Movies like not mandatory
The best movies like not mandatory are Hala (2019), Yes, God, Yes (2020) and Religulous (2008). If not mandatory hooked you, these 20 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.

Quick picks
- Highest ratedWords on Bathroom Walls (2020)7.8/10 from 674 votes
- NewestAzrael (2024)Released 2024
Hala (2019)
Seventeen-year-old Pakistani American teenager Hala struggles to balance desire with her family, cultural, and religious obligations. As she comes into her own, she grapples with a secret that threatens to unravel her family.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisYes, God, Yes (2020)
Alice, a young innocent Catholic girl, is tempted into masturbating after an AOL chat suddenly turns sexual, however is conflicted as the act would be considered a sin.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisReligulous (2008)
Commentator-comic Bill Maher plays devil's advocate with religion as he talks to believers about their faith. Traveling around the world, Maher examines the tenets of Christianity, Judaism and Islam and raises questions about homosexuality, proof of Christ's existence, Jewish Sabbath laws, violent Muslim extremists.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisFlatliners (1990)
Five medical students experiment with "near death" experiences, until the dark consequences of past tragedies begin to jeopardize their lives.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisGod's Not Dead (2014)
After he refuses to disavow his faith, a devout Christian student must prove the existence of God or else his college philosophy professor will fail him.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisTeen Spirit (2011)
Amber, a mean popular girl who gets electrocuted and dies, is not allowed to enter into heaven unless she helps the least popular girl in school become Prom Queen within a week, but things do not go as planned.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
SnoozefestMovies like thisTeen Witch (1989)
Louise is not very popular at her highschool. Then she learns that she's descended from the witches of Salem and has inherited their powers. At first she uses them to get back at the girls and teachers who teased her and to win the heart of the handsome footballer's captain. But soon she has doubts if it's right to 'cheat' her way to popularity.
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 thisProfile (2018)
Looking to investigate recruitment techniques of ISIS to lure women into Syria, a journalist creates a Facebook profile of a Muslim convert. When an ISIS recruiter contacts her online character, she experiences the process first hand.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSaint Catherine (2024)
An orphaned girl is rescued from a satanic ritual and taken to Saint Catherine Institute for homeless youth. There she will learn new skills while facing demons that stalk her.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThree Thousand Years of Longing (2022)
A solitary scholar discovers an ancient bottle while on a trip to Istanbul and unleashes a djinn who offers her three wishes. Filled with reluctance, she is unable to come up with one, so the djinn tries to inspire her with his stories.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAnthem of a Teenage Prophet (2019)
A small town-teen predicts his friend’s death with startling accuracy and is labelled the “Prophet of Death.” One thing he didn’t see coming? Falling in love - with his best friend’s girl.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAll That Money Can Buy (1941)
Farmer Jabez Stone, about to lose his land, agrees to sell his soul to the devil, known as Mr. Scratch, who gives Jabez seven years to enjoy the fruits of his sale before he collects. Over that time, Jabez pays off his debts and helps many neighboring farmers, then becomes an advocate for the upstanding Sen. Daniel Webster. When Jabez's contract with Mr. Scratch concludes, he desperately turns to Webster to represent him in a trial for his soul.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisAzrael (2024)
In a world where no one speaks, a devout female hunts down a young woman who has escaped her imprisonment. Recaptured by its ruthless leaders, Azrael is due to be sacrificed to pacify an ancient evil deep within the surrounding wilderness.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
SnoozefestMovies like thisFlight 93 (2006)
Flight 93 is a 2006 made-for-TV film, directed by Peter Markle, which chronicles the events aboard United Airlines Flight 93 during the September 11 attacks. It premiered January 30, 2006 on the A&E Network and was re-broadcast several times throughout 2006. The film focused heavily on eight passengers, namely Todd Beamer, Mark Bingham, Tom Burnett, Jeremy Glick, Lauren Grandcolas, Donald Greene, Nicole Miller, and Honor Elizabeth Wainio. It features small appearances from many other passengers, namely Donald Peterson and his wife, Jean, and also from flight attendant Sandra Bradshaw.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisWords on Bathroom Walls (2020)
Diagnosed with a mental illness halfway through his senior year of high school, a witty, introspective teen struggles to keep it a secret while falling in love with a brilliant classmate who inspires him to open his heart and not be defined by his condition.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Witch (2016)
In 1630, a farmer relocates his family to a remote plot of land on the edge of a forest where strange, unsettling things happen. With suspicion and paranoia mounting, each family member's faith, loyalty and love are tested in shocking ways.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisPlan B (2021)
After a regrettable first sexual encounter, a straight-laced high school student and her slacker best friend have 24 hours to hunt down a Plan B pill in America's heartland.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisRoald Dahl's The Witches (2020)
In late 1967, a young orphaned boy goes to live with his loving grandma in the rural Alabama town of Demopolis. As the boy and his grandmother encounter some deceptively glamorous but thoroughly diabolical witches, she wisely whisks him away to a seaside resort. Regrettably, they arrive at precisely the same time that the world's Grand High Witch has gathered.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDarby and the Dead (2022)
After Darby Harper suffered a near-death experience as a child, she gained the ability to see ghosts. To combat the existential boredom of high school, she runs a side business counseling local spirits in her spare time. When an unexpected occurrence happens between Darby and Capri, the most popular girl at her high school, Darby reluctantly agrees to help her and in the process learns how to fit in with the living world again.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
SnoozefestMovies like this
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like not mandatory?
The closest matches to not mandatory are Hala (2019), Yes, God, Yes (2020) and Religulous (2008). Below are 17 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after not mandatory?
Start with Hala (2019), the closest match to not mandatory.
What is the highest-rated movie like not mandatory?
Words on Bathroom Walls (2020), rated 7.8/10 by 674 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like not mandatory?
Azrael (2024) is the most recent release on this list.
How are movies similar to not mandatory chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside not mandatory, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.



















