Movies like A Killing in a Small Town (1990)
The best movies like A Killing in a Small Town (1990) are Ray Donovan: The Movie (2022), Witness Protection (1999) and I Am Elizabeth Smart (2017). If A Killing in a Small Town hooked you with its drama and tv movie, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedBraveheart (1995)7.9/10 from 11,620 votes
- Newest180 (2026)Released 2026
Ray Donovan: The Movie (2022)
A showdown decades in the making brings the Donovan family legacy full circle. As the events that made Ray who he is today finally come to light, the Donovans find themselves drawn back to Boston to face the past. Each of them struggles to overcome their violent upbringing, but destiny dies hard, and only their fierce love for each other keeps them in the fight.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisWitness Protection (1999)
Would you be willing to walk away from everyone and everything you've ever known in exchange for your safety? This is the question facing career criminal Bobby "Bats" Batton (Tom Sizemore); on the outs with the mob and facing prosecution for a number of serious crimes, Batton is offered a deal by the FBI in which he will be given immunity in exchange for testifying against his former partners. However, Batton will have to join the Federal Witness Protection Program, which means that he, his wife, and his children will never again see their friends and family.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisI Am Elizabeth Smart (2017)
The story of Elizabeth Smart's kidnapping and captivity, as told from her perspective.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisJesse Stone: Lost in Paradise (2015)
Police Chief Jesse Stone now presides over the quiet, seaside village of Paradise, Massachusetts. When the facts don't add up in a brutal Boston-area murder case, Jesse opens an investigation filled with surprises, unlikely suspects and grave danger. Though it's widely believed the murder was committed by an incarcerated serial killer, Jesse suspects another killer is at large and is hell-bent on bringing him to justice.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisOutlaw Prophet: Warren Jeffs (2014)
Cult leader Warren Jeffs rises to power in the polygamist Mormon sect once headed by his late father, but some of his wives fight back to bring him to justice. Based on a true story.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDead Man's Folly (1986)
During a murder hunt game at a country house, to which Hercule Poirot is invited as an "expert", a real murder occurs.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMiss Marple: The Mirror Crack'd from Side to Side (1992)
A town busybody is poisoned at a busy reception in the home of famous film star Marina Gregg. The poisoned drink seemed intended for Marina, but Miss Marple is not so sure. She sets out to discover the true identity of the killer before he or she can strike again.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisRed Riding: The Year of Our Lord 1983 (2009)
Detective Chief Superintendent Maurice Jobson is forced to remember the very similar disappearance of Clare Kemplay, who was found dead in 1974, and the subsequent imprisonment of local boy Michael Myshkin. Washed-up local solicitor John Piggott becomes convinced of Myshkin's innocence and begins to fight on his behalf, unwittingly providing a catalyst for Jobson to start to right some wrongs.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisWalking Tall: Lone Justice (2007)
In Dallas, witnesses against a drug-lord are murdered in a safe-house.The testimony of FBI agents becomes the only chance to keep him in prison. They are lodged in another safe-house, but the place is invaded and the agents are executed. However, Kate is only wounded, and her boyfriend Nick believes there is a traitor in the agency and takes her to his ranch to protect her life.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisCohen and Tate (1989)
A boy kidnapped by two mismatched hitmen puts them at each other's throats while being driven to their employers, possibly to be killed. Cohen, an older professional becomes increasingly irritated with his partner Tate, a brutish killer, when their prisoner uses unnatural guile and resourcefulness to play them off against each other.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisWalker, Texas Ranger: Trial by Fire (2005)
Walker investigates a murder connected with a missing government weapon. In addition, he tries to track down a teen on the run from a crime syndicate.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDesert Dawn (2025)
A newly appointed small-town sheriff and his begrudging deputy get tangled up in a web of lies and corruption involving shady businessmen and the cartel while investigating the murder of a mysterious woman.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBlood Simple (1985)
The owner of a seedy small-town Texas bar discovers that one of his employees is having an affair with his wife. A chaotic chain of misunderstandings, lies and mischief ensues after he devises a plot to have them murdered.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisHierarchy (2025)
In an undisclosed area of Texas after two adoptive brothers become entangled in criminal activity, forced to evade law enforcement and the greedy Russian mafia.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisIn Cold Blood (1967)
After a botched robbery results in the brutal murder of a rural family, two drifters elude police, in the end coming to terms with their own mortality and the repercussions of their vile atrocity.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisTrial by Fire (2019)
The tragic and controversial story of Cameron Todd Willingham, who was executed in Texas for killing his three children after scientific evidence and expert testimony that bolstered his claims of innocence were suppressed.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & crime
