Few late-period studio thrillers match movies like Eyes Wide Shut for its mix of erotic mystery, moneyed Manhattan ennui, nocturnal wandering and a marriage shaken by a single confession. Kubrick builds everything around ritual, costume and gaze so every corridor and party feels like a test of desire.
To build this guide to movies like Eyes Wide Shut we scored candidate films on tone, narrative engine, themes, character dynamics and stakes so every pick feels like a genuine echo rather than a surface copy, leaning toward psychological suspense rather than gore. We also pulled from US, UK, Korean and European work to keep the parallels fresh while staying inside Kubrick’s chamber-of-secrets atmosphere.
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Each title was evaluated on five axes: tone (does it sustain luxe unease or late-night dread), narrative engine (is someone pulled into a hidden or unstable world), themes (desire, fidelity, power, masks), character dynamics (married couples, rivals, seducer/seduced symmetry) and stakes (public exposure, moral collapse, loss of identity). We deliberately mixed eras and regions so the list does not repeat one visual palette but every choice still lines up with Kubrick’s structure of testing desire against privilege.
What defines movies like Eyes Wide Shut in 2025
1) The Ninth Gate (1999)
- Runtime: 133 min
- Starring: Johnny Depp, Frank Langella
- Director: Roman Polanski
- Genre: Neo-noir / occult thriller
- IMDb Rating: 6.7/10
- Why it’s similar: secret ritual world behind wealth.
Roman Polanski’s occult chase plays like a ritual thriller conducted in business suits. A rare-book expert moves through hotels, libraries and mansions to verify a demonic volume. The tone is slow, smoky and urbane which matches the late night drift of movies like Eyes Wide Shut. Its character dynamics pit a curious male outsider against seductive allies and dangerous patrons just as Kubrick pits Bill against the masked circle. European and American locations echo the jet set affluence of the seed film’s Manhattan. The emotional payoff is the same reckoning with powers far above his social rank. Viewers who wanted more secret-door energy will feel rewarded. It closes on a note of knowing submission to the hidden order.
2) Mulholland Drive (2001)
- Runtime: 147 min
- Starring: Naomi Watts, Laura Harring
- Director: David Lynch
- Genre: Surreal noir / psychological mystery
- IMDb Rating: 8.0/10
- Why it’s similar: dream logic under a glamorous surface.
David Lynch builds a surreal noir out of fractured identity and Hollywood performance. A woman with no memory teams with an aspiring actress and their search turns inward. The tone drifts between glamour and menace the same way movies like Eyes Wide Shut dance between desire and danger. The two women mirror the seed film’s married couple because both pairs test how much truth intimacy can stand. Los Angeles becomes the film’s masquerade ball full of gatekeepers, clubs and casting couches. The payoff arrives as a shock that reframes every earlier scene as performance. Anyone who wants to lean harder into ambiguity should start here. It leaves the viewer circling its clues long after the final shot.
3) Gone Girl (2014)
- Runtime: 149 min
- Starring: Ben Affleck, Rosamund Pike
- Director: David Fincher
- Genre: Psychological thriller / marital psychodrama
- IMDb Rating: 8.1/10
- Why it’s similar: marriage façade torn open.
David Fincher turns a missing wife case into a marital psychodrama about performance. A husband is scrutinised by media and police while the wife’s version of events unsettles everything. The tone is glossy, cruel and procedural which suits fans of movies like Eyes Wide Shut who enjoy adult thrillers. The couple’s power games echo the seed film’s jealousy confession and night odyssey. Midwestern suburbia replaces Manhattan yet the same upper-middle-class image maintenance is under attack. The emotional payoff is bitter because neither spouse truly returns to innocence. Viewers chasing marital tension will recognise the sting. It ends with an arrangement that feels like lifelong blackmail.
4) Vanilla Sky (2001)
- Runtime: 136 min
- Starring: Tom Cruise, Penélope Cruz
- Director: Cameron Crowe
- Genre: Sci-fi romance / psychological suspense
- IMDb Rating: 6.9/10
- Why it’s similar: affluent hero in blurred reality.
Cameron Crowe filters an existential romance through glossy New York privilege. A publishing heir’s accident ruins his face and fractures his triangle with two women. The tone folds psychological suspense into sci-fi speculation the way movies like Eyes Wide Shut fold dream into reality. Its pattern of devotion, jealousy and fantasy maps neatly onto Bill and Alice’s confession dynamic. Manhattan clubs and skyline apartments echo Kubrick’s controlled modern interiors. The payoff is a reckoning with the hero’s constructed ideal of love. Anyone wanting a more overt sci-fi angle will find this a match. It lands on a literal leap toward self-chosen truth.
5) Match Point (2005)
- Runtime: 124 min
- Starring: Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Scarlett Johansson
- Director: Woody Allen
- Genre: Crime drama / romantic thriller
- IMDb Rating: 7.6/10
- Why it’s similar: desire vs class respectability.
