Best movies like The Dark Maidens
Last updated March 2024
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Plot Summary:
One day, Itsumi Shiraishi dies at Seibo Maria Girls High School. She falls off from the rooftop of a school building. Itsumi is the daughter of the administrator at the school and she was envied by all the other students there. Did Itsumi kill herself or was she killed accidentally or intentionally? At the time of her death, she held a lily of the valley flower in her hand. A rumor spreads that somebody in the literature club killed Itsumi. Itsumi was the president of the literature club. A friend of Itsumi, Sayuri, is now the president and she holds a regular club meeting, reading stories written by members.
IMDB Rating: 6.2
IMDB Votes: 258
Genere: Drama, Mystery
Country: Japan
Duration: 105 min
Plot tags: serious, captivating, disturbing, stylized
Best tv shows and movies like The Dark Maidens (2017):
Similar in 75%
The Tale of Iya (2013)
Plot Summary:
It was summer when a stranger from Tokyo arrived at “Iya”, where the riches of nature still abound. This young man, named Kudo, was willing to live his new, self-sufficient life. He was exhausted by city life, and believed this beautiful land would give him some rest. On the contrary, the reality was not as easy as he thought. There was a confliction between a local construction company and a group of nature conservationists. Farmers are trying to save their harvests from harmful animals such as deer and monkeys. People are fighting for their own purposes: to get their job, to save the environment, or to survive.
IMDB Rating: 7.0
IMDB Votes: 363
Genere: Drama
Country: Japan
Duration: 169 min
Plot tags: silent, exciting, touching, captivating, contemplative, silent film
Similar in 78%
Pieta in the Toilet (2015)
Plot Summary:
Hiroshi (Yojiro Noda) has given up on his dreams of becoming a painter and works part-time cleaning office windows. He learns that he has only 3 months left to live. During his last summer, high school student Mai (Hana Sugisaki) appears. Hiroshi becomes attracted to her.
IMDB Rating: 6.5
IMDB Votes: 294
Genere: Drama
Country: Japan
Duration: 120 min
Plot tags: psychological, sincere, touching, captivating, disturbing, atmospheric
Similar in 90%
Love and Lies (2017)
Plot Summary:
The Japanese government carries out a program to increase the birth rate in the country. Their program analyzes gene information from its residents and selects a marriage partner for them. Aoi Nisaka is a high school student. She is in a love triangle with childhood friend Yuto Shiba and Sosuke Takachiho. Sosuke Takachiho is appointed by the government to become her husband.
IMDB Rating: 5.5
IMDB Votes: 258
Genere: Drama, Romance
Country: Japan
Duration: 106 min
Plot tags: sentimental, touching, captivating, romantic drama, cute, sweet
Similar in 78%
While the Women Are Sleeping (2016)
Plot Summary:
Kenji and Aya spend their summer days in a Hotel. While she is doing her own thing, he tries to work on his novel. But then a few strange hotel guest arouse the curiosity of the couple.
IMDB Rating: 5.4
IMDB Votes: 469
Genere: Drama, Mystery
Country: Japan
Duration: 103 min
Plot tags: sentimental, light, romantic, captivating, entertaining, contemplative, detective
Similar in 83%
Life Back Then (2011)
Plot Summary:
Kyohei Nagashima (Masaki Okada) has shut away the world. During his high school days he was the target of bullying and experienced horrifying moments. Now as a young adult Kyohei takes a new job. He works for a company that specializes in cleaning out the homes of recently deceased individuals. With his new job Kyohei meets co-worker Yuki (Nana Eikura). Yuki has also experienced a traumatizing event as a teen and has also shut herself away from the world. These two young people form a bond as they go through the homes of the recently departed people. They gradually open up to each other and in the process to the world. Yet, their fragile psyches may or may not be ready for such changes.
IMDB Rating: 6.1
IMDB Votes: 142
Genere: Drama
Country: Japan
Duration: 131 min
Plot tags: sincere, captivating, road movie, crying, learning
Similar in 79%
Everyone Is Psychic!: The Movie (2015)
Plot Summary:
A high-school student Yoshiro has never got a spotlight in his life and spends his days aimlessly. What only shines in his life is a girl Sae at his school. Even if being completely disregarded by her, he still dreams of becoming her true love in the future. One day, he finds himself having a mind-reading psychic power. As he looks around, there seem more psychics born in the city, and somehow they are all virgins! One uses his psychokinetic power to fulfill his sexual desire or turns into a flasher using teleportation ability... On the arrival of the psychics like Yoshiro, the city gets gradually infested with the erotic terrorism evoked by a mysterious group. Knowing he has never got any attention from the girl of his dreams, Yoshiro determines to use his power to save the world from this steamy chaos and show off what he has got to the love of his life!.
