Movies like Carny (2003)
The best movies like Carny (2003) are Two Moon Junction (1988), Nightmare Alley (1947) and The Unknown (1927). If Carny hooked you, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedSuccubus (2024)8.3/10 from 279 votes
- NewestVicious (2025)Released 2025
Two Moon Junction (1988)
A young Southern débutante temporarily abandons her posh lifestyle and upcoming, semi-arranged marriage to have a lustful and erotic fling with a rugged drifter who works at a local carnival.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisNightmare Alley (1947)
A roustabout joins a traveling carny and schemes to figure out the mind-reading act of Mademoiselle Zeena and her alcoholic husband.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Unknown (1927)
On the lam, criminal Alonzo hides in the circus as The Armless Wonder—a performer who uses his feet to hurl knives. Alonzo keeps the arms he really has concealed to hide his identity. Meanwhile, ringmaster's daughter Nanon has a phobia of being touched by men, but is romantically pursued by not only Alonzo but the strongman Malabar. Alonzo's desperation to remain with Nanon will only end in tragedy.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisBatman: The Killing Joke (2016)
As Batman hunts for the escaped Joker, the Clown Prince of Crime attacks the Gordon family to prove a diabolical point mirroring his own fall into madness.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisX (2011)
A veteran call girl and a runaway prostitute witness a murder which sends them on an out-of-control roller coaster ride through the twilight zone of sex-for-sale.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisPorno (2019)
When a group of naive teens working at a movie theater in a small Christian town discover a mysterious film hidden in its basement, they unleash an alluring succubus who gives them a sex education…written in blood.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisKing Cobra (2016)
It’s 2006, YouTube is in its infancy, and internet porn is still behind a paywall. Taking the stage name Brent Corrigan, a fresh-faced, wannabe adult video performer is molded into a star by Stephen, a closeted gay porn mogul who runs the skin flick empire Cobra Video from his seemingly ordinary suburban home.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
SnoozefestMovies like thisSuccubus (2024)
A new father going through a marital separation joins a dating app and matches with a beautiful but mysterious young woman... whose powers of seduction and manipulation entangle him in a mystery more horrifying than he could have ever imagined.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisYES DAY (2021)
A mom and dad who usually say no decide to say yes to their kids' wildest requests — with a few ground rules — on a whirlwind day of fun and adventure.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCarny (1980)
Tired of being a small-town waitress, Donna departs with the latest carnival show, living with entertainers Frankie and Patch in a tense, emotional triangle.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBad Sister (2015)
As a top student at St. Adeline's Catholic Boarding School, Zoe senses that something is not quite right about the school's new nun-- a sense proven to be true when it is revealed the "good' nun is an imposter with a fatal attraction to Zoe's brother.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMickey's House of Villains (2002)
The villains from the popular animated Disney films are gathered at the House of Mouse with plans to take over. Soon, the villains take over the house and kick out Mickey, Donald and Goofy. It's all up to Mickey and his friends to overthrow evil and return the House of Mouse to normal--or as close to normal as it gets.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Devil's Double (2011)
A chilling vision of the House of Saddam Hussein comes to life through the eyes of the man who was forced to become the double of Hussein's sadistic son.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisPink Narcissus (1971)
An outrageous erotic poem focusing on the daydreams of a beautiful boy prostitute who, from the seclusion of his ultra-kitsch apartment, conceives a series of interlinked narcissistic fantasies populated by matadors, dancing boys, slaves, and leather-clad bikers.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSmall Apartments (2012)
When a clumsy deadbeat accidentally kills his landlord, he must do everything in his power to hide the body, only to find that the distractions of lust, the death of his beloved brother, and a crew of misfit characters force him on a journey where a fortune awaits him.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
SnoozefestMovies like thisCirque du Soleil: Worlds Away (2012)
An original story featuring performances by Cirque du Soleil. A young woman is entranced by an Aerialist. When they fall into the dreamlike world of Cirque du Soleil and are separated, they travel through the different tent worlds trying to find each other.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisShades of Desire (2023)
