Movies like Lord of the Ants (2022)
The best movies like Lord of the Ants (2022) are Julia (1977), Vincere (2009) and Shattered Glass (2003). If Lord of the Ants hooked you with its drama and history, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedtick, tick... BOOM! (2021)7.6/10 from 2,406 votes
- NewestLittle Tragedies (2026)Released 2026
- In ItalianVincere (2009)Also in Italian
Julia (1977)
At the behest of an old and dear friend, playwright Lillian Hellman undertakes a dangerous mission to smuggle funds into Nazi Germany.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & history
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisVincere (2009)
The story of the descent into madness of Mussolini's secret first wife, Ida Dasler, who was seduced by his passion and vigor but blind to the fascist dictator's many flaws.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & history
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisShattered Glass (2003)
Stephen Glass is a staff writer for the respected current events and policy magazine The New Republic and a freelance feature writer for publications such as Rolling Stone, Harper's and George. By the mid-90s, Glass' articles had turned him into one of the most sought-after young journalists in Washington, but a bizarre chain of events - chronicled in Buzz Bissinger's September 1998 Vanity Fair article - suddenly stopped his career in its tracks.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & history
Worth the HypeMovies like thisMunich - The Edge of War (2021)
At the tense 1938 Munich Conference, former friends who now work for opposing governments become reluctant spies racing to expose a Nazi secret.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & history
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBelfast (2021)
Buddy is a young boy on the cusp of adolescence, whose life is filled with familial love, childhood hijinks, and a blossoming romance. Yet, with his beloved hometown caught up in increasing turmoil, his family faces a momentous choice: hope the conflict will pass or leave everything they know behind for a new life.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & history
Worth the HypeMovies like thisColette (2018)
After marrying a successful Parisian writer known commonly as Willy, Sidonie-Gabrielle Colette is transplanted from her childhood home in rural France to the intellectual and artistic splendor of Paris. Soon after, Willy convinces Colette to ghostwrite for him. She pens a semi-autobiographical novel about a witty and brazen country girl named Claudine, sparking a bestseller and a cultural sensation. After its success, Colette and Willy become the talk of Paris and their adventures inspire additional Claudine novels.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & history
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBlue Moon (2025)
On the evening of March 31, 1943, legendary lyricist Lorenz Hart confronts his shattered self-confidence in Sardi’s bar as his former collaborator, Richard Rodgers, celebrates the opening night of his ground-breaking hit musical, “Oklahoma!”
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both history & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSnow Flower and the Secret Fan (2011)
A story set in 19th century China and centered on the lifelong friendship between two girls who develop their own secret code as a way to contend with the rigid cultural norms imposed on women.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & history
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBenediction (2021)
Poet Siegfried Sassoon survived the horrors of fighting in the First World War and was decorated for his bravery, but became a vocal critic of the government's continuation of the war when he returned from service. Adored by members of the aristocracy as well as stars of London's literary and stage world, he embarked on affairs with several men as he attempted to come to terms with his homosexuality.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & history
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAnonymous (2011)
Set against the backdrop of the succession of Queen Elizabeth I, and the Essex Rebellion against her, the story advances the theory that it was in fact Edward De Vere, Earl of Oxford who penned Shakespeare's plays.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & history
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSong for a Raggy Boy (2003)
William Franklin is a teacher who was born in Ireland and moved to the United States only to repatriate in 1939 after his leftist political views cause him to lose his job. Franklin becomes the first non-cleric instructor at St. Jude's, a school for wayward boys run by Brother John, who is a firm believer in strong discipline.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & history
Worth the HypeMovies 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 · both drama & history
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHowl (2010)
It's San Francisco in 1957, and an American masterpiece is put on trial. Howl, the film, recounts this dark moment using three interwoven threads: the tumultuous life events that led a young Allen Ginsberg to find his true voice as an artist, society's reaction (the obscenity trial), and mind-expanding animation that echoes the startling originality of the poem itself. All three coalesce in a genre-bending hybrid that brilliantly captures a pivotal moment-the birth of a counterculture.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisI Am Woman (2020)
In 1966, Helen Reddy landed in New York with her three year old daughter, a suitcase, and $230 in her pocket. Within weeks, she was broke. Within months, she was in love. Within five years, she was one of the biggest superstars of her time and an icon of the 1970s feminist movement who wrote a song which galvanized a generation of women to fight for change.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisPriscilla (2023)
When teenage Priscilla Beaulieu meets Elvis Presley at a party, the man who is already a meteoric rock-and-roll superstar becomes someone entirely unexpected in private moments: a thrilling crush, an ally in loneliness, a vulnerable best friend.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Detective (1968)