Woody Allen stages a chilly London affair about class climbing and lethal desire. A tennis pro marries into wealth but falls for an actress which threatens his position. The tone is patient, elegant and quietly vicious which will appeal to fans of movies like Eyes Wide Shut who liked its polite surfaces. The triangle recreates the seed film’s tension between respectable union and destabilising fantasy. London high society stands in for New York elites yet the rituals of opera, dinners and galleries are the same. The emotional payoff is harsher because ambition wins over conscience. Viewers wanting a version that tips into crime will appreciate this turn. It closes with cold acceptance of chance and hypocrisy.
Darker movies like Eyes Wide Shut for elite-society drama and exposed desire
6) The Invitation (2015)
- Runtime: 100 min
- Starring: Logan Marshall-Green, Tammy Blanchard
- Director: Karyn Kusama
- Genre: Thriller / dinner-party mystery
- IMDb Rating: 6.6/10
- Why it’s similar: cult-like gathering in a luxe house.
This slow-burn dinner thriller traps guests in a Hollywood Hills house where grief and belief collide. A man attends his ex-wife’s reunion party and senses something dangerously off. The tone is hushed, candlelit and suspicious mirroring the hushed parties in movies like Eyes Wide Shut. The old lovers and their new partners echo the seed film’s fragile marriage and outside temptations. The chic modernist home stands in for the masked townhouse where etiquette hides violence. The emotional payoff reveals how far damaged people will go to belong again. Viewers exploring secret-society dread will love the final wide shot. It ends on an image that expands the conspiracy beyond one room.
7) Black Swan (2010)
- Runtime: 108 min
- Starring: Natalie Portman, Mila Kunis
- Director: Darren Aronofsky
- Genre: Psychological horror / identity-crisis cinema
- IMDb Rating: 8.0/10
- Why it’s similar: perfection quest exposing sexuality and control.
Darren Aronofsky turns ballet into identity-crisis cinema filled with mirrors, rivals and erotic tension. A dancer must become both White and Black Swan and cracks under the burden. The tone is glossy, body-horror tinged and obsessive which parallels movies like Eyes Wide Shut at their most feverish. Her relationship with her controlling mother and seductive rival mirrors the seed film’s power shifts inside a couple. Backstage corridors and rehearsal rooms become Kubrickian hallways where desire and ambition mix. The emotional payoff is ecstatic and tragic because perfection costs her selfhood. Anyone who watches for the fall of a performer’s mask will be riveted. It finishes on a triumphant yet fatal stage image.
8) Stoker (2013)
- Runtime: 99 min
- Starring: Mia Wasikowska, Nicole Kidman
- Director: Park Chan-wook
- Genre: Gothic thriller
- IMDb Rating: 6.8/10
- Why it’s similar: intruder disrupts beautiful household.
Park Chan-wook delivers a gothic family thriller about a mysterious uncle in a vast estate. After her father dies a young woman realises her uncle’s charm hides predatory impulses. The tone is whispery, elegant and perverse echoing the erotically charged quiet of movies like Eyes Wide Shut. The triangle of niece, mother and intruder reflects the seed film’s exploration of forbidden attention. The isolated mansion acts like the townhouse in Kubrick’s film where rich interiors frame corruption. The emotional payoff is empowerment through acknowledged darkness. Viewers chasing beautiful menace will like this. It closes on a cool unsettling act of liberation.
9) Chloe (2009)
- Runtime: 96 min
- Starring: Julianne Moore, Amanda Seyfried
- Director: Atom Egoyan
- Genre: Erotic mystery / drama
- IMDb Rating: 6.3/10
- Why it’s similar: wife tests husband’s fidelity via seduction.
Atom Egoyan’s erotic mystery follows a wife who hires an escort to test her husband. The escort reports back intimate encounters and slowly infiltrates the family. The tone is intimate, wintry and voyeuristic, ideal for audiences of movies like Eyes Wide Shut who enjoy marital tests. The character dynamics redo Bill and Alice’s confessional tug of war but from the wife’s viewpoint. Toronto’s urban elegance supplies the same polished backdrop. The emotional payoff is messy because all three participants reveal need more than guilt. People compiling psychological marital thrillers should not skip it. It ends with a keepsake that proves desire leaves traces.
10) The Handmaiden (2016)
- Runtime: 145 min
- Starring: Kim Tae-ri, Kim Min-hee
- Director: Park Chan-wook
- Genre: Erotic drama / crime thriller
- IMDb Rating: 8.1/10
- Why it’s similar: layered cons, secret rooms, erotic liberation.
Park Chan-wook again crafts a forbidden-desire story about a con artist, a noblewoman and a scheming suitor. A pickpocket poses as a maid to help swindle a Japanese heiress in occupied Korea. The tone is voluptuous, suspenseful and twisty which fans of movies like Eyes Wide Shut will recognise as kindred. The relationships evolve from manipulation to genuine passion echoing the seed film’s question of which desires are honest. The mansion with its libraries, baths and hidden spaces is this film’s masked house. The emotional payoff is liberating because women reclaim agency from patriarchy. Viewers searching for a faster, more colourful analogue will relish it. It concludes with a lyrical maritime escape.
