Best movies like Shadows of a Hot Summer
Last updated March 2024
Looking for movies related to Shadows of a Hot Summer? Offer your expertise to direct others to films and tv series you've already viewed that might appeal to them too. Support expanding the assembly of people recommending videos to one another. We encourage your participation!
Plot Summary:
A story set in 1947 when Ukrainian right-wing anti-Communist guerillas, looking like and feeling like Nazi's, are trying to fight their way through Czechoslovakia to Austria. They come out of the forest to occupy a family's countryside farm house, kidnapping a doctor to help heal one of their wounded, but this could just as easily be about the post-war occupying forces in Eastern Europe, or the occupying Soviet forces in the 60's, as there is an initial belief that there is nothing anyone can do.
IMDB Rating: 7.4
IMDB Votes: 310
Genere: Drama, Thriller
Country: Czechoslovakia
Duration: 100 min
Plot tags:
Best tv shows and movies like Shadows of a Hot Summer (1978):
Similar in 84%
Guard No. 47 (2008)
Plot Summary:
A WW I veteran still haunted by his time in the trenches settles in a small town to work for the railroad company. His pretty wife attracts the attention of the lonely young gravedigger.
IMDB Rating: 6.4
IMDB Votes: 290
Genere: Drama, Thriller
Country: Czech Republic
Duration: 108 min
Plot tags: crying
Similar in 83%
The Unvanquished (1964)
Plot Summary:
In this drama that alludes to the Algerian War with France of the 1960s, Thomas is a deserter from the French Foreign Legion who is on the run from authorities. He helps damsel in distress Dominique, who has been taken hostage by a group of terrorists. Thomas is wounded but manages to escape after killing the guard who inflicted the injury. Dominique gives Thomas money to escape to France after he secures her freedom, but he is caught between the Foreign Legion and the terrorists seeking revenge.
IMDB Rating: 7.0
IMDB Votes: 958
Genere: Drama, Thriller
Country: France, Italy
Duration: 115 min
Plot tags: neo noir, french noir
Similar in 86%
Shades of Fern (1986)
Plot Summary:
Based on the only extensive prose work by the surrealist painter Josef Capek, Shades of Fern most resembles the philosophical fairy tales and fables of Josef’s older brother, the legendary Czech novelist and playwright Karel Capek. Two young poachers, more boys than men, kill a gamekeeper when they are caught illegally hunting. Panicked, they retreat into a forest that grows steadily more forbidding and deadly as their fear for the future—and guilt over their action—mounts. Loosely based on hundreds of oral folk tales and legends that haunt the woods of Czechoslovakia, Vlácil’s contemporary updating artistically underscores the relationship between man and nature, crime and punishment, isolation and society, and guilt and memory.
IMDB Rating: 6.9
IMDB Votes: 151
Genere: Crime, Drama
Country: Czechoslovakia
Duration: 90 min
Plot tags: homoerotic, period drama
Similar in 77%
The Strange Ones (2017)
Plot Summary:
Mysterious events surround the travels of two brothers as they make their way across a remote American landscape. On the surface all seems normal, but what appears to be a simple vacation soon gives way to a dark and complex web of secrets. This is the feature film version of the 2011 short film going by the same name.
IMDB Rating: 5.1
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 81 min
Plot tags: road movie, rough, suspense, enigmatic, suspenseful, meditative, surprise ending, twist ending, non-linear, crying
Similar in 81%
Taxi 121 (2016)
Plot Summary:
Taxi 121 is a feature film inspired by true events, where a serial killer took lives of three Prague taxi drivers. Story is focused on one of the victims, the young driver Matej. His one last ride will change life of many people around forever.
