Best movies like Mad World
Last updated March 2024
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Plot Summary:
In this independent drama, writer-director Cory Cataldo explores the pain of adolescence with dark and disturbing results. Facing the pitfalls of high school with no support from their parents and teachers, a foursome of ostracized teenagers (Gary Cairns II, Dylan Vigus, Matthew Thompson and David Huynh) are forced into adulthood much sooner than the world expected. With nothing to lose and no escape from the onslaught of ridicule, they decide to unleash their mean streaks in a whirlwind of pranks, partying and destruction.
IMDB Rating: 6.0
IMDB Votes: 363
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 98 min
Plot tags: psychological, suspense, rough, unusual plot structure, suspenseful, contemplative, sad, crying
Best tv shows and movies like Mad World (2010):
Similar in 83%
The David Dance (2014)
Plot Summary:
Away from the microphone, David is soft spoken, shy and unsure of himself. However, as his on-air alias ‘Danger Dave,’ the host of “Gay Talk,” he’s poised, witty, and every listener’s best friend! His sister, Kate, a thrice divorced banker has a yen for Schumann and cats. Though successful, the siblings suffer from a secret, yet vast, sense of inadequacy. Kate fills her void through an adoption; David gawkily romances his coworker; then, life one day throws him a lemon. Past and present intertwine to tell the story of a man learning to love and accept himself.
IMDB Rating: 6.1
IMDB Votes: 157
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 108 min
Plot tags: touching, psychological, sexy, unusual plot structure, melancholic, independent film, queer cinema
Similar in 85%
Call Me Helen (2015)
Plot Summary:
Is. This. My. Son? No matter how often Tobias Wilke poses this question, there's always only one answer: Yes! Tobias, can't believe his eyes when he comes to the airport to pick up his 17-year-old son Finn – and learns that Finn is now calling herself Helen and wearing girls' clothes. Finn/Helen reveals that she's always felt like a girl, and that she used her year abroad in San Francisco to pass the "everyday life" test. This is required by law for everyone preparing for the sex-change operation they will undergo upon reaching majority. Reactions from Helen's friends, acquaintances and schoolmates cover the entire gamut from derision to solidarity. Especially Helen's father, a well-known chef, finds it difficult to accept a situation he cannot understand. But Helen nearly always finds the right words - and humor - to counterbalance the ignorance and jeers of those around her. It is the beginning of a long, winding road towards the sexual identity she is convinced is hers.
IMDB Rating: 6.4
IMDB Votes: 206
Genere: Drama
Country: Germany
Duration: 89 min
Plot tags: psychological, tense, unusual plot structure, tragicomedy, suspense, suspenseful, contemplative, crying, queer cinema
Similar in 87%
Easy Land (2019)
Plot Summary:
Follows a Serbian refugees mother and daughter, as they struggle to navigate the many obstacles facing newcomers to Canada.
IMDB Rating: 5.6
IMDB Votes: 300
Genere: Drama
Country: Canada
Duration: 90 min
Plot tags: suspenseful, psychological, tense, sincere, unusual plot structure, suspense, contemplative, independent film
Similar in 90%
Jinn (2018)
Plot Summary:
Summer is a carefree teenage girl whose world is turned upside down when her mother abruptly converts to Islam and becomes a different person. At first resistant to the faith, she begins to reevaluate her identity after becoming attracted to a Muslim classmate, crossing the thin line between physical desire and piety.
IMDB Rating: 6.0
IMDB Votes: 442
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 92 min
Plot tags: psychological, tense, unusual plot structure, captivating, contemplative, indie film
Similar in 77%
Youth on the March (2017)
Plot Summary:
A teenage boy stoner lives with his single mother.
IMDB Rating: 7.4
IMDB Votes: 9
Genere: Drama
Country: Australia
Duration: 82 min
Plot tags: avant garde, psychological, sincere, touching, unusual plot structure, suspenseful, contemplative, experimental
Similar in 76%
Lemonade (2018)
Plot Summary:
While working in the US on a temporary visa as a caretaker, Mara, a 30 year-old single mother from Romania, marries Daniel, an American. After the arrival of her son Dragos, everything seems to have fallen perfectly into place. When the process of getting a green card veers unexpectedly off course, however, Mara is faced with abuses of power on every level and forced to answer a dark question about herself – how far would you go to get what you want?.
