feelsalike.comSign in
Requiem for a Dream poster

Movies that feel likeRequiem for a Dream (2000)

The drug-induced utopias of four Coney Island residents are shattered when their addictions run deep.

If you loved Requiem for a Dream, the closest films we have are Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter... and Spring (2003), The Lighthouse (2019) and Perfect Days (2023). All three share Requiem for a Dream's contemplative and lonely feel, which is what we rank on before quality.

Seen the big three already? The under-the-radar pick below is The Wall (2012).

πŸ… 80% Rotten Tomatoesβ˜… 8.3 IMDb β†—TMDB β†—dir. Darren Aronofskycontemplativedreamlikelonely
10 of 12 streaming nowHBO Max Β· Amazon Prime Video Β· Hulu

Can't choose? Answer three questions and get one movie for tonight.

See it on the Mood Map

When is Requiem for a Dream streaming? β†’

If Requiem for a Dream hit the spot, these will too

Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter... and Spring poster
πŸ… 94%β˜… 8drama

A meditative, isolated life observed with the same patient intensity

The difference: Buddhist stillness and years passing, opposite Requiem's frantic dread

An isolated lake, where an old monk lives in a small floating temple. The monk has a young boy living with him, learning to become a monk. We watch as seasons and years pass by.

The Lighthouse poster
The Lighthouse
2019 Β· dir. Robert Eggers
πŸ… 90%β˜… 7.3drama Β· fantasy Β· thrillerMax

Two people's sanity dissolving in claustrophobic, hallucinatory isolation

The difference: Supernatural maritime dread replaces addiction's grinding collapse

Two lighthouse keepers try to maintain their sanity while living on a remote and mysterious New England island in the 1890s.

Perfect Days poster
Perfect Days
2023 Β· dir. Wim Wenders
πŸ… 96%β˜… 7.9dramaRent or buy

The same mix in both: stillness, then loneliness

The difference: Takes it somewhere less dreamlike than Requiem for a Dream does

Hirayama is content with his life as a toilet cleaner in Tokyo. Outside of his structured routine, he cherishes music on cassette tapes, books, and taking photos of trees. Through unexpected encounters, he reflects on finding beauty in the world.

Room poster
Room
2015 Β· dir. Lenny Abrahamson
πŸ… 93%β˜… 8.1drama Β· thrillerMax

Both are built on the same subject: isolation

The difference: Trades the dream logic of Requiem for a Dream for an angle of its own

Held captive for 7 years in an enclosed space, a woman and her young son finally gain their freedom, allowing the boy to experience the outside world for the first time.

Ikiru poster
Ikiru
1952 Β· dir. Akira Kurosawa
πŸ… 98%β˜… 8.3dramaMax

Contemplative drama, and it commits to that

The difference: 48 years apart, and the 1950s show

Kanji Watanabe is a middle-aged man who has worked in the same monotonous bureaucratic position for decades. Learning he has cancer, he starts to look for the meaning of his life.

Edward Scissorhands poster
Edward Scissorhands
1990 Β· dir. Tim Burton
πŸ… 92%β˜… 7.8fantasy Β· drama Β· romanceHuluDisney+

The same preoccupation in both: isolation

The difference: Sits closer to fantasy than Requiem for a Dream does

A small suburban town receives a visit from a castaway unfinished science experiment named Edward.

To Kill a Mockingbird poster
To Kill a Mockingbird
1962 Β· dir. Robert Mulligan
πŸ… 93%β˜… 8.2drama

Drama built on loneliness, twice over

Scout Finch, 6, and her older brother Jem live in sleepy Maycomb, Alabama, spending much of their time with their friend Dill and spying on their reclusive and mysterious neighbor, Boo Radley. When Atticus, their widowed father and a respected lawyer, defends a black man named Tom Robinson against fabricated rape charges, the trial and tangent events expose the children to evils of racism and stereotyping.

The Passion of Anna poster
The Passion of Anna
1969 Β· dir. Ingmar Bergman
πŸ… 100%β˜… 7.6drama

Dreamlike drama in both cases

A recently divorced man and an emotionally devastated widow begin a love affair.

Bronson poster
Bronson
2009 Β· dir. Nicolas Winding Refn
πŸ… 75%β˜… 7drama Β· action Β· crimePeacock

A mind unraveling in isolation, told with the same unflinching intensity

The difference: A true-crime prison saga, not addiction's hallucinatory spiral

A young man who was sentenced to 7 years in prison for robbing a post office ends up spending 30 years in solitary confinement. During this time, his own personality is supplanted by his alter ego, Charles Bronson.

Certain Women poster
Certain Women
2016 Β· dir. Kelly Reichardt
πŸ… 92%β˜… 6.4dramaParamount+

A streak of stillness through both

Three strong-willed women strive to forge their own paths amidst the wide-open plains of the American Northwest: a lawyer forced to subdue a troubled client; a wife and mother whose plans to construct her dream home reveal fissures in her marriage; and a lonely ranch hand who forms an ambiguous bond with a young law student.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 poster
πŸ… 77%β˜… 7.7adventure Β· fantasyMaxPeacock

Both work the same dream logic

Harry, Ron and Hermione walk away from their last year at Hogwarts to find and destroy the remaining Horcruxes, putting an end to Voldemort's bid for immortality. But with Harry's beloved Dumbledore dead and Voldemort's unscrupulous Death Eaters on the loose, the world is more dangerous than ever.

The Wall poster
The Wall
2012 Β· dir. Julian PΓΆlsler
πŸ… 76%β˜… 6.7science fiction Β· dramaPrime Video

Both run lonely where it counts

A woman inexplicably finds herself cut off from all human contact when an invisible, unyielding wall suddenly surrounds the countryside. Accompanied by her loyal dog Lynx, she becomes immersed in a world untouched by civilization and ruled by the laws of nature.

In the mood for more contemplative?

all contemplative movies β†’

The best-reviewed films that share Requiem for a Dream’s defining feeling.