Stuck for ideas of what to watch next? Browse our selection of genres and decades to find hidden movie gems or rediscover old time classics.
From thrilling page turners to beautiful novels, we present you books and authors similar to the ones you love. Enjoy our recommendations – from bookworms for bookworms.
If you share our passion for music, have a browse through our list of genres and discover unmissable artists and songs from the past 50 years. You’ll find a bit of old, a bit of new and a bit of something you probably have never heard of before.
Whatever type of game you’re looking for, you’ll surely find one that tickles your fancy here. Choose your next favourite from one of our wonderful articles and get playing!
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“You don’t know how long I’ve waited for you.”
Bella and Edward’s supernatural love story wraps so many aspects together in one addictive package. Love, vampires, family, peril. The best movies similar to ‘Twilight’ echo these things, and more.
Are there any other films like ‘Twilight’? The short answer is, yes! And the long answer? ‘Twilight’ is irreplaceable, but I think you’ll like these alternatives.
Each one offers otherworldly romance, and, as a bonus, just like ‘Twilight’, they’re based on a book or book series.
“There’s a new world mama. It ain’t all dark, and it ain’t all light, and it ain’t all ours.”
‘Beautiful Creatures’ is a Southern Gothic with a high school slant. The simplest way to describe it is as a gender-reversed ‘Twilight’, where Ethan falls for beautiful but dangerous Lena.
Unlike Edward Cullen, who’s had a century to reconcile his true nature, Lena’s witch-like powers are just starting to shine through. As if that wasn’t enough, her magical identity is fluid for now – but soon she must choose the dark or the light.
Jeremy Irons, Emmy Rossum and Emma Thompson are great, but honestly? I just can’t take my eyes off the fantastically creepy Gothic mansion. And if Beautiful Creatures leaves you wanting more?
The novel makes up the first instalment of the four-part ‘Caster Chronicles’, so get reading!
“Do you know how you kill a tiger, Father Auguste? You tie up your best goat and wait.”
Coming from ‘Twilight’ director, Catherine Hardwicke, this standalone fantasy adds to the Grimm fairytale.
The story’s bound to make a great match – a girl fights for love and family as a supernatural terror threatens her town. But more than that – this film looks and feels right.
Remember the way ‘Twilight’ captures that hazy, greenish Washington sunlight described so perfectly in the novels? ‘Red Riding Hood’ has its own dark, cold, forest light, occasionally broken up by a glowing blood-red.
“What we Tucks have, you can’t call it living. We just… are. We’re like rocks, stuck at the side of a stream.”
First, the sweetest of the ‘Twilight’ substitutes. And if you’re anything like me, it’ll break your heart when it ends.
Not because of the story (don’t worry, no spoilers). It’s just so wistful and wonderful, you’ll never want that enchanted, 19th Century world to go away. Fair warning – it’s a vampire-free zone.
Jesse and his family live an eternal life, but it’s not at the expense of people. That doesn’t make Winnie’s decision any easier though. Like ‘Twilight’s’ Bella, she’s forced to choose between her mortal life with her family and an immortal one with her love.
If you want to read the original story, it’s by Natalie Babbitt and is a ‘fiercely loved’ (Melanie Rehak, New York Times, May 2002) American children’s classic.
“Please, feel free to piss in my garden.”
In modern day Detroit, Tom Hiddleston’s Adam vampire-musician lives in solitude, apart from occasional visits from a trusted assistant, until his centuries old partner, Tilda Swinton’s Eve, comes to find him.
But the quiet life of this ethical vampire is about to be horribly disrupted.
I didn’t connect this movie with a book source until I read a fascinating interview with the director, where he discussed his inspiration. He drew from equally humorous and melancholy reflections of ‘The Diaries of Adam and Eve’ Mark Twain, 1906), the author’s final book.
All right, they’re not so recent, but this ‘Twilight’ fan can definitely make room on my DVD shelf for these essential supernatural romances.
“Who will take care of me, my love, my dark angel, when you are gone?”
Anne Rice’s Southern Gothic masterpiece in movie form stars Brad Pitt and Tom Cruise as the immortals, Christian Slater as the interviewer, and a young Kirsten Dunst.
This movie spends more time diving into the past than present day, making it a big change from ‘Twilight’. But that means sumptuous costumes, dramatic sets and all kinds of elegant things.
Content wise, it’s full of all the moral dilemmas of being a vampire with a conscience. The characters struggle with their own and each other’s sense of boundaries, as they travel the world, leaving human and supernatural casualties in their wake.
