Movies like First Reformed (2018)
The best movies like First Reformed (2018) are How to Blow Up a Pipeline (2023), The Ledge (2011) and The Last Temptation of Christ (1988). If First Reformed hooked you with its drama, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedIt's a Wonderful Life (1946)8.3/10 from 5,158 votes
- NewestIf I Had Legs I'd Kick You (2025)Released 2025
How to Blow Up a Pipeline (2023)
A crew of young environmental activists execute a daring mission to sabotage an oil pipeline.
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 thisThe Last Temptation of Christ (1988)
Jesus, a humble Judean carpenter beginning to see that he is the son of God, is drawn into revolutionary action against the Roman occupiers by Judas -- despite his protestations that love, not violence, is the path to salvation. The burden of being the savior of mankind torments Jesus throughout his life, leading him to doubt.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThirteen Conversations About One Thing (2001)
In New York City, the lives of a lawyer, an actuary, a house-cleaner, a professor, and the people around them intersect as they ponder order and happiness in the face of life's cold unpredictability.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisTyler Perry's Divorce in the Black (2024)
Ava, a young bank professional is devastated when her husband Dallas abandons a marriage she is determined to fight for until fate intervenes, revealing Dallas' wicked deeds that have trashed their marriage, and once upon a time sabotaged Ava's destiny to be loved by her true soulmate.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Road (2009)
A father and his son walk alone through burned America. Nothing moves in the ravaged landscape save the ash on the wind and water. It is cold enough to crack stones and, when the snow falls, it is gray. Their destination is the warmer south, although they don't know what, if anything, awaits them there.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Ballad of Jack and Rose (2005)
Jack Slavin is an environmentalist with a heart condition who lives with his daughter, Rose, on an isolated island. While Jack fights against developers who wish to build in the area, he also craves more contact with other people. When he invites his girlfriend, Kathleen, and her sons, Rodney and Thaddius, to move in, Rose is upset. The complicated family dynamics makes things difficult for everyone in the house.
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 Truth About Emanuel (2013)
A troubled young woman becomes obsessed with her mysterious new neighbor, who bears a striking resemblance to the girl's dead mother.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisUncle Frank (2020)
In 1973, when Frank Bledsoe and his 18-year-old niece Beth take a road trip from Manhattan to Creekville, South Carolina for the family patriarch's funeral, they're unexpectedly joined by Frank's lover Walid.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisNight Moves (2014)
The story about three radical environmentalists coming together to execute the most intense protest of their lives: the explosion of a hydroelectric dam.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisFoe (2023)
Henrietta and Junior farm a secluded piece of land that has been in Junior's family for generations, but their quiet life is thrown into turmoil when an uninvited stranger shows up at their door with a startling proposal. Will they risk their relationship & personal identity for a chance to survive in a new world?
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisErin Brockovich (2000)
A twice-divorced mother of three who sees an injustice, takes on the bad guy and wins -- with a little help from her push-up bra. Erin goes to work for an attorney and comes across medical records describing illnesses clustered in one nearby town. She starts investigating and soon exposes a monumental cover-up.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby: Them (2014)
A New York couple's relationship is tested after the loss of their child. This film is the wide-released combination of the original two :him and :her volumes that premiered at the Cannes Film Festival.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Miseducation of Cameron Post (2018)
Pennsylvania, 1993. After getting caught with another girl, teenager Cameron Post is sent to a conversion therapy center run by the strict Dr. Lydia Marsh and her brother, Reverend Rick, whose treatment consists in repenting for feeling “same sex attraction.” Cameron befriends fellow sinners Jane and Adam, thus creating a new family to deal with the surrounding intolerance.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHigher Ground (2011)
Inspired by screenwriter Carolyn S. Briggs' memoir This Dark World, a tight-knit spiritual community is thrown off-kilter when one of their own begins to question her faith, love, and trust - in human relationships as well as in God.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisMelancholia (2011)
Two sisters find their already strained relationship challenged as a mysterious new planet threatens to collide with Earth.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisIf I Had Legs I'd Kick You (2025)
With her life crashing down around her, Linda attempts to navigate her child's mysterious illness, her absent husband, a missing person, and an increasingly hostile relationship with her therapist.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Starling Girl (2023)
17-year-old Jem Starling struggles with her place within her Christian fundamentalist community. But everything changes when her magnetic youth pastor Owen returns to their church.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Passion of the Christ (2004)
A graphic portrayal of the last twelve hours of Jesus of Nazareth's life.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisRocky Balboa (2006)
When he loses a highly publicized virtual boxing match to ex-champ Rocky Balboa, reigning heavyweight titleholder Mason Dixon retaliates by challenging the Italian Stallion to a 10-round exhibition bout. To the surprise of his son and friends, Rocky agrees to come out of retirement and face an opponent who's faster, stronger and thirty years his junior. Rocky takes on Dixon in what will become the greatest fight in boxing history!
