MesmeroWatch list, 0 saved

Movie
Poster for Stranger by the Lake

Stranger by the Lake

2013 · 100 min

A sun-drenched, quietly unnerving slow burn where desire and dread pool together like still lake water.

Directed by
Alain Guiraudie
Genres
Drama, Thriller
Starring
Pierre Deladonchamps, Christophe Paou, Patrick d'Assumçao
Overview
Franck spends his summer days hopelessly searching for companionship at a popular cruising spot on the shores of a lake in rural France. One day, he meets Michel, an attractive yet darkly mysterious man and falls blindly in love.

Your rating is saved. See your suggestions, or find titles like this one below.

Rate it, and Mesmero finds titles that feel like it. You do not need an account.

Search YouTube for a trailer

Rent in the UK
  • Apple TV Store
  • Rakuten TV
  • BFI Player
More options Data from JustWatch
Directed by
Alain Guiraudie
Genres
Drama, Thriller
Starring
Pierre Deladonchamps, Christophe Paou, Patrick d'Assumçao
In your watch list

How it feels

Written by AI. It can be wrong.

Tone
  • tensestrength 3 of 3
  • darkstrength 2 of 3
  • melancholicstrength 2 of 3
  • romanticstrength 1 of 3
Pacing
slow-burn, 1 of 4, from slow-burn to relentless
Attention
demanding, 4 of 4, from background-friendly to demanding
Themes
  • obsession
  • isolation
  • love
  • death
  • morality
Places
  • wilderness
  • sea
Era
contemporary
Audience
adult
Form
  • single location
Content intensity
  • Gore mild
  • Language mild
  • Violence strong
  • Sex strong
All scales, 0 to 10
Scales, 0 to 10
ScaleValue0 to 10
Action2
Horror4
Humour1
Realism8
Romance5
Tension8
Darkness8
Complexity6
Emotional weight7

More like this

Titles like Stranger by the Lake

Movie

The Swimming Pool

1969

A sun-drenched, slow-burning study of jealousy and desire that tightens like a vice, leaving a lingering unease.

Tense, dark, slow-burn · about obsession and love

Via
  • tense
  • dark
  • obsession
  • love
Pacing
slow-burn
Attention
engaged
Runtime
123 min
Details
The Swimming PoolHidden from your suggestions.
Movie

Nymphomaniac

2013

A long, unflinching confession that is intellectually provocative and emotionally raw, demanding patience and tolerance for explicit, disturbing content.

Dark, melancholic, slow-burn · about obsession and isolation

Via
  • dark
  • melancholic
  • obsession
  • isolation
Pacing
slow-burn
Attention
demanding
Runtime
240 min
Details
NymphomaniacHidden from your suggestions.
Movie

The Isle

2000

A quiet, unsettling plunge into obsession and violence, with stark visuals and almost no dialogue, leaving a lingering unease.

Tense, dark, slow-burn · about obsession and isolation · single location

Via
  • tense
  • dark
  • obsession
  • isolation
  • single location
Pacing
slow-burn
Attention
demanding
Runtime
90 min
Details
The IsleHidden from your suggestions.
Movie

The Talented Mr. Ripley

1999

A sun-drenched, seductive descent into obsession and deceit, where beauty and menace intertwine, leaving a lingering chill.

Tense, dark, slow-burn · about obsession

Via
  • tense
  • dark
  • obsession
Pacing
slow-burn
Attention
demanding
Runtime
140 min
Details
The Talented Mr. RipleyHidden from your suggestions.
Movie

Insomnia

2002

A slow, suffocating descent into guilt and sleeplessness, where endless daylight and moral compromise blur together.

Tense, dark, slow-burn · about obsession and isolation

Via
  • tense
  • dark
  • obsession
  • isolation
Pacing
slow-burn
Attention
engaged
Runtime
118 min
Details
InsomniaHidden from your suggestions.
Movie

Misericordia

2024

A deadpan, quietly unsettling village noir where desire and guilt drift like fog, leaving you amused and unnerved in equal measure.

Same director: Alain Guiraudie · Slow-burn · about obsession and isolation

Also
Same director: Alain Guiraudie
Via
  • obsession
  • isolation
Pacing
slow-burn
Attention
engaged
Runtime
104 min
Details
MisericordiaHidden from your suggestions.
Movie

Burning

2018

A slow, haunting experience that lingers in ambiguity, with quiet tension and a sense of unease that builds to a disturbing climax.

Tense, dark, slow-burn · about obsession and isolation

Via
  • tense
  • dark
  • obsession
  • isolation
Pacing
slow-burn
Attention
demanding
Runtime
148 min
Details
BurningHidden from your suggestions.
Movie

Diabolique

1954

A slow-burning, suspenseful descent into guilt and paranoia, with a chilling atmosphere and a famous twist that lingers.

Tense, dark, slow-burn · about obsession and death

Via
  • tense
  • dark
  • obsession
  • death
Pacing
slow-burn
Attention
engaged
Runtime
118 min
Details
DiaboliqueHidden from your suggestions.
Movie

In the Realm of the Senses

1976

A claustrophobic, explicit descent into consuming obsession that is as hypnotic as it is unsettling.

Tense, dark, slow-burn · about obsession and isolation

Via
  • tense
  • dark
  • obsession
  • isolation
Pacing
slow-burn
Attention
demanding
Runtime
108 min
Details
In the Realm of the SensesHidden from your suggestions.
Movie

Only the Animals

2019

A chilling puzzle-box of interlocking obsessions, where each revelation deepens the unease and isolation of its characters.

Tense, dark, slow-burn · about obsession and isolation

Via
  • tense
  • dark
  • obsession
  • isolation
Pacing
slow-burn
Attention
demanding
Runtime
116 min
Details
Only the AnimalsHidden from your suggestions.
Movie

The Hunt

2012

A slow, suffocating watch that tightens around you as a kind community turns cold and cruel.

Tense, dark, slow-burn · about isolation and morality

Via
  • tense
  • dark
  • isolation
  • morality
Pacing
slow-burn
Attention
demanding
Runtime
116 min
Details
The HuntHidden from your suggestions.
Movie

This Man Must Die

1969

A cold, methodical descent into vengeance, watching a grieving man's quiet obsession curdle into something unsettling and quietly devastating.

Tense, dark · about obsession and morality

Via
  • tense
  • dark
  • obsession
  • morality
Pacing
measured
Attention
engaged
Runtime
113 min
Details
This Man Must DieHidden from your suggestions.

Where to watch in the UK

Rent
  • Apple TV Store
  • Rakuten TV
  • BFI Player
  • YouTube
Buy
  • Apple TV Store
  • Rakuten TV
  • YouTube

Streaming data from JustWatch.All options on TMDB

Details

Genres
drama, thriller
Directed by
Alain Guiraudie
Written by
Alain Guiraudie
Starring
Pierre Deladonchamps, Christophe Paou, Patrick d'Assumçao, Jérôme Chappatte, Mathieu Vervisch, Gilbert Traïna, Emmanuel Daumas, Sébastien Badachaoui
Cinematography
Claire Mathon
Runtime
100 min
Country
France
Languages
French

TMDBIMDbLetterboxdWikipediaWikidata