40 Movies dealing in some way with the afterlife
by reh3959 | created - 19 May 2011 | updated - 27 Apr 2015 | PublicGhosts, Heaven, what-have-you. I bet there are many I'm not thinking of. I welcome your suggestions.
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1. Always (1989)
PG | 122 min | Drama, Fantasy, Romance
The spirit of a recently deceased expert pilot mentors a newer pilot while watching him fall in love with the girlfriend that he left behind.
Director: Steven Spielberg | Stars: Richard Dreyfuss, Holly Hunter, Brad Johnson, John Goodman
Votes: 32,790 | Gross: $43.86M
2. Bedazzled (2000)
PG-13 | 93 min | Comedy, Fantasy
Hopeless dweeb Elliot Richards is granted seven wishes by the Devil to snare Allison, the girl of his dreams, in exchange for his soul.
Director: Harold Ramis | Stars: Brendan Fraser, Elizabeth Hurley, Frances O'Connor, Miriam Shor
Votes: 112,235 | Gross: $37.88M
3. Beetlejuice (1988)
PG | 92 min | Comedy, Fantasy
The spirits of a deceased couple are harassed by an unbearable family that has moved into their home, and hire a malicious spirit to drive them out.
Director: Tim Burton | Stars: Alec Baldwin, Geena Davis, Michael Keaton, Annie McEnroe
Votes: 340,012 | Gross: $73.71M
4. Chances Are (1989)
PG | 108 min | Comedy, Fantasy, Romance
A reincarnated man unknowingly falls in love with his own daughter from his previous life. Once he realizes this, he tries to end their relationship before angels erase his memory.
Director: Emile Ardolino | Stars: Cybill Shepherd, Robert Downey Jr., Ryan O'Neal, Mary Stuart Masterson
Votes: 13,843 | Gross: $16.28M
5. Charlie St. Cloud (2010)
PG-13 | 99 min | Drama, Fantasy, Romance
After Charlie survives a car crash that kills his younger brother, he is given the gift of seeing the spirits of his brother and others who he has lost, and must use his powers to save the woman he loves from impending disaster.
Director: Burr Steers | Stars: Zac Efron, Kim Basinger, Charlie Tahan, Amanda Crew
Votes: 64,702 | Gross: $31.16M
6. City of Angels (1998)
PG-13 | 114 min | Drama, Fantasy, Romance
An angel on Earth, a doctor unable to believe, a patient with a secret, a love story made in Heaven.
Director: Brad Silberling | Stars: Nicolas Cage, Meg Ryan, Andre Braugher, Dennis Franz
Votes: 127,756 | Gross: $78.69M
7. Defending Your Life (1991)
PG | 112 min | Comedy, Drama, Fantasy
In an afterlife way-station resembling a major city, the lives of the recently deceased are examined in a court-like setting.
Director: Albert Brooks | Stars: Albert Brooks, Meryl Streep, Rip Torn, Lee Grant
Votes: 21,286 | Gross: $16.37M
8. The Devil and Max Devlin (1981)
PG | 96 min | Comedy, Family, Fantasy
Max, a dead corrupt businessman, makes a Faustian pact with Satan's henchman to drive three people to Hell in exchange for longer life. Soon Max realizes that there still may be good in him.
Director: Steven Hilliard Stern | Stars: Elliott Gould, Bill Cosby, Susan Anspach, Adam Rich
Votes: 1,442 | Gross: $16.00M
9. Field of Dreams (1989)
PG | 107 min | Drama, Family, Fantasy
Iowa farmer Ray Kinsella is inspired by a voice he can't ignore to pursue a dream he can hardly believe. Supported by his wife, Ray begins the quest by turning his ordinary cornfield into a place where dreams can come true.
Director: Phil Alden Robinson | Stars: Kevin Costner, James Earl Jones, Ray Liotta, Amy Madigan
Votes: 128,056 | Gross: $64.43M
10. The Final Cut (2004)
PG-13 | 95 min | Drama, Sci-Fi, Thriller
Set in a world with memory recording implants, Alan Hakman is a cutter, someone with the power of final edit over people's recorded histories. His latest assignment is one that puts him in danger.
