Movies like Blinded by the Light 1980
If you like "Blinded by the Light" you are looking for psychological thriller, emotional and intense movies about / with brainwashing, indoctrination, manipulation, family drama, sibling relationship, religion and rescue attempt themes of Drama genre shot in USA.
Find your next favorite and similar movies in two steps:
1. Identify all themes of interest from this film (block below).
2. Look for them in the presented list.
Blinded by the Light (1980)
150
Genre: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 90 min.
Story:
David Bowers is a teenager who runs away from home to join a quasi-religious cult. His sister Janet is determined to find him, but almost winds up getting brainwashed by the cult herself.
Style:
psychological thriller, emotional, intense, dark, suspenseful, period drama
Plot:
brainwashing, indoctrination, manipulation, family drama, sibling relationship, religion, rescue attempt, identity crisis, rescue mission, cult leader, religious fanaticism, escape, obsession, claustrophobia, female protagonist, alienation, moral dilemma, coming of age, teenager, suburbs, male protagonist, small town, love, sect, kidnapping ...
Time:
80s, 70s
Movie in categories
Most similar movies to Blinded by the Light
The list contains related movies ordered by similarity. Recommendation engine sorted out emotional, intense, suspenseful and realistic films with plots about small town, family drama, coming of age, female protagonist, isolation, moral dilemma and moral ambiguity mostly in Drama and Crime genres. Some movies like Blinded by the Light: Sadie (2018), Bolivar (2022), A Certain Kind of Silence (2019), Empty Cradle (1993), David im Wunderland (1998). The matching attributes are highlighted in bold.
506
Genre: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 96 min.
Story:
While her father is away serving in the military, Sadie battles to preserve his place on the home front when her mother takes an interest in the newest resident at the Shady Plains Trailer Park.
Style:
independent film, tense, emotional, realistic, dark ...
Plot:
mother daughter relationship, coming of age, trailer park, female protagonist, child protagonist, character study, family drama, moral ambiguity, jealousy, manipulation, sabotage, absent father ...
Similarity:
95%
Genre: Drama
Country: USA
Story:
Maggie is struggling to keep her life together after the death of her mother when her addict brother shows up, forcing her to make sense of a reality that may not be what it seems.
Style:
emotional, melancholic, tense, surreal, intense ...
Plot:
sibling relationship, addiction, grief, family drama, trauma, female protagonist, character study, mourning, family secret, traumatic past, confrontation, identity crisis ...
Similarity:
82%
Genre: Drama
Country: Czech Republic, Netherlands, Latvia
Duration: 96 min.
Story:
While working abroad, young au pair Mia unwittingly surrenders her reason, her heart and her dreams to a radical family community.
Style:
suspenseful, thrilling, psychological, captivating, dark ...
Plot:
female protagonist, bullying, emotional manipulation, indoctrination, emotional abuse, control, manipulation, brainwashing, life is a bitch, religious sect, coercion, household ...
Place:
czech republic, latvia, netherlands
Similarity:
80%
Genre: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 96 min.
Story:
Jane Morgan gives birth to her baby at the hospital. When she wakes up the next morning, the hospital tells her, that her son died at birth. However from ultrasound reading she had before, she knew she was having a girl. Now the hospital is ...
Style:
suspense, crime drama, emotional, psychological thriller, suspenseful ...
Plot:
hospital, deception, obsession, betrayal, family drama, domestic drama, single mother, female antagonist, investigation, medical malpractice, identity crisis, ethical dilemma ...
Time:
90s
Similarity:
79%
Movie in collections
Genre: Drama
Country: Germany
Duration: 103 min.
Story:
15-year-old David lives with his family and around another hundred Jacobins in a closed community in Germany. The monotonous life of this early Christian community consists of pray.
Style:
emotional, intense, thought provoking, tense, dark ...
Plot:
religious community, isolation, alienation, coming of age, loss of innocence, teen angst, persecution, identity crisis, mysticism, nude young male, gay, nudity ...
Time:
90s
Similarity:
69%
Genre: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 100 min.