IMDB Rating: 5.4
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Comedy, Drama, Mystery, Sci-Fi
Country: Japan
Duration: 114 min
Plot tags: sexy, erotic, light, humorous, surreal, psychotronic, seinen, detective, eros, low brow humor
Similar in 85%
I Just Didn't Do It (2006)
Plot Summary:
A young man fights for his freedom after he is accused of groping a girl on train.
IMDB Rating: 7.6
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Drama
Country: Japan
Duration: 143 min
Plot tags:
Similar in 81%
A Girl Missing (2019)
Plot Summary:
Ichiko works as a private nurse for a family she has almost became a part of. While Ichiko cares for the grandmother, she is also a confidant to Motoko, the eldest sister. But one day, Motoko’s younger sister disappears. And the media soon reveal the kidnapper to be Ichiko’s own nephew.
IMDB Rating: 6.5
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Drama, Mystery
Country: Japan, France
Duration: 111 min
Plot tags: psychological, captivating, disturbing
Similar in 90%
Chronicle of My Mother (2011)
Plot Summary:
Best-selling novelist Kosaku Igami has made a career out of using his family as fodder for his novels, much to their dismay. When his mother, the spirited family matriarch, is diagnosed with dementia, Igami must come to terms with the toll his own behavior has taken on his increasingly distant family and resolve his own long-simmering resentments. Evocative of classic Ozu, this gorgeously wrought epic family portrait explores the tenderness and trappings of familial bonds. (Chicago International Film Festival).
IMDB Rating: 7.3
IMDB Votes: 482
Genere: Drama
Country: Japan
Duration: 108 min
Plot tags: sincere, captivating, semi autobiographical, crying, entertaining
Similar in 81%
Make a Bow and Kiss (2017)
Plot Summary:
Based on the comic book by Yakko Kaga.
IMDB Rating: 5.7
IMDB Votes: 175
Genere: Drama, Romance
Country: Japan
Duration: 99 min
Plot tags: light, romantic, sweet, captivating, crying, whimsical
Similar in 88%
Neighboring Sakuko (2013)
Plot Summary:
3 years on from hospitalité, Kiki Sugino and Koji Fukada are back again with this socially-conscious film about a 18-year-old girl in-between adolescence and adulthood who spends a summer in a valley and enjoys romance. Sakuko, a 18-year-old girl studying for her university entrance exams, decides to accompany her aunt Mikie on a trip to a seaside town. There she befriends Takashi, a refugee from Fukushima who has dropped out of high school and works at a motel run by Ukichi, a friend of Mikie. In-between childhood and adulthood, Sakuko starts to understand the difficulties of becoming an adult.
IMDB Rating: 7.1
IMDB Votes: 449
Genere: Drama
Country: Japan, USA
Duration: 125 min
Plot tags: atmospheric, realistic, captivating, sincere, sentimental, feel good, serious
Similar in 79%
Sagrada Reset Part 1 (2017)
Plot Summary:
In the town of Sakurada, where about half of the residents have special abilities, Kei Asai (Shuhei Nomura) is a high school student and is able to remember everything. Misora Haruki (Yuina Kuroshima) is also a high school student and she has the power to reset the world by 3 days. If they use both of their powers together, they can go back in time by 3 days and retain their memory. They are watched by the administrative bureau.
IMDB Rating: 5.5
IMDB Votes: 122
Genere: Drama, Fantasy, Mystery
Country: Japan
Duration: 103 min
Plot tags: exciting, captivating, disturbing
Similar in 78%
The Flowers of Evil (2019)
Plot Summary:
A high school student steals the panties of a girl he likes but is witnessed, which sets off a chain of events that send his life and the lives of others around him out of control.
IMDB Rating: 5.8
IMDB Votes: 384
Genere: Drama, Romance, Thriller
Country: Japan
Duration: 127 min
Plot tags: psychological, captivating, disturbing, sexy
Similar in 75%
Anohana: The Flower We Saw That Day (2015)
Plot Summary:
High school student Jinta (Nijiro Murakami) is a hikikomori and lives in Chichibu, Saitama Prefecture, Japan. One summer day, when Jinta is absorbed in a video game, a girl suddenly appears in front of him. The girl is Jinta's childhood friend Meiko (Minami Hamabe), but it seems impossible because Meiko died on a summer day. Meiko wears the same white dress when she died, but she looks a little taller. She tells Jinta that she has a wish and that's why she came back as a ghost, but Meiko can't remember what her wish was. To grant Meiko's wish, Jinta along with his friends Atsumu (Jun Shison), Naruko (Airi Matsui), Chiriko (Marie Iitoyo), Tetsudo (Yuta Takahata) and Meiko gather together for the first time in 7 years. Jinta soon realizes that he is the only one able to see Meiko.
