Movies like The Surgery Ship (2015)
The best movies like The Surgery Ship (2015) are Dear Zachary: A Letter to a Son About His Father (2008), The Menendez Brothers (2024) and God Grew Tired of Us (2006). If The Surgery Ship hooked you with its documentary, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedDear Zachary: A Letter to a Son About His Father (2008)8.1/10 from 621 votes
- NewestSirens Call (2026)Released 2026
Dear Zachary: A Letter to a Son About His Father (2008)
In 2001, Andrew Bagby, a medical resident, is murdered not long after breaking up with his girlfriend. Soon after, when she announces she's pregnant, one of Andrew's many close friends, Kurt Kuenne, begins this film, a gift to the child.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisThe Menendez Brothers (2024)
Serving life in prison for murdering their parents, Lyle and Erik Menendez speak out in this documentary explaining the shocking crime and ensuing trials.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisGod Grew Tired of Us (2006)
Filmmaker Christopher Quinn observes the ordeal of three Sudanese refugees -- Jon Bul Dau, Daniel Abul Pach and Panther Bior -- as they try to come to terms with the horrors they experienced in their homeland, while adjusting to their new lives in the United States.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisCome See Me in the Good Light (2025)
In an intimate and joyful story of love in the face of loss, celebrated poets Andrea Gibson and Megan Falley find strength—and unexpected hilarity—in what might be their final year together.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Crimson Wing: Mystery of the Flamingos (2008)
In the remote and forgotten wilderness of Lake Natron, in northern Tanzania, one of nature's last great mysteries unfolds: the birth, life and death of a million crimson-winged flamingos.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe AI Doc: Or How I Became an Apocaloptimist (2026)
A father-to-be tries to figure out what is happening with all this AI insanity, and explores the most powerful technology humanity has ever created... and what's at stake if we get it wrong.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHeart of a Dog (2015)
Musician and performance artist Laurie Anderson reflects on the deaths of her husband Lou Reed, her mother and her beloved dog.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDavid Byrne's American Utopia (2020)
A filmed version of David Byrne's Broadway show, a unifying musical celebration that inspires audiences to connect to each other and to the global community.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisLive Aid (1985)
Live Aid was held on 13 July 1985, simultaneously in Wembley Stadium in London, England, and the John F. Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, United States. It was one of the largest scale satellite link-ups and television broadcasts of all time: watched live by an estimated global audience of 1.9 billion, across 150 nations. "It's twelve noon in London, seven AM in Philadelphia, and around the world it's time for Live Aid...!"
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisCharlie: The Life and Art of Charles Chaplin (2003)
Brilliant, long in-the-works story of the life and art of the world's greatest comedian and the cinema's first genius, Charlie Chaplin. Produced, written and directed by renowned film critic Richard Schickel.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisGirl Rising (2013)
Nine filmmakers each profile a young girl from a different part of the world to weave a global tapestry of youth in the 21st century.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisMichael Jackson's This Is It (2009)
A compilation of interviews, rehearsals and backstage footage of Michael Jackson as he prepared for his series of sold-out shows in London.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisFeminists: What Were They Thinking? (2018)
In 1977, a book of photographs captured an awakening - women shedding the cultural restrictions of their childhoods and embracing their full humanity. This documentary revisits those photos, those women and those times and takes aim at our culture today that alarmingly shows the need for continued change.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisSeven Up! (1985)
A group of British children aged 7 from widely ranging backgrounds are interviewed about a range of subjects. The filmmakers plan to re-interview them at 7 year intervals to track how their lives and attitudes change as they age.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisFather Soldier Son (2020)
When Sgt. First Class Brian Eisch is critically wounded in Afghanistan, it sets him and his sons on a journey of love, loss, redemption and legacy.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisOLIVIA RODRIGO: driving home 2 u (a SOUR film) (2022)
Grammy® winner singer-songwriter Olivia Rodrigo takes a familiar road trip from Salt Lake City, where she began writing her debut album “SOUR,” to Los Angeles. Along the way, Rodrigo recounts the memories of writing and creating her record-breaking debut album and shares her feelings as a young woman navigating a specific time in her life. Through new live arrangements of her songs, intimate interviews and never-before-seen footage from the making of the album, audiences will follow Olivia along on a cinematic journey exploring the story of “SOUR.”
