Movies like Lathe of Heaven (2002)
The best movies like Lathe of Heaven (2002) are Doctor Who: Planet of the Dead (2009), Blackadder: Back & Forth (1999) and Dead of Night (1977). If Lathe of Heaven hooked you with its science fiction and tv movie, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedDoctor Who: A Christmas Carol (2010)8.0/10 from 251 votes
- NewestSpace/Time (2025)Released 2025
Doctor Who: Planet of the Dead (2009)
A meeting in a London bus with jewel thief Lady Christina takes a turn for the worse for the Doctor when the bus takes a detour to a desert-like planet, where the deadly Swarm awaits.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both science fiction
Worth the HypeMovies like thisBlackadder: Back & Forth (1999)
What was a cunning plan from Lord Edmund Blackadder V to fake a time machine on his gullibly incompetent friends, turns out to be the real thing and hurls him and his imbecile underling, Baldrick, through the course of human history.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both science fiction
Worth the HypeMovies like thisDead of Night (1977)
This anthology tells three stories: a man buys a car that takes him back and forth through time; a tale of vampires; and a distraught mother asks for her drowned son to come back to life and gets more than she bargained for.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both science fiction
Popcorn FlickMovies like this1984 (1956)
In a totalitarian future society, a man whose daily work is rewriting history tries to rebel by falling in love.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both science fiction
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDoctor Who: A Christmas Carol (2010)
Amy Pond and Rory Williams are trapped on a crashing space liner, and the only way the Eleventh Doctor can rescue them is to save the soul of a lonely old miser. But is Kazran Sardick, the richest man in Sardicktown, beyond redemption? And what is lurking in the fogs of Christmas Eve?
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both science fiction
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisMetropia (2009)
In the near future, oil reserves are nearly depleted and Europe is connected by series of underground tunnels. While navigating these tunnels, Roger hears voices, one in particular. Seeking a way to rid himself of the voice only leads Roger deeper into a bizarre conspiracy of control - mind and body.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both science fiction
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Spirit of Christmas (2015)
A woman falls in love with a man who is somewhat unavailable.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisTomorrowland (2015)
Bound by a shared destiny, a bright, optimistic teen bursting with scientific curiosity and a former boy-genius inventor jaded by disillusionment embark on a danger-filled mission to unearth the secrets of an enigmatic place somewhere in time and space that exists in their collective memory as "Tomorrowland."
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both science fiction
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHow Sarah Got Her Wings (2015)
Good Samaritan Sarah Fitzpatrick has a fatal accident just before Christmas, and finds herself in the lobby before the gates of Heaven. Certain that she will be let in, she is shocked to find that her name is not on the reservation list. However, she is granted the chance to return to Earth as an "angel in training" with the requirement to help a soul in need. Sarah has the 12 days before Christmas to secure her place on the list leaving her in the race for her after-life.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
SnoozefestMovies like thisClose Encounters of the Third Kind (1977)
After an encounter with UFOs, an electricity linesman feels undeniably drawn to an isolated area in the wilderness where something spectacular is about to happen.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both science fiction
Worth the HypeMovies like thisHow to Train Your Husband (2018)
A marriage therapist attempts to fix her own marriage by focusing on how to change her husband.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisJonathan (2018)
Jonathan is a young man with a strange condition that only his brother understands. But when he begins to yearn for a different life, their unique bond becomes increasingly tested.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both science fiction
SnoozefestMovies like thisThe Good Witch's Wonder (2014)
While planning her stepson's wedding, Cassie Nightingale also tries to uncover the truth behind missing auction items.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisAs Luck Would Have It (2021)
When Lindsey travels to Ireland to acquire land that is perfect for a resort, she decides to enter the town's matchmaking festival to prove her investment—and win over a handsome local.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisGhosts of Christmas Always (2022)
Katherine is a Ghost of Christmas Present and she must help one soul, Peter, rediscover his Christmas spirit. But this year has something unusual in store.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Last Mimzy (2007)
Two siblings begin to develop special talents after they find a mysterious box of toys, and soon their parents and even their teacher are drawn into a strange new world – and find a task ahead of them that is far more important than any of them could imagine.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both science fiction
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Time Machine (1960)
A Victorian Englishman travels to the far future and finds that humanity has divided into two hostile species.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both science fiction
Worth the HypeMovies like thisSpace/Time (2025)
After a fatal test shuts down their project, a disgraced team of scientists enters the criminal underworld to rebuild a forbidden space-bending engine that could rescue humanity or annihilate it entirely.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both science fiction