IMDB Rating: 5.6
IMDB Votes: 51
Genere: Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: Czech Republic
Duration:
Plot tags: tense, suspense, suspenseful, exciting, touching, captivating, disturbing, crying
Similar in 79%
Vendeta (2011)
Plot Summary:
Vendetta is an uncompromising thriller, an exciting story about revenge and the clash between two characters. Over the course of a few hours in a single day revenge intertwines the fates of a number of people. Which of them is the murderer, and who is the victim? The main events play out during only three hours. Revenge has pitted two men against each other and two policemen have also been dragged into their conflict.
IMDB Rating: 6.1
IMDB Votes: 112
Genere: Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: Czech Republic
Duration: 86 min
Plot tags: non-linear, captivating, suspense, suspenseful, contemplative, neo noir, crying, exciting
Similar in 80%
Catch Hell (2014)
Plot Summary:
Former Hollywood star Reagan Pearce (Ryan Phillippe) is kidnapped by two men connected to his past while on location in Louisiana. When he wakes up bound and chained in a rundown shack, he soon discovers the real motives of his captors and finds himself in the middle of a twisted scheme with little chance to survive. With no rescue in sight, Reagan must use every ounce of strength he has left to break free and get his revenge.
IMDB Rating: 5.4
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 98 min
Plot tags: psychological, tense, serious, suspenseful, realistic
Similar in 79%
Killing Mr. Griffin (1997)
Plot Summary:
The high school students didn't mean to kill Mr. Griffin. They wanted to make him suffer. But when their mean English teacher turns up dead, they have to find out who killed them before the police arrests them all.
IMDB Rating: 5.6
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Thriller, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 89 min
Plot tags: tense, realistic, suspenseful, semi serious, crying, detective
Similar in 82%
The Passion of Darkly Noon (1995)
Plot Summary:
Desire torments a former cultist taking refuge at the home of a scantily clad woman whose husband is away.
IMDB Rating: 5.8
IMDB Votes: 4000
Genere: Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Country: UK, Germany, Belgium
Duration: 100 min
Plot tags: psychological, atmospheric, serious, sexy, slasher, psychotronic, southern gothic, perverse, psycho sexual, offbeat
Similar in 86%
Agonie (2016)
Plot Summary:
On the 3rd of October a twenty-four-year-old student from Vienna kills his lover and chops up her corpse. Her torso is found in a dumpster, other body parts and the head are missing. There is no clue about the motive of the murder. A silent chronology of the events.
IMDB Rating: 5.8
IMDB Votes: 331
Genere: Drama, Thriller
Country: Germany, Austria
Duration: 93 min
Plot tags: ambiguous ending, psychological, tense, suspense, unusual plot structure, contemplative, slasher, crying
Similar in 90%
Madness (1980)
Plot Summary:
An escaped convicted murderer invades the cottage of a man, his wife and the wife's sister, whereupon he proceeds to torment this already dysfunctional trio with rape and violence.
IMDB Rating: 5.4
IMDB Votes: 603
Genere: Action, Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: Italy
Duration: 85 min
Plot tags: suspense, slasher, controversial, grindhouse, neo noir, crying, psychotronic, freeze frame, poliziottesco, sexploitation film
Similar in 83%
Sand Castles (2014)
Plot Summary:
In rural Indiana, Noah and his impoverished family wrestle with the mysterious return of his now mute sister, Lauren, who was kidnapped and held captive for over a decade.
IMDB Rating: 6.1
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 93 min
Plot tags: captivating, exciting, sincere, suspenseful, independent film, surprise ending, ambiguous ending
Similar in 83%
Darlings! (1984)
Plot Summary:
A peaceful family-life is suddenly disturbed when the children enter puberty. The children take over the house and disrupt the lives of their parents.
