Cinema has a wide reach and caters to all kinds of audiences. Watching inspiring movies and TV shows has positive effects on an individual’s life. So, take a break from drama films and watch abuse moviess on Netflix. These movies will inspire and empower you to take action against the wrong.
People are abused in public places, offices, or even in their own homes- places that should actually be a haven in this heartless world. There are a lot of reasons why some of us become abusers. Although, no amount of reasons can ever reverse, let alone justify, the physical and psychological damage it does to the victim.
While Abuse Movies might not be a perfect depiction of the real world, they often present relatable instances in a very thought-provoking way. To those who have been abused, these movies pass an important message: you’re not alone and it’s not your fault. Moreover, watching inspirational movies also empowers an individual to take action and overcome difficult life situations.
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14 Thought-Provoking Abuse Movies On Netflix | Based On True Emotional Stories
According to the dictionary, Abuse is an improper use of something. And if we go by this definition, all of us have probably played the roles of the abuser and the abused. But the only difference in this matter lies between the thin lines of healthy banter and abusive behavior.
Whether you’ve been a victim of abuse or witnessed somebody get abused, watching these movies on our list of abuse movies on Netflix could prove to be relatable and thought-provoking.
#1 The Color Purple (1985)
Based on the 1983 epistolary novel, The Color of Purple is a movie adaptation of the book with the same name.
The book won its author, Alice Walker, the 1883 Pulitzer and National Book Award for her representation of controversial topics with such candor.
The book was written by Alice Walker, who won the 1983 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction and the National Book Award for Fiction for her portrayal of such controversial topics with utter brilliance.
Starring Danny Glover, Oprah Winfrey, Adolph Caesar, and Margaret Avery in the lead, The Color Purple revolves around the life of a 14-year-old African-American teenager. She is abused by her father throughout her teen years and then married to a man who turns out to be worse than him.
Though criticized for its portrayal of stereotypical narrative using a particular race, The Color of Purple is a good one-time watch. The themes of incest, abuse, and racism in The Color of Purple award it a very powerful position on our list of 8 Abuse Movies on Netflix.
Director: Steven Spielberg
Duration: 2hr 32 minutes
IMBd Rating: 7.7/10
#2 Gerald’s Game (2017)
Gerald’s Game (2017) is adapted from a 1992 book with the same title. Written by Stephen King in 1992, the book was very well appreciated.
Gerald’s Game, a psychological horror-thriller, orbits around the experience of a mid-aged couple. In order to spice up their relationship, they rent out a cabin in the woods. This holiday takes a dark turn when the husband dies of a heart attack during a kinky session while the wife is still handcuffed to the bed. Now the wife must find a way to uncuff herself and fight her inner demons.
Awarded the title of “The Most Disturbing Movie of the 2010s”, Gerald’s Game takes us through the wife’s journey of overcoming her fears and hallucinations.
Thus granting Gerald’s Game the second position on our list of the 6 most inspirational abuse movies on Netflix.
Director: Mike Flanagan
Duration: 1hr 43 minutes
IMBd Rating: 6.5/10
#3 I, Tonya (2017)
Inspired by the real events of the Figure Skating Scandal of the 1994 Winter Olympics, I, Tonya is a film about foes and passions.
With a star-studded cast I, Tonya deals with the agony and embarrassment that Tonya Harding went through. According to the former skater, she was falsely accused of attacking her skating rival, Nancy Kerrigan, just before the commencement of the games. Margaret Robbie delivers a deep and convincing performance full of passion, vengeance, and strong emotions.
I, Tonya, on our list of 8 Abuse Movies on Netflix is a great watch if you are leaning towards watching a biopic. It is sure to leave you feeling full of emotions and agony.
Director: Craig Gillespie
Duration: 2 hrs
IMBd Rating: 7.5/10
#4 Berlin Syndrome (2017)
Berlin Syndrome (2017) takes us through the world of psychologically destructive relationships.
After a passionate one-night stand, the guy traps the girl in his apartment, leaving her aching for freedom. She submits to her passive-aggressive boyfriend, who then dominates her physically and mentally,
Directed by Cate Shortland, Berlin syndrome (2017) deals with the matters of the heart by slowly unfolding itself around toxic relationships and obsessive behaviors.
Taking fourth place on our list of 6 inspirational Movies on Netflix, Berlin Syndrome is very different from all the other Abuse movies and is worth a watch.
Director: Cate Shortland
Duration: 1h 56 minutes
IMBd Rating: 6.2/10
#5 Sleeping With The Enemy (1991)
A Julia Roberts acting masterpiece, Sleeping With The Enemy (1991), is a romantic psychological thriller.
