Movies like Wanna Play? (2008)
The best movies like Wanna Play? (2008) are The Truth About Emanuel (2013), Little Boy Blue (1998) and Peppermint Frappé (1967). If Wanna Play? hooked you with its drama and thriller, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedFacing El Chapo (2026)8.7/10 from 990 votes
- NewestFacing El Chapo (2026)Released 2026
- In SpanishPeppermint Frappé (1967)Also in Spanish
The 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 & thriller
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 & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisPeppermint Frappé (1967)
Julián, a middle-aged single doctor, is reunited with Pablo, a childhood friend who has just married Elena, a beautiful young woman.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Good Neighbor (2022)
A nightmarish evening unfolds for neighbors David and Robert when they accidentally hit a woman on her bike and flee the scene. While David is increasingly plagued by feelings of guilt, Robert shows no remorse and becomes overbearing and possessive.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe House on Carroll Street (1988)
A reporter, fired after refusing to give names to a 1951 House Un-American Activities Committee, takes a part-time job as companion to an old lady. While working she overhears a noisy argument in the neighboring house, being conducted largely in German and involving her HUAC prosecutor. She begins to investigate, enlisting the help of the FBI Agent initially detailed to surveil her.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisNot Without Hope (2025)
A group of friends' fishing boat capsizes off the coast of Mexico and they're left alone stranded at sea and struggling for survival.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies 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 thriller & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAbove the Rim (1994)
Story of a promising high school basketball star and his relationships with two brothers, one a drug dealer and the other a former basketball star fallen on hard times and now employed as a security guard.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & thriller
Worth the HypeMovies like thisSky High (2020)
A commentary on Spanish society dressed as a thriller about the misadventures of a gang of young petty criminals after the real estate crash.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisLockdown (2000)
Avery (Jones) returns to college as a competitive swimmer after getting his life back on track. But his life takes another unexpected turn when he and his two friends (Bonds, Casseus) are wrongly accused of murder and end up in prison.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Corpse of Anna Fritz (2015)
Anna Fritz is a beautiful and famous actress. Suddenly her body is found in a hotel and the news of her death goes around the planet. The young, shy caretaker Pau works at the hospital where they carried the body of Anna Fritz. He and his friends decide to take pictures of the body of Anna Fritz. They decide they could make love to her and nobody would know. They are in front of Anna Fritz ... and can do with it what they want.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like this6 Below: Miracle on the Mountain (2017)
An adrenaline seeking snowboarder gets lost in a massive winter storm in the back country of the High Sierras where he is pushed to the limits of human endurance and forced to battle his own personal demons as he fights for survival....
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller & drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisPost Tenebras Lux (2012)
Juan and his urban family live in the Mexican countryside, where they enjoy and suffer a world apart. And nobody knows if these two worlds are complimentary or if they strive to eliminate one another.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisImpossible Things (2021)
After the death of her abusive husband, Matilde finds her new best friend in Miguel, her young, insecure, and disoriented neighbor.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisThe 355 (2022)
A group of top female agents from American, British, Chinese, Colombian, and German government agencies are drawn together to try and stop an organization from acquiring a deadly weapon to send the world into chaos.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe System (2022)
When a young soldier, newly returned from war, gets caught up in a drug bust, he is recruited by the authorities to go undercover in a notoriously dangerous prison in order to figure out what is really going on.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Worth the HypeMovies 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 drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisFacing El Chapo (2026)
Two Mexican officers must survive the final hours of their shift after crossing a ruthless cartel boss.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisChief of Station (2024)
After learning that the death of his wife was not an accident, a former CIA Station Chief is forced back into the espionage underworld, teaming up with an adversary to unravel a conspiracy that challenges everything he thought he knew.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDangerous (2021)
A reformed sociopath heads to a remote island after the death of his brother. Soon after his arrival, the island falls under siege from a deadly gang of mercenaries, and when he discovers their role in his brother’s demise, he sets out on a relentless quest for vengeance.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Wild Hunt (2009)
A MODERN MEDIEVAL SAGA, The Wild Hunt tells the story of Erik Magnusson, a young man who decides to follow his estranged girlfriend Evelyn into a medieval re-enactment game when he discovers that she has been seduced by one of the players. As the down-to-earth Erik treks deeper into the game in search of his love, he inadvertently disrupts the delicate balance of the make believe fantasy-land. Passions are unleashed. Rules are broken. Reality and fantasy collide. The good-hearted game turns into a tragedy of mythic proportion... Capturing the culture of costume play and the potentially dangerous intersection of real and made-up worlds, The Wild Hunt is a timely and potent comment on the consuming nature of adopting another identity, even within a game, and the modern yearning for ritual.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMazes and Monsters (1982)
Bound together by a desire to play "Mazes and Monsters," Robbie and his four college classmates decide to move the board game into the local cavern. Robbie loses his mind, and the line between reality and fantasy fuse into a harrowing nightmare.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisDungeons & Dragons (2000)
The Empire of Izmer is a divided land: elite magicians called “mages” rule while lowly commoners are powerless. When Empress Savina vows to bring equality and prosperity to her land, the evil mage Profion plots to depose her.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisDungeons & Dragons: The Book of Vile Darkness (2012)
A noble warrior must battle dragons and demons while upholding his moral code as he covertly joins a group of villains to rescue his kidnapped father from Shathrax, the Mind Flayer, who threatens to destroy the world.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisStuff Stephanie in the Incinerator (1990)
A bored, filthy rich married couple and their hired help play sordid games of deception, kidnap, sexual intrigue, and perhaps murder when a secret alliance is formed to kill domineering husband Jared for money he's been hoarding from them. Meanwhile, he may have a secret or two up his sleeves.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller
We're All Going to the World's Fair (2022)
Reality and fantasy begin to blur when a teenager, alone in her attic bedroom, immerses herself in a role-playing horror game online.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
SnoozefestMovies like this1988 (2023)
In the winter of 1988, in the depths of the Iraq/Iran war, the border town of Halabja was attacked by chemical weapons with all its people and their different stories.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Engel en Broer (2004)
A young boy and his young sister are playing on a rubbish dump, acting out their parents' divorce. For this they use their father's things which their mother brought to the dumping ground out of anger. The girl only wants to use their fathers things, but the boy finds something that he finds much more interesting.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Let the Games Begin (2001)
Produced for the "Dungeons & Dragons" Special Edition DVD.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
GroupChat (2025)
After a lengthy absence from games master Dean, a group of friends come back online to take part in a role playing game called 'Necromancer'. His newly curated campaign becomes more eventful than planned.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
Like Wanna Play? and something else?
Blend two favourites and we’ll find the films in between.
Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Wanna Play??
The closest matches to Wanna Play? are The Truth About Emanuel (2013), Little Boy Blue (1998) and Peppermint Frappé (1967). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Wanna Play??
Start with The Truth About Emanuel (2013), the closest match to Wanna Play?.
What is the highest-rated movie like Wanna Play??
Facing El Chapo (2026), rated 8.7/10 by 990 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Wanna Play??
Facing El Chapo (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there Spanish movies like Wanna Play??
Yes: Peppermint Frappé (1967), Sky High (2020) and The Corpse of Anna Fritz (2015).
How are movies similar to Wanna Play? chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Wanna Play?, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.