Best movies like Painful Secrets
Last updated March 2024
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Plot Summary:
Dawn isn't like other kids her age full of typical teenage angst about boys, school and parents. Her pain goes far deeper, and to deal with her emotional overload she physically cuts herself. The problem of adolescent girls committing self-mutilation is very real, and this movie exposes the growing epidemic. It's a film you can't afford to miss.
IMDB Rating: 6.1
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Drama
Country: Canada, USA
Duration: 94 min
Plot tags: psychological, suspense, disturbing, sad, neurotic, teen
Best tv shows and movies like Painful Secrets (2000):
Similar in 90%
Voices Within: The Lives of Truddi Chase (1990)
Plot Summary:
A woman who suffers from multiple personality disorder is found during therapy to have suffered child abuse in this fact-based story.
IMDB Rating: 6.1
IMDB Votes: 210
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 240 min
Plot tags:
Similar in 81%
Spieltrieb (2013)
Plot Summary:
A tangled drama of cruelty and manipulation, attraction and love.
IMDB Rating: 5.3
IMDB Votes: 421
Genere: Drama
Country: Germany
Duration: 102 min
Plot tags: psychological, suspense, disturbing
Similar in 83%
Pin Cushion (2017)
Plot Summary:
Super close mother Lyn and daughter Iona (Dafty One and Dafty Two) are excited for their new life in a new town. Determined to make a success of things after a tricky start, Iona becomes 'best friends' with Keely, Stacey and Chelsea. Used to being Iona's bestie herself, Lyn feels left out. So Lyn also makes friends with Belinda, her neighbour.
IMDB Rating: 6.5
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Drama
Country: UK
Duration: 82 min
Plot tags: melancholic, psychological, captivating, suspense, gothic, social, stylized
Similar in 88%
Story of a Girl (2017)
Plot Summary:
When a compromising video of sixteen-year-old Deanna Lambert hits social media, her teenage life is changed forever. Overcoming bullies, hurtful school-yard taunts and the enduring rage and disappointment of her father, Deanna longs to escape a life defined by her past.
IMDB Rating: 6.2
IMDB Votes: 637
Genere: Drama
Country: Canada, USA
Duration: 90 min
Plot tags: exciting, light, romantic, captivating, entertaining, suspenseful, crying
Similar in 90%
Another Child (2019)
Plot Summary:
17-year-old Joo-ri discovers her father is having an affair with the mother of her hard-headed classmate Yoon-ah.
IMDB Rating: 6.7
IMDB Votes: 435
Genere: Drama
Country: South Korea
Duration: 96 min
Plot tags: psychological, captivating, suspense, disturbing
Similar in 89%
Little Miss Perfect (2016)
Plot Summary:
An overambitious high school freshman tries to control her life by controlling her weight.
IMDB Rating: 5.0
IMDB Votes: 328
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 82 min
Plot tags: psychological, disturbing, thought provoking, suspense
Similar in 81%
To Be Fat Like Me (2007)
Plot Summary:
Pretty, popular, and slim high-schooler Aly Schimdt had plans of earning a sports scholarship to college but a knee injury ruins her chances. She decides to enter a documentary contest in the hopes of winning money for college. She believes that overweight people, like her mom and brother, seem to make excuses about how the world perceives them. So Aly decides to attend a rival high school as a heavily overweight person for the documentary, but not change her personality. Aly intends and hopes to prove that personality will outshine physical appearance. But when she's met with ridicule, harassment, and name-calling she begins to see things differently.
IMDB Rating: 5.6
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA, Canada
Duration: 89 min
Plot tags: semi serious, realistic, suspense, captivating, suspenseful, documentary filmmaking, ridiculous
Similar in 88%
God's Club (2015)
Plot Summary:
Following his wife’s death, public high-school teacher Michael Evens (Stephen Baldwin) re-launches the Bible Club she originally founded. When upset parents cite the separation of church and state and want the group disbanded, a passionate dispute erupts and threatens to destroy their small Vermont community. With his job, personal relationships and even his faith on the line, Michael must make tough decisions about the things that matter most. Corbin Bernsen and Lorenzo Lamas also star in this uplifting tale of strength, unity and love.
IMDB Rating: 3.7
IMDB Votes: 332
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 89 min
Plot tags: christian film
Similar in 77%
The Tracey Fragments (2007)
Plot Summary:
Tracey Berkowitz, 15, a self-described normal girl, loses her 9-year old brother, Sonny. In flashbacks and fragments, we meet her overbearing parents and the sweet, clueless Sonny. We watch Tracey navigate high school, friendless, picked on and teased. She develops a thing for Billy Zero, a new student, imagining he's her boyfriend. We see the day she loses Sonny and we watch her try to find him.
