Movies like When the Lights Go Out
The best movies like When the Lights Go Out are Dirt (2018), Mexicali (2026) and Beast (2026). If When the Lights Go Out hooked you with its drama and action, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
When the Lights Go Out
Quick picks
- Highest ratedBeast (2026)7.5/10 from 227 votes
- NewestBeast (2026)Released 2026
Dirt (2018)
In search of a lifeline for his struggling off road racing team, a man takes on a young car thief looking for a second chance, but as their worlds collide, they must struggle to forge a successful alliance.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & action
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMexicali (2026)
A former special forces contractor is forced out of retirement as an avocado farmer in Mexico when local gangsters try to force him and his family off their farm.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & drama
Worth the HypeMovies 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 action & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisWelcome to Sudden Death (2020)
Jesse Freeman is a former special forces officer and explosives expert now working a regular job as a security guard in a state-of-the-art basketball arena. Trouble erupts when a tech-savvy cadre of terrorists kidnap the team's owner and Jesse's daughter during opening night. Facing a ticking clock and impossible odds, it's up to Jesse to not only save them but also a full house of fans in this highly charged action thriller.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisFast Charlie (2023)
When his aging mob boss is whacked, Charlie Swift, a loyal friend and hired gun, will stop at nothing to destroy the upcoming crew that took him out.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisEmbattled (2020)
The eldest son of a ruthlessly tough MMA champion must fight his way out of the abusive cycle his father has continued.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Substitute (1996)
When an inner-city Miami schoolteacher gets her knee broken after standing up to the school's gang leader, her mercenary combat specialist boyfriend goes undercover as a substitute teacher to take down the punk. Soon he discovers a conspiracy of criminals at work, and must reassemble his team from his last jungle raid to stop them.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisSilverton Siege (2022)
After a failed sabotage mission, a trio of anti-apartheid freedom fighters ends up in a tense bank hostage situation. Based on a true story.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Shepherd (2023)
On Christmas Eve, a fighter pilot on his way home becomes lost while flying over water and needs a miracle to land safely.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & action
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Enforcer (2022)
A noir thriller set in Miami, the film follows an enforcer who discovers his femme fatale boss has branched out into cyber sex trafficking, putting a young runaway he’s befriended at risk. He sacrifices everything to save the young girl from the deadly organization he’s spent his life building.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Trigger Effect (1996)
A blackout leaves those affected to consider what is necessary, what is legal, and what is questionable, in order to survive in a predatory environment.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisOff the Grid (2025)
After a morally-bankrupt company tries to weaponize a brilliant scientist's revolutionary technology, he goes off the grid to safeguard humanity. When the company sends a strike force to find him, they make their biggest mistake of all – they weaponize the man they are trying to catch.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisOne Mile: Chapter Two (2026)
Former special forces operative Danny is forced back onto a remote island when a violent, secretive community takes revenge by abducting his daughter Alex, launching a relentless hunt against enemies prepared for his every move.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisIn the Blood (2014)
When her husband goes missing during their Caribbean vacation, a woman sets off on her own to take down the men she thinks are responsible.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action
SnoozefestMovies like thisImperial Dreams (2014)
A 21-year-old reformed gangster's devotion to his family and his future is put to the test when he is released from prison and returns to his old stomping grounds in Watts, Los Angeles.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisI Believe (2019)
A 9 year old boy experiences God's power in a supernatural way.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisI Am David (2003)
A 12-year-old boy manages to flee a Communist concentration camp on his own, through sheer will and determination. All he has in his possession is a loaf of bread, a letter to deliver to someone in Denmark, and a compass to help get him there.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisLittle Boy Blue (1998)
Living in rural Texas is a dysfunctional family: an abusive dad, a Vietnam vet with a war wound that's left him impotent; a compliant wife and a son of about 20, two small sons who look a lot like their brother. The dad harbors a secret, and he goes to murderous lengths to keep it hidden. The young man, Jimmy, who has suspicions, but little comes out until a Yankee woman comes to town.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisLittle Lord Fauntleroy (1980)
Young Cedric Errol and his widowed mother live in genteel poverty in 1880s Brooklyn after the death of his father. Cedric's grandfather, the Earl of Dorincourt, has long ago disowned his son for marrying an American. But after the death of the Earl's remaining son, he decides to accept Cedric as his heir.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisRogue Agent (2022)
Conman Robert Freegard poses as an undercover MI5 agent and kidnaps countless victims amidst a high-stakes manhunt, until the woman who fell for him brings him to justice.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBattles Without Honor and Humanity: Proxy War (1973)
Shozo Hirono has managed to separate from the Yamamori family and create his own small family, and extend his circle of acquaintances. These new friendships include a powerful underboss of the Muraoka family, Noboru Uchimoto.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both action & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisAmerican Insurrection (2021)
Set in a dystopian America where all people who aren't straight, white, Christian and cis gender are kept track of by the government with bar codes.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both action & drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisThe Great Alone (TBA)
The Albright family move off-grid to the Alaskan wilderness in the wake of the Vietnam War in hopes of a new beginning.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Category 6: Day of Destruction (2004)
Three tornadoes converge to wreak havoc on Chicago, disrupting the power grid and creating the worst super-storm in history: a category 6 twister.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both action
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisPressure Point (1997)
A CIA assassin is embroiled in a deadly game across two continents. Betrayed and imprisoned, he faces one last mission to regain his freedom, his family and his self respect. Stars Steve Railsback, Larry Linville.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both action
Tu stoję... (1994)
A journalist from "Gazeta Wyborcza" recalls his investigative reports and the consequences he suffered while trying to reveal the truth.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Diamondbacks (1998)
The Diamondback Militia violently opposes certain U.S. policies regarding satellite info. After a lightning attack on a federal courthouse, the militia takes over a space shuttle tracking station. The goal: to take control of a multi-billion dollar communications satellite. Who will save the space shuttle and its crew?
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both action
Melancholia (2011)
Two sisters find their already strained relationship challenged as a mysterious new planet threatens to collide with Earth.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Second Civil War (1997)
When a planeload of Pakistani orphans are shipped to his state for permanent relocation, the governor of Idaho defies the president and closes the state's border. News Net Television, a cable news program that makes hay by reporting on political scandals, quickly spins the racist act into an overnight media sensation, creating a divide in national opinion over the issue.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like this
Like When the Lights Go Out and something else?
Blend two favourites and we’ll find the films in between.
Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like When the Lights Go Out?
The closest matches to When the Lights Go Out are Dirt (2018), Mexicali (2026) and Beast (2026). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after When the Lights Go Out?
Start with Dirt (2018), the closest match to When the Lights Go Out.
What is the highest-rated movie like When the Lights Go Out?
Beast (2026), rated 7.5/10 by 227 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like When the Lights Go Out?
Beast (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like When the Lights Go Out?
Yes: Dirt (2018), Mexicali (2026) and Beast (2026).
How are movies similar to When the Lights Go Out chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside When the Lights Go Out, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.