Movies like The Ghosts of M.R James (2018)
The best movies like The Ghosts of M.R James (2018) are Come See Me in the Good Light (2025), Struggle: The Life and Lost Art of Szukalski (2018) and My Mom Jayne (2025). If The Ghosts of M.R James hooked you with its documentary, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
The Ghosts of M.R James
Quick picks
- Highest ratedI Am Heath Ledger (2017)7.4/10 from 233 votes
- NewestHaunted Heartland (2026)Released 2026
Come See Me in the Good Light (2025)
In an intimate and joyful story of love in the face of loss, celebrated poets Andrea Gibson and Megan Falley find strength—and unexpected hilarity—in what might be their final year together.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisStruggle: The Life and Lost Art of Szukalski (2018)
Artists in LA discover the work of forgotten Polish sculptor Stanislav Szukalski, a mad genius whose true story unfolds chapter by astounding chapter.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisMy Mom Jayne (2025)
Through deeply personal interviews with her siblings and an examination of the photographs, letters, and belongings left behind, Mariska assembles a new portrait of her mother Jayne Mansfield, an extraordinary and complex woman.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisAs I Was Moving Ahead Occasionally I Saw Brief Glimpses of Beauty (2000)
A compilation of over 30 years of private home movie footage shot by Lithuanian-American avant-garde director Jonas Mekas, assembled by Mekas "purely by chance", without concern for chronological order.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisMcQueen (2018)
Alexander McQueen's rags-to-riches story is a modern-day fairy tale, laced with the gothic. Mirroring the savage beauty, boldness and vivacity of his design, this documentary is an intimate revelation of McQueen's own world, both tortured and inspired, which celebrates a radical and mesmerizing genius of profound influence.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisGilbert (2017)
The life and career of one of comedy's most inimitable modern voices, Mr. Gilbert Gottfried.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Assassination of Jesse James: Death of an Outlaw (2008)
Explores the true story of the notorious Jesse James, how the myth developed during his lifetime, and how the legends have persisted over 100 years after his death at the hands of his former friend, Robert Ford.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBeing James Bond (2021)
Daniel Craig candidly reflects on his 15 year adventure as James Bond. Including never-before-seen archival footage from Casino Royale to the upcoming 25th film No Time To Die, Craig shares his personal memories in conversation with 007 producers, Michael G Wilson and Barbara Broccoli.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisI Am Heath Ledger (2017)
The life and career of an actor, artist, and icon. His own journey through his own camera.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Crystal Calls - Making The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance (2019)
Go behind the scenes with stars, puppeteers and creators as they bring Jim Henson's magical world of Thra back to life in a sweeping fantasy series.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisAquaman: Heroines of Atlantis (2019)
Amber Heard and Nicole Kidman discuss their characters Mera and Atlanna.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCameraman: The Life and Work of Jack Cardiff (2010)
In 2001 Jack Cardiff (1914-2009) became the first director of photography in the history of the Academy Awards to win an Honorary Oscar. But the first time he clasped the famous statuette in his hand was a half-century earlier when his Technicolor camerawork was awarded for Powell and Pressburger's Black Narcissus. Beyond John Huston's The African Queen and King Vidor's War and Peace, the films of the British-Hungarian creative duo (The Red Shoes and A Matter of Life and Death too) guaranteed immortality for the renowned cameraman whose career spanned seventy years.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Show Must Go On: The Queen + Adam Lambert Story (2019)
A documentary chronicling Queen and Lambert's incredible journey since they first shared the stage together on "American Idol" in 2009.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisFor the Love of Spock (2016)
The life of Mr. Spock, as well as that of Leonard Nimoy, the actor who played him for almost fifty years, written and directed by his son: Adam.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Curse of the Dragon (1993)
A 1993 documentary film about Bruce Lee. The film includes interviews from some of his fellow students and opponents who worked alongside him in his movies.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisIn the Realms of the Unreal (2004)
In the Realms of the Unreal is a documentary about the reclusive Chicago-based artist Henry Darger. Henry Darger was so reclusive that when he died his neighbors were surprised to find a 15,145-page manuscript along with hundreds of paintings depicting The Story of the Vivian Girls, in What is Known as the Realms of the Unreal, of the Glodeco-Angelinnian War Storm, Cased by the Child Slave Rebellion.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisAvatar: The Deep Dive - A Special Edition of 20/20 (2022)
An inside look at one of the most anticipated movie sequels ever with James Cameron and cast.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisMea Maxima Culpa: Silence in the House of God (2012)
Alex Gibney explores the charged issue of pedophilia in the Catholic Church, following a trail from the first known protest against clerical sexual abuse in the United States and all way to the Vatican.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisLove, Gilda (2018)
Diaries, audiotapes, videotapes and testimonials from friends and colleagues offer insight into the life and career of Gilda Radner -- the beloved comic and actress who became an icon on Saturday Night Live.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisLove, Marilyn (2013)
Using the book 'Fragments', which collects Marilyn Monroe's poems, notes and letters, and with participation from the Arthur Miller and Truman Capote estates who have contributed more material, each of the actresses will embody the legend at various stages in her life.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisPhantasia (2024)
