Movies like Pendulum
The best movies like Pendulum (1980) are Careful What You Wish For (2015), The Miracle of Marcelino (1955) and Butterfly on a Wheel (2007). If Pendulum hooked you with its drama, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedThe Miracle of Marcelino (1955)7.4/10 from 303 votes
- NewestA Father's Miracle (2025)Released 2025
- In SpanishThe Miracle of Marcelino (1955)Also in Spanish
Careful What You Wish For (2015)
A guy gets more than he bargained for after entering into an affair with the wife of an investment banker. Soon, a suspicious death and substantial life insurance policy embroil him in a scandal.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Miracle of Marcelino (1955)
Left on the doorstep of a monastery as an infant, Marcelino was raised by the monks. He was well-cared for but lonely and missed having a mother. One day he found a special friend in the forbidden attic, hanging on a cross. A friend that would repay Marcelino's kindness by granting him one heart-felt wish.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisButterfly on a Wheel (2007)
A sociopathic kidnapper methodically pushes a desperate pair of parents to their absolute breaking point.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Young One (1960)
A jazz musician seeks refuge from a lynch mob on a remote island, where he meets a hostile game warden and the young object of his attentions.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisAddicted (2014)
A gallerist risks her family and flourishing career when she enters into an affair with a talented painter and slowly loses control of her life.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisHands of Stone (2016)
The legendary Roberto Duran and his equally legendary trainer Ray Arcel change each other's lives.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHello (2022)
An emotionally unavailable flight attendant meets a potential love interest and later finds out that her "perfect guy" has ulterior motives. As the clock ticks down on New Year's Eve, she must fight to keep her murdered ex-boyfriend's secrets or find herself dead.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDeep Water (2022)
A well-to-do husband who allows his wife to have affairs in order to avoid a divorce becomes a prime suspect in the disappearance of her lovers.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisKamchatka (2002)
In 1976, Argentina fell into the hands of a de facto government. Thousands of citizens are persecuted and kidnapped. This is the case of the parents of two children, who, knowing they are wanted, decide to hide.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisGirl in the Box (2016)
The true story of 20-year-old Colleen Stan, a hitchhiking woman abducted by a young couple and held captive for seven years, during which time she's tortured and forced to live as a slave to her captors.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Ledge (2011)
A thriller in which a battle of philosophies between a fundamentalist Christian and an atheist who shares an apartment with a gay friend escalates into a lethal battle of wills.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDream Lover (1994)
Not long after they cross paths at an art gallery, architect Ray Reardon and hypnotically sensual Lena are married with children. But as strange incidents occur, Ray begins to realize he may not really know the woman he married.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe 7th Day (2004)
Isabel Jimenez is a teenager witnessing a horrible feud between her own family and the Fuentes family, a feud involving broken hearts, property disputes and a mysterious fire that destroyed the Fuentes house. Isabel's uncle is murdered by Jeronimo Fuentes, who later tries to stab her father. After Jeronimo dies in jail, Isabel must look outside of her family for the truth, learning from the village idiot that her father may have set fire to the Fuentes home.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Good Neighbor (2022)
A nightmarish evening unfolds for neighbors David and Robert when they accidentally hit a woman on her bike and flee the scene. While David is increasingly plagued by feelings of guilt, Robert shows no remorse and becomes overbearing and possessive.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Nest (2020)
Rory is an ambitious entrepreneur who brings his American wife and kids to his native country, England, to explore new business opportunities. After abandoning the sanctuary of their safe American suburban surroundings, the family is plunged into the despair of an archaic '80s Britain and their unaffordable new life in an English manor house threatens to destroy the family.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAdulterers (2016)
On a steamy New Orleans afternoon, Sam Deuprey decides to surprise his beautiful wife, Ashley, for their anniversary and comes home early. But Ashley is not alone in the bedroom. She and her lover, Damien are about to learn how far a jealous husband will go.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMost (2003)
A poetic and powerful story of a father forced to choose between love and duty.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Heiresses (2018)
After her girlfriend is imprisoned on fraud charges, Chela is forced to face a new reality. Driving for the first time in years, she begins to provide a local taxi service to a group of elderly wealthy ladies. As Chela settles into her new life, she encounters the much younger Angy, forging a fresh and invigorating new connection.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMax (2002)
In 1918, a young, disillusioned Adolf Hitler strikes up a friendship with a Jewish art dealer while weighing a life of passion for art vs. talent at politics
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisA Father's Miracle (2025)
After being falsely accused of a terrible crime, Hector, a man with a neurological disability, goes to a secret prison. His goodness conquers the prisoners, who plan to prove their innocence.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisThe Secret of Wendel Samson (1966)
A young man's struggle with his sexuality overtakes his life, driving him deep into his subconscious where guilt and fears of physicality chase him still further. Cornered by an intangible terror, he realises he must either break out or break down.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
The Missing Bride (1910)
During a wedding party, according to tradition, hide-and-seek is played in a local abandoned castle. The bride falls into a hidden corridor. As she enters a room, the door falls shut behind her. Inside, she finds a dead woman and a book that says she cannot get out of here. However, a cat taking her scarf outside is her salvation. The cat puts the searchers on the right track, and the groom finds his bride.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Deweneti (2006)
Dakar, Senegal. Ousmane, a 7 year old child, begs in the streets. He decides to write a letter to Santa Claus.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
The Treehouse (2012)
After his mom's funeral, a boy encounters the odd girl next door, who insists they journey through space to find a planet for departed souls.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Shattered (2012)
When you've given everything, what do you have left? After achieving his dream summit, an elite climber finds himself empty. Broken and untethered, he searches for a fulfillment more lasting than a faraway peak.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
White Night (2010)
Explores a fleeting moment between two strangers, revealing their brief connection in a hyper real fantasy.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
The Execution of Mary, Queen of Scots (1895)
A short film depicting the execution of Mary, Queen of the Scots. Mary is brought to the execution block and made to kneel down with her neck over it. The executioner lifts his axe ready to bring it down. After that frame Mary has been replaced by a dummy. The axe comes down and severs the head of the dummy from the body. The executioner picks up the head and shows it around for everyone else to see. One of the first camera tricks to be used in a movie.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDiarchy (2010)
Giano and Luc are traveling through the woods when a storm breaks, forcing them to take shelter in Luc's villa. Gradually and insidiously, a competition emerges between them, with terrible consequences.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Hasta Santiago (2013)
Mapo's experiences on the Camino de Santiago, or St. James Way. On this legendary route, he will pass through villages and meet other pilgrims who, like him, are seeking new experiences and emotions.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Sali-salita (2011)
A mother who writes children’s storybooks, ironically, doesn’t have enough time to create stories for her own son. The restless child finds a chance to create his own stories when his grandfather, comes up with a game. They fill an old milk can with pieces of paper, each containing a word which will be a “story-starter”. Tales of heroes and villains, magic and places fill up the child’s imagination. But the child’s made-up story is in need of a happy ending. Now, it depends on the storyteller mother to create the greatest ending of them all.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Pendulum?
The closest matches to Pendulum are Careful What You Wish For (2015), The Miracle of Marcelino (1955) and Butterfly on a Wheel (2007). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Pendulum?
Start with Careful What You Wish For (2015), the closest match to Pendulum.
What is the highest-rated movie like Pendulum?
The Miracle of Marcelino (1955), rated 7.4/10 by 303 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Pendulum?
A Father's Miracle (2025) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there Spanish movies like Pendulum?
Yes: The Miracle of Marcelino (1955), Kamchatka (2002) and The 7th Day (2004).
How are movies similar to Pendulum chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Pendulum, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.