Movies like I Know What It's Like to Be Dead (1987)
The best movies like I Know What It's Like to Be Dead (1987) are Die, Mommie, Die! (2003), Totally F***ed Up (1994) and Femme (2023). If I Know What It's Like to Be Dead hooked you, these 20 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedTo All the Boys I've Loved Before (2018)7.6/10 from 8,813 votes
- NewestTeenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma (2026)Released 2026
Die, Mommie, Die! (2003)
Angela Arden is a washed up, has-been singing star who is trapped in a hateful marriage to film producer Sol Sussman. In an attempt to escape her marriage so that she can be with a hunky layabout, she poisons her husband. However, Angela's manipulative daughter, gay son and alcoholic maid are not going to make it easy for her.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisTotally F***ed Up (1994)
Gay, alienated Los Angeles teens have a hard time as their parents kick them out of their homes, they don’t have money, their lovers cheat, and they are harassed by gay-bashers.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisFemme (2023)
Jules is a drag artist in London who withdraws into himself and loses his career after a horrific attack. Months later, he recognizes one of his assailants in a gay sauna and quickly realizes he has the perfect opportunity to get revenge.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisScorpio Rising (1964)
A gang of bikers prepares for a race as sexual, sadistic, and occult images are cut together.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBilly's Hollywood Screen Kiss (1998)
Billy Collier is a photographer working on a series of pictures featuring recreations of movie kisses, with drag queens playing the female roles. For his male model, he hires Gabriel, a young waiter on whom he has developed a serious crush. While Billy is openly gay, Gabriel says that he is straight and even claims to have a girlfriend. However, as they spend more time together and grow closer, Billy becomes increasingly unsure that this is true.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
SnoozefestMovies 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 thisBlue (1993)
Against a plain, unchanging blue screen, a densely interwoven soundtrack of voices, sound effects and music attempt to convey a portrait of Derek Jarman's experiences with AIDS, both literally and allegorically, together with an exploration of the meanings associated with the colour blue.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisWatching the Detectives (2007)
Neil, a self-proclaimed film geek and owner of Gumshoe video, has always been content to live vicariously through his favorite films noir. But when he meets Violet, a real-life femme fatale, his mundane world gets turned upside down and the line between reality and the movies quickly begins to blur.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies 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
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisTo All the Boys I've Loved Before (2018)
Lara Jean's love life goes from imaginary to out of control when her secret letters to every boy she's ever fallen for are mysteriously mailed out.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Lonely Island Presents: The Unauthorized Bash Brothers Experience (2019)
The Lonely Island spoofs Jose Canseco and Mark McGwire in this visual rap album set in the Bash Brothers' 1980s heyday.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMaurice (1987)
After his lover rejects him, Maurice attempts to come to terms with his sexuality within the restrictiveness of Edwardian society.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Moment (2026)
A rising pop sensation navigates fame and industry pressures while preparing for her arena tour debut, revealing the transformation of underground culture into mainstream success.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisPariah (2011)
A Brooklyn teenager juggles conflicting identities and risks friendship, heartbreak, and family in a desperate search for sexual expression.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisTeenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma (2026)
An ambitious director sets out to revive a faded slasher franchise, but her meeting with the film’s reclusive original star spirals into a terrifying maze of obsession, fear, and blood-soaked delusion.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe 4:30 Movie (2024)
In the summer of 1986, three sixteen year old friends spend their Saturdays sneaking into movies at the local multiplex. But when one of the guys also invites the girl of his dreams to see the latest comedy, each of the teens learn more about life and love.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
SnoozefestMovies like thisVelvet Goldmine (1998)
Almost a decade since larger-than-life glam-rock enigma Brian Slade disappeared from public eye, an investigative journalist is on assignment to uncover the truth behind his former idol.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisRicky Stanicky (2024)
When three childhood best friends pull a prank gone wrong, they invent the imaginary Ricky Stanicky to get them out of trouble. Twenty years later, the trio still uses the nonexistent Ricky as a handy alibi for their immature behavior. But when their spouses and partners get suspicious and demand to finally meet the fabled Mr. Stanicky, the guilty trio decide to hire a washed-up actor and raunchy celebrity impersonator to bring him to life.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like this10,000 Saints (2015)
A sweeping multigenerational story set against the backdrop of the raw, roaring New York City of the late 1980s; adoption, teen pregnancy, drugs, hardcore punk rock, the unbridled optimism and reckless stupidity of the young—and old—are all major elements in this heart-aching tale of the son of diehard hippies and his strange odyssey through the extremes of late 20th century youth culture.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe People's Joker (2024)
An aspiring clown grappling with her gender identity combats a fascistic caped crusader.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like I Know What It's Like to Be Dead?
The closest matches to I Know What It's Like to Be Dead are Die, Mommie, Die! (2003), Totally F***ed Up (1994) and Femme (2023). Below are 17 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after I Know What It's Like to Be Dead?
Start with Die, Mommie, Die! (2003), the closest match to I Know What It's Like to Be Dead.
What is the highest-rated movie like I Know What It's Like to Be Dead?
To All the Boys I've Loved Before (2018), rated 7.6/10 by 8,813 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like I Know What It's Like to Be Dead?
Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like I Know What It's Like to Be Dead?
Yes: Die, Mommie, Die! (2003), Totally F***ed Up (1994) and Femme (2023).
How are movies similar to I Know What It's Like to Be Dead chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside I Know What It's Like to Be Dead, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.