Movies Similar to Stairway to Light

The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari(1920)

Francis, a young man, recalls in his memory the horrible experiences he and his fiancée Jane recently went through. Francis and his friend Alan visit The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, an exhibit where the mysterious doctor shows the somnambulist Cesare, and awakens him for some moments from his death-like sleep.

The Son(2022)

A successful lawyer, with a new wife and infant, agrees to care for his teenage son from a previous marriage after his ex-wife becomes concerned about the boy's wayward behavior.

Manic Man(2024)

Shane, battling social anxiety at a party, finds himself dissociating from his own body when social pressure pushes him to the brink, turning a simple gathering into a surreal escape from reality.

LSD: Trip to Where?(1968)

Three sailors are talked into trying LSD and marijuana--which, this film implies, are basically the same thing--and the effects of the drugs endanger the lives of their fellow sailors aboard ship.

Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown(1988)

Pepa resolves to kill herself with a batch of sleeping-pill-laced gazpacho after her lover leaves her. Fortunately, she is interrupted by a deliciously chaotic series of events.

Antes de Irme(2023)

Sorceress(2017)

A young woman raised in the US returns to her birth country in Eastern Europe after a devastating tragedy. Questioning her sanity and her sexuality, she starts believing she possesses supernatural powers.

Safe Place(2023)

A traumatic event – a sudden suicide attempt – opens a gap in the everyday life of a family of three. Their lives change fundamentally, as if they've been pulled into a war invisible to everyone else. The plot is limited to the most acute, a short period of time and a situation that boils down to the most important thing – to save a loved one. The film was based on the personal experience of the director, who also plays the leading role.

He Was a Quiet Man(2007)

An unhinged office worker who planned to go on a shooting spree at his workplace struggles with his newfound status as a hero after he ends up stopping a shooting spree instead.

Fearless(1993)

After a terrible air disaster, survivor Max Klein emerges a changed person. Unable to connect to his former life or to wife Laura, he feels godlike and invulnerable. When psychologist Bill Perlman is unable to help Max, he has Max meet another survivor, Carla Rodrigo, who is wracked with grief and guilt since her baby died in the crash which she and Max survived.

55 Steps(2018)

The inspiring true story of Eleanor Riese, a mental illness patient herself, who brings a class action suit to give competent mental patients the right to have a say in their medication while they’re in a hospital, and Colette Hughes, the lawyer appointed to her case.

Germans(1997)

A story about a German family during World War II with every family member having a different approach to Jews, raging from hatred to compassion.

Northern Lights(2016)

Emma approaches adulthood, she tries to live an ordinary life and keep up to her late mothers expectations. However her anxiety weighs over her, stopping her from enjoying the last few youthful years.

Barefoot(2005)

A hedonistic bachelor - he is his rich family's black sheep - falls for a suicidal mental patient.

One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest(1975)

A petty criminal fakes insanity to serve his sentence in a mental ward rather than prison. He soon finds himself as a leader to the other patients—and an enemy to the cruel, domineering nurse who runs the ward.

Parrot(2023)

This 3-minute short film by Iain Delavan was created at a dark time in his life. In his usual abstract and expressive style, Delavan depicts an unsettling scene of a character committing self-harm, set against the backdrop of an interpolation of Lizzy McAlpine's 'doomsday'.

Blue/Orange(2005)

In a psychiatric hospital, a junior doctor is treating a young black man diagnosed with Borderline Personality Disorder. The patient is having a final interview with the doctor, who has invited his mentor to sit in on the session. He is concerned that the diagnosis is inaccurate and would like the patient hospitalised for longer. The senior doctor, however, disagrees.

An Angel at My Table(1990)

Based on the autobiographical work of New Zealand writer Janet Frame, this production depicts the author at various stage of her life. Afflicted with mental and emotional issues, Frame grows up in an impoverished family and experiences numerous tragedies while still in her youth, including the deaths of two of her siblings. Portrayed as an adult by Kerry Fox, Frame finds acclaim for her writing while still in a mental institution, and her success helps her move on with her life.

The Cat Returns(2002)

Young Haru rescues a cat from being run over, but soon learns it's no ordinary feline; it happens to be the Prince of the Cats.

Let's Scare Jessica to Death(1971)

Newly released from a mental ward, Jessica hopes to return to life the way it was before her nervous breakdown. But when Jessica moves to a country house with her husband and a close friend, she finds a mysterious girl living in there. Jessica's terror and paranoia resurface as evil forces surround her.