Best movies like The Day of the Locust
Last updated March 2024
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Plot Summary:
An art director in the 1930s falls in love and attempts to make a young woman an actress despite Hollywood who wants nothing to do with her because of her problems with an estranged man and her alcoholic father.
IMDB Rating: 6.9
IMDB Votes: 6000
Genere: Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 144 min
Plot tags: disturbing, cerebral, cult classic, atmospheric, surreal, cynical, stylized, biting, parody, philosophical
Best tv shows and movies like The Day of the Locust (1975):
Similar in 75%
The End of Violence (1997)
Plot Summary:
Mike Max is a Hollywood producer who became powerful and rich thanks to brutal and bloody action films. His ignored wife Paige is close to leaving him. Suddenly Mike is kidnapped by two bandits, but escapes and hides out with his Mexican gardener's family for a while. At the same time, surveillance expert Ray Bering is looking for what happens in the city, but it is not clear what he wants. The police investigation for Max's disappearance is led by detective Doc Block, who falls in love with actress Cat who is playing in ongoing Max's production.
IMDB Rating: 5.6
IMDB Votes: 5000
Genere: Drama, Thriller
Country: France, Germany, USA
Duration: 122 min
Plot tags: serious, enigmatic, surreal, stylized, suspenseful, psychological, deep, realistic, contemplative, independent film
Similar in 79%
Joe (1970)
Plot Summary:
Bill, a wealthy businessman, confronts his junkie daughter's drug-dealing boyfriend; in the ensuing argument, Bill kills him. Panic-stricken, he wanders the streets and eventually stops at a bar. There he runs into a drunken factory worker named Joe, who hates hippies, blacks, and anyone who is "different", and would like to kill one himself. The two start talking, and Bill reveals his secret to Joe. Complications ensue.
IMDB Rating: 6.8
IMDB Votes: 4000
Genere: Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 107 min
Plot tags: suspense, cult classic, realistic, disturbing, psychedelic, controversial, psychological, thought provoking, bleak, serious
Similar in 84%
The Stunt Man (1980)
Plot Summary:
While on the run from the police, Steve Railsback hides in a group of moviemakers where he pretends to be a stunt man. Both aided and endangered by the director (Peter O'Toole) he avoids both the police and sudden death as a stuntman. The mixture of real danger and fantasy of the movie is an interesting twist for the viewer as the two blend in individual scenes.
IMDB Rating: 7.0
IMDB Votes: 10000
Genere: Action, Comedy, Drama, Romance, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 131 min
Plot tags: psychological, suspense, tense, atmospheric, intense, black comedy, suspenseful, semi serious, cult classic, dark comedy
Similar in 86%
What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? (1962)
Plot Summary:
Two aging film actresses live as virtual recluses in an old Hollywood mansion. Jane Hudson, a successful child star, cares for her crippled sister Blanche, whose career in later years eclipsed that of Jane. Now the two live together, their relationship affected by simmering subconscious thoughts of mutual envy, hate and revenge.
IMDB Rating: 8.0
IMDB Votes: 61000
Genere: Drama, Horror, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 134 min
Plot tags: psychological thriller, gothic, psychological, psychological horror, scary, black and white, atmospheric, suspenseful, black comedy, suspense
Similar in 86%
Firecracker (2005)
Plot Summary:
A tale of murder in small-town Kansas. When Jimmy is lured away from his abusive family by a traveling sideshow carnival, he encounters Sandra, one of the main attractions. The happiness they find together causes them to confront the darkness in their lives.
IMDB Rating: 5.0
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 112 min
Plot tags: disturbing, psychological, atmospheric, serious, realistic, controversial, cult classic, neo noir, crying, independent film
Similar in 81%
The Serpent's Egg (1977)
Plot Summary:
The Serpent's Egg follows a week in the life of Abel Rosenberg, an out-of-work American circus acrobat living in poverty-stricken Berlin following Germany's defeat in World War I.
