Movies like Detention (1998)
The best movies like Detention (1998) are Porno (2019), Code 3 (2025) and Parents (1989). If Detention hooked you with its drama and comedy, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedTo Be or Not to Be (1942)7.8/10 from 883 votes
- NewestCode 3 (2025)Released 2025
Porno (2019)
When a group of naive teens working at a movie theater in a small Christian town discover a mysterious film hidden in its basement, they unleash an alluring succubus who gives them a sex education…written in blood.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCode 3 (2025)
A burned-out paramedic tries to survive his last 24 hours on the job while training a new recruit.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisParents (1989)
Michael is a young boy living in a typical 1950s suburbanite home... except for his bizarre and horrific nightmares, and continued unease around his parents. Young Michael begins to suspect his parents are cooking more than just hamburgers on the grill outside, but has trouble explaining his fears to his new-found friend Sheila, or the school's social worker.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror & comedy
SnoozefestMovies like thisSorry, Baby (2025)
Agnes feels stuck. Unlike her best friend, Lydie, who’s moved to New York and is now expecting a baby, Agnes still lives in the New England house they once shared as graduate students, now working as a professor at her alma mater. A ‘bad thing’ happened to Agnes a few years ago and, since then, despite her best efforts, life hasn’t gotten back on track.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBlackwater Lane (2024)
An American school teacher in England drives past an abandoned car late one night, unaware that the driver was the victim of a murder. As she comes to terms with the realization, seemingly supernatural events start to affect the gothic manor she lives in with her husband.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisWorld's Greatest Dad (2009)
In the wake of a freak accident, Lance suffers the worst tragedy and the greatest opportunity of his life. He is suddenly faced with the possibility of fame, fortune and popularity, if he can only live with the knowledge of how he got there.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHypnotic (2021)
A young woman seeking self-improvement enlists the help of a renowned hypnotist but, after a handful of intense sessions, discovers unexpected and deadly consequences.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisFat Kid Rules The World (2012)
A dropout comes to the aid of a chubby and suicidal high-school kid by recruiting him as the drummer for his upstart punk-rock band.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSpontaneous (2020)
When students in their high school begin inexplicably exploding (literally), seniors Mara and Dylan struggle to survive in a world where each moment may be their last.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisArt School Confidential (2006)
Starting from childhood attempts at illustration, the protagonist pursues his true obsession to art school. But as he learns how the art world really works, he finds that he must adapt his vision to the reality that confronts him.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisFamily Weekend (2013)
A 16-year-old girl takes her parents hostage after they miss her big jump-roping competition.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHold the Fort (2025)
A HOA turns out to be more troublesome than usual in this wildly amusing, FX-heavy freak-out about newly minted suburbanites unexpectedly forced to take part in a struggle against monstrous forces.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror & comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSundown: The Vampire in Retreat (1991)
Reclusive vampires lounge in a lonely American town. They wear sunscreen to protect themselves. A descendant of Van Helsing arrives with hilarious consequences.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisVampire (2011)
An outwardly normal schoolteacher preys on suicidal women to slake his overwhelming thirst for human blood.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisJo Jo Dancer, Your Life Is Calling (1986)
Although Jo Jo Dancer has achieved success as a stand-up comedian, he hasn't found happiness. After receiving severe burns in a narcotics-related incident, Jo Jo remains in a coma, and, while in this state, he looks back on his life. Drifting off into memories of his troubled childhood, Jo Jo revisits his youth, recalling his eventual rise to fame and the decadence that followed. As he considers his existence, he must decide if he wants to go on living or not.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisOnyx the Fortuitous and the Talisman of Souls (2023)
Onyx joins a group of fellow occultists to attend a dark ritual at the mansion of their idol, Bartok. Suspecting Bartok’s nefarious intentions, Onyx is suddenly immersed in a world of monsters, mystery, and mayhem.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisGatlopp: Hell of a Game (2022)
Four friends get together for a nostalgic evening of fun and games after a decade of absence, which takes a dark turn.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBad Boy Bubby (1993)
