Best movies like The Institute
Last updated March 2024
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Plot Summary:
In 19th century Baltimore, Isabel Porter, a girl stricken with grief from her parents' untimely death, voluntarily checks herself into the Rosewood Institute. Subjected to bizarre and increasingly violent pseudo-scientific experiments in personality modification, brainwashing and mind control, she must escape the clutches of the Rosewood and exact her revenge, or else be forever lost.
IMDB Rating: 4.2
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 98 min
Plot tags: suspense, suspenseful, psychological thriller, retro
Best tv shows and movies like The Institute (2017):
Similar in 85%
Delirium (2018)
Plot Summary:
A man recently released from a mental institute inherits a mansion after his parents die. After a series of disturbing events, he comes to believe it is haunted.
IMDB Rating: 5.7
IMDB Votes: 8000
Genere: Horror, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 96 min
Plot tags: suspense, atmospheric, bleak, suspenseful, psychological thriller, mind bending, psychedelic, dark, controversial
Similar in 75%
Secrets of a Psychopath (2015)
Plot Summary:
Two siblings lure unsuspecting victims to their house through a dating site for games and slaughter.
IMDB Rating: 4.0
IMDB Votes: 223
Genere: Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 91 min
Plot tags: serious, suspense, suspenseful, disturbing
Similar in 82%
Beneath the Leaves (2019)
Plot Summary:
Four small-town boys are kidnapped by James Whitley, a warm-eyed psychopath. His grotesque pursuit to reunite orphaned children with their deceased birth parents is halted when the boys escape and he is arrested. Fifteen years later Whitley flees during a prison fire and decides to see his mission through. Detective Larson, once Whitley's prior victim, is removed from the case due to impartiality leaving his partner, and lover, Detective Shotwell to solve the case. Fueled by rage and a chance of redemption, Detective Larson chases the steadfast psychopath on his own only to fall back into the same trap he once escaped as a child.
IMDB Rating: 4.5
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 90 min
Plot tags: psychological thriller, exciting, psychological, rough, brutal, suspense
Similar in 75%
Amuse Me (2013)
Plot Summary:
Captives find themselves at the mercy of a lunatic who dresses like a clown. He does not seem to be aware that his amusement is terrifying to the victims who are forced to participate in his games of degradation. As frightening as his lack of empathy may be, he has an even scarier personality when he gets angry.
IMDB Rating: 3.2
IMDB Votes: 143
Genere: Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 89 min
Plot tags: scary, psychotronic, suspense, slasher, suspenseful, disturbing, independent film
Similar in 90%
Betrothed (2016)
Plot Summary:
A trip to the store turns into a surreal nightmare when a college student is kidnapped by a deranged, dysfunctional family. Now Audra West finds herself trapped in the middle of the desert, and betrothed to Adam, the youngest son of the murderous clan. As a determined detective conducts a frantic search, Audra realizes the only way to survive is to escape. But even if she could get away, almost two hundred miles of desert lies between her and help.
IMDB Rating: 3.7
IMDB Votes: 249
Genere: Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 90 min
Plot tags: suspense, scary, psychological, tense, bleak, suspenseful
Similar in 75%
Fatal Affair (2020)
Plot Summary:
Ellie tries to mend her marriage with her husband Marcus after a brief encounter with an old friend, David, only to find that David is more dangerous and unstable than she'd realized.
IMDB Rating: 4.6
IMDB Votes: 7000
Genere: Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 89 min
Plot tags: exciting, realistic, suspenseful, intense, serious, suspense, rough, psychological thriller
Similar in 81%
Committed (2011)
Plot Summary:
Dr. Dupont arrives at a mental facility to apply for a staff position. World famous Dr. Quilly interviews her, and has her sign papers. She is thrilled to get the job, and is shown her room. However, confusion with her room being on the same floor as the patients' soon turns to panic as she is told that she is a "guest"- not a doctor, and the papers she signed were not job forms, but commitment papers.
IMDB Rating: 5.3
IMDB Votes: 355
Genere: Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 85 min
Plot tags: serious, realistic, suspenseful, suspense, psychological, scary, mind bending
Similar in 85%
BlackMale (2000)
Plot Summary:
The Plot is actually pretty crafty and full of (surprisingly) unsuspecting twists. The special effects are actually quite realistic which is surprising for such a low budget movie. Bokeeem Woodbine plays his role with a serious emotion that only adds to the hilariousness of the movie. Justin Pierce (R.I.P) is hilarious as a guy who has possibly the worst day of his entire life. The comedy of the movie culminates in the final 10 minutes that have had me and everyone else watching the movie rolling on the floor for hours. This movie is a classic and deserves more respect.
