Movies like The Scarlet Mistress (1990)
The best movies like The Scarlet Mistress (1990) are The Human Stain (2003), Bad Sister (2015) and Trilogy of Terror (1975). If The Scarlet Mistress hooked you, these 20 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedThe Servant (1963)7.6/10 from 390 votes
- NewestCompulsion (2024)Released 2024
The Human Stain (2003)
Coleman Silk is a worldly and admired professor who loses his job after unwittingly making a racial slur. To clear his name, Silk writes a book about the events with his friend and colleague Nathan Zuckerman, who in the process discovers a dark secret Silk has hidden his whole life. All the while, Silk engages in an affair with Faunia Farley, a younger woman whose tormented past threatens to unravel the layers of deception Silk has constructed.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies 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
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisTrilogy of Terror (1975)
A horror anthology containing three stories: a female college professor is aggressively pursued by one of her students; a prudish brunette determines that her free-spirited blonde sister is evil; and a woman's night turns upside down after she purchases an ancient Zuni fetish doll.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBlack Widow (1987)
Federal agent Alexandra Barnes believes that Catherine Petersen is a serial killer who marries rich men and then murders them for their money. But since Catherine is seemingly a master of disguise and has multiple identities, Alexandra can't prove anything with conventional detective work. With no other option, she goes undercover, pursuing the same man as Catherine, and hoping that Catherine will slip up and reveal her true identity.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisRuthless People (1986)
Sam Stone hates his wife Barbara so much that he wants her dead. He's ecstatic when she's taken by a duo of kidnappers who want $500,000 ransom in exchange for her life. Fully intending to ignore every one of the kidnappers' demands in the hopes that they do him a favor and murder her for him, the two confused kidnappers have to figure out how they're going get their money, and what they're going to do with the overbearing Barbara.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCrimes of Passion (1984)
Fashion designer Joanna Crane leads a double life. By night she is China Blue, a prostitute who's attracted the attention of a sexually frustrated private detective, and a psychopathic priest in possession of a murderous sex toy.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMagic (1978)
A ventriloquist is at the mercy of his vicious dummy while he tries to renew a romance with his high school sweetheart.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSailing Into Love (2019)
A biology teacher’s crusade to save a nearby island from development leads to unexpected romance with the handsome and mysterious young sea captain who is new to the seaside town of Willow Bay.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe File on Thelma Jordon (1949)
Cleve Marshall, an assistant district attorney, falls for Thelma Jordon, a mysterious woman with a troubled past. When Thelma becomes a suspect in her aunt's murder, Cleve tries to clear her name.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCompulsion (2024)
Two women—Diana, a flamboyant and ruthless thief, and Evie, a seemingly innocent young woman with a troubled past—become embroiled in a series of horrific murders on the island of Malta.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Mating Habits of the Earthbound Human (1999)
David Hyde Pierce, playing an alien (credited as infinity-cubed in the opening credits), narrates a courtship in a late-20th century American city as an extraterrestrial nature documentary. The relationship "footage" is played straight, while the voice-over (with its most often wildly inaccurate theories) and elaborate visual metaphors add comedy.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Calling (2014)
Detective Hazel Micallef hasn't had much to worry about in the sleepy town of Port Dundas until a string of gruesome murders in the surrounding countryside brings her face to face with a serial killer driven by a higher calling.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
SnoozefestMovies like thisFocus (2015)
Nicky, an accomplished con artist, gets romantically involved with his disciple Jess but later ends their relationship. Years later, she returns as a femme fatale to spoil his plans.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like this52 Pick-Up (1986)
Harry Mitchell is a successful Los Angeles manufacturer whose wife is running for city council. His life is turned upside down when three blackmailers confront him with a videotape of him with his young mistress and demand $100,000. Fearing that the story will hurt his wife's political campaign if he goes to the police, Harry pretends that he will pay the men, but does not follow through.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisPetulia (1968)
Dr. Archie Bollen is having a midlife crisis. He's just divorced his wife and is establishing a new life for himself. One night, he catches the eye of Petulia Danner, a charming, free-spirited young woman. Petulia's vibrant personality hides her fear of her abusive husband, David, whose father is a powerful society figure. As Petulia and Archie's feelings for each other grow, they must decide what it is they truly want.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Paradine Case (1947)
In London, barrister Anthony Keane takes the case of Maddalena Paradine, a beautiful woman accused of poisoning her blind husband. Though happily married, Keane becomes infatuated with his enigmatic client and convinced of her innocence. His obsession clouds his judgment as he builds a defense implicating her servant, André Latour—an act that leads to devastating consequences both in court and at home.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Servant (1963)
An indolent aristocrat gets more than he bargained for when he hires a competent but silently devious manservant.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Woman on the Beach (1947)
A sailor suffering from post-traumatic stress becomes involved with a beautiful and enigmatic seductress married to a blind painter.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Man Who Cheated Himself (1950)
A veteran homicide detective who has witnessed his socialite girlfriend kill her husband sees his inexperienced brother assigned to the case.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Duke of Burgundy (2015)
Day in and day out, lovers Cynthia and Evelyn enact an elaborate sadomasochistic fantasy as mistress and maid. But as their ritual of domination and submission begins to turn stale, Cynthia yearns for something more conventional, while Evelyn tries to push their taboos even further.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like The Scarlet Mistress?
The closest matches to The Scarlet Mistress are The Human Stain (2003), Bad Sister (2015) and Trilogy of Terror (1975). Below are 17 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after The Scarlet Mistress?
Start with The Human Stain (2003), the closest match to The Scarlet Mistress.
What is the highest-rated movie like The Scarlet Mistress?
The Servant (1963), rated 7.6/10 by 390 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like The Scarlet Mistress?
Compulsion (2024) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like The Scarlet Mistress?
Yes: The Human Stain (2003), Bad Sister (2015) and Trilogy of Terror (1975).
How are movies similar to The Scarlet Mistress chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside The Scarlet Mistress, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.