Worth the HypeMovies like this180 (2026)
When an unexpected road rage incident puts his son in critical condition, an enraged father spirals down a dark path of emotional turmoil and vengeance.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisSuburbicon (2017)
In the quiet family town of Suburbicon during the 1950s, the best and worst of humanity is hilariously reflected through the deeds of seemingly ordinary people. When a home invasion turns deadly, a picture-perfect family turns to blackmail, revenge and murder.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisBad Day for the Cut (2017)
A middle-aged Irish farmer, who still lives at home with his mother, sets off on a mission of revenge when the old lady is murdered.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisKiller Joe (2012)
A cop who moonlights as a hit man agrees to kill the hated mother of a desperate drug dealer in exchange for a tumble with the young man's virginal sister.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAnatomy of a Murder (1959)
Semi-retired Michigan lawyer Paul Biegler takes the case of Army Lt. Manion, who murdered a local innkeeper after his wife claimed that he raped her. Over the course of an extensive trial, Biegler parries with District Attorney Lodwick and out-of-town prosecutor Claude Dancer to set his client free, but his case rests on the victim's mysterious business partner, who's hiding a dark secret.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both crime & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisYoung Adam (2003)
A young drifter working on a river barge disrupts his employers' lives while hiding the fact that he knows more about a dead woman found in the river than he admits.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & crime
SnoozefestMovies like thisA History of Violence (2005)
An average family is thrust into the spotlight after the father commits a seemingly self-defense murder at his diner.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & crime
Worth the HypeMovies like thisBoys Don't Cry (1999)
A young transgender man explores his gender identity and searches for love in rural Nebraska.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both crime & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Conscience (2021)
Petrograd, Soviet Union, 1920s. Boris Letush, devastated by a personal tragedy, feels the need to put his conscience and his principles before the demands of the cruel system he serves, where law and justice are systematically ignored.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Abduction of Innocence (1996)
Teenager, Clare Steves, is kidnapped by an old boyfriend, Eddie Spencer, who demands $250,000. The ransom is paid and Clare is released, but when the kidnapers are caught, they claim that the whole scheme was Clare's idea as a way to punish her father. She denies it and is put on trial.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Stolen Kisses (1968)
The third in a series of films featuring François Truffaut's alter-ego, Antoine Doinel, the story resumes with Antoine being discharged from military service. His sweetheart Christine's father lands Antoine a job as a security guard, which he promptly loses. Stumbling into a position assisting a private detective, Antoine falls for his employers' seductive wife, Fabienne, and finds that he must choose between the older woman and Christine.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisBed and Board (1970)
Parisian everyman Antoine Doinel has married his sweetheart Christine Darbon, and the newlyweds have set up a cozy domestic life of selling flowers and giving violin lessons while Antoine fitfully works on his long-gestating novel. As Christine becomes pregnant with the couple's first child, Antoine finds himself enraptured with a young Japanese beauty. The complications change the course of their relationship forever.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisTrouble in Paradise (1932)
Thief Gaston Monescu and pickpocket Lily are partners in crime and love. Working for perfume company executive Mariette Colet, the two crooks decide to combine their criminal talents to rob their employer. Under the alias of Monsieur Laval, Gaston uses his position as Mariette's personal secretary to become closer to her. However, he takes things too far when he actually falls in love with Mariette, and has to choose between her and Lily.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both crime
Worth the HypeMovies like thisBraveheart (1995)
Enraged at the slaughter of Murron, his new bride and childhood love, Scottish warrior William Wallace slays a platoon of the local English lord's soldiers. This leads the village to revolt and, eventually, the entire country to rise up against English rule.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Absolute CinemaMovies like this
Like A Killing in a Small Town and something else?
Blend two favourites and we’ll find the films in between.
Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like A Killing in a Small Town?
The closest matches to A Killing in a Small Town are Ray Donovan: The Movie (2022), Witness Protection (1999) and I Am Elizabeth Smart (2017). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after A Killing in a Small Town?
Start with Ray Donovan: The Movie (2022), the closest match to A Killing in a Small Town.
What is the highest-rated movie like A Killing in a Small Town?
Braveheart (1995), rated 7.9/10 by 11,620 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like A Killing in a Small Town?
180 (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like A Killing in a Small Town?
Yes: Ray Donovan: The Movie (2022), Witness Protection (1999) and I Am Elizabeth Smart (2017).
How are movies similar to A Killing in a Small Town chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside A Killing in a Small Town, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.