IMDB Rating: 7.2
IMDB Votes: 401
Genere: Adventure, Drama, Fantasy, Mystery, Romance
Country: Japan
Duration: 120 min
Plot tags: anime, light, unusual plot structure, captivating, contemplative, sad, crying
Similar in 84%
Love & Pop (1998)
Plot Summary:
Pretty Tokyo teen Hiromi Yoshii (Asumi Miwa) and her girlfriends struggle with rivalries, clothes and boyfriends, just like any other high school clique. But out for kicks and blind to the consequences, the girls of Love & Pop hide a dirty little secret. From phone booths and street corners, in department stores and restaurants, the girls practice enjo-kosai or "compensated dating" -- arranging liaisons with older men drawn to their evident nubile charms and schoolgirl uniform innocence.
IMDB Rating: 7.4
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Drama
Country: Japan
Duration: 110 min
Plot tags: disturbing, offbeat, serious, realistic, witty, sexual, sexy
Similar in 77%
About the Pink Sky (2011)
Plot Summary:
High school student Izumi Kawashima, whose daily routine is rating newspaper articles, finds a wallet containing a large sum of cash. Instead of returning the wallet to its owner, Izumi decides to lend a substantial portion of the money to a middle-aged male acquaintance. She eventually returns the wallet to its owner, a wealthy high-school boy named Koki, who notices the missing money, and as compensation, asks Izumi to do something for his friend - to create a newspaper that brings happiness to its reader.
IMDB Rating: 6.6
IMDB Votes: 198
Genere: Drama
Country: Japan
Duration: 113 min
Plot tags: sincere, atmospheric, serious, realistic, offbeat, sexy, hot
Similar in 85%
March Comes in Like a Lion 2 (2017)
Plot Summary:
The time spent between professional Shogi player Kiriyama and his three stories helps to heal his wounds. As he prepares to secure another win in an upcoming tournament, the father who left the three sisters appears and disturbs the peace.
IMDB Rating: 6.8
IMDB Votes: 261
Genere: Drama
Country: Japan
Duration: 140 min
Plot tags: captivating, crying, weeping, entertaining
Similar in 79%
Say 'I Love You' (2014)
Plot Summary:
Mei Tachibana is a high school student. Due to a traumatic incident when she was a kid, Mei has been unable to make friends or have boyfriends. By mistake, Mei then injures the most popular male student named Yamato Kurosawa. Somehow, Yamato Kurosawa likes Mei Tachibana and tells everyone unilaterally that Mei is his friend. One day, Yamato Kurosawa saves Mei Tachibana from a stalker by kissing her. From that kiss, their love story begins.
IMDB Rating: 6.2
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Drama, Romance
Country: Japan
Duration: 102 min
Plot tags: sexy, anime, light, sincere, shoujo, touching, captivating, romantic, romantic drama
Similar in 89%
Dear Friends (2007)
Plot Summary:
High school student Rina has a bad attitude and thinks that friends are something that you use when you need them. She doesn't have any real relationships and is not even on good terms with her parents. Rina is the clubbing queen and could get any guy she wants with her stunning looks. One day, Rina suddenly collapses and her world falls apart. She finds out that she has cancer. The only one who starts to support her is her classmate Maki. Maki tells that they were friends in primary school even though Rina doesn't remember. Maki wants to get close to Rina and help her like Rina had helped Maki when she had hard times.
IMDB Rating: 6.5
IMDB Votes: 438
Genere: Drama
Country: Japan
Duration: 115 min
Plot tags: captivating, sexy
Similar in 83%
Tokyo Shutter Girl (2013)
Plot Summary:
The movie Tokyo Shutter Girl, based on the comic series by Kenichi Kiriki, consists of three separate works by three separate directors, each set in Tokyo. It is about three Japanese schoolgirls in a photo club.
IMDB Rating: 6.1
IMDB Votes: 39
Genere: Drama
Country: Japan
Duration: 92 min
Plot tags: anthology, sexual
Similar in 83%
Sundome New (2017)
Plot Summary:
Hideo's a nerd and a virgin, and he's probably going to stay that way. But when a hot new girl joins his class, he falls for her hard.
