Movies like Hotline (1982)
The best movies like Hotline (1982) are Desert Dawn (2025), When a Stranger Calls Back (1993) and The Night Stalker (1972). If Hotline hooked you with its crime and horror, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedDressed to Kill (1980)6.9/10 from 1,207 votes
- NewestHamlet (2025)Released 2025
Desert Dawn (2025)
A newly appointed small-town sheriff and his begrudging deputy get tangled up in a web of lies and corruption involving shady businessmen and the cartel while investigating the murder of a mysterious woman.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & mystery
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisWhen a Stranger Calls Back (1993)
Jill Johnson, now a crisis center counselor, reunites with retired detective John Clifford to hunt a killer stalking a coed.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror & thriller
SnoozefestMovies like thisThe Night Stalker (1972)
Wisecracking reporter Carl Kolchak investigates a string of murders in Las Vegas and suspects the culprit is a vampire. His editor thinks he's crazy and the police think he's a nuisance, so Kolchak takes matters into his own hands.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both mystery & horror
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 · both horror & mystery
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAurora Teagarden Mysteries: A Very Foul Play (2019)
At a gathering of mystery and true crime fans, Aurora Teagarden’s nephew, Phillip, is accused of murder when an unplanned onstage blackout during the play in which he is performing ends, revealing Phillip holding the bloody knife that has just killed one of the other performers. 12th installment in Aurora Teagarden Mysteries
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both mystery & thriller
Worth the HypeMovies like thisManiac (1963)
When a stranger enters a quiet, country town and is seduced by a sensuous married woman he unwittingly finds himself at the centre of a storm of sexual guilt and murder.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & mystery
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCrossword Mysteries: Proposing Murder (2019)
When an old friend of New York Sentinel Crosswords editor Tess Harper is found murdered on the very day her puzzle includes his proposal of marriage, Tess unofficially teams up with Detective Logan O’Connor to find the killer.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both mystery & crime
Worth the HypeMovies like thisAurora Teagarden Mysteries: How to Con A Con (2021)
When Aida Teagarden's real estate client is found murdered, her sleuthing daughter Aurora sets out with her fiancé Nick and the Real Murders Club to solve the murder.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both mystery & crime
Worth the HypeMovies 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 · both crime & mystery
Worth the HypeMovies 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 mystery & crime
Worth the HypeMovies like thisHailey Dean Mysteries: Dating Is Murder (2017)
Attorney turned therapist Hailey Dean is pulled into another investigation when a popular new dating app links multiple missing persons cases from around the city. Reuniting with her old team, Hailey discovers the potential dangers of online interaction, and must track down a killer before anyone else gets hurt.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both mystery & crime
Worth the HypeMovies like thisMindcage (2022)
Detectives Jake Doyle and Mary Kelly seek the help of an incarcerated serial killer named The Artist when a copycat killer strikes. While Mary searches for clues in The Artist's brilliant but twisted psyche, she and Jake are lured into a diabolical game of cat and mouse, racing against time to stay one step ahead of The Artist and his copycat.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both mystery & thriller
SnoozefestMovies like thisWalker, Texas Ranger: Trial by Fire (2005)
Walker investigates a murder connected with a missing government weapon. In addition, he tries to track down a teen on the run from a crime syndicate.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAurora Teagarden Mysteries: Til Death Do Us Part (2021)
Just days before Aurora’s wedding, a body is discovered, and she fears her father may be a suspect. She and Nick race to solve the cold case before they walk down the aisle.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both mystery & crime
Worth the HypeMovies like thisCrossword Mysteries: A Puzzle to Die For (2019)
A crossword puzzle editor finds her life completely disrupted when several of the clues in her recent puzzles are linked to unsolved crimes, and she is pulled into the police investigation.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both mystery & thriller
Worth the HypeMovies like thisKept Woman (2015)
Jessica and her fiancé Evan have just moved from the city into their dream home on a quiet suburban street. Soon after, Jessica catches her seemingly friendly new neighbor, Simon, in a strange lie and can't let her suspicions rest. The danger escalates when Simon lures her inside his home and imprisons Jessica in his secret bunker, meticulously decorated in the idealized style of the 1950s.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller & mystery
