Movies like The Playground (1965)
The best movies like The Playground (1965) are Crimes of Passion (1984), The Ledge (2011) and Come Sunday (2018). If The Playground hooked you with its drama, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedElmer Gantry (1960)7.3/10 from 211 votes
- NewestTaxali Gate (2024)Released 2024
Crimes 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 · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Ledge (2011)
A thriller in which a battle of philosophies between a fundamentalist Christian and an atheist who shares an apartment with a gay friend escalates into a lethal battle of wills.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCome Sunday (2018)
Evangelist Carlton Pearson is ostracized by his church for preaching that there is no Hell.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisThree Christs (2017)
Dr. Alan Stone breaks new ground for treatment of the mentally ill through an experiment on three paranoid schizophrenic patients who believe they are Jesus Christ.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBrimstone (2016)
In the menacing inferno of the old North-American West, Liz is a genuine survivor who is hunted by a vengeful preacher for a crime she didn’t commit.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Nines (2007)
A troubled actor, a television show runner, and an acclaimed videogame designer find their lives intertwining in mysterious and unsettling ways.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSimon Killer (2012)
A recent college graduate flees to Paris after a break-up, where his involvement with a prostitute begins to reveal a potentially dark recent past.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisKilling Jesus (2015)
Jesus of Nazareth’s life and ministry were subject to seismic social and political events that led to his execution and changed the world forever.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisElmer Gantry (1960)
A charismatic charlatan begins a business — and eventually romantic — relationship with a roadside evangelist to sell religion to 1920s America. Based on Sinclair Lewis' novel of the same name.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisGirl in the Bunker (2018)
When Elizabeth is abducted by a fugitive sexual predator, she realizes she must take matters into her own hands and plot her escape. Based on a true story.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisAddicted (2014)
A gallerist risks her family and flourishing career when she enters into an affair with a talented painter and slowly loses control of her life.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisKlute (1971)
A high-priced call girl is forced to depend on a reluctant private eye when she is stalked by a psychopath.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Heart Is Deceitful Above All Things (2004)
Young Jeremiah lives in a stable environment with loving foster parents until the day his troubled mother, Sarah, returns to claim him. Jeremiah becomes swept up in his mother's dangerous world of drugs, seedy hotels, strip joints and revolving lovers. Salvation comes in the form of the boy's ultrareligious grandparents, but soon Jeremiah's mother returns. Maternal love binds the pair together on the road until Sarah's desperate and depraved lifestyle finally consumes her.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisThe Only Living Boy in New York (2017)
When a young man learns that his overbearing father is having an affair, he tries to stop it, only to be seduced by the older woman as well.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisEdmond (2006)
Seemingly mild-mannered businessman Edmond Burke visits a fortuneteller and hears a remark that spurs him to leave his wife abruptly and seek what is missing from his life. Encounters with strangers and unsavory people weaken the barriers encompassing his long-suppressed rage, until Edmond explodes in violence.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Miracle Woman (1931)
After an unappreciated minister dies, his daughter loses her faith in God, prompting her to open a phony temple with a con man. Can the love of a blind former aviator restore her faith and happiness?
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Naked Kiss (1964)
A former prostitute works to create a new life for herself in a small town, but a shocking discovery could threaten everything.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisAdam (2020)
A hard-living salesman becomes a quadriplegic after an accident.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAct of Violence (1949)
A former prisoner of war, Frank Enley is hailed as a hero in his California town. However, Frank has a shameful secret that comes back to haunt him when fellow survivor Joe Parkson emerges, intent on making Frank pay for his past deeds.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSecret Ceremony (1968)
A penniless woman meets a strange girl who insists she is her long-lost mother and becomes enmeshed in a web of deception, and perhaps madness.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSamaritan Girl (2004)
Jae-Young is an amateur prostitute who sleeps with men while her best friend Yeo-Jin "manages" her, fixing dates, taking care of the money, and making sure the coast is clear. When Jae-Young falls in love with one of those men, she suppresses her feelings towards him in respect of her friend who's jealous.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisWords with Gods (2014)
The first of four installments in the groundbreaking Heartbeat of the World anthology film series. Comprised of several short films by some of the world's most exciting directors, Words with Gods follows the theme of religion - specifically as it relates to an individual's relationship with his/her god or gods...or the lack thereof. In Words with Gods, each director recounts a narrative centered around human fragility, as well as environmental and cultural crises involving specific religions with which each has a personal relationship; including early Aboriginal Spirituality, Umbanda, Buddhism, the Abrahamic faiths, Hinduism, and Atheism. An animated sequence by Mexican animator Maribel Martinez is woven through each of the film segments, with each segment narratively connected as a feature-length film.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Dukh Bhanjan Tera Naam (1974)
This Punjabi Movie, Dukh Bhanjan Tera Naam is a Punjabi movie about Sikhism. It was a great success. It portrays the people's belief in the almighty god who is one and how life teaches a lesson to those who does not believe so.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
The Tribunal (2016)
The stakes are much higher than life or death in The Tribunal, a courtroom drama set in a Catholic Marriage Tribunal. On the surface, it appears that the struggle between Tony and Joe, two best friends who both love Emily, hinges on Joe obtaining an annulment of his first marriage, so Emily, a devout Catholic, can marry him. As they each fight for whom they love, the Tribunal slowly answers the ever-present question hanging over the proceedings, "What does God want?" Why it matters to these three is the reason it matters to every person. Our souls will not rest until they rest in the arms of the Lord.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
David (1997)
A distinguished military leader whose reign was touched by great scandal, shocking betrayals and rousing victories. A simple shepherd boy chosen to be king, under the watchful eyes of prophet Samuel.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisJourney to Italy (1954)
Married for eight years with no children, Brits Katherine and Alex Joyce are driving to Italy, their ultimate destination just outside of Naples to sell the villa they have just inherited from his uncle, the villa where they will be staying during their time there. On the drive, they come to the realization that this trip marks the first time that they have truly been alone together, and as such don't really know one another in the true sense.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisTaxali Gate (2024)
In the red light district of Lahore, when the daughter of an underprivileged wedding dancer is raped by the powerful Choudhary's son, the neighbourhood pimp and the top prostitute help the pair seek justice.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer (1986)
Arriving in Chicago, Henry moves in with ex-con acquaintance Otis and starts schooling him in the ways of the serial killer.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBarfly (1987)
Downtrodden writer Henry and distressed goddess Wanda aren't exactly husband and wife: they're wedded to their bar stools. But, they like each other's company—and Barfly captures their giddy, gin-soaked attempts to make a go of life on the skids.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMortality (2021)
A Man runs away from a Shadowy Figure whilst coming to terms with what’s next…His Mortality.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Like The Playground and something else?
Blend two favourites and we’ll find the films in between.
Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like The Playground?
The closest matches to The Playground are Crimes of Passion (1984), The Ledge (2011) and Come Sunday (2018). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after The Playground?
Start with Crimes of Passion (1984), the closest match to The Playground.
What is the highest-rated movie like The Playground?
Elmer Gantry (1960), rated 7.3/10 by 211 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like The Playground?
Taxali Gate (2024) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like The Playground?
Yes: Crimes of Passion (1984), The Ledge (2011) and Come Sunday (2018).
How are movies similar to The Playground chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside The Playground, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.