IMDB Rating: 6.0
IMDB Votes: 8000
Genere: Drama
Country: Canada
Duration: 77 min
Plot tags: disturbing, psychological, serious, realistic, sad, mumblecore, freeze frame, gloomy, tragic, weird
Similar in 82%
Mickey and the Bear (2019)
Plot Summary:
In Anaconda, Montana, a strong-willed teenage girl navigates a loving but volatile relationship with her veteran father. In a desperate search for independence and her own identity, she risks family, heartbreak, and her standing in the only place she can call home.
IMDB Rating: 6.6
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 88 min
Plot tags: psychological, tense, unusual plot structure, suspense, suspenseful, disturbing, social
Similar in 87%
Ashley (2013)
Plot Summary:
A teenage girl, distraught from her vain attempt to connect with her estranged mother, resorts to cutting herself. When she develops an online relationship with an older woman, she learns to accept her sexuality and the endless solitude of sprawling suburbia.
IMDB Rating: 5.2
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 93 min
Plot tags: touching, serious, captivating, psychological, erotic, sad, crying, bleak, realistic, gloomy
Similar in 90%
Feed (2017)
Plot Summary:
Olivia and Matthew Grey, 18-year-old twins born into a world of privilege and high expectations. There are almost no boundaries between them - even their dreams are connected.
IMDB Rating: 6.0
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 95 min
Plot tags: psychological, touching, tense, sincere, captivating, suspense, disturbing, cliffhanger, teen
Similar in 81%
@urFRENZ (2010)
Plot Summary:
When depressed and withdrawn Catharine meets a secretive boy online, she begins to come out of her shell. But is he a suitor or a stalker, a friend or foe? The mystery of his existence fuels obsession, denial and deceit, sending her to the point of no return. In the midst of cliques, boyfriends, and digital drama, Catharine is trying to make sense of a world of uncertain identities. The film was inspired by the writer-director's own experience parenting his teenage daughter in the world of cyberspace. @urFRENZ was made to serve as a talking point for the subject matter of bullying and cyberbullying, the number one hot button issue between parents and teens today.
IMDB Rating: 6.1
IMDB Votes: 281
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 90 min
Plot tags: psychological, serious, captivating, realistic, disturbing, independent film, tense
Similar in 85%
When Friendship Kills (1996)
Plot Summary:
Two friends keep their vomiting a secret until one friend almost dies.
IMDB Rating: 6.3
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA, Canada
Duration: 96 min
Plot tags: psychological, emotional
Similar in 78%
For the Love of Nancy (1994)
Plot Summary:
The parents of an anorexic woman fight to save her life.
IMDB Rating: 6.5
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 100 min
Plot tags: educational, neurotic, psychological, thought provoking, touching, serious, realistic, witty, disturbing, contemplative
Similar in 90%
To the Bone (2017)
Plot Summary:
A young woman dealing with anorexia meets an unconventional doctor who challenges her to face her condition and embrace life.
IMDB Rating: 6.8
IMDB Votes: 54000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 107 min
Plot tags: bleak, captivating, motivational, emotional, teen, psychological, sad, factual, cult classic, aesthetic
Similar in 89%
Paper Spiders (2020)
Plot Summary:
A bittersweet story about coming of age in the shadow of mental illness.
IMDB Rating: 6.6
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 109 min
Plot tags: psychological, captivating, suspense, disturbing
Similar in 78%
A Girl Like Her (2015)
Plot Summary:
Sophomore year has been a nightmare for Jessica Burns. Relentlessly harassed by her former friend Avery Keller, Jessica doesn't know what she did to deserve the abuse from one of South Brookdale High's most popular and beautiful students. But when a shocking event changes both of their lives, a documentary film crew, a hidden digital camera, and the attention of a reeling community begin to reveal the powerful truth about A Girl Like Her.
IMDB Rating: 7.0
IMDB Votes: 7000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 91 min
Plot tags: realistic, serious, rough, teen, tense, suspense, intellectual, slasher, tear jerker, fake documentary
Similar in 90%
Una (2016)
Plot Summary:
When a young woman unexpectedly arrives at an older man's workplace, looking for answers, the secrets of the past threaten to unravel his new life.
IMDB Rating: 6.2
IMDB Votes: 11000
Genere: Drama
Country: UK, Canada, USA
Duration: 94 min
Plot tags: psychological, cynical, thought provoking, sad, disturbing, suspense, art house, independent film, psychological thriller
Similar in 83%
Share (2019)
Plot Summary:
After discovering a disturbing video from a night she doesn’t remember, sixteen-year-old Mandy must try to figure out what happened and how to navigate the escalating fallout.
IMDB Rating: 5.7
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 87 min
Plot tags: captivating, suspense, disturbing, dark, social, cult classic
Similar in 80%
Sharing the Secret (2000)
Plot Summary:
A teenage girl who feels she must always seem happy for her parents and friends secretly binges and purges.
