Movies like The Horse Boy (1957)
The best movies like The Horse Boy (1957) are Samurai Rebellion (1967), Kamui (2009) and The Men Who Tread on the Tiger's Tail (1952). If The Horse Boy hooked you with its drama, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedSamurai Rebellion (1967)8.2/10 from 283 votes
- NewestThe Nest (2020)Released 2020
- In JapaneseSamurai Rebellion (1967)Also in Japanese
Samurai Rebellion (1967)
The mother of a feudal lord's only heir is kidnapped by the lord. Her husband and his samurai father must decide whether to accept the unjust decision, or risk death to rescue her.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisKamui (2009)
A rebellious ninja in 17th century Japan takes refuge with a fisherman and his family.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Men Who Tread on the Tiger's Tail (1952)
A fugitive lord and his six retainers disguise themselves as monks to bluff their way through a hostile checkpoint.
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 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 thisHoly Lands (2019)
When lapsed Jew and former cardiologist Harry suddenly decides to spend his retirement as a pig farmer in Nazareth, Israel, the move deeply shocks his family and his new neighbours. Back in New York, Harry’s ex-wife Monica is trying to manage the lives of their adult children, Annabelle and David, as well as her own.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisZatoichi: Darkness Is His Ally (1989)
Older, wiser but still a wandering loner, the blind, peace-loving masseur Ichi seeks a peaceful life in a rural village. When he's caught in the middle of a power struggle between two rival Yakuza clans, his reputation as a deadly defender of the innocent is put to the ultimate test in a series of sword-slashing showdowns.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisTaboo (1999)
Set during Japan's Shogun era, this film looks at life in a samurai compound where young warriors are trained in swordfighting. A number of interpersonal conflicts are brewing in the training room, all centering on a handsome young samurai named Sozaburo Kano. The school's stern master can choose to intervene, or to let Kano decide his own path.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisTigertail (2020)
A man reflects on the lost love of his youth and his long-ago journey from Taiwan to America as he begins to reconnect with his estranged daughter.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSkin (2009)
Based on the true story of a black girl who was born to two white Afrikaner parents in South Africa during the apartheid era.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisA Dry White Season (1989)
During the 1976 Soweto uprising, a white school teacher's life and values are threatened when he asks questions about the death of a young black boy who died in police custody.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHurry Sundown (1967)
A ruthless Southern opportunist tries to buy his cousin's land, and when thwarted, brings several tragedies to the lives of his loved ones.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisRan (1985)
Shakespeare's King Lear is reimagined as a singular historical epic set in sixteenth-century Japan where an aging warlord divides his kingdom between his three sons.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisSamurai II: Duel at Ichijoji Temple (1955)
After years on the road establishing his reputation as Japan's greatest fencer, Takezo returns to Kyoto. Otsu waits for him, yet he has come not for her but to challenge the leader of the region's finest school of fencing. To prove his valor and skill, he walks deliberately into ambushes set up by the school's followers.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Nest (2020)
Rory is an ambitious entrepreneur who brings his American wife and kids to his native country, England, to explore new business opportunities. After abandoning the sanctuary of their safe American suburban surroundings, the family is plunged into the despair of an archaic '80s Britain and their unaffordable new life in an English manor house threatens to destroy the family.
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 thisZatoichi (2003)
Blind traveler Zatoichi is a master swordsman and a masseur with a fondness for gambling on dice games. When he arrives in a village torn apart by warring gangs, he sets out to protect the townspeople.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisHounddog (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 thisAll Day and a Night (2020)
While serving life in prison, a young man looks back at the people, the circumstances and the system that set him on the path toward his crime.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBastard Out of Carolina (1996)
A poor, struggling South Carolinian mother and daughter face painful choices with their resolve and pride. Bone, the eldest daughter, and Anney her tired mother, grow both closer and farther apart: Anney sees Glen as her last chance.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisSekigahara (2017)
The background to and depiction of a watershed battle in Japanese history, at Sekigahara in 1600, when Tokugawa Ieyasu's Army of the East defeated the Army of the West of Ishida Mitsunari. The story includes the intrigues and shifting loyalties of the various retainers, family members, and samurai.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Hidden Fortress (1958)
In feudal Japan, during a bloody war between clans, two cowardly and greedy peasants, soldiers of a defeated army, stumble upon a mysterious man who guides them to a fortress hidden in the mountains.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisWarau Iemon (2004)
Having put down his sword and given up the will to fight, the masterless samurai Iemon lives in solitude while being haunted by his violent enigmatic past...
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Devoted Servant Naosuke (1939)
Naosuke, a servant of Okajima Yasoemon, devoted himself to his master. One day, his master Okajima Yasoemon, lost his face in front of people. It was a revenge by Oono, a karo (minister) who lost his chance to earn money by selling a fake antique to the lord. Okajima told the lord it was fake. Okajima endured Oono's humiliation. But, his servant Naosuke, could not. But what could he do? Oono is superior of his master. Naosuke would not hesitate to lay down his life for his master. But killing Oono would ruin his master. He wanted to clear his master's disgrace. What to do?
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Sure Death 5 (1991)
Fifth movie in the Hissatsu (Sure Death!) Series. At the behest of a corrupt bureaucrat, a mysterious band of murderers wage a bloody battle against three deadly assassins.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Rashomon (1950)
Four people recount different versions of the story of a man's murder and the rape of his wife.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisLast Days of Edo (1941)
It is a historical drama that follows Katsu Kaishu's efforts to surrender Edo Castle bloodlessly in the first year of the Meiji period.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
The Revenge of Yukinojo, Part 2: Dance of Revenge (1954)
The second part of an entertaining historical drama depicting the eventful story of the revenge of an actor with a strange fate, with a variety of characters and exciting developments.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
The Revenge of Yukinojo, Part 3: Sword of Revenge (1954)
The final, third part of an entertaining historical drama depicting the eventful story of the revenge of an actor with a strange fate, with a variety of characters and exciting developments.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Shadow Hunters (1983)
The government in Edo era is suffering from a financial crisis. It hires "Kage" to provoke the collapse of small hans (prefectures). "Kagekari" are people who were hired by Daimyos (mayors of local governments) to resist kage. The young mayor of Suwa Takashiwa, Tadamaru was assaulted by a kage on his way to Edo. Zyubei and Gennnosuke, the Kagekaris, try to carry injured Tadamaru to Edo.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Like The Horse Boy and something else?
Blend two favourites and we’ll find the films in between.
Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like The Horse Boy?
The closest matches to The Horse Boy are Samurai Rebellion (1967), Kamui (2009) and The Men Who Tread on the Tiger's Tail (1952). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after The Horse Boy?
Start with Samurai Rebellion (1967), the closest match to The Horse Boy.
What is the highest-rated movie like The Horse Boy?
Samurai Rebellion (1967), rated 8.2/10 by 283 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like The Horse Boy?
The Nest (2020) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there Japanese movies like The Horse Boy?
Yes: Samurai Rebellion (1967), Kamui (2009) and The Men Who Tread on the Tiger's Tail (1952).
How are movies similar to The Horse Boy chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside The Horse Boy, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.