IMDB Rating: 6.4
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Comedy, Drama, Thriller
Country: Netherlands
Duration: 101 min
Plot tags: cult classic, offbeat, humorous, witty, semi serious, psychotronic, freeze frame, dark comedy
Similar in 90%
Le monte-charge (1962)
Plot Summary:
On a Christmas night, an ex-convict ,Robert Herbin, meets a beautiful Italian married woman Marthe Drévet ,who has got a lot of things to hide . She lives in an old house ,the first floor of which is a big workshop where a service elevator leads to the apartment.Marthe takes Robert to her home for a drink;he puts a small bird he bought on the Xmas tree,and they go for a stroll in the streets;when they come back,there's a dead body in the room(the husband) and most extraordinary thing,the bird has disappeared.
IMDB Rating: 7.3
IMDB Votes: 229
Genere: Drama, Thriller
Country: France, Italy
Duration: 90 min
Plot tags: neo noir, crying, detective, french noir
Similar in 90%
Cross the Line (2020)
Plot Summary:
A good-natured man has an unexpected deadly confrontation. Instincts kick in to clean up the mess caused in the name of self-defense but does one really get away free after killing someone?.
IMDB Rating: 6.2
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Drama, Thriller
Country: Spain
Duration: 92 min
Plot tags: suspense, psychological, surprise ending, tricky, ambiguous ending, crying
Similar in 83%
Julie Darling (1982)
Plot Summary:
A teenage girl whose inaction caused her mother's death arranges a similarly gruesome fate for her stepmother and brother.
IMDB Rating: 6.0
IMDB Votes: 790
Genere: Crime, Drama, Horror, Thriller
Country: West Germany, Canada
Duration: 90 min
Plot tags: suspense, slasher, erotic, disturbing, independent film, neo noir, crying, detective
Similar in 80%
The Corruption of Chris Miller (1973)
Plot Summary:
A serial killer uses a scythe to slash his murder victims--or maybe it's *her* murder victims?.
IMDB Rating: 6.5
IMDB Votes: 899
Genere: Drama, Horror, Mystery, Thriller
Country: Spain
Duration: 107 min
Plot tags: slasher, gothic, neo noir, crying, freeze frame, slasher horror
Similar in 80%
Before the Storm (2000)
Plot Summary:
Leo, a guy in the seventh grade gets harassed by a two years older boy in school and seeks revenge. At the same time, Ali, the father of a girl in Leo's class (who Leo has a crush on) is contacted by a opposition group from his home country that wants Ali to assassinate an important man for them. Otherwise, they'll kill the family that Ali left when moving to Sweden.
IMDB Rating: 7.2
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: Sweden
Duration: 106 min
Plot tags: independent film, suspense, exciting, tense, captivating, cult classic, crying, detective, surprise ending, cult film
Similar in 79%
Flic Story (1975)
Plot Summary:
The film story depicts Emile Buisson, following the death of his wife and child, escaping from a psychiatric institution in 1947 and returning to Paris. Buisson, who three years later would become France's public enemy number one, begins a murderous rampage through the French capital.
IMDB Rating: 6.9
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: France, Italy
Duration: 112 min
Plot tags: rough, serious, suspenseful, neo noir, suspense, cult classic, period piece, detective, tense, realistic
Similar in 87%
At the End of the Tunnel (2016)
Plot Summary:
A paraplegic computer engineer that moves in a wheelchair and works in his basement starts hearing noises and voices of bank-robbers.
IMDB Rating: 7.0
IMDB Votes: 15000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: Argentina, Spain
Duration: 120 min
Plot tags: suspense, suspenseful, captivating, entertaining, clever, hispanic, minimal cast, action thriller, twisted, surprise ending
Similar in 75%
The Word (2014)
Plot Summary:
Days before the end of the school year, Liliana gives Janek an ultimatum, giving him 24 hours to either prove his love for her or forget about her altogether.
IMDB Rating: 5.0
IMDB Votes: 504
Genere: Drama, Thriller
Country: Poland, Denmark
Duration: 97 min
Plot tags: tense, serious, psychological, captivating, atmospheric, realistic, gloomy, neurotic, crying
Similar in 83%
Undertow (2004)
Plot Summary:
The Munns, father John and sons Chris and Tim, recede to the woods of rural Georgia. Their life together is forever changed with the arrival of Uncle Deel, though the tragedy that follows forces troubled Chris to become a man.
