Movies like Manhunter (1986)
The best movies like Manhunter (1986) are Red Dragon (2002), Deranged (1974) and Hannibal Rising (2007). If Manhunter hooked you with its crime and horror, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedRed Dragon (2002)7.1/10 from 4,950 votes
- NewestPsycho Killer (2026)Released 2026
Red Dragon (2002)
Former FBI Agent Will Graham, who was once almost killed by the savage Hannibal 'The Cannibal' Lecter, now has no choice but to face him again, as it seems Lecter is the only one who can help Graham track down a new serial killer.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & thriller
Worth the HypeMovies like thisDeranged (1974)
A man living in rural Wisconsin takes care of his bed-ridden mother, who is very domineering and teaches him that all women are evil. After she dies, he misses her, and a year later digs her up and takes her home. He learns about taxidermy and begins robbing graves to get materials to patch her up, and inevitably begins looking for fresher sources of materials. Based loosely on the true story of Ed Gein.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & horror
SnoozefestMovies like thisHannibal Rising (2007)
The story of the early, murderous roots of the cannibalistic killer, Hannibal Lecter – from his hard-scrabble Lithuanian childhood, where he witnesses the repulsive lengths to which hungry soldiers will go to satiate themselves, through his sojourn in France, where as a medical student he hones his appetite for the kill and learnt sword skills from his Japanese girlfriend, who happened to have similar fate
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Pale Blue Eye (2022)
West Point, New York, 1830. When a cadet at the burgeoning military academy is found hanged with his heart cut out, the top brass summons former New York City constable Augustus Landor to investigate. While attempting to solve this grisly mystery, the reluctant detective engages the help of one of the cadets: a strange but brilliant young fellow by the name of Edgar Allan Poe.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisKiss the Girls (1997)
Forensic psychologist and detective Alex Cross travels to North Carolina and teams with escaped kidnap victim Kate McTiernan to hunt down "Casanova," a serial killer who abducts strong-willed women and forces them to submit to his demands. The trail leads to Los Angeles, where the duo discovers that the psychopath may not be working alone.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSolace (2015)
A psychic doctor, John Clancy, works with an FBI special agent in search of a serial killer.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Girl on the Train (2016)
Rachel Watson, devastated by her recent divorce, spends her daily commute fantasizing about the seemingly perfect couple who live in a house that her train passes every day, until one morning she sees something shocking happen there and becomes entangled in the mystery that unfolds.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCrooked House (2017)
A private investigator helps a former flame solve the murder of her wealthy grandfather, who lived in a sprawling estate surrounded by his idiosyncratic family.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Woman in the Window (2021)
An agoraphobic woman living alone in New York begins spying on her new neighbors only to witness a disturbing act of violence.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisPresumed Innocent (1990)
Rusty Sabich is a deputy prosecutor engaged in an obsessive affair with a coworker who is murdered. Soon after, he's accused of the crime. And his fight to clear his name becomes a whirlpool of lies and hidden passions.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBurnt Offerings (1976)
A family moves into a large old mansion in the countryside which seems to have a mysterious and sinister power over its new residents.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Believers (1987)
Mourning the accidental death of his wife and having just moved to New York with his young son, laconic police psychologist Cal Jamison is reluctantly drawn into a series of grisly, ritualistic murders involving the immolation of two youths.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror & thriller
SnoozefestMovies like thisThe Number 23 (2007)
Animal control officer Walter Sparrow becomes obsessed with a novel that he believes was written about him, as more and more similarities between himself and his literary alter ego seem to arise.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMindcage (2022)
Detectives Jake Doyle and Mary Kelly seek the help of an incarcerated serial killer named The Artist when a copycat killer strikes. While Mary searches for clues in The Artist's brilliant but twisted psyche, she and Jake are lured into a diabolical game of cat and mouse, racing against time to stay one step ahead of The Artist and his copycat.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller & crime
SnoozefestMovies like thisThe Bone Collector (1999)
Lincoln Rhyme was the department's top homicide detective and leading expert in criminal forensics until an injury left him paralyzed, depressed, and incapable of working. But when a gruesome murder in Manhattan leaves detectives baffled, they call on Rhyme to help solve the mystery. Amelia Donaghy, a rookie cop whose quick thinking preserved a gruesome murder scene, is enlisted by Rhyme to be his on-the-scene forensics expert. With Amelia reluctantly acting as Rhyme's able-bodied go-between, the pair piece together cryptic clues the killer leaves behind at the scene of the crime, hoping to catch the grisly serial killer.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & 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 & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSurveillance (2008)
