Movies like Padre (2015)
The best movies like Padre (2015) are The Bad Seed (1956), The Exorcism of Emily Rose (2005) and I Confess (1953). If Padre hooked you with its thriller, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedThe Godfather Part III (1990)7.4/10 from 7,177 votes
- NewestFive Nights at Freddy's 2 (2025)Released 2025
The Bad Seed (1956)
Air Force Colonel Kenneth Penmark and his wife, Christine, adore their daughter Rhoda, despite her secret tendency for selfishness. Christine keeps her knowledge of her daughter's darker side to herself, but when a schoolmate of Rhoda's dies mysteriously, her self-deception unravels.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Exorcism of Emily Rose (2005)
When a young girl called Emily Rose dies, everyone puts blame on the exorcism which was performed on her by Father Moore prior to her death. The priest is arrested on suspicion of murder. The trial begins with lawyer Erin Bruner representing Moore, but it is not going to be easy, as no one wants to believe what Father Moore says is true.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisI Confess (1953)
When a priest hears a murderer’s confession, he becomes bound by his vow of silence—even as circumstantial evidence turns suspicion toward him. Torn between faith and self-preservation, he faces public scandal and trial for a crime he cannot reveal the truth about.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Worth the HypeMovies like thisAbsolution (1978)
At a Catholic boys' school, domineering disciplinarian Father Goddard rules over his pupils with an iron hand. When one of his teenage charges confesses to murder, the dogmatic but deeply repressed Goddard finds his faith challenged and his life spiralling dangerously out of control.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAlice, Sweet Alice (1976)
Alice is a withdrawn 12-year-old who lives with her mother and her younger sister, Karen, who gets most of the attention from her mother, leaving Alice out of the spotlight. When Karen is found brutally murdered in a church, suspicions start to turn toward Alice. But could a 12-year-old girl really be capable of such savagery?
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Children (2008)
A relaxing Christmas vacation turns into a terrifying fight for survival as the children begin to turn on their parents.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCase 39 (2009)
In her many years as a social worker, Emily Jenkins believes she has seen it all, until she meets 10-year-old Lilith and the girl's cruel parents. Emily's worst fears are confirmed when the parents try to harm the child, and so Emily assumes custody of Lilith while she looks for a foster family. However, Emily soon finds that dark forces surround the seemingly innocent girl, and the more she tries to protect Lilith, the more horrors she encounters.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Pope's Exorcist (2023)
Father Gabriele Amorth, Chief Exorcist of the Vatican, investigates a young boy's terrifying possession and ends up uncovering a centuries-old conspiracy the Vatican has desperately tried to keep hidden.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThir13en Ghosts (2001)
Arthur and his two children inherit his uncle's estate: a glass house that serves as a prison to twelve ghosts. When the family, accompanied by a nanny and an attorney, enter the house they find themselves trapped inside an evil machine 'designed by the Devil and powered by the dead' to open the Eye of Hell. Aided by a ghost hunter and his rival, a ghost rights activist out to set the ghosts free, the group must do what they can to get out of the house alive.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisPlease Don't Feed the Children (2025)
After a viral outbreak ravaged the country’s adult population, a group of orphans heads south in search of a new life, only to find themselves at the mercy of a deranged woman harboring a dangerous secret.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like this825 Forest Road (2025)
After a family tragedy, Chuck Wilson hopes to start a new life in Ashland Falls with his wife Maria and little sister Elizabeth, but he quickly discovers that the town has a dark history of being haunted by a ghostly woman who drives residents to suicide.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
SnoozefestMovies like thisThe Bad Seed (2018)
A widower suspects that his seemingly perfect adolescent daughter is a heartless killer.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Worth the HypeMovies like thisStigmata (1999)
A young woman with no strong religious beliefs, Frankie Paige begins having strange and violent experiences, showing signs of the wounds that Jesus received when crucified. When the Vatican gets word of Frankie's situation, a high-ranking cardinal requests that the Rev. Andrew Kiernan investigate her case. Soon Kiernan realizes that very sinister forces are at work, and tries to rescue Frankie from the entity that is plaguing her.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisM (1951)
In the city, someone is murdering children. The police search is so intense, it is disturbing the 'normal' criminals, and the local hoods decide to help find the murderer as quickly as possible.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Godfather Part III (1990)
