Movies like Ellis (2015)
The best movies like Ellis (2015) are Hounddog (2008), The Lighthouse (2019) and Mindwalk (1991). If Ellis 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 Lighthouse (2019)7.5/10 from 5,910 votes
- NewestEleanor the Great (2025)Released 2025
Hounddog (2008)
A drama set in the American South, where a precocious, troubled girl finds a safe haven in the music and movement of Elvis Presley.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Lighthouse (2019)
Two lighthouse keepers try to maintain their sanity while living on a remote and mysterious New England island in the 1890s.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisMindwalk (1991)
On the French island of Mont Saint-Michel, Jack, a failed presidential candidate, Tom, a poet and Sonia, a physicist, engage in an intellectual conversation about politics, philosophy and life over the course of a single day.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisLucky Them (2013)
More interested in partying and flirting with young musicians than work, veteran rock journalist Ellie Klug has one last chance to prove her value to her magazine’s editor: a no-stone-unturned search to discover what really happened to long lost rock god, Matt Smith, who also happens to be her ex-boyfriend. Teaming up with an eccentric amateur documentary filmmaker, Ellie hits the road in search of answers.
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 thisA Movie (1958)
Bruce Conner's landmark experimental film consisting entirely of found footage edited to a new score.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisIce Castles (2010)
Young, beautiful, talented Alexis Winston comes from nowhere to become a figure skating superstar. But her rise to stardom isn’t easy. She has to push herself, reinvent herself, and most painfully of all, leave her hometown boyfriend behind. When a tragic fall leaves her blind, she needs someone to believe in her, to love her; someone to convince her she has the strength to skate and dream again.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like this2073 (2024)
Inspired by Chris Marker's iconic 1962 featurette La Jetée; the year is 2073—a not-so-distant dystopian future—and the setting is New San Francisco, the scorched-earth tech-dominant police state where democracy and personal freedom have been well and truly obliterated.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCall Me Crazy: A Five Film (2013)
A psychotherapist helps a law student cope with schizophrenia in one of five interconnected tales dealing with mental illness.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisEleanor the Great (2025)
94-year-old Eleanor Morgenstein tries to rebuild her life after the death of her best friend. As a result, she moves back to New York City after living in Florida for decades.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisPapillon (2017)
Henri “Papillon” Charrière, a safecracker from the Parisian underworld, is wrongfully convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment in the penal colony of French Guiana, where he forges a strong friendship with Louis Dega, a counterfeiter who needs his protection.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisConfirmation (2016)
Judge Clarence Thomas' nomination to the United States' Supreme Court is called into question when former colleague, Anita Hill, testifies that he had sexually harassed her.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Safety of Objects (2002)
In a suburban landscape, the lives of several families interlace with loss, despair and personal crisis. Esther Gold has lost focus on all but caring for her comatose son, Paul, and neglects her daughter and husband. Lawyer Jim Train is devoted to his career, not his family. Helen Christianson wants to find a new spark in life, while Annette Jennings tries to rebuild hers.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies 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 thisLord of the Flies (1963)
Following a plane crash a group of schoolboys find themselves on a deserted island. They appoint a leader and attempt to create an organized society for the sake of their survival. Democracy and order soon begin to crumble when a breakaway faction regresses to savagery with horrifying consequences.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisGame of Thrones The IMAX Experience (2015)
The first episode of this IMAX screening takes place entirely at The Wall with the Night’s Watch (S4 EP9) hopelessly outnumbered as they attempt to defend Castle Black from the Wildings and features one the fiercest and most intense battle scenes ever filmed for television. The second episode (S4 EP10), features Dany coming to grips with the realities of ruling a kingdom, Bran learning the startling reality of his destiny and Tyrion facing the truth of his unfortunate situation.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisNormal (2003)
A Midwestern husband and father announces his plan to have a sex change operation.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Experiment (2010)
20 men are chosen to participate in the roles of guards and prisoners in a psychological study that ultimately spirals out of control.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisFarming (2018)
Based on the writer/director's childhood, FARMING tells the story of a young Nigerian boy, 'farmed out' by his parents to a white British family in the hope of a better future. Instead, he becomes the feared leader of a white skinhead gang.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAnuja (2024)
When a brilliant nine-year-old working in a sweatshop gets a chance to attend school, she must make a difficult choice for her and her sister's future.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSavage Fire (2017)
In the city of Cajamar, in the middle of ruined nature, lonely characters deal with the police, rodeos and mysterious fires.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Shannon Amen (2019)
Shannon Amen unearths the passionate and pained expressions of a young woman overwhelmed by guilt and anxiety as she struggles to reconcile her sexual identity with her religious faith. A loving elegy to a friend lost to suicide.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Robin Hood (1913)
Robin Hood and his followers aid the poor and oppressed from their hideout in Sherwood Forest, pursued by the Sheriff of Nottingham.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Turkish Gothic: Portrait of a Family (2021)
An upper-class family who wants to have a picture of their family made meet with a famous painter. In this process, the painter, who witnessed the inner dynamics of the family, helps these people to face their own reality through painting.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
The Devil's Instrument (1965)
A jazz bassist who surveys a beautiful girl at a gig decides to try to get her home. But the devil is getting into the game too.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Marion (2024)
The short tracks the tense fifteen minutes before Marion's – France's only female bull jumper – first performance in a packed French arena. As she prepares, being the only woman in the team, the film explores her battle against misogyny and prejudiced attitudes. A journey of one woman through an all-male world – juggling motherhood and the contentious pursuit of her passion.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
To Be A Good One (2008)
After a fight with her mother, six year old Clara decides to run off to be with her father. But she falls asleep on the way on the bus and somehow ends up with the Wagner family. When Julia Wagner discovers bruises on Clara's body, she feels compelled to act.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Yuppies (1991)
A succesfull busninessman who has it all is looking for a new challenge and decides to hire a contract killer to assassinate him.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Herman the Gangster (1995)
Short gangster film based on a novella by Belgian writer Hugo Claus.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Like Ellis and something else?
Blend two favourites and we’ll find the films in between.
Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Ellis?
The closest matches to Ellis are Hounddog (2008), The Lighthouse (2019) and Mindwalk (1991). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Ellis?
Start with Hounddog (2008), the closest match to Ellis.
What is the highest-rated movie like Ellis?
The Lighthouse (2019), rated 7.5/10 by 5,910 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Ellis?
Eleanor the Great (2025) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like Ellis?
Yes: Hounddog (2008), The Lighthouse (2019) and Mindwalk (1991).
How are movies similar to Ellis chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Ellis, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.