"Wuthering Heights" backdrop

Films like “Wuthering Heights” (2026): Gothic, Passion and Drama

Published: Feb 28, 2026

A collection of films similar to “Wuthering Heights” (2026): a historical setting, gothic romance, destructive passion, class barriers, and a bleak atmosphere.

Jane Eyre

1. Jane Eyre

Drama Romance
7.3

2011 · 2h

Director: Cary Joji Fukunaga

A reserved, principled young woman with a hard childhood finds work as a governess and moves to Thornfield Manor. There she meets its owner, Mr. Rochester, and in time it grows into love.

Similarity

Closest characteristics: Complexity, Romance, Tone, Themes

Notable differences: Bleakness (-35%), Darkness (-25%), Tension (-15%)

Style

Romance
85%
Tension
60%
Darkness
60%

Great Expectations

2. Great Expectations

Drama Romance
6.3

2012 · 2h 8min

United States, United Kingdom

Director: Mike Newell

Lonely orphan Pip helps a fugitive convict get free of his shackles. After that, a string of mysterious events lets the boy leave his humble past behind and begin a new life as a gentleman.

Similarity

Closest characteristics: Complexity, Romance, Tone, Tropes

Notable differences: Bleakness (-25%), Darkness (-30%), Tension (-20%)

Style

Romance
70%
Bleakness
65%
Complexity
60%

The Favourite

3. The Favourite

History Comedy Drama
7.5

2018 · 2h

United States, Ireland

Director: Yorgos Lanthimos

This historical drama follows court intrigue in England, where two servants of the ailing Queen Anne compete to become her chief favourite, seeking power, access to money, and influence over politics.

Similarity

Closest characteristics: Tension, Complexity, Tone, Themes

Notable differences: Bleakness (-22%), Darkness (-13%), Humor (+57%), Romance (-32%)

Style

Tension
74%
Darkness
72%
Bleakness
68%

The Beguiled

4. The Beguiled

Drama
6.3

2017 · 1h 33min

United States

Director: Sofia Coppola

Badly wounded and looking for shelter, a soldier ends up at a secluded girls’ boarding school, where several women live and teach under the watch of a strict headmistress. His presence in this isolated world upsets the routine and sparks rivalry among the women.

Similarity

Closest characteristics: Darkness, Tension, Complexity, Tone, Themes

Notable differences: Bleakness (-15%), Romance (-35%)

Style

Tension
80%
Darkness
80%
Bleakness
75%

The Handmaiden

5. The Handmaiden

Thriller Drama Romance
8.1

2016 · 2h 25min

South Korea

Director: Park Chan-wook

The film follows Sook-hee, a small-time con artist hired by a swindler known as “Count” to become a handmaiden in a secluded mansion and help him charm a wealthy young woman, Hideko, who lives there under her uncle’s watchful control.

Similarity

Closest characteristics: Tension, Pacing, Romance, Tone, Tropes

Notable differences: Bleakness (-45%), Darkness (-15%), Complexity (+15%)

Style

Complexity
80%
Tension
78%
Romance
70%

Atonement

6. Atonement

Drama Romance
7.8

2007 · 2h 3min

United States, France

Director: Joe Wright

When Lola becomes the victim of an assault, her young, dreamy cousin Briony mistakenly claims it was Robbie—the housekeeper’s son, who is romantically involved with her sister. Her words set off a chain of events that changes the lives and relationships of several people.

Similarity

Closest characteristics: Tension, Complexity, Romance, Tone, Themes

Notable differences: Bleakness (-12%), Darkness (-15%)

Style

Bleakness
78%
Tension
72%
Romance
72%

The Piano

7. The Piano

Drama Romance
7.5

1993 · 2h

Australia, France

Director: Jane Campion

Ada, a mute woman who enters an arranged marriage and travels to New Zealand for it, becomes caught in a tense struggle between her new manipulative husband and a stern frontier man to whom she feels a forbidden attraction.

Similarity

Closest characteristics: Tension, Complexity, Romance, Tone, Tropes

Notable differences: Bleakness (-28%), Darkness (-17%)

Style

Tension
74%
Romance
72%
Darkness
68%

Saltburn

8. Saltburn

Drama Comedy Thriller
7.0

2023 · 2h 11min

United States, United Kingdom

Director: Emerald Fennell

Oliver, an odd and awkward Oxford student, befriends Felix, a wealthy aristocrat. Felix invites the orphaned Oliver to spend the summer with his family at their lavish estate, Saltburn.