Bubby has spent thirty years trapped in the same small room, tricked by his mother. One day, he manages to escape and, deranged and naive in equal measures, his adventure into a modern and nihilistic life begins.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMumsy, Nanny, Sonny & Girly (1970)
A wealthy, fatherless British clan kidnap bums and hippies, forcing them to participate in an elaborate role-playing game in which they are the perfect family; those who refuse or attempt escape endure ritualistic murder.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisI Don't Feel at Home in This World Anymore (2017)
When a depressed woman is burglarized, she finds a new sense of purpose by tracking down the thieves alongside her obnoxious neighbor. But they soon find themselves dangerously out of their depth against a pack of degenerate criminals.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisOut of Plastic (2024)
An obsessed engineer and their unlucky friend discover the price of creation when plastic becomes the consumer. A modern twist on the classic creature horror genre, Out of Plastic explores the will of humanity to find permanence on Earth - through whatever means necessary. Since the first synthetic plastic created by Leo Baekeland in 1907, engineers have searched for ways to improve and expand on plastic. In this horror short, an engineer takes on the ultimate mission - replicating the immortality of plastics into a living organism.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror & comedy
D'Unbelievables D'Telly (1998)
Irish Comedy Starring Jon Kenny & Pat Shortt
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy & drama
To Be or Not to Be (1942)
During the Nazi occupation of Poland, an acting troupe becomes embroiled in a Polish soldier's efforts to track down a German spy.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Elementary Particles (2006)
Based on Michel Houellebecq's controversial novel, Atomised (aka The Elementary Particles) focuses on Michael and Bruno, two very different half-brothers and their disturbed sexuality. After a chaotic childhood with a hippie mother only caring for her affairs, Michael, a molecular biologist, is more interested in genes than women, while Bruno is obsessed with his sexual desires, but mostly finds his satisfaction with prostitutes. But Bruno's life changes when he gets to know the experienced Christiane. In the meantime, Michael meets Annabelle, the love of his youth, again.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisNatural Born Killers (1994)
Two victims of traumatized childhoods become lovers and serial murderers irresponsibly glorified by the mass media.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisIn China They Eat Dogs (1999)
Arvid is an ordinary bank clerk who lives a rather unassuming life with his dear girlfriend. But his life is turned completely upside down when he bravely manages to avert a robbery against the bank where he works.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy
Worth the HypeMovies like thisWilly Wonka & the Chocolate Factory (1971)
When eccentric candy man Willy Wonka promises a lifetime supply of sweets and a tour of his chocolate factory to five lucky kids, penniless Charlie Bucket seeks the golden ticket that will make him a winner.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy
Worth the HypeMovies like thisMars Attacks! (1996)
A fleet of Martian spacecraft surrounds the world's major cities and all of humanity waits to see if the extraterrestrial visitors have, as they claim, "come in peace." U.S. President James Dale receives assurance from science professor Donald Kessler that the Martians' mission is a friendly one. But when a peaceful exchange ends in the total annihilation of the U.S. Congress, military men call for a full-scale nuclear retaliation.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisStand by Me (1986)
After learning that a boy their age has been accidentally killed near their rural homes, four boys decide to go see the body. Gordie, Vern, Chris, and Teddy encounter a mean junk man and a marsh full of leeches, but they also learn more about one another and their very different home lives. Just a lark at first, the boys' adventure evolves into a defining event in their lives.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisPaul Mooney: A Piece of My Mind - God Bless America (2014)
The venomous, no holds barred style of standup comedy legend Paul Mooney is on full display in this concert special. The vitriolic funnyman spares no politician or pop icon from his scathing wit, throwing jabs at Sarah Palin, Mel Gibson, Tiger Woods and many others. Defiant, socially relevant and always hilarious, it’s a legendary Mooney performance, taped live at the Cobb Energy Centre in Atlanta, Georgia.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Detention?
The closest matches to Detention are Porno (2019), Code 3 (2025) and Parents (1989). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Detention?
Start with Porno (2019), the closest match to Detention.
What is the highest-rated movie like Detention?
To Be or Not to Be (1942), rated 7.8/10 by 883 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Detention?
Code 3 (2025) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like Detention?
Yes: Porno (2019), Code 3 (2025) and Parents (1989).
How are movies similar to Detention chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Detention, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.