Movies like Desmond (2016)
The best movies like Desmond (2016) are The Unforgivable (2021), All Day and a Night (2020) and O.G. (2018). If Desmond hooked you with its drama, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedThe Unforgivable (2021)7.4/10 from 2,173 votes
- Newest180 (2026)Released 2026
The Unforgivable (2021)
A woman is released from prison after serving a sentence for a violent crime and re-enters a society that refuses to forgive her past.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisAll Day and a Night (2020)
While serving life in prison, a young man looks back at the people, the circumstances and the system that set him on the path toward his crime.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisO.G. (2018)
Louis Menkins is five weeks away from being released after 26 years in prison. He is faced with the decision to put his own release at risk in order to protect a young man named Beecher from growing gang controversies.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisA Score to Settle (2019)
A former mob enforcer who is released from prison after serving 22 years for a crime he didn't commit sets out on a path for revenge against the people who wronged him.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisLorelei (2020)
A man is released from prison after 15 years. He reunites with his high school girlfriend, now a single mother of three. What follows is a lyrical take on love, regret and second chances.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisRiot in Cell Block 11 (1954)
A prisoner leads his counterparts in a protest for better living conditions which turns violent and ugly.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisConvict (2014)
Set in the dark and old Parramatta prison built by the original convicts our lead character Ray a war veteran finds himself serving 18 months for manslaughter after defending his fiance. He soon realizes that the prison boss has it in for him and does everything possible to break Ray even going after his fiance.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBrute Force (1947)
Timeworn Joe Collins and his fellow inmates live under the heavy thumb of the sadistic, power-tripping guard Captain Munsey. Only Collins' dreams of escape keep him going, but how can he possibly bust out of Munsey's chains?
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisNowhere to Run (1993)
Escaped convict Sam Gillen single-handedly takes on ruthless developers who are determined to evict a widow with two young children.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHome (2021)
An ex-felon returns home from prison and must confront the demons of his past.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBronson (2009)
A young man who was sentenced to 7 years in prison for robbing a post office ends up spending 30 years in solitary confinement. During this time, his own personality is supplanted by his alter ego, Charles Bronson.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisImperial Dreams (2014)
A 21-year-old reformed gangster's devotion to his family and his future is put to the test when he is released from prison and returns to his old stomping grounds in Watts, Los Angeles.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisLockdown (2000)
Avery (Jones) returns to college as a competitive swimmer after getting his life back on track. But his life takes another unexpected turn when he and his two friends (Bonds, Casseus) are wrongly accused of murder and end up in prison.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Good Neighbor (2022)
A nightmarish evening unfolds for neighbors David and Robert when they accidentally hit a woman on her bike and flee the scene. While David is increasingly plagued by feelings of guilt, Robert shows no remorse and becomes overbearing and possessive.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Trials of Cate McCall (2013)
In order to be reinstated to the bar and recover custody of her daughter, a hotshot lawyer, now in recovery and on probation, must take on the appeal of a woman wrongfully convicted of murder.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSouth of Heaven (2021)
Convicted felon Jimmy gets early parole after serving twelve years for armed robbery. Upon his release, he vows to give Annie, his childhood love, now dying from cancer, the best last year of her life – unfortunately it’s not that simple.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBad Boys (1983)
Mick O'Brien is a young Chicago street thug torn between a life of petty crime and the love of his girlfriend. But when the heist of a local drug dealer goes tragically wrong Mick is sentenced to a brutal juvenile prison where violence is a rite of passage and respect is measured in vengeance.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like this180 (2026)
When an unexpected road rage incident puts his son in critical condition, an enraged father spirals down a dark path of emotional turmoil and vengeance.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisThe Girl in the Book (2015)
The story of a young writer's transformation when her past invades her present.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisHounddog (2008)
A drama set in the American South, where a precocious, troubled girl finds a safe haven in the music and movement of Elvis Presley.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAfraid to Die (1960)
On his release from prison a young yakuza, along with his brother, decides to turn his back on criminal life instead of taking over the position of his recently deceased father, boss of the Asahina clan. But their exit proves more difficult than planned when their rival clan steps in to exact revenge.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Buffalo '66 (1998)
Billy is released after five years in prison. In the next moment, he kidnaps teenage student Layla and visits his parents with her, pretending she is his girlfriend and they will soon marry.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisWe'll Meet Again (2002)
Socialite Molly Lasch is released from prison after serving a six-year sentence for the murder of her husband, Dr. Gary Lasch. Now, with the help of Fran, an investigative reporter, Molly sets out to prove her innocence. Together they uncover a conspiracy of silence at the Lasch Medical Center and a shocking secret that could cost both women their lives.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Paul (1974)
After 7 years spent in jail Paul is free again. With his old crew he celebrates his return. Nothing seems to have changed. And soon Paul finds himself drunk as a skunk at a party in a Blankenese villa...
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Alone on Watch (1983)
Pavel is a teenager who has been just released from prison, unsuccessful in overcoming his guilt over a car accident which killed both of his parents. His reintegration in society is met with difficulty, the boy only having a few friends who still understand him, a painter and a sailor.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Zo (2024)
Follows Beecher and O'Reily after their release from Oz.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Hippocampus (2000)
Fresh out of prison, an ex-con and his girlfriend hit the road in pursuit of a multi-million-dollar stash promised by his former cellmate. However, with the police hot on their heels, getting their hands on the cash turns into a deadly trap.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Released (TBA)
An older convict is paroled and takes his wife from a nursing home to help him recover stolen money from a bank heist as a relentless prison guard is hot on his trail.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
She Mad: Bitch Zone (2020)
At a weeklong camp for teenage girls, a counselor leads the campers through a series of exercises that blend the language of female empowerment and body positivity with the kind of radical transparency that makes for good reality TV. The exercises culminate in a bizarre group confessional.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Basol (TBA)
Two Brothers who lost their parents at a young age navigate through their dreadful lives. As they both confront the trials of life, will they be able to restore their bond as brothers and heal each other in order to save their lives from life`s turmoils.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Desmond?
The closest matches to Desmond are The Unforgivable (2021), All Day and a Night (2020) and O.G. (2018). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Desmond?
Start with The Unforgivable (2021), the closest match to Desmond.
What is the highest-rated movie like Desmond?
The Unforgivable (2021), rated 7.4/10 by 2,173 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Desmond?
180 (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like Desmond?
Yes: The Unforgivable (2021), All Day and a Night (2020) and O.G. (2018).
How are movies similar to Desmond chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Desmond, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.