Movies like The Messenger (1976)
The best movies like The Messenger (1976) are Cause for Alarm! (1951), Other Side of the Box (2018) and The Shift (2023). If The Messenger hooked you, these 20 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.

Quick picks
- Highest ratedKlaus (2019)8.2/10 from 4,917 votes
- NewestThe Shift (2023)Released 2023
Cause for Alarm! (1951)
A bedridden and gravely ill man believes his wife and doctor are conspiring to kill him, and outlines his suspicions in a letter.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisOther Side of the Box (2018)
A couple receives a mysterious package from an old friend.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Shift (2023)
Following a tense encounter with a mysterious stranger with otherworldly powers, a man finds himself banished to a parallel, tyrannical Earth, where he fights to get back to the woman he loves.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAnd Life Goes On (1992)
After the earthquake of Guilan, a film director and his son travel to the devastated area to search for the actors from the movie the director made there a few years previously. In their search, they see how people who have lost everything in the earthquake still have hope and try to live life to the fullest.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisVoyage of Time: The IMAX Experience (2016)
A celebration of the universe, displaying the whole of time, from its start to its final collapse. This film examines all that occurred to prepare the world that stands before us now: science and spirit, birth and death, the grand cosmos and the minute life systems of our planet.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBeing James Bond (2021)
Daniel Craig candidly reflects on his 15 year adventure as James Bond. Including never-before-seen archival footage from Casino Royale to the upcoming 25th film No Time To Die, Craig shares his personal memories in conversation with 007 producers, Michael G Wilson and Barbara Broccoli.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Wind Will Carry Us (1999)
Irreverent city engineer Behzad comes to a rural Kurdish village in Iran to keep vigil for a dying relative. In the meanwhile the film follows his efforts to fit in with the local community and how he changes his own attitudes as a result.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisPassengers (2008)
After a plane crash, a young therapist, Claire, is assigned by her mentor to counsel the flight's five survivors. When they share their recollections of the incident -- which some say include an explosion that the airline claims never happened -- Claire is intrigued by Eric, the most secretive of the passengers.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisKlaus (2019)
A selfish postman and a reclusive toymaker form an unlikely friendship, delivering joy to a cold, dark town that desperately needs it.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisSorry We Missed You (2019)
Hoping that self-employment through gig economy can solve their financial woes, a hard-up delivery driver and his wife struggling to raise a family end up trapped in the vicious circle of modern-day labour exploitation.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisTales of the Black Freighter (2009)
A mariner survives an attack from the dreaded pirates of the Black Freighter, but his struggle to return home to warn it has a horrific cost.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Snowman (1982)
A young boy makes a snowman one Christmas Eve, which comes to life at midnight and takes him on a magical adventure to the North Pole to meet Santa Claus.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisLetters to God (2010)
A young boy fighting cancer writes letters to God, touching lives in his neighborhood and inspiring hope among everyone he comes in contact. An unsuspecting substitute postman, with a troubled life of his own, becomes entangled in the boy's journey and his family by reading the letters. They inspire him to seek a better life for himself and his own son he's lost through his alcohol addiction.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisGod's Not Dead (2014)
After he refuses to disavow his faith, a devout Christian student must prove the existence of God or else his college philosophy professor will fail him.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like this14 Peaks: Nothing Is Impossible (2021)
In 2019, Nepalese mountain climber Nirmal “Nims” Purja set out to do the unthinkable by climbing the world’s fourteen highest summits in less than seven months. (The previous record was eight years). He called the effort “Project Possible 14/7” and saw it as a way to inspire others to strive for greater heights in any pursuit. The film follows his team as they seek to defy naysayers and push the limits of human endurance.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisSecret Admirer (1985)
An anonymous love letter left in Michael Ryan's locker on the last day of school wreaks havoc on his life and the lives of everyone who comes in contact with it.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisWar Room (2015)
The family-friendly movie explores the transformational role prayer plays in the lives of the Jordan family. Tony and Elizabeth Jordan, a middle-class couple who seemingly have it all – great jobs, a beautiful daughter, their dream home. But appearances can be deceiving. In reality, the Jordan’s marriage has become a war zone and their daughter is collateral damage. With the help of Miss Clara, an older, wiser woman, Elizabeth discovers she can start fighting for her family instead of against them. Through a newly energized faith, Elizabeth and Tony’s real enemy doesn’t have a prayer.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisEasy Virtue (2008)
A young Englishman marries a glamorous American. When he brings her home to meet the parents, she arrives like a blast from the future - blowing their entrenched British stuffiness out the window.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisReturn to Me (2000)
It took a lot of persuading to get Bob, a recently widowed architect, to go on a blind date at a quirky Irish-Italian eatery. Once there, he’s instantly smitten, not with his date, but with the sharp-witted waitress. Everything seems to be going great until an unbelievable truth is revealed, one that could easily break both of their hearts for good.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCosmos Laundromat (2015)
On a desolate island, a suicidal sheep named Franck meets his fate…in the form of a quirky salesman named Victor, who offers him the gift of a lifetime. The gift is many lifetimes, actually, in many different worlds – each lasting just a few minutes. In the sequel to the pilot, Franck will find a new reason to live…in the form of a bewitching female adventurer named Tara, who awakens his long-lost lust for life. But can Franck keep up with her?
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like this
Like The Messenger and something else?
Blend two favourites and we’ll find the films in between.
Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like The Messenger?
The closest matches to The Messenger are Cause for Alarm! (1951), Other Side of the Box (2018) and The Shift (2023). Below are 17 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after The Messenger?
Start with Cause for Alarm! (1951), the closest match to The Messenger.
What is the highest-rated movie like The Messenger?
Klaus (2019), rated 8.2/10 by 4,917 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like The Messenger?
The Shift (2023) is the most recent release on this list.
How are movies similar to The Messenger chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside The Messenger, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.



















