Movies like The List of Adrian Messenger (1963)
The best movies like The List of Adrian Messenger (1963) are The Lady Vanishes (1938), Force of Nature: The Dry 2 (2024) and The Hound of the Baskervilles (1939). If The List of Adrian Messenger hooked you with its mystery and thriller, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedKnives Out (2019)7.8/10 from 14,794 votes
- NewestThe Salinas Decoder (2026)Released 2026
The Lady Vanishes (1938)
On a train headed for England a group of travelers is delayed by an avalanche. Holed up in a hotel in a fictional European country, young Iris befriends elderly Miss Froy. When the train resumes, Iris suffers a bout of unconsciousness and wakes to find the old woman has disappeared. The other passengers ominously deny Miss Froy ever existed, so Iris begins to investigate with another traveler and, as the pair sleuth, romantic sparks fly.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both mystery & thriller
Worth the HypeMovies like thisForce of Nature: The Dry 2 (2024)
When five women take part in a corporate hiking retreat and only four come out on the other side, Federal Agents Aaron Falk and Carmen Cooper head deep into the Victorian mountain ranges to investigate in the hopes of finding their whistle-blowing informant, Alice Russell, alive.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both mystery & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Hound of the Baskervilles (1939)
When a nobleman is threatened by a family curse on his newly inherited estate, detective Sherlock Holmes is hired to investigate.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both mystery & thriller
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Lodger: A Story of the London Fog (1927)
London. A mysterious serial killer brutally murders young blond women by stalking them in the night fog. One foggy, sinister night, a young man who claims his name is Jonathan Drew arrives at the guest house run by the Bunting family and rents a room.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller & mystery
Worth the HypeMovies like thisGosford Park (2001)
In 1930s England, a group of pretentious rich and famous gather together for a weekend of relaxation at a hunting resort. But when a murder occurs, each one of these interesting characters becomes a suspect.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both mystery & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Scarlet Claw (1944)
When a woman is found dead with her throat torn out, the local villagers blame a supernatural monster. But Sherlock Holmes, who gets drawn into the case from nearby Quebec, suspects a human murderer.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both mystery & thriller
Worth the HypeMovies like this23 Paces to Baker Street (1956)
Philip Hannon, a blind playwright living in London, overhears part of a conversation , that leads him into a desperate race, to find a kidnapped child. When he gets no help from the police, he along with his butler, and his ex fiancée, attempt to track down the crooks.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both mystery & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Lady Vanishes (1979)
On the eve of World War II, zany heiress Amanda Kelly travels by train to Switzerland. While passing through Germany, she meets a sweet elderly lady, who suddenly vanishes. Distraught, she questions her fellow passengers who claim that the woman was never there. Unsure if it's all in her mind or if there's a more sinister plot afoot, Amanda teams up with photographer Robert Condon to discover the truth.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both mystery & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSherlock Holmes and the Secret Weapon (1942)
In the midst of World War II, Sherlock Holmes rescues the Swiss inventor of a new bomb-sight from the Gestapo and brings him to England, where he quickly falls into the clutches of the evil Professor Moriarty.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both mystery & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Man Who Knew Too Much (1956)
An American doctor and his wife, a former singing star, witness a murder while vacationing in Morocco, and are drawn into a twisting plot of international intrigue when their young son is kidnapped.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller & mystery
Worth the HypeMovies like thisSherlock Holmes (2009)
Eccentric consulting detective Sherlock Holmes and Doctor John Watson battle to bring down a new nemesis and unravel a deadly plot that could destroy England.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both mystery
Worth the HypeMovies like thisFootsteps in the Fog (1955)
A Victorian-era murder mystery about a parlour maid who discovers that her employer may have killed his first wife.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Worth the HypeMovies like thisAgatha and the Truth of Murder (2018)
England, December 1926. Although her personal life is in tatters, the famous writer Agatha Christie decides to leave everything behind to help unravel an unsolved murder committed on a train six years ago, unable to imagine the disproportionate consequences that such a selfless act will cause.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both mystery
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSee How They Run (2022)
In the West End of 1950s London, plans for a movie version of a smash-hit play come to an abrupt halt after a pivotal member of the crew is murdered. When world-weary Inspector Stoppard and eager rookie Constable Stalker take on the case, the two find themselves thrown into a puzzling whodunit within the glamorously sordid theater underground, investigating the mysterious homicide at their own peril.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both mystery
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisKnives Out (2019)
When renowned crime novelist Harlan Thrombey is found dead at his estate just after his 85th birthday, the inquisitive and debonair Detective Benoit Blanc is mysteriously enlisted to investigate. From Harlan's dysfunctional family to his devoted staff, Blanc sifts through a web of red herrings and self-serving lies to uncover the truth behind Harlan's untimely death.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both mystery
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Stranger (2022)