IMDB Rating: 6.6
IMDB Votes: 6000
Genere: Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Country: West Germany, USA
Duration: 119 min
Plot tags: philosophical, mind bending, psychedelic, political, suspense, political thriller, surreal, art house, psychological, atmospheric
Similar in 85%
The Crossing Guard (1995)
Plot Summary:
After his daughter died in a hit and run, Freddy Gale has waited six years for John Booth, the man responsible, to be released from prison. On the day of release, Gale visits Booth and announces that he will kill him in one week. Booth uses his time to try and make peace with himself and his entourage, and even finds romance. Gale, whose life is spiraling down because of his obsession towards Booth, will bring himself on the very edge of sanity. At he end of the week, both men will find themselves on a collision course with each other.
IMDB Rating: 6.3
IMDB Votes: 14000
Genere: Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 111 min
Plot tags: bleak, suspenseful, emotional, suspense, intense, psychological, serious, existential, sentimental, cult classic
Similar in 77%
Eureka (1983)
Plot Summary:
An Alaskan gold prospector (Gene Hackman) lives in luxury with his family on an island gangsters want.
IMDB Rating: 5.9
IMDB Votes: 4000
Genere: Drama, Thriller
Country: UK, USA
Duration: 130 min
Plot tags: serious, realistic, atmospheric, stylized, erotic, psychological, offbeat, surreal, avant garde
Similar in 75%
Crime + Punishment in Suburbia (2000)
Plot Summary:
This is a contemporary fable loosely based on Fyodor Dostoyevsky's "Crime and Punishment". Roseanne is outwardly a perfect and popular teen. However, her image is hiding the abuse at her stepfather's hands, and she decides to take revenge. The events that follow are a mix of dark humor and an exploration of modern morality as Roseanne faces not only a fellow suburbanite who knows, but her own conscience as well.
IMDB Rating: 5.8
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 100 min
Plot tags: disturbing, psychological, serious, clever, teen, independent film, realistic, cynical, gloomy, sexy
Similar in 75%
Fierce People (2005)
Plot Summary:
A massage therapist looking to overcome her addictions and reconnect with her son, whose father is an anthropologist in South America studying the Yanomani people, moves in with a wealthy ex-client.
IMDB Rating: 6.4
IMDB Votes: 7000
Genere: Drama, Thriller
Country: USA, Canada
Duration: 135 min
Plot tags: sentimental, serious, realistic, disturbing, suspenseful, erotic, dark, art house, teen, indie film
Similar in 89%
The Last Tycoon (1976)
Plot Summary:
F.Scott Fitzgerald's novel is brought to life in this story of a movie producer slowly working himself to death.
IMDB Rating: 6.2
IMDB Votes: 9000
Genere: Drama, Romance
Country: USA
Duration: 123 min
Plot tags: realistic, stylized, captivating, sentimental, retro, psychotronic, metafiction, cult classic, serious, gloomy
Similar in 75%
The Canyons (2013)
Plot Summary:
The discovery of an illicit love affair leads two young Angelenos on a violent, sexually charged tour through the dark side of human nature.
IMDB Rating: 3.8
IMDB Votes: 12000
Genere: Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 99 min
Plot tags: sexy, sensual, neo noir, erotic, slasher, psychological, captivating, suspense, dark, controversial
Similar in 84%
Ask the Dust (2006)
Plot Summary:
Mexican beauty Camilla hopes to rise above her station by marrying a wealthy American. That is complicated by meeting Arturo Bandini, a first-generation Italian hoping to land a writing career and a blue-eyed blonde on his arm.
IMDB Rating: 5.7
IMDB Votes: 10000
Genere: Drama, Romance
Country: Germany, USA
Duration: 117 min
Plot tags: atmospheric, erotic, sexy, melancholic, stylized, intense, serious, realistic, romantic, touching
Similar in 75%
Land of the Blind (2006)
Plot Summary:
A soldier recounts his relationship with a famous political prisoner attempting to overthrow their country's authoritarian government.
