Child abuse movies and TV shows
The list contains the best, new and most relevant child abuse movies ordered by relevance. The recommendation service has sorted out serious, realistic, bleak, disturbing, depressing and emotional films and TV shows about / with child abuse, children, life is a bitch, coming of age, psychological drama, youth, sexual abuse, family relations, runaway and abuse plots mostly in Drama, Crime and Thriller genres shot in USA, France, Spain and other countries.
1367
TOP 10 movies tagged as child abuse: The Girl Next Door (2007), The Boys of St. Vincent (1992), Camp (2013), An American Crime (2007), 3096 Days (2013), Nobody's Daughter (1976), The Chosen Ones (2014), For My Brother (2014), Pellet (2000), Silenced (2011).
Best films
New films
List of child abuse movies
Type:
Tag:
Genre: Crime, Drama, Horror, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 91 min.
Story:
In a quiet suburban town in the summer of 1958, two recently orphaned sisters are placed in the care of their mentally unstable Aunt Ruth. But Ruth's depraved sense of discipline will soon lead to unspeakable acts of abuse and torture that ...
Style:
scary, disturbing, psychological, frightening, bleak ...
Audience:
girls' night, teens, teen drama, adult
Plot:
torture, child abuse, rape, sexual abuse, violence, victim, physical abuse, cruelty, helplessness, abuse, childhood, unsettling ...
Time:
1950s, 50s, year 2007, year 1958
Place:
new jersey, new york, america, usa
Is relevant?
Genre: Biography, Drama
Country: Canada
Duration: 93 min.
Story:
The true story of boys being sexually abused at their orphanage ran by a religious community in Newfoundland.
Style:
realistic, disturbing, bleak, sad, art house ...
Audience:
teens
Plot:
child abuse, pedophilia, child molestation, man boy relationship, catholic priest, childhood, pedophile, lgbt teen, pedophile priest, homosexual rape, catholic orphanage, child molester ...
Time:
70s, year 1975
Place:
canada, newfoundland, london
Is relevant?
813
Genre: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 109 min.
Story:
12-year-old Eli finds himself at summer CAMP
Style:
realistic, serious, emotional, sentimental, christian film ...
Plot:
child abuse, boy, summer camp, camp counselor, youth, kids in trouble, friendship, life is a bitch, hopes, family problems, teaching the ways of the world, parents and children ...
Time:
21st century
Place:
usa
Is relevant?
Genre: Biography, Crime, Drama, Horror
Country: USA
Duration: 98 min.
Story:
The true story of suburban housewife Gertrude Baniszewski, who kept a teenage girl locked in the basement of her Indiana home during the 1960s.
Style:
disturbing, harsh, bleak, brutal, sad ...
Audience:
teens, teen drama, adult
Plot:
child abuse, true crime, torture, captivity, murder, threat, dysfunctional family, children, court, courtroom drama, domestic violence, trial ...
Time:
year 2007, 60s, 20th century
Place:
indiana, usa
Is relevant?
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Genre: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 100 min.
Story:
A disturbed young mother with some serious psychological problems begins to take them out on her infant daughter.
Style:
sad, tense, suspenseful, grindhouse, period piece ...
Plot:
child abuse, mother daughter relationship, mental illness, family drama, trauma, emotional abuse, child neglect, female protagonist, social issues, character study, domestic violence, social realism ...
Time:
year 1970
Is relevant?
18K
Genre: Biography, Crime, Drama
Country: Germany
Duration: 111 min.
Story:
A young Austrian girl is kidnapped and held in captivity for eight years. Based on the real-life case of Natascha Kampusch.
Style:
realistic, saga, rough, controversial, disturbing ...
Audience:
teens
Plot:
kidnapping, child abuse, psychological torture, rape, abduction, basement, life is a bitch, violence against women, pedophile, missing child, stockholm syndrome, kidnapped ...
Time:
20th century, 90s, 21st century
Place:
germany, austria
Is relevant?
Genre: Drama
Country: Hungary
Duration: 83 min.
Story:
An orphan girl suffers abuse from her adoptive parents.
Plot:
child abuse, orphan, adoption, child rape, coming of age, children, slavery, poisoning, love, torture, brutality, fire ...
Is relevant?
Genre: Drama
Country: Germany
Duration: 89 min.
Story:
In the late 70s, young Petra Grust begins teaching at the progressive Odenwald School. She is flattered by the trust placed in her by its widely respected headmaster Simon Pistorius. But gradually certain incidents at the boarding school begin to ...
