Movies like The Designated Victim (1971)
The best movies like The Designated Victim (1971) are Your Vice Is a Locked Room and Only I Have the Key (1972), Paranoia (1969) and The Case of the Bloody Iris (1972). If The Designated Victim hooked you with its thriller, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedL.A. Confidential (1997)7.8/10 from 5,873 votes
- NewestChief of Station (2024)Released 2024
- In ItalianYour Vice Is a Locked Room and Only I Have the Key (1972)Also in Italian
Your Vice Is a Locked Room and Only I Have the Key (1972)
Oliviero is a drunk, burned-out writer who amuses himself by hosting orgies at his grand country manor and humiliating his wife Irina. When a number of women are murdered in grisly fashion, Oliviero becomes a prime suspect.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisParanoia (1969)
Following the death of her wealthy husband, American widow Kathryn West migrates to Italy and takes up a reclusive existence in a luxurious villa. After quickly succumbing to the charms of a local man, she lets him move into the villa and the two are later joined by his sister, which soon leads to complications.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
SnoozefestMovies like thisThe Case of the Bloody Iris (1972)
A high-rise apartment populated by models, nightclub dancers and call girls becomes the focus of a mysterious serial killer. When a young model named Jennifer and her friend Marilyn move into one of the victims' former apartments, Jennifer becomes the next target and the pair try to identify the killer.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisEyes of Crystal (2004)
While hunting a cultured and vicious psychopath, detective Amaldi faces the physical and moral decay of his city as well as the ghosts of his past.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
SnoozefestMovies like thisBad Sister (2015)
As a top student at St. Adeline's Catholic Boarding School, Zoe senses that something is not quite right about the school's new nun-- a sense proven to be true when it is revealed the "good' nun is an imposter with a fatal attraction to Zoe's brother.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Unknown Woman (2006)
A Ukrainian woman named Irena calculatedly insinuates herself into the lives of a young, affluent Italian family. Stopping at nothing to become the couple's trusted maid and the beloved nanny to their fragile young daughter, Irena risks everything in her quest to uncover the truth about the family.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Comfort of Strangers (1990)
An Italian diplomat's son follows and seduces English lovers in Venice.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
SnoozefestMovies like thisThe Talented Mr. Ripley (1999)
Tom Ripley is a calculating young man who believes it's better to be a fake somebody than a real nobody. Opportunity knocks in the form of a wealthy U.S. shipbuilder who hires Tom to travel to Italy to bring back his playboy son, Dickie. Ripley worms his way into the idyllic lives of Dickie and his girlfriend, plunging into a daring scheme of duplicity, lies and murder.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Worth the HypeMovies like thisHannibal (2001)
After having successfully eluded the authorities for years, Hannibal peacefully lives in Italy in disguise as an art scholar. Trouble strikes again when he's discovered leaving a deserving few dead in the process. He returns to America to make contact with now disgraced Agent Clarice Starling, who is suffering the wrath of a malicious FBI rival as well as the media.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisA Haunting in Venice (2023)
Celebrated sleuth Hercule Poirot, now retired and living in self-imposed exile in Venice, reluctantly attends a Halloween séance at a decaying, haunted palazzo. When one of the guests is murdered, the detective is thrust into a sinister world of shadows and secrets.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisOpera (1987)
A young opera singer is stalked by a deranged fan bent on killing the people associated with her to claim her for himself.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBlack Widow (1987)
Federal agent Alexandra Barnes believes that Catherine Petersen is a serial killer who marries rich men and then murders them for their money. But since Catherine is seemingly a master of disguise and has multiple identities, Alexandra can't prove anything with conventional detective work. With no other option, she goes undercover, pursuing the same man as Catherine, and hoping that Catherine will slip up and reveal her true identity.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe American (2010)
Dispatched to a small Italian town to await further orders, assassin Jack embarks on a double life that may be more relaxing than is good for him.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisOne on Top of the Other (1969)
A San Francisco doctor encounters a prostitute who bears a striking resemblance to his late wife.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisPoint Blank (2019)
A nurse is forced to spring a wounded murder suspect from the hospital when the man’s brother kidnaps his pregnant wife and wants to make a trade.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisRogue Agent (2022)
Conman Robert Freegard poses as an undercover MI5 agent and kidnaps countless victims amidst a high-stakes manhunt, until the woman who fell for him brings him to justice.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisIllustrious Corpses (1976)
A detective is assigned to investigate the mysterious murders of some Supreme Court judges.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisChief of Station (2024)