Julia Roberts’ character fakes her death to free herself from the shackles of her abusive husband. She moves to a new place and gets a new identity, but her past comes back to haunt her again.
Sleeping with The Enemy talks about a woman’s rebirth and the struggles she overcomes to get away from a man who she once called her husband. A significant movie in Julia Roberts’ career, Sleeping With The Enemy, takes fifth place on our list of 6 Inspirational Abuse Movies On Netflix.
Director: Joseph Ruben
Duration: 1hr 39 minutes
IMBd Rating: 6.2/10
#6 Gardens Of the Night (2008)
Based on years of research and interviews conducted by the director Damian Harris, Gardens of the Night (2008) is a real-life depiction of child abduction, teen prostitution, and pedophile rings.
After being kidnapped as children, a teenage boy and a girl end up living on the streets. Following years of mental and physical trauma, the kids start living as each other’s confidants. Now they must find a way to overcome their past and build a new future together.
Gardens of The Night is a great movie, but it might be a little too disturbing for some. This hardcore movie on our list of six inspirational abuse movies on Netflix grips us tight through its amazing screenplay and writing.
Director: Damian Harris
Duration: 1hr 50 minutes
IMBd Rating: 6.8/10
#7 A Vigilante (2019)
The storyline of A Vigilante (2019) revolves around the life of a domestic abuse survivor, Sadie (played by Olivia Wilde). She spends her days hunting down and punishing abusers.
However, she still can’t find the person she was abused by, her ex-husband. So, yes, the “Vigilante” in question here is Sadie herself. And yes, A Vigilante is a revenge fantasy. But, unlike many others from the same genre, this movie is realistic in its description and grounded.
And although Sadie’s actions do feel cinematic at times, the emotions and thoughts that go behind them feel sadly real. We get to see Sadie’s inner life just as much as we get to see the violence in the film.
Director: Sarah Daggar-Nickson
Duration: 1hr 31 minutes
IMBd Rating: 5.7/10
#8 If Someone Had Known (1995)
The story of If Someone Had Known (1995) revolves around Katie, played by Kellie Martin. Katie is a young and beautiful woman, who is in love with his boyfriend, Jack, played by Kevin Dobson. She is an innocent and simple woman who finds happiness in Jack. Soon, both of them get married and start a new life.
At first, everything went smoothly. They live a happy and peaceful married life, taking care of each other. When Katie becomes pregnant, she notices some changes in Jack. Finally, when their first child arrives home, Jack becomes a little jealous as Katie had to give all her attention to the baby. He started to talk to her less and return home late. He used to hang out most of the time with his friends without doing any of the household work.
Soon, when Katie becomes pregnant for the second time, things get worse. Jack begins to abuse her mentally as well as physically. After a point of time, Katie decides to leave the house. While packing her suitcase something really bad happens between the two of them.
Director: Eric Laneuville
Duration: 1hr 20 minutes
IMBd Rating: 6.1/10
#9 Fried Green Tomatoes (1991)
Fried Green Tomatoes (1991) follows Evelyn Couch, played by Kathy Bates, a housewife, who is going through a rough time and having various kinds of issues with her husband. She is not quite happy with her married life and feels like she is trapped. But when she shares her problems with other family members, no one takes her seriously.
Every Wednesday, Evelyn visits a few of her relatives at the nursing home. One fine day, she comes across an old woman, Ninny Threadgoode, played by Jessica Tandy. She is soft-spoken, and kind yet extremely charming. Both of them became friends and every Wednesday they used to catch up. Evelyn shared almost all of her problems and Ninny, in order to cheer her up, told stories about a happy young woman in the 1920s who owned a cafe.
After hearing those stories Evelyn felt much stronger, confident, and most importantly, she felt inspired. Ninny made her believe that she can turn her life around and make it better, but she has to do that all by herself, without expecting any help from anyone.
Director: Jon Avnet
Duration: 2hr 10 minutes
IMBd Rating: 7.7/10
#10 Enough (2002)
The story of Enough (2002) revolves around the character of Slim, played by Jennifer Lopez. Slim is a working-class woman, who is a waitress. When she meets Mitch Hiller, played by Billy Campbell, they instantly get attracted to each other and eventually fall in love. Mitch is a wealthy man, who is a renowned contractor. Soon, they get married, and she moves in with him, in his suburban house. They even have a child, a daughter, Gracie, played by Tessa Allen.
Everything was good until she found out that Mitch is not exactly the person he pretends to be. She discovers a completely different side of Mitch. He is short-tempered, violent, and abusive. When he starts to torment her mentally and physically and threatens to hurt their daughter, she decides to run away from him.