Style:
dark, bleak, tense, realistic, historical drama ...
Plot:
child abuse, boarding school, suicide attempt, childhood trauma, trauma, child sexual abuse, whistleblower, betrayal, haunting, moral dilemma, gay, guilt ...
Time:
70s, 80s
Place:
germany
Is relevant?
Genre: Drama, Horror
Country: Denmark
Duration: 117 min.
Story:
The two brothers Aske (17 years old) and Bastian (12 years old) live with their father, Lasse. Their mother died seven years earlier. Every day they live in a world where fear, violence and alcohol are huge factors, but where the brothers' ...
Style:
rough, disturbing, touching, suspense, psychological horror ...
Plot:
brother brother relationship, child prostitution, child abuse, brothers, sexual perversion, human trafficking, pedophilia, nude boy, mistreatment, boy, incest, father son relationship ...
Is relevant?
Genre: Drama
Country: Spain
Duration: 88 min.
Story:
El Bola, a 12 year old boy a.k.a. "Pellet" is a 12 year old boy raised in a violent and sordid environment. Embarrassed by his family life, he avoids becoming close to classmates. The arrival of a new boy at school changes his attitude ...
Style:
realistic, serious, emotional, disturbing, social ...
Audience:
teens
Plot:
child abuse, friendship, kids in trouble, abusive father, boy, school, childhood, youth, tattoo artist, social worker, self discovery, life is a bitch ...
Time:
90s
Place:
spain, madrid, europe
Is relevant?
27K
Genre: Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: South Korea
Duration: 125 min.
Story:
Based on actual events that took place at Gwangju Inhwa School for the hearing-impaired, where young deaf students were the victims of repeated sexual assaults by faculty members over a period of five years in the early 2000s.
Style:
serious, realistic, bleak, dark, intense ...
Audience:
teens, date night
Plot:
rape, child abuse, deaf mute, sex crime, mute or deaf, courtroom, sign language, disability, punishment, school, life is a bitch, deaf ...
Time:
year 2011, 21st century
Place:
korea, south korea, asia
Is relevant?
Genre: Drama, History
Country: Ireland, Denmark, UK, Spain
Duration: 94 min.
Story:
William Franklin is a teacher who was born in Ireland and moved to the United States only to repatriate in 1939 after his leftist political views cause him to lose his job. Franklin becomes the first non-cleric instructor at St. Jude's, a ...
Style:
disturbing, thought provoking, bleak, serious, sincere ...
Plot:
child abuse, juvenile delinquency, abuse, boarding school life, corporal punishment, gay rape, punishment, dedicated educator, child rape, boyhood, reformatory, orphanage ...
Time:
1930s, year 1939
Place:
ireland, europe, spain
Is relevant?
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11K
Genre: Crime, Drama
Country: Brazil
Duration: 128 min.
Story:
Pixote, a 10-year-old runaway boy, is arrested on the streets of Sao Paulo during a police round-up homeless people. Pixote endures torture, degradation and corruption at a local youth detention center where two of the runaways are murdered by ...
Style:
depressing, rough, atmospheric, serious, political ...
Audience:
kids
Plot:
prostitution, street kid, child abuse, boy, sex with a minor, coming of age, 10 year old, child rape, children, nude boy, violent, loneliness ...
Time:
20th century, 80s, year 1981
Place:
brazil, south america, latin america, rio de janeiro, sao paulo brazil ...
Is relevant?
Genre: Biography, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 115 min.
Story:
In 1957, a son and mother flee the East and an abusive boyfriend to find a new life, and end up in Seattle, where the mother meets a polite garage mechanic. The boy continually gets into trouble by hanging out with the wrong crowd. The mom marries ...
Style:
depressing, period piece, realistic, touching, emotional ...
Audience:
teens, teen drama
Plot:
coming of age, child abuse, small town, childhood, single parent, husband wife relationship, dysfunctional family, domestic violence, homosexual, biopic, stepfather stepson relationship, abusive stepfather ...
Time:
1950s, 50s, year 1993, 90s, 20th century ...
Place:
seattle, washington state, salt lake city utah, washington d.c., usa ...
Is relevant?
Genre: Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 102 min.
Story:
On The Doll is a story of the victims of child abuse, and the pain it visits upon their later lives. With interweaving stories following victims and victimizers, the film depicts the variety of experiences of abuse.
Style:
rough, serious, bleak, suspenseful, erotic ...
