Movies like A Thousand and One Nights (1969)
The best movies like A Thousand and One Nights (1969) are The Spine of Night (2021), The Garden of Sinners: Paradox Spiral (2008) and Belladonna of Sadness (1973). If A Thousand and One Nights hooked you with its animation and drama, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedMortal Kombat Legends: Scorpion's Revenge (2020)8.1/10 from 1,545 votes
- NewestThe Surrender (2025)Released 2025
- In JapaneseThe Garden of Sinners: Paradox Spiral (2008)Also in Japanese
The Spine of Night (2021)
When ancient dark magic falls into sinister hands and unleashes ages of suffering onto mankind, a group of heroes from different eras and cultures must band together in order to defeat it at all costs.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation & fantasy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Garden of Sinners: Paradox Spiral (2008)
Tomoe Enjou is attacked by bullies from his old school and saved by Shiki Ryougi. He asks her to hide him at her place and admits that he killed someone. Several days later, there are still no broadcasts about the murder as if it didn't happen... and when the victims are found, they're alive and unharmed.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisBelladonna of Sadness (1973)
An evil feudal lord rapes a village girl on her wedding night and proceeds to ruin her and her husband's lives. After she's eventually banished from her village, the girl makes a pact with the devil to gain magical ability and take revenge.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Garden of Sinners: Remaining Sense of Pain (2008)
July 1998 - After a group of delinquents is found dead in their hangout place with all their limbs twisted and torn off, Aozaki Touko receives a request to find the murderer and asks Shiki for help. The main suspect is Asagami Fujino; a girl who was the boys' plaything until recently, who Shiki believes to be "one of her kind".
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation & fantasy
Worth the HypeMovies like thisUrotsukidōji III: Return of the Overfiend (1993)
As the Overfiend slumbers, the mad emperor Caesar rises to power, enslaving a new race of demon beasts. Into this cruel existence is born the Lord of Chaos, the Overfiend's nemesis. As the blood-thirsty beasts capture the tyrant's daughter in a brutal coup, the Overfiend must awaken to an apocalyptic battle of the Gods.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation & horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisUrotsukidōji: Legend of the Overfiend (1989)
Legend has it that the human race is not the only dominant civilization living on Earth. Two other races exist in this world: the Makai (a demon race) and the Jujinkai (a half-man, half-beast race). Once every 3,000 years, a supreme being known as the Choujin (Overfiend) will emerge and bring balance to all three realms on Earth. In present-day Japan, after 300 years of endless searching, a Jujinkai named Amano Jyaku has discovered the presence of the Choujin inside high school slacker Tatsuo Nagumo. But now, Amano, along with his sister Megumi and their sidekick Kuroko, must protect Nagumo and his new girlfriend Akemi Ito from the Makai, who believe that Nagumo is not the Choujin, but an evil entity bent on destroying all living beings on Earth.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation & horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMad God (2021)
A silent figure known as The Assassin travels through a nightmare underworld of tortured souls, ruined cities and wretched monstrosities forged from the primordial horrors of the unconscious mind of Phil Tippett, the world's preeminent stop-motion animator.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation & fantasy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDevilman - Volume 3: Devilman Apocalypse (2000)
Fear runs rampant throughout Tokyo with the revelation that demons in fact exist amongst us. Paranoia and the darker side of humanity boils onto the streets as people turn on one another, suspecting that anyone could in fact be a demon hiding in human clothing. Amidst the growing tensions, tragedy strikes Akira causing his mind to snap, retreating into his subconscious, allowing his Devilish alter-ego Amon to break free from Akira's cage of flesh and wreak havoc on both human and demons alike.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation & fantasy
Worth the HypeMovies like thisWicked City (1987)
A peace treaty between the Earth and the Black World, a parallel universe of demons, is coming to an end. Two cops, Taki, a human male, and Maki, a female demon, are assigned to protect a diplomat who will help secure another treaty. A radical group of demons from the Black World are out to assassinate the diplomat and prevent the treaty; only the bond that forms between the two cops can save the Earth from destruction.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation & fantasy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Prophecy (1995)
The angel Gabriel comes to Earth to collect a soul which will end the stalemated war in Heaven. However, it is hidden inside of a Native American girl and only a former priest and a schoolteacher can stop him.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror & fantasy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMortal Kombat Legends: Snow Blind (2022)
The vicious, power-mad Kano is determined to take over Earthrealm, one soul at a time. Assisted by a trio of cold Black Dragon mercenaries, he embarks on a brutal assault from town to defenseless town. The choice is simple: kneel or be annihilated. Kenshi, a rebel warrior, calls on Kuai Liang, the only one powerful enough to challenge the malevolent Kano. But Kuai Liang has given up the ways of the warrior, and Kenshi is too undisciplined to defeat Kano himself. If Kuai Liang cannot break through the glacier of doubt that holds him back, Earthrealm will fall.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation & fantasy
Worth the HypeMovies like thisMortal Kombat Legends: Scorpion's Revenge (2020)
After the vicious slaughter of his family by stone-cold mercenary Sub-Zero, Hanzo Hasashi is exiled to the torturous Netherrealm. There, in exchange for his servitude to the sinister Quan Chi, he’s given a chance to avenge his family – and is resurrected as Scorpion, a lost soul bent on revenge. Back on Earthrealm, Lord Raiden gathers a team of elite warriors – Shaolin monk Liu Kang, Special Forces officer Sonya Blade, and action star Johnny Cage – an unlikely band of heroes with one chance to save humanity. To do this, they must defeat Shang Tsung's horde of Outworld gladiators and reign over the Mortal Kombat tournament.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation & fantasy
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisThe Witcher: Nightmare of the Wolf (2021)
Escaping from poverty to become a witcher, Vesemir slays monsters for coin and glory, but when a new menace rises, he must face the demons of his past.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation & fantasy
Worth the HypeMovies like thisMortal Kombat Legends: Battle of the Realms (2021)
