Movies like Kalifornia (1993)
The best movies like Kalifornia (1993) are Nature of the Beast (1995), The Hitcher (2007) and Nightcrawler (2014). If Kalifornia hooked you with its thriller and crime, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedReservoir Dogs (1992)8.1/10 from 16,022 votes
- NewestStrange Harvest (2025)Released 2025
Nature of the Beast (1995)
Two men, both hiding a deadly secret, are on a murderous rampage through the desert.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & thriller
SnoozefestMovies like thisThe Hitcher (2007)
While driving through the New Mexico Desert during a rainy night, college students Jim Halsey and his girlfriend Grace Andrews give a ride to a hitchhiker. While in their car, the stranger proves to be a psychopath threatening the young couple with a knife, but Jim successfully throws him out of the car. This sets off a chain of events that will change all of their lives forever.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & thriller
SnoozefestMovies like thisNightcrawler (2014)
When Lou Bloom, desperate for work, muscles into the world of L.A. crime journalism, he blurs the line between observer and participant to become the star of his own story. Aiding him in his effort is Nina, a TV-news veteran.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & thriller
Worth the HypeMovies like thisNatural Born Killers (1994)
Two victims of traumatized childhoods become lovers and serial murderers irresponsibly glorified by the mass media.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & thriller
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Call (2013)
Jordan Turner is an experienced 911 operator but when she makes an error in judgment and a call ends badly, Jordan is rattled and unsure if she can continue. But when teenager Casey Welson is abducted in the back of a man's car and calls 911, Jordan is the one called upon to use all of her experience, insights and quick thinking to help Casey escape, and not just to save her, but to make sure the man is brought to justice.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMr. Brooks (2007)
A psychological thriller about a man who is sometimes controlled by his murder-and-mayhem-loving alter ego.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & 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: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & thriller
Worth the HypeMovies like thisNo One Lives (2013)
A gang of ruthless highway killers kidnap a wealthy couple traveling cross country only to shockingly discover that things are not what they seem.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Hitcher (1986)
On a stormy night, young Jim, who transports a luxury car from Chicago to California to deliver it to its owner, feeling tired and sleepy, picks up a mysterious hitchhiker, who has appeared out of nowhere, thinking that a good conversation will help him not to fall asleep. He will have enough time to deeply regret such an unmeditated decision.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Worth the HypeMovies like thisJoy Ride (2001)
Three young people on a road trip from Colorado to New Jersey talk to a trucker on their CB radio, then must escape when he turns out to be a psychotic killer.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Devil's Rejects (2005)
The murderous, backwoods Firefly family take to the road to escape the vengeful Sheriff Wydell, who is not afraid of being as ruthless as his target.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisEnd of the Road (2022)
Recently widowed mom Brenda fights to protect her family during a harrowing road trip when a murder and a missing bag of cash plunge them into danger.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
SnoozefestMovies like thisPsycho II (1983)
Norman Bates is declared sane and released from the facility in which he was being held, despite the complaints of Lila Loomis, sister of his most famous victim. Is he really cured, or will he kill again?
