Movies like Bowl (1961)
The best movies like Bowl (1961) are Love & Pop (1998), Pastoral: To Die in the Country (1974) and House (1977). If Bowl hooked you, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedNeon Genesis Evangelion: The End of Evangelion (1997)8.3/10 from 2,003 votes
- NewestCONTACT (2026)Released 2026
- In JapaneseLove & Pop (1998)Also in Japanese
Love & Pop (1998)
Tokyo schoolgirl Hiromi and her friends engage in a practice known as enjo kosai, or "compensated dating", where older men pay young girls for dates. Hiromi plunges deeper into this world to raise money for an expensive ring.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisPastoral: To Die in the Country (1974)
A director faces creative block while working on his latest film – a reimagination of his adolescence growing up in a mountain village in rural Japan.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisHouse (1977)
Hoping to find a sense of connection to her late mother, Gorgeous takes a trip with her friends to visit her aunt's ancestral house in the countryside. The girls soon discover that there is more to the old house than meets the eye.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisNowhere (1997)
In Los Angeles, a colorful assortment of bohemians try to make sense of their intersecting lives. The moody Dark Smith, his bisexual girlfriend, her lesbian lover and their shy gay friend plan on attending the wildest party of the year. But they'll only make it if they can survive the drug trips, suicides, trysts, mutilations and alien abductions that occur as one surreal day unfolds.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThrow Away Your Books, Rally in the Streets (1971)
An experimental, psychedelic odyssey through Japanese subculture experienced via the eyes of a disillusioned young man, who must contend with intense familial dysfunction, psychosexual alienation, and existentialist malaise.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisMary Shelley's Frankenstein (1994)
Victor Frankenstein is a promising young doctor who, devastated by the death of his mother during childbirth, becomes obsessed with bringing the dead back to life. His experiments lead to the creation of a monster, which Frankenstein has put together with the remains of corpses. It's not long before Frankenstein regrets his actions.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Cowboy and the Frenchman (1988)
A grizzled, hard-of-hearing cowboy, Slim, and his two friends, Dusty and Pete, capture a mysterious, well-dressed Frenchman.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisUnder the Silver Lake (2018)
Young and disenchanted Sam meets a mysterious and beautiful woman who's swimming in his building's pool one night. When she suddenly vanishes the next morning, Sam embarks on a surreal quest across Los Angeles to decode the secret behind her disappearance, leading him into the murkiest depths of mystery, scandal and conspiracy.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisOcean Waves (1993)
At Kichijōji Station, Tokyo, Taku Morisaki glimpses a familiar woman on the platform opposite boarding a train. Later, her photo falls from a shelf as he exits his apartment before flying to Kōchi Prefecture. Picking it up, he looks at it briefly before leaving. As the aeroplane takes off, he narrates the events that brought her into his life...
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisNeon Genesis Evangelion: Death and Rebirth (1997)
Originally a collection of clips from the Neon Genesis Evangelion TV series, Death was created as a precursor to the re-worked ending of the series. Rebirth was intended as that re-worked ending, but after production overruns Rebirth became only the first half of the first part of The End of Evangelion, with some minor differences.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisObsession (2026)
After breaking the mysterious "One Wish Willow" to win his crush's heart, a hopeless romantic finds himself getting exactly what he asked for but soon discovers that some desires come at a dark, sinister price.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisPaprika (2006)
Dr. Atsuko Chiba is a research psychologist who uses a device called the DC Mini to enter her patients' dreams, wherein she adopts the alter-ego "Paprika". When the device is stolen, she must stop rogue elements from merging the dream and waking worlds.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisAltered States (1980)
A research scientist explores the boundaries and frontiers of human consciousness. Using sensory deprivation and hallucinogenic mixtures from Native American shamans, he explores these altered states of cognizance and finds that memory, time, and reality itself are states of mind.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Girl Who Leapt Through Time (2006)
When 17-year-old Makoto Konno gains the ability to 'leap' backwards through time, she immediately sets about improving her grades and preventing personal mishaps. However, she soon realises that changing the past isn't as simple as it seems, and eventually, will have to rely on her new powers to shape the future of herself and her friends.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisNeon Genesis Evangelion: The End of Evangelion (1997)
SEELE orders an all-out attack on NERV, aiming to destroy the Evas before Gendo can advance his own plans for the Human Instrumentality Project. Shinji is pushed to the limits of his sanity as he is forced to decide the fate of humanity.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisBoys in the Trees (2016)
On Halloween 1997, two estranged teen skaters embark on a surreal journey through their memories, dreams and fears.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSociety (1990)
Bill Whitney is worried that he is different to his sister and parents. They mix with other upper-class people while Bill is more down to earth. Even his girlfriend seems a bit odd. All is revealed when Bill returns home to find a party in full swing.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisPowaqqatsi (1988)
An exploration of technologically developing nations and the effect the transition to Western-style modernization has had on them.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisBegotten (1991)