IMDB Rating: 6.4
IMDB Votes: 4000
Genere: Drama, Thriller
Country: UK, USA
Duration: 110 min
Plot tags: serious, psychological, bleak, disturbing, political, captivating, apocalyptic, inspirational, philosophical, black comedy
Similar in 79%
Edmond (2005)
Plot Summary:
Seemingly mild-mannered businessman Edmond Burke visits a fortuneteller and hears a remark that spurs him to leave his wife abruptly and seek what is missing from his life. Encounters with strangers and unsavory people weaken the barriers encompassing his long-suppressed rage, until Edmond explodes in violence.
IMDB Rating: 6.2
IMDB Votes: 12000
Genere: Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 82 min
Plot tags: psychological, bleak, disturbing, intense, stylized, rough, cynical, erotic, philosophical, surreal
Similar in 80%
Valentino (1977)
Plot Summary:
In 1926 the tragic and untimely death of a silent screen actor caused female moviegoers to riot in the streets and in some cases to commit suicide.
IMDB Rating: 6.1
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Biography, Drama
Country: UK, USA
Duration: 128 min
Plot tags: independent film, offbeat, serious, realistic, stylized, crying, period drama, campy
Similar in 89%
Instinct (1999)
Plot Summary:
In a prison for the criminally insane, deranged anthropologist Ethan Powell is set to be examined by a bright young psychiatrist, Theo Caulder. Driven by ambition and a hunger for the truth, Caulder will eventually risk everything -- even put his very life on the line -- in a harrowing attempt to understand the bizarre actions of this madman.
IMDB Rating: 6.5
IMDB Votes: 34000
Genere: Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 126 min
Plot tags: psychological, philosophical, suspense, touching, emotional, tense, serious, bleak, realistic, suspenseful
Similar in 77%
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 90%
Fur: An Imaginary Portrait of Diane Arbus (2006)
Plot Summary:
In 1958 New York Diane Arbus is a housewife and mother who works as an assistant to her husband, a photographer employed by her wealthy parents. Respectable though her life is, she cannot help but feel uncomfortable in her privileged world. One night, a new neighbor catches Diane's eye, and the enigmatic man inspires her to set forth on the path to discovering her own artistry.
IMDB Rating: 6.3
IMDB Votes: 16000
Genere: Biography, Drama, Romance, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 122 min
Plot tags: atmospheric, enigmatic, surreal, intense, sexy, serious, romantic, intellectual, stylized, disturbing
Similar in 75%
Five Easy Pieces (1970)
Plot Summary:
A drop-out from upper-class America picks up work along the way on oil-rigs when his life isn't spent in a squalid succession of bars, motels, and other points of interest.
IMDB Rating: 7.4
IMDB Votes: 40000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 98 min
Plot tags: road movie, serious, realistic, thought provoking, captivating, cynical, cerebral, cult classic, philosophical, existential
Similar in 86%
Bringing Out the Dead (1999)
Plot Summary:
48 hours in the life of a burnt-out paramedic. Once called Father Frank for his efforts to rescue lives, Frank sees the ghosts of those he failed to save around every turn. He has tried everything he can to get fired, calling in sick, delaying taking calls where he might have to face one more victim he couldn't help, yet cannot quit the job on his own.
IMDB Rating: 6.8
IMDB Votes: 75000
Genere: Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 121 min
Plot tags: psychological, bleak, atmospheric, serious, dark comedy, surreal, meditative, disturbing, stylized, suspenseful
Similar in 86%
The Player (1992)
Plot Summary:
A Hollywood studio executive is being sent death threats by a writer whose script he rejected - but which one?.
IMDB Rating: 7.5
IMDB Votes: 65000
Genere: Comedy, Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 124 min
Plot tags: suspense, dark comedy, neo noir, clever, black comedy, talky, satirical, cynical, psychological, semi serious
Similar in 88%
Midnight Cowboy (1969)
Plot Summary:
A naive male prostitute and his sickly friend struggle to survive on the streets of New York City.
