Movies like Shades (1982)
The best movies like Shades (1982) are Under the Silver Lake (2018), The Giver (2014) and They Live (1988). If Shades hooked you, these 20 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedmid90s (2018)7.5/10 from 1,900 votes
- NewestI Saw the TV Glow (2024)Released 2024
Under 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 thisThe Giver (2014)
In a seemingly perfect community, without war, pain, suffering, differences or choice, a young boy is chosen to learn from an elderly man about the true pain and pleasure of the "real" world.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThey Live (1988)
A lone drifter stumbles upon a unique pair of sunglasses that reveal aliens are systematically gaining control of the Earth by masquerading as humans and lulling the public into submission.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisBooksmart (2019)
Two academic teenage superstars realize, on the eve of their high school graduation, that they should have worked less and played more. Determined to never fall short of their peers, the girls set out on a mission to cram four years of fun into one night.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisI Saw the TV Glow (2024)
In late-'90s suburbia, lonely teenager Owen meets Maddy, who introduces him to a mysterious late-night TV show — a vision of a supernatural world pulsing beneath their own. As time goes on, questions begin to arise about why the show sometimes seems more real than their own lives, as their view of reality begins to crack.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisUpside Down (2012)
In an alternate universe where twinned worlds have opposite gravities, a young man battles interplanetary prejudice and the laws of physics in his quest to reunite with the long-lost girl of his dreams in this visually stunning romantic adventure that poses the question: what if love was stronger than gravity?
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisFast Times at Ridgemont High (1982)
A group of Southern-California high school students ignore their studies in favor of indulging in their teenage distractions.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisFritz the Cat (1972)
In late 1960s New York City, fed up with monotonous college life and police repression, free-spirited Fritz, an impenitent seducer and unrestrained party-animal, decides to explore the world. And just like that, as he flees NYC, heading to San Francisco, Fritz embarks on an endless adventure of illumination. Immersed in a world surrounded by drugs and sex, Fritz participates in mad orgies, brings about a revolution, incites mass urban riots, and crosses paths with drug-addled Nazi bikers.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisChaos Walking (2021)
Two unlikely companions embark on a perilous adventure through the badlands of an unexplored planet as they try to escape a dangerous and disorienting reality, where all inner thoughts are seen and heard by everyone.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies 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 thisThe Last American Virgin (1982)
The friendship of a group of young friends struggling with teen sex, drugs, and work is jeopardized by a romantic interest which may turn pals into bitter rivals.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHow to Have Sex (2023)
Three British teenage girls go on a rites-of-passage holiday—drinking, clubbing and hooking up, in what should be the best summer of their lives.
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 thisWatchmen (2009)
In a gritty and alternate 1985, the glory days of costumed vigilantes have been brought to a close by a government crackdown. But after one of the masked veterans is brutally murdered, an investigation into the killer is initiated. The reunited heroes set out to prevent their own destruction, but in doing so they uncover a sinister plot that puts all of humanity in grave danger.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisHelp! (1965)
An obscure Eastern cult that practices human sacrifice pursues Ringo after he unknowingly puts on a ceremonial ring (that, of course, won't come off). On top of that, a pair of mad scientists, members of Scotland Yard, and a beautiful but dead-eyed assassin all have their own plans for the Fab Four.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisTHX 1138 (1971)
People in the future live in a totalitarian society. A technician named THX 1138 lives a mundane life between work and taking a controlled consumption of drugs that the government uses to make puppets out of people. As THX is without drugs for the first time he has feelings for a woman and they start a secret relationship.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thismid90s (2018)
In 1990s Los Angeles, a 13-year-old spends his summer navigating between a troubled home life and a crew of new friends he meets at a skate shop.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies 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 thisRoom 237 (2012)
A subjective documentary that explores various theories about hidden meanings in Stanley Kubrick's classic film The Shining. Five very different points of view are illuminated through voice over, film clips, animation and dramatic reenactments.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThey Cloned Tyrone (2023)
A series of eerie events thrusts an unlikely trio onto the trail of a nefarious government conspiracy lurking directly beneath their neighborhood.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like this
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Shades?
The closest matches to Shades are Under the Silver Lake (2018), The Giver (2014) and They Live (1988). Below are 17 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Shades?
Start with Under the Silver Lake (2018), the closest match to Shades.
What is the highest-rated movie like Shades?
mid90s (2018), rated 7.5/10 by 1,900 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Shades?
I Saw the TV Glow (2024) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like Shades?
Yes: Under the Silver Lake (2018), The Giver (2014) and They Live (1988).
How are movies similar to Shades chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Shades, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.