Begotten is the creation myth brought to life, the story of no less than the violent death of God and the (re)birth of nature on a barren earth.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBeau Is Afraid (2023)
Following the sudden death of his mother, a mild-mannered but anxiety-ridden man confronts his darkest fears as he embarks on an epic odyssey back home.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisVideodrome (1983)
As the president of a trashy TV channel, Max Renn is desperate for new programming to attract viewers. When he happens upon "Videodrome," a TV show dedicated to gratuitous torture and punishment, Max sees a potential hit and broadcasts the show on his channel. However, after his girlfriend auditions for the show and never returns, Max investigates the truth behind Videodrome and discovers that the graphic violence may not be as fake as he thought.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
Worth the HypeMovies like thisEraserhead (1977)
First-time father Henry Spencer tries to survive his industrial environment, his angry girlfriend, and the unbearable screams of his newly born mutant child.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
Worth the HypeMovies like thisDelicatessen (1991)
In a post-apocalyptic world, the residents of an apartment above the butcher shop receive an occasional delicacy of meat, something that is in low supply. A young man new in town falls in love with the butcher's daughter, which causes conflicts in her family, who need the young man for other business-related purposes.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Thirteenth Floor (1999)
In Los Angeles, a wealthy man, known as Mr. Fuller, discovers a shocking secret about the world he lives in. Fearing for his life, he leaves a desperate message for a friend of his in the most unexpected place.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
Worth the HypeMovies like thisCONTACT (2026)
CONTACT is a short documentary film directed by Jonathan Walley that chronicles the transformation of an entire skatepark into a playable musical instrument—where the skate, BMX, art, and music scenes collide. HCS has been many things: a skatepark, gallery, library, museum, and stage; but, for one weekend, Derek Nelson fabricator, activist, BMX pro, and artist, transformed his skatepark into an immersive sonic installation—part instrument, part playground—for the community of Binghamton, NY to become co‑creators in a conflagration of sound. SMALL TOWN, BIG SOUND. CONTACT reminds us of the joy in creativity, community, and the DIY spirit. Contact is about pushing boundaries, experimenting with art, and reclaiming space in an increasingly cruel, unkind, and oppressive world. It’s a poetic exploration of the creative process told by a filmmaker who calls HCS home.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
Sweet Movie (1974)
The winner of the Miss World Virginity contest marries, escapes from her masochistic husband and ends up involved in a world of debauchery.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
SnoozefestMovies like thisThe Flower Market (1994)
New York's floral district, like Amsterdam's is a scene that is most vibrant at the crack of dawn when flowers are shipped in to wholesalers. Very convenient timing if you've spent all night at the disco! If you want it fresh, you have to be there early. Not only are the better florists there to get the freshest flowers, but also the latest, freshest, and hottest dish. The scenario of this video is inspired by the central core of the design world: innuendo, rumors and gossip. Hearsay based on the cruising practices of one of New York's top gay floral designers. A vignette in a pastoral country setting–full of sunflowers and wild flowers–shows what the honey bee is really attracted to. Two lusty youths get it on atop a bed of exotic varieties.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (1998)
Raoul Duke and his attorney Dr. Gonzo drive a red convertible across the Mojave desert to Las Vegas with a suitcase full of drugs to cover a motorcycle race. As their consumption of drugs increases at an alarming rate, the stoned duo trash their hotel room and fear legal repercussions. Duke begins to drive back to L.A., but after an odd run-in with a cop, he returns to Sin City and continues his wild drug binge.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
Worth the HypeMovies like thisTwin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me (1992)
In the questionable town of Deer Meadow, Washington, FBI Agent Desmond inexplicably disappears while hunting for the man who murdered a teen girl. The killer is never apprehended, and, after experiencing dark visions and supernatural encounters, Agent Dale Cooper chillingly predicts that the culprit will claim another life. Meanwhile, in the more cozy town of Twin Peaks, hedonistic beauty Laura Palmer hangs with lowlifes and seems destined for a grisly fate.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
Worth the HypeMovies like thisMaman (2025)
Marie-Hélène, my mother, is retiring and takes with her her memories, her anxieties and the mental burden of having raised three children while working full time. As she works her last shift as a home nurse, her thoughts jostle and harmonize in a whirlwind similar to a panic attack.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
Like Bowl and something else?
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Bowl?
The closest matches to Bowl are Love & Pop (1998), Pastoral: To Die in the Country (1974) and House (1977). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Bowl?
Start with Love & Pop (1998), the closest match to Bowl.
What is the highest-rated movie like Bowl?
Neon Genesis Evangelion: The End of Evangelion (1997), rated 8.3/10 by 2,003 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Bowl?
CONTACT (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there Japanese movies like Bowl?
Yes: Love & Pop (1998), Pastoral: To Die in the Country (1974) and House (1977).
How are movies similar to Bowl chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Bowl, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.