The Netflix horror musical film ‘The Piano Lesson’ transports the viewers to the aftermath of the Great Depression in the 1930s. The Doaker Charles household houses an heirloom piano that carries the marks carved by the family’s ancestors who were enslaved on the same land. For the same reason, Berniece wants to preserve the instrument as a monument to the Charles family’s aggrieved past and a symbol of their hard-earned freedom. However, her brother, Boy Willie, doesn’t share the same idea. Instead, he wants to sell the piano and use its spoils to buy the land that still belongs to the long-dead white enslaver, Sutter. Consequently, as the two siblings remain unflinching in their opinion, Sutter’s haunting presence circles the family, reopening ancestral wounds of the past.
Marking Malcolm Washington’s feature-length directorial debut, this film—adapted from August Wilson’s eponymous play—presents a thrilling narrative ripe with themes of intergenerational trauma, the past’s wistful plaguing nature, and familial complications. Consequently, if these thematic beats have caught your attention, we’ve compiled a list of films similar to ‘The Piano Lesson’ for you.
10. Talk to Me (2023)
Directed by filmmaking duo Danny and Michael Philippou, ‘Talk to Me‘ is a horror thriller film that centers around a group of teens who fall victim to a menacing artifact. The film’s protagonist, Mia, and her friends come across an eerie embalmed hand and discover that it can be used to open the door to the other side of the mortal plane. Nevertheless, as they go too far in their playful exploration of the same, they end up accidentally leaving the door gaping open. Thus, the group falls victim to the terrors of supernatural forces that begin haunting their worlds.
The horror in ‘Talk to Me’ is a blend of tangible, supernatural antagonists and the more metaphorical ghosts of the past. As a result, the film offers the blood-curling panic expected of the genre while also delving into the subject of familial trauma. Thus, if you were intrigued by ‘The Piano Lesson’ but left seeking more hefty scares, this might be the film for you.
9. Hereditary (2018)
Ari Aster’s ‘Hereditary‘ is one of the most compelling horror films that encapsulates the nuances of generational trauma—a topic that will be a point of interest to ‘The Piano Lesson’ fans. The film revolves around Annie Graham and her family, who are suffering from the recent loss of the matriarch’s ill mother. As the family carries the burden of this tragedy, Annie and her daughter, Charlie, find themselves uncovering secrets of old that reveal cryptic truths about their ancestors and the sinister inheritance they have imparted upon their successors.
As a result, disturbing occurrences begin plaguing the Graham family, turning their lives into a living nightmare. Although ‘Hereditary’ and ‘The Piano Lesson’ seem mismatched at first glance, both films share their haunting exploration of traumatic phantoms that a family inherits over time.
8. Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom (2020)
If ‘The Piano Lesson’ has endeared you to the work of August Wilson—the original playwright behind the story—then ‘Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom’ would make for the perfect next watch. Adapting Wilson’s eponymous 1982 play under George C. Wolfe’s direction, ‘Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom’ is a historical musical film that chronicles the story of Ma Rainey and her band over the course of one studio recording session in 1927. Yet, rising tensions create complications as the legendary blues singer prepares to record her new trailblazing vinyl with her band, including trumpeter Levee and his big dreams.
As the film unravels these complications, socio-political themes emerge of African-American oppression, harmful generational gaps, and the weight of decades of legacy. Playwright Wilson’s work remains known for depicting the African-American experience of the 20th century—a defining element that shines in both ‘Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom’ and ‘The Piano Lesson.’
7. Us (2019)
Inspired by an episode of ‘The Twilight Zone,’ Jordan Peele’s ‘Us’ is a psychological horror film that tackles the layered intricacies of discrimination in a class-based society. While the Wilson family is on a Californian beach-side vacation, Adelaide Wilson remains worried about the feeling of a looming threat. Consequently, her worst nightmares come true when a strange family shows up on her driveway one night. Stranger still is the fact that this second family wears the same face as the Wilsons, becoming their nightmarish doppelgangers.
‘Us’ delves into a macabre manifestation of trauma, which remains reminiscent of the ghost haunting the Charles family in ‘The Piano Lesson.’ As such, this film offers an observation of themes similar to the latter film.
6. Never Let Go (2024)
‘Never Let Go‘ charts an intriguing horror story about a family and the ghosts that haunt their secluded worlds. The Alexandre Aja film revolves around two boys, Sam and Nolan, who live in a remote cabin in the woods with their mother, Momma, and their dog, Coda. The family survives in a time when evil supernatural forces have taken over the world, making it so that their cabin is the only safe haven they can rely on. For the same reason, Momma and her kids tether themselves to each other and their house with ropes every time they go out. However, once one of the boys begins doubting the reality of this threat, the real horror of their situation unravels.
