Movies like Water Steps (2016)
The best movies like Water Steps (2016) are The Old Man and the Sea (1958), Swiss Army Man (2016) and The Red House (1947). If Water Steps hooked you, these 20 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedThe Thin Yellow Line (2015)8.5/10 from 274 votes
- NewestHunting Season (2025)Released 2025
- In SpanishWho Can Kill a Child? (1976)Also in Spanish
The Old Man and the Sea (1958)
Santiago is an aging, down-on-his-luck, Cuban fisherman who, after catching nothing for nearly 3 months, hooks a huge Marlin and struggles to land it far out in the Gulf Stream.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSwiss Army Man (2016)
Alone on a tiny deserted island, Hank has given up all hope of ever making it home again. But one day everything changes when a dead body washes ashore, and he soon realizes it may be his last opportunity to escape certain death. Armed with his new “friend” and an unusual bag of tricks, the duo go on an epic adventure to bring Hank back to the woman of his dreams.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Red House (1947)
An old man and his sister are concealing a terrible secret from their adopted teen daughter, concerning a hidden abandoned farmhouse, located deep in the woods.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBlow the Man Down (2019)
While grieving for the loss of their mother, the Connolly sisters suddenly find they have a crime to cover up, leading them deep into the underbelly of their salty Maine fishing village.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisRobinson Crusoe (1997)
Robinson Crusoe flees Britain on a ship after killing his friend over the love of Mary. A fierce ocean storm wrecks his ship and leaves him stranded by himself on an uncharted island. Left to fend for himself, Crusoe seeks out a tentative survival on the island, until he meets Friday, a tribesman whom he saves from being sacrificed. Initially, Crusoe is thrilled to finally have a friend, but he has to defend himself against the tribe who uses the island to sacrifice tribesman to their gods. During time their relationship changes from master-slave to a mutual respected friendship despite their difference in culture and religion.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisWho Can Kill a Child? (1976)
A couple of English tourists arrive at the island of Almanzora, off the Spanish Mediterranean coast, where they discover that there are no adults in a small fishing village, only some children who stare at them and smile mysteriously.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Most Dangerous Game (1932)
When legendary hunter Bob Rainsford is shipwrecked on the perilous reefs surrounding a mysterious island, he finds himself the guest of the reclusive and eccentric Count Zaroff. While he is very gracious at first, Zaroff eventually forces Rainsford and two other shipwreck survivors, brother and sister Eve and Martin Towbridge, to participate in a sadistic game of cat and mouse in which they are the prey and he is the hunter.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Orphanage (2007)
A woman brings her family back to her childhood home, which used to be an orphanage, intent on reopening it. Before long, her son starts to communicate with a new invisible friend.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisIn Cold Blood (1967)
After a botched robbery results in the brutal murder of a rural family, two drifters elude police, in the end coming to terms with their own mortality and the repercussions of their vile atrocity.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisMessiah of Evil (1975)
A young woman searching for her missing artist father finds herself in the strange seaside town of Point Dune, which seems to be under the influence of a mysterious undead cult.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Amazing Mr. X (1948)
On the beach one night, Christine Faber, two years a widow, thinks she hears her late husband Paul calling out of the surf...then meets a tall dark man, Alexis, who seems to know all about such things. After more ghostly manifestations, Christine and younger sister Janet become enmeshed in the eerie artifices of Alexis; but he in turn finds himself manipulated into deeper deviltry than he had in mind...
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Blue Lagoon (1980)
Two small children and a ship's cook survive a shipwreck and find safety on an idyllic tropical island. Soon, however, the cook dies and the young boy and girl are left on their own. Days become years and Emmeline and Richard make a home for themselves surrounded by exotic creatures and nature's beauty. But will they ever see civilization again?
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Fog (1980)
Strange things begin to occur as a tiny California coastal town prepares to commemorate its centenary. Inanimate objects spring eerily to life; Rev. Malone stumbles upon a dark secret about the town's founding; radio announcer Stevie witnesses a mystical fire; and hitchhiker Elizabeth discovers the mutilated corpse of a fisherman. Then a mysterious iridescent fog descends upon the village, and more people start to die.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisUndertow (2009)
A married fisherman struggles to reconcile his devotion to his male lover within his town's rigid traditions.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Lost City of Z (2017)
A true-life drama in the 1920s, centering on British explorer Col. Percy Fawcett, who discovered evidence of a previously unknown, advanced civilization in the Amazon and disappeared whilst searching for it.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Galapagos Affair: Satan Came to Eden (2014)
Darwin meets Hitchcock in this documentary. Directors Dan Geller and Dayna Goldfine have created a parable about the search for paradise, set in the brutal yet alluring landscape of the Galapagos Islands, which interweaves an unsolved 1930s murder mystery with stories of present day Galapagos pioneers. A gripping tale of idealistic dreams gone awry, featuring voice-over performances by Cate Blanchett, Diane Kruger, and Gustaf Skarsgard.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisFrom Afar (2015)
Armando, a 50 year man, seeks young men in Caracas and pays them just for company. One day he meets Elder, a 17 years boy that is the leader of a criminal gang, and that meeting changes their lives forever.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Thin Yellow Line (2015)
Five men are hired to paint the yellow line the road between two villages in Mexico forgotten. Aboard an old pickup truck, initiated the work of more than two hundred kilometers of asphalt and yellow paint to be completed in less than a fortnight
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisEscobar: Paradise Lost (2014)
For Pablo Escobar family is everything. When young surfer Nick falls for Escobar's niece, Maria, he finds his life on the line when he's pulled into the dangerous world of the family business.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHunting Season (2025)
When a reclusive survivalist and his daughter rescue a mysterious, wounded woman from a river, they become entangled in a deadly web of violence and revenge, forcing them to confront a brutal criminal to survive.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like this
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Water Steps?
The closest matches to Water Steps are The Old Man and the Sea (1958), Swiss Army Man (2016) and The Red House (1947). Below are 17 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Water Steps?
Start with The Old Man and the Sea (1958), the closest match to Water Steps.
What is the highest-rated movie like Water Steps?
The Thin Yellow Line (2015), rated 8.5/10 by 274 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Water Steps?
Hunting Season (2025) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there Spanish movies like Water Steps?
Yes: Who Can Kill a Child? (1976), The Orphanage (2007) and Undertow (2009).
How are movies similar to Water Steps chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Water Steps, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.