Movies like Tabù (1984)
The best movies like Tabù (1984) are Shame (2011), The Little Death (2014) and Caligula (1979). If Tabù hooked you, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Tabù
Quick picks
- Highest ratedMortal Kombat Legends: Battle of the Realms (2021)7.6/10 from 534 votes
- NewestPORNOMANIA (2023)Released 2023
- In ItalianCaligula (1979)Also in Italian
Shame (2011)
Brandon, a thirty-something man living in New York, eludes intimacy with women but feeds his deepest desires with a compulsive addiction to sex. When his younger sister temporarily moves into his apartment, stirring up bitter memories of their shared painful past, Brandon's life, like his fragile mind, gets out of control.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Little Death (2014)
A comedy film that looks into the loosely connected lives of people with strange sexual fantasies.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCaligula (1979)
After the death of the paranoid emperor Tiberius, Caligula, his heir, seizes power and plunges the empire into a bloody spiral of madness and depravity.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Key (1983)
In 1940s Venice, after twenty years' marriage, retired art critic Nino Rolfe and his younger wife Teresa feel their passion waning. To help her shed her inhibitions and rekindle their relationship, the professor records his sexual fantasies in a diary.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisArabian Nights (1974)
The final part of Pasolini's Trilogy of Life series is rich with exotic tales of slaves and kings, potions, betrayals, demons and, most of all, love and lovemaking in all its myriad forms. Mysterious and liberating, this is an exquisitely dreamlike and adult interpretation of the original folk tales.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisIndian Summer (1972)
In Italy, the gambler and professor of poetry Daniele Dominici arrives in the seaside town of Rimini and is hired to teach for four months in the local high school replacing another teacher. His relationship with his partner Monica is in crisis and he spends most of the time with his new acquaintances and gamblers Giorgio, Marcello and Gerardo. In classroom, he meets the gorgeous nineteen years old student Vanina Abati, who is Gerardo's girlfriend.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Man from Elysian Fields (2001)
A failed novelist's inability to pay the bills strains relations with his wife and leads him to work at an escort service, where he becomes entwined with a wealthy woman whose husband is a successful writer.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
SnoozefestMovies like thisThe Professor (1986)
Young Franco is imprisoned for murder and rises to become the feared and powerful 'Professor', taking control of Naples' underworld from behind bars.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Cement Garden (1993)
After the death of her husband, the mother of Julie, Jack, Sue and Tom begins to suffer from a mysterious illness. Aware that she is going to have to go into hospital she opens a bank account for the children, so that they can be financially self-sufficient and will be able to avoid being taken into care by the authorities. Unfortunately she also dies and Julie and Jack (the older, teenage children) decide to hide her body in the basement so that they can have free reign of their household. Soon Tom has taken to dressing as a girl whilst Sue has become increasingly reticent, confiding only to her diary, meanwhile Jack and Julie sense an attraction developing for each other. However Julie's new beau, Derek, threatens to unearth the many dark secrets within this family as he becomes increasingly suspicious of Jack.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisNever Back Down: Revolt (2021)
An amateur fighter is lured by a trafficking syndicate specializing in elite underground fighting where her brutal captor forces her to fight or face certain death.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisIn the Blood (2014)
When her husband goes missing during their Caribbean vacation, a woman sets off on her own to take down the men she thinks are responsible.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
SnoozefestMovies like thisP.O. Box Tinto Brass (1995)
A successful erotic film producer from Rome regularly receives letters from female fans seeking his advice on how to spice up their sex lives. Thanks to his years of experience in both the film business and the sex industry, he has all sorts of tips at the ready and, in an emergency, is happy to make a house call himself to demonstrate his qualities in person.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSalò, or the 120 Days of Sodom (1976)
Four corrupted fascist libertines round up 9 teenage boys and girls and subject them to 120 days of sadistic physical, mental and sexual torture.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisFamily Weekend (2013)
A 16-year-old girl takes her parents hostage after they miss her big jump-roping competition.