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisFuck (2006)
A documentary on the expletive's origin, why it offends some people so deeply, and what can be gained from its use.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCrips and Bloods: Made in America (2009)
With a first-person look at the notorious Crips and Bloods, this film examines the conditions that have lead to decades of devastating gang violence among young African Americans growing up in South Los Angeles.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisZero Days (2016)
Alex Gibney explores the phenomenon of Stuxnet, a self-replicating computer virus discovered in 2010 by international IT experts. Evidently commissioned by the US and Israeli governments, this malware was designed to specifically sabotage Iran’s nuclear programme. However, the complex computer worm ended up not only infecting its intended target but also spreading uncontrollably.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisMy Mom Jayne (2025)
Through deeply personal interviews with her siblings and an examination of the photographs, letters, and belongings left behind, Mariska assembles a new portrait of her mother Jayne Mansfield, an extraordinary and complex woman.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisGrandma's (2023)
An observation of a Grandma's life. Every day, Grandma greets a wide range of characters, most of them typically in need of something. Her family uses her house as a magnet, visiting practically every day. Just like her home itself, she has always been there for her family.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
Black Holes: The Edge of All We Know (2020)
Black holes stand at the limit of what we can know. To explore that edge of knowledge, the Event Horizon Telescope links observatories across the world to simulate an earth-sized instrument. With this tool the team pursues the first-ever picture of a black hole, resulting in an image seen by billions of people in April 2019. Meanwhile, Hawking and his team attack the black hole paradox at the heart of theoretical physics—Do predictive laws still function, even in these massive distortions of space and time? Weaving them together is a third strand, philosophical and exploratory using expressive animation. “Edge” is about practicing science at the highest level, a film where observation, theory, and philosophy combine to grasp these most mysterious objects.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisInvisible - Revealing Hidden Disabilities (2026)
A short documentary that brings light to the experiences of those who live with hidden disabilities. Through eight heartfelt interviews, participants share their struggles, strengths, and realities of their everyday lives.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
Sirens Call (2026)
In their feature-length debut, Gossing/Sieckmann dive into the merfolk subculture with performance artist and siren Una. Genre elements, fiction and documentary, self-care, political activism and self-chosen identities blend into one another.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
Triumph of the Will (1935)
A showcase of German chancellor and Nazi Party leader Adolf Hitler at the 1934 Nuremberg Rally.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisRamón y Cajal: drawings on the retina (2026)
“Ramón y Cajal: drawings on the retina” is a documentary about the Nobel Prize winner that explores, from a contemporary perspective, his fascination with images as a bridge between the reality of the physical world and that created in the brain, with a new integrative approach to his artistic and scientific facets and his legacy, told through the experiences and points of view of researchers, artists, historians, family members, and other experts who consider Cajal a visionary who transcended his own science. In one of the laboratories, a machine answers Cajal's last question: how are images formed in the brain?
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
Rave On for the Avon (2024)
Fall in love with our Avon and the people fighting to protect it, the Bristol way! Rave On For The Avon is a feature-length documentary film that follows campaigners and river lovers through six seasons: their highs and lows, love and loss.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
A Life on the Farm (2023)
A strange story from Somerset, England about a filmmaking farmer and the inspiring legacy of his long-lost home movies.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
An Open Door (2023)
An Open Door is the international award-winning documentary that reflects on the influential life and work of Dr. Temple Grandin as a champion of the humane treatment of livestock, autism rights, and inclusive neurodiversity by employing her gifted insights from her personal experience with autism and visual thinking. The film speaks with Dr. Grandin, her colleagues, industry professionals and those she has influenced to celebrate her groundbreaking life, lessons learned and lasting legacy. An Open Door is directed by award-winning filmmaker John Barnhardt and presented by Colorado State University.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
Going to Hell (2019)
A documentary film exposing the truth about psychics and fortune-tellers. All the ins and outs of magical TV shows and services of the most famous psychics with evidence, names and prices.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
Like The Surgery Ship and something else?
Blend two favourites and we’ll find the films in between.
Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like The Surgery Ship?
The closest matches to The Surgery Ship are Dear Zachary: A Letter to a Son About His Father (2008), The Menendez Brothers (2024) and God Grew Tired of Us (2006). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after The Surgery Ship?
Start with Dear Zachary: A Letter to a Son About His Father (2008), the closest match to The Surgery Ship.
What is the highest-rated movie like The Surgery Ship?
Dear Zachary: A Letter to a Son About His Father (2008), rated 8.1/10 by 621 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like The Surgery Ship?
Sirens Call (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like The Surgery Ship?
Yes: Dear Zachary: A Letter to a Son About His Father (2008), The Menendez Brothers (2024) and God Grew Tired of Us (2006).
How are movies similar to The Surgery Ship chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside The Surgery Ship, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.