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Conclave poster

Movies that feel likeConclave (2024)

After the unexpected death of the Pope, Cardinal Lawrence is tasked with managing the covert and ancient ritual of electing a new one. Sequestered in the Vatican with the Catholic Church’s most powerful leaders until the process is complete, Lawrence finds himself at the center of a conspiracy that could lead to its downfall.

If you loved Conclave, the closest films we have are The Manchurian Candidate (1962), The Lincoln Lawyer (2011) and Shooter (2007). All three share Conclave's contemplative and tense feel, which is what we rank on before quality.

Seen the big three already? The under-the-radar pick below is Dogtooth (2009).

🍅 93% Rotten Tomatoes★ 7.4 IMDb ↗TMDB ↗dir. Edward Bergercontemplativetenseparanoid
9 of 12 streaming nowNetflix · Amazon Prime Video · Paramount Plus Premium

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If Conclave hit the spot, these will too

The Manchurian Candidate poster
The Manchurian Candidate
1962 · dir. John Frankenheimer
🍅 96%★ 7.9thriller · drama

Common ground: election

The difference: 62 years apart, and the 1960s show

Near the end of the Korean War, a platoon of U.S. soldiers is captured by communists and brainwashed. Following the war, the platoon is returned home, and Sergeant Raymond Shaw is lauded as a hero by the rest of his platoon. However, the platoon commander, Captain Bennett Marco, finds himself plagued by strange nightmares and soon races to uncover a terrible plot.

The Lincoln Lawyer poster
The Lincoln Lawyer
2011 · dir. Brad Furman
🍅 83%★ 7.3crime · drama · thriller

Both land stillness and tension at once

The difference: Sits closer to crime than Conclave does

Mick Haller is a charismatic defense attorney who does business out of his Lincoln Continental sedan. Mick spends most of his time defending petty crooks and other bottom-feeders, so it comes as quite a surprise when he lands the case of a lifetime: defending a Beverly Hills playboy who is accused of attempted murder. However, what Mick initially thinks is an open-and-shut case with a big monetary reward develops into something more sinister.

Shooter poster
Shooter
2007 · dir. Antoine Fuqua
🍅 47%★ 7.2drama · action · thrillerParamount+Starz

Paranoid drama, and it commits to that

The difference: The critics' underdog of the pair

A top Marine sniper, Bob Lee Swagger, leaves the military after a mission goes horribly awry and disappears, living in seclusion. He is coaxed back into service after a high-profile government official convinces him to help thwart a plot to kill the President of the United States. Ultimately double-crossed and framed for the attempt, Swagger becomes the target of a nationwide manhunt. He goes on the run to track the real killer and find out who exactly set him up, and why, eventually seeking revenge against some of the most powerful and corrupt leaders in the free world.

Dogtooth poster
Dogtooth
2009 · dir. Yorgos Lanthimos
🍅 94%★ 7.1drama

Contemplative thriller in both cases

The difference: Takes it somewhere less tense than Conclave does

Three teenagers are confined to an isolated country estate that could very well be on another planet. The trio spend their days listening to endless homemade tapes that teach them a whole new vocabulary. Any word that comes from beyond their family abode is instantly assigned a new meaning. Hence 'the sea' refers to a large armchair and 'zombies' are little yellow flowers. Having invented a brother whom they claim to have ostracized for his disobedience, the uber-controlling parents terrorize their offspring into submission.

Enemy of the State poster
Enemy of the State
1998 · dir. Tony Scott
🍅 71%★ 7.3action · drama · thrillerPrime Video

Both lean on tension more than on drama

The difference: Leans harder into action than Conclave does

When the videotape of the murder of a congressman unknowingly ends up in the hands of labor lawyer and dedicated family man Robert Clayton Dean, he is framed for the murder. With the help of the mysterious Brill, Dean attempts to throw the NSA off his trail and prove his innocence.

Disturbia poster
Disturbia
2007 · dir. D.J. Caruso
🍅 69%★ 6.8thriller · drama · mysteryParamount+

Thriller built on paranoia, twice over

Kale has a life most teenagers would envy. He spends his days endlessly playing video games, surfing the net, eating junk food and watching cable. He has complete free reign of the house, and a beautiful young hottie named Ashley has just moved in next door. There’s only one problem—he’s not allowed to leave the house. Kale’s under court-ordered house arrest for three months, and if he takes one step beyond a 100-foot perimeter of the house, his next confinement will be in a real prison.

The Little Things poster
The Little Things
2021 · dir. John Lee Hancock
🍅 44%★ 6.3drama · crime · thrillerRent or buy

Drama with a pulse of stillness, in both cases

Deputy Sheriff Joe "Deke" Deacon joins forces with Sgt. Jim Baxter to search for a serial killer who's terrorizing Los Angeles. As they track the culprit, Baxter is unaware that the investigation is dredging up echoes of Deke's past, uncovering disturbing secrets that could threaten more than his case.

Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit poster
Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit
2014 · dir. Kenneth Branagh
🍅 55%★ 6.2action · drama · thrillerParamount+Starz

Tense thriller, and it commits to that

Jack Ryan, as a young covert CIA analyst, uncovers a Russian plot to crash the U.S. economy with a terrorist attack.

White House Down poster
White House Down
2013 · dir. Roland Emmerich
🍅 52%★ 6.3action · drama · thrillerNetflixStarz

Both run paranoid where it counts

Capitol Policeman John Cale has just been denied his dream job with the Secret Service protecting President James Sawyer. Not wanting to let down his little girl with the news, he takes her on a tour of the White House, when the complex is overtaken by a heavily armed paramilitary group. Now, with the nation's government falling into chaos and time running out, it's up to Cale to save the president, his daughter, and the country.

The Circle poster
The Circle
2017 · dir. James Ponsoldt
🍅 16%★ 5.4drama · thriller · science fiction

Drama of the same temperament

A young tech worker takes a job at a powerful Internet corporation, quickly rises up the company's ranks, and soon finds herself in a perilous situation concerning privacy, surveillance and freedom. She comes to learn that her decisions and actions will determine the future of humanity.

Exterritorial poster
Exterritorial
2025 · dir. Christian Zübert
★ 5.8thriller · actionNetflix

Both play thriller straight

When her son vanishes inside a US consulate, ex-special forces soldier Sara does everything in her power to find him — and uncovers a dark conspiracy.

Glass poster
Glass
2019 · dir. M. Night Shyamalan
🍅 37%★ 6.6thriller · drama · science fictionRent or buy

Both working the same drama territory

In a series of escalating encounters, former security guard David Dunn uses his supernatural abilities to track Kevin Wendell Crumb, a disturbed man who has twenty-four personalities. Meanwhile, the shadowy presence of Elijah Price emerges as an orchestrator who holds secrets critical to both men.

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The best-reviewed films that share Conclave’s defining feeling.