Story:
A young woman struggles with her own need for independence and the obligation she feels for her deaf parents in this depression-era drama. A friend sees her turmoil and tells her she must find happiness on her own. However, the initial joy she finds ...
Style:
melancholic, heartfelt, period drama
Plot:
parent child relationship, family drama, guilt, great depression, female protagonist, sacrifice, family conflict, responsibility, empathy, deaf, moral dilemma, personal growth ...
Time:
1930s, 1940s
Similarity:
67%
Genre: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 96 min.
Story:
Two teenage girls are locked up for a minor offence by a harsh judge who thinks a night in jail will do them good. It's a traumatizing experience that includes an assault. Afterwards, one of the girls and her family seek justice against an ...
Style:
dark, emotional, intense, realistic, bleak ...
Plot:
teenage girl, trauma, assault, abuse of power, social injustice, female protagonist, women's rights, family drama, juvenile detention, courtroom, mother daughter relationship, corrupt judge ...
Time:
80s
Similarity:
66%
107
Genre: Drama
Country: Italy
Duration: 90 min.
Story:
In the service quarters of a grand hotel, a young maid and a man meet in a situation which breaks all certainties and identities.
Style:
ambiguous ending, psychological thriller, melancholic, suspenseful, suspense ...
Plot:
hotel, identity, switching roles, identity crisis, character study, female protagonist, manipulation, claustrophobia, class conflict, symbolism, isolation, male protagonist ...
Place:
argentina
Similarity:
63%
Movie in collections
233
Genre: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 104 min.
Story:
Michael Landon's semi-autobiographical sketch of his earlier life. It's the story of Gene Orowitz, a high school student struggling with his identity, who finds success as a javelin thrower on the track team.
Style:
reflective, emotional, inspirational, period piece, semi autobiographical ...
Audience:
family friendly
Plot:
high school, autobiography, coming of age, track and field, self discovery, perseverance, resilience, personal growth, teen angst, family drama, identity crisis, family relations ...
Time:
60s, 70s
Similarity:
62%
Genre: Crime, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 100 min.
Story:
Based on true story of teens Richard and Deborah Jahnke charged in Wyoming for the killing of their abusive father.
Style:
emotional, dark, tense, intense, realistic ...
Plot:
incest, child abuse, true crime, patricide, abusive father, domestic abuse, family drama, trauma, moral ambiguity, moral dilemma, grief, courtroom drama ...
Time:
80s
Place:
wyoming
Similarity:
58%
Genre: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 89 min.
Story:
When Raina's child goes missing, she gets help from Holly, a local Detective. However, when they're confronted with Raina's abusive ex, Maurice, she is thrown back into danger as her child becomes a pawn in his latest game of ...
Style:
psychological thriller, detective, suspense, crime drama, emotional ...
Plot:
missing child, manipulation, female protagonist, kidnapping, domestic abuse, cat and mouse, small town, investigation, danger, revenge, moral ambiguity, stalker ...
Similarity:
57%
Genre: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 90 min.
Story:
As he strives to make it on his own, Nick Ramsey has alienated his father by rejecting his upbringing and lifestyle. Now 25, Nick has been rejected by his girlfriend and vows to turn his life around.
Style:
crime drama, realistic, emotional, intense, tension ...
Plot:
family drama, family conflict, father son relationship, moral dilemma, self discovery, identity crisis, redemption, male protagonist, second chance, blue collar, regret, working class ...
Similarity:
55%
Genre: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 124 min.
Story:
An aspiring television journalist comes to a crossroads when he is forced to choose between the love of his life or the love of his father and his career. SINSITIVITY is the story of Trent, a preachers son who falls hard and madly in love with ...
Style:
emotional, tension, intense, sensual, independent film
Plot:
exotic dancer, parent child relationship, moral dilemma, family conflict, religion, sacrifice, secret past, temptation, forbidden love, scandal, love triangle, guilt ...
Similarity:
54%
Genre: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 90 min.
Story:
Georgia Benfield's, at her wit's end, loses control and begins physically abusing her elderly mother, just as Georgia had been abused herself as a child. As family and friends slowly begin to learn of the abuse, and long buried family ...