IMDB Rating: 6.7
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Drama
Country: Romania, Canada, Germany, Sweden
Duration: 88 min
Plot tags: suspense, psychological, tense, sentimental, rough, social
Similar in 77%
A Better Place (1997)
Plot Summary:
A high school outcast new to town becomes friends with a violent loner still haunted by the death of his parents.
IMDB Rating: 6.9
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 87 min
Plot tags: art house, cerebral, independent film, tense, rough, serious, realistic, suspenseful, emotional
Similar in 77%
Party Talk (2015)
Plot Summary:
Four creative and sexually confused high school seniors are forced to deal with their sense of isolation while attending a booze-soaked party in New York City.
IMDB Rating: 8.9
IMDB Votes: 13
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration:
Plot tags: psychological, unusual plot structure, captivating, suspense, contemplative
Similar in 83%
Diamond Island (2016)
Plot Summary:
Bora, an 18-year-old, leaves his village to work on the construction sites of Diamond Island, a project for an ultra-modern paradise for the rich and a symbol of tomorrow’s Cambodia. He befriends his fellow workers and finds his elder brother, the charismatic Solei, who went missing five years earlier. Solei introduces him into an exciting world, that of an urban and wealthy youth, its girls, nights and illusions.
IMDB Rating: 6.6
IMDB Votes: 467
Genere: Drama
Country: Cambodia, France, Germany, Qatar, Thailand
Duration: 101 min
Plot tags: tense, psychological, unusual plot structure, captivating, suspenseful, contemplative
Similar in 76%
6A (2016)
Plot Summary:
As if immersed in the situation, the viewer witnesses a distressing encounter between angry parents, a helpless teacher and three schoolgirls. It soon becomes clear that certain things are going wrong in their class. There have been complaints of bullying. The parents are mainly concerned with defending their own children. They throw around neurotic accusations and make untenable demands. Using a camera which itself seems to participate in the discussion, scene after scene is dissected with refreshing malice and a sense for the dark side of human nature. Desperate attempts to resolve things unleash an avalanche of other problems. It takes a long time before Denise, Bella and Mina can have their say.
IMDB Rating: 6.1
IMDB Votes: 117
Genere: Drama
Country: Sweden
Duration: 61 min
Plot tags: tense, suspense, unusual plot structure, captivating, suspenseful, contemplative, juvenile
Similar in 89%
And Then I Go (2017)
Plot Summary:
Two teenage outsiders are demoralized daily at school, until an idea for vengeance offers them a terrifying release.
IMDB Rating: 6.3
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 99 min
Plot tags: suspense, unusual plot structure, psychological, thought provoking, suspenseful, disturbing, independent film, queer cinema
Similar in 78%
White Rabbit (2013)
Plot Summary:
A bullied student sees visions of a rabbit he was forced to kill as a child, and those visions propel him into a state where his imagination causes him to carry out violent acts.
IMDB Rating: 5.9
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 90 min
Plot tags: serious, rough, disturbing, dark, grindhouse, action thriller, poetic, realistic, comic
Similar in 75%
Isy Way Out (2018)
Plot Summary:
16-year-old Jonas is in love with his best friend Isy, but she likes older boys. When Isy takes drugs at a party and loses control in the intoxication, Jonas friends Lenny and Martin make fun of it with Jonas. But then the situation escalates and the three boys rape the unconscious girl.
IMDB Rating: 6.7
IMDB Votes: 328
Genere: Drama
Country: Germany
Duration: 90 min
Plot tags: psychological, tense, suspense, unusual plot structure, disturbing
Similar in 77%
Tag (2015)
Plot Summary:
Billy is the self-designated leader of a group of teenagers living in a shelter. Jacob and Rae, Billy's oldest childhood friends, live there as well as part of "the family". Billy has an AIDs-like virus, which he has passed on to his blood brother Jacob. Billy and Rae are boyfriend and girlfriend, much to the dismay of Jacob who has always loved Rae from afar. Billy's philosophy of life, and how that interfaces with having a deadly virus, comes to a head when Billy and Jacob compete in a very unique game of "Tag", with the future of Rae and "the family" dependent upon the outcome.
