final: Attack on Wembley (2024)
As England reach the final of the Euros at last, 6,000 ticketless football fans storm Wembley stadium, leaving destruction in their wake.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisVoyeur (2017)
Legendary journalist Gay Talese unmasks a motel owner who spied on his guests for decades. But his bombshell story soon becomes a scandal of its own.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
SnoozefestMovies like thisThe Curse of the Dragon (1993)
A 1993 documentary film about Bruce Lee. The film includes interviews from some of his fellow students and opponents who worked alongside him in his movies.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisEmicida: AmarElo - It's All for Yesterday (2020)
Between scenes from his concert in São Paulo's oft-inaccessible Theatro Municipal, rapper and activist Emicida celebrates the rich legacy of Black Brazilian culture.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisBus 174 (2002)
On 12 June 2000, in Rio de Janeiro, Ônibus 174 was taken by an armed young man, threatening to kill all the passengers. Transmitted live on all national networks, this shocking and tragic event became one of violence's most shocking portraits, and one of the most terrifying examples of police incompetence and abuse in recent years.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisBiggie: I Got a Story to Tell (2021)
Christopher Wallace, AKA The Notorious B.I.G., remains one of Hip-Hop’s icons, renowned for his distinctive flow and autobiographical lyrics. This documentary celebrates his life via rare behind-the-scenes footage and the testimonies of his closest friends and family.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisTed Bundy: Mind of a Monster (2019)
New exclusive access and never before heard testimony gives a unique insight into the mind of America's most notorious serial killer, Ted Bundy. Breathtaking archive from the time and the voice of Bundy himself, reveals the monster inside the man.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisSavage X Fenty Show (2019)
The Savage X Fenty Show gives a look into Rihanna's creative process for her latest lingerie collection. Modeled by incredible, diverse talent, celebrating all genders and sizes, and featuring performances by the hottest music artists.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisBikram: Yogi, Guru, Predator (2019)
The spectacular rise and scandalous fall of hot-yoga evangelist Bikram Choudhury is chronicled through archival footage and extensive insider interviews.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisFeminists: What Were They Thinking? (2018)
In 1977, a book of photographs captured an awakening - women shedding the cultural restrictions of their childhoods and embracing their full humanity. This documentary revisits those photos, those women and those times and takes aim at our culture today that alarmingly shows the need for continued change.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisRacionais MC's: From the Streets of São Paulo (2022)
Armed with music and a message, influential hip-hop group Racionais MC's turned their street poetry into a powerful movement in Brazil and beyond.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisApocalypse in the Tropics (2025)
Through deep examination, this documentary from Oscar nominee Petra Costa explores the profound impact of evangelism on Brazil's political landscape.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisEvil Influencer: The Jodi Hildebrandt Story (2025)
Unravel the case of Utah therapist Jodi Hildebrandt, whose child abuse arrest with parenting YouTuber Ruby Franke exposed a twisted tale of manipulation.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCome See Me in the Good Light (2025)
In an intimate and joyful story of love in the face of loss, celebrated poets Andrea Gibson and Megan Falley find strength—and unexpected hilarity—in what might be their final year together.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisSalvador (1986)
In 1980, an American journalist covering the Salvadoran Civil War becomes entangled with both the leftist guerrilla groups and the right-wing military dictatorship while trying to rescue his girlfriend and her children.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisI would Like to become Art (2023)
A monologue about the meaning of being art, delivered by the last character you’d expect: a pair of pants. A short film by Ponchi Simán.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
The Massacre at El Mozote, Twenty Years Later (2006)
Pedro Linger Gasiglia’s twelve-minute documentary "The Massacre at El Mozote: Twenty Years Later," offers first-person accounts of the horrors as well as the media’s lack of coverage.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
ImpunIdade: As consequências da lei da maioridade penal no Brasil (2026)
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
The Crazy Life (2008)
A documentary about the rival gangs Mara 18 and Mara Salvatrucha, originating in Los Angeles but terrorizing El Salvador. It explores their origins as possible founding myths of organized crime in a globalized world.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHigh Crimes (2002)
A female attorney learns that her husband is really a marine officer who has been AWOL for fifteen years and accused of murdering fifteen civilians in El Salvador. Believing her husband when he tells her that he's being framed as part of a U.S. Military cover-up, the attorney defends him in a military court.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisA Fish Out of Water (1969)
Olivia is a disturbed woman who shows some signs of amnesia and madness. Accompanied only by Esther, she fantasizes that some day her beloved Julio will return, but he only writes her letters. Esther, however, keeps a terrible secret from her.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
The Last Thing He Wanted (2020)
At the turning point of the Iran-Contra affair, Elena McMahon, a fearless investigative journalist covering the 1984 US presidential campaign, puts herself in danger when she abandons her assigned task in order to fulfill the last wish of her ailing father, a mysterious man whose past activities she barely knows.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisRemember Us (2024)
A journalist documents the experiences of three different people who lived through the tragic Salvadoran civil war of the 1980s, which lasted twelve years.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
The Tiniest Place (2011)
Years after the Salvadoran military destroyed the village of Cinquera in that country’s civil war, survivors have returned to rebuild their community. Soulful, beautifully rendered, this amazing debut is an evocative testament to place, memory and the power of life to rebound from tragedy.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like El Salvador: The Day Fear Changed Sides?
The closest matches to El Salvador: The Day Fear Changed Sides are Tyson (2008), A Toxic Love Story (2026) and Fuck (2006). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after El Salvador: The Day Fear Changed Sides?
Start with Tyson (2008), the closest match to El Salvador: The Day Fear Changed Sides.
What is the highest-rated movie like El Salvador: The Day Fear Changed Sides?
Salvador (1986), rated 7.0/10 by 435 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like El Salvador: The Day Fear Changed Sides?
A Toxic Love Story (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
How are movies similar to El Salvador: The Day Fear Changed Sides chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside El Salvador: The Day Fear Changed Sides, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.