Movies like Shadow and Act (2019)
The best movies like Shadow and Act (2019) are Hearts of Darkness: A Filmmaker's Apocalypse (1991), The Purple Rose of Cairo (1985) and Mommie Dearest (1981). If Shadow and Act hooked you, these 20 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedSunset Boulevard (1950)8.3/10 from 3,096 votes
- NewestRental Family (2025)Released 2025
Hearts of Darkness: A Filmmaker's Apocalypse (1991)
A chronicle of the production problems — including bad weather, actors' health, war near the filming locations, and more — which plagued the filming of Apocalypse Now, increasing costs and nearly destroying the life and career of Francis Ford Coppola.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisThe 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
Worth the HypeMovies like thisMommie Dearest (1981)
Renowned film star Joan Crawford's abuse towards Christina, her adopted daughter, intensifies as her professional and romantic relationships turn sour.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMainstream (2021)
A young woman thinks she’s found a path to internet stardom when she starts making YouTube videos with a charismatic stranger – until the dark side of viral celebrity threatens to ruin them both.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like this78/52 (2017)
The most famous murder scene in movie history comprises 78 camera settings and 52 cuts: the shower scene in Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho. 78/52 tells the story of the man behind the curtain and his greatest obsession.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisOnly God Forgives (2013)
Julian, who runs a Thai boxing club as a front organization for his family's drug smuggling operation, is forced by his mother Crystal to find and kill the individual responsible for his brother's recent death.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
SnoozefestMovies like thisThe Day of the Locust (1975)
Hollywood, 1930s. Tod Hackett, a young painter who tries to make his way as an art director in the lurid world of film industry, gets infatuated with his neighbor Faye Greener, an aspiring actress who prefers the life that Homer Simpson, a lone accountant, can offer her.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Cameraman (1928)
A photographer takes up newsreel shooting to impress a secretary.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisNational Theatre Live: Hamlet (2015)
As a country arms itself for war, a family tears itself apart. Forced to avenge his father's death but paralyzed by the task ahead, Hamlet rages against the impossibility of his predicament, threatening both his sanity and the security of the state.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisWWE Crown Jewel 2021 (2021)
The 2021 Crown Jewel was a professional wrestling event produced by WWE. It was the third Crown Jewel and took place on October 21, 2021, at Mohammed Abdu Arena on The Boulevard in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia as part of Riyadh Season. The event aired via pay-per-view and livestreaming, marking the first Crown Jewel to air on Peacock in the United States.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSunset Boulevard (1950)
A hack screenwriter writes a screenplay for a former silent film star who has faded into Hollywood obscurity.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisThe Long Goodbye (1973)
In 1970s Hollywood, Detective Philip Marlowe tries to help a friend who is accused of murdering his wife.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe King of the Kickboxers (1990)
Jake, a New York policeman poses as an actor to expose the making of martial-arts death movies in Thailand.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisRental Family (2025)
An American actor in Tokyo struggles to find purpose until he lands an unusual gig: working for a Japanese 'rental family' agency, playing stand-in roles for strangers. As he immerses himself in his clients' worlds, he begins to form genuine bonds that blur the lines between performance and reality.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Beaver (2011)
Suffering from a severe case of depression, toy company CEO Walter Black begins using a beaver hand puppet to help him open up to his family. With his father seemingly going insane, adolescent son Porter pushes for his parents to get a divorce.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMuch Ado About Nothing (2011)
Two young lovers, Claudio and Hero, are to be married imminently but the devious scheming of a resentful Prince looks set to thwart the nuptials. Meanwhile, marriage seems inconceivable for reluctant lovers Beatrice and Benedick whose endless witty sparring threatens to keep them apart forever. Directed by Josie Rourke, Artistic Director of the Donmar Warehouse, Much Ado About Nothing is one of Shakespeare’s great plays and reminds us all of the failings and triumphs of the human condition in our never ending search for perfect love.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisD.O.A. (1949)
Frank Bigelow is about to die, and he knows it. The accountant has been poisoned and has only 24 hours before the lethal concoction kills him. Determined to find out who his murderer is, Frank, with the help of his assistant and girlfriend, Paula, begins to trace back over his last steps. As he frantically tries to unravel the mystery behind his own impending demise, his sleuthing leads him to a group of crooked businessmen and another murder.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCreep (2014)
Looking for work, Aaron comes across a cryptic online ad: "$1,000 for the day. Filming service. Discretion is appreciated." Low on cash and full of naiveté, he decides to go for it. He drives to a cabin in a remote mountain town where he meets Josef, his cinematic subject for the day. Josef is sincere and the project seems heartfelt, so Aaron begins to film. But as the day goes on, it becomes clear that Josef is not who he says, and his intentions are not at all pure.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisFor Sama (2019)
A love letter from a young mother to her daughter, the film tells the story of Waad al-Kateab’s life through five years of the uprising in Aleppo, Syria as she falls in love, gets married and gives birth to Sama, all while cataclysmic conflict rises around her. Her camera captures incredible stories of loss, laughter and survival as Waad wrestles with an impossible choice– whether or not to flee the city to protect her daughter’s life, when leaving means abandoning the struggle for freedom for which she has already sacrificed so much.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisMiss Saigon: 25th Anniversary Performance (2016)
The epic love story tells the tragic tale of young Vietnamese bar girl Kim, orphaned by war, who falls in love with American GI Chris — but their lives are torn apart by the fall of Saigon.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Absolute CinemaMovies like this
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Shadow and Act?
The closest matches to Shadow and Act are Hearts of Darkness: A Filmmaker's Apocalypse (1991), The Purple Rose of Cairo (1985) and Mommie Dearest (1981). Below are 17 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Shadow and Act?
Start with Hearts of Darkness: A Filmmaker's Apocalypse (1991), the closest match to Shadow and Act.
What is the highest-rated movie like Shadow and Act?
Sunset Boulevard (1950), rated 8.3/10 by 3,096 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Shadow and Act?
Rental Family (2025) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like Shadow and Act?
Yes: Hearts of Darkness: A Filmmaker's Apocalypse (1991), The Purple Rose of Cairo (1985) and Mommie Dearest (1981).
How are movies similar to Shadow and Act chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Shadow and Act, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.