Universal Pictures have recently snapped up the rights to ‘The Vampire Chronicles’, so perhaps we’ll be seeing a reboot soon?
“Love is passion, obsession, someone you can’t live without. I say, fall head over heels.”
Why so much Brad Pitt today? These movies just seemed like a great fit, so perhaps we can call him the ‘90s Robert Pattinson – feel free to debate that concept in the comments!
Death (in the form of Brad Pitt, because why not?) wants to learn a little more about the human lives he cuts short every day, but things take a turn when he falls in love.
Sadly, no accompanying book series here. Based on the play ‘Death Takes a Holiday’ (Alberto Casella, 1924), ‘Meet Joe Black’ finds its literary inspiration in a different place. But Casella’s play is available in print form, and if you don’t mind the change of format, why not try it out?
Back to the movie, though. The business world setting shifts the overall atmosphere, but I think Joe Black and Edward Cullen have plenty in common.
“What some folks call impossible, is just stuff they haven’t seen before.”
With a suicide theme woven into the plot, it’s a little uncomfortable to watch following Robin Williams’ death, but persevere for a really sweet story and some good work from Williams.
A couple’s children are killed in a car accident, and not long after, the husband falls victim to the same fate. When his wife dies, he journeys across the epic landscape of the afterlife to find her.
Based on ‘What Dreams May Come’ (Richard Matheson, 1978), it’s a movie that connects surprisingly well with Bella’s terror of losing Edward and their wish to stay together forever.
Catherine Hardwicke’s movies like ‘Twilight’ and ‘Red Riding Hood’ are known for their supernatural romance storylines, but they also stand out for their atmosphere and style.
I loved seeing Washington’s hazy green light set the tone in ‘Twilight’, and the chilly blues and flashes of crimson in ‘Red Riding Hood’, so I’m all in favour of our next movies’ visual concepts.
“Heed the warning bell, for they are coming.”
A deadly danger hides in the woods beyond a village, as residents grow increasingly more afraid of the monsters and each other. The colour red is banned, used only by the creatures as a threatening reminder of their presence.
Maybe that’s the way ‘Twilight’s’ Forks was, before the vampires and werewolves first set out their ground rules? Either way, you’ll love the ‘Red Riding Hood’ style palette.
“I’m never merciful, and knowledge is a fatal thing.”
A vampire and her daughter attempt to live undercover in a seaside town. They’ve successfully hidden from the world for centuries, but a series of flashbacks, a creative writing assignment, and romance threaten their secrecy.
It’s not a typical supernatural romance (the romance is just one part of the story, and there are some dark moments), and that’s what makes this movie so interesting – it’s hard to pigeonhole.
“Watch your heads.”
We can usually rely on Tim Burton for a strong aesthetic, not least in the atmospheric Washington Irving tale of a headless horseman terrorising a New England town.
Like Catherine Hardwicke’s films, the supernatural feeling seeps right into every frame, even the fairly ordinary ones, with everything taking place in the sort of hazy light that makes you believe there could be anything out there.
“You bite your nails? Its a bad habit. People always tell you that the eyes are the windows to the soul. Bullshit its your hands, thats the sign of a gentleman.”
Is anybody better at hinting at the supernatural than Charles Dickens? This has got to be one of the most otherworldly movies without any actual spirits or strangeness, but I think you’ll agree that Miss Havisham just about qualifies under both those categories.
‘Great Expectations’ is the story of Pip, a Victorian blacksmith’s apprentice whose anonymous benefactor sponsors him to become a London gentleman. But we also follow his fascination with the cold Estella, a runaway convict, and all parts of society. Want more like this? I’ve picked out more small town gothic movies like ‘Twilight’ and ‘Beautiful Creatures’, so why not see which other films are waiting for you?
“It is said there is no sin in killing a beast, only in killing a man. But where does one begin and the other end.”
Between effects and filters, this movie is one big cobweb of atmosphere. There are a few grisly moments as the wolfman goes on a murderous rampage (it’s nowhere near as accommodating as Jacob’s pack), as first we wonder where it came from, then when it’ll strike again.
Just for extra fun, our hero isn’t exactly perfect, and a complicated romance lurks in the shadows.
So, tell me, have you seen any of these movies already?
If you did, what did you love most? And if you haven’t, which good movies similar to ‘Twilight’ have you found and – dare I say it – any contenders for the ‘Twilight’ crown?
If you’ve seen all of those movies and feel like losing yourself in the fictional world of a book, why not give one of our books like ‘Twilight’ a go?
If you prefer the recommendations on video… Kerry Provenzano gives you the full playlist on Youtube.