Style:
intense, tense, bleak, realistic, period drama
Plot:
mother daughter relationship, family drama, domestic abuse, dysfunctional family, trauma, female protagonist, family secret, character study, emotional abuse, guilt, social issues, realism ...
Time:
80s
Similarity:
54%
Genre: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 100 min.
Story:
A teenager must cope with a disease that causes himself to age at an astronomical rate.
Style:
emotional, realistic, heartfelt, sentimental, dramatic ...
Plot:
aging, teenager, disease, mortality, family drama, coming of age, parent child relationship, hopes, grief, resilience, loss, intimate ...
Time:
80s, 20th century
Place:
usa
Similarity:
51%
496
Genre: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 110 min.
Story:
A young teacher comes to the impoverished mountain region of Cutter Gap, Tennesse in 1912 and tries to make a difference. Based on the best-selling novel by Catherine Marshall.
Style:
heartfelt, inspirational, emotional, sentimental, period drama
Audience:
family friendly, teens, adult
Plot:
education, idealism, poverty, female protagonist, compassion, religion, perseverance, family drama, faith, small town, adaptation, healing ...
Time:
1910s
Place:
tennessee
Similarity:
51%
Genre: Drama
Country: Germany
Duration: 90 min.
Story:
This family drama deals with a case of Munchhausen Syndrome by Proxy, a fabricated illness. Stephanie is an apparently happy single mother of two daughters, Therese and Agnes, although the latter suffers from chronic health problems. When ...
Style:
realistic, bleak, disturbing, emotional, serious ...
Plot:
manipulation, mother daughter relationship, family drama, investigation, grief, tragedy, family secret, suspicion, obsession, guilt, moral dilemma, intimate ...
Similarity:
50%
818
Genre: Drama
Country: Italy
Duration: 108 min.
Story:
The story of a small, simple and happy family in which a boy, a manipulator, violently enters, which distorts the life of this wonderful fifteen-year-old and makes her a nightmare.
Style:
captivating, psychological, thrilling, dark, suspenseful ...
Plot:
psychological manipulation, family drama, emotional manipulation, problem, male female relationship, relationships, life is a bitch, manipulation, manipulative behavior, relationship problems, changing lives, couple relations ...
Similarity:
50%
Movie in collections
107
Genre: Drama
Country: India
Duration: 145 min.
Story:
A 2012 Kannada film
Style:
suspense, suspenseful, captivating, psychological thriller, intense ...
Plot:
revenge, father son relationship, identity crisis, father figure, family drama, father and son, mother and daughter, family problems, dysfunctional family, brother brother relationship, guilt, family relations ...
Similarity:
48%
Genre: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 96 min.
Story:
A teenage mother is forced to give up her baby for adoption and, 19 years later, when she tries to contact her son, she learns that he died, under questionable circumstances when he was three years old.
Style:
emotional, heartbreaking, suspense, depressing, period drama
Plot:
family drama, grief, loss, motherhood, lost child, tragedy, trauma, teenage pregnancy, unwed mother, abuse, religious fundamentalism, moral dilemma ...
Time:
70s
Similarity:
48%
Genre: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 90 min.
Story:
Inspired by a true story, this film tells the shocking tale of a mother and daughter who are nothing like they seem, their tumultuous relationship ending in a brutal murder.
Style:
disturbing, thought provoking, suspense, rough, crime drama ...
Plot:
manipulation, deception, murder, true crime, mother daughter conflict, murder of mother, murder investigation, hate, pretense, mockery, grownups, teenage life ...
Time:
2010s
Similarity:
47%
Genre: Drama
Country: Italy, USA, Romania
Duration: 123 min.
Story:
A captive daughter endures around two decades of abuse at the hands of a sadistic father. One day, destiny presents her with an opportunity to break free.
Style:
tense, disturbing, suspense, psychological thriller, captivating ...
Plot:
father, child abuse, female protagonist, trauma, psychological abuse, domestic abuse, locked in a basement, locked in, captive, despot, brother sister relationship, father and daughter ...
Similarity:
44%
Genre: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 100 min.
