Skip to content

Movies like Emanuelle and Joanna (1979)

The best movies like Emanuelle and Joanna (1979) are Kill for Me (2013), Martha Marcy May Marlene (2011) and Nymphomaniac: Vol. II (2013). If Emanuelle and Joanna hooked you with its drama, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.

Quick picks

  1. Kill for Me (2013)

    Rent’s a bitch. And that is why, six months after her best friend went missing, Amanda finally gives in to getting another roommate, Hailey. The two college students turn out to have something in common, however: abusive men. For Hailey, it’s her dad. For Amanda, it’s a stalkery ex-boyfriend. But problems can be solved and, you know, you scratch my back, I scratch yours. In other words, Kill for Me, I kill for you.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama

  2. Martha Marcy May Marlene (2011)

    After several years of living with a cult, Martha finally escapes and calls her estranged sister, Lucy, for help. Martha finds herself at the quiet Connecticut home Lucy shares with her new husband, Ted, but the memories of what she experienced in the cult make peace hard to find. As flashbacks continue to torment her, Martha fails to shake a terrible sense of dread, especially in regard to the cult's manipulative leader.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama

    Popcorn FlickMovies like this
  3. Nymphomaniac: Vol. II (2013)

    The continuation of Joe's sexually dictated life delves into the darker aspects of her adult life and what led to her being in Seligman's care.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama

    Popcorn FlickMovies like this
  4. 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 · both drama

    Popcorn FlickMovies like this
  5. Straw Dogs (2011)

    A young couple moves to a quaint southern town. Soon their perfect getaway turns out to become a living hell when dark secrets and lethal passions spiral out of control.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama

  6. Xiu Xiu: The Sent-Down Girl (1998)

    Young teen girl Xiu Xiu is sent away to a remote corner of the Sichuan steppes for manual labor in 1975 (sending young people to there was a part of Cultural Revolution in China). A year later, she agrees to go to even more remote spot with a Tibetan saddle tramp Lao Jin to learn horse herding.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama

    Worth the HypeMovies like this
  7. Auto Focus (2002)

    A successful TV star during the 1960s, former "Hogan's Heroes" actor Bob Crane projects a wholesome family-man image, but this front masks his persona as a sex addict who records and photographs his many encounters with women, often with the help of his seedy friend, John Henry Carpenter. This biographical drama reveals how Crane's double life takes its toll on him and his family, and ultimately contributes to his death.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama

    Popcorn FlickMovies like this
  8. The Boys of St. Vincent (1994)

    The true story of boys being sexually abused at their orphanage, run by a religious community in Newfoundland.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama

    Worth the HypeMovies like this
  9. Gummo (1997)

    Teenagers Solomon and Tummler kill time in Xenia, Ohio, a small town that has never recovered from the tornado that ravaged the community in the 1970s.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama

    Popcorn FlickMovies like this
  10. Hungry Hearts (2015)

    The relationship of a couple who meet by chance in New York City is put to the test when they encounter a life or death circumstance.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama

    Popcorn FlickMovies like this
  11. The 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 · both drama

    Popcorn FlickMovies like this
  12. Concrete Romance (2007)

    A climax of brutality and violence after a young man hits some cars in a rush.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama

  13. Snowtown (2011)

    Based on true events, 16 year-old Jamie falls in with his mother's new boyfriend and his crowd of self-appointed neighborhood watchmen, a relationship that leads to a spree of torture and murder.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama

    Popcorn FlickMovies like this
  14. Addicted (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

  15. The Outrage (1964)

    At a disused railway station, three men -- a con artist, a preacher, and a prospector -- discuss the recent trial and sentencing of the outlaw Juan Carrasco for the murder of a man and the rape of his wife. In their recounting, the three explore the conflicting testimonies of the parties involved in the crimes. Disconcerting new questions arise with each different version of the event.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama

  16. The Devil's Double (2011)

    A chilling vision of the House of Saddam Hussein comes to life through the eyes of the man who was forced to become the double of Hussein's sadistic son.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama

    Popcorn FlickMovies like this
  17. The Cook, the Thief, His Wife & Her Lover (1989)

    When churlish mobster Albert Spica acquires an upscale French restaurant in London, he dines there nightly, effectively scaring off the clientele with his bad manners. His wife, Georgina, is especially disgusted by him, and soon begins an affair with regular guest Michael. Despite their best efforts to keep it secret, Spica learns about their trysts, and he plots a terrible revenge.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama

    Worth the HypeMovies like this
  18. Ken Park (2003)

