Movies like Brainwash (1983)
The best movies like Brainwash (1983) are Foxcatcher (2014), Out of the Furnace (2013) and Damage (2009). If Brainwash hooked you with its thriller and drama, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedRebecca (1940)7.9/10 from 2,087 votes
- Newest180 (2026)Released 2026
Foxcatcher (2014)
The greatest Olympic Wrestling Champion brother team joins Team Foxcatcher led by multimillionaire sponsor John E. du Pont as they train for the 1988 games in Seoul - a union that leads to unlikely circumstances.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisOut of the Furnace (2013)
Two brothers live in the economically-depressed Rust Belt, when a cruel twist of fate lands one in prison. His brother is then lured into one of the most violent crime rings in the Northeast.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDamage (2009)
An ex-con battles it out in the cage to pay for the operation that would save the daughter of his victim. Along the way he finds fatherly love, and friendship, in the most unlikely of places.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisRoad House (2024)
Ex-UFC fighter Dalton takes a job as a bouncer at a Florida Keys roadhouse, only to discover that this paradise is not all it seems.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDead Man's Shoes (2004)
A soldier returns to his small town and exacts a deadly revenge on the thugs who tormented his disabled brother while he was away.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & thriller
Worth the HypeMovies like thisLife After Fighting (2024)
Retired martial arts world champion Alex Faulkner has settled into a simple life, when the disappearance of two of his students leads to an unthinkable discovery close to home. Just when all hope of finding the children is lost, he locates the imprisoned girls and unsurfaces an international child trafficking operation, which draws him back into the fight of his life against those behind it.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & thriller
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Good Neighbor (2022)
A nightmarish evening unfolds for neighbors David and Robert when they accidentally hit a woman on her bike and flee the scene. While David is increasingly plagued by feelings of guilt, Robert shows no remorse and becomes overbearing and possessive.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisFive Minutes of Heaven (2009)
The story of former Ulster Volunteer Force member Alistair Little. Twenty-five years after Little killed Joe Griffin's brother, the media arrange an auspicious meeting between the two.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBlood and Bone (2009)
In Los Angeles, an ex-con takes the underground fighting world by storm in his quest to fulfill a promise to a dead friend.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisActs of Vengeance (2017)
A fast-talking lawyer transforms his body and takes a vow of silence, not to be broken until he finds out who killed his wife and daughter and has his revenge.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like this180 (2026)
When an unexpected road rage incident puts his son in critical condition, an enraged father spirals down a dark path of emotional turmoil and vengeance.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller & drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisBunraku (2010)
In a world with no guns, a mysterious drifter, a bartender and a young samurai plot revenge against a ruthless leader and his army of thugs, headed by nine diverse and deadly assassins.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller & drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisNever Back Down 2: The Beatdown (2011)
Four fighters from different backgrounds come together to train under an ex MMA rising star and then ultimately have to fight each other and the traitor in their midst.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBeast (2026)
MMA legend Patton James, now a commercial fisherman, is pulled back into the cage when his brother is in danger. Reuniting with his old coach Sammy, he commits to one final fight in one championship against the brutal champion Xavier Grau.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Jackal (1997)
Hired by a powerful member of the Russian mafia to avenge an FBI sting that left his brother dead, a psychopathic hitman known only as The Jackal proves an elusive target for the people charged with the task of bringing him down: a deputy FBI director, a Russian MVK Major, and a jailed IRA terrorist who can recognize him.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisEmbattled (2020)
The eldest son of a ruthlessly tough MMA champion must fight his way out of the abusive cycle his father has continued.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisPolar (2019)
When a retiring assassin realizes that he is the target of a hit, he winds up back in the game going head to head with a gang of younger, ruthless killers.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHard Target (1993)
When a woman's father goes missing, she enlists a local to aid in her search. The pair soon discover that her father has died at the hands of a wealthy sportsman who hunts homeless men as a form of recreation.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCode of Silence (1985)
A Chicago cop is caught in the middle of a gang war while his own comrades shun him because he wants to take an irresponsible cop down.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Last Kumite (2024)
When shady businessman Ron Hall kidnaps his daughter, retired karate champion Michael Rivers is forced to enter a deadly illegal Kumite tournament in Bulgaria. Enlisting the help of seasoned trainers Master Loren and Julie Jackson, he discovers other fighters face the same desperate struggle to save their loved ones.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe 15:17 to Paris (2018)
On Aug. 21, 2015, the world watches in stunned silence as the media reports a thwarted terrorist attack on a train that's bound for Paris -- an attempt prevented by three young Americans traveling together through Europe. The heroic and courageous actions of Anthony Sadler, Alek Skarlatos and Spencer Stone help to save the lives of more than 500 passengers on board.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & thriller
SnoozefestMovies like thisStar Trek: Generations (1994)
Captain Jean-Luc Picard and the crew of the Enterprise-D find themselves at odds with the renegade scientist Soran who is destroying entire star systems. Only one man can help Picard stop Soran's scheme...and he's been dead for seventy-eight years.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAll Quiet on the Western Front (1930)
When a group of idealistic young men join the German Army during the Great War, they are assigned to the Western Front, where their patriotism is destroyed by the harsh realities of combat.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Secret Life of Words (2005)
A solitary nurse bonds with a badly burned patient who survived an accident on an oil rig.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisVolver (2006)
Three generations of women deal with family secrets while surviving the east wind, fire, insanity, superstition, lies and even death.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisRebecca (1940)
Story of a young woman who marries a fascinating widower only to find out that she must live in the shadow of his former wife, Rebecca, who died mysteriously several years earlier. The young wife must come to grips with the terrible secret of her handsome, cold husband, Max De Winter. She must also deal with the jealous, obsessed Mrs. Danvers, the housekeeper, who will not accept her as the mistress of the house.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisBoys Don't Cry (1999)
A young transgender man explores his gender identity and searches for love in rural Nebraska.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisAbduction of Innocence (1996)
Teenager, Clare Steves, is kidnapped by an old boyfriend, Eddie Spencer, who demands $250,000. The ransom is paid and Clare is released, but when the kidnapers are caught, they claim that the whole scheme was Clare's idea as a way to punish her father. She denies it and is put on trial.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Cargo (2019)
Aboard a spaceship where souls of the deceased are readied for reincarnation, a lone crew member's rigid existence is disrupted by a spry new assistant.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Only Cloud Knows (2019)
The film revolves around a Chinese man who returns to New Zealand following the death of his wife and begins to discover that she harbored a number of secrets.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Like Brainwash and something else?
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Brainwash?
The closest matches to Brainwash are Foxcatcher (2014), Out of the Furnace (2013) and Damage (2009). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Brainwash?
Start with Foxcatcher (2014), the closest match to Brainwash.
What is the highest-rated movie like Brainwash?
Rebecca (1940), rated 7.9/10 by 2,087 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Brainwash?
180 (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like Brainwash?
Yes: Foxcatcher (2014), Out of the Furnace (2013) and Damage (2009).
How are movies similar to Brainwash chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Brainwash, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.