Movies like Nun's Diary: Confession (1979)
The best movies like Nun's Diary: Confession (1979) are The House on Carroll Street (1988), The Truth About Emanuel (2013) and Little Boy Blue (1998). If Nun's Diary: Confession hooked you with its drama and thriller, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedThe Good Neighbor (2022)6.7/10 from 215 votes
- NewestNot Without Hope (2025)Released 2025
- In JapaneseFemale Yakuza Tale (1973)Also in Japanese
The House on Carroll Street (1988)
A reporter, fired after refusing to give names to a 1951 House Un-American Activities Committee, takes a part-time job as companion to an old lady. While working she overhears a noisy argument in the neighboring house, being conducted largely in German and involving her HUAC prosecutor. She begins to investigate, enlisting the help of the FBI Agent initially detailed to surveil her.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Truth About Emanuel (2013)
A troubled young woman becomes obsessed with her mysterious new neighbor, who bears a striking resemblance to the girl's dead mother.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisLittle Boy Blue (1998)
Living in rural Texas is a dysfunctional family: an abusive dad, a Vietnam vet with a war wound that's left him impotent; a compliant wife and a son of about 20, two small sons who look a lot like their brother. The dad harbors a secret, and he goes to murderous lengths to keep it hidden. The young man, Jimmy, who has suspicions, but little comes out until a Yankee woman comes to town.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & thriller
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 thriller & 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 & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Lords of Discipline (1983)
Will arrives for his last year at Military Academy, in the Deep South USA, in the 1960's. A black student, Pearce, has been accepted, for the first time and Will is asked to keep an eye out for the inevitable racism. The racists come in the form of The Ten, a secret group of the elite students. They want Pearce to leave on his own free will, but are prepared to torture him to make it 'his free will'. Will is forced to help Pearce and he is prepared to risk his own career to do so.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisRose Plays Julie (2021)
A story of a young woman searching for her biological mother. Set against a backdrop of misogyny, revenge, and longing, Rose undertakes a journey that leads her to revelations that are both devastating and dangerous.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & thriller
SnoozefestMovies like thisSuburbia (1984)
When household tensions and a sense of worthlessness overcome Evan, he finds escape when he clings with the orphans of a throw-away society. The runaways hold on to each other like a family until a tragedy tears them apart.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like this6 Below: Miracle on the Mountain (2017)
An adrenaline seeking snowboarder gets lost in a massive winter storm in the back country of the High Sierras where he is pushed to the limits of human endurance and forced to battle his own personal demons as he fights for survival....
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller & drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisDevil's Pond (2003)
After a brief courtship, Julianne marries her handsome boyfriend, Mitch. To celebrate their honeymoon, the couple travel to a remote cabin on a small island. When they arrive, however, Mitch becomes aggressive and physically abusive, and Julianne soon realizes he's not the ideal husband she once thought he was. Knowing that Mitch doesn't plan on ever letting her leave the island, Julianne, who is afraid of water, must find a way to escape.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSplit (2016)
The story of a young woman who takes an epic journey to claim her own darkness and sexuality so she can stop putting it into the hands of her abusive lover. When Inanna, a young actress, working as a stripper, becomes obsessed with a mask maker, she sacrifices parts of herself and her life, piece by piece, in order to win his love. At the same time she enters a mythic journey in the theater. One that forces her to face the many abuses endured by women around that world and that blurs her performance, her dreams and her real life and results in a provocative and powerful confrontation that frees her. -- from official website
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & thriller
SnoozefestMovies like thisFemale Yakuza Tale (1973)
Ocho is accidentally captured by a drug trafficking cartel who use Chinese women to smuggle drugs into Japan by hiding it in their vaginas. She is tortured, and manages to escape, fighting both the male yakuzas and a gang of female thieves.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Wasp (2024)
Heather bumps into Carla, having not spoken to her in years, and presents her with a very unexpected proposition that could change both of their lives forever.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisNot Without Hope (2025)
A group of friends' fishing boat capsizes off the coast of Mexico and they're left alone stranded at sea and struggling for survival.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisFemale Prisoner Scorpion: Jailhouse 41 (1972)
After being used and betrayed by the detective she had fallen in love with, young Matsu is sent to a female prison full of sadistic guards and disobedient prisoners.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & thriller
Worth the HypeMovies like thisBad Sister (2015)
As a top student at St. Adeline's Catholic Boarding School, Zoe senses that something is not quite right about the school's new nun-- a sense proven to be true when it is revealed the "good' nun is an imposter with a fatal attraction to Zoe's brother.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAngel Guts: Red Classroom (1979)
A porn magazine editor stumbles upon an amateur gang rape film and, struck by the girl's acting, decides to find her.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Eel (1997)
A businessman kills his adulterous wife and is sent to prison. After his release, he opens a barbershop and meets new people, talking to almost no one except for an eel he befriended while in prison.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisTokyo Decadence (1992)
A submissive hooker goes about her trade, suffering abuse at the hands of Japanese salarymen and Yakuza types. She's unhappy about her work, and is apparently trying to find some sort of appeasement for the fact that her lover has married.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisPanic (2000)