    Teen skater Ken Park (nicknamed Krap Nek; his name spelled and pronounced backward) kills himself at a Visalia skate park; his death bookends the lives of four other young people who knew him: Shawn, the most conventional; Tate brims with psychotic rage; Claude is habitually harassed by his brutish father and coddled, rather uncomfortably, by his enormously pregnant mother; and Peaches looks after her devoutly religious father, but yearns for freedom. They're all rather tight, or so they claim.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama

    Popcorn FlickMovies like this
  19. Caligula (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 · both drama

    Popcorn FlickMovies like this
  20. Brimstone (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 this
  21. Antonia's Line (1995)

    After World War II, Antonia and her daughter, Danielle, go back to their Dutch hometown, where Antonia's late mother has bestowed a small farm upon her. There, Antonia settles down and joins a tightly-knit but unusual community. Those around her include quirky friend Crooked Finger, would-be suitor Bas and, eventually for Antonia, a granddaughter and great-granddaughter who help create a strong family of empowered women.

    Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama

    Popcorn FlickMovies like this
  22. Andrei Rublev (1966)

    An expansive Russian drama, this film focuses on the life of revered religious icon painter Andrei Rublev. Drifting from place to place in a tumultuous era, the peace-seeking monk eventually gains a reputation for his art. But after Rublev witnesses a brutal battle and unintentionally becomes involved, he takes a vow of silence and spends time away from his work. As he begins to ease his troubled soul, he takes steps towards becoming a painter once again.

    Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama

    Absolute CinemaMovies like this
  23. Jill (1978)

    Jill is a young actress in decline who does not do things very well, neither professionally nor personally. Used by all those around her, everything will change for her the moment she meets Luis, a waiter. Now she has something that makes her happy and for which she has a reason to live.

    Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama

  24. Thanks for Everything (2019)

    Sisters Marianne and Christine take a road trip from Montreal to the Magdalen Islands to spread the ashes of their late father. He wasn’t exactly an angel, and his associates are hot on their trail.

    Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama

  25. Ever (2014)

    While struggling to cope with the death of her boyfriend, a young woman begins to form romantic feelings for her new supportive female friend.

    Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama

  26. Thelma & Louise (1991)

    Taking a break from their dreary lives, close friends Thelma and Louise embark on a short weekend trip that ends in unforeseen incriminating circumstances. As fugitives, both women rediscover the strength of their bond and their newfound resilience.

    Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama

    Worth the HypeMovies like this
  27. Imagine Me & You (2006)

    During her wedding ceremony, Rachel notices Luce in the audience and feels instantly drawn to her. The two women become close friends, and when Rachel learns that Luce is a lesbian, she realizes that despite her happy marriage to Heck, she is falling for Luce. As she questions her sexual orientation, Rachel must decide between her stable relationship with Heck and her exhilarating new romance with Luce.

    Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama

    Worth the HypeMovies like this
  28. Touch of Evil (1958)

    A border-town bombing draws Mexican investigator Miguel Vargas into a corruption-ridden police investigation led by crooked captain Hank Quinlan, setting off a deadly struggle over power, justice, and truth.

    Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama

    Worth the HypeMovies like this
  29. Memoirs of a Geisha (2005)

    In the years before World War II, a penniless Japanese child is torn from her family to work as a maid in a geisha house.

    Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama

    Worth the HypeMovies like this
  30. Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me (1992)

    In the questionable town of Deer Meadow, Washington, FBI Agent Desmond inexplicably disappears while hunting for the man who murdered a teen girl. The killer is never apprehended, and, after experiencing dark visions and supernatural encounters, Agent Dale Cooper chillingly predicts that the culprit will claim another life. Meanwhile, in the more cozy town of Twin Peaks, hedonistic beauty Laura Palmer hangs with lowlifes and seems destined for a grisly fate.

    Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama

    Worth the HypeMovies like this

Like Emanuelle and Joanna and something else?

Blend two favourites and we’ll find the films in between.

Frequently asked questions

What are the best movies like Emanuelle and Joanna?

The closest matches to Emanuelle and Joanna are Kill for Me (2013), Martha Marcy May Marlene (2011) and Nymphomaniac: Vol. II (2013). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.

What should I watch after Emanuelle and Joanna?

Start with Kill for Me (2013), the closest match to Emanuelle and Joanna.

What is the highest-rated movie like Emanuelle and Joanna?

Andrei Rublev (1966), rated 7.9/10 by 994 TMDB users.

What is the newest movie like Emanuelle and Joanna?

Thanks for Everything (2019) is the most recent release on this list.

Are there Italian movies like Emanuelle and Joanna?

Yes: Concrete Romance (2007) and Caligula (1979).

How are movies similar to Emanuelle and Joanna chosen?

First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Emanuelle and Joanna, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.

↑ ↓ to move · Enter to open · Full search page