Movies like German Watergate
The best movies like German Watergate are Backstabbing for Beginners (2018), The Baader Meinhof Complex (2008) and Mark Felt: The Man Who Brought Down the White House (2017). If German Watergate hooked you with its thriller and history, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
German Watergate
Quick picks
- Highest ratedM (1931)8.1/10 from 2,597 votes
- NewestVerity (2026)Released 2026
- In GermanThe Baader Meinhof Complex (2008)Also in German
Backstabbing for Beginners (2018)
An idealistic young employee at the U.N. investigates the grisly murder of his predecessor – and uncovers a vast global conspiracy that may involve his own boss.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller & history
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Baader Meinhof Complex (2008)
When German police viciously quell a protest against the shah of Iran, popular journalist Ulrike Meinhof rebels against her dishonest marriage, walks away from her children and joins radical anarchist Andreas Baader. Together with Baader's girlfriend, Gudrun Ensslin, they form the violent Red Faction Army, and together perpetrate a slew of terrorist attacks as a way of disrupting the fabric of what they see as an increasingly fascist state.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both history & thriller
Worth the HypeMovies like thisMark Felt: The Man Who Brought Down the White House (2017)
The story of Mark Felt, who under the name "Deep Throat" helped journalists Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein uncover the Watergate scandal in 1974.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both history & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Lives of Others (2006)
In 1984 East Berlin, dedicated Stasi officer Gerd Wiesler begins spying on a famous playwright and his actress-lover Christa-Maria. Wiesler becomes unexpectedly sympathetic to the couple, and faces conflicting loyalties when his superior takes a liking to Christa-Maria.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisBuffalo Soldiers (2002)
A criminal subculture operates among U.S. soldiers stationed in West Germany just before the fall of the Berlin wall.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Infernal Machine (2022)
Reclusive and controversial author Bruce Cogburn is drawn out of hiding by an obsessive fan, forcing the novelist to confront a past that he thought he could escape, and to account for events set in motion by his bestseller decades earlier. Cogburn's search for who is behind the manipulation and mental torment he encounters leads to an emotional roller-coaster ride full of fear and danger, where things are not always as clear as they seem to be, and where past deeds can have dire consequences.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisTorn Curtain (1966)
During the Cold War, an American scientist appears to defect to East Germany as part of a cloak and dagger mission to find the formula for a resin solution—but the plan goes awry when his fiancee, unaware of his motivation, follows him across the border.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisFuneral in Berlin (1966)
Colonel Stok, a Soviet intelligence officer responsible for security at the Berlin Wall, appears to want to defect but the evidence is contradictory. Stok wants the British to handle his defection and asks for one of their agents, Harry Palmer, to smuggle him out of East Germany.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisLabyrinth of Lies (2014)
A young prosecutor in postwar West Germany investigates a massive conspiracy to cover up the Nazi pasts of prominent public figures.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both history
Worth the HypeMovies like thisAtomic Blonde (2017)
An undercover MI6 agent is sent to Berlin during the Cold War to investigate the murder of a fellow agent and recover a missing list of double agents.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisM (1931)
In this classic German thriller, Hans Beckert, a serial killer who preys on children, becomes the focus of a massive Berlin police manhunt. Beckert's heinous crimes are so repellant and disruptive to city life that he is even targeted by others in the seedy underworld network. With both cops and criminals in pursuit, the murderer soon realizes that people are on his trail, sending him into a tense, panicked attempt to escape justice.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisAll the Old Knives (2022)
When the CIA discovers one of its agents leaked information that cost more than 100 people their lives, veteran operative Henry Pelham is assigned to root out the mole with his former lover and colleague Celia Harrison.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Odessa File (1974)
Following the suicide of an elderly Jewish man, investigative journalist Peter Miller sets out to hunt down an SS Captain and former concentration camp commander. In doing so he discovers that, despite allegations of war crimes, the former commander has become a man of importance in industry in post-war Germany, protected from prosecution by a powerful organisation of former SS members called Odessa.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisV for Vendetta (2006)
In a world in which Great Britain has become a fascist state, a masked vigilante known only as “V” conducts guerrilla warfare against the oppressive British government. When V rescues a young woman from the secret police, he finds in her an ally with whom he can continue his fight to free the people of Britain.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisVerity (2026)
Lowen Ashleigh, hired to ghostwrite for best-selling author Verity Crawford, uncovers Verity's autobiographical notes, and becomes involved in what may prove to be a lethal conspiracy.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Batman (2022)
In his second year of fighting crime, Batman uncovers corruption in Gotham City that connects to his own family while facing a serial killer known as the Riddler.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Enigma of Kaspar Hauser (1974)
The film follows Kaspar Hauser, who lived the first seventeen years of his life chained in a tiny cellar with only a toy horse to occupy his time, devoid of all human contact except for a man who wears a black overcoat and top hat who feeds him.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both history
Worth the HypeMovies like thisDecision Before Dawn (1951)