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
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Spine of Night (2021)
When ancient dark magic falls into sinister hands and unleashes ages of suffering onto mankind, a group of heroes from different eras and cultures must band together in order to defeat it at all costs.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMortal Kombat Legends: Battle of the Realms (2021)
When Shao Kahn's Outworld barbarians terrorize Earthrealm, Lord Raiden is determined to put an end to the carnage once and for all. This leaves one option: a final Mortal Kombat tournament for the future of Earthrealm – win it or lose everything. Raiden's elite fighters Liu Kang, Johnny Cage, Sonya Blade, and a few new faces kick the action into overdrive as they go head-to-head with Outworld's most bloodthirsty warriors. But deep in the Netherrealm, an unspeakable scheme by the malevolent Shinnok unfolds, threatening to obliterate existence.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisInferno (1980)
A young man returns from Rome to his sister's satanic New York apartment house.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHappiness (1998)
The lives of several individuals intertwine as they go about their lives in their own unique ways, engaging in acts which society as a whole might find disturbing in a desperate search for human connection.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisMoney Train (1995)
When a vengeful New York transit cop decides to steal a trainload of subway fares, his foster brother—a fellow cop—tries to protect him.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
SnoozefestMovies like thisI'm a Porn Star (2013)
I'm a Porn Star follows the lives of guys in the neighborhood who are likely a lot more famous than you - at least on the Internet. There are an estimated 370 million pornographic websites on-line. Porn is now a thirteen BILLION dollar business. So who's doing all this moonlighting? Turns out -- probably some people you know.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
Inside Deep Throat (2005)
In 1972, a seemingly typical shoestring budget pornographic film was made in a Florida hotel: "Deep Throat," starring Linda Lovelace. This film would surpass the wildest expectation of everyone involved to become one of the most successful independent films of all time. It caught the public imagination which met the spirit of the times, even as the self-appointed guardians of public morality struggled to suppress it, and created, for a brief moment, a possible future where sexuality in film had a bold artistic potential. This film covers the story of the making of this controversial film, its stunning success, its hysterical opposition along with its dark side of mob influence and allegations of the on set mistreatment of the film's star.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisGood day for watching porn (2016)
Tenth graders Oh Dong-seok, Lee Dae-bal and Ryu Ki-seong live in the same neighborhood and go to the same school. They are enjoying their summer vacation. They attend a discussion academy to apply for university and slowly, they start getting interested in women. They open up to porn. They always talk about it and share new porn, getting deeper into the world of it. Everything looks like porn to them. They have wet dreams and spend a period of passion and blood-boiling time. Dong-seok likes AV actress Yakijaki from Japan. A new girl named Mi-ae comes to their discussion class and he likes her because she looks like his favorite porn star. He's happy he can see the star on porn and Mi-ae in real life.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
Heidi im Pornoland (1996)
A portrait of porn actress Laetitia Zappa aka. Shalimar, which also explores the porn industry of the 90s.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
The Heart of Man (2017)
The Heart of Man is a timeless tale of a father's relentless pursuit of his son -- interwoven with interviews of top thought-leaders on brokenness, identity, and shame.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
Ted Bundy: Natural Porn Killer (2006)
Documentary about serial killer Ted Bundy. This documentary asks the question whether Bundy's obsession with pornography was the cause of his crimes.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
PORNOMANIA (2023)
Following a traumatic event at her grandparents' house, 10-year-old Rose embarks on an obsessive quest to see and understand the forbidden world of adults by herself.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
Celluloid Nightmares (1999)
A female reporter is filming an investigation report about a missing porn actress in Japan. She hangs around in various video shops and interviews several people.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
Good Night, Everybuds! (2017)
Good Night, Everybuds! is a healthy hippie porn. This joyful, dreamy choreography meanders around sensual love, cozy sexuality, and cuddling in the shape of an animated short film by director Benedikt Hummel.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
The Horseman (2008)
A tender drama unfolds between a grieving father and a troubled teenage girl as they drive northbound along the quiet outback roads of Australia. What she doesn't know is that between stops, he is leaving behind a bloody trail of bodies in a revenge motivated killing spree.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
Popcorn FlickMovies like this
Like Tabù and something else?
Blend two favourites and we’ll find the films in between.
Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Tabù?
The closest matches to Tabù are Shame (2011), The Little Death (2014) and Caligula (1979). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Tabù?
Start with Shame (2011), the closest match to Tabù.
What is the highest-rated movie like Tabù?
Mortal Kombat Legends: Battle of the Realms (2021), rated 7.6/10 by 534 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Tabù?
PORNOMANIA (2023) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there Italian movies like Tabù?
Yes: Caligula (1979), The Key (1983) and Arabian Nights (1974).
How are movies similar to Tabù chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Tabù, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.