Alex is going through a midlife crisis and it has become a very difficult time for him. His marriage is struggling, he's worried about his son, and his job of killing people for his family has become the most stressful part of his life. He seeks the help of a therapist and meets a woman in the waiting room that he connects with.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisPainful Bliss: Final Twist (1977)
A young executive has a really bad night after an encounter with a crazed bisexual wannabe yakuza and his horny girlfriend.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
My Favorite Wife is Addicted to Sex (1997)
Hinako, a married woman, feels unsatisfied with her married life with her husband, Takashi, so she suddenly declares a domestic separation and indulges in an affair with Shima, her senior from high school. Meanwhile, Hinako was confused when Yuri, whom she met at her favorite snack bar, asked her out.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Married Woman Boutique: Women Indulging in Scandalous Love Affair (2002)
Kimie steps into a boutique each day to support her household in place of her husband, who is unable to work due to heart disease—while her own spirit aches with longing. She surrenders willingly to the irresistible pull of Tsukuda, the dashing apparel‐maker’s salesman whose whispered promises slip between her legs like silk. Kenji, burning to reclaim his former glory, watches his world unravel when he discovers the affair that simmered beneath Kimie’s restraint. And as the truth of Kimie’s glowing secret—her pregnancy—dawns on him, his reproaches choke in his throat, meeting instead a startling, fervent embrace from the woman he thought he knew…
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Demeking (1998)
When he is hit by a car on the street, the young man Daikoku foresees the monster Demking appearing at the end of the century. In preparation for the coming confrontation with the Demeking, he organizes a modern-day Seven Lucky Gods composed entirely of antisocial people. This is a utopian epic that, despite the ridiculousness of the story, is the most powerful depiction of the motifs seen in the first two films, which attempt to play on the sense of apocalypse through unrealistic imagination, while staying within a tenuous sense of reality.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Gigolo: A Docu-Drama (1982)
Kabukicho, Shinjuku, the number one entertainment district in Japan. There are professional gigolos who make this sleepless city their base and get what they want, from money and women to desire. They are the "gigolo" gang led by the charismatic Naoki Fushimi. Akira, Yuki, and Ryoma are aiming to become full-fledged gigolos. Akira has a girlfriend named Mariko who is a model for vinyl magazines. But that's not enough for a gigolo. For a gigolo, having sex for free is meaningless. Yuki finds a soapland girl named Misa, and Ryoma finds a woman named Yoko, and they spend a sensual night together. Meanwhile, Akira is taken by Mariko to help with a vinyl magazine shoot. Akira is getting increasingly impatient with his life, which can hardly be called gigolo...
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Tutor Touching (2018)
Seiji (Yasuyuki Sakurai), who dropped out of high school, was aiming for high school graduation and university entrance exams, thanks in part to his private tutor Chieko (Sumire Nagai). Chieko is an active female college student, and Seiji's age and home environment are close, so her mother, Fumie (Handa Sasa), pours her excessive interference into her son. It made me hate. One day, Fumie discovers that her classmate Midori (Miu Kiritani), who likes Seiji, is about to have her first experience with Seiji, and she is furious. She even ripped the two apart with her insane protests to Midori's parents. A few days later, Seiji, who has cut off his relationship, promises to meet Midori in the park at night, but Fumie quietly follows Seiji, who has left home...
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Coming Out, Our Declaration as a Couple (1993)
A suspicious man named Yoshioka, who claims to be a friend of Takashi's late father, offers a car as payment for two university students acting in a private adult video. The two friends Takashi and Shogo desperately want a car to make their campus life more meaningful, so they reluctantly agree to appear in a gay adult video together. They somehow manage to get through the humiliating filming and get the promised car. Takashi thinks he'll never do it again, but at that moment something he doesn't realize is beginning to sprout inside him. The next day, Takashi is called by Yoshioka to visit his office. Yoshioka's sponsor, a man who calls himself Hayami, appears before Takashi. Hayami asks Takashi to appear in another gay adult video, and if he refuses, he will copy Yoshioka's tape and distribute it everywhere. Takashi succumbs to the blackmail threats, but during the filming of the video, Shogo looks for him.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Rose Youth (1992)
Takeo is a university student struggling to pay off his loans and lives a tight life while working part-time as a male escort. For him, sex is just about money or pleasure. After picking up a female university student, Takeo catches a sexually transmitted disease and his debts and medical expenses pile up, putting him in a desperate situation. Then another man called Shinji comes up with a brilliant idea.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Crazy as Hell (1992)
Takeshi, an up-and-coming fashion designer, is being courted by his manager Ichiro, but somehow manages to escape. He didn't hate Ichiro, but there was something about him that made him want to avoid him..
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Two People Like This (1998)
Junnosuke and Kazuhiko are a couple who live with each other. However, one day Kazuhiko gets drunk and sleeps with a female employee of the company and she gets pregnant.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Nun's Diary: Confession?
The closest matches to Nun's Diary: Confession are The House on Carroll Street (1988), The Truth About Emanuel (2013) and Little Boy Blue (1998). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Nun's Diary: Confession?
Start with The House on Carroll Street (1988), the closest match to Nun's Diary: Confession.
What is the highest-rated movie like Nun's Diary: Confession?
The Good Neighbor (2022), rated 6.7/10 by 215 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Nun's Diary: Confession?
Not Without Hope (2025) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there Japanese movies like Nun's Diary: Confession?
Yes: Female Yakuza Tale (1973), Female Prisoner Scorpion: Jailhouse 41 (1972) and Angel Guts: Red Classroom (1979).
How are movies similar to Nun's Diary: Confession chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Nun's Diary: Confession, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.