Movies like Desire (1982)
The best movies like Desire (1982) are Maniac (2012), Pariah (2011) and Poor Things (2023). If Desire hooked you, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedMemento (2000)8.2/10 from 17,019 votes
- NewestPoor Things (2023)Released 2023
Maniac (2012)
As he helps a young artist with her upcoming exhibition, the owner of a mannequin shop's deadly, suppressed desires come to the surface.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisPariah (2011)
A Brooklyn teenager juggles conflicting identities and risks friendship, heartbreak, and family in a desperate search for sexual expression.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisPoor Things (2023)
Brought back to life by an unorthodox scientist, a young woman runs off with a lawyer on a whirlwind adventure across the continents. Free from the prejudices of her times, she grows steadfast in her purpose to stand for equality and liberation.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisAntichrist (2009)
A grieving couple retreats to their cabin 'Eden' in the woods, hoping to repair their broken hearts and troubled marriage. But nature takes its course and things go from bad to worse.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisFrankenhooker (1990)
A medical school dropout loses his fiancée in a tragic lawnmower incident and decides to bring her back to life. Unfortunately, he was only able to save her head, so he goes to the red light district in the city and lures prostitutes into a hotel room so he can collect body parts to reassemble her.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBody Parts (1991)
A criminal psychologist loses his arm in a car crash, and becomes one of three patients to have their missing limbs replaced by those belonging to an executed serial killer. One of them dies violently, and disturbing occurrences start happening to the surviving two.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
SnoozefestMovies like thisDisclosure (2020)
An investigation of how Hollywood's fabled stories have deeply influenced how Americans feel about transgender people, and how transgender people have been taught to feel about themselves.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisCrash (1996)
A car crash victim inexplicably finds himself aroused by car accidents and becomes involved with an underground subculture of like-minded souls.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBasic Instinct (1992)
Catherine, a novelist with an insatiable sexual appetite, becomes a prime suspect when her boyfriend is brutally murdered -- a crime she had described in her latest story.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Diary of a Teenage Girl (2015)
Minnie Goetze is a 15-year-old aspiring comic-book artist, coming of age in the haze of the 1970s in San Francisco. Insatiably curious about the world around her, Minnie is a pretty typical teenage girl. Oh, except that she’s sleeping with her mother’s boyfriend.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHellbound: Hellraiser II (1988)
Now confined to a mental hospital, young Kirsty insists her supposedly dead father is actually stuck in Hell following his wife’s betrayal. Few believe the young woman’s lurid stories aside from the thrill-seeking Dr. Channard. Kirsty is undeterred and, with the help of a fellow patient, heads to Hell for a rescue.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMysterious Skin (2005)
A teenage hustler and a young man obsessed with alien abductions cross paths, together discovering a horrible, liberating truth.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisTourist Trap (1979)
After their car breaks down, a group of young travelers find themselves stranded at a roadside museum run by the enigmatic Mr. Slausen and populated by his collection of life-like wax mannequins.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisLilith (1964)
Vincent Bruce, a war veteran, begins working as an occupational therapist at Poplar Lodge, a private psychiatric facility for wealthy people where he meets Lilith Arthur, a charming young woman suffering from schizophrenia, whose fragile beauty captivates all who meet her.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisFemme (2023)
Jules is a drag artist in London who withdraws into himself and loses his career after a horrific attack. Months later, he recognizes one of his assailants in a gay sauna and quickly realizes he has the perfect opportunity to get revenge.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisAsylum (2005)
A woman becomes very curious about one of her psychiatrist husband's inmates, a man who was found guilty in the murder and disfigurement of his former wife.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMartin (1978)
A young man, convinced he's a vampire, goes to live with his elderly and hostile cousin in a small Pennsylvanian town, where he tries to suppress his bloodlust.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisGoodnight Mommy (2022)
When twin brothers arrive home to find their mother’s demeanor altered and face covered in surgical bandages, they begin to suspect the woman beneath the gauze might not be their mother.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisExcision (2012)
Pauline, a disturbed, outcast teenager, has a fascination with surgery and experiences violent, psychosexual fantasies, all while aspiring to a career in medicine.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Cell (2000)
A psychotherapist journeys inside the mind of a comatose serial killer in the hopes of saving his latest victim.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMemento (2000)
Leonard Shelby is tracking down the man who raped and murdered his wife. The difficulty of locating his wife's killer, however, is compounded by the fact that he suffers from a rare, untreatable form of short-term memory loss. Although he can recall details of life before his accident, Leonard cannot remember what happened fifteen minutes ago, where he's going, or why.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisHigh Fidelity (2000)
After his long-time girlfriend dumps him, a thirty-year-old record store owner seeks to understand why he is unlucky in love while recounting his "top five breakups of all time".
Why it matches: Similar story and style
Worth the HypeMovies like thisEdward Scissorhands (1990)
A small suburban town receives a visit from a castaway unfinished science experiment named Edward.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
Worth the HypeMovies like thisSaw (2004)
Two men wake up to find themselves shackled in a grimy, abandoned bathroom. As they struggle to comprehend their predicament, they discover a disturbing tape left behind by the sadistic mastermind known as Jigsaw. With a chilling voice and cryptic instructions, Jigsaw informs them that they must partake in a gruesome game in order to secure their freedom.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
Worth the HypeMovies like thisBlown Away (1994)
Blown Away tells the story of Jimmy Dove, who works for the Boston bomb squad. Shortly after Dove leaves the force, his partner is killed by a bomb that Dove thinks might have been made by someone he knows.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisKilling the Devil (1970)
A lonely woman gets more than she bargained for when she begins wooing Mr Devil, an insatiable glutton who turns out to be the boyfriend from Hell.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
My dear son (1977)
The dramatic tale of a father’s sacrifice for his son. Dramatic events are awaiting a family living in the countryside on a farm. While brothers living with their father are happy with their condition, Ahmet the eldest is not. He is amazed by what he saw during his visits in the big city. He doesn’t want to become a farmer. He decides to go to the city against the will of his family. After receiving the news of Ahmet’s death, his father seeks revenge.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
The Hole (2001)
Four teenagers at a British private school secretly uncover and explore the depths of a sealed underground hole created decades ago as a possible bomb shelter.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisRaajakumara (2017)
Siddharth, a devoted son and a prince in his father's eyes, encounters numerous challenges while maintaining his pure character. Upon losing his family, he uncovers the hardships they faced and resolves to look after the elderly at an old age home. However, Jagannath attempts to thwart his noble endeavors.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
Klute (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: Similar story and style
Popcorn FlickMovies like this
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Desire?
The closest matches to Desire are Maniac (2012), Pariah (2011) and Poor Things (2023). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Desire?
Start with Maniac (2012), the closest match to Desire.
What is the highest-rated movie like Desire?
Memento (2000), rated 8.2/10 by 17,019 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Desire?
Poor Things (2023) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like Desire?
Yes: Maniac (2012), Pariah (2011) and Poor Things (2023).
How are movies similar to Desire chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Desire, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.