IMDB Rating: 4.5
IMDB Votes: 398
Genere: Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 90 min
Plot tags: realistic, suspenseful, serious, suspense, tense, hood, independent film
Similar in 82%
A Mother Betrayed (2015)
Plot Summary:
Newlywed Monica is committed to a mental hospital for hallucinations, but soon finds out that her husband has a devious plan to steal her life, including her daughter.
IMDB Rating: 4.8
IMDB Votes: 361
Genere: Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 86 min
Plot tags: captivating, suspense
Similar in 88%
From the Inside (2010)
Plot Summary:
Alone in their isolated home where no cars pass and no one lives nearby, Vincent and Tally suffer together in a loveless marriage. But what they don't know is that they are not as alone as they think -- a criminal and his psychotic brother are watching them through binoculars. They stare lustfully at Tally through the windows and plan something horrible for the unhappy couple when night falls.
IMDB Rating: 6.8
IMDB Votes: 40
Genere: Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 82 min
Plot tags: tense, serious, suspenseful, suspense, realistic, independent film
Similar in 90%
The Passage (2007)
Plot Summary:
After the death of his girlfriend Tracy, the American Luke travels to Morocco with his British friend Adam to spend vacation and recover his loss. While in Medina, Luke meets the gorgeous Moroccan nurse Zahra and he offers to walk her home. However, she is offended by a group of men due to her Western companion and Luke defends her. Zahra offers to be his tourist guide and suggest him to travel to Atlas Mountain to the see the sunset and spend the night in a hotel. Adam decides to meet the couple in the next morning to let Luke alone with Zahra. However, the hotel manager does not accept their check-in and a local lodges the couple in a cabin of his own. During the night, Luke goes to the bathroom and finds a mace of tunnels linking the cabins in the mountain. Zahra meets him in the tunnel and he discovers a dark secret about the place.
IMDB Rating: 6.0
IMDB Votes: 512
Genere: Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 95 min
Plot tags: tense, captivating, psychological, suspense, serious, realistic, suspenseful
Similar in 86%
The Bad Twin (2016)
Plot Summary:
A radio host takes in her troubled sister’s twin daughters, unknowingly putting her family, her friends, and herself at risk.
IMDB Rating: 5.2
IMDB Votes: 603
Genere: Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 90 min
Plot tags: psychological, tense, suspense, suspenseful, psychological thriller
Similar in 84%
Paranormal Abduction (2012)
Plot Summary:
A young women suffering memory loss and psychological issues after surviving a brutal attack, tries to piece together the clues surrounding her attack and its similarities to a series of recent murders. During the investigation, she struggles to maintain her sanity as her world gets more surreal and reality starts to unwind around her. Following the clues that lead her down the "rabbit hole" she finds herself fighting to wake up from this nightmare...before she becomes the next victim.
IMDB Rating: 3.9
IMDB Votes: 135
Genere: Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 83 min
Plot tags: tense, captivating, suspense, suspenseful
Similar in 76%
Choke (2001)
Plot Summary:
Henry, an uptight businessman who sometimes acts with questionable ethics, nevertheless rejects Ron, a scam artist who wants a partner. Ron won't let up and finds a lever to blackmail Henry, whose daughter Gina has killed a pedestrian in a hit-and-run car accident. To protect Gina, Henry disposes of Ron, but a murderous sociopath witnesses this crime. Henry and this stranger bond in an odd way, telling stories about their childhoods. Henry makes a deal with the stranger, helping to get rid of the body of one of the stranger's victims. Will this act seal a bargain between the two men and get Henry off the hook, or will the stranger threaten Henry and Gina?.
IMDB Rating: 4.1
IMDB Votes: 467
Genere: Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 89 min
Plot tags: psychological, serious, realistic, suspenseful, suspense, independent film
Similar in 88%
Watchful Eye (2002)
Plot Summary:
Malibu detective Shannon (Renee Rea) goes undercover in a group house to discover who murdered one of the women living there. Shannon gets caught up in the sex and parties, not knowing that her every action is being secretly broadcast on satellite TV. When she learns of the broadcast, she puts the clues together and figures out that the men living in the house have sex with all the women for all the world to see. And that's when her life becomes slated for cancellation.
