Movies like How to Be a Recluse (1998)
The best movies like How to Be a Recluse (1998) are Freaks (2019), Inner Workings (2016) and Requiem for a Dream (2000). If How to Be a Recluse hooked you, these 20 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedPiper (2016)8.1/10 from 1,791 votes
- NewestEden (2025)Released 2025
Freaks (2019)
Kept locked inside the house by her father, 7-year-old Chloe lives in fear and fascination of the outside world, where Abnormals create a constant threat—or so she believes. When a mysterious stranger offers her a glimpse of what's really happening outside, Chloe soon finds that while the truth isn't so simple, the danger is very real.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisInner Workings (2016)
This is the story of the internal struggle between a man's Brain—a pragmatic protector who calculates his every move, and his Heart—a free-spirited adventurer who wants to let loose.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisRequiem for a Dream (2000)
The drug-induced utopias of four Coney Island residents are shattered when their addictions run deep.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisCast Away (2000)
Chuck Noland, a top international manager for FedEx, and Kelly, a Ph.D. student, are in love and heading towards marriage. Then Chuck's plane to Malaysia crashes at sea during a terrible storm. He's the only survivor, and finds himself marooned on a desolate island. With no way to escape, Chuck must find ways to survive in his new home.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisEx Machina (2015)
Caleb, a coder at the world's largest internet company, wins a competition to spend a week at a private mountain retreat belonging to Nathan, the reclusive CEO of the company. But when Caleb arrives at the remote location he finds that he will have to participate in a strange and fascinating experiment in which he must interact with the world's first true artificial intelligence, housed in the body of a beautiful robot girl.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisLava (2015)
Inspired by the isolated beauty of tropical islands and the explosive allure of ocean volcanoes, Lava is a musical love story that takes place over millions of years.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisSelf Reliance (2024)
When a man is offered a million dollars to play a game in which hunters try to kill him, he thinks he has found the perfect loophole: they can only attack when he’s alone. His only problem is that none of his friends or family believe the game is real. Forced to seek companionship in unexpected places, he navigates the bizarre challenge with humor, paranoia, and a surprising search for connection.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
SnoozefestMovies like thisSometimes I Think About Dying (2024)
Fran likes to think about dying. It brings sensation to her quiet life. When she makes the new guy at work laugh, it leads to more: a date, a slice of pie, a conversation, a spark. The only thing standing in their way is Fran herself.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBlink Twice (2024)
When tech billionaire Slater King meets cocktail waitress Frida at his fundraising gala, he invites her to join him and his friends on a dream vacation on his private island. But despite the epic setting, beautiful people, ever-flowing champagne, and late-night dance parties, Frida can sense that there’s something sinister hiding beneath the island’s lush façade.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Social Dilemma (2020)
This documentary-drama hybrid explores the dangerous human impact of social networking, with tech experts sounding the alarm on their own creations.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisCloverfield (2008)
Five young New Yorkers throw their friend a going-away party the night that a monster the size of a skyscraper descends upon the city. Told from the point of view of their video camera, the film is a document of their attempt to survive the most surreal, horrifying event of their lives.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDug's Special Mission (2009)
Dug is sent on foolish missions by Alpha, Beta, and Gamma so they can hunt for the Bird of Paradise Falls by themselves. Dug may find that where he belongs is not where he's been looking.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisSon of Rambow (2007)
Will is looking for an escape from his family when he encounters Lee, the school bully. Armed with a video camera and a copy of Rambo, Lee plans to make his own action-packed video epic.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMagnolia (1999)
On one random day in the San Fernando Valley, a dying father, a young wife, a male caretaker, a famous lost son, a police officer in love, a boy genius, an ex-boy genius, a game show host and an estranged daughter will each become part of a dazzling multiplicity of plots, but one story.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisBlue Lagoon: The Awakening (2012)
Two high school students become stranded on a tropical island and must rely on each other for survival. They learn more about themselves and each other while falling in love.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisWasp (2003)
Zoë is a single mother who lives with her four children in Dartford. She is poor and can't afford to buy food. One day her old flame drives by and asks her to go on a date with him. Scared that he doesn't want to go out with her, she lies and tells him that she is just babysitting the kids. This will be her first date in years.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisPiper (2016)
A mother bird tries to teach her little one how to find food by herself. In the process, she encounters a traumatic experience that she must overcome in order to survive.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisFlight of the Navigator (1986)
12-year-old David is accidentally knocked out in the forest near his home, but when he awakens eight years have passed. His family is overjoyed to have him back, but is just as perplexed as he is that he hasn't aged. When a NASA scientist discovers a UFO nearby, David gets the chance to unravel the mystery and recover the life he lost.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisLittle (2019)
Jordan Sanders, a take-no-prisoners tech mogul, wakes up one morning in the body of her 13-year-old self right before a do-or-die presentation. Her beleaguered assistant April is the only one in on the secret that her daily tormentor is now trapped in an awkward tween body, just as everything is on the line.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisEden (2025)
A group of disillusioned outsiders abandon modern society in search of a new beginning. Settling on a remote, uninhabited island, their utopian dream quickly unravels as they discover that the greatest threat isn’t the brutal climate or deadly wildlife, but each other.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like this
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like How to Be a Recluse?
The closest matches to How to Be a Recluse are Freaks (2019), Inner Workings (2016) and Requiem for a Dream (2000). Below are 17 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after How to Be a Recluse?
Start with Freaks (2019), the closest match to How to Be a Recluse.
What is the highest-rated movie like How to Be a Recluse?
Piper (2016), rated 8.1/10 by 1,791 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like How to Be a Recluse?
Eden (2025) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like How to Be a Recluse?
Yes: Freaks (2019), Inner Workings (2016) and Requiem for a Dream (2000).
How are movies similar to How to Be a Recluse chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside How to Be a Recluse, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.