Movies like You Were Never Really Here (2017)
The best movies like You Were Never Really Here (2017) are Nocturnal Animals (2016), Blue Ruin (2014) and The Square (2008). If You Were Never Really Here hooked you with its crime and drama, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedThe Silence of the Lambs (1991)8.3/10 from 18,832 votes
- NewestNight Always Comes (2025)Released 2025
Nocturnal Animals (2016)
Susan Morrow receives a book manuscript from her ex-husband – a man she left 20 years earlier – asking for her opinion of his writing. As she reads, she is drawn into the fictional life of Tony Hastings, a mathematics professor whose family vacation turns violent.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & thriller
Worth the HypeMovies like thisBlue Ruin (2014)
When the quiet life of a beach bum is upended by dreadful news, he sets off for his childhood home to carry out an act of vengeance. However, he proves an inept assassin and finds himself in a brutal fight to protect his estranged family.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both crime & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Square (2008)
Ray, a construction worker trapped in an unhappy marriage, pursues an affair with his neighbor, Carla. Carla's husband, Greg, is a mobster who keeps large sums of drug money in their home. With this in mind, Carla comes up with a plan: She and Ray will steal Greg's money, burn down her house, convince Greg the money was lost in the fire and then run away together. Carla's scheme, however, doesn't go off as planned.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both crime & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisKiller Joe (2012)
A cop who moonlights as a hit man agrees to kill the hated mother of a desperate drug dealer in exchange for a tumble with the young man's virginal sister.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both crime & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisNightcrawler (2014)
When Lou Bloom, desperate for work, muscles into the world of L.A. crime journalism, he blurs the line between observer and participant to become the star of his own story. Aiding him in his effort is Nina, a TV-news veteran.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both crime & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisMessage from the King (2017)
On a relentless quest to avenge his sister's murder, a man from Cape Town infiltrates a sprawling network of lowlifes and elites in Los Angeles.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMy Son, My Son, What Have Ye Done (2010)
Brad has committed murder and barricaded himself inside his house. With the help of his friends and neighbours, the cops piece together the strange tale of how this nice young man arrived at such a dark place.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both crime & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisPrisoners (2013)
After his six-year-old daughter is abducted, a desperate father takes justice into his own hands when he loses faith in the detective leading the investigation, setting both men on a collision course as the search descends into obsession and moral compromise.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & thriller
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisDrive (2011)
Driver is a skilled Hollywood stuntman who moonlights as a getaway driver for criminals. Though he projects an icy exterior, lately he's been warming up to a pretty neighbor named Irene and her young son, Benicio. When Irene's husband gets out of jail, he enlists Driver's help in a million-dollar heist. The job goes horribly wrong, and Driver must risk his life to protect Irene and Benicio from the vengeful masterminds behind the robbery.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & thriller
Worth the HypeMovies like thisGood Time (2017)
After a botched bank robbery lands his younger brother in prison, Connie Nikas embarks on a twisted odyssey through New York City's underworld to get his brother Nick out of jail.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both crime & thriller
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Accountant (2016)
As a math savant uncooks the books for a new client, the Treasury Department closes in on his activities and the body count starts to rise.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both crime & thriller
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Order (2024)
A string of violent robberies in the Pacific Northwest leads veteran FBI agent Terry Husk into a white supremacist plot to overthrow the federal government.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both crime & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisNightmare Alley (2021)
An ambitious carnival man with a talent for manipulating people with a few well-chosen words hooks up with a female psychologist who is even more dangerous than he is.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both crime & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisWe Need to Talk About Kevin (2011)
After her son Kevin commits a horrific act, troubled mother Eva reflects on her complicated relationship with her disturbed son as he grew from a toddler into a teenager.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & thriller
Worth the HypeMovies like thisUncut Gems (2019)
A charismatic New York City jeweler always on the lookout for the next big score makes a series of high-stakes bets that could lead to the windfall of a lifetime. Howard must perform a precarious high-wire act, balancing business, family, and encroaching adversaries on all sides in his relentless pursuit of the ultimate win.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & thriller
Worth the HypeMovies like thisA Score to Settle (2019)
