Movies Like Night of the Pencils (1986)

Night of the Pencils is a 1986 drama film from Héctor Olivera with a MovieMagicScore of 7.0/10. Here are 20 similar films, ranked by real viewer ratings — starting with The Man Standing Next and Salvador.

Drama

The Man Standing Next

2020

When the investigation of 'Koreagate' takes place, Park Yong-gak, a former KCIA director who knows everything about the government's operations, heads to the United States in exile.

7.1

MagicScore

Salvador

1986

In 1980, an American journalist covering the Salvadoran Civil War becomes entangled with both the leftist guerrilla groups and the right-wing military dictatorship while trying to rescue his girlfriend and her children.

7.0

MagicScore

Of Love and Shadows

1994

Irene is a magazine editor living under the shadow of the Pinochet dictatorship in Chile. Francisco is a handsome photographer and he comes to Irene for a job. As a sympathizer with the underground resistance movement, Francisco opens her eyes and her heart to the atrocities being committed by the state.

5.2

MagicScore

Do Not Enter

2024

Two working class youtubers ‘in the making’ enter an abandoned mansion to get their basketball back, and get lost inside while pranking each other. They record their ‘quick adventure’ with their phones for their audience, and tweak it with a fake phantom appearance to attract more followers to their YouTube channel. When uploaded the video goes viral, so they start a challenge: if the video reaches a certain number of views, they will enter the house again, at night, alone, totally unprotected. As fans react positively, they will do as promised, not only to discover and unveil the true nature of the place and their inhabitants, but to realize they might not be among the living anymore. Which opens a question - how far would you go to be famous?

6.8

MagicScore

The Secret in Their Eyes

2009

Hoping to put to rest years of unease concerning a past case, retired criminal investigator Benjamín begins writing a novel based on the unsolved mystery of a newlywed’s rape and murder. With the help of a former colleague, judge Irene, he attempts to make sense of the past.

8.0

MagicScore

The Clan

2015

In Argentina, between 1982 and 1985, the Puccios, a well-established family of San Isidro, an upper-class suburb of Buenos Aires, kidnap several people and hold them as hostages for a ransom.

6.8

MagicScore

The Last King of Scotland

2006

Young Scottish doctor, Nicholas Garrigan decides it's time for an adventure after he finishes his formal education, so he decides to try his luck in Uganda, and arrives during the downfall of President Obote. General Idi Amin comes to power and asks Garrigan to become his personal doctor.

7.4

MagicScore

The Lovers and the Despot

2016

Hong Kong, 1978. South Korean actress Choi Eun-hee is kidnapped by North Korean operatives following orders from dictator Kim Jong-il.

6.9

MagicScore

El Angel

2018

Buenos Aires, Argentina, 1971. Carlos Robledo Puch is a 19-year-old boy with an angelic face, but a vocational thief as well, who acts ruthlessly, without remorse. When he meets Ramón, they follow together a dark path of crime and death.

7.4

MagicScore

#10

Missing

1982

Based on the real-life experiences of Ed Horman. A conservative American businessman travels to Chile to investigate the sudden disappearance of his son after a military takeover. Accompanied by his son's wife he uncovers a trail of cover-ups that implicate the US State department which supports the dictatorship.

7.2

MagicScore

#11

No

2012

In 1988, Chilean military dictator Augusto Pinochet, due to international pressure, is forced to call a plebiscite on his presidency. The country will vote ‘Yes’ or ‘No’ to Pinochet extending his rule for another eight years. Opposition leaders for the ‘No’ vote persuade a brash young advertising executive, René Saavedra, to spearhead their campaign. Against all odds, with scant resources and while under scrutiny by the despot’s minions, Saavedra and his team devise an audacious plan to win the election and set Chile free.

7.2

MagicScore

#12

Judas and the Black Messiah

2021

Bill O'Neal infiltrates the Black Panthers on the orders of FBI Agent Mitchell and J. Edgar Hoover. As Black Panther Chairman Fred Hampton ascends—falling for a fellow revolutionary en route—a battle wages for O’Neal’s soul.

7.3

MagicScore

#13

Hey Ram

2000

Saketh Ram's wife is raped and killed during direct action day riots in Calcutta. He is convinced that Mahatma Gandhi is responsible for all the problems happening in the country. He sets out to kill him.

7.0

MagicScore

#14

The President's Last Bang

2005

On October 26, 1979, President Park Chung-hee, who had ruled South Korea since 1961, was assassinated by his director of intelligence. The film depicts the events of that night.

6.5

MagicScore

#15

An Average Little Man

1977

A middle-aged government accountant is determined to secure a stable job for his son before retiring, willing to go to great lengths to achieve his goal.

8.0

MagicScore

#16

Clearcut

1991

A white lawyer finds his values shaken when he is paired with an angry Indigenous activist who insists on kidnapping the head of a logging company to teach him the price of his destruction.

6.9

MagicScore

#17

Garage Olimpo

1999

Maria is a militant activist in an organisation opposed to the military dictatorship in Argentina. She teaches reading and writing in the shanty towns and lives with her mother in an old and run-down residence. One morning, Maria is carried off, in front of her mother, by a military squad dressed in civilian clothes. The young woman is taken to the Olimpo garage, one of the numerous torture chambers which haunt Buenos Aires to the general indifference of the population. In order to make Maria talk, Tigre, the head of the centre, gives her to one of his best men, Felix.

6.8

MagicScore

#18

Piggy

2022

A bullied overweight teenager sees a glimpse of hope when her tormentors are brutally abducted by a mesmerizing stranger.

6.6

MagicScore

#19

Rendition

2007

When an Egyptian terrorism suspect "disappears" on a flight from Africa to Washington DC, his American wife and a CIA analyst find themselves caught up in a struggle to secure his release from a secret detention facility somewhere outside the US.

6.4

MagicScore

#20

Seven Days

2010

Like many happy people, Bruno Hamel is leading an uneventful life until one afternoon, when his daughter is raped and murdered. When the murderer is arrested, a terrible project germinates in Bruno's darkened mind. He plans to capture the "monster" and make him pay for his crime.

6.3

MagicScore

Frequently asked

What are the best movies like Night of the Pencils?

The top films similar to Night of the Pencils by MovieMagicScore are The Man Standing Next (7.1), Salvador (7.0), Of Love and Shadows (5.2). Each shares drama themes and is ranked by real viewer ratings, not critics or studios.

Is Night of the Pencils worth watching?

Night of the Pencils holds a MovieMagicScore of 7.0/10 from 69 viewer ratings, putting it among the better-reviewed titles in its genre.

What kind of movie is Night of the Pencils?

Night of the Pencils (1986) is a drama film directed by Héctor Olivera, starring Alejo Garcia Pintos, Vita Escardó, Pablo Novak.

Where can I find more recommendations like Night of the Pencils?

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 The Man Standing Next Movies like Salvador Movies like Of Love and Shadows Movies like Do Not Enter Movies like The Secret in Their Eyes Movies like The Clan

About movies like Night of the Pencils

This ranked list pairs Night of the Pencils (1986), a drama film from Héctor Olivera, with similar titles by genre, theme and cast overlap (fans of Alejo Garcia Pintos 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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