Stylised and twisty movies like Eyes Wide Shut for atmosphere lovers
11) The Prestige (2006)
- Runtime: 130 min
- Starring: Hugh Jackman, Christian Bale
- Director: Christopher Nolan
- Genre: Mystery / thriller
- IMDb Rating: 8.5/10
- Why it’s similar: secretive professionals judged by hidden elites.
Christopher Nolan’s duel between magicians is about obsession, secrecy and sacrifice. Two performers sabotage each other to own a signature illusion. The tone is elegant, investigative and escalating which suits viewers of movies like Eyes Wide Shut who enjoy procedure. Their rivalry parallels the seed film’s examination of men proving themselves to unseen judges. Edwardian theaters and workshops stand in for Kubrick’s New York salons. The emotional payoff is tragic because success demands splitting the self. Fans cataloguing secret-ritual narratives will approve. It ends on a set of reveals that reframe the whole story.
12) Inception (2010)
- Runtime: 148 min
- Starring: Leonardo DiCaprio, Marion Cotillard
- Director: Christopher Nolan
- Genre: Sci-fi heist / drama
- IMDb Rating: 8.8/10
- Why it’s similar: dream infiltration with emotional guilt.
Nolan again builds a puzzle about dream invasion and loss. A thief enters layered dreams to plant an idea and win amnesty. The tone is sleek, mournful and high concept, a brighter cousin to movies like Eyes Wide Shut. The hero’s bond with his dead wife mirrors the seed film’s haunting confession of desire. Paris folding streets and hotel corridors give the same controlled architectural pleasure. The emotional payoff is reunion made possible by letting go. People who want more action on top of mood should land here. It finishes on a spinning image that keeps debate alive.
13) The Machinist (2004)
- Runtime: 102 min
- Starring: Christian Bale, Jennifer Jason Leigh
- Director: Brad Anderson
- Genre: Psychological thriller
- IMDb Rating: 7.7/10
- Why it’s similar: guilt-driven descent into night spaces.
Brad Anderson’s thriller studies a factory worker who has not slept for a year. He begins seeing a mysterious coworker and suspects a conspiracy. The tone is skeletal, paranoid and nocturnal aligning with the mood of movies like Eyes Wide Shut despite the blue-collar frame. His flirtations with a sex worker and a diner waitress echo Bill’s drifting through temptation. Industrial nightscapes substitute for brownstones but preserve the loneliness. The emotional payoff is confession to an earlier crime. Viewers adding guilt journeys should include it. It ends with rest earned through truth.
14) The Neon Demon (2016)
- Runtime: 117 min
- Starring: Elle Fanning, Jena Malone
- Director: Nicolas Winding Refn
- Genre: Psychological horror / fashion drama
- IMDb Rating: 6.2/10
- Why it’s similar: seductive high-gloss world hiding ritualised cruelty.
Nicolas Winding Refn paints the fashion scene as a predatory cult of beauty. A young model moves to Los Angeles and is consumed by envy and worship. The tone is glossy, slow and predatory which will please viewers tracking high-style menace. Rivalry and fascination between women restate the seed film’s concern with desirability and power. Runways and glass houses become this film’s masked rooms. The emotional payoff is grisly because beauty is literally devoured. Viewers who enjoy confrontational art-house will admire the commitment. It closes on surreal horror that feels like a final ritual.
Conclusion: mapping movies like Eyes Wide Shut today
Taken together these movies like Eyes Wide Shut show how adult thrillers can be sensual, psychological and socially observant without losing suspense. They move from erotic mystery to ritual thriller to sharper marital psychodrama so you can trace the precise current that drew you to Kubrick’s film. Pick The Ninth Gate or The Invitation when you want secret rooms and whispered oaths instead of action. Choose Gone Girl, Chloe or Match Point when the appeal was watching a marriage tested in public. Stylised entries like Mulholland Drive, The Handmaiden and The Neon Demon keep the dream surface shining for viewers who enjoy high style. For deeper context on Kubrick’s last feature you can read the British Film Institute’s overview at BFI which breaks down its production, imagery and reception. You can also browse the Criterion Collection’s Kubrick materials to place it inside exacting auteur cinema. However you watch, the enduring pull of movies like Eyes Wide Shut is seeing desire puncture wealth and expose what people truly fear.
FAQ: movies like Eyes Wide Shut
Q1: What makes a film a close match to Eyes Wide Shut?
Q2: Do all similar films need masked or cult scenes?
Q3: Can lighter or more action-led thrillers still fit?
Q4: Why is marriage such a big theme in these picks?
Q5: Are non-Western or period films good matches?
Q6: How should I watch these to see the pattern?
Last updated: 01 November 2025 — ratings audited, 2 titles swapped.
- Replaced a lighter erotic thriller with The Neon Demon for stronger stylistic echo.
- Added The Handmaiden to widen non-Western coverage while keeping the ritual thread.
