Movies like Neon City (1982)
The best movies like Neon City (1982) are The Dancer Upstairs (2002), The Crew (2008) and Asylum (2005). If Neon City hooked you with its romance and drama, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedCoffee and Cigarettes (2004)6.9/10 from 1,106 votes
- NewestShadowlands (2025)Released 2025
The Dancer Upstairs (2002)
A police detective in a South American country is dedicated to hunting down a revolutionary guerilla leader.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Crew (2008)
Hoping to raise enough capital to finance a legitimate business and leave behind his life of crime, Liverpool underworld boss Ged Brennan sends his brother Ratter and a crew to pull a daring final heist. But when Ratter kills a drug kingpin during the job, Brennan must turn to rival crook Franner to avert an all-out gangland war.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAsylum (2005)
A woman becomes very curious about one of her psychiatrist husband's inmates, a man who was found guilty in the murder and disfigurement of his former wife.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisRise of the Footsoldier 3 (2017)
In the late 1980s, Pat Tate journeys from peddling pills in Marbella to his time in prison, where he solidifies his power before his release to reclaim his turf.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Rookie (1990)
Veteran cop Nick Pulovski is used to playing musical partners; many of the partners he's had in the past have died on the job, and often as a result of Nick's risky tactics. But the rookie who's been assigned to help Nick bust a carjacking ring is almost as hotheaded as he is … and when Nick gets kidnapped, his newbie partner is his only hope.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisUnfaithful (2002)
A New York suburban couple's marriage goes dangerously awry when the wife indulges in an adulterous fling.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisOriginal Sin (2001)
A young man is plunged into a life of subterfuge, deceit and mistaken identity in pursuit of a femme fatale whose heart is never quite within his grasp.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisClubbed (2008)
An underworld drama set in the early 1980s, about a lonely factory worker whose life is transformed when he becomes a nightclub doorman.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Born Losers (1967)
A biker gang incites a reign of terror in a California coastal town that culminates in four teenage girls being raped. Vietnam veteran Billy Jack has had enough, however, and takes on the depraved bikers single-handedly. He rescues young Vicky Barrington from their clutches, but then has to contend with not only the thugs, but also the ineffectual and racist local lawmen, who have it out for the half-Native American Billy.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisLilith (1964)
Vincent Bruce, a war veteran, begins working as an occupational therapist at Poplar Lodge, a private psychiatric facility for wealthy people where he meets Lilith Arthur, a charming young woman suffering from schizophrenia, whose fragile beauty captivates all who meet her.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisNewness (2017)
In contemporary Los Angeles, two millennials navigating a social media–driven hookup culture begin a relationship that pushes both emotional and physical boundaries.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both romance & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisTime Is Up (2021)
Vivien, an accomplished student with a passion for physics, and Roy, a troubled young man, are involved in an accident that forces them to reclaim their lives one minute at the time.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both romance & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisLockdown (2000)
Avery (Jones) returns to college as a competitive swimmer after getting his life back on track. But his life takes another unexpected turn when he and his two friends (Bonds, Casseus) are wrongly accused of murder and end up in prison.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisConvict (2014)
Set in the dark and old Parramatta prison built by the original convicts our lead character Ray a war veteran finds himself serving 18 months for manslaughter after defending his fiance. He soon realizes that the prison boss has it in for him and does everything possible to break Ray even going after his fiance.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisFanny Lye Deliver'd (2019)
On an isolated English farm in 1657, Fanny lives a quiet life with her oppressive husband John and their young son. One day their life is rocked with the arrival of young couple Thomas and Rebecca who claim to have been robbed and need a place to stay. But are these strangers really who they say they are?