An FBI agent tracks a serial killer with the help of three of his would-be victims - all of whom have wildly different stories to tell.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDriven (2019)
FBI informant Jim Hoffman lures troubled automobile magnate John DeLorean to an undercover sting for cocaine trafficking.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHunted (2021)
A woman flees two serial killers who are hot on her heels in a forest.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisPsycho Killer (2026)
Following the brutal murder of her husband, a Kansas highway patrol officer sets out on a journey to track down the perpetrator. As the hunt progresses, she comes to realize the man responsible is a sadistic serial killer, and the depth of his mental depravity and his sinister agenda is more twisted than anyone could have imagined.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCheerleader Massacre (2003)
Five high school cheerleaders, their coach and a couple of adolescent sex-crazed guys travel to a cabin in the woods for a weekend getaway only to be killed off one by one by an unseen maniac.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror & thriller
SnoozefestMovies like thisA Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors (1987)
A psychiatrist, familiar with the knife-wielding dream demon Freddy Krueger, helps teens at a mental hospital battle the killer who is invading their dreams.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCry_Wolf (2005)
After a local woman is murdered, a group of teenage liars create a warning e-mail of a serial killer named “The Wolf”, coming on the next full moon. The teens describe each death method The Wolf uses, but when the described victims actually do start turning up dead, suddenly no one knows where the lies end and the truth begins.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror & thriller
SnoozefestMovies like thisHeartstopper (2006)
Two hospitalized young people discover that things can get even worse when the dilapidated institution is stranded by a severe storm and a maniac stalks the corridors butchering the patients and staff.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror & thriller
The Breed (2006)
Brothers John and Matt have inherited an island cabin from their recently deceased uncle. Along with Matt's girlfriend, Nicki, and other mutual friends, the siblings travel to the cabin for a relaxing weekend getaway. But, not long after arriving, the group is besieged by ravenous dogs. They watch in horror as another vacationer, Luke, is eaten alive. Soon, they discover a training facility where the dogs have been bred to kill.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller & horror
SnoozefestMovies like thisA Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master (1988)
Freddy Krueger returns once again to terrorize the dreams of the remaining Dream Warriors, as well as those of a young woman who may be able to defeat him for good.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror & thriller
SnoozefestMovies like thisThe Order (2003)
For centuries, a secret Order of priests has existed within the Church. A renegade priest, Father Alex Bernier, is sent to Rome to investigate the mysterious death of one of the Order's most revered members. Following a series of strangely similar killings, Bernier launches an investigation that forces him to confront unimaginable evil.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller & horror
SnoozefestMovies like thisThe Juror (1996)
Struggling single mother Annie Laird impulsively agrees to serve on a jury, hoping for a little excitement in her humdrum life. But she gets far more than she bargained for when she's forced to sacrifice the truth to save her son from the mob's seductive, psychotic enforcer.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller & crime
SnoozefestMovies like thisThe Pelican Brief (1993)
A law student's theory about the recent deaths of two Supreme Court justices embroils her in a far-reaching web of murder, corruption, and greed.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisVampires (1998)
The church enlists a team of vampire-hunters to hunt down and destroy a group of vampires searching for an ancient relic that will allow them to exist in sunlight.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like this
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Manhunter?
The closest matches to Manhunter are Red Dragon (2002), Deranged (1974) and Hannibal Rising (2007). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Manhunter?
Start with Red Dragon (2002), the closest match to Manhunter.
What is the highest-rated movie like Manhunter?
Red Dragon (2002), rated 7.1/10 by 4,950 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Manhunter?
Psycho Killer (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like Manhunter?
Yes: Red Dragon (2002), Deranged (1974) and Hannibal Rising (2007).
How are movies similar to Manhunter chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Manhunter, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.