Director: Omar Naim | Stars: Robin Williams, Jim Caviezel, Mira Sorvino, Mimi Kuzyk
Votes: 34,494 | Gross: $0.55M
A little convoluted perhaps but I felt it qualified
11. The Five People You Meet in Heaven (2004 TV Movie)
Not Rated | 180 min | Drama, Fantasy
An elderly amusement park maintenance man, Eddie, is trapped in purgatory and the only way out is to confront five people from his past. Unfortunately, dark secrets from his service in the Philippines begin to haunt him.
Director: Lloyd Kramer | Stars: Jon Voight, Ellen Burstyn, Jeff Daniels, Dagmara Dominczyk
Votes: 6,137
12. The Frighteners (1996)
R | 110 min | Comedy, Fantasy, Horror
After a tragic car accident that kills his wife, a man discovers he can communicate with the dead, and he uses that gift to con people. However, when a demonic spirit appears, he may be the only one who can stop it from killing the living and the dead.
Director: Peter Jackson | Stars: Michael J. Fox, Trini Alvarado, Peter Dobson, John Astin
Votes: 95,475 | Gross: $16.76M
13. Ghost (1990)
PG-13 | 127 min | Drama, Fantasy, Romance
After a young man is murdered, his spirit stays behind to warn his lover of impending danger, with the help of a reluctant psychic.
Director: Jerry Zucker | Stars: Patrick Swayze, Demi Moore, Whoopi Goldberg, Tony Goldwyn
Votes: 235,894 | Gross: $217.63M
14. The Ghost and Mrs. Muir (1947)
Not Rated | 104 min | Comedy, Drama, Fantasy
In 1900, a young widow finds her seaside cottage is haunted and forms a unique relationship with the ghost.
Director: Joseph L. Mankiewicz | Stars: Gene Tierney, Rex Harrison, George Sanders, Edna Best
Votes: 20,872
15. Ghostbusters (1984)
PG | 105 min | Action, Comedy, Fantasy
Three parapsychologists forced out of their university funding set up shop as a unique ghost removal service in New York City, attracting frightened yet skeptical customers.
Director: Ivan Reitman | Stars: Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Sigourney Weaver, Harold Ramis
Votes: 450,019 | Gross: $238.63M
16. Ghostbusters II (1989)
PG | 108 min | Action, Comedy, Fantasy
The discovery of a massive river of ectoplasm and a resurgence of spectral activity allows the staff of Ghostbusters to revive the business.
Director: Ivan Reitman | Stars: Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Sigourney Weaver, Harold Ramis
Votes: 224,729 | Gross: $112.49M
17. Ghost Cat (2004 TV Movie)
PG | 90 min | Drama, Family, Mystery
A young girl and her father move into an old house haunted by the presence of a dead former resident and her beloved cat.
Director: Don McBrearty | Stars: Michael Ontkean, Elliot Page, Lori Hallier, Shirley Knight
Votes: 632
Known to me as "Ghost Cat"
18. Ghost Town (I) (2008)
PG-13 | 102 min | Comedy, Drama, Fantasy
Bertram Pincus is a man whose people skills leave much to be desired. When Pincus dies unexpectedly, but is miraculously revived after seven minutes, he wakes up to discover that he now has the annoying ability to see ghosts.
Director: David Koepp | Stars: Ricky Gervais, Greg Kinnear, Téa Leoni, Jordan Carlos
Votes: 77,892 | Gross: $13.21M
19. Goodbye Charlie (1964)
Approved | 116 min | Comedy, Fantasy, Romance
Womanizing Charlie is shot by an angry husband and falls in the sea. He arrives home after his memorial as a cute, amnesic woman. His old friend helps her/him.
Director: Vincente Minnelli | Stars: Tony Curtis, Debbie Reynolds, Pat Boone, Joanna Barnes
Votes: 2,024
20. A Guy Named Joe (1943)
Passed | 120 min | Drama, Fantasy, Romance
A dead World War II bomber pilot, Pete Sandidge becomes the guardian angel of another pilot, Ted Randall. He guides Ted through battle and helping him to romance his old girlfriend, despite her excessive devotion to Sandidge's memory.
