Movies like ELIAS (2020)
The best movies like ELIAS (2020) are Dreams (2025), Amor Bandido (2021) and Asylum (2005). If ELIAS hooked you with its drama and thriller, these 20 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedLove Hurts (2002)8.2/10 from 393 votes
- NewestFollow (2025)Released 2025
- In SpanishDreams (2025)Also in Spanish
Dreams (2025)
A powerful socialite and a promising ballet dancer begin a dangerous affair. When he secretly crosses the US-Mexico border, she takes desperate measures to protect their future together.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both romance & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAmor Bandido (2021)
Joan is a naïve, 16-year-old who falls in love easily. One day he decides to escape to the provinces with Luciana, a beautiful 35-year-old woman and a teacher at his school, in order to give free rein to his love. Soon, Joan discovers with horror that he has fallen into a trap that is a mix between sex, money, politics and violence.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller & romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAsylum (2005)
A woman becomes very curious about one of her psychiatrist husband's inmates, a man who was found guilty in the murder and disfigurement of his former wife.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisPerras (2011)
Something terrible is happening in class 3A at Calmecatl Junior High. No one can leave the classroom until the guilty party is found. This is the device that gives us a glimpse of the ethics, games, esthetics and eroticism of these girl-women. It is not easy to say what the subject is, there are so many: the discovery of sexuality, discrimination, chance, drugs, maternity, traditions, betrayals, power, love. A mural of a complex reality from the point of view of twenty-something women in the skin of 14 to 15 year old girls.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisFollow (2025)
Sebastián, a charismatic con artist who seduces women to steal their money, puts his retirement plans on hold after the sudden appearance of Carolina, an enigmatic woman who will expose him to the greatest danger of his career.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Good Doctor (2011)
Dr. Martin Blake, who has spent his life looking for respect, meets an 18-year-old patient named Diane, suffering from a kidney infection, and gets a much-needed boost of self-esteem. However, when her health starts improving, Martin fears losing her, so he begins tampering with her treatment, keeping Diane sick and in the hospital right next to him.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisRemember (2015)
With the aid of a fellow Auschwitz survivor and a hand-written letter, an elderly man with dementia goes in search of the person responsible for the death of his family.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & thriller
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Truth About Emanuel (2013)
A troubled young woman becomes obsessed with her mysterious new neighbor, who bears a striking resemblance to the girl's dead mother.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Caveman's Valentine (2001)
Romulus, a misunderstood musician turned recluse hiding from personal demons in a New York City cave, finds the frozen body of a young drifter in a tree. The authorities, including his police officer daughter, claim the death is accidental. Romulus is convinced the man was murdered by a prominent art photographer but how can he prove he's right when everyone thinks he's insane?
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & thriller
SnoozefestMovies like thisAll the Names of God (2023)
After being implicated in a terrorist attack, Santi, a taxi driver, is taken hostage by one of the perpetrators.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSky High (2020)
A commentary on Spanish society dressed as a thriller about the misadventures of a gang of young petty criminals after the real estate crash.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisPeppermint Frappé (1967)
Julián, a middle-aged single doctor, is reunited with Pablo, a childhood friend who has just married Elena, a beautiful young woman.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSAS: Red Notice (2021)
An off-duty SAS soldier, Tom Buckingham, must thwart a terror attack on a train running through the Channel Tunnel. As the action escalates on the train, events transpire in the corridors of power that may make the difference as to whether Buckingham and the civilian passengers make it out of the tunnel alive.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & thriller
SnoozefestMovies like thisShadow of the Cat (2021)
Gato lives on a remote farm with his teenage daughter Emma where without even basic communications tools they’re entirely cut off from the outside world. But once Emma comes into possession of a phone, she’s contacted by a party claiming to be working on behalf of her mother, who her father claimed abandoned her at birth. Infuriated, Emma heads off on a journey of self-discovery to reconnect with her mother, all the while Gato and his best pal Sombra (Danny Trejo) race to rescue her from the grim fate she’s unknowingly heading towards.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisLight It Up (1999)
On a winter day in a southside Queens high school, events collide and six students are suddenly in an armed standoff with the NYPD. At the school, classrooms freeze, teachers come and go, resources are scant.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisLove Hurts (2002)
Family and friends try to sabotage the budding romance between a young upper class girl and a humble student.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisEl verano que vivimos (2020)
Year 1998. Isabel, a journalism student, is forced to do her internship in the newspaper of a small Galician coastal town in order to finish her degree. When she arrives, she wants to start investigating as soon as possible, to demonstrate everything she has learned in order to become a real journalist. But the position she is assigned is the last one she expected: the writing and management of the obituaries that reach the newsroom. But this, which might seem boring at first, becomes the door to an investigation that will take her through different parts of the Spanish geography in search of an impossible love story.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
Worth the HypeMovies like thisNine Lives (2005)
Captives of the very relationships that define and sustain them, nine women resiliently meet the travails and disappointments of life.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisA Dry White Season (1989)
During the 1976 Soweto uprising, a white school teacher's life and values are threatened when he asks questions about the death of a young black boy who died in police custody.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAshes in the Snow (2018)
The coming-of-age tale of 16-year-old Lina Vilkas who is deported to Siberia amid Stalin's reign of terror in the Baltic region during WWII. An aspiring artist, she secretly documents her harrowing journey with her drawings.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like this
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like ELIAS?
The closest matches to ELIAS are Dreams (2025), Amor Bandido (2021) and Asylum (2005). Below are 17 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after ELIAS?
Start with Dreams (2025), the closest match to ELIAS.
What is the highest-rated movie like ELIAS?
Love Hurts (2002), rated 8.2/10 by 393 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like ELIAS?
Follow (2025) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there Spanish movies like ELIAS?
Yes: Dreams (2025), Amor Bandido (2021) and Perras (2011).
How are movies similar to ELIAS chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside ELIAS, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.