Movies like Mental Hospital (1953)
The best movies like Mental Hospital (1953) are Lilith (1964), Touched with Fire (2016) and Crazy People (1990). If Mental Hospital hooked you, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedA Beautiful Mind (2001)7.9/10 from 11,572 votes
- NewestMarjolein Robertson: Marj (2025)Released 2025
Lilith (1964)
Vincent Bruce, a war veteran, begins working as an occupational therapist at Poplar Lodge, a private psychiatric facility for wealthy people where he meets Lilith Arthur, a charming young woman suffering from schizophrenia, whose fragile beauty captivates all who meet her.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisTouched with Fire (2016)
Two young poets with bipolar disorder begin a highly passionate, volatile relationship that threatens both their futures.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCrazy People (1990)
A bitter ad executive, who has reached his breaking point, finds himself in a mental institution, where his career actually begins to thrive with the help of the hospital's patients.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
SnoozefestMovies like thisDavid and Lisa (1962)
Teenager David Clemens develops a hysterical fear that he will die if he comes into physical contact with another person. Perturbed, David's overbearing mother places him in a home for mentally disturbed young people, but David remains withdrawn from the other patients and his psychiatrist. Over time, however, David grows interested in 15-year-old Lisa, who suffers from multiple personalities – one who can only speak in rhyme, and the other, a mute.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Snake Pit (1948)
Virginia Cunningham is confused upon finding herself in a mental hospital, with no memory of her arrival at the institution. Tormented by delusions and unable to even recognize her husband, Robert, she is treated by Dr. Mark Kik, who is determined to get to the root of her mental illness. As her treatment progresses, flashbacks depict events in Virginia's life that may have contributed to her instability.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisMr. Jones (1993)
The story about the relationship between a manic depressive man, Mr. Jones, and the female doctor who takes more than a professional interest in his treatment.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
SnoozefestMovies like thisEvery Breath You Take (2021)
A psychiatrist, whose client commits suicide, finds his family life disrupted after introducing her surviving brother to his wife and daughter.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
SnoozefestMovies like thisLet's Scare Jessica to Death (1971)
Newly released from a mental ward, Jessica hopes to return to life the way it was before her nervous breakdown. But when Jessica moves to a country house with her husband and a close friend, she finds a mysterious girl living in there. Jessica's terror and paranoia resurface as evil forces surround her.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Living and the Dead (2006)
Lord Donald and Lady Nancy reside in the magnificent but run-down Longleigh House with James, their mentally disabled adult son. Nancy has fallen seriously ill and Donald is preparing to sell the house to raise enough money to pay for an operation. He arranges for the family nurse, Mary, to take care of Nancy while he leaves to tend to the sale. However, James wants to prove to his father that he can look after his mother on his own and decides to lock Mary out of the house. It isn't long before James starts mixing his mother's pills and forgetting to take his own medication, and as the stress of looking after his mother increases, so too does the severity of his own condition.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisTake Shelter (2011)
Plagued by a series of apocalyptic visions, a young husband and father questions whether to shelter his family from a coming storm, or from himself.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisInfinitely Polar Bear (2014)
A manic-depressive mess of a father tries to win back his wife by attempting to take full responsibility of their two young, spirited daughters, who don't make the overwhelming task any easier.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSession 9 (2001)
Tensions rise within an asbestos cleaning crew as they work in an abandoned mental hospital with a horrific past that seems to be coming back.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisGothika (2003)
After a car crash, criminal psychologist Dr. Miranda Grey regains consciousness only to find that she's a patient in the same mental institution that currently employs her. She's been accused of murdering her husband Dr. Douglas Grey — but she has no memory of committing the crime. As she tries to regain her memory and convince her co-worker, Dr. Pete Graham, of her innocence, a vengeful spirit uses her as an earthly pawn, which further convinces everyone of her guilt.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisStonehearst Asylum (2014)
An Oxford Medical School graduate takes a position at a mental institution and soon becomes obsessed with a female mental patient, but he has no idea of a recent and horrifying staffing change.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisFathers and Daughters (2015)
A Pulitzer-winning writer grapples with being a widower and father after a mental breakdown, while, 27 years later, his grown daughter struggles to forge connections of her own.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisOn the Edge (2001)
