Movies like Lonely Joe (2009)
The best movies like Lonely Joe (2009) are Crooked House (2017), Messenger of Death (1988) and The Deep End of the Ocean (1999). If Lonely Joe hooked you, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedChangeling (2008)7.6/10 from 4,666 votes
- NewestA Working Man (2025)Released 2025
Crooked 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
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMessenger of Death (1988)
A Denver reporter investigates the mass murder of a family of Mormons in rural Colorado.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Deep End of the Ocean (1999)
A three-year-old boy disappears during his mother's high school reunion. Nine years later, by chance, he turns up in the town in which the family has just relocated.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCaddo Lake (2024)
When an 8-year-old girl mysteriously vanishes on Caddo Lake, a series of past deaths and disappearances begin to link together, forever altering a broken family’s history.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisMiss Fisher and the Crypt of Tears (2020)
After freeing a young Bedouin girl from her unjust imprisonment in Jerusalem, an Australian adventuress, together with her devoted police detective friend, begins to unravel a decade-old mystery concerning priceless emeralds, an ancient curse and the disappearance of the girl's mother and massacre of her tribe.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Empty Man (2020)
On the trail of a missing girl, an ex-cop comes across a secretive group attempting to summon a terrifying supernatural entity.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAnnabelle Hooper and the Ghosts of Nantucket (2016)
Vacationing on historic Nantucket Island, a teenage mystery writer and her friends must outwit two scheming thieves to solve the secret behind a legendary ghost story.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisChangeling (2008)
Los Angeles, 1928. When single mother Christine Collins leaves for work, her son vanishes without a trace. Five months later, the police reunite mother and son. But when Christine suspects that the boy returned to her isn't her child, her quest for truth exposes a world of corruption.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies 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
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMiss Marple: 4.50 from Paddington (1987)
Travelling on the 4.50 from Paddington, Mrs McGillicuddy witnesses a murder on a passing train - but where is the body?
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
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
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSherlock Holmes Faces Death (1943)
During WWII several murders occur at a convalescent home where Dr. Watson has volunteered his services. He summons Holmes for help and the master detective proceeds to solve the crime from a long list of suspects including the owners of the home, the staff and the patients recovering there.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
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
Worth the HypeMovies like thisA Working Man (2025)
Levon Cade left behind a decorated military career in the black ops to live a simple life working construction. But when his boss's daughter, who is like family to him, is taken by human traffickers, his search to bring her home uncovers a world of corruption far greater than he ever could have imagined.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies 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
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
SnoozefestMovies like thisFire in the Sky (1993)
After clearing brush for the government, a group of men return to town claiming their friend was abducted. Despite no apparent motive or evidence of foul play, no-one believes their story and his disappearance is treated as murder.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCleaner (2007)
Single father and former cop Tom Cutler has an unusual occupation: he cleans up death scenes. But when he's called in to sterilize a wealthy suburban residence after a brutal shooting, Cutler is shocked to learn he may have unknowingly erased crucial evidence, entangling himself in a dirty criminal cover-up.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
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
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Tall Man (2012)
When her child goes missing, a mother looks to unravel the legend of the Tall Man, an entity who allegedly abducts children.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies 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: Similar story and style
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Hand That Feeds (2021)
With the passing of his estranged father, Russell inherits the only asset to his name: a bar. As relationships form and Rusty finds himself right at home, he'll soon learn that his inheritance holds a dark secret.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
OSARU-CHAN (2021)
When two brothers steal a valuable heirloom from an elderly Japanese woman, they unknowingly awaken her demigod son, Osaru, who does not take kindly to thieves.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
The Last Cartridge, An Incident of the Sepoy Rebellion in India (1908)
Caught off-guard by Indian mutineers, a British soldier saves his last bullet for his daughter, lest she be taken.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
Dear Maya (2017)
Anna and Ira prank a local woman by writing her letters from a secret admirer. The prank takes a more serious turn when the local women goes missing.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
Kolamass (2016)
Shyam and Vandana head to a bigger city to start a new life and business.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
Mission to Mars (2000)
When the first manned mission to Mars meets with a catastrophic and mysterious disaster after reporting an unidentified structure, a rescue mission is launched to investigate the tragedy and bring back any survivors.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisChad Gets The AxE (2019)
A self-absorbed social media personality investigates a murder house on his live stream, and gets what he deserves... Or does he?
Why it matches: Similar story and style
Christmas Eve (1915)
This moral tale of temptation, desperation and childish devotion has echoes of Dickens' classic fable A Christmas Carol. A lowly office worker of slender means is unable to buy his invalid wife the "good food and good wine" she requires. Incensed by the Scrooge-like manner of his boss, Charles is at the brink of despair. The suitably soppy ending is sure to get you in the Christmas spirit. BFI
Why it matches: Similar story and style
Magno Mainak (2009)
Magno Mainak is a 2009 crime thriller based on the novel of same name by Sharadindu Bandyopadhyay. It was directed by Swapan Ghosal and produced by New Wave Communications. This is the third Byomkesh Bakshi film adaptation. Subhrajit Dutta played Byomkesh while Rajarshi Mukherjee played Ajit. Piyali Munsi, Rupanjana Mitra, Gargi Roychowdhury and Biplab Chatterjee acted in other roles.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Lonely Joe?
The closest matches to Lonely Joe are Crooked House (2017), Messenger of Death (1988) and The Deep End of the Ocean (1999). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Lonely Joe?
Start with Crooked House (2017), the closest match to Lonely Joe.
What is the highest-rated movie like Lonely Joe?
Changeling (2008), rated 7.6/10 by 4,666 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Lonely Joe?
A Working Man (2025) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like Lonely Joe?
Yes: Crooked House (2017), Messenger of Death (1988) and The Deep End of the Ocean (1999).
How are movies similar to Lonely Joe chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Lonely Joe, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.