IMDB Rating: 7.8
IMDB Votes: 118000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 113 min
Plot tags: disturbing, realistic, depressing, controversial, cult classic, psychological, rough, serious, bleak, grim
Similar in 88%
They Shoot Horses, Don't They? (1969)
Plot Summary:
Desperate characters stake their fortune on a Depression-era dance marathon.
IMDB Rating: 7.8
IMDB Votes: 20000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 129 min
Plot tags: depressing, atmospheric, emotional, disturbing, bleak, talky, serious, captivating, gloomy, cynical
Similar in 80%
Stoker (2013)
Plot Summary:
After India's father dies, her Uncle Charlie, who she never knew existed, comes to live with her and her unstable mother. She comes to suspect this mysterious, charming man has ulterior motives and becomes increasingly infatuated with him.
IMDB Rating: 6.7
IMDB Votes: 113000
Genere: Drama, Thriller
Country: UK, USA
Duration: 99 min
Plot tags: psychological, suspenseful, bleak, gothic, tense, suspense, disturbing, erotic, surreal, visual
Similar in 85%
Boogie Nights (1997)
Plot Summary:
Set in 1977, back when sex was safe, pleasure was a business and business was booming, idealistic porn producer Jack Horner aspires to elevate his craft to an art form. Horner discovers Eddie Adams, a hot young talent working as a busboy in a nightclub, and welcomes him into the extended family of movie-makers, misfits and hangers-on that are always around. Adams' rise from nobody to a celebrity adult entertainer is meteoric, and soon the whole world seems to know his porn alter ego, "Dirk Diggler". Now, when disco and drugs are in vogue, fashion is in flux and the party never seems to stop, Adams' dreams of turning sex into stardom are about to collide with cold, hard reality.
IMDB Rating: 7.9
IMDB Votes: 278000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 155 min
Plot tags: stylized, erotic, sexy, talky, black comedy, dark comedy, captivating, sentimental, touching, sensual
Similar in 81%
Barton Fink (1991)
Plot Summary:
A renowned New York playwright is enticed to California to write for the movies and discovers the hellish truth of Hollywood.
IMDB Rating: 7.6
IMDB Votes: 127000
Genere: Comedy, Drama, Thriller
Country: UK, USA
Duration: 116 min
Plot tags: psychological, surreal, neo noir, dark comedy, cerebral, philosophical, atmospheric, black comedy, enigmatic, mind bending
Similar in 89%
The Tailor of Panama (2001)
Plot Summary:
A British spy is banished to Panama after having an affair with an ambassador's mistress. Once there he makes connection with a local tailor with a nefarious past and connections to all of the top political and gangster figures in Panama. The tailor also has a wife, who works for the Panamanian president and a huge debt. The mission is to learn what the President intends to do with the Canal.
IMDB Rating: 6.1
IMDB Votes: 31000
Genere: Drama, Thriller
Country: USA, Ireland
Duration: 109 min
Plot tags: political, talky, stylized, suspense, sexy, realistic, serious, clever, cynical, entertaining
Similar in 89%
Mulholland Drive (2001)
Plot Summary:
After a car wreck on the winding Mulholland Drive renders a woman amnesic, she and a perky Hollywood-hopeful search for clues and answers across Los Angeles in a twisting venture beyond dreams and reality.
IMDB Rating: 7.9
IMDB Votes: 377000
Genere: Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Country: France, USA
Duration: 147 min
Plot tags: surreal, psychological, art house, neo noir, atmospheric, mind bending, disturbing, cerebral, surprise ending, enigmatic
Similar in 86%
Black Swan (2010)
Plot Summary:
A ballet dancer wins the lead in "Swan Lake" and is perfect for the role of the delicate White Swan - Princess Odette - but slowly loses her mind as she becomes more and more like Odile, the Black Swan.
IMDB Rating: 8.0
IMDB Votes: 808000
Genere: Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 108 min
Plot tags: psychological, suspense, cerebral, atmospheric, surreal, sexy, twist ending, psychological thriller, mind bending, visually appealing