IMDB Rating: 6.5
IMDB Votes: 9000
Genere: Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 108 min
Plot tags: harsh, suspense, suspenseful, depressing, intense, lyrical, cult classic, atmospheric, stylized, gothic
Similar in 75%
Firstborn (1984)
Plot Summary:
Because he's the oldest, Jake has been the man of the house, since his parents divorce. When Mom starts seeing Sam, who always seems to be trying some new way to get rich quick, and declares he's the man of the house now, Jake puts up with it. Until he discovers Sam's illegal activities.
IMDB Rating: 6.2
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 103 min
Plot tags: tension, psychological, tense, rough, serious, realistic, suspenseful, disturbing, biting, crying
Similar in 89%
A Killer in the Family (1983)
Plot Summary:
A father serving time for murder convinces his three teenage sons to break him out of jail.
IMDB Rating: 6.7
IMDB Votes: 660
Genere: Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 90 min
Plot tags:
Similar in 89%
The Deserter (1970)
Plot Summary:
A soldier runs away from the horrors of war, finds love with a virgin farm girl and a mistreated housewife, and will find that it is difficult to survive the battles of sex and love.
IMDB Rating: 5.9
IMDB Votes: 88
Genere: Drama, Romance, Thriller
Country: Italy, Greece
Duration: 91 min
Plot tags: mondo, crying, freeze frame
Similar in 86%
Under Your Bed (2019)
Plot Summary:
Naoto was ignored by other people. During his school days, Chihiro was the first person who called his name. Naoto dreams of seeing her again and tries to find her. Finally, after 11 years, he locates her, but she is a totally different person now. Naoto becomes obsessed with her. Naoto sneaks into her house and stays under her bed.
IMDB Rating: 6.0
IMDB Votes: 510
Genere: Drama, Thriller
Country: Japan
Duration: 98 min
Plot tags: psychological, captivating, suspense, disturbing, crying
Similar in 78%
Mahaan (2022)
Plot Summary:
A man's family leaves him when he strays from the path of ideological living in his search for personal freedom. However, as he realizes his ambitions, he also misses the presence of his son in his life. Having fulfilled his dream of becoming a billionaire, does life give him a second chance to be a father?.
IMDB Rating: 7.6
IMDB Votes: 17000
Genere: Action, Drama, Thriller
Country: India
Duration: 163 min
Plot tags: surprise ending, cult classic, independent film, epic, masterpiece, cult film
Similar in 75%
The Occupant (2020)
Plot Summary:
An unemployed executive is forced to sell his apartment. When he discovers that he still has the keys, he becomes obsessed with the family that now lives there and decides to recover the life he has lost, at any price.
IMDB Rating: 6.4
IMDB Votes: 19000
Genere: Drama, Thriller
Country: Spain
Duration: 103 min
Plot tags: serious, realistic, captivating, psychological, tense, psychological thriller, suspenseful, twist ending, perverse, twisted
Similar in 90%
A Dry White Season (1989)
Plot Summary:
Taking place during the 1976 Soweto uprising, the story follows a white school teacher whose life and values are threatened when he asks questions about the death of a young black boy who died in police custody.
IMDB Rating: 7.0
IMDB Votes: 6000
Genere: Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 106 min
Plot tags: talky, emotional, disturbing, rough, thought provoking, serious, realistic, political, retro, thinking
Similar in 78%
Scorned (1993)
Plot Summary:
A vengeful widow is out to seduce the relatives of the man she blames for her husband's death.
IMDB Rating: 5.1
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Drama, Thriller
Country: Canada, USA
Duration: 100 min
Plot tags: erotic, serious, realistic, psychosexual thriller, sexy, tense, suspense, melancholic, cult classic, sexual