Plot:
childhood trauma, sexual abuse, child abuse, sex worker, revenge, victim, life is a bitch, lifestyle, sexual relations, youth, making love, pedophile ...
Time:
21st century
Place:
usa, los angeles
Is relevant?
Genre: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 96 min.
Story:
Grace, a compassionate young supervisor at a foster care facility, works with her boyfriend and colleague, Mason, to help at-risk teens. But when a new charge dredges up memories of her own troubled past, Grace's tough exterior begins eroding.
Style:
compassionate, sad, sweet, realistic, touching ...
Audience:
teens, kids, teen drama, adult
Plot:
child abuse, social worker, depression, troubled teen, teenager, foster child, adolescence, suicide attempt, coming of age, mental illness, problem child, self harm ...
Time:
year 2013, y2k, 2010s, 21st century
Place:
los angeles, usa
Is relevant?
Genre: Crime, Drama
Country: Italy, France, Switzerland
Duration: 114 min.
Story:
Antonio, a policeman (carabiniere), has an order to take two children (Rosetta and her brother Luciano) from Milan to Sicily to an orphanage. Their mother has been arrested for forcing Rosetta (11 years old) to work as a prostitute. First the ...
Style:
sincere, thought provoking, touching, captivating, road movie ...
Plot:
child abuse, kids in trouble, coming of age, orphanage, social differences, life is a bitch, family problems, gain trust, on the road, self discovery, society, honest law enforcer ...
Time:
year 1992, 90s
Place:
italy, sicily, switzerland, europe
Is relevant?
Genre: Drama
Country: Mexico
Duration: 99 min.
Story:
The fictional Father Ángel de la Cruz is based on Legion of Christ
founder Marcial Maciel, whose long history of child abuse was not
addressed until 2006 and only publicly acknowledged in 2009.
But director Luis Urquiza chooses to structure his ...
Style:
suspense, disturbing
Plot:
pedophile priest, punishment, child abuse, sex with a priest, bullying, pedophile, seminary, gay interest, boy, gay, teenager, catholic priest ...
Place:
mexico
Is relevant?
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53K
Genre: Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 117 min.
Story:
The rough-hewn boss of a lumber crew courts trouble when he steps in to protect the youngest member of his team from an abusive father.
Style:
touching, dark, harsh, atmospheric, depressing ...
Audience:
teens, teen drama
Plot:
child abuse, father son relationship, woods, coming of age, teenager, hopes, friendship, boy, teenage boy, lost in the woods, small town, redemption ...
Time:
year 2013, 21st century
Place:
texas, southern usa, britain, midwest, usa ...
Is relevant?
Genre: Drama
Country: USA, Netherlands
Duration: 105 min.
Story:
A teenage hustler and a young man obsessed with alien abductions cross paths, together discovering a horrible, liberating truth.
Style:
disturbing, lgbt cinema, depressing, independent film, psychological ...
Audience:
teens, chick flick, teen drama
Plot:
coming of age, child abuse, gay, sexual abuse, pedophilia, homosexuality, homosexual, child molestation, lgbtq, male rape, homosexual rape, youth ...
Time:
90s, year 2004, 2000s, near future, y2k ...
Place:
kansas, new york, usa
Is relevant?
Genre: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 83 min.
Story:
INDISCRETION Drama/Suspense USA. 85 min. 2006 A harrowing morality tale of past sins exposed and old wounds reopened. Two brothers have conflict over their abusive father, interconnects with a 12-year-old's fate that hinges on a prayer and a ...
Style:
emotional, suspenseful, psychological, serious, suspense ...
Audience:
adult
Plot:
child abuse, priest, girl, loss of son, car accident, physical abuse, letter, innocence lost, domestic violence, trauma, moral dilemma, grief ...
Is relevant?
Genre: Drama
Country: USA, UK, France, Japan
Duration: 97 min.
Story:
The dysfunctional twenty-three years old Sarah takes her six year old natural son Jeremiah from the home of his beloved foster parents with the support of the social service to live with her. Along the years, the boy shares her insane and lowlife ...
Style:
disturbing, psychological, serious, rough, depressing ...
Plot:
child abuse, pedophile, rape, child molester, child rape, child molestation, prostitute, sex, coming of age, life is a bitch, dysfunctional family, society ...
Time:
year 2004
Place:
indiana, asia, tennessee
Is relevant?
Genre: Crime, Drama
Country: Spain, Belgium
Duration: 106 min.
Story:
Two children, Ignacio and Enrique, know love, the movies and fear in a religious school at the beginning of the 1960s. Father Manolo, director of the school and its professor of literature, is witness to and part of these discoveries. The three are ...