IMDB Rating: 3.8
IMDB Votes: 255
Genere: Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 83 min
Plot tags: serious, suspenseful, suspense, erotic, detective, realistic, sexual, sexy
Similar in 90%
Black Butterfly (2017)
Plot Summary:
Paul is a down-on-his-luck screenwriter who picks up a drifter and offers him a place to stay. However, when the deranged stranger takes Paul hostage and forces him to write, their unhinged relationship brings buried secrets to light.
IMDB Rating: 6.1
IMDB Votes: 15000
Genere: Thriller
Country: Spain, USA, Italy
Duration: 93 min
Plot tags: suspense, exciting, melancholic, suspenseful, psychological thriller, surprise ending, psychedelic, twist ending, costume drama, twisted
Similar in 76%
Final Move (2006)
Plot Summary:
The LA police are baffled: someone is killing people who have been found innocent of violent crimes. At the crime scenes, DNA evidence and clues linked to chess point to a suspect who's dead, recently executed for murders with a similar M.O. The cops call on Dan Marlowe, an ex-cop with psychic gifts, in an asylum after the trauma of the initial investigation. His wife wants him to say no; her brother is his former partner, who leans on Dan to help. Dan's ex-lover, an FBI agent, is also on the case, and behind the scenes is Myron, Dan's chess partner at the asylum. The game turns more deadly when Dan and family become the target. Did the cops initially get the wrong man?.
IMDB Rating: 3.7
IMDB Votes: 467
Genere: Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 91 min
Plot tags: suspenseful, serious, realistic, captivating, suspense, disturbing, fast, psychological thriller, psycho film
Similar in 86%
Postmortem (1998)
Plot Summary:
The only thing James wants is to remain away from Scotland. One day, however, he receives a fax, a printout of an unknown person's obituary. The next day, he is charged and arrested for the murder of this person.
IMDB Rating: 5.0
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 105 min
Plot tags: independent film, tense, rough, serious, realistic, suspenseful, suspense
Similar in 77%
The Barber (2014)
Plot Summary:
Eugene is a small town barber, beloved by the local community, but hiding a deadly secret. John is hunting for a serial killer not to expose him but to learn the business! They form a twisted bond and turn the town upside down as Eugene teaches John to kill.
IMDB Rating: 5.9
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 95 min
Plot tags: tense, serious, suspenseful, realistic, suspense, grindhouse, independent film
Similar in 89%
Bare Witness (2002)
Plot Summary:
Professional killer Gav Reed commits a grave mistake allowing himself to be videotaped (as she always does, for a documentary she hopes to sell to Hollywood about the real nocturnal 'eldest business' there) by Julie Spencer, one of Max 'Slim' Reuter's hookers and porn actresses, whom he had sex with before - and while making a most incriminating call about his murder attempt at a high society campaign party for mayor Garland's electoral challenger Mary Washington, where the bullet is however caught by councilor Frank Constantine, who also survives. Gav's client, businessman Ian Hunter, who was videotaped earlier, has his girl Marina shoot Gav and then Julie, later Slim who. Rough but effective police detective Killian investigates, helped by Julie's friend Carly Marsh, and unravels even more sordid connections.
IMDB Rating: 3.9
IMDB Votes: 624
Genere: Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 88 min
Plot tags: sexy, erotic, tense, suspenseful, suspense, serious, realistic, sexual, sexploitation film
Similar in 84%
Experiment (2005)
Plot Summary:
A young woman, Anna, walks the streets of a foreign city. Her mind full of pain. No memory of who she is. and plagued by nightmarish visions. Then she meets Morgan, a man who also has no memory. Forced to trust each other, the two feel a mysterious connection. A strong powerful feeling that bonds the two together Unknown to them their every action is being guided by unseen forces from the dark underground shadows of the city. Anna and Morgan are part of a frightening experiment that will have a terrifying and shocking conclusion. There is no escape in this dark psychological thriller.
IMDB Rating: 4.3
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Thriller
Country: UK
Duration: 95 min
Plot tags: psychological, bleak, mind bending, tense, captivating, suspense, scary, offbeat, serious, suspenseful
Similar in 81%
The Lost Angel (2005)
Plot Summary:
Slight off-balance police inspector Palmer (Alison Eastwood) works with Father Brian (Judd Nelson) to solve for a religion-based killer, while she deals with her teen-aged goth sister.