After learning that the death of his wife was not an accident, a former CIA Station Chief is forced back into the espionage underworld, teaming up with an adversary to unravel a conspiracy that challenges everything he thought he knew.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDeep Red (1975)
An English pianist living in Rome witnesses the brutal murder of his psychic neighbor. With the help of a tenacious young reporter, he tries to discover the killer using very unconventional methods. The two are soon drawn into a shocking web of dementia and violence.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Worth the HypeMovies like thisWhat Have You Done to Solange? (1972)
After several Catholic school pupils are murdered, a teacher who is having an affair with one of his students becomes a suspect. When other gruesome murders start occurring shortly thereafter, the teacher suspects that he may be the cause of them.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisKlute (1971)
A high-priced call girl is forced to depend on a reluctant private eye when she is stalked by a psychopath.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisPrimal Fear (1996)
Defense attorney Martin Vail takes on jobs for money and prestige rather than any sense of the greater good. His latest case involves an altar boy, accused of brutally murdering the archbishop of Chicago. Vail finds himself up against his ex-pupil and ex-lover, but as the case progresses and the Church's dark secrets are revealed, Vail finds that what appeared a simple case takes on a darker, more dangerous aspect.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller
Worth the HypeMovies like thisLemming (2005)
After the death of his boss's wife, a young engineer faces the sudden psychological metamorphosis of his own wife, seemingly possessed by the soul of the deceased...
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisZodiac (2007)
Police conduct a manhunt for the Zodiac Killer, a serial killer who terrorized the San Francisco Bay Area during the late 1960s and early 1970s, taunting police with letters, bloodstained clothing, and ciphers mailed to newspapers.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller
Worth the HypeMovies like this8 Women (2002)
Eight women gather to celebrate Christmas in a snowbound cottage, only to find the family patriarch dead with a knife in his back. Trapped in the house, every woman becomes a suspect, each having her own motive and secret.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAlong Came a Spider (2001)
After the harrowing death of his partner, forensic psychologist and best-selling author Alex Cross cannot forgive himself and has retreated to the peace of retirement. But when a brilliant criminal kidnaps a senator's young daughter, he is lured back into action as the kidnapper wants to deal with Alex personally. Teamed with Jezzie Flanigan, the Secret Service agent assigned to protect the missing girl, Alex follows a serpentine trail of clues that leads him to a stunning discovery - the kidnapper wants more than just ransom.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisL.A. Confidential (1997)
Three detectives in the corrupt and brutal L.A. police force of the 1950s use differing methods to uncover a conspiracy behind the shotgun slayings of the patrons at an all-night diner.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller
Worth the HypeMovies like thisIdentity (2003)
Complete strangers stranded at a remote desert motel during a raging storm soon find themselves the target of a deranged murderer. As their numbers thin out, the travelers begin to turn on each other, as each tries to figure out who the killer is.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller
Worth the HypeMovies like thisBudugu (2015)
Vamsi Krishna suffers from ADHD and therefore suffers miserably at school life. Due to his lack of performance in class and deviltry issues, he is constantly nagged by his parents. His studding mother Pooja spends time over his betterment but couldn’t comply with the difficulties of coping with a ADHD child since she has no clue what Bunny aka. Vamsi was going through. One fine day, parents decide to send him to boarding, thinking this to be the only viable option available for his improvement. And that’s where Bunny starts getting abnormal and starts getting connected to Diya. Who is Diya? Why did Parents consult a Psychiatrist Geetha? What happens next forms the rest of the story line.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller
Intruder (2023)
A young, wealthy man hosts his five friends at his remote home on the outskirts of Boston when murder strikes. Now trapped inside and in a fight for their lives, they seek to escape in time before falling victim to the uninvited guest.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like The Designated Victim?
The closest matches to The Designated Victim are Your Vice Is a Locked Room and Only I Have the Key (1972), Paranoia (1969) and The Case of the Bloody Iris (1972). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after The Designated Victim?
Start with Your Vice Is a Locked Room and Only I Have the Key (1972), the closest match to The Designated Victim.
What is the highest-rated movie like The Designated Victim?
L.A. Confidential (1997), rated 7.8/10 by 5,873 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like The Designated Victim?
Chief of Station (2024) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there Italian movies like The Designated Victim?
Yes: Your Vice Is a Locked Room and Only I Have the Key (1972), Paranoia (1969) and The Case of the Bloody Iris (1972).
How are movies similar to The Designated Victim chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside The Designated Victim, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.