IMDB Rating: 5.4
IMDB Votes: 42
Genere: Drama, Romance
Country: Japan
Duration: 78 min
Plot tags: sincere, captivating, disturbing, manga
Similar in 78%
Night's Tightrope (2016)
Plot Summary:
Yuki is a 2nd year high school student. She volunteers at a paediatrics ward for her summer vacation, because she wants to witness the moment a person dies. She got that thought after feeling envious of a transfer student's story of seeing a friend's dead body. Yuki has friend named Atsuko. She was bullied in the past and has anxiety issues. She volunteers at a nursing home for her summer vacation, hoping that she will gain courage if she sees the moment a person dies.
IMDB Rating: 6.2
IMDB Votes: 271
Genere: Mystery
Country: Japan
Duration: 120 min
Plot tags: psychological, serious, captivating, suspense
Similar in 89%
Tsumugi (2004)
Plot Summary:
Tsumugi, a girl with a crush on her teacher, discovers that the teacher is having an affair with another teacher. Complications ensue after Tsumugi manages to attract her teacher, but then begins falling for a fellow student.
IMDB Rating: 6.1
IMDB Votes: 183
Genere: Drama, Romance
Country: Japan
Duration: 61 min
Plot tags: erotic, sexy
Similar in 84%
Afterschool (2008)
Plot Summary:
A prep-school student (Ezra Miller) accidentally films the drug-related deaths of two classmates, then is asked to put together a memorial video.
IMDB Rating: 6.0
IMDB Votes: 5000
Genere: Drama, Mystery
Country: USA
Duration: 107 min
Plot tags: disturbing, serious, bleak, independent film, suspense, cerebral, philosophical, mumblecore, controversial, teen
Similar in 86%
Paradise Kiss (2011)
Plot Summary:
Hyasaka Yukari only wants one thing: to enter the college that her mom wants. One day, she meets an extravagant group that loves fashion. They were searching for a model and Yukari fits their ideal model. From now Yukari will know the world of fashion and modeling, and what she really wants.
IMDB Rating: 6.3
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Drama
Country: Japan
Duration: 115 min
Plot tags: sentimental, romantic, shoujo, captivating, anime, realistic, crying, hot
Similar in 80%
Beautiful Kate (2009)
Plot Summary:
Ned Kendall is asked to return to the remote and isolated family home by his sister, to say goodbye to his father who is dying. Ned also brings his young aspiring actress fiancee who struggles with the isolation. When home he starts having memories of his childhood many involving his beautiful twin sister and his older brother. These memories awaken long-buried secrets from the family's past.
IMDB Rating: 6.6
IMDB Votes: 4000
Genere: Drama, Mystery
Country: Australia
Duration: 100 min
Plot tags: stylized, realistic, psychological, tense, disturbing, bleak, serious, crying, independent film, hot
Similar in 88%
Schoolgirl Complex (2013)
Plot Summary:
At an all female high school, a senior of the radio club becomes fascinated with the club's newest member. As graduation nears and the summer heat rises, so does the sexual tension between the girls.
IMDB Rating: 5.7
IMDB Votes: 273
Genere: Drama
Country: Japan
Duration: 96 min
Plot tags: sentimental, romantic, sexy, touching, unusual plot structure, melancholic, erotic
Similar in 86%
Saki Achiga-hen: Episode of Side-A (2018)
Plot Summary:
Sequel movie to the live-action Saki TV series.
IMDB Rating: 5.6
IMDB Votes: 33
Genere: Drama
Country: Japan
Duration: 112 min
Plot tags: captivating, tense, sincere, unusual plot structure, suspense, contemplative
Similar in 78%
Picnic at Hanging Rock (1975)
Plot Summary:
In the early 1900s, Miranda attends a girls boarding school in Australia. One Valentine's Day, the school's typically strict headmistress treats the girls to a picnic field trip to an unusual but scenic volcanic formation called Hanging Rock. Despite rules against it, Miranda and several other girls venture off. It's not until the end of the day that the faculty realizes the girls and one of the teachers have disappeared mysteriously.
IMDB Rating: 7.4
IMDB Votes: 40000
Genere: Drama, Mystery
Country: Australia
Duration: 115 min
Plot tags: scenic, atmospheric, surreal, stylized, psychological, art house, breathtaking, melancholic, meditative, period piece
Similar in 82%
Innocence (2004)
Plot Summary:
A look inside an offbeat boarding school for young girls.
IMDB Rating: 6.8
IMDB Votes: 6000
Genere: Drama, Mystery
Country: France, Belgium, UK, Japan
Duration: 122 min
Plot tags: disturbing, surreal, art house, enigmatic, atmospheric, stylized, suspenseful, erotic, visual, allegory