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisTrue Story (2015)
A drama centered on the relationship between journalist Michael Finkel and Christian Longo, an FBI Most Wanted List murderer who for years lived outside the U.S. under Finkel's name.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Vagrant (1992)
A business man buys a house, but he has a hard time trying to get rid of its previous tenant, a dirty bum.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
SnoozefestMovies like thisUnhinged (2020)
Rachel is a divorced single mother whose bad day gets even worse. She's running late to drop her son off at school when she honks her horn impatiently at a fellow driver during rush-hour traffic. After an exchange of words, she soon realizes that the mysterious man is following her and her young son in his truck. A case of road rage quickly escalates, at horrifyingly psychotic proportions, into full-blown terror as Rachel discovers the psychopath's sinister plan for revenge. He is single-mindedly determined to teach her a deadly lesson.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisManiac (2012)
As he helps a young artist with her upcoming exhibition, the owner of a mannequin shop's deadly, suppressed desires come to the surface.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Mexican (2001)
Jerry Welbach, a reluctant bagman, has been given two ultimatums: The first is from his mob boss to travel to Mexico and retrieve a priceless antique pistol, known as "the Mexican"... or suffer the consequences. The second is from his girlfriend Samantha to end his association with the mob. Jerry figures alive and in trouble with Samantha is better than the more permanent alternative, so he heads south of the border.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDressed to Kill (1980)
After witnessing a mysterious woman brutally slay a homemaker, prostitute Liz Blake finds herself trapped in a dangerous situation. While the police thinks she is the murderer, the real killer is intent on silencing her only witness.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisStrange Harvest (2025)
Detectives are thrust into a chilling hunt for a sadistic serial killer from the past whose return marks the beginning of a new wave of grotesque, otherworldly crimes tied to a cosmic force.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisShaft (2000)
New York police detective John Shaft arrests Walter Wade Jr. for a racially motivated slaying. But the only eyewitness disappears, and Wade jumps bail for Switzerland. Two years later Wade returns to face trial, confident his money and influence will get him acquitted -- especially since he's paid a drug kingpin to kill the witness.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both crime & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisWild at Heart (1990)
Young lovers Sailor and Lula hit the road to start a new life together away from the wrath of Lula’s deranged, disapproving mother, who has hired a team of hitmen to cut the lovers’ surreal honeymoon short.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both crime & thriller
Worth the HypeMovies like thisReservoir Dogs (1992)
A botched robbery indicates a police informant, and the pressure mounts in the aftermath at a warehouse. Crime begets violence as the survivors -- veteran Mr. White, newcomer Mr. Orange, psychopathic parolee Mr. Blonde, bickering weasel Mr. Pink and Nice Guy Eddie -- unravel.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both crime & thriller
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisKilling Zoe (1993)
Zed is an American vault-cracker who travels to Paris to meet up with his old friend Eric. Eric and his gang have planned to raid the only bank in the city which is open on Bastille day. After offering his services, Zed soon finds himself trapped in a situation beyond his control when heroin abuse, poor planning and a call-girl named Zoe all conspire to turn the robbery into a very bloody siege.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both crime & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDial M for Murder (1954)
When her American lover visits London, a wealthy woman’s jealous husband hatches a plan to murder her and inherit her fortune.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller & crime
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisWe Own the Night (2007)
A New York nightclub manager tries to save his brother and father from Russian mafia hitmen.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both crime & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDer Venusmörder (1996)
A serial killer kills redheaded women and drapes them like Venus from Sandro Botticellis artwork.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both crime & thriller
A Crime (2006)
Vincent's life is on hold until he finds his wife's killer. Alice, his neighbor, is convinced she can make him happy. She decides to invent a culprit, so that Vincent can find revenge and leave the past behind. But there is no ideal culprit and no perfect crime.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both crime
SnoozefestMovies like thisBrute (1997)
Shipped off to a Romanian orphanage to finish his sentence, a British criminal finds romance but also discovers corruption inside the facility.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both crime
7 Virgins (2005)
It is summertime in a blue-collar, marginal district of a city in the South of Spain. Tano, a teenager currently serving a sentence in a juvenile reform center, is given a 48-hour leave to attend his brother’s wedding.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like this
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Kalifornia?
The closest matches to Kalifornia are Nature of the Beast (1995), The Hitcher (2007) and Nightcrawler (2014). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Kalifornia?
Start with Nature of the Beast (1995), the closest match to Kalifornia.
What is the highest-rated movie like Kalifornia?
Reservoir Dogs (1992), rated 8.1/10 by 16,022 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Kalifornia?
Strange Harvest (2025) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like Kalifornia?
Yes: Nature of the Beast (1995), The Hitcher (2007) and Nightcrawler (2014).
How are movies similar to Kalifornia chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Kalifornia, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.