New York City Police detective Joe Leland investigates the grisly murder of Teddy Leikman, the gay son of a politically influential department store owner. While investigating, he discovers links to official corruption in NYC in this drama that delves into a world of sex and drugs, homophobia, homosexuality and bisexuality.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
SnoozefestMovies like thistick, tick... BOOM! (2021)
On the brink of turning 30, a promising theater composer navigates love, friendship and the pressure to create something great before time runs out.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Happy Prince (2018)
In 1895, Oscar Wilde (1854-1900) was the most famous writer in London, and Bosie Douglas, son of the notorious Marquess of Queensberry, was his lover. Accused and convicted of gross indecency, he was imprisoned for two years and subjected to hard labor. Once free, he abandons England to live in France, where he will spend his last years, haunted by memories of the past, poverty and immense sadness.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBoy Erased (2018)
Jared, the son of a Baptist pastor in a small American town, is outed to his parents at age 19. Jared is faced with an ultimatum: attend a gay conversion therapy program – or be permanently exiled and shunned by his family, friends, and faith.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisEnea (2024)
Enea chases after the myth he bears in his name; he does so to feel alive in a dead and decadent age. He does so together with Valentino, a newly baptized aviator. The two, in addition to dealing and partying, share youth. Lifelong friends, victims and perpetrators of a corrupt world, but moved by an incorruptible vitality. Beyond the boundaries of rules, on the other side of morality, there is a sea full of humanity and symbols to be discovered. Enea and Valentino will fly over it to the furthest extremes. However, drugs and the underworld are the invisible shadow of a story about something else: a melancholy father, a brother fighting at school, a mother defeated by love and a beautiful girl, a happy ending and a happy death, a palm tree falling on a glass world.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisK-19: The Widowmaker (2002)
When Russia's first nuclear submarine malfunctions on its maiden voyage, the crew must race to save the ship and prevent a nuclear disaster.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both history & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisFlor do Ártico (2022)
Laura and Clarice live very different realities. While Laura tries to decide her life and take courage about her future, Clarice deals with her past tormented by an abusive relationship. Their lives intertwine as Laura's curiosity speaks louder, she takes her first dose of courage, and a passion arises with both facing their previous baggage and future plans along the way.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
The Unknown Cyclist (1998)
A man's dying wish is for the people in his life to participate in a 450-mile charity bicycle ride through Northern California.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
The History Boys (2006)
The story of an unruly class of bright, funny history students at a Yorkshire grammar school in pursuit of an undergraduate place at Oxford or Cambridge. Bounced between their maverick English master, a young and shrewd teacher hired to up their test scores, a grossly out-numbered history teacher, and a headmaster obsessed with results, the boys attempt to pass.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSummertime (2015)
In 1971, a young woman moves from the French countryside to Paris and begins a passionate love affair with a feminist leader.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisLittle Tragedies (2026)
In 2011, Daniel Nolasco moved from his small hometown in the Brazilian countryside to Rio de Janeiro. He went to college. He was the first of a group of queer friends to leave the city. Ten years later, none of the people who made up that group live there anymore; some have died, and those who are alive have moved away. The city is called Catalão, a place that everyone says is too good to live in.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Narcissus and Psyche (1980)
Narcisus and Psyche is based on a novel by Sandor Weores which was adapted by Vilmos Csaplar and director Gabor Body for a feature-length film. Borrowing the character of Psyche from mythology and placing her in Europe in the 19th century, the authors give her a "modern" life. She is an attractive young woman - and remains so throughout the film, in spite of one hardship after another. Psyche is libidinous, and her prurient interests shock her staid contemporaries.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Serbis (2008)
A struggling family owns a Filipino porn theater where prostitutes conduct their business.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Beau (2021)
Beau, an emerging artist, is about to unveil her latest installation. Her girlfriend Paloma is a devoted supporter. Her final breakthrough hinges on the success of this piece, and soon this pressure causes a rift in the two women's relationship.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Vincent Before Noon (2019)
A father pays his son a visit after years of conflict and turns up in the middle of his house move. The son, Vincent, reacts violently to that intrusion. Emotionally weakened, the father involuntarily reveals the true reason of his visit, which revives the tension between them. Within a few minutes, the anger, the memories and the crossed looks move the two men deeply.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Like Lord of the Ants and something else?
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Lord of the Ants?
The closest matches to Lord of the Ants are Julia (1977), Vincere (2009) and Shattered Glass (2003). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Lord of the Ants?
Start with Julia (1977), the closest match to Lord of the Ants.
What is the highest-rated movie like Lord of the Ants?
tick, tick... BOOM! (2021), rated 7.6/10 by 2,406 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Lord of the Ants?
Little Tragedies (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there Italian movies like Lord of the Ants?
Yes: Vincere (2009) and Enea (2024).
How are movies similar to Lord of the Ants chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Lord of the Ants, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.