SnoozefestMovies like thisLast and First Men (2020)
As the end approaches inexorably, the last humans, living millions of years into the future, send a message to the humanity of the present that is both a plea for help and a warning, but also an epic tale of evolution, decline and hope.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both science fiction
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBeauty and the Billionaire (2022)
Addison travels with a picky billionaire as an assistant in her brother's place so he doesn't lose his job. She clashes with the billionaire until both start to see more in each other than they thought.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisBrave New World (1980)
A man who grew up in a primitive society educating himself by reading Shakespeare is allowed to join the futuristic society where his parents are from. However, he cannot adapt to their repressive ways.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both science fiction
Downsizing (2017)
A kindly occupational therapist undergoes a new procedure to be shrunken to four inches tall so that he and his wife can help save the planet and afford a nice lifestyle at the same time.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both science fiction
SnoozefestMovies like thisBela Lugosi Meets a Brooklyn Gorilla (1952)
The entertainment duo Mitchell & Petrillo, en route to a USO show for troops in Guam, fall out of their plane and end up on the jungle island of Cola Cola, where the mad scientist Dr. Zabor is conducting evolutionary experiments.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both science fiction
Equals (2015)
A futuristic love story set in a world where emotions have been eradicated.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both science fiction
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe BFG (1990)
Sophie is snatched from her orphanage early one morning by the BFG (Big Friendly Giant), whom she witnesses engaged in mysterious activities. She is soon put at ease, as she learns that BFG's job is to collect, catalog and deliver pleasant dreams to children. She joins him that night, but a mean giants follow them, planning to eat the children of the world.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisGandahar (1987)
On the planet Gandahar where peace reigns and poverty is unknown, this utopian lifestyle is upset by reports of people at the outlying frontiers being turned to stone. Sylvain is sent to investigate this mysterious threat.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both science fiction
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisConfessions of a Sociopathic Social Climber (2005)
Katya Livingston, a self-centered, obnoxious and conceited 28-year-old ad sales exec, won't let anything or anyone stand in her way in getting to the top of the San Francisco social ladder. When tax inspectors question her claims Katya is forced to keep a financial diary and finds time to add details about her friends, enemies and lovers all from her unique point of view.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
SnoozefestMovies like thisResonances (2022)
"Resonances" is an abstract journey that invites diverse interpretations. For some, it’s the tale of an ant that delved too deep, for others, a puppet seeking freedom. The narrative evolves with the viewer, offering no single path but rather a multitude of meanings. Free and autonomous, "Resonances" challenges you to explore with your mind and question with your soul. Only through personal reflection will the answers reveal themselves, making the experience uniquely yours.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both science fiction
Horror Hospital (1973)
Following his forced retirement from an appalling rock band, Jason decides to vacation at Brittlehouse Manor, a health farm run by the leather-gloved, ex-Nazi scientist Dr. Storm. Along the way, Jason meets Judy, also on her way to Brittlehouse Manor to visit her aunt, who married Dr. Storm some years ago. Once they arrive, the pair realise rather quickly that something is wrong, probably because the other guests have had their brains surgically removed, or all the blood pouring from the sink, or possibly just because the creepy midget keeps telling them to brush their teeth.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both science fiction
SnoozefestMovies like thisPartners 'n Love (1993)
David Grodin has an obsessive-compulsive personality. But he is also just plain obsessed with Maxine Smith, his ex-wife of five years and his business partner. Their small business is Mr & Mrs, a small swimwear company he founded but that only became successful when she became its creative director. They work well together and are best friends, but Max feels that they just could not live together and be married to each other. They learn that because of a legal technicality, their divorce was never executed and thus they are still legally married.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
Like Lathe of Heaven and something else?
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Lathe of Heaven?
The closest matches to Lathe of Heaven are Doctor Who: Planet of the Dead (2009), Blackadder: Back & Forth (1999) and Dead of Night (1977). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Lathe of Heaven?
Start with Doctor Who: Planet of the Dead (2009), the closest match to Lathe of Heaven.
What is the highest-rated movie like Lathe of Heaven?
Doctor Who: A Christmas Carol (2010), rated 8.0/10 by 251 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Lathe of Heaven?
Space/Time (2025) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like Lathe of Heaven?
Yes: Doctor Who: Planet of the Dead (2009), Blackadder: Back & Forth (1999) and Dead of Night (1977).
How are movies similar to Lathe of Heaven chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Lathe of Heaven, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.