Movies like Paranoia (2015)
The best movies like Paranoia (2015) are The Purple Rose of Cairo (1985), Northfork (2003) and Peter Ibbetson (1935). If Paranoia hooked you with its fantasy, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedDonnie Darko (2001)7.8/10 from 13,942 votes
- NewestNext Stop, Christmas (2021)Released 2021
The Purple Rose of Cairo (1985)
Cecilia is a waitress in New Jersey, living a dreary life during the Great Depression. Her only escape from her mundane reality is the movie theatre. After losing her job, Cecilia goes to see 'The Purple Rose of Cairo' in hopes of raising her spirits, where she watches dashing archaeologist Tom Baxter time and again.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both fantasy
Worth the HypeMovies like thisNorthfork (2003)
The year is 1955, and a great flood is coming to Northfork, Montana. A new hydroelectric dam is about to be installed in the mountains above the town, ready to submerge the valley in the name of progress. It is the responsibility of a six-man Evacuation Committee to relocate the townsfolk to higher ground. Most have duly departed, but a few stubborn stragglers remain – among them a priest caring for a sickly orphan, a boy whose fevered visions are leading him to believe he is a member of a roaming band of lost angels desperately searching for a way home.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both fantasy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisPeter Ibbetson (1935)
When his mother dies, young Peter Ibbetson leaves Paris and his best friend, Mary, behind to live with a severe uncle in England. Years later, Peter is an architect with little time for women, until he begins a project with the Duke and Duchess of Towers. When Peter and the duchess become great friends, she reveals that she is Mary — but the duke soon suspects his wife of infidelity and challenges Peter to a duel, threatening the pair's second chance.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both fantasy
Worth the HypeMovies like thisAfterlife of the Party (2021)
A social butterfly who dies during her birthday week is given a second chance to right her wrongs on Earth.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both fantasy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAnastasia: Once Upon a Time (2020)
Anastasia Romanov escapes through a portal when her family is threatened by Vladimir Lenin, and she finds herself in the year 1988, befriended by a young American girl.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both fantasy
SnoozefestMovies like thisStranger Than Fiction (2006)
Harold Crick is a lonely IRS agent whose mundane existence is transformed when he hears a mysterious voice narrating his life.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both fantasy
Worth the HypeMovies like thisShorts (2009)
A young boy's discovery of a colorful, wish-granting rock causes chaos in the suburban town of Black Falls when jealous kids and scheming adults alike set out to get their hands on it.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both fantasy
SnoozefestMovies like thisCome Away (2020)
Before Alice went to Wonderland, and before Peter became Pan, they were brother and sister. When their eldest brother dies in a tragic accident, they each seek to save their parents from their downward spirals of despair until finally they are forced to choose between home and imagination, setting the stage for their iconic journeys into Wonderland and Neverland.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both fantasy
SnoozefestMovies like thisMirrorMask (2005)
In a fantasy world of opposing kingdoms, a 15-year old girl must find the fabled MirrorMask in order to save the kingdom and get home.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both fantasy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHansel and Gretel (1988)
Hansel and Gretel tells the tale of two young children driven from home by their scolding mother. Losing their way in the dark forest they stumble upon the cottage of a kindly old woman. But is this kindly old woman everything she seems...?
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both fantasy
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Nutcracker (1993)
On Christmas Eve, a little girl named Marie falls asleep and dreams herself into a fantastic world in which her toys become larger than life. She meets up with the Nutcracker Prince who takes her on a journey to his kingdom and defends her from the Mouse King.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both fantasy
SnoozefestMovies like thisDonovan's Echo (2011)
A series of uncanny déjà vu events force a man to re-examine his tragic past, memory, instinct, and future.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both fantasy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisGodmothered (2020)
A young and unskilled fairy godmother that ventures out on her own to prove her worth by tracking down a young girl whose request for help was ignored. What she discovers is that the girl has now become a grown woman in need of something very different than a "prince charming."
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both fantasy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisA Thousand Words (2012)
Jack McCall is a fast-talking literary agent, who can close any deal, any time, any way. He has set his sights on New Age guru Dr. Sinja for his own selfish purposes. But Dr. Sinja is on to him, and Jack’s life comes unglued after a magical Bodhi tree mysteriously appears in his backyard. With every word Jack speaks, a leaf falls from the tree and he realizes that when the last leaf falls, both he and the tree are toast. Words have never failed Jack McCall, but now he’s got to stop talking and conjure up some outrageous ways to communicate or he’s a goner.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both fantasy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisA Midsummer Night's Dream (1999)
Mistaken identity, unrequited love, and the supernatural are combined in Shakespeare's classic set in the woods of Greece on a moonlit night.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both fantasy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisEdward Scissorhands (1990)
A small suburban town receives a visit from a castaway unfinished science experiment named Edward.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both fantasy
Worth the HypeMovies like thisNext Stop, Christmas (2021)
Angie wonders what her life would be like if she had married a former boyfriend who became a famous sportscaster. She takes the train home to spend Christmas with her family and inexplicably finds herself 10 years in the past. With the advice of the train's enigmatic conductor, Angie has the chance to revisit that Christmas and learn what — and who — is truly important to her.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both fantasy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisA Heavenly Christmas (2016)
Upon her untimely death, a workaholic finds herself in training to be a Christmas Angel in Heaven. Despite being the worst recruit in the history of Christmas, she’s assigned a hard luck case. As she’s forced to help solve his problems, she’ll start to discover the meaning of Christmas and maybe even fall in love along the way.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both fantasy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBedtime Stories (2008)
Skeeter Bronson is a down-on-his-luck guy who's always telling bedtime stories to his niece and nephew. But his life is turned upside down when the fantastical stories he makes up for entertainment inexplicably turn into reality. Can a bewildered Skeeter manage his own unruly fantasies now that the outrageous characters and situations from his mind have morphed into actual people and events?
