Movies like The Games They Play
The best movies like The Games They Play are Shimmer Lake (2017), The Mirror Crack'd (1980) and The Virtuoso (2021). If The Games They Play hooked you with its crime and thriller, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedDial M for Murder (1954)8.0/10 from 2,997 votes
- NewestCult Killer (2024)Released 2024
Shimmer Lake (2017)
Shot in reverse day-by-day through a week—a local sheriff embarks on a quest to unlock the mystery of three small-town criminals and a bank heist gone wrong.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Mirror Crack'd (1980)
Jane Marple solves the mystery when a local woman is poisoned and a visiting movie star seems to have been the intended victim.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Virtuoso (2021)
Danger, deception and murder descend upon a sleepy town when a professional assassin accepts a new assignment from his enigmatic boss.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller & crime
SnoozefestMovies like thisDead Man's Folly (1986)
During a murder hunt game at a country house, to which Hercule Poirot is invited as an "expert", a real murder occurs.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisRighteous Kill (2008)
Two veteran New York City detectives work to identify the possible connection between a recent murder and a case they believe they solved years ago; is there a serial killer on the loose, and did they perhaps put the wrong person behind bars?
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & thriller
SnoozefestMovies like thisA Violent Separation (2019)
1983. In a quiet Midwestern town, a young deputy covers up a murder at the hands of his brother triggering a series of events that sends them and the victim's family towards a shattering climax.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & thriller
Worth the HypeMovies 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 thisReasonable Doubt (2014)
When up-and-coming District Attorney Mitch Brockden commits a fatal hit-and-run, he feels compelled to throw the case against the accused criminal who was found with the body and blamed for the crime. Following the trial, Mitch's worst fears come true when he realizes that he acquitted a guilty man, and he soon finds himself on the hunt for the killer before more victims pile up.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & thriller
SnoozefestMovies like thisCult Killer (2024)
A private investigator is forced into a dangerous alliance with a killer in order to uncover a quiet town’s grisly criminal underbelly and clear the name of her mentor, who is implicated in the crimes.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMiss Marple: The Murder at the Vicarage (1986)
Faced with two false confessions and numerous suspects after a despised civil magistrate is found shot in the local vicarage, Detective Inspector Slack reluctantly accepts help from Miss Marple.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisManiac Cop 2 (1990)
Undead cop Matt Cordell rises from the grave, and is after the criminals who murdered him in prison.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Ritual Killer (2023)
Unable to process the death of his daughter, Detective Boyd embarks on a hunt for a serial killer who murders according to a brutal tribal ritual: Muti. The only person who can help Boyd is Professor Mackles, an anthropologist who hides an unspeakable secret. The line between sanity and madness thins as Boyd goes deeper into the killer’s world.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
SnoozefestMovies like thisThe Calling (2014)
Detective Hazel Micallef hasn't had much to worry about in the sleepy town of Port Dundas until a string of gruesome murders in the surrounding countryside brings her face to face with a serial killer driven by a higher calling.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
SnoozefestMovies like thisAurora Teagarden Mysteries: Heist and Seek (2020)
When a priceless crown is stolen during a benefit gala held by the Lawrenceton library, Aurora and the Real Murders Club must investigate who would kill to get their hands on it.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThirteen at Dinner (1985)
Actress Jane Wilkinson wants a divorce, but her husband, Lord Edgware, refuses. She convinces Hercule Poirot to use his famed tact and logic to make her case. Lord Edgware turns up murdered, a well-placed knife wound at the base of his neck. It will take the precise Poirot to sort out the lies from the alibis - and find the criminal before another victim dies.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime
SnoozefestMovies like thisWelcome to the Punch (2013)
When notorious criminal Jacob Sternwood is forced to return to London, it gives detective Max Lewinsky one last chance to take down the man he's always been after.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime
SnoozefestMovies like thisThe Night Strangler (1973)
After being run out of Las Vegas, reporter Carl Kolchak heads for Seattle and another reporting job with the local paper. It's not long before he’s on the trail of another string of bizarre murders. It seems that every 21 years, for the past century, a killer murders a certain number of people, drains them of their blood, and then disappears into the night. Kolchak is on his trail, but can he stop him?