A suicidal young man is committed to a Dublin psychiatric hospital where he meets new friends who greatly influence his life.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisStutz (2022)
In candid conversations with actor Jonah Hill, leading psychiatrist Phil Stutz explores his early life experiences and unique, visual model of therapy.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThey Look Like People (2016)
Suspecting that people are transforming into malevolent shape-shifters, Wyatt flees to New York City to seek out his estranged childhood friend Christian.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAsylum (1972)
A young psychiatrist applies for a job at a mental asylum and must pass a test by interviewing four patients. He must figure out which of the patients, is in fact, the doctor that he would be replacing if hired.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisFear of Rain (2021)
A teenage girl living with schizophrenia begins to suspect her neighbor has kidnapped a child. Her parents try desperately to help her live a normal life, without exposing their own tragic secrets, and the only person who believes her is Caleb – a boy she isn’t even sure exists.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCaché (2005)
As the host of a literary TV show, Georges begins receiving anonymously filmed videos of his family alongside cryptic, disturbing drawings, but as the tapes become increasingly intimate, they reveal a stalker who has known him for a very long time.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
Worth the HypeMovies like thisA Beautiful Mind (2001)
From the heights of notoriety to the depths of depravity, John Forbes Nash Jr. experiences it all. As a brilliant but socially awkward mathematician, he made a groundbreaking discovery early in his career and stands on the brink of international acclaim. But as the handsome and arrogant Nash accepts secret work in cryptography, he becomes entangled in a mysterious conspiracy. His life takes a nightmarish turn and he soon finds himself on a painful and harrowing journey of self-discovery.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisThe White Sound (2001)
Lukas, a young schizophrenic man, has to deal with a new town, a new relationship, and the paranoia in his head.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMarjolein Robertson: Marj (2025)
This first part in the trilogy. Marj being about the mind. O, about the body, is on tour from Feb 5th. Also, if you or anyone you know was affected by any of the issues raised please go to my link. tree in my profile where there are links with further information and help. Filmed at the Stand Comedy Club Glasgow Filmed by Mason Stade and Annie MacSorley
Why it matches: Similar story and style
Im Tunnel (2017)
After Maren's brother is murdered, the young woman is completely shaken. Because the police only deal with the case in a routine manner and have no results to show for it, she sets about investigating the case herself. But in doing so, she realizes that she may be tangling with powerful people whose influence extends into her immediate surroundings. She believes that the nuclear waste mafia is behind her brother's death and that her own husband Mehdi is one of the criminals. Maren no longer knows who to trust. She feels like she is being watched every step of the way and even her best friend Iris doesn't believe a word she says. Little by little, Maren has to ask herself whether her family is in grave danger or whether she herself is the one in danger...
Why it matches: Similar story and style
This Too Shall Pass (2020)
An unsuccessful meeting with her estranged father leaves Noel questioning whether or not he deserves a role in her life.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
Brute (1997)
Shipped off to a Romanian orphanage to finish his sentence, a British criminal finds romance but also discovers corruption inside the facility.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
Pi (1998)
A mathematical genius discovers a link between numbers and reality, and thus believes he can predict the future.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
Worth the HypeMovies like thisStrange Days (1995)
In the last days of 1999, ex-cop turned street hustler Lenny Nero receives a disc which contains the memories of the murder of a prostitute. With the help of bodyguard Mace, he starts to investigate and is pulled deeper and deeper in a whirl of murder, blackmail and intrigue.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThings to Do in Denver When You're Dead (1995)
Five different criminals face imminent death after botching a job quite badly.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
Popcorn FlickMovies like this
Like Mental Hospital and something else?
Blend two favourites and we’ll find the films in between.
Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Mental Hospital?
The closest matches to Mental Hospital are Lilith (1964), Touched with Fire (2016) and Crazy People (1990). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Mental Hospital?
Start with Lilith (1964), the closest match to Mental Hospital.
What is the highest-rated movie like Mental Hospital?
A Beautiful Mind (2001), rated 7.9/10 by 11,572 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Mental Hospital?
Marjolein Robertson: Marj (2025) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like Mental Hospital?
Yes: Lilith (1964), Touched with Fire (2016) and Crazy People (1990).
How are movies similar to Mental Hospital chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Mental Hospital, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.