Movies like The Dark Stairway (1954)
The best movies like The Dark Stairway (1954) are Ted Bundy: American Boogeyman (2021), Winged Creatures (2009) and M (1951). If The Dark Stairway hooked you with its crime, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedShot Caller (2017)7.0/10 from 2,338 votes
- NewestLost in the Stars (2023)Released 2023
Ted Bundy: American Boogeyman (2021)
Set in a gritty and decadent 1970s America, American Boogeyman follows the elusive and charming killer and the manhunt that brought him to justice involving the detective and the FBI rookie who coined the phrase ‘serial killer’.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisWinged Creatures (2009)
A psychotic man opens fire in a diner, murdering numerous people before killing himself. The survivors struggle in different ways following this horrendous event: a doctor doubts his own instincts and elects to use an experimental medical procedure on his wife, while a gambler believes he's on a lucky streak. A waitress begins engaging in promiscuous sex, and a young girl whose father is among the dead gains unexpected fame.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime
SnoozefestMovies like thisM (1951)
In the city, someone is murdering children. The police search is so intense, it is disturbing the 'normal' criminals, and the local hoods decide to help find the murderer as quickly as possible.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Glass Key (1942)
A crooked politician finds himself being accused of murder by a gangster from whom he refused help during a re-election campaign.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Face Behind the Mask (1941)
A kindly, enthusiastic, newly-arrived American immigrant from Hungary is forced to turn to a life of crime after his face is badly disfigured in a hotel fire.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBreaking News in Yuba County (2021)
An overlooked pencil-pusher catches her husband in bed with another woman, the shock of which causes him to die of a heart attack. So she buries his body and takes advantage of the growing celebrity status that comes from having a missing husband. But she quickly finds herself in over her head, dodging cops and criminals, all while trying to keep the truth from her sister, a local news anchor who’s desperate for a story.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime
SnoozefestMovies like thisWitness to Murder (1954)
A woman fights to convince the police that she witnessed a murder while looking out her bedroom window.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Public Eye (1992)
A crime photographer gets involved in a conspiracy.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisStranger on the Third Floor (1940)
Newspaper reporter Michael Ward plunges into a nightmare of guilt, fearing that his "evidence" has sentenced the wrong man to death.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMurder Most Foul (1964)
A murderer is brought to court and only Miss Marple is unconvinced of his guilt. Once again she begins her own investigation.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime
Worth the HypeMovies like thisAmerican Skin (2019)
A Marine veteran working as a school janitor tries to mend his relationship with his son after a divorce. When his son is killed by a police officer found innocent without standing trial, he takes matters into his own hands.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime
Worth the HypeMovies like thisIn the Blood (2014)
When her husband goes missing during their Caribbean vacation, a woman sets off on her own to take down the men she thinks are responsible.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime
SnoozefestMovies like thisTrue Believer (1989)
Eddie Dodd is a burnt out former civil rights lawyer who now specializes in defending drug dealers. Roger Baron, newly graduated from law school, has followed Eddie's great cases and now wants to learn at his feet. With Roger's idealistic prodding, Eddie reluctantly takes on a case of a young Korean man who, according to his mother, has been in jail for eight years for a murder he didn't commit.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime
Popcorn FlickMovies 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
SnoozefestMovies like thisBeyond a Reasonable Doubt (1956)
A newspaper publisher, wanting to prove a point about the insufficiency of circumstantial evidence, talks his possible son-in-law Tom into a hoax in an attempt to expose ineptitude of the city's hard-line district attorney. The plan is to have Tom plant clues leading to his arrest for killing a female nightclub dancer. Once Tom is found guilty, he is to reveal the setup and humiliate the DA.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisPanic (2000)
Alex is going through a midlife crisis and it has become a very difficult time for him. His marriage is struggling, he's worried about his son, and his job of killing people for his family has become the most stressful part of his life. He seeks the help of a therapist and meets a woman in the waiting room that he connects with.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisUntil Death (2007)
Anthony Stowe is a dirty cop who is hooked on heroin—and everyone hates him. After a serious accident, he is placed into an induced coma, but emerges from it a better person who wants to put things right.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime
SnoozefestMovies like thisThe Blue Gardenia (1953)
Upon waking up to the news that the man she’d gone on a date with the previous night has been murdered, a young woman with only a faint memory of the night’s events begins to suspect that she murdered him while attempting to resist his advances.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAccident Man (2018)
Mike Fallon, the Accident Man, is a stone cold killer. When a loved one is murdered by his own crew, Fallon is forced to avenge the one person who actually meant something to him.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCorridors of Blood (1958)
In 1840s London, Dr. Thomas Bolton [Boris Karloff] dares to dream the unthinkable: experimenting with anesthesia gases to make surgery pain-free. While doing so, his demonstration before a panel of his peers ends in a horrific mishap with his patient awakening under the knife; he is forced to leave his position in disgrace. To complicate matters, he becomes addicted to his own chemical experiments and gets involved with a criminal gang led by Black Ben [Francis de Wolff], and a ruthless killer Resurrection Joe [Christopher Lee]. Unfortunately, this shady partnership leads Dr. Bolton to further ruin, culminating in his unwitting participation in murder — for which he becomes the first victim of a blackmail scheme.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisUntold: Crime & Penalties (2021)
They were the bad boys of hockey — a team bought by a man with mob ties, run by his 17-year-old son, and with a rep for being as violent as they were good.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both crime
Worth the HypeMovies like thisCome to Harm (2022)
When his mother relapses, Oliver is forced to go look for his younger brother in the world of crime throughout the night.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both crime
Money Talk (2023)
Two troubled high school students find a bag full of money that could be the salvation for all of their problems.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both crime
Shot Caller (2017)
A newly-released prison gangster is forced by the leaders of his gang to orchestrate a major crime with a brutal rival gang on the streets of Southern California.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both crime
Worth the HypeMovies like thisLong Play (2023)
Ex-Boy Scout Frankie Dobbs checks into an AirBnB to find a mystery behind its doors-- an anonymous stalker following the property's host, Rowan Emery. But, is this stalker situation as easy to crack as it seems?
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both crime
Lost in the Stars (2023)
He Fei's wife, Li Muzi, disappears during their anniversary trip. When she reappears, he insists that she is not his wife. As Chen Mai, a top lawyer gets involved in this bizarre case, more mysteries start to emerge.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisA Path Where No Man Goes (2019)
A character-driven philosophical thriller about an unusual interview between a journalist and a young successful entrepreneur, which later reveals some deep secrets about their lives, and ultimately their connection.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both crime
Access Control (2022)
A disgraced ex-cop and a hot headed newly-wed must team up as hospital security guards to solve a local pill thief case.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both crime
Ava (2020)
A black ops assassin is forced to fight for her own survival after a job goes dangerously wrong.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both crime
SnoozefestMovies like this1987 (2023)
An older gangster reminisces about the last night he ever saw his best friend, Ricky.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both crime
Like The Dark Stairway and something else?
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like The Dark Stairway?
The closest matches to The Dark Stairway are Ted Bundy: American Boogeyman (2021), Winged Creatures (2009) and M (1951). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after The Dark Stairway?
Start with Ted Bundy: American Boogeyman (2021), the closest match to The Dark Stairway.
What is the highest-rated movie like The Dark Stairway?
Shot Caller (2017), rated 7.0/10 by 2,338 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like The Dark Stairway?
Lost in the Stars (2023) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like The Dark Stairway?
Yes: Ted Bundy: American Boogeyman (2021), Winged Creatures (2009) and M (1951).
How are movies similar to The Dark Stairway chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside The Dark Stairway, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.