After her twin sister Aubrey goes missing, Jennifer uncovers the scandalous, secret double-life that Aubrey leads - and that has put both of them in danger.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDangerous Game: The Legacy Murders (2022)
A family reunion at a remote mansion takes a lethal turn when they are trapped inside and forced to play a deadly survival game where only one will make it out alive.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMonster High: Scaris City of Frights (2013)
The Monstruitas of Monster High are obsessed with going to Scaris, The City of Frights for Fashion international competition where the winner will become the apprentice of the world famous Madame Ghostier designer.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisVicious (2025)
When Polly receives a mysterious box, it comes with one rule: place inside something she needs, something she hates, and something she loves. If she doesn’t obey, it will consume everything—and everyone—she’s ever known.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisI'm a Porn Star (2013)
I'm a Porn Star follows the lives of guys in the neighborhood who are likely a lot more famous than you - at least on the Internet. There are an estimated 370 million pornographic websites on-line. Porn is now a thirteen BILLION dollar business. So who's doing all this moonlighting? Turns out -- probably some people you know.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
Bulgarian Lovers (2003)
Graying Spaniard Daniel has a healthy budget for indulging in the finer things in life. Daniel's favorite luxury is playing sponsor to younger men amid the lights and sights of Madrid's gay club scene. After Daniel shares a night with handsome Bulgarian emigre Kyril, he finds himself consumed with an insatiable lust for the charismatic foreigner. But, as their relationship takes shape, Daniel's latest conquest reveals his own manipulative tendencies.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
Seeing Heaven (2011)
A beautiful young escort suffers from trip-like dreams he doesn't understand. These visions are shared by his clients, both scaring and exciting them.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
A Day in the Country (2010)
The doctor makes a house call but three is a crowd after the action is over… A film about existential loneliness.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
Beautiful Beings (2022)
A teenage boy, raised by a mother who considers herself psychic, takes a bullied kid into his group of violent misfits. As the group’s troubles escalate toward life-threatening situations, an inner voice awakens in the boy and, with the help of his mother and his new friend, he manages to find his own path.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
Worth the HypeMovies like thisMondo Homo: Inquiry Into 70's Gay French Porn (2009)
Between 1975 and 1983 a new kind of film could be seen in French cinema: home-grown gay pornography. They were essentially the work of three production companies: Les Films de La Troika (Norbert Terry), AMT Productions (Anne-Marie Tensi) and Les Films du Vertbois (principally Jacques Scandelari). The genre met an untimely end with the advent of video, the last being made in 1983 'Mon Ami, Mon Amour (My Friend, my Lover)'.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
The Inner Shadow (2018)
Son of a patriarchal family in the country interior finds out something.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
Hairy Horndogs #3 (2006)
Grab the lube and get ready to stroke to a super erection eve full of bristled beef cakes and tuffed muscle hunks.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
Only Andy (2024)
Many of us experience sexual desires in many different shapes and forms, yet there continues to be a certain stigma about expressing them openly. Adult worker, Andy Lee, and his co-workers share their own insightful and interesting perspectives on the adult industry in a bid to inspire people to open up to each other, and to further shed some light on the frequently misunderstood adult industry.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
Hustler White (1996)
Reminiscent of Sunset Boulevard, the action is transposed from the silver screen's old backlots to contemporary male prostitution and the pornographic industry.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
SnoozefestMovies like this
Like Carny and something else?
Blend two favourites and we’ll find the films in between.
Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Carny?
The closest matches to Carny are Two Moon Junction (1988), Nightmare Alley (1947) and The Unknown (1927). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Carny?
Start with Two Moon Junction (1988), the closest match to Carny.
What is the highest-rated movie like Carny?
Succubus (2024), rated 8.3/10 by 279 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Carny?
Vicious (2025) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like Carny?
Yes: Two Moon Junction (1988), Nightmare Alley (1947) and The Unknown (1927).
How are movies similar to Carny chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Carny, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.