Similarity

Closest characteristics: Tension, Complexity, Darkness, Tone, Themes

Notable differences: Bleakness (-18%), Romance (-46%)

Style

Darkness
78%
Tension
74%
Bleakness
72%

Phantom Thread

9. Phantom Thread

Drama Romance
7.4

2017 · 2h 10min

United States, China

Director: Paul Thomas Anderson

Renowned fashion designer Reynolds Woodcock creates dresses and signature looks for film stars, the royal family, and wealthy clients. When a young woman named Alma enters his life and becomes his muse, everything begins to change.

Similarity

Closest characteristics: Tension, Complexity, Tone, Themes

Notable differences: Bleakness (-35%), Darkness (-20%), Romance (-18%)

Style

Tension
78%
Complexity
72%
Darkness
65%

The Duchess

10. The Duchess

Drama History Romance
6.9

2008 · 1h 50min

Italy, United Kingdom

Director: Saul Dibb

The story of Georgiana, whose mother marries her off to the powerful Duke of Devonshire. A marriage and status that look like a fairy tale from the outside hide coldness, control, and the pressure to provide the duke with an heir.

Similarity

Closest characteristics: Complexity, Tone, Tropes

Notable differences: Bleakness (-28%), Darkness (-27%), Tension (-15%), Romance (-18%)

Style

Romance
62%
Bleakness
62%
Tension
60%

Lady Macbeth

11. Lady Macbeth

Drama
6.8

2016 · 1h 26min

United Kingdom

Director: William Oldroyd

England, 19th century. Young Katherine is married off by arrangement to a much older man. Later she meets a worker on her new husband’s estate, and a romance sparks between them.

Similarity

Closest characteristics: Tension, Complexity, Tone, Themes

Notable differences: Bleakness (-12%), Darkness (-11%), Romance (-46%)

Style

Bleakness
78%
Darkness
74%
Tension
72%

Rebecca

12. Rebecca

Romance Drama Mystery Thriller
6.0

2020 · 2h 3min

United Kingdom

Director: Ben Wheatley

A young woman falls for a wealthy widower, quickly marries him, and moves into his family estate. But once there, she notices everything still evokes his first wife—from the objects to the very atmosphere—as if someone can’t let her go.

Similarity

Closest characteristics: Tension, Complexity, Tone, Themes

Notable differences: Bleakness (-25%), Darkness (-25%), Romance (-15%)

Style

Tension
70%
Romance
65%
Bleakness
65%

Anna Karenina

13. Anna Karenina

Drama Romance History
6.6

2012 · 2h 10min

United States, United Kingdom

Director: Joe Wright

Anna, the wife of an influential St. Petersburg official, meets the young officer Vronsky. A sudden passion flares between them, forcing her into a difficult choice between her family and a powerful attraction that’s hard to resist.

Similarity

Closest characteristics: Romance, Complexity, Tension, Tone, Themes

Notable differences: Bleakness (-12%), Darkness (-23%)

Style

Romance
82%
Bleakness
78%
Tension
70%

Crimson Peak

14. Crimson Peak

Horror Mystery Romance
6.5

2015 · 1h 59min

Director: Guillermo del Toro

Young writer Edith falls for the mysterious aristocrat Thomas and moves into his family estate in England. There, she realizes the eerie house is hiding a family secret she will have to uncover.

Similarity

Closest characteristics: Tension, Complexity, Romance, Tone, Plot

Notable differences: Bleakness (-15%), Darkness (-15%), Violence (+15%)

Style

Tension
75%
Bleakness
75%
Romance
70%

Carol

15. Carol

Romance Drama
7.3

2015 · 1h 58min

United States, United Kingdom

Director: Todd Haynes

Therese, a young woman working as a shop assistant, meets Carol, an elegant and wealthy woman. A mutual attraction quickly grows between them, reaching beyond ordinary friendship.

Similarity

Closest characteristics: Romance, Complexity, Themes, Tone

Notable differences: Bleakness (-45%), Darkness (-45%), Tension (-20%)

Style

Romance
85%
Tension
55%
Complexity
55%

About the movie "Wuthering Heights" (2026)

"Wuthering Heights" plot: Tragedy strikes when Heathcliff falls in love with Catherine Earnshaw, a woman from a wealthy family in 18th-century England.

Style characteristics: Bleakness, Darkness, Romance, Tension, Complexity