Here are Cinephile Corner’s 10 recommendations for movies like 100 Nights of Hero:
Your Monster
While there’s a long cinematic history of lonely women falling for misunderstood creatures—Guillermo del Toro’s The Shape of Water being the gold standard this century—Your Monster does little to innovate or justify its existence. Unlike del Toro’s fully realized world and emotionally resonant storytelling, this film just sort of happens, without much impact. It’s a quirky, oddball experiment that ultimately feels disposable, fading from memory as quickly as it arrives.
Lisa Frankenstein
I wasn’t really a fan of Lisa Frankenstein, and I checked out on the movie rather early on. Diablo Cody doesn’t write scripts that entertain me all too much, and this is such a hollow experience once you get past the neon wallpaper and cartoonish window dressing. Kathryn Newton stars as a hopeless romantic falling for Cole Sprouse’s corpse.
Rye Lane
Few films in 2023 will reach the peaceful bliss that Hulu’s newest streamer Rye Lane does, a movie about two lost twenty-somethings recovering from painful breakups over the span of one eventful afternoon in South London. Told through an episodic lens that depicts the steps from heartbreak to a restored faith in relationships, Rye Lane is a cheerful reimagining of the romantic comedy.
Saltburn
Emerald Fennell‘s sophomore movie, Saltburn, emerges from the rubble of her polarizing debut, Promising Young Woman, with a cast that elevates the material despite its endlessly convoluted and plainly put narrative. This comedy-drama-thriller hybrid film weaves a perplexing tale of obsession, deception, and tragedy within the confines of the aristocratic Catton family’s titular estate.
Eternity
Eternity has a sweet, sentimental charm that fits David Freyne’s A24 rom-com mold, then asks a clever what-if of the afterlife. When you die, you enter a hub and choose where to spend forever. For Joan, played by Elizabeth Olsen, the question is less where than who. Freyne, working from a script co-written with Pat Cunnane, leans into humor and physical business rather than plumbing for deeper grief. The emotion largely comes from familiar highlight reels, meet cutes and proposal flashbacks that remind Joan what each love felt like in its best light. When the movie wants to go big, it does not hesitate.
Preparation for the Next Life
Bing Liu’s Preparation for the Next Life is a patient, unvarnished drama about two people trying to build a life together with nothing to fall back on. After the nonfiction clarity of Minding the Gap, Liu shifts to narrative without losing the documentary instincts that made his debut so piercing. You feel that in the way the camera lingers on kitchens in Chinatown, cramped rooms, and the small rituals of work and survival. The story is familiar, yet the texture is specific.
Fly Me to the Moon
Rumor has it that Apple is stepping away from theatrical releases for their original movies, and the lukewarm reception of Greg Berlanti‘s Fly Me to the Moon may be a big reason why. Starring Channing Tatum and Scarlett Johansson, this romantic comedy set against the backdrop of the U.S.-Soviet space race seemed poised for success. It had all the ingredients for a financial hit: big stars, a pastiche-heavy style, and the kind of premise that could benefit from strong word-of-mouth. Yet, it never gained traction.
Humanist Vampire Seeking Consenting Suicidal Person
Humanist Vampire Seeking Consenting Suicidal Person is just as ridiculous and comical as its English-language title would suggest. The movie is a riff on the vampire genre in a similar way that What We Do in the Shadows is. They both poke fun at the blasé, mundane, and almost emo way in which we consume much of the vampire material that’s been produced this century. Because vampires have become synonymous with counterculture, often because the motifs and iconography of these monsters reflect that of the unimpressed teenage mindset.
Read our full review of Humanist Vampire Seeking Consenting Suicidal Person
Marmalade
Marmalade isn’t short on style and set pieces. Keir O’Donnell‘s directorial debut packs enough narrative turns and endless visual flourishes to last an entire career. Unfortunately, the final product feels overstuffed as a result. Joe Keery and Camila Morrone co-star in an occasionally fun, frustratingly complex crime movie.
Fingernails
Fingernails, directed by Christos Nikou, stands as another strong addition to Apple TV+’s repertoire, blending elements of romance, drama, and comedy against the backdrop of a futuristic society grappling with the complexities of love. Starring Jessie Buckley, Riz Ahmed, and Jeremy Allen White, the movie explores the fragility of relationships in a world where a single fingernail can determine the strength of a couple’s love.
READ MORE: 100 Nights of Hero (2025)