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisEl Gringo (2012)
A man crossing into Mexico with a satchel of $2,000,000—and a bloody past—finds himself under sudden attack in the sleepy town of El Fronteras.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSuburbia (1984)
When household tensions and a sense of worthlessness overcome Evan, he finds escape when he clings with the orphans of a throw-away society. The runaways hold on to each other like a family until a tragedy tears them apart.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAl Capone (1959)
In this unusually accurate biography, small-time hood Al Capone comes to Chicago at the dawn of Prohibition to be the bodyguard of racketeer Johnny Torrio. Capone's rise in Chicago gangdom is followed through murder, extortion, and political fraud. He becomes head of Chicago's biggest "business," but moves inexorably toward his downfall and ignominious end.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Man from Elysian Fields (2001)
A failed novelist's inability to pay the bills strains relations with his wife and leads him to work at an escort service, where he becomes entwined with a wealthy woman whose husband is a successful writer.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
SnoozefestMovies like thisRise of the Footsoldier (2007)
Carlton Leach rises from one of the most feared generals of the football terraces to becoming a member of a notorious gang of criminals who rampaged their way through London and Essex in the late '80s and early '90s.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisParis Je T'aime (2006)
Olivier Assayas, Gus Van Sant, Wes Craven and Alfonso Cuaron are among the 20 distinguished directors who contribute to this collection of 18 stories, each exploring a different aspect of Parisian life. The colourful characters in this drama include a pair of mimes, a husband trying to choose between his wife and his lover, and a married man who turns to a prostitute for advice.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Fate of Two Queens (1954)
Anthology film in which Hedy Lamarr plays 2 queens during 2 different time periods. Ulmer directed the Genoveffa di Brabante part whereas Allégret was responsible for the empress Josephine section after he left due to artistic differences with Lamarr.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & romance
Casebusters (1986)
Jamie and Allie are amateur sleuths whose grandfather runs a small security business. One afternoon, while digging around on their own, they accidentally stumble onto a major case.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both crime & drama
The Peeper, the Model and the Hypnotist (1972)
An anthology of tales from Hong Kong.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & thriller
Shadowlands (2025)
Shadowlands is an anthology series that explores love in three distinct stories: a couple renegotiating a relationship, a narcissist seeking to understand it, and star-crossed lovers mourning its loss.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & romance
Coffee and Cigarettes (2004)
An anthology of eleven vignettes featuring star-studded casts of extremely unique individuals who all share the common activities of conversing while drinking coffee and smoking cigarettes.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisShake, Rattle & Roll V (1994)
Three tales of unbridled terror follow a couple vacation on a secluded island where strange forces are at work to keep them there; a young woman whose boyfriend is ill meets a handsome young man in the woods who seems to exhibit magical powers that can cure her sick friend, on the condition that she stay with him forever; and a family who move into a new apartment, unaware of a supernatural tragedy that occurred there.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller
Shake, Rattle & Roll II (1990)
Three terrifying tales follow a young groom in Baguio for his honeymoon is possessed by a homicidal spirit when he discovers a cursed ring and decides to wear it; in the eerie halls of a mysterious hospital, a doctor practices voodoo and dead bodies wander in the night; and a student who learns, while a guest at a town fiesta in a remote province, that the locals' hospitable ways leave her clueless about a mysterious nightly ritual.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller
Shake, Rattle & Roll III (1991)
In three tales of extreme horror, a young couple hires a mysterious nanny for their baby; a young woman discovers that her sister has been dead and been made alive again; and a student unwittingly brings home from a beach field trip the egg of an alien monster.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller
Shake, Rattle & Roll IV (1992)
Three unrelated stories of horror include a substitute teacher who preys on a small school; neighborhood children being abducted by a tree-dwelling monster; and a group of Manila residents plagued by attacks from a Manananggal.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Neon City?
The closest matches to Neon City are The Dancer Upstairs (2002), The Crew (2008) and Asylum (2005). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Neon City?
Start with The Dancer Upstairs (2002), the closest match to Neon City.
What is the highest-rated movie like Neon City?
Coffee and Cigarettes (2004), rated 6.9/10 by 1,106 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Neon City?
Shadowlands (2025) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there German movies like Neon City?
The closest matches are in other languages.
How are movies similar to Neon City chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Neon City, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.