IMDB Rating: 4.2
IMDB Votes: 280
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 91 min
Plot tags: psychological, tense, suspenseful, unusual plot structure, suspense, contemplative, grindhouse, independent film
Similar in 84%
Cry Me a Sad River (2018)
Plot Summary:
Qi Ming is a handsome boy and he is also a top student at school, but Yi Yao is a so-called bitch on everyone’s lips. Qi and Yi grew up together and they have been maintaining a good relationship. However, everything is interrupted and changed by Tang Xiaomi. Rumors have become a sharp weapon to destroy people. Yi Yao's life falls into darkness, and she suffers all kinds of cruel bullying at school.
IMDB Rating: 6.3
IMDB Votes: 479
Genere: Drama, Romance
Country: China
Duration: 104 min
Plot tags: psychological, suspense, tense, sentimental, thought provoking, touching, unusual plot structure
Similar in 89%
Do it Right (2017)
Plot Summary:
Nassim, a 16-year-old boy, is placed with a family in the suburbs following the death of his drug addict mother. But he refuses to integrate into the social setting that surrounds him. He invents another life for himself, similar to that of his mates at the big Parisian high school he goes to. There’s no reason for that to change. His two lives, his home life and his school life, must be kept separate at all costs.
IMDB Rating: 6.6
IMDB Votes: 253
Genere: Drama
Country: France
Duration: 98 min
Plot tags: psychological, suspense, tense, unusual plot structure, suspenseful, contemplative, semi autobiographical
Similar in 77%
Matted (2010)
Plot Summary:
Rose Lee is just a typical high school student trying to figure things out. Her dream is to join the boy's wrestling team, but no one is making it easy for her. Along the way, she'll discover that her most difficult opponent may be herself.
IMDB Rating: 7.4
IMDB Votes: 15
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 40 min
Plot tags: psychological, tense, unusual plot structure, captivating, disturbing, contemplative, independent film, student film
Similar in 85%
Love Is All You Need? (2016)
Plot Summary:
Set in a world where homosexuality is the norm, a small Indiana town is rocked to its core when Jude, the star quarterback of the local university football team, strikes up a love affair with Ryan, a sports journalism major. When the straight couple is outed, the community’s powerful religious leader begins a vitriolic crusade against all heterosexuals.
IMDB Rating: 6.1
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 121 min
Plot tags: sexy, touching, psychological, unusual plot structure, melancholic, contemplative, psychological thriller, queer cinema, psycho film
Similar in 82%
Virgin (2003)
Plot Summary:
When a teenager finds herself pregnant, with no memory of having had sex, she determines that she is carrying the child of God.
IMDB Rating: 5.6
IMDB Votes: 601
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 116 min
Plot tags: realistic, touching, psychological, captivating, erotic, sincere, serious, contemplative, independent film
Similar in 84%
Chicken (2015)
Plot Summary:
RICHARD, 15 with learning difficulties, longs to put down roots but his restless and destructive brother, POLLY, needs to keep moving. When the land they live on is bought by a new landowner, and the electricity supply to their caravan is cut, their already precarious living conditions get even worse. Then a chance meeting with the new landowner's daughter, 17 year old ANNABEL (Yasmin Paige), leaves RICHARD besotted; whilst POLLY befriends the guys who run a seedy traveling fair. Richards optimistic view on life becomes increasingly difficult to maintain as Polly's abusive behavior worsens, family secrets are revealed, and he is torn between loyalty to his brother and his first true friend in ANNABEL. For better or worse, Richards life is about to change forever.
IMDB Rating: 6.7
IMDB Votes: 535
Genere: Drama
Country: UK
Duration: 86 min
Plot tags: touching, psychological, sentimental, unusual plot structure, captivating, suspenseful, contemplative
Similar in 85%
1985 (2018)
Plot Summary:
Having been gone for three years, closeted advertising executive Adrian returns to his Texas hometown and struggles to reveal his dire circumstances to his conservative family.
IMDB Rating: 7.2
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 85 min
Plot tags: psychological, tense, sentimental, sincere, unusual plot structure, disturbing, sad, black and white, crying, queer cinema
Similar in 81%
Stuff (2015)
Plot Summary:
Trish and Deb Murdoch are in a rut. After 14 years together and raising two daughters, they find themselves in a mid life crisis where grief and attraction threaten their domestic nucleus.
IMDB Rating: 5.6
IMDB Votes: 415
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 98 min
Plot tags: psychological, tense, unusual plot structure, suspense, suspenseful, contemplative, independent film, queer cinema
Similar in 83%
Snow in August (2001)
Plot Summary:
In a world filled with hatred, their only hope was magic. Believe and anything can happen.
