Movies like The Chaplain (2018)
The best movies like The Chaplain (2018) are Dead Man Walking (1995), The Trials of Cate McCall (2013) and Lock Up (1989). If The Chaplain hooked you with its drama, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedThe Green Mile (1999)8.5/10 from 20,109 votes
- NewestWasteman (2026)Released 2026
Dead Man Walking (1995)
A death row inmate turns for spiritual guidance to a local nun in the days leading up to his scheduled execution for the murders of a young couple.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Trials of Cate McCall (2013)
In order to be reinstated to the bar and recover custody of her daughter, a hotshot lawyer, now in recovery and on probation, must take on the appeal of a woman wrongfully convicted of murder.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisLock Up (1989)
Frank Leone is nearing the end of his prison term for a relatively minor crime. Just before he is paroled, however, Warden Drumgoole takes charge. Drumgoole was assigned to a hell-hole prison after his administration was publicly humiliated by Leone, and has now arrived on the scene to ensure that Leone never sees the light of day.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisKiller: A Journal of Murder (1996)
Carl Panzram is sent to Leavenworth Prison for burglary. While there, he is brutally beaten by a guard. Neophyte guard Henry Lesser feels sympathy for Panzram, befriends him, and gets him to write his life story. Lesser learns that Panzram's past is much more violent than he thought, but also that he's capable of being a much better person than the rest of the prison staff believes - or so Lesser thinks.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisRoman J. Israel, Esq. (2017)
Hard-nosed liberal lawyer Roman J. Israel has been fighting the good fight forever while others take the credit. When his partner – the firm's frontman – has a heart attack, Israel suddenly takes on that role. He soon discovers some unsettling truths about the firm – truths that conflict with his values of helping the poor and dispossessed – and finds himself in an existential crisis that leads to extreme actions.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBreakwater (2023)
A young ex-con risks his newfound freedom to track down the estranged daughter of a fellow inmate, and unknowingly brings a devil from her past straight to her doorstep.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisHe Got Game (1998)
A basketball player's father must try to convince him to go to a college so he can get a shorter prison sentence.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBrute Force (1947)
Timeworn Joe Collins and his fellow inmates live under the heavy thumb of the sadistic, power-tripping guard Captain Munsey. Only Collins' dreams of escape keep him going, but how can he possibly bust out of Munsey's chains?
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisReservation Road (2007)
Two fathers' lives intersect when one of them is involved in a terrible and sudden hit-and-run car accident that leaves the other's son dead. In response, the two men react in unexpected ways as a reckoning looms in the near future.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisPowder Blue (2009)
On the gritty streets of LA, the destinies of four people desperate for connection and redemption are about to collide.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisChronic (2015)
David is a nurse who works with terminally ill patients. Dedicated to his profession, he develops strong relationships with the people he cares for. But outside of work, it's a different story altogether.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisJuror #2 (2024)
While serving as a juror in a high profile murder trial, family man Justin Kemp finds himself struggling with a serious moral dilemma…one he could use to sway the jury verdict and potentially convict—or free—the accused killer.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisTaking Chance (2009)
Lt. Col. Michael Strobl, a volunteer military escort accompanies the body of Lance Cpl. Chance Phelps to his hometown in Wyoming.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisWasteman (2026)
Taylor's hopes for a fresh start post-parole are jeopardised by cellmate Dee's arrival. As Dee takes Taylor under his wing, a vicious attack tests their bond, forcing Taylor to choose between protecting Dee and his own chances at freedom.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisCrimes 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 Life of David Gale (2003)
A man against capital punishment is accused of murdering a fellow activist and is sent to death row.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisLullaby (2014)
Estranged from his family, Jonathan (Hedlund) discovers his father has decided to take himself off life support in forty-eight hours’ time. During this intensely condensed period, a lifetime of drama plays out. Robert (Jenkins) fights a zero sum game to reclaim all that his illness stole from his family. A debate rages on patients’ rights and what it truly means to be free. Jonathan reconciles with his father, reconnects with his mother (Archer), sister (Brown-Findlay), and his love (Adams) and reclaims his voice through two unlikely catalysts – a young, wise-beyond-her-years patient (Barden) and a no-nonsense nurse (Hudson). Through this intensely life affirming prism, an unexpected and powerful journey of love, laughter, and forgiveness unfolds.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisPersonal Effects (2009)
Walter is a rising star in the NCAA wrestling world until his life is ripped apart by the brutal murder of his sister. Returning home to console his mother Gloria he seeks vengeance on the man who is accused of the crime. A chance meeting with a beautiful mature woman gives him solace to the situation. Will this unlikely pairing bloom into a romance and heal a wound the world cannot see or will the loss of his sister push him over the edge?