When Shao Kahn's Outworld barbarians terrorize Earthrealm, Lord Raiden is determined to put an end to the carnage once and for all. This leaves one option: a final Mortal Kombat tournament for the future of Earthrealm – win it or lose everything. Raiden's elite fighters Liu Kang, Johnny Cage, Sonya Blade, and a few new faces kick the action into overdrive as they go head-to-head with Outworld's most bloodthirsty warriors. But deep in the Netherrealm, an unspeakable scheme by the malevolent Shinnok unfolds, threatening to obliterate existence.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation & fantasy
Worth the HypeMovies like thisSamurai Reincarnation (1981)
After surviving the slaughter of many Christians 350 years ago, a samurai denounces God for ignoring the pleas of believers. He sells his soul to Satan and receives the power to resurrect the dead to join him in a murderous rampage.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both fantasy & horror
SnoozefestMovies like thisNinja III: The Domination (1984)
An aerobics instructor becomes a ruthless assassin after being possessed by a slain ninja's spirit, leading to a showdown with a martial arts expert.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both fantasy & horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSavaged (2014)
After thugs brutalize a deaf-mute woman, the spirit of an Apache warrior takes over her lifeless body and sets out on a bloodthirsty quest for revenge.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBlade of the Immortal (2017)
Manji, a highly skilled samurai, becomes cursed with immortality after a legendary battle. Haunted by the brutal murder of his sister, Manji knows that only fighting evil will regain his soul. He promises to help a young girl named Rin avenge her parents, who were killed by a group of master swordsmen led by ruthless warrior Anotsu. The mission will change Manji in ways he could never imagine.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both fantasy & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAudition (2000)
Seven years after the death of his wife, widower Shigeharu seeks advice on how to find a new wife from a colleague. Taking advantage of their position as a film company, they stage an audition. Interviewing a series of women, Shigeharu is enchanted by the quiet Asami. But soon things take a twisted turn as Asami isn’t what she seems to be.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Surrender (2025)
A fraught mother-daughter relationship is put to a terrifying test when the family patriarch dies, and the grieving mother hires a mysterious stranger to bring her husband back from the dead.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & horror
SnoozefestMovies like thisThis Boy Suffers from Crystallization (2014)
Ayumu, struggling with a rare condition that turns him to stone, creates a new persona for himself, but his feelings grow for his teacher, Kouya, who sees beauty in his transformation.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both fantasy & animation
Homejack Reverse (2017)
The roles are reversed in this sequel to the 2016 film, with two women "raping" a man during a home invasion.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & horror
Immortality (1998)
A vampire in London is searching for the ideal woman to 'redeem' him.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both fantasy & horror
SnoozefestMovies like thisThe Gift (2000)
Annie Wilson, young widow and mother of three, makes her living foretelling others' futures—though her own has become cloudier than even she can see. Threatened by a client's violent husband and plagued by visions of a missing local woman, Annie finds herself pulled into a thicket of lies and deception in which her extraordinary gift may ultimately get her killed.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisLucid Love (2024)
Juno, an ordinary man, always feels insecure because he has a beautiful girlfriend, while Trish, a beautiful woman, is always played by men. They never expected to meet in a place full of wonders, a place that would determine their love lives, in a lucid dream.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & fantasy
Jacob's Ladder (1990)
After returning home from the Vietnam War, veteran Jacob Singer struggles to maintain his sanity. Plagued by hallucinations and flashbacks, Singer rapidly falls apart as the world and people around him morph and twist into disturbing images. His girlfriend, Jezzie, and ex-wife, Sarah, try to help, but to little avail. Even Singer's chiropractor friend, Louis, fails to reach him as he descends into madness.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & horror
Worth the HypeMovies like thisDawn of the Dead (1978)
During an ever-growing epidemic of zombies that have risen from the dead, two Philadelphia SWAT team members, a traffic reporter, and his television-executive girlfriend seek refuge in a secluded shopping mall.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror
Worth the HypeMovies like thisTabu: A Story of the South Seas (1931)
On the South Pacific island of Bora Bora, a young couple's love is threatened when the tribal chief declares the girl a sacred virgin.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisStreet Kings (2008)
Tom Ludlow is a disillusioned L.A. Police Officer, rarely playing by the rules and haunted by the death of his wife. When evidence implicates him in the execution of a fellow officer, he is forced to go up against the cop culture he's been a part of his entire career, ultimately leading him to question the loyalties of everyone around him.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSamaritan Girl (2004)
Jae-Young is an amateur prostitute who sleeps with men while her best friend Yeo-Jin "manages" her, fixing dates, taking care of the money, and making sure the coast is clear. When Jae-Young falls in love with one of those men, she suppresses her feelings towards him in respect of her friend who's jealous.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like this
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like A Thousand and One Nights?
The closest matches to A Thousand and One Nights are The Spine of Night (2021), The Garden of Sinners: Paradox Spiral (2008) and Belladonna of Sadness (1973). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after A Thousand and One Nights?
Start with The Spine of Night (2021), the closest match to A Thousand and One Nights.
What is the highest-rated movie like A Thousand and One Nights?
Mortal Kombat Legends: Scorpion's Revenge (2020), rated 8.1/10 by 1,545 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like A Thousand and One Nights?
The Surrender (2025) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there Japanese movies like A Thousand and One Nights?
Yes: The Garden of Sinners: Paradox Spiral (2008), Belladonna of Sadness (1973) and The Garden of Sinners: Remaining Sense of Pain (2008).
How are movies similar to A Thousand and One Nights chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside A Thousand and One Nights, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.