Movies like Scanner (2020)
The best movies like Scanner (2020) are Come True (2020), The Hidden (1987) and The Stanford Prison Experiment (2015). If Scanner hooked you, these 20 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedJim & Andy: The Great Beyond - Featuring a Very Special, Contractually Obligated Mention of Tony Clifton (2017)7.5/10 from 761 votes
- NewestEvil Influencer: The Jodi Hildebrandt Story (2025)Released 2025
Come True (2020)
Looking for an escape from her recurring nightmares, 18-year-old Sarah submits to a university sleep study, but soon realizes she's become the conduit to a frightening new discovery.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
SnoozefestMovies like thisThe Hidden (1987)
When average, law-abiding citizens suddenly turn to a life of hedonistic behavior and violent crime, Detective Tom Beck is tasked with helping young FBI agent Lloyd Gallagher determine the cause.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Stanford Prison Experiment (2015)
In 1971, Stanford's Professor Philip Zimbardo conducts a controversial psychology experiment in which college students pretend to be either prisoners or guards, but the proceedings soon get out of hand. Based on a true story.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSenseless (1998)
A student gets his senses enhanced by an experimental drug. But abuse is not an option.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Cell (2000)
A psychotherapist journeys inside the mind of a comatose serial killer in the hopes of saving his latest victim.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisExperimenter (2015)
Yale University, 1961. Stanley Milgram designs a psychology experiment that still resonates to this day, in which people think they’re delivering painful electric shocks to an affable stranger strapped into a chair in another room. Despite his pleads for mercy, the majority of subjects don’t stop the experiment, administering what they think is a near-fatal electric shock, simply because they’ve been told to do so. With Nazi Adolf Eichmann’s trial airing in living rooms across America, Milgram strikes a nerve in popular culture and the scientific community with his exploration into people’s tendency to comply with authority. Celebrated in some circles, he is also accused of being a deceptive, manipulative monster, but his wife Sasha stands by him through it all.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Experiment (2010)
20 men are chosen to participate in the roles of guards and prisoners in a psychological study that ultimately spirals out of control.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like this180° South (2010)
The film follows adventurer Jeff Johnson as he retraces the epic 1968 journey of his heroes Yvon Chouinard and Doug Tompkins to Patagonia.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Assessment (2025)
In a climate change-ravaged world, a utopian society optimizes life, including parenthood assessments. A successful couple faces scrutiny by an evaluator over seven days to determine their fitness for childbearing.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisJaws @ 50: The Definitive Inside Story (2025)
The authorized documentary celebrating the film that redefined Hollywood, 50 years after its premiere. Featuring rare archival footage and interviews with acclaimed Hollywood directors alongside Steven Spielberg, top shark scientists, and conservationists, the film uncovers the behind-the-scenes chaos and how the film launched the summer blockbuster, inspired a new wave of filmmakers, and paved the way for shark conservation that continues today.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisEvil Influencer: The Jodi Hildebrandt Story (2025)
Unravel the case of Utah therapist Jodi Hildebrandt, whose child abuse arrest with parenting YouTuber Ruby Franke exposed a twisted tale of manipulation.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisFreaked (1993)
A vain actor, his best friend, and an activist end up at a mutant freak farm run by a weirdo scientist.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisA Movie (1958)
Bruce Conner's landmark experimental film consisting entirely of found footage edited to a new score.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisX: The Man with the X-Ray Eyes (1963)
A doctor uses special eye drops to give himself x-ray vision, but the new power has disastrous consequences.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisFrankenstein and the Monster from Hell (1974)
Dr Simon Helder, sentenced to an insane asylum for crimes against humanity, recognises its director as the brilliant Baron Frankenstein, the man whose work he had been trying to emulate before his imprisonment. Frankenstein utilises Helder's medical knowledge for a project he has been working on for some time. He is assembling a man from vital organs extracted from various inmates in the asylum. And the Baron will resort to murder to acquire the perfect specimens for his most ambitious project ever.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisPossessor (2020)
Tasya Vos, an elite corporate assassin, uses brain-implant technology to take control of other people’s bodies to terminate high profile targets. As she sinks deeper into her latest assignment, Vos becomes trapped inside a mind that threatens to obliterate her.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCreature Comforts (1989)
A humorous and thought-provoking view of what animals in zoos might be thinking about their captivity and surroundings.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisJim & Andy: The Great Beyond - Featuring a Very Special, Contractually Obligated Mention of Tony Clifton (2017)
Through the lens of his stunningly immersive performance as Andy Kaufman, Jim Carrey ponders the meaning of life, reality, identity and career.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisSwan Song (2021)
In the near future, Cameron Turner is diagnosed with a terminal illness. Presented with an experimental solution to shield his wife and son from grief, he grapples with altering their fate in this thought-provoking exploration of love, loss, and sacrifice.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisMaria by Callas (2017)
Told through performances, TV interviews, home movies, family photographs, private letters and unpublished memoirs, the film reveals the essence of an extraordinary woman who rose from humble beginnings in New York City to become a glamorous international superstar and one of the greatest artists of all time.
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 Scanner?
The closest matches to Scanner are Come True (2020), The Hidden (1987) and The Stanford Prison Experiment (2015). Below are 17 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Scanner?
Start with Come True (2020), the closest match to Scanner.
What is the highest-rated movie like Scanner?
Jim & Andy: The Great Beyond - Featuring a Very Special, Contractually Obligated Mention of Tony Clifton (2017), rated 7.5/10 by 761 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Scanner?
Evil Influencer: The Jodi Hildebrandt Story (2025) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like Scanner?
Yes: Come True (2020), The Hidden (1987) and The Stanford Prison Experiment (2015).
How are movies similar to Scanner chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Scanner, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.