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAll the Devils Are Here (2025)
After a heist, four criminals lay low in a remote safehouse, waiting for orders. As paranoia builds, one thing becomes clear — the real threat may not be outside, but among them.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & mystery
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHierarchy (2025)
In an undisclosed area of Texas after two adoptive brothers become entangled in criminal activity, forced to evade law enforcement and the greedy Russian mafia.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAurora Teagarden Mysteries: A Game of Cat and Mouse (2019)
Someone begins taunting Aurora Teagarden with cryptic clues left at crime scenes, so the librarian-turned-crime buff attempts to figure out who is behind the creepy “game.” But when the people closest to Aurora become targets, the game takes on a much more dangerous edge as it points to a planned murder. The 10th installment in Aurora Teagarden Mysteries.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both mystery & 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 & mystery
SnoozefestMovies like thisThe Dying Game (1995)
A detective on the trail of an unstoppable serial killer falls in love with a beautiful sorority president who has been tapped as the killer's next victim.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both crime & thriller
District 13 (2019)
Maple syrup country is now under totalitarian control, but a strange killer is starting to make some noise in the partially contaminated 13th district. Will its goofy sheriff and mighty bounty hunters prevail against the killer and his mysterious friend?
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller & mystery
Dressed to Kill (1980)
After witnessing a mysterious woman brutally slay a homemaker, prostitute Liz Blake finds herself trapped in a dangerous situation. While the police thinks she is the murderer, the real killer is intent on silencing her only witness.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller & mystery
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisTrapped (2002)
Held hostage in different cities after their daughter is kidnapped by a master extortionist, a desperate couple must find a way to outsmart a seemingly foolproof plot.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both crime & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHamlet (2025)
A theatre director intends to make a revolutionary version of Hamlet. It all starts with finding the right actors and putting their lives in danger.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror & thriller
Jeepers Creepers (2001)
On a desolate country highway, two homeward-bound teens are nearly run off the road by a maniac in a beat-up truck, and later spot him shoving what appears to be a body down a sewer pipe.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror & mystery
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHollow Man II (2006)
After the mysterious death of scientist Dr. Devin Villiers, Det. Frank Turner and his partner are assigned to protect Villiers' colleague, who revealed that a veteran soldier was subjected to an experiment with the objective of creating the ultimate national security weapon... an undetectable soldier. The experiment failed – with disastrous side effects.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror & thriller
SnoozefestMovies like thisReel 2 (2020)
After being convinced his first movie REEL wasn't a blockbuster success because it starred a man, director SlasherVictim666 makes it his personal mission to find the perfect woman to star in REEL 2.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror & thriller
Behind the Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon (2006)
The next great psycho horror slasher has given a documentary crew exclusive access to his life as he plans his reign of terror over the sleepy town of Glen Echo, all the while deconstructing the conventions and archetypes of the horror genre for them.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Mascot (2020)
A group of old high school friends are haunted and terrorized by a rival high school mascot that died as a result of their senior prank.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror & thriller
Like Hotline and something else?
Blend two favourites and we’ll find the films in between.
Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Hotline?
The closest matches to Hotline are Desert Dawn (2025), When a Stranger Calls Back (1993) and The Night Stalker (1972). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Hotline?
Start with Desert Dawn (2025), the closest match to Hotline.
What is the highest-rated movie like Hotline?
Dressed to Kill (1980), rated 6.9/10 by 1,207 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Hotline?
Hamlet (2025) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like Hotline?
Yes: Desert Dawn (2025), When a Stranger Calls Back (1993) and The Night Stalker (1972).
How are movies similar to Hotline chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Hotline, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.