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
Sex and Lucía (2001)
Lucía is a young waitress in Madrid who seeks refuge on a quiet, secluded Mediterranean island after the loss of her longtime boyfriend. Amidst the fresh air, dazzling sun, and glistening deep blue water, Lucía begins to piece together the dark corners of her past relationship.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Discovery of Heaven (2001)
Disappointed with humanity, God wants to revoke his contract with humanity and wants to take back the stone tablets containing the ten commandments. To this end an angel is sent out to affect the personal lives of three humans so an appropriate child may be conceived.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Lights in the Dusk (2006)
Outcast by his co-workers and living alone, Koistinen is a security guard who works the night shift in a luxury shopping mall in Helsinki. But when icy blonde Mirja approaches him, the lonely Koistinen falls helplessly for her, unaware she is manipulating him for her criminal boyfriend.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisToo Saved (2007)
Lisa is a young, Christian woman. Bobby, her boyfriend, however, is a street hoodlum. Lisa prays constantly that Bobby will accept God in his life. She soon gets what she wants, but discovers that Bobby's conversion means that she has to get her life in order as well. As a result, she is forced to resolve not only her relationship with Bobby, but with everyone in her life.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
I Stand Alone (1999)
After completing jail time for beating up a man who tried to seduce his mentally-handicapped teenage daughter, the Butcher wants to start life anew. He institutionalizes his daughter and moves to the Lille suburbs with his mistress, who promises him a new butcher shop. Learning that she lied, the Butcher returns to Paris to find his daughter.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisIt's a Wonderful Life (1946)
George Bailey has spent his entire life giving to the people of Bedford Falls. All that prevents rich skinflint Mr. Potter from taking over the entire town is George's modest building and loan company. But on Christmas Eve the business's $8,000 is lost and George's troubles begin.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisWhat's Eating Gilbert Grape (1993)
Gilbert Grape is a small-town young man with a lot of responsibility. Chief among his concerns are his mother, who is so overweight that she can't leave the house, and his mentally impaired younger brother, Arnie, who has a knack for finding trouble. Settled into a job at a grocery store and an ongoing affair with local woman Betty Carver, Gilbert finally has his life shaken up by the free-spirited Becky.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisMy Diary of Lies (2023)
After making the cheer squad at her new school, Natalie becomes public enemy number one after she's framed for murder.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like First Reformed?
The closest matches to First Reformed are How to Blow Up a Pipeline (2023), The Ledge (2011) and The Last Temptation of Christ (1988). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after First Reformed?
Start with How to Blow Up a Pipeline (2023), the closest match to First Reformed.
What is the highest-rated movie like First Reformed?
It's a Wonderful Life (1946), rated 8.3/10 by 5,158 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like First Reformed?
If I Had Legs I'd Kick You (2025) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like First Reformed?
Yes: How to Blow Up a Pipeline (2023), The Ledge (2011) and The Last Temptation of Christ (1988).
How are movies similar to First Reformed chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside First Reformed, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.