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Movies like The Ruins (1984)

The best movies like The Ruins (1984) are Homebound (2025), Hereafter (2010) and Jimmy P. (2013). If The Ruins hooked you with its drama, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.

Quick picks

  1. Homebound (2025)

    Two childhood friends from a small North Indian village chase a police job that promises them the dignity they’ve long been denied. But as they inch closer to their dream, mounting desperation threatens the bond that holds them together.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama

    Worth the HypeMovies like this
  2. Hereafter (2010)

    Three people — a blue-collar American, a French journalist and a London school boy — are touched by death in different ways.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama

    Popcorn FlickMovies like this
  3. Jimmy P. (2013)

    At the end of WWII, Jimmy Picard, a Native American Blackfoot who fought in France, suffers from unexplainable symptoms and is admitted to a military hospital. When doctors suspect schizophrenia, an eccentric psychoanalyst takes up the case and starts a conversation with the veteran.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama

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  4. A Mouthful of Air (2021)

    Julie is a new mom and children's book author, who escapes into the bright Crayola-colored world of her creation in order to leave behind the darkness caused by her post-partum depression.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama

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  5. Hounddog (2008)

    A drama set in the American South, where a precocious, troubled girl finds a safe haven in the music and movement of Elvis Presley.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama

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  6. Civil War (2024)

    In the near future, a group of war journalists attempt to survive while reporting the truth as the United States stands on the brink of civil war.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama

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  7. Man with No Past (2025)

    Waking up in an unfamiliar city, a man with no memory must confront the mysteries of his own identity. However, his desperate search to uncover the past pits him against a powerful enemy, leading to a showdown that ultimately reveals the truth.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama

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  8. The Safety of Objects (2002)

    In a suburban landscape, the lives of several families interlace with loss, despair and personal crisis. Esther Gold has lost focus on all but caring for her comatose son, Paul, and neglects her daughter and husband. Lawyer Jim Train is devoted to his career, not his family. Helen Christianson wants to find a new spark in life, while Annette Jennings tries to rebuild hers.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama

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  9. 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

    Popcorn FlickMovies like this
  10. The Bang Bang Club (2011)

    In the early to mid '90s, when the South African system of apartheid was in its death throes, four photographers - Greg Marinovich, Kevin Carter, Ken Oosterbroek and João Silva - bonded by their friendship and a sense of purpose, worked together to chronicle the violence and upheaval leading up to the 1994 election of Nelson Mandela as president. Their work is risky and dangerous, potentially fatally so, as they thrust themselves into the middle of chaotic clashes between forces backed by the government (including Inkatha Zulu warriors) and those in support of Mandela's African National Congress.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama

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  11. Article 370 (2024)

    Ahead of a major constitutional decision which rendered the Article 370 of the Indian state ineffective, special agent Zooni Haksar is tasked with a secret mission to quell violence in the conflict-ridden region.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama

    Worth the HypeMovies like this
  12. Dhobi Ghat (2010)

    Arun is a reclusive and lonely modern art painter. Shai is an American banker who is on a visit to Mumbai. Munna is a washerboy also living near Arun and Yasmin. The movie is about these four characters from different class of society and how the lives of four characters are intertwined.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama

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  13. The Caveman's Valentine (2001)

    Romulus, a misunderstood musician turned recluse hiding from personal demons in a New York City cave, finds the frozen body of a young drifter in a tree. The authorities, including his police officer daughter, claim the death is accidental. Romulus is convinced the man was murdered by a prominent art photographer but how can he prove he's right when everyone thinks he's insane?

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama

  14. Backdraft 2 (2019)

    Years after the original Backdraft, Sean, son of the late Steve "Bull" McCaffrey, is assigned to investigate a deadly fire only to realize it is something much more sinister.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama

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  15. A Dry White Season (1989)

    During the 1976 Soweto uprising, a white school teacher's life and values are threatened when he asks questions about the death of a young black boy who died in police custody.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama

    Popcorn FlickMovies like this
  16. Tyson's Run (2022)

    When fifteen-year-old Tyson attends public school for the first time, his life is changed forever. While helping his father clean up after the football team, Tyson befriends champion marathon runner Aklilu. Never letting his autism hold him back, Tyson becomes determined to run his first marathon in hopes of winning his father's approval. With the help of an unlikely friend and his parents, Tyson learns that with faith in yourself and the courage to take the first step, anything is possible.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama

    Worth the HypeMovies like this
  17. The River (1984)

    Tom and Mae Garvey are a Tennessee farming couple battling violent floods to save their land. In addition to natural disasters, the Garveys fight to stop a selfish land developer and a local corporation from foreclosing on their farm. While Mae stays at home to care for their children and tend to the crops, Tom finds work as a scab at a steel mill to preserve his family's property.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama

    Popcorn FlickMovies like this
  18. Call Me Crazy: A Five Film (2013)

    A psychotherapist helps a law student cope with schizophrenia in one of five interconnected tales dealing with mental illness.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama

    Worth the HypeMovies like this
  19. The Girl in the Book (2015)

    The story of a young writer's transformation when her past invades her present.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama

  20. Embattled (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 this
  21. Dukh Bhanjan Tera Naam (1974)

    This Punjabi Movie, Dukh Bhanjan Tera Naam is a Punjabi movie about Sikhism. It was a great success. It portrays the people's belief in the almighty god who is one and how life teaches a lesson to those who does not believe so.

    Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama

  22. Beauty Betrayed (2002)

    A gun fires and supermodel Lily Sampson is dead. Two cops, Clark and his new partner Allie, are on the case. Their only clues are a revealing videotape of the victim in a searing game of bondage with a famous fashion photographer, and Lily's high school yearbook which reveals a mysterious twin sister and clues to a lifelong rivalry with another model.

    Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama

  23. Street Dancer 3D (2020)

    Two rival dance groups from India and Pakistan who are always competing against each other, join forces when it comes to competing at an international dance competition.

    Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama

    Popcorn FlickMovies like this
  24. Emperor Shivaji (1952)

    The film chronicles the ascent of Shivaji, the great Maratha warrior who fought for liberty from the erstwhile Muslim rulers in order to establish a secular Hindu kingdom.

    Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama

  25. Santosh (2024)

    A government scheme sees newly widowed Santosh inherit her husband’s job as a police constable in the rural badlands of Northern India. When a low-caste girl is found raped and murdered, she is pulled into the investigation under the wing of charismatic feminist inspector Sharma.

    Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama

    Popcorn FlickMovies like this
  26. Love 86 (1986)

    Laxmi Devi is a strict mother having two daughters named Leena and Isha. She wants them to get married in a prosperous and rich family with two brothers so that they can be together for life. But two orphaned boys named Omi and Vikram Doshi who are thieves by profession, fall for these two sisters. Now Laxmi Devi wants to control the fate of her daughters but can she do this?

    Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama

  27. Lahoriye (2017)

    Lahoriye is the story of love. The love which does not see boundaries, the love which does not see nations. Kikar Singh (Amrinder Gill) is a clerk at DTO office and his family holds a piece of land which is right at the LOC. The people living in Border areas are familiar with the situation. Right across the land in Pakistan is a Kinnow farm where Ameeran (Sargun Mehta) works and live with her family. Kikar falls for Ameeran and slowly slowly even Ameeran falls for Kikar. What follows next is a tale of romance which is worth watching on the big screen.

    Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama

  28. Kal Hamara Hai (1959)

    Kal Hamara Hai is a 1959 Indian Hindi film, directed by S.K. Prabhakar and produced by K. Amarnath. The film stars Madhubala, Bharat Bhushan, and Jayant in lead roles. The film has a musical score by Chitra Gupta.

    Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama

  29. Woh Din Yaad Karo (1971)

    Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama

  30. After the Wedding (2006)

    A manager of an orphanage in India is sent to Copenhagen, Denmark, where he discovers a life-altering family secret.

    Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama

    Worth the HypeMovies like this

Like The Ruins and something else?

Blend two favourites and we’ll find the films in between.

Frequently asked questions

What are the best movies like The Ruins?

The closest matches to The Ruins are Homebound (2025), Hereafter (2010) and Jimmy P. (2013). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.

What should I watch after The Ruins?

Start with Homebound (2025), the closest match to The Ruins.

What is the highest-rated movie like The Ruins?

After the Wedding (2006), rated 7.2/10 by 506 TMDB users.

What is the newest movie like The Ruins?

Homebound (2025) is the most recent release on this list.

Are there Hindi movies like The Ruins?

Yes: Homebound (2025), Article 370 (2024) and Dhobi Ghat (2010).

How are movies similar to The Ruins chosen?

First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside The Ruins, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.

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