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisGourmet Detective: Eat, Drink and Be Buried (2017)
Henry and Maggie attend the birthday party of a local publisher, where his son and stepson reenact a historical 18th century dual. Someone, however, has loaded the antique pistol with a real musket ball, so when son pulls the trigger, he kills his stepbrother in front of a roomful of witnesses. Henry and Maggie have to figure out who wanted the stepson dead and why.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Mean Season (1985)
A routine investigation of a shocking murder takes a bizarre twist when the killer contacts the reporter and appoints him his personal spokesman. As the killer's calls and clues increase, the reporter is lured into a deadly trap.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMr. Arkadin (1955)
Claiming that he doesn't know his own past, a rich man enlists an ex-con with an odd bit of detective work. Gregory Arkadin says he can't remember anything before the late 1920s, and convict Guy Van Stratten is happy to take the job of exploring his new acquaintance's life story. Guy's research turns up stunning details about his employer's past, and as his work seems linked to untimely deaths, the mystery surrounding Mr. Arkadin deepens.
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 & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisInsomnia (2002)
Two Los Angeles homicide detectives are dispatched to a northern town where the sun doesn't set to investigate the methodical murder of a local teen.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller & crime
Worth the HypeMovies 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 thisThe Maltese Falcon (1941)
A private detective takes on a case that involves him with three eccentric criminals, a beautiful liar, and their quest for a priceless statuette.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both crime & thriller
Worth the HypeMovies like thisDirty Harry (1971)
When a madman dubbed 'Scorpio' terrorizes San Francisco, hard-nosed cop, Harry Callahan – famous for his take-no-prisoners approach to law enforcement – is tasked with hunting down the psychopath.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both crime & thriller
Worth the HypeMovies 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 crime & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisNo Good Deed (2002)
While doing a friend a favor and searching for a runaway teenager, a police detective stumbles upon a bizarre band of criminals about to pull off a bank robbery.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both crime & thriller
SnoozefestMovies like thisLady in the Lake (1946)
Private eye Phillip Marlowe wants to get out of the detective racket and into crime writing. But when he's called to the office of editor Adrienne Fromsett, it's not to talk about his story ideas — she wants him to locate the missing wife of her boss, Mr. Kingsby. The assignment quickly becomes complicated when bodies start turning up.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisWΔZ (2007)
There is something horribly wrong with the bodies found in the dark city streets. Some are mutilated while others have the Price equation (wΔz = Cov (w,z) = βwzVz) carved into their flesh. Detective Eddie Argo and his new partner Helen Westcott unearth the meaning of the odd equation and realise each victim is being offered a gruesome choice: kill your loved ones, or be killed. Before long it becomes clear that the perpetrator has suffered a similar fate and is now coping by seeking a way to solve this philosophical dilemma.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both crime & thriller
SnoozefestMovies like thisCube 2: Hypercube (2002)
Eight strangers awaken with no memory, in a puzzling cube-shaped room where the laws of physics do not always apply.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller
SnoozefestMovies like this
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like The Games They Play?
The closest matches to The Games They Play are Shimmer Lake (2017), The Mirror Crack'd (1980) and The Virtuoso (2021). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after The Games They Play?
Start with Shimmer Lake (2017), the closest match to The Games They Play.
What is the highest-rated movie like The Games They Play?
Dial M for Murder (1954), rated 8.0/10 by 2,997 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like The Games They Play?
Cult Killer (2024) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like The Games They Play?
Yes: Shimmer Lake (2017), The Mirror Crack'd (1980) and The Virtuoso (2021).
How are movies similar to The Games They Play chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside The Games They Play, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.