Movies like West of Zanzibar (1928)
The best movies like West of Zanzibar (1928) are Brand Upon the Brain! (2007), Mr. K (2025) and Disraeli (1929). If West of Zanzibar 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 ratedGaslight (1944)7.5/10 from 614 votes
- NewestBallistic (2026)Released 2026
Brand Upon the Brain! (2007)
After returning home to his long-estranged mother upon a request from her deathbed, a man raised by his parents in an orphanage has to confront the childhood memories that have long haunted him.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & mystery
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMr. K (2025)
Mr. K, a traveling magician, finds himself in a Kafkaesque nightmare when he can’t find the exit of his hotel. His attempts to get out only pull him deeper, entangling him further with the hotel and its curious inhabitants.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & mystery
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDisraeli (1929)
Prime Minister of Great Britain Benjamin Disraeli outwits the subterfuge of the Russians and chicanery at home in order to secure the purchase of the Suez Canal.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama
Keyhole (2011)
Gangster and deadbeat dad, Ulysses Pick, embarks on an unusual journey through his home.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama
The After (2014)
Eight strangers are thrown together by mysterious forces and must help each other survive in a violent world that defies explanation.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & mystery
Time Without Pity (1957)
Alec Graham is sentenced to death for the murder of his girlfriend Jennie, with whom he spent a weekend at the English country home of the parents of his friend Brian Stanford. Alec’s father, David Graham, a not-so-successful writer and alcoholic who has neglected his son in the past, flies in from Canada to visit his son on death row. David then goes on a quest to try and clear his son’s name while battling “the bottle.”
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller & mystery
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisGaslight (1944)
A newlywed fears she's going mad when strange things start happening at the family mansion.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisRide the Pink Horse (1947)
A con man tries to blackmail a Mexican gangster.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & mystery
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Deadly Affair (1967)
Charles Dobbs is a British secret agent investigating the apparent suicide of Foreign Office official Samuel Fennan. Dobbs suspects that Fennan's wife, Elsa, a survivor of a Nazi Germany extermination camp, might have some clues, but other officials want Dobbs to drop the case. So Dobbs hires a retiring inspector, Mendel, to quietly make inquiries. Dobbs isn't at all sure as there are a number of anomalies that simply can't be explained away. Dobbs is also having trouble at home with his errant wife, whom he very much loves, having frequent affairs. He's also pleased to see an old friend, Dieter Frey, who he recruited after the war. With the assistance of a colleague and a retired policeman, Dobbs tries to piece together just who is the spy and who in fact assassinated Fennan.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller & mystery
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Deep End of the Ocean (1999)
A three-year-old boy disappears during his mother's high school reunion. Nine years later, by chance, he turns up in the town in which the family has just relocated.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & mystery
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBallistic (2026)
When a soldier's mother discovers the bullet that killed her son in Afghanistan was made at the factory where she works, she sets out on a path of revenge against those responsible.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller & drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisThey Made Me a Fugitive (1947)
After being framed for a policeman's murder, a criminal escapes prison and sets out for revenge.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisNightmare Alley (1947)
A roustabout joins a traveling carny and schemes to figure out the mind-reading act of Mademoiselle Zeena and her alcoholic husband.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & thriller
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Locket (1946)
A dark personal secret drives a young woman to use every man she encounters.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisFramed for Murder: A Fixer Upper Mystery (2017)
In the small resort town of Lighthouse Cove, everyone knows that the best man for the job is a woman. And that woman is Shannon Hughes, owner of a construction company and an expert in Victorian home restoration and renovation. Through her renovations she will find clues to uncover the house’s secret past and in turn become an unlikely sleuth to help crack these unsolved mysteries
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & mystery
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Assault (2014)
After a cheerleader is sexually assaulted by the high school football team, she must overcome her shame and use the evidence gathered from the subsequent social media firestorm to piece together the night that she can't remember in her fight for justice. Based on the true story of the Steubenville, Ohio rape case.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both mystery & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisGarage Sale Mystery: A Case Of Murder (2017)
Jenn buys an old reel-to-reel recorder at a garage sale only to find that it includes the sound of a man pleading for his life. When the former owner of the recorder, a retired therapist, is found murdered in a patient’s apartment, Jenn’s investigation leads to other patients whose love lives are more entangled than she was first led to believe.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both mystery & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Unholy Three (1925)
Three sideshow performers form a conspiracy known as 'The Unholy Three' – a ventriloquist, midget, and strongman working together to commit a series of robberies.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisPerfect Sisters (2014)
Tired of their mother's alcoholism and a string of her abusive boyfriends, two sisters plot to kill her.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller & drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisThe 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 this23 Paces to Baker Street (1956)
Philip Hannon, a blind playwright living in London, overhears part of a conversation , that leads him into a desperate race, to find a kidnapped child. When he gets no help from the police, he along with his butler, and his ex fiancée, attempt to track down the crooks.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both mystery & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisWhile the City Sleeps (1956)
Newspaper men compete against each other to find a serial killer dubbed "The Lipstick Killer".
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisGarage Sale Mystery: Guilty Until Proven Innocent (2016)
When Jenn's old pal Sandra becomes the prime suspect in a murder case, it'll be up to her to discover who done it before time runs out.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & mystery
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Dark Past (1948)
A gang hold a family hostage in their own home. The leader of the escaped cons is bothered by a recurring dream that the doctor of the house may be able to analyze.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Mask of Diijon (1946)
A stage illusionist plots a revenge after a particularly humiliating comeback attempt.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & mystery
Men of War (1994)
Nick Gunar is a burnt-out, jaded and hard-up former mercenary who is having a difficult time adjusting to civilian life. At the end of his rope, he is hired by the Nitro Mine Corporation to strong-arm the natives of a South China Sea island into giving up their rights to its valuable mineral resources. Nick loathes the thought of another mission, but this seemingly easy job will earn him enough money to get back with his estranged family. He recruits some of his former mercenary buddies to help him with the job. The island people refuse to give up their land and Nick decides to help them fight the greedy corporation that hired him. As greed and treachery begin to unravel, Nick's band of mercenaries choose sides.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & thriller
SnoozefestMovies like thisMessage from the King (2017)
On a relentless quest to avenge his sister's murder, a man from Cape Town infiltrates a sprawling network of lowlifes and elites in Los Angeles.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both mystery & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBesondere Schwere der Schuld (2014)
Joseph Komalschek was sentenced to 30 years in prison for cruelly murdering a young mother and her newborn baby. He never confessed his crimes and the bodies could not be found. After being released from prison, he returns to his hometown. People there treat him with distrust and disdain.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & thriller
The Locked Door (1929)
On her first anniversary, Ann Reagan finds that her sister-in-law is involved with a shady character that she used to be intimate with, and determines to intervene.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & thriller
Una (2017)
When a young woman unexpectedly arrives at an older man's workplace, looking for answers, the secrets of the past threaten to unravel his new life.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like this
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like West of Zanzibar?
The closest matches to West of Zanzibar are Brand Upon the Brain! (2007), Mr. K (2025) and Disraeli (1929). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after West of Zanzibar?
People who watched West of Zanzibar most often go on to Brand Upon the Brain! (2007), Mr. K (2025) and Disraeli (1929).
What is the highest-rated movie like West of Zanzibar?
Gaslight (1944), rated 7.5/10 by 614 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like West of Zanzibar?
Ballistic (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like West of Zanzibar?
Yes: Brand Upon the Brain! (2007), Mr. K (2025) and Disraeli (1929).
How are movies similar to West of Zanzibar chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside West of Zanzibar, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.