Movies Like Ellipsis, or Waiting for Barbarians

If you liked Ellipsis, or Waiting for Barbarians (1971), a movie directed by Edgardo Cozarinsky, here are 20 movies with a similar feel, based on TMDB's recommendations. Each one links to its cast, trailer and where it's streaming.

1
Father Stu (2022)
★ 7.1/10
The true-life story of boxer-turned-priest. When an injury ends his amateur boxing career, Stuart Long moves to Los Angeles to find money and fame. While scraping by as a supermarket clerk, he meets Carmen, a Sunday…
2
Anniversary (2025)
★ 6.9/10
When Ellen and Paul’s son Josh introduces his new girlfriend at their 25th anniversary party, no one suspects that it is the beginning of the end for this happy family. The new girlfriend is Liz, Ellen’s former…
3
Nineteen Eighty-Four (1984)
★ 6.8/10
Winston Smith is a government employee whose job involves the rewriting of history in a manner that casts his fictional country's leaders in a charitable light. His trysts with Julia provide his only measure of…
4
The Way We Were (1973)
★ 7/10
Opposites attract when, during their college days, Katie Morosky, a politically active Jew, meets Hubbell Gardiner, a feckless WASP. Years later, in the wake of World War II, they meet once again and, despite their…
5
House Party (1990)
★ 6.4/10
Young Kid has been invited to a party at his friend Play's house. But after a fight at school, Kid's father grounds him. None the less, Kid sneaks out when his father falls asleep. But Kid doesn't know that three of…
6
O.G. (2018)
★ 5.9/10
Louis Menkins is five weeks away from being released after 26 years in prison. He is faced with the decision to put his own release at risk in order to protect a young man named Beecher from growing gang controversies.
7
The Aunts (2024)
★ 7/10
A mother enters an old home for her autistic daughter's therapy. Unexpectedly, the daughter start speaking but has encountered dark entities from the past seeking payback. The family faces supernatural forces related…
8
Heretic (2024)
★ 7/10
Two young missionaries are forced to prove their faith when they knock on the wrong door and are greeted by a diabolical Mr. Reed, becoming ensnared in his deadly game of cat-and-mouse.
9
Bad Sister (2015)
★ 6.6/10
As a top student at St. Adeline's Catholic Boarding School, Zoe senses that something is not quite right about the school's new nun-- a sense proven to be true when it is revealed the "good' nun is an imposter with a…
10
When Nietzsche Wept (2007)
★ 6.1/10
Viennese doctor Josef Bruer meets with philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche to help him deal with his despair.
11
Strange Weather (2016)
★ 5.9/10
Years after her son's suicide, a woman longs to confront both the past and a friend of his who took his business idea.
12
Safe Haven (2013)
★ 7.2/10
A young woman with a mysterious past lands in Southport, North Carolina where her bond with a widower forces her to confront the dark secret that haunts her.
13
The Joneses (2010)
★ 6.2/10
A seemingly perfect family moves into a suburban neighborhood, but when it comes to the truth as to why they're living there, they don't exactly come clean with their neighbors.
14
The Nest (2020)
★ 6.1/10
Rory is an ambitious entrepreneur who brings his American wife and kids to his native country, England, to explore new business opportunities. After abandoning the sanctuary of their safe American suburban…
15
Rope (1948)
★ 7.9/10
Two young men attempt to prove they committed the perfect murder by hosting a dinner party for the family of a classmate they just strangled to death.
16
The Girl in the Book (2015)
★ 5.8/10
The story of a young writer's transformation when her past invades her present.
17
Until the End of the World (2026)
★ 8.2/10
Manuel's life is upended when Esmeralda, his lost love from 15 years ago, calls unexpectedly. Despite being set to marry another, he rediscovers Esmeralda, and they realize their love transcends time.
18
The Stepfather (2009)
★ 5.8/10
Michael Harding returns home from military school to find his mother happily in love and living with her new boyfriend, David. As the two men get to know each other, Michael becomes more and more suspicious of the man…
19
Primal Fear (1996)
★ 7.7/10
Defense attorney Martin Vail takes on jobs for money and prestige rather than any sense of the greater good. His latest case involves an altar boy, accused of brutally murdering the archbishop of Chicago. Vail finds…
20
Steve (2025)
★ 6.4/10
Over one intense day, the devoted head teacher of a last-chance reform school strives to keep his students in line while facing pressures of his own.