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Misery poster

Movies that feel likeMisery (1990)

After an accident, acclaimed novelist Paul Sheldon is rescued by a nurse who claims to be his biggest fan. Her obsession takes a dark turn when she holds him captive in her remote Colorado home and forces him to write back to life the popular literary character he killed off.

If you loved Misery, the closest films we have are Tony Takitani (2004), Crumb (1995) and Basic Instinct (1992). All three share Misery's obsessive feel, which is what we rank on before quality.

Seen the big three already? The under-the-radar pick below is Compliance (2012).

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If Misery hit the spot, these will too

Tony Takitani poster
Tony Takitani
2004 Β· dir. Jun Ichikawa
πŸ… 88%β˜… 7.2drama

The same mix in both: stillness, then obsession

The difference: Trades the tension of Misery for an angle of its own

A reclusive illustrator falls in love with a young woman who addictively shops for clothing.

Crumb poster
Crumb
1995 Β· dir. Terry Zwigoff
πŸ… 95%β˜… 8documentary

Both lean on stillness more than on drama

The difference: Sits closer to documentary than Misery does

This movie chronicles the life and times of R. Crumb. Robert Crumb is the cartoonist/artist who drew Keep On Truckin', Fritz the Cat, and played a major pioneering role in the genesis of underground comix. Through interviews with his mother, two brothers, wife, ex-wife and ex-girlfriends, as well as selections from his vast quantity of graphic art, we are treated to a darkly comic ride through one man's subconscious mind.

Basic Instinct poster
Basic Instinct
1992 Β· dir. Paul Verhoeven
πŸ… 56%β˜… 7.1thriller Β· mysteryParamount+

Common ground: psychopath

The difference: The critics' underdog of the pair

Catherine, a novelist with an insatiable sexual appetite, becomes a prime suspect when her boyfriend is brutally murdered -- a crime she had described in her latest story.

Nymphomaniac: Vol. I poster
Nymphomaniac: Vol. I
2013 Β· dir. Lars von Trier
πŸ… 77%β˜… 6.9drama

Obsessive thriller in both cases

The difference: Made in the 2010s, in a different era of the craft

A man named Seligman finds a fainted wounded woman in an alley and he brings her home. She tells him that her name is Joe and that she is nymphomaniac. Joe tells her life and sexual experiences with hundreds of men since she was a young teenager while Seligman tells about his hobbies, such as fly fishing, reading about Fibonacci numbers or listening to organ music.

Compliance poster
Compliance
2012 Β· dir. Craig Zobel
πŸ… 89%β˜… 6.4drama Β· thriller

One thread runs through both: psychological thriller

On a particularly busy day at a suburban Ohio fast food restaurant, manager Sandra receives a phone call from a police officer saying that an employee has stolen money from a customer.

Eyes Wide Shut poster
Eyes Wide Shut
1999 Β· dir. Stanley Kubrick
πŸ… 77%β˜… 7.5drama Β· thriller Β· mysteryMax

Drama built on tension, twice over

The difference: Leans harder into mystery than Misery does

After Dr. Bill Harford's wife, Alice, admits to having sexual fantasies about a man she met, Bill becomes obsessed with having a sexual encounter. He discovers an underground sexual group and attends one of their meetings -- and quickly discovers that he is in over his head.

The Number 23 poster
The Number 23
2007 Β· dir. Joel Schumacher
πŸ… 7%β˜… 6.4thriller Β· mystery Β· crime

Both keep coming back to the same thing: psychological thriller

Animal control officer Walter Sparrow becomes obsessed with a novel that he believes was written about him, as more and more similarities between himself and his literary alter ego seem to arise.

Thelma poster
Thelma
2017 Β· dir. Joachim Trier
πŸ… 92%β˜… 6.9drama Β· mystery Β· thriller

Tense thriller, and it commits to that

A college student starts to experience extreme seizures. She soon learns that the violent episodes are a symptom of inexplicable abilities.

The Guilty poster
The Guilty
2021 Β· dir. Antoine Fuqua
πŸ… 73%β˜… 6.3drama Β· thrillerNetflix

Drama with a pulse of unease, in both cases

A demoted police officer assigned to a call dispatch desk is conflicted when he receives an emergency phone call from a kidnapped woman.

Hannibal poster
Hannibal
2001 Β· dir. Ridley Scott
πŸ… 39%β˜… 6.8crime Β· drama Β· thrillerPrime VideoHulu

Thriller with a pulse of unease, in both cases

After having successfully eluded the authorities for years, Hannibal peacefully lives in Italy in disguise as an art scholar. Trouble strikes again when he's discovered leaving a deserving few dead in the process. He returns to America to make contact with now disgraced Agent Clarice Starling, who is suffering the wrath of a malicious FBI rival as well as the media.

Close Encounters of the Third Kind poster
Close Encounters of the Third Kind
1977 Β· dir. Steven Spielberg
πŸ… 91%β˜… 7.6science fiction Β· dramaPeacock

A streak of stillness through both

After an encounter with UFOs, an electricity linesman feels undeniably drawn to an isolated area in the wilderness where something spectacular is about to happen.

Lust, Caution poster
Lust, Caution
2007 Β· dir. Ang Lee
πŸ… 73%β˜… 7.5action Β· drama Β· romance

Both sit in the same tense register

During World War II, a secret agent must seduce, then assassinate an official who works for the Japanese puppet government in Shanghai. Her mission becomes clouded when she finds herself falling in love with the man she is assigned to kill.

In the mood for more contemplative?

all contemplative movies β†’

The best-reviewed films that share Misery’s defining feeling.