IMDB Rating: 6.1
IMDB Votes: 326
Genere: Drama
Country: Canada, USA
Duration: 104 min
Plot tags: touching, sentimental, atmospheric, emotional, psychological, serious, captivating, realistic, contemplative
Similar in 83%
To Save a Life (2009)
Plot Summary:
Jake Taylor has everything. He has a beautiful girl, he's the champion in basketball and beer pong, and everyone loves him. Then, an old childhood friend, whom Jake used to be friends with, commits suicide. Jake begins to think. He wonders what he could've done to save his friend's life. A youth minister tells him that Jake needs God. So Jake becomes a Christian. However, things begin to spin out of control. His dad is cheating on his mom, his girlfriend is pregnant, and his former friends ridicule and mock him. During all this, Jake is going to realize just what it means to be a Christian and how, to save a life.
IMDB Rating: 6.8
IMDB Votes: 6000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 120 min
Plot tags: christian film, sincere, serious, captivating, contemplative, realistic, inspirational, spiritual, exciting, uplifting
Similar in 81%
Toe to Toe (2009)
Plot Summary:
Out on the lacrosse pitch, wealthy but troubled Jesse and poor but driven Tosha form an easy and deep bond, but their relationship is threatened once they enter the hallways of an elite prep school they attend in Washington, D.C. There, they must work to overcome racial and other tensions in their classmates, and in themselves, if they hope to keep their friendship alive.
IMDB Rating: 5.3
IMDB Votes: 517
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 104 min
Plot tags: captivating, realistic, psychological, sentimental, sexy, sincere, thought provoking, touching, serious, emotional
Similar in 81%
Everybody Dies But Me (2008)
Plot Summary:
One Monday morning Katya, Vika and Zhanna learn that there will be a school disco, their first disco, on the coming Saturday night. The girls feverishly start preparing for the event, which rapidly becomes the most important moment ever in their universe, and looks like the ideal way to escape their daily lives.
IMDB Rating: 6.4
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Drama
Country: Russia
Duration: 80 min
Plot tags: serious, touching, realistic, suspense, psychological, rough, sincere, gloomy
Similar in 75%
Face (2002)
Plot Summary:
Genie, a Chinese-American teenager, develops feelings for a charming African-American DJ, but her grandmother forbids their romance forcing Genie to choose between family and love.
IMDB Rating: 6.2
IMDB Votes: 350
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 89 min
Plot tags: sincere, touching, emotional, sentimental, serious, realistic, contemplative
Similar in 84%
Sex and the USA (2008)
Plot Summary:
Thirteen year old Audrey Shaw is new to Bellweather, California and certain shell never fit in when she meets Krista Rich, the pretty, popular girl she aspires to be "or be with" shes just not sure. In a conservative California town, 14-year-old Audrey is new to Bellweather, California and certain shell never fit in when she meets Krista Rich, the pretty, popular girl she aspires to be "or be with" shes just not sure. Blending traditional filmmaking with social networking-inspired video clips, director Jan Wellmann paints a portrait of puberty and the hyperconnected lives of modern teens.
IMDB Rating: 6.8
IMDB Votes: 96
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 91 min
Plot tags: humorous, realistic, semi serious, sexual, mockumentary, sexy
Similar in 78%
Face 2 Face (2016)
Plot Summary:
Over a series of video chats, a teenage outcast reaches out to his childhood friend, but finds that behind the veneer of popularity and a seemingly perfect life, she hides a disturbing secret.
IMDB Rating: 6.8
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 88 min
Plot tags: tense, light, sincere, touching, unusual plot structure, captivating, scenic, cyber
Similar in 76%
School Ties (1992)
Plot Summary:
When David Greene receives a football scholarship to a prestigious prep school in the 1950s, he feels pressure to hide the fact that he is Jewish from his classmates and teachers, fearing that they may be anti-Semitic. He quickly becomes the big man on campus thanks to his football skills, but when his Jewish background is discovered, his worst fears are realized and his friends turn on him with violent threats and public ridicule.
IMDB Rating: 6.9
IMDB Votes: 27000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 106 min
Plot tags: emotional, talky, intense, thought provoking, serious, sincere, realistic, scary, retro, feel good