Movies like Death of the Reel (2008)
The best movies like Death of the Reel (2008) are Hancock (2008), The Shift (2023) and My One and Only (2009). If Death of the Reel hooked you, these 20 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Death of the Reel
Quick picks
- Highest ratedEd Wood (1994)7.5/10 from 2,623 votes
- NewestSoul on Fire (2025)Released 2025
Hancock (2008)
Hancock is a down-and-out superhero who's forced to employ a PR expert to help repair his image when the public grows weary of all the damage he's inflicted during his lifesaving heroics. The agent's idea of imprisoning the antihero to make the world miss him proves successful, but will Hancock stick to his new sense of purpose or slip back into old habits?
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Shift (2023)
Following a tense encounter with a mysterious stranger with otherworldly powers, a man finds himself banished to a parallel, tyrannical Earth, where he fights to get back to the woman he loves.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMy One and Only (2009)
A mother takes her two sons on an unusual road trip from New York to Pittsburgh, St. Louis and eventually Hollywood in her quest to find a man to take care of them all.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSoul on Fire (2025)
After a horrific accident leaves his body scarred, a young boy strives to live and show everyone what is possible with the help of his family, his faith, his community, his longtime idol's kindness, and the entire city of St. Louis.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisEd Wood (1994)
The mostly true story of the legendary "worst director of all time", who, with the help of his strange friends, filmed countless B-movies without ever becoming famous or successful.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisElectronic Labyrinth: THX 1138 4EB (1967)
In an underground city in a dystopian future, the protagonist, whose name is "THX 1138 4EB", is shown running through passageways and enclosed spaces. It is soon discovered that THX is escaping his community. The government uses computers and cameras to track down THX and attempt to stop him; however, they fail. He escapes by breaking through a door and runs off into the sunset. The government sends their condolences to YYO 7117, THX's mate, claiming that THX has destroyed himself. Electronic Labyrinth: THX-1138 4EB is a 1967 science fiction short film written and directed by George Lucas while he attended the University of Southern California's film school.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMabel's Married Life (1914)
Mabel goes home after being humiliated by a masher whom her husband won't fight. The husband goes off to a bar and gets drunk.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
SnoozefestMovies like thisMank (2020)
1930s Hollywood is reevaluated through the eyes of scathing social critic and alcoholic screenwriter Herman J. Mankiewicz as he races to finish the screenplay of Citizen Kane.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCecil B. Demented (2000)
A young lunatic director and his devoted cult of cinema terrorists kidnap a Hollywood movie goddess and force her to star in their radical underground movie.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisEarthquake (1974)
Various interconnected people struggle to survive when an earthquake of unimaginable magnitude hits Los Angeles, California.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSide by Side (2012)
Since the invention of cinema, the standard format for recording moving images has been film. Over the past two decades, a new form of digital filmmaking has emerged, creating a groundbreaking evolution in the medium. Keanu Reeves explores the development of cinema and the impact of digital filmmaking via in-depth interviews with Hollywood masters, such as James Cameron, David Fincher, David Lynch, Christopher Nolan, Martin Scorsese, George Lucas, Steven Soderbergh, and many more.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisVoyage of Time: The IMAX Experience (2016)
A celebration of the universe, displaying the whole of time, from its start to its final collapse. This film examines all that occurred to prepare the world that stands before us now: science and spirit, birth and death, the grand cosmos and the minute life systems of our planet.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisArarat (2002)
Interrogated by a customs officer, a young man recounts how his life was changed during the making of a film about the Armenian genocide.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisWritten on the Wind (1956)
Mitch Wayne is a geologist working for the Hadleys, an oil-rich Texas family. While the patriarch, Jasper, works hard to establish the family business, his irresponsible son, Kyle, is an alcoholic playboy, and his daughter, Marylee, is the town tramp. Mitch harbors a secret love for Kyle's unsatisfied wife, Lucy -- a fact that leaves him exposed when the jealous Marylee accuses him of murder.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisPickup on South Street (1953)
In New York City, an insolent pickpocket, Skip McCoy, inadvertently sets off a chain of events when he targets ex-prostitute Candy and steals her wallet. Unaware that she has been making deliveries of highly classified information to the communists, Candy, who has been trailed by FBI agents for months in hopes of nabbing the spy ringleader, is sent by her ex-boyfriend, Joey, to find Skip and retrieve the valuable microfilm he now holds.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisJay and Silent Bob Strike Back (2001)
When Jay and Silent Bob learn that their comic-book alter egos, Bluntman and Chronic, have been sold to Hollywood as part of a big-screen movie that leaves them out of any royalties, the pair travel to Tinseltown to sabotage the production.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDolemite Is My Name (2019)
The story of Rudy Ray Moore, who created the iconic big screen pimp character Dolemite in the 1970s.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisModern Romance (1981)
A film editor breaks up with his girlfriend, unsure if he is in love.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisScram! (1932)
Ordered out of town by angry Judge Beaumont, vagrants Stanley and Oliver meet a congenial drunk who invites them to stay at his luxurious mansion. The drunk can't find his key, but the boys find a way in, sending the surprised woman inside into a faint.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisLiving in Oblivion (1995)
Low-budget independent filmmaker Nick Reve tries to keep everything together as his production is plagued with an insecure actress, a megalomaniac star, a pretentious beret-wearing director of photography, and lousy catering.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like this
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Death of the Reel?
The closest matches to Death of the Reel are Hancock (2008), The Shift (2023) and My One and Only (2009). Below are 17 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Death of the Reel?
Start with Hancock (2008), the closest match to Death of the Reel.
What is the highest-rated movie like Death of the Reel?
Ed Wood (1994), rated 7.5/10 by 2,623 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Death of the Reel?
Soul on Fire (2025) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like Death of the Reel?
Yes: Hancock (2008), The Shift (2023) and My One and Only (2009).
How are movies similar to Death of the Reel chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Death of the Reel, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.