Movies like Secret Diary (1994)
The best movies like Secret Diary (1994) are The Resurrected (1991), Shades of Desire (2023) and Small Apartments (2012). If Secret Diary hooked you, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedLaw Abiding Citizen (2009)7.4/10 from 5,945 votes
- NewestLove of Your Life (2026)Released 2026
The Resurrected (1991)
Charles Dexter Ward, a wealthy scientist, uses an ancient diary and human remains to begin a terrifying and bloody pursuit for immortality.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisShades of Desire (2023)
After her twin sister Aubrey goes missing, Jennifer uncovers the scandalous, secret double-life that Aubrey leads - and that has put both of them in danger.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSmall Apartments (2012)
When a clumsy deadbeat accidentally kills his landlord, he must do everything in his power to hide the body, only to find that the distractions of lust, the death of his beloved brother, and a crew of misfit characters force him on a journey where a fortune awaits him.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
SnoozefestMovies like thisMatangi / Maya / M.I.A. (2018)
Drawn from a never before seen cache of personal footage spanning decades, this is an intimate portrait of the Sri Lankan artist and musician who continues to shatter conventions.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisSouthbound (2015)
On a desolate stretch of desert highway, weary travelers — two men on the run from their past, a band on their way to the next gig, a man struggling to get home, a brother in search of his long-lost sister and a family on vacation — are forced to confront their worst fears and darkest secrets in these interwoven tales of terror and remorse on the open road.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
SnoozefestMovies like thisThe Glorias (2020)
An equal rights crusader, journalist and activist: Gloria Steinem embodies these and more. From her role in the revolutionary women's rights movement to her travels throughout the U.S. and around the world, Steinem has made an everlasting mark on modern history. A nontraditional chronicle of a trailblazing life.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHeathers (1989)
A girl who halfheartedly tries to be part of the "in crowd" of her school meets a rebel who teaches her a more devious way to play social politics: by killing the popular kids.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisIn the Blood (2014)
When her husband goes missing during their Caribbean vacation, a woman sets off on her own to take down the men she thinks are responsible.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
SnoozefestMovies like thisOne More Time with Feeling (2016)
Andrew Dominik's One More Time With Feeling is a remarkable black and white documentary which chronicles the creation of Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds' album Skeleton Tree. Originally a performance based concept, the film evolved into something much more significant as Dominik delved into the tragic backdrop of the writing and recording of the album. The result is stark, fragile and raw, and a true testament to an artist trying to find his way through the darkness. It documents the writing, recording and performing of Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds’ sixteenth studio album, Skeleton Tree.
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 thisNight of the Hunted (2023)
When an unsuspecting woman stops at a remote gas station in the dead of night, she's made the plaything of a sociopath sniper with a secret vendetta. To survive, she must not only dodge his bullets and fight for her life, but also figure out who wants her dead and why.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Valachi Papers (1972)
When Joe Valachi has a price put on his head by Don Vito Genovese, he must take desperate steps to protect himself while in prison. An unsuccessful attempt to slit his throat puts him over the edge to break the sacred code of silence.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisPretty Persuasion (2005)
A 15-year-old girl incites chaos among her friends and a media frenzy when she accuses her drama teacher of sexual harassment.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
SnoozefestMovies like thisConvict (2014)
Set in the dark and old Parramatta prison built by the original convicts our lead character Ray a war veteran finds himself serving 18 months for manslaughter after defending his fiance. He soon realizes that the prison boss has it in for him and does everything possible to break Ray even going after his fiance.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAl Capone (1959)
In this unusually accurate biography, small-time hood Al Capone comes to Chicago at the dawn of Prohibition to be the bodyguard of racketeer Johnny Torrio. Capone's rise in Chicago gangdom is followed through murder, extortion, and political fraud. He becomes head of Chicago's biggest "business," but moves inexorably toward his downfall and ignominious end.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisFrank and Penelope (2022)
A tale of love and violence when a man on his emotional last legs finds a savior seductively dancing in a run-down strip club. And a life most certainly headed off a cliff suddenly becomes redirected - as everything is now worth dying for.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisLaw Abiding Citizen (2009)
A frustrated man decides to take justice into his own hands after a plea bargain sets one of his family's killers free. He targets not only the killer but also the district attorney and others involved in the deal.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisJeff, Who Lives at Home (2012)
Dispatched from his basement room on an errand for his mother, slacker Jeff might discover his destiny (finally) when he spends the day with his brother as he tracks his possibly adulterous wife.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHarry Brown (2009)
An elderly ex-serviceman and widower looks to avenge his best friend's murder by doling out his own form of justice.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisLove of Your Life (2026)
After a chance encounter sparks a sweeping romance, Maya's future is suddenly upended, sending her on an unexpected journey to love and live again.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisOdd Obsession (1959)
A middle-aged husband of a younger woman finds her youth intimidating to the point that he cannot become aroused. His solution involves the introduction of his daughter's lover to his wife.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
The Senator Was Indiscreet (1947)
A bumbling, long-winded and crooked Southern senator, considered by some as a dark horse for the Presidency, panics his party when his tell-all diary is stolen.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
Diary of My Mind (2018)
On February 27, 2009, pupil Benjamin Feller commits a crime which he has meticulously described beforehand in a diary entry. He goes to the post office to send the diary entry to his teacher before he shoots his parents and turns himself in to the police. His teacher Esther Fontanel tries to understand the events in retrospect. But as the journal’s addressee, she is increasingly targeted by the police herself.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
Kenneth Williams: Fantabulosa! (2006)
Kenneth Williams was the star of the Carry Ons and Round the Horne. Despite his fame, he led a life full of mental torture as he tried to overcome his homosexuality in 1950s Britain. This film follows his life and eventual death based on the many diaries he kept
Why it matches: Similar story and style
Poison Ivy 2: Lily (1996)
A young and naive college art student becomes obsessed with assuming the identity and personality of a departed coed who used to live in her room, and in so doing causes complications that result in two men, a student and her art professor, lusting after her.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
SnoozefestMovies like thisMy Personal Funhouse Mirror (2023)
A look at past diary entries reveals a teenage girl's struggles with body image and depression
Why it matches: Similar story and style
A Diary of a Murderess (1975)
A beautiful young woman sets her sights on an aging millionaire. She seduces him, and moves into his mansion with him. She soon tires of him, though, and after she gets rid of him, she goes after his son.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
Hour of the Wolf (1968)
While vacationing on a remote German island with his younger pregnant wife, an artist has an emotional breakdown while confronting his repressed desires.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
Worth the HypeMovies like thisTell Me Why I Don't Like Mondays (TBA)
Narrated through her diary, the story is a fictional account of Laura, a petite self-destructive and remote teenager living a drug fuelled dead-end, latch-key existence in a Southern Californian suburb.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
Ten: Murder Island (2017)
A group of kids travel to an abandoned island for a party only to discover that they are being stalked and hunted down by a dangerous predator.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
Like Secret Diary and something else?
Blend two favourites and we’ll find the films in between.
Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Secret Diary?
The closest matches to Secret Diary are The Resurrected (1991), Shades of Desire (2023) and Small Apartments (2012). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Secret Diary?
Start with The Resurrected (1991), the closest match to Secret Diary.
What is the highest-rated movie like Secret Diary?
Law Abiding Citizen (2009), rated 7.4/10 by 5,945 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Secret Diary?
Love of Your Life (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like Secret Diary?
Yes: The Resurrected (1991), Shades of Desire (2023) and Small Apartments (2012).
How are movies similar to Secret Diary chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Secret Diary, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.