X-ray images were invented in 1895, the same year in which the Lumière brothers presented their respective invention in what today is considered to be the first cinema screening. Thus, both cinema and radiography fall within the scopic regime inaugurated by modernity. The use of X-rays on two sculptures from the Bilbao Fine Arts Museum generates images that reveal certain elements of them that would otherwise be invisible to our eyes. These images, despite being generally created for technical or scientific purposes, seem to produce a certain form of 'photogénie': they lend the radiographed objects a new appearance that lies somewhere between the material and the ethereal, endowing them with a vaporous and spectral quality. It is not by chance that physics and phantasmagoria share the term 'spectrum' in their vocabulary.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
Borley Rectory (2017)
An animated documentary chronicling famed paranormal investigator Harry Price’s research at Borley Rectory, renowned as the ‘most haunted house in England’.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
The Return of the Green Man (1990)
Since ancient times, the Green Man has been one of the most mysterious and menacing of mythical characters. He also has a familiar face as Robin Hood, Jack in the Green and on numerous pub signs. Across the arts from comic strips to classical opera, the Green Man is now making a comeback. Where is he taking us? Writer Sir Kingsley Amis, film director John Boorman, composer Sir Harrison Birtwistle and other leading artists offer their interpretations of the mystery in this Omnibus documentary film from 16th November, 1990.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
Visitors from Hell: Paranormal Horror Stories (2023)
Their whole life they've experienced paranormal activity. What is the source of the haunts that plague their lives? Is it fabrication or is it something much more sinister? Explore the wild encounters that make their life HELL.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
Ghost Island (2025)
Ghost Island follows a team of paranormal investigators to a desolate island off the coast of Nova Scotia. Amid eerie ruins and whispered legends, they uncover not just ghostly encounters, but the human stories behind the island’s folklore—a haunting journey where history and the supernatural meet.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
Aleph (2021)
Structured as a labyrinth-like game and inspired by Jorge Luis Borges, Aleph is a travelogue of experience, a dreamer's journey through the lives, experiences, stories and musings of protagonists spanning ten countries and five continents.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
Myths and Legends of IWU (2005)
"Myths and Legends of IWU" was produced by the Registered Student Organization 9x9 for Titan TV, the TV station of Illinois Wesleyan University. This TV special tells of the many myths and legends such as ghosts and other paranormal happenings which occur on Illinois Wesleyan's campus. Covering four locations on campus: Adams Hall (ACACIA), Kemp Hall (International House), Presser Music Hall, and Hansen Student Center. This film was transferred from a Hi8 recording in the summer of 2018; date estimated by the archivist based on class years of some participants.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
Magaluf Ghost Town (2021)
At the height of the summer tourist season, the Spanish beach town Magaluf turns into a hellscape of the low-cost travel industry. For eight weeks every year, over one million mostly British vacationers ride an alcohol-soaked tide of public urination, fisticuffs and ambulance sirens for recreation. Instead of assembling a clip-reel of "balconing," when drunk idiots jump into hotel pools from their balconies, filmmaker Miguel Ángel Blanca crafts a far deeper and atmospheric look at a place where visitors and locals alike are driven by pleasure. Long-time resident Maria has little time left, so she takes in a seasonal lodger who listens to her relive her glory days. An enterprising real estate agent peddles an extravagant development, while a young gay man drifts without any plans beyond robbing a tourist for kicks. Part ghost story, part foreboding parable, this is a stylish and vivid impression of people and a place dreaming of escape. Myrocia Watamaniuk (Hot Docs)
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
Haunted Heartland (2026)
Gather around the campfire with Storyteller Brian "Fox" Ellis for four Central Illinois legends. From Illinois Wesleyan’s Lady in Red and Peoria State Hospital’s Old Bookbinder to Springdale Cemetery’s Witches Circle and the Cole Hollow Monster, Haunted Heartland explores the history behind the mystery and the real people whose lives inspired stories that still spark our imaginations. TV Special released by PBS Illinois Public Media WTVP.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
Ghosts of East Anglia (2008)
Everybody loves a ghost story and East Anglia is rich in tales of the supernatural. In centuries past, East Anglia was cut off from the rest of England and with its wild coastline and lovely countryside this landscape has inspired tales of mystery and the macabre. There are hundreds of ghost stories about East Anglia, told by one generation to the next but perhaps becoming a little embroidered along the way. But in the 20th-century, ghosts became the subject of film and television. People's experiences of the supernatural were recorded and television crews actively investigated hauntings.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like The Ghosts of M.R James?
The closest matches to The Ghosts of M.R James are Come See Me in the Good Light (2025), Struggle: The Life and Lost Art of Szukalski (2018) and My Mom Jayne (2025). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after The Ghosts of M.R James?
Start with Come See Me in the Good Light (2025), the closest match to The Ghosts of M.R James.
What is the highest-rated movie like The Ghosts of M.R James?
I Am Heath Ledger (2017), rated 7.4/10 by 233 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like The Ghosts of M.R James?
Haunted Heartland (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like The Ghosts of M.R James?
Yes: Come See Me in the Good Light (2025), Struggle: The Life and Lost Art of Szukalski (2018) and My Mom Jayne (2025).
How are movies similar to The Ghosts of M.R James chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside The Ghosts of M.R James, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.