Two strangers strike up a conversation on a long journey. However, neither is who they appear to be, each carry secrets that threaten to ruin them — and in the background, one of the nation's largest police operations is closing in.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows (2011)
There is a new criminal mastermind at large (Professor Moriarty) and not only is he Holmes’ intellectual equal, but his capacity for evil and lack of conscience may give him an advantage over the detective.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both mystery
Worth the HypeMovies like thisMy Cousin Rachel (1952)
A young man plots revenge against the woman he believes murdered his cousin, but his plans are shaken when he comes face to face with the enigmatic beauty.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both mystery
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Courier (2020)
Cold War spy Greville Wynne and his Russian source try to put an end to the Cuban Missile Crisis.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Worth the HypeMovies like thisMurder She Said (1961)
Miss Marple believes she's seen a murder in a passing-by train, yet when the police find no evidence she decides to investigate it on her own.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both mystery
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Poughkeepsie Tapes (2007)
When hundreds of videotapes showing torture, murder and dismemberment are found in an abandoned house, they reveal a serial killer's decade-long reign of terror and become the most disturbing collection of evidence homicide detectives have ever seen.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both mystery & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBlackout (1954)
When a beautiful young woman suddenly offers inebriated Casey Morrow a lot of money for a quick and easy job, he doesn't ask too many questions. But when the girl's father is found murdered the following day and Morrow's coat is soaked with blood, he must unravel the mystery to clear his name.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller & mystery
Burning (2018)
Deliveryman Jong-su is out on a job when he runs into Hae-mi, a girl who once lived in his neighborhood. She asks if he'd mind looking after her cat while she's away on a trip to Africa. On her return, she introduces to Jong-su an enigmatic young man named Ben, who she met during her trip. One day Ben tells Jong-su about his most unusual hobby.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both mystery & thriller
Worth the HypeMovies like thisLord of Misrule (2023)
When the daughter of the town's new priest goes missing during the harvest festival, a desperate search begins, uncovering the town's dark history and resurfacing tales of a mysterious, malevolent spirit that demands sacrifice.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both mystery & thriller
SnoozefestMovies like thisRipley Under Ground (2007)
Now living a quiet, luxurious life at his French estate—funded by past crimes and his marriage to an heiress—Tom Ripley finds that an art scam he supports—selling forged paintings by a supposedly living artist named Derwatt—beginning to collapse. An inquisitive American collector suspects his Derwatt painting is fake and demands answers. As the situation escalates, Ripley turns to murder and elaborate identity deception to protect his reputation.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller
SnoozefestMovies like thisPimp (2010)
A week in the life of Woody; a Soho pimp, as seen through the eyes of concealed documentary cameras: A week which spirals brutally out of control.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller
The Salinas Decoder (2026)
It is August 8th, 1969 and a teacher from North Salinas High School, along with his wife solve one of the ciphers sent to San Francisco Chronicles by the Zodiac Killer, not realizing they turned him into a legend.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller
London River (2009)
After traveling to London to check on their missing children in the wake of the 2005 terror attacks on the city, two strangers come to discover their respective children had been living together at the time of the attacks
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both mystery
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDirty War (2004)
After years of meticulous planning, a terrorist operation is reaching its final stages. The authorities have received no intelligence; they are in a race against time but don't yet know it. As the operation unfolds, we see the working lives of men and women directly affected by terrorism. Among them: a firemen worried about the increasingly dangerous conditions he and his men are expected to work under; the head of the anti-terrorist branch whose responsibility it is to protect London and a female Muslim detective brought into Scotland Yard to investigate another suspected terrorist cell. But it is too late to stop the attack.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Human Factor (1979)
When a leak of information in the African section of British Intelligence is discovered, a security man is brought in to investigate.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller
Like The List of Adrian Messenger and something else?
Blend two favourites and we’ll find the films in between.
Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like The List of Adrian Messenger?
The closest matches to The List of Adrian Messenger are The Lady Vanishes (1938), Force of Nature: The Dry 2 (2024) and The Hound of the Baskervilles (1939). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after The List of Adrian Messenger?
Start with The Lady Vanishes (1938), the closest match to The List of Adrian Messenger.
What is the highest-rated movie like The List of Adrian Messenger?
Knives Out (2019), rated 7.8/10 by 14,794 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like The List of Adrian Messenger?
The Salinas Decoder (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like The List of Adrian Messenger?
Yes: The Lady Vanishes (1938), Force of Nature: The Dry 2 (2024) and The Hound of the Baskervilles (1939).
How are movies similar to The List of Adrian Messenger chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside The List of Adrian Messenger, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.