Director: Victor Fleming | Stars: Spencer Tracy, Irene Dunne, Van Johnson, Ward Bond
Votes: 2,913
21. Haunter (2013)
Not Rated | 97 min | Fantasy, Horror, Mystery
A teenager is stuck in a time loop that is not quite the same each time. She must uncover the truth, but her actions have consequences for herself and others.
Director: Vincenzo Natali | Stars: Abigail Breslin, Peter Outerbridge, Michelle Nolden, Stephen McHattie
Votes: 18,699
22. Heart and Souls (1993)
PG-13 | 104 min | Comedy, Drama, Fantasy
An unhappy businessman finds a new sense of purpose after he's tasked with helping a quartet of ghosts fulfill their last wishes before moving on to the afterlife.
Director: Ron Underwood | Stars: Robert Downey Jr., Charles Grodin, Alfre Woodard, Kyra Sedgwick
Votes: 18,935 | Gross: $16.58M
23. Heaven Can Wait (1943)
Passed | 112 min | Comedy, Drama, Fantasy
An old roué arrives in Hades to review his life with Satan, who will rule on his eligibility to enter the Underworld.
Director: Ernst Lubitsch | Stars: Gene Tierney, Don Ameche, Charles Coburn, Marjorie Main
Votes: 12,362
24. Heaven Can Wait (1978)
PG | 101 min | Comedy, Fantasy, Romance
A Los Angeles Rams quarterback, accidentally taken away from his body by an overanxious angel before he was meant to die, returns to life in the body of a recently murdered millionaire.
Directors: Warren Beatty, Buck Henry | Stars: Warren Beatty, James Mason, Julie Christie, Jack Warden
Votes: 23,514 | Gross: $81.64M
25. Hereafter (2010)
PG-13 | 129 min | Drama, Fantasy, Romance
An American construction worker, a French journalist and a London school boy set out on a spiritual journey after death touches their lives in different ways.
Director: Clint Eastwood | Stars: Matt Damon, Cécile de France, Bryce Dallas Howard, Thierry Neuvic
Votes: 95,476 | Gross: $32.75M
26. Here Comes Mr. Jordan (1941)
Passed | 94 min | Comedy, Fantasy, Romance
Boxer Joe Pendleton dies 50 years too soon due to a heavenly mistake, and is given a new life as a millionaire playboy.
Director: Alexander Hall | Stars: Robert Montgomery, Claude Rains, Evelyn Keyes, Rita Johnson
Votes: 7,378
27. If I Stay (2014)
PG-13 | 107 min | Drama, Fantasy, Music
Life changes in an instant for young Mia Hall after a car accident puts her in a coma. During an out-of-body experience, she must decide whether to wake up and live a life far different than she had imagined. The choice is hers if she can go on.
Director: R.J. Cutler | Stars: Chloë Grace Moretz, Mireille Enos, Jamie Blackley, Joshua Leonard
Votes: 128,242 | Gross: $50.47M
28. It's a Wonderful Life (1946)
PG | 130 min | Drama, Family, Fantasy
An angel is sent from Heaven to help a desperately frustrated businessman by showing him what life would have been like if he had never existed.
Director: Frank Capra | Stars: James Stewart, Donna Reed, Lionel Barrymore, Thomas Mitchell
Votes: 499,064
29. Just Like Heaven (2005)
PG-13 | 95 min | Comedy, Drama, Fantasy
A lonely landscape architect falls for the spirit of the beautiful woman who used to live in his new apartment.
Director: Mark Waters | Stars: Reese Witherspoon, Mark Ruffalo, Donal Logue, Dina Spybey-Waters
Votes: 117,345 | Gross: $48.32M
30. Kiss Me Goodbye (1982)
PG | 101 min | Comedy, Fantasy, Romance
The ghost of a dead husband haunts his wife as she moves back to their house in NYC. She's about to marry an egyptologist there.