After running away from his house, Slim and her daughter take shelter somewhere quite far from him. But after a few days, Mitch managed to find them. Now, Slim’s only way to get out of this mess is by killing him.
Director: Jon Avnet
Duration: 1hr 55 minutes
IMBd Rating: 5.7/10
#11 365 Days (2020)
The story of 365 Days revolves around Laura Biel, played by Anna-Maria Sieklucka. Laura is a successful woman who is the sales director of a big company. In order to save her relationship, she goes to Sicily, Italy to see her lover. But, unfortunately, she comes across Massimo, played by Michele Morrone, who belongs to a powerful Mafia family.
Massimo, seeing Laura for the first time, gets attracted to her. Then he kidnaps her and gives her 365 days to fall for him. Things take a different turn when they spend numerous days on a yacht in the middle of the ocean.
Director: Barbara Bialowas and Tomasz Mandes
Duration: 1hr 54 minutes
IMBd Rating: 3.3/10
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#12 Silenced (2011)
Silenced is based on true events and revolves around Gang In-Ho, played by Gong Yoo. Gang In-Ho works at a school for hearing-impaired kids. He is going through a financial crisis as he is trying to earn as much money as possible for her daughter’s surgery.
Soon Gang In-Ho discovers that the faculty members of the school abuse the students physically and sexually. He gets furious and decides to put an end to it. He goes against the school’s faculty members to expose their real faces and their heinous crimes.
Director: Hwang Dong-hyuk
Duration: 2hr 5 minutes
IMBd Rating: 8/10
#13 Ride or Die (2021)
The story of Ride Or Die revolves around the character of Rei, played by Kiko Mizuhara, a young, beautiful woman who is in love with another woman, Nanae, played by Honami Satô. It’s been several years that Rei is in love with her, but she couldn’t manage to do anything about it because Nanae is married. Soon, she finds out that Nanae’s husband abuses her physically and mentally. Rei hatch a plan to run away with Nanae so that they can start a new life together.
Director: Ryûichi Hiroki
Duration: 2hr 22 minutes
IMBd Rating: 5.6/10
#14 The Forest Of Love (2021)
The Forest of Love follows a bunch of students who are studying filmmaking. One of their teachers, who is an older man, has been taking advantage of these students. He manipulates, seduces, and abuses each of the students whenever he gets a chance. Soon, when things get out of control something really awful happens which includes a murder.
Director: Sion Sono
Duration: 2hr 31 minutes
IMBd Rating: 6.3/10
Here Are Some More Abuse Movies On Netflix | Movies That Will Give You Courage To Fight!
| Movie | Director | Running Time | IMDb Rating |
| Private Violence | Cynthia Hill | 1h 20m | 6.9/10 |
| Take Care of Maya | Henry Roosevelt | 1h 43m | 7.8/10 |
| Ánimas | Laura Alvea and Jose F. Ortuño | 1h 25m | 4.9/10 |
| Primal Fear | Gregory Hoblit | 2h 10m | 7.7/10 |
| Tell Me Who I Am | Ed Perkins | 1h 26m | 7.1/10 |
| All Day and a Night | Joe Robert Cole | 2h 1m | 6/10 |
| Carrie | Kimberly Peirce | 1h 40m | 5.8/10 |
| Victim/Suspect | Nancy Schwartzman | 1h 30m | 6.9/10 |
| All Good | Eva Trobisch | 1h 33m | 6.5/10 |
| Dangerous Intentions | Michael Toshiyuki Uno | 1h 36m | 6.1/10 |
| Dolores Claiborne | Taylor Hackford | 2h 12m | 7.4/10 |
| Edge Of Madness | Anne Wheeler | 1h 39m | 6.2/10 |
| What’s Love Got To Do With It | Brian Gibson | 1h 58m | 7.3/10 |
| Nil By Mouth | Gary Oldman | 2h 8m | 7.3/10 |
| When A Man Loves A Woman | Luis Mandoki | 2h 6m | 6.5/10 |
| Bleeder | Nicolas Winding Refn | 1h 38m | 6.8/10 |
| Flight | Robert Zemeckis | 2h 18m | 7.3/10 |
| The Shining | Stanley Kubrick | 2h 26m | 8.4/10 |
Final Word
We live in a time where a trend on Twitter can spark conversations that were long forgotten. #MeToo as the movement was one of the most legendary times on the internet where people from all trades and vocations stood up against sexual abuse.
Our list of Abuse Movies on Netflix can be an inspirational watch for people planning to stand up against their bullies and abusers. If you are a victim of abuse or know someone who is, please refer to the following helpline for assistance: +1 877-995-5247