Best movies like Stranger by the Lake

Similar in 79%

A Brother (2018)

Plot Summary:

15-year-old Tom (Simon Royer) is going to spend another calm summer with his parents and younger sister at their summer house. But by fate, another family comes to spend some time with them, with their 17-year-old son Félix (Marin Lafitte). In the unforgettable summer, Félix will introduce Tom to new things.

Similar in 83%

The Phantom (2000)

Plot Summary:

Sergio is a brooding, alienated man who works as a trash collector in Lisbon by day and roams the city streets by night seeking rough, anonymous sex with men. One night he meets an man who seems to be the embodiment of his tormented fantasies, and he becomes obsessed with the stranger until loneliness and unfulfilled desire propel him finally into a dark and dangerous animalistic state.

Similar in 84%

The Witnesses (2007)

Plot Summary:

Manu arrives in Paris, in the early days of AIDS, at the beginning of the 1980s. He strikes up a friendship with Adrien, a wealthy doctor in his early fifties, who introduces him to Sarah and Mehdi, a young couple.

Similar in 86%

Getting Go, the Go Doc Project (2013)

Plot Summary:

Too shy to make a proper introduction, a recent college grad devises to shoot a documentary about the NYC nightlife scene in order to meet the go-go guy he’s cyber-obsessed with.

Similar in 84%

A Moment in the Reeds (2017)

Plot Summary:

Having moved to Paris for university, Leevi returns to his native Finland for the summer to help his estranged father renovate the family lake house so it can be sold. Tareq, a recent asylum seeker from Syria, has been hired to help with the work, and when Leevi's father has to return to town on business, the two young men establish a connection and embark on a romance set against the idyllic Finnish summer. However, looming over this chance encounter, is the father's imminent return to the lake house, the continuation of Leevi's studies abroad as well as Tareq's complex relationship with his family in Syria.

Similar in 75%

The Comfort of Strangers (1990)

Plot Summary:

An Italian diplomat's son follows and seduces English lovers in Venice.

Similar in 87%

Cruising (1980)

Plot Summary:

A serial killer brutally slays and dismembers several gay men in New York's S/M and leather districts. The young police officer Steve Burns is sent undercover onto the streets as decoy for the murderer. Working almost completely isolated from his department, he has to learn and practice the complex rules and signals of this little society.

Similar in 82%

Shortbus (2006)

Plot Summary:

A group of New Yorkers caught up in their milieu converge at an underground salon infamous for its blend of art, music, politics, and carnality. The characters converge in a weekly Brooklyn social/artistic/sexual salon "Shortbus", loosely inspired by various underground NYC gatherings that took place in the early 2000's. Here, gay couple Jamie (P J DeBoy) and James (Paul Dawson) meet a young ex-model and aspiring singer Ceth (Jay Brannan).

Similar in 84%

Something Must Break (2014)

Plot Summary:

When Sebastian meets Andreas for the first time, he knows they belong together. While Sebastian defies gender norms — flouting convention in his androgynous fluidity — straight-identifying Andreas becomes unable to accept his attraction to another man, as their relationship progresses. Struggling with his identity, Sebastian becomes increasingly determined to become “Ellie,” even if it means walking away from Andreas. Something Must Break brims with raw electricity as it explores questions of gender and sexuality with refreshing candor.

Similar in 80%

I Want Your Love (2012)

Plot Summary:

After a decade of living in San Francisco, Jesse is forced to move back to his Midwestern roots because he can no longer afford the city. On his final night in the city, friends and ex-lovers gather for a going away party that promises to heighten Jesse's already bittersweet feelings about leaving.

Similar in 79%

Cicada (2020)

Plot Summary:

Ben is a young bisexual man. He comes out to the world and develops an intense relationship with Sam, a man of color struggling with deep wounds of his own. As the summer progresses and their intimacy grows, Ben's past crawls to the surface.

Similar in 77%

Free Fall (2013)

Plot Summary:

A promising career with the police, a baby on the way... Marc's life seems to be right on track. Then he meets fellow policeman Kay and during their regular jogs Marc experiences a never-before-felt sense of ease and effortlessness -- and what it means to fall in love with another man. Torn between his family and his new feelings for Kay, Marc sees his world careening more and more out of control. Suddenly, his life is in free fall and Marc realizes that try as he may, he can't make everyone happy. Least of all, himself.

Similar in 75%

Heartbeats (2010)

Plot Summary:

Francis is a young gay man, Marie is a young straight woman and the two of them are best friends -- until the day the gorgeous Nicolas walks into a Montreal coffee shop. The two friends, instantly and equally infatuated, compete for Nicolas' indeterminate affections, a conflict that climaxes when the trio visit the vacation home of Nicolas' mother. The frothy comedy unfolds through narrative, fantasy sequences and confessional monologues.

Similar in 78%

In the Realm of the Senses (1976)

Plot Summary:

Based on a true story set in pre-war Japan, a man and one of his servants begin a torrid affair. Their desire becomes a sexual obsession so strong that to intensify their ardor, they forsake all, even life itself.