Style:
sexy, controversial, neo noir, cerebral, sexual ...
Audience:
chick flick
Plot:
sexual abuse, gay, transsexual, lgbtq, child abuse, transvestism, male nudity, teacher, coming of age, boarding school, lgbtqi, glbt ...
Time:
80s, year 2004, 70s, 20th century, 60s ...
Place:
spain, madrid, iberian peninsula, europe
Is relevant?
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Genre: Drama
Country: Canada
Duration: 115 min.
Story:
After the sudden death of her mother, Aurore Gagnon is abused by her disturbed step-mother as her town remains in the silence followed by her death. Based on a true story.
Style:
disturbing, serious, realistic, depressing, art house ...
Plot:
child abuse, stepmother, abuse, stepdaughter, domestic disturbance, physical abuse, life is a bitch, family relations, society, parents and children, hidden truth, trial ...
Time:
1910s, 1900s, 20th century
Place:
quebec, canada
Is relevant?
250K
Genre: Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 147 min.
Story:
Two gangsters seek revenge on the state jail worker who during their stay at a youth prison sexually abused them. A sensational court hearing takes place to charge him for the crimes.
Style:
disturbing, sadistic, harsh, suspense, suspenseful ...
Audience:
family friendly, teens, teen drama
Plot:
courtroom drama, child abuse, vengeance, childhood, rape, pedophile, lawyer, pedophilia, murder trial, friendship, sexual abuse, sexualized violence ...
Time:
90s, 20th century, 80s, 60s
Place:
new york, manhattan new york city, madison square garden manhattan new york city, usa
Is relevant?
Genre: Biography, Drama
Country: France
Duration: 89 min.
Story:
Victim of vertigo and unexplained discomfort, Flavie, a television host, resolves to consult a psychiatrist. The latter suggests a test of the past that she would have concealed and proposes to browse together a photo-album of her childhood. The ...
Style:
serious, factual, bleak, suspenseful, brutal ...
Plot:
physical abuse, child abuse, psychiatric patient, psychoanalyst, coming of age, rape, mother daughter relationship, childhood memory, brutality, memories, violent man, violence ...
Place:
france
Is relevant?
14K
Genre: Drama
Country: France
Duration: 81 min.
Story:
Robert Bresson plumbs great reservoirs of feelings with one of the most searing portraits of human desperation ever put on film.
Style:
art house, black and white, depressing, contemplative, emotional ...
Audience:
teens, pre-teens
Plot:
child abuse, coming of age, suicide, adolescence, minimalism, betrayal, sexual abuse, solitude, existentialism, children, poacher, humiliation ...
Time:
year 1967, 60s, 20th century
Place:
france, europe, japan, tokyo, paris france
Is relevant?
775
Genre: Drama
Country: Canada
Duration: 108 min.
Story:
Tommy, 10 years old, is well known by Social Services. He is considered a danger to society. Gilles, his guardian at this halfway house, sees potential for redemption in this kid driven by violence.
Style:
serious, captivating, realistic
Plot:
boy, kids in trouble, juvenile delinquent, child abuse, social worker, isolation, youth, danger, precocious child, police, redemption, coming of age ...
Time:
21st century
Place:
canada, quebec
Is relevant?
Genre: Drama
Country: South Korea
Duration: 119 min.
Story:
Do-Hee experiences family violence. Young-Nam works as the head of the police substation. She tries to protect Do-Hee from her violent stepfather Yong-Ha. Though Do-Hee looks naive, she hides a secret. Young-Nam becomes involved in a case with her ...
Style:
psychological, realistic, serious, bleak, social ...
Audience:
chick flick
Plot:
lgbt, child abuse, lesbian, asian lgbt, small town, adult child friendship, father daughter relationship, lesbian relationship, obsession, law enforcement, policewoman, children ...
Time:
21st century
Place:
korea, south korea, indiana, asia
Is relevant?
306
Genre: Crime, Drama
Country: UK
Duration: 105 min.
Story:
A man struggles to piece together his life after suffering years of abuse in a children's home - a personal battle made doubly difficult by crusading reporters determined to expose the scandal.
Style:
touching, suspenseful, sincere, suspense
Plot:
child abuse, homosexual rape, pedophile, boyfriend girlfriend relationship, teenage boy, sexual abuse, police investigation, female reporter, accusation, childhood memory, father son relationship, interview ...
Place:
wales, manchester
Is relevant?
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