Director: Robert Mulligan | Stars: Sally Field, James Caan, Jeff Bridges, Paul Dooley
Votes: 2,433 | Gross: $15.78M
31. The Lovely Bones (2009)
PG-13 | 135 min | Drama, Fantasy, Thriller
Centers on a young girl who has been murdered and watches over her family - and her killer - from purgatory. She must weigh her desire for vengeance against her desire for her family to heal.
Director: Peter Jackson | Stars: Rachel Weisz, Mark Wahlberg, Saoirse Ronan, Susan Sarandon
Votes: 179,910 | Gross: $43.82M
32. Made in Heaven (1987)
PG | 103 min | Comedy, Fantasy, Romance
After being dumped by his girlfriend, a boy runs away to California. But he ends up in heaven because he dies after trying to help a family from drowning in a river. In heaven he'll meet a beautiful girl, who has never reincarnated before.
Director: Alan Rudolph | Stars: Timothy Hutton, Kelly McGillis, Maureen Stapleton, Ann Wedgeworth
Votes: 3,683 | Gross: $4.57M
33. Meet Joe Black (1998)
PG-13 | 178 min | Drama, Fantasy, Romance
Death, who takes the form of a young man killed in an accident, asks a media mogul to act as his guide to teach him about life on Earth and, in the process, he falls in love with the mogul's daughter.
Director: Martin Brest | Stars: Brad Pitt, Anthony Hopkins, Claire Forlani, Jake Weber
Votes: 264,775 | Gross: $44.62M
34. Passengers (2008)
PG-13 | 93 min | Mystery, Romance, Thriller
A grief counselor working with a group of plane-crash survivors finds herself at the root of a mystery when her clients begin to disappear.
Director: Rodrigo García | Stars: Anne Hathaway, Patrick Wilson, David Morse, Andre Braugher
Votes: 39,253 | Gross: $0.27M
35. Shuffle (2011)
PG-13 | 82 min | Drama, Fantasy, Mystery
A man begins to experience his life out of order: each time he falls asleep, he wakes up on a different day of his life, at a different age, and he never knows where or when he will be "tomorrow."
Director: Kurt Kuenne | Stars: T.J. Thyne, Paula Rhodes, Chris Stone, Meeghan Holaway
Votes: 1,934
36. The Sixth Sense (1999)
PG-13 | 107 min | Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Malcolm Crowe, a child psychologist, starts treating a young boy, Cole, who encounters dead people and convinces him to help them. In turn, Cole helps Malcolm reconcile with his estranged wife.
Director: M. Night Shyamalan | Stars: Bruce Willis, Haley Joel Osment, Toni Collette, Olivia Williams
Votes: 1,051,144 | Gross: $293.51M
37. Switch (1991)
R | 103 min | Comedy, Fantasy
A sexist womanizer is killed by one of his former lovers and then reincarnated as a woman.
Director: Blake Edwards | Stars: Ellen Barkin, Jimmy Smits, JoBeth Williams, Lorraine Bracco
Votes: 10,501 | Gross: $15.55M
38. Vanilla Sky (2001)
R | 136 min | Fantasy, Mystery, Romance
A self-indulgent and vain publishing magnate finds his privileged life upended after a vehicular accident with a resentful lover.
Director: Cameron Crowe | Stars: Tom Cruise, Penélope Cruz, Cameron Diaz, Kurt Russell
Votes: 285,657 | Gross: $100.61M
Again - a bit of a stretch but since it's my list I say it qualifies.
39. What Dreams May Come (1998)
PG-13 | 113 min | Drama, Fantasy, Romance
Chris Nielsen dies in an accident, and enters Heaven. But when he discovers that his beloved wife Annie has killed herself out of grief over the loss, he embarks on an afterlife adventure to reunite with her.
Director: Vincent Ward | Stars: Robin Williams, Cuba Gooding Jr., Annabella Sciorra, Max von Sydow
Votes: 114,396 | Gross: $55.49M
40. Wristcutters: A Love Story (2006)
R | 88 min | Comedy, Drama, Fantasy
A film set in a strange afterlife way station that has been reserved for people who have committed suicide.
Director: Goran Dukic | Stars: Patrick Fugit, Shea Whigham, Tom Waits, Will Arnett
Votes: 57,699 | Gross: $0.32M
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