Movies like Moonrise (1948)
The best movies like Moonrise (1948) are Boy A (2008), The Chronology of Water (2025) and Eye for an Eye (1996). If Moonrise hooked you with its drama, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedPalmer (2021)8.1/10 from 2,027 votes
- Newest180 (2026)Released 2026
Boy A (2008)
Freed after a lengthy term in a juvenile detention center, convicted child killer Jack Burridge finds work as a deliveryman and begins dating co-worker Michelle. While out on the road one day, Jack notices a distressed child, and, after reuniting the girl with her family, becomes a local celebrity. But when a local newspaper unearths his past, Jack must cope with the anger of citizens who fear for the safety of their children.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Chronology of Water (2025)
Plagued by an abusive childhood, a woman finds escape in competitive swimming, sexual experimentation, toxic relationships, and addiction before ultimately finding her voice through writing.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisEye for an Eye (1996)
It's fire and brimstone time as grieving mother Karen McCann takes justice into her own hands when a kangaroo court in Los Angeles fails to convict Robert Doob, the monster who raped and murdered her 17-year-old daughter.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Strange Love of Martha Ivers (1946)
Three childhood friends, Martha, Walter and Sam, share a terrible secret. Over time, the ambitious Martha and the pusillanimous Walter have married. She is a cold businesswoman; he is the district attorney: a perfect combination to dominate the corrupt city of Iverstown at will. But the unexpected return of Sam, after years of absence, deeply disturbs the life of the odd couple.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisNocturnal Animals (2016)
Susan Morrow receives a book manuscript from her ex-husband – a man she left 20 years earlier – asking for her opinion of his writing. As she reads, she is drawn into the fictional life of Tony Hastings, a mathematics professor whose family vacation turns violent.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisNatural Born Killers (1994)
Two victims of traumatized childhoods become lovers and serial murderers irresponsibly glorified by the mass media.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisWe Need to Talk About Kevin (2011)
After her son Kevin commits a horrific act, troubled mother Eva reflects on her complicated relationship with her disturbed son as he grew from a toddler into a teenager.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisAcrimony (2018)
Faithful wife Melinda, who is tired of standing by her devious husband Robert, is enraged when it becomes clear she has been betrayed. That's when she lost it, and now she cannot let it go.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like this180 (2026)
When an unexpected road rage incident puts his son in critical condition, an enraged father spirals down a dark path of emotional turmoil and vengeance.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisM (1951)
In the city, someone is murdering children. The police search is so intense, it is disturbing the 'normal' criminals, and the local hoods decide to help find the murderer as quickly as possible.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMay December (2023)
Twenty years after their notorious tabloid romance gripped the nation, a married couple buckles under the pressure when an actress arrives to do research for a film about their past.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Whole Truth (2016)
A defense attorney works to get his teenage client acquitted of murdering his wealthy father.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSilent Night (2023)
A tormented father witnesses his young son die when caught in a gang's crossfire on Christmas Eve. While recovering from a wound that costs him his voice, he makes vengeance his life's mission and embarks on a punishing training regimen in order to avenge his son's death.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both 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 drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisA 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 thisDead Man's Shoes (2004)
A soldier returns to his small town and exacts a deadly revenge on the thugs who tormented his disabled brother while he was away.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThis Boy's Life (1993)
When a son and mother move to Seattle in hopes for a better life, the mother meets a seemingly polite man. Things go south when the man turns out to be abusive, endangering their lives. As the mother struggles to maintain hope in an impossible situation, the son has plans to escape.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisCape Fear (1991)
Sam Bowden is a small-town corporate attorney. Max Cady is a tattooed, cigar-smoking, Bible-quoting, psychotic rapist. What do they have in common? 14 years ago, Sam was a public defender assigned to Max Cady's rape trial, and he made a serious error: he hid a document from his illiterate client that could have gotten him acquitted. Now, the cagey Cady has been released, and he intends to teach Sam Bowden and his family a thing or two about loss.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisPalmer (2021)
After 12 years in prison, former high school football star Eddie Palmer returns home to put his life back together—and forms an unlikely bond with Sam, an outcast boy from a troubled home. But Eddie's past threatens to ruin his new life and family.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisThree Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri (2017)
After seven months have passed without a culprit in her daughter's murder case, Mildred Hayes makes a bold move, painting three signs leading into her town with a controversial message directed at Bill Willoughby, the town's revered chief of police. When his second-in-command Officer Jason Dixon, an immature mother's boy with a penchant for violence, gets involved, the battle between Mildred and Ebbing's law enforcement is only exacerbated.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisFirst Blood (1982)
When former Green Beret John Rambo is harassed by local law enforcement and arrested for vagrancy, he is forced to flee into the mountains and wage an escalating one-man war against his pursuers.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisTouch of Evil (1958)
A border-town bombing draws Mexican investigator Miguel Vargas into a corruption-ridden police investigation led by crooked captain Hank Quinlan, setting off a deadly struggle over power, justice, and truth.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisSmall Change (1976)
The lives of a motherless young man, who's just starting to find interest in women, and his physically abused, poverty stricken friend, are mixed with more or less innocent childhood experiences and challenges most their age experience.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisEnough (2002)
Working-class waitress Slim thought she was entering a life of domestic bliss when she married Mitch, the man of her dreams. After the arrival of their first child, her picture perfect life is shattered when she discovers Mitch's hidden possessive dark side, a controlling and abusive alter ego that can turn trust, love and tranquility into terror. Terrified for her child's safety, Slim flees with her daughter. Relentless in his pursuit and enlisting the aid of lethal henchmen, Mitch continually stalks the prey that was once his family.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Card Counter (2021)
William Tell just wants to play cards. His spartan existence on the casino trail is shattered when he is approached by Cirk, a vulnerable and angry young man seeking help to execute his plan for revenge on a military colonel. Tell sees a chance at redemption through his relationship with Cirk.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisUntamed Fury (1947)
The swamp folk of the deep Okefenokee live a brutal primitive life untouched by modern times - they support themselves by hunting alligators and selling them to the outside world. Jeff returns home from college with an engineering degree and dreams of bringing modern medical care and education to the swamps. He is immediately confronted by his old boyhood rival, "Gator-Bait" Blair, who thinks things are just fine the way the are. "Gator" whips the ignorant locals into a frenzy of fear and resistance. When Jeff is unintimidated by their threats, Blair sets out to stop his plans once and for all - with a rifle.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Dirty (2005)
Two gangbangers turned cops try and cover up a scandal within the LAPD.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisTrapper Keeper (2017)
A look at the trials and tribulations of school and childhood.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Die Anruferin (2008)
A lonely woman's prank phone call leads to an unexpected friendship with a grieving widow.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Alphaville (1965)
Lemmy Caution is on a mission to eliminate Professor Von Braun, the creator of a malevolent computer that rules the city of Alphaville. Befriended by the scientist’s daughter Natasha, Lemmy must unravel the mysteries of the strictly logical Alpha 60 and teach Natasha the meaning of the word “love.”
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like this
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Moonrise?
The closest matches to Moonrise are Boy A (2008), The Chronology of Water (2025) and Eye for an Eye (1996). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Moonrise?
Start with Boy A (2008), the closest match to Moonrise.
What is the highest-rated movie like Moonrise?
Palmer (2021), rated 8.1/10 by 2,027 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Moonrise?
180 (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like Moonrise?
Yes: Boy A (2008), The Chronology of Water (2025) and Eye for an Eye (1996).
How are movies similar to Moonrise chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Moonrise, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.