IMDB Rating: 6.2
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 90 min
Plot tags: psychological, emotional, realistic, touching, serious, teen
Similar in 82%
She's Too Young (2004)
Plot Summary:
A mother/daughter relationship is thrown off balance when the mother (Marcia Gay Harden) discovers that her "good girl" daughter (Alexis Dziena) is part of a group who are engaging in sexual activities with multiple partners. Such activity results in an outbreak of sexually transmitted diseases.
IMDB Rating: 5.8
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Drama
Country: Canada, USA
Duration: 84 min
Plot tags: thought provoking, serious, captivating, realistic, disturbing, teen, sexual, crying, sexy, ridiculous
Similar in 83%
Miriam Lies (2018)
Plot Summary:
Shy girl Miriam is waiting to celebrate her 15th birthday and she wants to invite her guy. So far they’ve only chatted online, and the anticipated blind date only complicates things.
IMDB Rating: 6.5
IMDB Votes: 131
Genere: Drama
Country: Dominican Republic, Spain
Duration: 90 min
Plot tags: psychological, tense, thought provoking, unusual plot structure, suspense, disturbing, contemplative
Similar in 75%
Manic (2001)
Plot Summary:
Lyle is filled with rage. After badly beating a classmate during a schoolyard fight, Lyle is committed to a juvenile mental institution in lieu of criminal prosecution. Inside the hospital, Lyle encounters a group of adolescents struggling with a variety of illnesses.
IMDB Rating: 7.2
IMDB Votes: 10000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 100 min
Plot tags: psychological, independent film, disturbing, compassionate, depressing, rough, cerebral, teen, realistic, talky
Similar in 85%
Odd Girl Out (2005)
Plot Summary:
A mother and her daughter confront the intimidation of teen peer pressure and the emotionally brutalizing social rituals of high school.
IMDB Rating: 6.5
IMDB Votes: 4000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 84 min
Plot tags: realistic, serious, exciting, captivating, touching, suspenseful, sad, teen
Similar in 85%
Hunger Point (2003)
Plot Summary:
Meet the Hunters your typical all-American family: two committed parents and two lovely daughters. However, looks can be deceiving because this family is plagued by the nit-picking comments of an overzealous mother determined to keep her daughters thin. The results of this mother's tyranny is unimaginable. This movie really captures the dangers of eating disorders like no other. Based on the best-selling book of the same name.
IMDB Rating: 5.4
IMDB Votes: 655
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 100 min
Plot tags: psychological, touching, serious, emotional, realistic
Similar in 88%
Speak (2004)
Plot Summary:
Freshman high-school student Melinda has refused to speak ever since she called the cops on a popular summer party. With her old friends snubbing her for being a rat, and her parents too busy to notice her troubles, she folds into herself, trying to hide her secret: that star senior Andy raped her at the party. But Melinda does manage to find solace in her art class headed by Mr. Freeman.
IMDB Rating: 7.2
IMDB Votes: 29000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 89 min
Plot tags: touching, psychological, sentimental, independent film, sincere, sad, depressing, teen, thought provoking, intellectual
Similar in 86%
Helen (2009)
Plot Summary:
On the outside, Helen has it all – a loving family and a successful career – but when her suppressed mental illness resurfaces, the world crumbles around her. Crippled by depression, Helen finds solace through her friendship with Mathilda, a kindred spirit struggling with bipolar disorder.
IMDB Rating: 6.2
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA, UK, Germany, Canada
Duration: 120 min
Plot tags: psychological, emotional, realistic, depressing, sentimental, atmospheric, sincere, serious, independent film, beautiful
Similar in 77%
Girl, Interrupted (1999)
Plot Summary:
Set in the changing world of the late 1960s, Susanna Kaysen's prescribed "short rest" from a psychiatrist she had met only once becomes a strange, unknown journey into Alice's Wonderland, where she struggles with the thin line between normal and crazy. Susanna soon realizes how hard it is to get out once she has been committed, and she ultimately has to choose between the world of people who belong inside or the difficult world of reality outside.
IMDB Rating: 7.3
IMDB Votes: 206000
Genere: Biography, Drama
Country: USA, Germany
Duration: 127 min
Plot tags: psychological, depressing, serious, crying, captivating, heartbreaking, touching, teen, gothic, gloomy
Similar in 89%
Thirteen (2003)
Plot Summary:
Tracy is a normal 13-year-old trying to make it in school. After befriending the most popular girl at school, Evie, Tracy's world is turned upside down when Evie introduces her to a world of sex, drugs and cash. But it isn't long before Tracy's new world and attitude finally takes a toll on her, her family, and old friends.
IMDB Rating: 6.8
IMDB Votes: 96000
Genere: Drama
Country: UK, USA
Duration: 100 min
Plot tags: teen, sincere, realistic, tense, disturbing, emotional, intense, serious, depressing, bleak