Film

Always Shine

Name: Always Shine
Genre: Thriller, Drama, Horror, Mystery
Released: 2016
Cast: Mackenzie Davis, Caitlin FitzGerald, Lawrence Michael Levine, Khan Baykal, Alexander Koch

Drama
Very dark

Two actresses retreat to Big Sur seeking reconnection, but isolation amplifies the jealousy and resentment festering between them. This is a claustrophobic psychological thriller that turns friendship into psychological warfare. It's a compact, unsettling study of ambition, envy, and the masks we wear—perfect for viewers who prize tension and character demolition over plot comfort.

TMDb rating

2.7

If you liked this

Mulholland Drive2001

Explores the dark underbelly of female ambition and friendship in Hollywood with Lynchian mood and narrative invention. Two women, competing dreams, and a Los Angeles that corrupts everything it touches.

But Demands active interpretation and repays repeat viewing; the first watch can feel deliberately obscure rather than gripping.

Goodnight Mommy2015

An Austrian psychodrama that uses physical isolation and family intimacy to build unbearable tension. The twist reframes everything you've watched with devastating clarity—similar structural DNA to Always Shine.

But Graphic imagery and a deeply upsetting premise may alienate viewers seeking subtlety or comfort in their horror.

The Neon Demon2016

Visually sumptuous exploration of female rivalry, ambition, and the consumption of women in the modeling world. Like Always Shine, it's a fever dream about beauty, jealousy, and the performance of self.

But Style overwhelms substance for many; if you find abstraction frustrating, the gorgeous surfaces may feel hollow.

Not sure tonight? Get a pick in a minute, starting from Always Shine

The wildcard

Something you would not have found on your own.

Persona1966

Both are psychological thrillers hinging on the collapse of identity between two women; both use confinement and silence as weapons; both suggest that watching someone is a form of possession.

Bergman's masterwork: an actress stops speaking and a nurse becomes absorbed in the enigma of her silence. It's the philosophical ancestor to Always Shine—identity, performance, the merging of two selves into one consuming obsession.

But Black-and-white, 84 minutes of existential cinema from 1966; if you don't speak fluent Bergman, it can feel forbidding and slow.

Starry Eyes2014

A horror film about an actress willing to destroy herself for success in Hollywood. Body horror meets industry commentary; shares Always Shine's fusion of intimate drama with genre unease.

But Graphic sexual violence and exploitation; the horror is sometimes more literal and grueling than psychological.

Under the Skin2014

Scarlett Johansson in a hypnotic, minimalist sci-fi thriller about identity and the predatory gaze. Alien and atmospheric; rewards patience and tolerates ambiguity like Always Shine does.

But Nearly dialogue-free and glacially paced; many viewers find it pretentious or simply boring rather than suspenseful.

A Tale of Two Sisters2003

A Korean horror film about trauma, unreliable memory, and the fracturing of identity between two sisters. Gorgeous, eerie, and structurally clever in ways that echo Always Shine's psychological games.

But Requires full attention; the narrative plays tricks and the cultural context may feel distant to unfamiliar viewers.

Ginger Snaps2000

Two sisters bound by morbid intimacy navigate adolescence and monstrosity together. Uses genre to explore female rage and friendship; darkly funny where Always Shine is tense, but equally sharp on isolation.

But Veers between body horror and teen comedy; the tonal shifts may undermine the psychological tension you're seeking.

Certain Women2016

Kelly Reichardt's meditative chamber piece about three women in rural Montana. Quiet, observant, and deeply attuned to female interiority—a different register, but the same year and same care for fractured human connection.

But Narrative is fragmented and deliberately undramatic; if you need plot momentum or clear stakes, this will feel static and distant.

Funny Games2008

Both use confinement and escalating psychological cruelty as their engine; both implicate the viewer in acts of violation; both are formally precise about building unbearable tension.

Haneke's home-invasion thriller that turns the viewer's complicity and appetite for violence into the actual horror. A formal, controlled dismantling of expectations—radically different genre, same interrogation of what we're watching and why.

But Deliberately frustrating and moralistic; designed to make you uncomfortable and question your own engagement. Many find it pretentious punishment rather than entertainment.

The Nile Hilton Incident2017

Both build meaning through withholding; both reveal that the surface story is a lie; both leave the viewer uncertain about whose perspective to trust. Same structural principle, completely different world.

A Cairo crime film told in reverse, peeling back layers of complicity and moral corruption. Not a psychological thriller, but structured like one—each scene recontextualizes what came before, much like Always Shine's unreliable perspective.

But Arabic-language film; slow detective procedural in an unfamiliar setting. If you need Hollywood pacing or Western characters, the register shift will feel alienating.