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both fantasy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMeet Joe Black (1998)
Bill Parrish has it all - success, wealth and power. Days before his 65th birthday, he receives a visit from a mysterious stranger, Joe Black, who soon reveals himself as Death. In exchange for extra time, Bill agrees to serve as Joe's earthly guide. But will he regret his choice when Joe unexpectedly falls in love with Bill's beautiful daughter Susan?
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both fantasy
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Toll (TBA)
Set in the 1930s, two siblings use their imaginations as a coping mechanism to come to terms with their mother's mysterious disappearance.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both fantasy
Three Days Later (2021)
A dystopian, post-modern retelling of the Easter story.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both fantasy
The Lovely Bones (2009)
After being brutally murdered, 14-year-old Susie Salmon watches from heaven over her grief-stricken family -- and her killer. As she observes their daily lives, she must balance her thirst for revenge with her desire for her family to heal.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both fantasy
Worth the HypeMovies like thisDonnie Darko (2001)
After narrowly escaping a bizarre accident, a troubled teenager is plagued by visions of a large bunny rabbit that manipulates him to commit a series of crimes.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both fantasy
Worth the HypeMovies like thisBunny (1998)
Bunny, an elderly rabbit who uses a walker, is in her kitchen one night baking a cake. A pesky and persistent moth bangs about the kitchen. Nothing is what it seems.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both fantasy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug (2013)
The Dwarves, Bilbo and Gandalf have successfully escaped the Misty Mountains, and Bilbo has gained the One Ring. They all continue their journey to get their gold back from the Dragon, Smaug.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both fantasy
Worth the HypeMovies like thisHow to Train Your Dragon 2 (2014)
Five years after uniting the dragons and Vikings of Berk, Hiccup and Toothless soar beyond their homeland, charting the vast unknown. During one of their adventures, the pair discover a secret cave that houses hundreds of wild dragons—and a mysterious dragon rider with a startling connection to Hiccup. And as the ruthless conqueror Drago Bludvist rises to seize control of both dragons and people alike, Hiccup must step into his role as a true leader and, alongside his friends and Toothless, protect Berk from a devastating war.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both fantasy
Worth the HypeMovies like thisDemon (2004)
Based on a painting by M. Vrubel, a poem by M. Lermontov and the play "Faust" by Goethe. This film is the first part of the trilogy 'Everlasting Variations'. The author attempts to expose the atmosphere of early 20th century Russian romanticism, which Vrubel's works so brilliantly illustrate.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both fantasy
Heyday! (2006)
During World War II, the usually sleepy town of Gander, Newfoundland is abuzz with activity as the stopover point for many flights between North America and the European Theater. Teenager Terry Fleming, who lives just outside of Gander, is feeling conflicted. He wants to work in Gander so that he can have access to the plethora of movie stars and GIs flying though the area.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both fantasy
Last Quarter (2004)
Do you believe in love after death? On the eve of her 19th birthday, Mizuki (Kuriyama) doesn't have a lot to celebrate about. Her mother recently committed suicide, her stepfamily bothers her, her boyfriend has been cheating on her and her best friend has betrayed her. Hurt and disillusioned, Mizuki runs from everything and is drawn by some unknown force to a dilapidated estate. Deep within the house Mizuki discovers the mysterious Adam (Hyde), playing a hauntingly familiar melody on the guitar. Melancholy and full of secrets, it seems that Adam, and the house, have a strange, irresistible link to Mizuki. Can Mizuki's boyfriend and a couple of well-meaning schoolchildren uncover the secret of what happened 19 years ago and free Mizuki before the last quarter of the moon falls?
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both fantasy
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Paranoia?
The closest matches to Paranoia are The Purple Rose of Cairo (1985), Northfork (2003) and Peter Ibbetson (1935). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Paranoia?
Start with The Purple Rose of Cairo (1985), the closest match to Paranoia.
What is the highest-rated movie like Paranoia?
Donnie Darko (2001), rated 7.8/10 by 13,942 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Paranoia?
Next Stop, Christmas (2021) is the most recent release on this list.
How are movies similar to Paranoia chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Paranoia, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.