A former mob enforcer who is released from prison after serving 22 years for a crime he didn't commit sets out on a path for revenge against the people who wronged him.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both crime & drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisNight Always Comes (2025)
Facing eviction in a city her family can no longer afford, a woman plunges into a desperate and increasingly dangerous all-night search to raise $25,000.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBull (2021)
Ten years after he was last seen, a vicious mob enforcer returns home to find his son and methodically track down the gang that double-crossed him. His quest for revenge soon leads to a savage showdown between his wife and her mob boss father.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both crime & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisJosephine (2026)
After eight-year-old Josephine accidentally witnesses a brutal assault, she begins acting out violently to protect herself. This emotional trauma leads to conflicts between her parents as they search for justice and a way to feel safe again.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & crime
Coming SoonMovies like thisA History of Violence (2005)
An average family is thrust into the spotlight after the father commits a seemingly self-defense murder at his diner.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & thriller
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Devil All the Time (2020)
In Knockemstiff, Ohio and its neighboring backwoods, sinister characters converge around young Arvin Russell as he fights the evil forces that threaten him and his family.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both crime & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe American (2010)
Dispatched to a small Italian town to await further orders, assassin Jack embarks on a double life that may be more relaxing than is good for him.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both crime & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCold in July (2014)
While investigating noises in his house one balmy Texas night in 1989, Richard Dane puts a bullet in the brain of a low-life burglar. Although he’s hailed as a small-town hero, Dane soon finds himself fearing for his family’s safety when Freddy’s ex-con father rolls into town, hell-bent on revenge.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisWind River (2017)
An FBI agent teams with the town's veteran game tracker to investigate a murder that occurred on a Native American reservation.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both crime & thriller
Worth the HypeMovies like thisSmall Engine Repair (2021)
The seemingly casual reunion of three old friends at an out-of-the-way repair shop masks a hidden agenda fuelled by the arrival of a privileged young yuppie.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both crime & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBack Roads (2019)
A young man cares for his younger sisters after their mother is imprisoned for murdering their abusive father. When he strikes up an affair with a married woman, long-dormant family secrets bubble to the surface.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both crime & drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisGreen Room (2016)
Members of a punk rock band and a tough young woman are forced to fight for survival after witnessing an act of violence at a skinhead bar.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both crime & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSTRAW (2025)
What will be her last straw? A devastatingly bad day pushes a hardworking single mother to the breaking point — and into a shocking act of desperation.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both thriller & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Silence of the Lambs (1991)
Clarice Starling is a top student at the FBI's training academy. Jack Crawford wants Clarice to interview Dr. Hannibal Lecter, a brilliant psychiatrist who is also a violent psychopath, serving life behind bars for various acts of murder and cannibalism. Crawford believes that Lecter may have insight into a case and that Starling, as an attractive young woman, may be just the bait to draw him out.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both crime & thriller
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisOnly God Forgives (2013)
Julian, who runs a Thai boxing club as a front organization for his family's drug smuggling operation, is forced by his mother Crystal to find and kill the individual responsible for his brother's recent death.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & thriller
SnoozefestMovies like this
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like You Were Never Really Here?
The closest matches to You Were Never Really Here are Nocturnal Animals (2016), Blue Ruin (2014) and The Square (2008). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after You Were Never Really Here?
People who watched You Were Never Really Here most often go on to Nocturnal Animals (2016), Blue Ruin (2014) and The Square (2008).
What is the highest-rated movie like You Were Never Really Here?
The Silence of the Lambs (1991), rated 8.3/10 by 18,832 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like You Were Never Really Here?
Night Always Comes (2025) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like You Were Never Really Here?
Yes: Nocturnal Animals (2016), Blue Ruin (2014) and The Square (2008).
How are movies similar to You Were Never Really Here chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside You Were Never Really Here, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.