Movies like Malay Tao
The best movies like Malay Tao are Pariah (2011), Totally F***ed Up (1994) and Appropriate Behavior (2015). If Malay Tao hooked you, these 20 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedI Can't Think Straight (2008)7.5/10 from 341 votes
- NewestLeviticus (2026)Released 2026
Pariah (2011)
A Brooklyn teenager juggles conflicting identities and risks friendship, heartbreak, and family in a desperate search for sexual expression.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisTotally F***ed Up (1994)
Gay, alienated Los Angeles teens have a hard time as their parents kick them out of their homes, they don’t have money, their lovers cheat, and they are harassed by gay-bashers.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAppropriate Behavior (2015)
Shirin is struggling to become an ideal Persian daughter, politically correct bisexual and hip young Brooklynite but fails miserably in her attempt at all identities.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisI Can't Think Straight (2008)
Tala, a London-based Palestinian, is preparing for her elaborate Middle Eastern wedding when she meets Leyla, a young British Indian woman who is dating her best friend. Spirited Christian Tala and shy Muslim Leyla could not be more different from each other, but the attraction is immediate and goes deeper than friendship. But Tala is not ready to accept the implications of the choice her heart has made for her and escapes back to Jordan, while Leyla tries to move on with her new-found life, to the shock of her tradition-loving parents. As Tala's wedding day approaches, simmering tensions come to boiling point and the pressure mounts for Tala to be true to herself.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisPink Narcissus (1971)
An outrageous erotic poem focusing on the daydreams of a beautiful boy prostitute who, from the seclusion of his ultra-kitsch apartment, conceives a series of interlinked narcissistic fantasies populated by matadors, dancing boys, slaves, and leather-clad bikers.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBenjamin (2019)
Benjamin, a rising star filmmaker, is on the brink of premiering his difficult second film No Self at the London Film Festival when Billie, his hard drinking publicist, introduces him to a mesmeric French musician called Noah.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisD.E.B.S. (2005)
The star of a team of teenage crime fighters falls for the alluring villainess she must bring to justice.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisA Perfect Ending (2012)
This intimate drama follows Rebecca, a woman who has kept her sexuality a secret from her friends but chooses to reveal it to a stranger. While Rebecca's revelations may not yield the results she expects, a perfect ending is still in reach.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Truth About Jane (2000)
High schooler Jane struggles with the self-discovery that she is a lesbian after developing an intense friendship with another girl. However, this is only the start of Jane's troubles when her unaccepting mother Janice also contends with the surprising revelation brought forth by her only daughter.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisLeviticus (2026)
Two teenage boys must escape a violent entity that takes the form of the person they desire most: each other.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMy Brother the Devil (2012)
Fourteen-year-old Mo is a lonely, sensitive boy whose hunger for the rant and banter of buddies makes him prone to tread dangerous territories. He idolizes his handsome older brother, Rashid, a charismatic, well-respected member of a local gang, whose drug dealing enables “Rash” to provide for his family. Aching to be seen as a tough guy himself, Mo takes a job that unlocks a fateful turn of events and forces the brothers to confront their inner demons. It turns out that hate is easy. It is love and understanding that take real courage.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisElegy (2008)
Cultural critic David Kepesh finds his life -- which he indicates is a state of "emancipated manhood" -- thrown into tragic disarray by Consuela Castillo, a well-mannered student who awakens a sense of sexual possessiveness in her teacher.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisElena Undone (2010)
The wife of a pastor who preaches against homosexuality embarks on an affair with a female writer.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisJust Charlie (2017)
Football star Charlie has the world at her feet. With a top club desperate to sign her, her future is seemingly mapped out. But the teenager sees only a nightmare. Raised as a boy, Charlie is torn between wanting to live up to her father's expectations and shedding this ill fitting skin.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisBlue Heron (2026)
A family of six's fresh start on 1990s Vancouver Island unravels as their youngest child, Sasha, witnesses the increasingly dangerous behavior of her older brother, Jeremy.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAs I Was Moving Ahead Occasionally I Saw Brief Glimpses of Beauty (2000)
A compilation of over 30 years of private home movie footage shot by Lithuanian-American avant-garde director Jonas Mekas, assembled by Mekas "purely by chance", without concern for chronological order.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisScorpio Rising (1964)
A gang of bikers prepares for a race as sexual, sadistic, and occult images are cut together.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisRotting in the Sun (2023)
A filmmaker facing an existential crisis goes on a vacation to a Mexican gay nudist beach, where he meets a social media celebrity who convinces him to collaborate with him on his new TV show. But one disappears and another embarks on a wild journey through Mexico City to find him.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHard to Die (1990)
While doing the inventory for a lingerie outlet in a high rise office building, five attractive women are terrorized by a series of bizarre killings. They suspect that the strange janitor, who witnessed another series of killings six months previously, is at the bottom of the whole thing. Little do they know the real horror that they face in the end.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Little Prince(ss) (2021)
When Gabriel, a 7-year-old Chinese kid who loves ballet, becomes friends with Rob, another Chinese kid from school, Rob’s dad gets suspicious about Gabriel's feminine behavior and decides to intervene.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like this
Like Malay Tao and something else?
Blend two favourites and we’ll find the films in between.
Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Malay Tao?
The closest matches to Malay Tao are Pariah (2011), Totally F***ed Up (1994) and Appropriate Behavior (2015). Below are 17 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Malay Tao?
Start with Pariah (2011), the closest match to Malay Tao.
What is the highest-rated movie like Malay Tao?
I Can't Think Straight (2008), rated 7.5/10 by 341 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Malay Tao?
Leviticus (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like Malay Tao?
Yes: Pariah (2011), Totally F***ed Up (1994) and Appropriate Behavior (2015).
How are movies similar to Malay Tao chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Malay Tao, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.