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDesperate Measures (1998)
San Francisco police officer Frank Connor is in a frantic search for a compatible bone marrow donor for his gravely ill son. There's only one catch the potential donor is convicted multiple murderer Peter McCabe who sees a trip to the hospital as the perfect opportunity to get what he wants most: freedom. With McCabe's escape, the entire hospital becomes a battleground and Connor must pursue and, ironically, protect the deadly fugitive who is his son's only hope for survival.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Client (1994)
A street-wise kid, Mark Sway, sees the suicide of Jerome Clifford, a prominent Louisiana lawyer, whose current client is Barry 'The Blade' Muldano, a Mafia hit-man. Before Jerome shoots himself, he tells Mark where the body of a Senator is buried. Clifford shoots himself and Mark is found at the scene, and both the FBI and the Mafia quickly realize that Mark probably knows more than he says.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisGive You A Candy (2024)
The film is based on true events, about the imminent execution of the death row inmates Zheng Ligun in the escort on the way to a sudden earthquake, the guardhouse collapsed into rubble, escaped from death, Zheng Ligun seems to have gained a sudden "freedom", but in fact, has been plunged into another purgatory...... Meanwhile, police officer Wei Chixiao decides to temporarily organize a "different" rescue team. In the face of a natural disaster, with only 24 hours left to live, will the death row inmate escape or save others? What should the police officers in charge of guarding him do? Everyone stands at the fork in the road of destiny......
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Highest 2 Lowest (2025)
When a titan music mogul, widely known as having the "best ears in the business", is targeted with a ransom plot, he is jammed up in a life-or-death moral dilemma.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisExodus 1945: Our Blood (2026)
May 1945, Ljubljana. Following the end of World War II and the communist seizure of power, many opponents of communism flee Yugoslavia, retreating to Austrian Carinthia toward the British Allies. On a medical train from Ljubljana, alongside wounded members of the Home Guard, travel two physicians: Dr. Janez Janež and Dr. Valentin Meršol with his family. Their principles and consciences are put to the test as they face the brutal truth that they cannot save everyone - the survival of some will mean the death of others.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Fail Safe (2000)
Cold War tensions climb to a fever pitch when a U.S. bomber is accidentally ordered to drop a nuclear warhead on Moscow.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Green Mile (1999)
A supernatural tale set on death row in a Southern prison, where gentle giant John Coffey possesses the mysterious power to heal people's ailments. When the cell block's head guard, Paul Edgecomb, recognizes Coffey's miraculous gift, he tries desperately to help stave off the condemned man's execution.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisB&B (2017)
Gay Londoners Marc and Fred plan for a weekend of mischief, baiting the Christian owner of a remote Christian B&B. Events take a deadly turn when another guest arrives, who they think might have something more sinister in mind.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisTrue Crime (1999)
Boozer, skirt chaser, careless father. You could create your own list of reporter Steve Everett's faults but there's no time. A San Quentin Death Row prisoner is slated to die at midnight – a man Everett has suddenly realized is innocent.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Trouble with Jessica (2024)
Sarah and Tom are in terrible financial trouble. On the brink of losing everything, they’ve managed to find a buyer for their stylish London home. When their best friends Richard and Beth come round for a final dinner, an uninvited old friend, Jessica, tags along.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisYou Don't Know Jack (2010)
Controversy and legal problems follow Dr. Jack Kevorkian as he advocates assisted suicide.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisFor God and Country (1943)
The story of the U.S. Army Chaplain Service as dramatized in the stories of three chaplains, Father Michael O'Keefe, Arnold Miller, and Tom Manning.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Like The Chaplain and something else?
Blend two favourites and we’ll find the films in between.
Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like The Chaplain?
The closest matches to The Chaplain are Dead Man Walking (1995), The Trials of Cate McCall (2013) and Lock Up (1989). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after The Chaplain?
Start with Dead Man Walking (1995), the closest match to The Chaplain.
What is the highest-rated movie like The Chaplain?
The Green Mile (1999), rated 8.5/10 by 20,109 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like The Chaplain?
Wasteman (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there Japanese movies like The Chaplain?
The closest matches are in other languages.
How are movies similar to The Chaplain chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside The Chaplain, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.