In the midst of trying to legitimize his business dealings in 1979 New York and Italy, aging mafia don, Michael Corleone seeks forgiveness for his sins while taking a young protege under his wing.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Worth the HypeMovies like thisStandoff (2016)
A troubled veteran gets a chance at redemption by protecting a girl from an assassin after she witnesses a murder. Holding a shotgun with a single shell, he engages in physical and psychological warfare in a desperate fight for the girl's life.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisEye for an Eye (1996)
It's fire and brimstone time as grieving mother Karen McCann takes justice into her own hands when a kangaroo court in Los Angeles fails to convict Robert Doob, the monster who raped and murdered her 17-year-old daughter.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDaddy's Little Girl (2014)
After the police find Derek’s daughter brutally murdered on the beach, he vows to make the culprit suffer for his actions, even if that person is ‘part of the family.’ With careful research into the history of torture, Derek prepares himself and his basement for a week of brutal tactics that will make his daughter’s killer feel the pain that he has inflicted upon so many others. In a time when stranger danger is ever present, a single father learns that it’s the ones you trust most who have to be watched the closest.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Final (2010)
A group of high school outcasts get revenge on the students that torment them.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisWhisper (2007)
Sinister things begin happening to kidnappers who are holding a young boy for ransom in a remote cabin.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisFive Nights at Freddy's 2 (2025)
One year since the supernatural nightmare at Freddy Fazbear's Pizza, the stories about what transpired there have been twisted into a campy local legend, inspiring the town's first ever Fazfest. With the truth kept from her, Abby sneaks out to reconnect with Freddy, Bonnie, Chica, and Foxy, setting into motion a terrifying series of events that will reveal dark secrets about the real origin of Freddy's, and unleash a decades-hidden horror.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBlood Dried Hands (2024)
A reluctant serial killer grapples with his base desires and longs for his own death, as a small town Detective closes in on his trail to stop the killing spree while dealing with her own debilitating trauma.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller
Way of the Vampire (2005)
Dr. Abraham Van Helsing is granted immortality by the Catholic Church until he can hunt down the last vampire prince.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller
Heaven's Prisoners (1996)
A hardened New Orleans cop, Dave Robicheaux, finally tosses in the badge and settles into life on the bayou with his wife. But a bizarre plane crash draws him back into the fray when his family is viciously threatened.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller
SnoozefestMovies like thisSight of the Fact (2025)
As a grieving widow clings to the memory of her husband, a quiet friend watches from a distance-holding in his hands the sight of the fact that the man she loved was never who she thought, and that his death may not be what it seemed.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller
Prey for the Devil (2022)
In response to a global rise in demonic possessions, the Catholic Church reopens exorcism schools to train priests in the Rite of Exorcism. On this spiritual battlefield, an unlikely warrior rises: a young nun, Sister Ann. Thrust onto the spiritual frontline with fellow student Father Dante, Sister Ann finds herself in a battle for the soul of a young girl and soon realizes the Devil has her right where he wants her.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisI Have Sinned (2023)
Pablo confesses a crime to Anders, who has a hidden agenda.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller
A Record of Sweet Murder (2014)
A murderer in the middle of a killing spree enlists a reporter to interview him as he prepares to finish sacrificing his victims to his god.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller
Sapthamashree Thaskaraha (2014)
Seven men, after getting acquainted in prison and finding out that all of their lives have been affected by the same con man, decide to raid the fraudster's life savings.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller
Killing Words (2004)
A mild-mannered psychopath plays mind-games with a woman he has tied to a chair in his basement.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like this
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Padre?
The closest matches to Padre are The Bad Seed (1956), The Exorcism of Emily Rose (2005) and I Confess (1953). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Padre?
Start with The Bad Seed (1956), the closest match to Padre.
What is the highest-rated movie like Padre?
The Godfather Part III (1990), rated 7.4/10 by 7,177 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Padre?
Five Nights at Freddy's 2 (2025) is the most recent release on this list.
How are movies similar to Padre chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Padre, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.