IMDB Rating: 3.8
IMDB Votes: 440
Genere: Thriller
Country: Canada, USA
Duration: 99 min
Plot tags: suspense, scary, psychological, rough, serious, realistic, suspenseful
Similar in 82%
Suspended Animation (2001)
Plot Summary:
Hollywood animator Tom (Alex McArthur) gets lost in the Michigan woods after a snowmobile ride goes wrong. He finds refuge at an isolated cabin inhabited by two sisters (Laura Esterman and Sage Allen). Initially grateful to them, Tom soon realizes that the women are cannibals who peg him as their next meal. Tom's friends manage to rescue him, but he's perpetually haunted by his horrific ordeal.
IMDB Rating: 5.2
IMDB Votes: 539
Genere: Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 114 min
Plot tags: scary, psychological, rough, serious, slasher, realistic, suspenseful, suspense, independent film
Similar in 79%
Parasomnia (2008)
Plot Summary:
Laura Baxter is a young woman, literally a "sleeping beauty," who suffers from a medical condition called "parasomnia." A childhood accident victim, she is actually sleeping her life away, awakening briefly on rare occasions. Art student Danny Sloan falls in love with her, unaware that her hospital neighbor, a terrifying mass murderer and mesmerist named Byron Volpe has other, more sinister plans.
IMDB Rating: 5.1
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Horror, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 103 min
Plot tags: suspense, serious, suspenseful, scary, psychological, slasher, independent film, detective
Similar in 78%
Favor (2013)
Plot Summary:
Kip's perfect life is put in jeopardy when the waitress with whom he's having a casual fling is accidentally killed in their motel room. Desperate, he turns to childhood friend and loser, Marvin, to help get rid of the body. Marvin agrees which begins the unraveling of their friendship and ultimately leads both to murderous acts they never thought themselves capable of.
IMDB Rating: 6.3
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 102 min
Plot tags: serious, suspenseful, tense, suspense, captivating, twisted, realistic, independent film
Similar in 82%
The Strangler's Wife (2002)
Plot Summary:
Mae thought she had the perfect husband. Until she found out about his other women. But now she suspects an even more horrible truth. He isn't cheating with these other women... he's killing them.
IMDB Rating: 5.7
IMDB Votes: 67
Genere: Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 84 min
Plot tags: psychological, tense, captivating, suspense, suspenseful, disturbing
Similar in 90%
Mississippi Murder (2017)
Plot Summary:
An amazing murder mystery taking place in a setting that no one would expect the coast of Mississippi. A young woman tried to live a normal life despite a horrible upbringing. But she will learn her past will haunt her once more.
IMDB Rating: 3.6
IMDB Votes: 238
Genere: Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 113 min
Plot tags: tense, enigmatic, captivating, suspense, suspenseful, disturbing
Similar in 84%
One in the Gun (2010)
Plot Summary:
A sexy brain teaser of a thriller with nods to classic film noir of the past mixed with a post-modern flair of David Lynch-style surrealism and surprises. When Mickey Lewis, a homeless struggling artist crosses paths with Katrina, the beautiful rich wife of Arthur Webb and is enlisted to paint their home, deadly passions ignite. Soon hidden agendas, dangerous seductions, double and triple-crosses spiral Mickey's life out of control leading to a motel in the middle of nowhere filled with strange people and twisted secrets that all hold the key to the mystery of Mickey's past, present, and future. All it takes is - ONE IN THE GUN.
IMDB Rating: 3.9
IMDB Votes: 258
Genere: Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 92 min
Plot tags: neo noir, serious, psychological, surreal, tense, captivating, suspense, rough, sexy, mind bending
Similar in 81%
Sexual Predator (2001)
Plot Summary:
A female parole officer unwittingly gets involved with a handsome photographer who might be a serial killer.
IMDB Rating: 4.3
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 85 min
Plot tags: erotic, rough, suspenseful, suspense, sexy, tense, serious, realistic, sexual, independent film
Similar in 75%
Rift (2011)
Plot Summary:
Several college students are brutally murdered in a small college town an the killer is still on the loose.
IMDB Rating: 2.6
IMDB Votes: 467
Genere: Horror, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 100 min
Plot tags: slasher, psychotronic, scary, tense, suspense, suspenseful