‘Never Let Go’ deals with a more immediate trauma of generational bonds by deciphering the nuances of mother-son relationships. Likewise, the story also subscribes notable significance to the central sibling dynamic, which remains reflective of Boy Willie and Berniece’s driving disagreement in ‘The Piano Lesson.’
5. Qala (2022)
Anvita Dutt’s ‘Qala‘ is an Indian music drama film set in the 1930s that follows the life of the titular skilled musician. Qala Manjushree is a rising voice in India’s pre-independence film industry. However, the musician has a secret past that continues haunting her in the face of her mounting success. The same, paired with her increasingly taut relationship with her mother—that stems from an instrumental traumatic incident from her past—eventually leads to her self-constructed doom.
This film presents a psychologically terrifying take on the ghosts of one’s past that eventually become the source of their life’s overwhelming horror. This unique study into a person’s trauma is bound to remind viewers of ‘The Piano Lesson.’
4. Everything Everywhere All at Once (2022)
Dan Kwan and Daniel Scheinert’s sci-fi film ‘Everything Everywhere All at Once‘ is a mixed bag of genres that dives headfirst into an outlandish journey that examines the nuances of life and destiny. The central character, Evelyn Wang, a Chinese immigrant in an unhappy marriage, complicated familial dynamics, and a sinking business, finds herself sucked into an interdimensional rupture that opens up a whole new array of realities. Consequently, now she must tap into the powers of her multiversal self to save her universe—and countless others around it.
‘Everything Everywhere All at Once’ is an incredibly profound yet humorously inclined story that expands across various themes and storylines. However, the relationship Evelyn shares with her family in terms of inheritance, legacy, and life will become the most appealing factor for ‘The Piano Lesson’ fans.
3. The Color Purple (2023)
In ‘The Color Purple,’ Director Blitz Bazawule adapts Marsha Norman’s eponymous stage play and presents a story about a Black woman’s experiences in 1900s rural Georgia. After growing up in an abusive household under a devious father figure, Celie Johnson’s life continues devolving into tragedy. She’s separated from her younger sister, Nettie, in favor of a marriage with Mister, another man who becomes a tormentor of Celie’s life. Yet, a beacon of hope emerges as the woman finds friendship and camaraderie in Shug Avery and Sofia, fellow Black women who help her embark on a path to happiness through self-discovery.
‘The Color Purple’ possesses the same nuanced understanding of the African-American experience that remains at the center of ‘The Piano Lesson.’ Furthermore, it depicts the historical reality of racism and its persisting after-effects in a realistic and authentic light. Therefore, if you’re a fan of the historical genre in connection to African-American stories, this film is a must-watch.
2. Antebellum (2020)
Gerard Bush and Christopher Renz’s ‘Antebellum‘ is an exceptional horror film that presents an unnerving story about the persisting terrors of racism. The film follows Veronica Henley, a successful author with an incredible career and family. However, her life turns upside down when unknown adversaries abduct her. Following her abduction, the narrative shifts to the story of Eden, who lives on a Civil War-era plantation as a slave under the cruelties of white exploiters. Consequently, menacing truths about the past, present, and future emerge as these two near-identical women’s perplexingly overlapping narratives collide.
‘Antebellum’ is a mysterious tale that confronts the agonies of America’s racially distraught past and its present-day ramifications. Consequently, this story dives into the themes of the traumas unique to the African-American experience and provides a concept intimately similar to ‘The Piano Lesson.’
1. Fences (2016)
‘Fences,’ a Denzel Washington directorial, is another adaptation of August Wilson’s eponymous play that fans of his work are bound to enjoy. The film is set in 1950s Pittsburgh, where Troy Maxson resides with his unfulfilled dreams of becoming a baseball player. Since professional leagues only began admitting black athletes once he got too old for the game; he had to settle for a different life as a sanitation worker. Therefore, when the opportunity arises for his son, Cory, to have a future in college football, Troy opposes the idea, unwilling to let his son make the same mistakes as him. Nonetheless, the wedge between the father-son duo grows in the bitter complications that arise.
This film is an incredibly earnest insight into the realities of generational trauma within African-American communities, exponentiated by society’s historic racial discrimination. Although the film doesn’t possess an outward horror antagonist and takes place decades after ‘The Piano Lesson,’ it still possesses the same spirit of perseverance in the face of indelible damage that Wilson’s work excels at.
Read More: The Piano Lesson Ending, Explained
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