Story:
Sam Alden is the 17-year-old high school star player in baseball who seems to have it all. However, his family notices that he is often bothered with fits of coughing. Worried, his parents decide to take him to the hospital, where they are shocked ...
Style:
medical drama, emotional, serious, realistic, suspenseful
Audience:
teen drama
Plot:
heart transplant, hospital, surgery, mortality, terminal illness, coming of age, family drama, teenager, organ donation, high school, resilience, doctor patient relationship ...
Time:
80s
Similarity:
43%
Movie in collections
1K
Genre: Drama
Country: Norway
Duration: 94 min.
Story:
On the surface 19-year-old Mirjam's life appears perfect. She is a world champion freestyle disco dancer and the pride of her modern, evangelical church. Yet her body is calling out for help and at the dance world championships, where she is ...
Style:
emotional, intense, tense, powerful
Audience:
teens
Plot:
religion, disco, dance, identity crisis, spiritual journey, doubt, identity, female protagonist, control, conformity, power, mental health ...
Similarity:
43%
Genre: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 106 min.
Story:
1950s America. Since his mother‘s confinement to an institution, Andy has lived in the shadow of his stoic father. A family acquaintance, Dr. Wallace Fiennes, employs the introverted young man as a photographer to document an asylum tour ...
Style:
psychological, thrilling, captivating, melancholic, art house ...
Plot:
mental institution, cult leader, mental illness, illness, psychiatry, character study, ethical dilemma, doctor, social problems, unconventional method, moral ambiguity, alienation ...
Time:
1950s
Similarity:
43%
Genre: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 88 min.
Story:
Taryn finds herself gaining much-desired popularity when the charismatic new girl at school claims her as a “breath sister," teaching Taryn about the Choking Game. Hiding it from her ever-present mother, best friend, and teachers, Taryn sees ...
Style:
psychological, teen, captivating, disturbing, suspense ...
Audience:
teen drama
Plot:
high school, peer pressure, social issues, female protagonist, teenager, girl, most dangerous game, suffocation, socially awkward, teenage girl, schoolgirl, desire ...
Similarity:
42%
Genre: Drama
Country: Germany
Duration: 105 min.
Story:
17-year-old Guido suffers since his early childhood from neurodermatitis. After being taken to the hospital due to a heavy attack, he starts to question his personal and familiar environment and discovers that his parents’ relationship – which ...
Style:
emotional, psychological, realistic, melancholic
Plot:
illness, coming of age, family drama, family secret, identity crisis, adolescence, escape, intimate, introspection, realism, isolation, alienation ...
Similarity:
42%
Genre: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 90 min.
Story:
An ex-convict, after spending six years in prison, tries to re-establish a relationship with the son he hasn't seen in all that time.
Style:
realistic, heartfelt, emotional, melancholic, independent film ...
Plot:
father son relationship, ex convict, family drama, second chance, redemption, reconciliation, estranged son, forgiveness, regret, male protagonist, parenting, bittersweet ...
Time:
80s, 20th century
Place:
los angeles
Similarity:
41%
Genre: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 86 min.
Story:
When Kelly's newborn baby is stolen from the hospital where she works, she teams up with Gloria, also a victim of baby abduction, to get her child back from a black market adoption ring.
Style:
suspense, captivating, psychological, disturbing, emotional ...
Plot:
kidnapping, motherhood, protective mother, female protagonist, child abduction, problem, life is a bitch, abduction, rescue mission, danger, hospital, justice ...
Time:
2010s
Similarity:
41%
Genre: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 86 min.
Story:
Emily appears to have the perfect life with a daughter, a successful PR firm, a family inheritance, and a strong marriage with Kyle. But everything falls apart when Lily arrives claiming to be her half-sister, causing chaos in her world. (from IMDB)
Style:
captivating, dramatic, suspenseful, serious, psychological thriller ...
Plot:
betrayal, trust, half sister, sister, betrayal of trust, family drama, family secret, female protagonist, sibling rivalry, sibling relationship, mother and daughter, marriage ...
Similarity:
40%
Related movie lists
