Movies Like Upstream Color (2013)

Upstream Color is a 2013 drama, science fiction film from Shane Carruth with a MovieMagicScore of 6.3/10. Here are 20 similar films, ranked by real viewer ratings — starting with A Mighty Heart and Billy Elliot.

Drama Science Fiction

A Mighty Heart

2007

Based on Mariane Pearl's account of the terrifying and unforgettable story of her husband, Wall Street Journal reporter Danny Pearl's life and death.

6.4

MagicScore

Billy Elliot

2000

County Durham, England, 1984. The miners' strike has started and the police have started coming up from Bethnal Green, starting a class war with the lower classes suffering. Caught in the middle of the conflict is 11-year old Billy Elliot, who, after leaving his boxing club for the day, stumbles upon a ballet class and finds out that he's naturally talented. He practices with his teacher Mrs. Wilkinson for an upcoming audition in Newcastle-upon Tyne for the royal Ballet school in London.

7.6

MagicScore

Manchester by the Sea

2016

After his older brother passes away, Lee Chandler is forced to return home to care for his 16-year-old nephew. There he is compelled to deal with a tragic past that separated him from his family and the community where he was born and raised.

7.5

MagicScore

A Ghost Story

2017

Recently deceased, a white-sheeted ghost returns to his suburban home to console his bereft wife, only to find that in his spectral state he has become unstuck in time, forced to watch passively as the life he knew and the woman he loves slowly slip away.

7.1

MagicScore

Restless

2011

Two outsiders, both shaped by the circumstances that have brought them together, forge a deep and lasting love.

6.5

MagicScore

Dead Again

1991

In 1949, composer Roman Strauss is executed for the murder of his wife. In 1990s Los Angeles, a detective comes across a mute amnesiac woman who is somehow linked to the Strauss murder.

6.4

MagicScore

Requiem for a Dream

2000

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

8.0

MagicScore

Martha Marcy May Marlene

2011

After several years of living with a cult, Martha finally escapes and calls her estranged sister, Lucy, for help. Martha finds herself at the quiet Connecticut home Lucy shares with her new husband, Ted, but the memories of what she experienced in the cult make peace hard to find. As flashbacks continue to torment her, Martha fails to shake a terrible sense of dread, especially in regard to the cult's manipulative leader.

6.6

MagicScore

Beyond the Black Rainbow

2010

Deep within the mysterious Arboria Institute, a disturbed and beautiful girl is held captive by a doctor in search of inner peace. Her mind controlled by a sinister technology. Silently, she waits for her next session with deranged therapist Dr. Barry Nyle. If she hopes to escape, she must journey through the darkest reaches of The Institute, but Nyle wonʼt easily part with his most gifted and dangerous creation.

5.7

MagicScore

#10

The Perfect Host

2010

Warwick Wilson is the consummate host. He carefully prepares for a dinner party, the table impeccably set and the duck perfectly timed for 8:30 p.m. John Taylor is a career criminal. He’s just robbed a bank and needs to get off the streets. He finds himself on Warwick’s doorstep posing as a friend of a friend, new to Los Angeles, who’s been mugged and lost his luggage.

6.4

MagicScore

#11

Knight and Day

2010

A fugitive couple goes on a glamorous and sometimes deadly adventure where nothing and no one – even themselves – are what they seem. Amid shifting alliances and unexpected betrayals, they race across the globe, with their survival ultimately hinging on the battle of truth vs. trust.

6.2

MagicScore

#12

Captivity

2007

The sought-after images of top model Jennifer adorn magazine covers and billboards worldwide. When alone at a club, she is abducted and incarcerated in a cell with another prisoner. When their captor subjects the two to torture, they commit to escaping the chamber of horrors before they're killed.

4.9

MagicScore

#13

O-Bi, O-Ba: The End of Civilization

1985

The world has been ravaged by nuclear war. The planet is frozen and radiation kills anyone or anything that ventures outside of 'The Dome'. Soft is a shepherd for the last remnants of humanity who have gathered together as they await rescue from a mysterious craft known only as 'The Ark.' He wanders among the masses, performing his regular daily tasks; keeping morale from plummeting, wooing prostitutes, squashing rebellions, and sometimes feeding the hungry. But as the true and sinister nature of 'The Dome' comes to light, Soft must ask himself if humanity is worth saving...

6.8

MagicScore

#14

Viral

2016

Following the outbreak of a virus that wipes out the majority of the human population, a young woman documents her family's new life in quarantine and tries to protect her infected sister.

5.6

MagicScore

#15

The Falling

1986

Three young friends who are on vacation in Spain and a NASA scientist must join forces to save themselves and the rest of the world from an alien menace.

4.9

MagicScore

#16

In the Blink of an Eye

2026

Three storylines, spanning thousands of years, intersect and reflect on hope, connection, and the circle of life.

5.1

MagicScore

#17

Scourge

2008

The ancient creature, The Scourge, long confined in a church, wreaks havoc in a small town. Bodies accumulate as Scott and Jessie, rekindling their love, become the town's last defense against the unleashed menace.

4.3

MagicScore

#18

Arrival

2016

Taking place after alien crafts land around the world, an expert linguist is recruited by the military to determine whether they come in peace or are a threat.

7.6

MagicScore

#19

Gravity

2013

Dr. Ryan Stone, a brilliant medical engineer, is on her first Shuttle mission, with veteran astronaut Matt Kowalsky in command of his last flight before retiring. But on a seemingly routine spacewalk, disaster strikes. The Shuttle is destroyed, leaving Stone and Kowalsky completely alone-tethered to nothing but each other and spiraling out into the blackness of space. The deafening silence tells them they have lost any link to Earth and any chance for rescue. As fear turns to panic, every gulp of air eats away at what little oxygen is left. But the only way home may be to go further out into the terrifying expanse of space.

7.2

MagicScore

#20

After Yang

2022

When his young daughter's beloved companion — an android named Yang — malfunctions, Jake searches for a way to repair him. In the process, Jake discovers the life that has been passing in front of him, reconnecting with his wife and daughter across a distance he didn't know was there.

6.4

MagicScore

Frequently asked

What are the best movies like Upstream Color?

The top films similar to Upstream Color by MovieMagicScore are A Mighty Heart (6.4), Billy Elliot (7.6), Manchester by the Sea (7.5). Each shares drama/science fiction themes and is ranked by real viewer ratings, not critics or studios.

Is Upstream Color worth watching?

Upstream Color holds a MovieMagicScore of 6.3/10 from 770 viewer ratings.

What kind of movie is Upstream Color?

Upstream Color (2013) is a drama, science fiction film directed by Shane Carruth, starring Amy Seimetz, Shane Carruth, Andrew Sensenig.

Where can I find more recommendations like Upstream Color?

Browse the full ranked list above, or explore more drama recommendations on MovieMagicScore, where every list is ordered by genuine viewer ratings.

Keep exploring

Movies like A Mighty Heart Movies like Billy Elliot Movies like Manchester by the Sea Movies like A Ghost Story Movies like Restless Movies like Dead Again

About movies like Upstream Color

This ranked list pairs Upstream Color (2013), a drama and science fiction film from Shane Carruth, with similar titles by genre, theme and cast overlap (fans of Amy Seimetz take note). Unlike critic-driven sites, every position here is ordered by MovieMagicScore — a rating built only from real viewers, with no studio marketing or paid placement. Scores update as more people rate, so the list stays current.

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