WWII is entering its last phase: Germany is in ruins, but does not yield. The US army lacks crucial knowledge about the German units operating on the opposite side of the Rhine, and decides to send two German prisoners to gather information. The scheme is risky: the Gestapo retains a terribly efficient network to identify and capture spies and deserters. Moreover, it is not clear that "Tiger", who does not mind any dirty work as long as the price is right, and war-weary "Happy", who might be easily betrayed by his feelings, are dependable agents. After Tiger and another American agent are successfully infiltrated, Happy is parachuted in Bavaria. His duty: find out the whereabouts of a powerful German armored unit moving towards the western front.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisRetribution (2023)
When a mysterious caller plants a bomb under his car seat, a bank executive begins a high-speed chase across the city to complete a specific series of tasks — all with his kids trapped in the back seat.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBlack Widow (1987)
Federal agent Alexandra Barnes believes that Catherine Petersen is a serial killer who marries rich men and then murders them for their money. But since Catherine is seemingly a master of disguise and has multiple identities, Alexandra can't prove anything with conventional detective work. With no other option, she goes undercover, pursuing the same man as Catherine, and hoping that Catherine will slip up and reveal her true identity.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like this4 Minutes Before Forever (2026)
What starts as harmless fun with a voice assistant becomes a countdown to destruction when the AI begins predicting a couple's relationship's demise with terrifying precision.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller
The Astronaut (2025)
After returning from her first space mission, astronaut Sam Walker is placed under NASA’s care at a high security house for rehabilitation and medical testing. However, when disturbing occurrences begin happening around the property, she fears that something extraterrestrial has followed her back to Earth.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDog 51 (2025)
In the near future, Paris is divided into three zones that separate social classes, and no one can escape ALMA, a predictive AI that has revolutionized law enforcement. When ALMA’s creator is assassinated, Salia, a top agent, and Zem, a jaded cop, are forced to work together to solve a murder that may expose the dark secrets of the system they serve.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisA Scanner Darkly (2006)
An undercover cop in a not-too-distant future becomes involved with a dangerous new drug and begins to lose his own identity as a result.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisPigeon (TBA)
Set in Remies, France in 1941 during World War II, a Jewish man tries to escape Nazi persecution and a chance encounter with a woman sitting next to him on the train. Based on a true story.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both history
Bad Company (2002)
When a Harvard-educated CIA agent is killed during an operation, the secret agency recruits his twin brother.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller
SnoozefestMovies like thisNaked Encounters (2005)
Have you ever seen that perfect woman who you absolutely have to meet, but you don't know what kind of guy she goes for? Roxanne Chance and Cole are private investigators who can get you that information. They delve into the life, sexual preferences, personal history, and personality of whatever target their clients desire, to allow the client to make the perfect first impression. Their newest paramour, Dominic, has his sights set on a beautiful fashion model. The investigative team gives Dominic all the information on his target that he needs to become her ideal man. When the paramour disappears after a night alone with his target model, Roxanne and Cole switch gears to find him.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller
Dolan's Cadillac (2009)
Robinson, a once peaceful, law-abiding school teacher, has turned into an obsessed vengeance machine, intent on killing the man who murdered his wife - ruthless Las Vegas mob boss James Dolan. But to do so, Robinson must infiltrate the dangerous underworld, and devise a diabolical plan that will bury Dolan once and for all.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDie Mutigen 56 - Deutschlands längster Streik (2024)
Emma Freese is desperate when her husband Alfred falls ill at the Howaldtswerke in Kiel. How is the family supposed to get by without their wages? The war has scarred this generation, but now things are supposed to be looking up. The workers want their fair share and are fighting for an income that also gives them room to live. In October 1956, 34,000 metalworkers in the shipyards and factories of Schleswig-Holstein walk off the job to fight for justice and their dignity. This strike is still regarded as the toughest and longest in Germany. Employers and politicians stand in the strikers' way.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both history
Idiocracy (2006)
To test its top-secret Human Hibernation Project, the Pentagon picks the most average European-Americans it can find - an Army private and a prostitute - and sends them to the year 2505 after a series of freak events. But when they arrive, they find a civilization so dumbed-down that they're the smartest people around.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like this
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like German Watergate?
The closest matches to German Watergate are Backstabbing for Beginners (2018), The Baader Meinhof Complex (2008) and Mark Felt: The Man Who Brought Down the White House (2017). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after German Watergate?
Start with Backstabbing for Beginners (2018), the closest match to German Watergate.
What is the highest-rated movie like German Watergate?
M (1931), rated 8.1/10 by 2,597 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like German Watergate?
Verity (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there German movies like German Watergate?
Yes: The Baader Meinhof Complex (2008), The Lives of Others (2006) and Labyrinth of Lies (2014).
How are movies similar to German Watergate chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside German Watergate, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.