Movies like Just Play Dead (2026)
The best movies like Just Play Dead (2026) are The Last Seduction (1994), City of Ghosts (2002) and Phantom Halo (2014). If Just Play Dead hooked you with its thriller and crime, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedSleuth (1972)7.7/10 from 760 votes
- NewestBillie & Carl (2026)Released 2026
The Last Seduction (1994)
A devious femme fatale steals her husband’s drug money and hides out in a small town where she meets the perfect dupe for her next scheme.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCity of Ghosts (2002)
A con man who is on the run from law enforcement in the U.S. travels to Cambodia to collect his share in an insurance scam but discovers more than he bargained for.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller & crime
SnoozefestMovies like thisPhantom Halo (2014)
Two brothers barely scrape by as their father continues to gamble and drink away the money they do bring home. They hatch a plan for a robbery but at what price?
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller & crime
SnoozefestMovies like thisHow to Make a Killing (2026)
Disowned at birth by his obscenely wealthy family, blue-collar Becket Redfellow will stop at nothing to reclaim his inheritance, no matter how many relatives stand in his way.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisShade (2003)
Tiffany, Charlie and Vernon are con artists looking to up the ante from their typical scams. They figure a good way of doing this is taking down Dean "The Dean" Stevens, a well-known cardsharp, in a rigged game. However, they first need enough money to enter a game with Stevens, so they decide to strike a deal with fellow crook Larry Jennings to scam a local gangster -- which turns out to be a bad idea.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisRed Right Hand (2024)
Cash is trying to live a quiet, honest life in a small Appalachian town. When a vicious crime boss forces him back into her services, he soon learns he's capable of anything -- even killing -- to protect his family and his home.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisToo Late for Tears (1949)
Through a fluke circumstance, a ruthless woman stumbles across a suitcase filled with $60,000, and is determined to hold onto it even if it means murder.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSleuth (1972)
A man who loves games and theatre invites his wife's lover to meet, setting up a battle of wits with potentially deadly results.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller & crime
Worth the HypeMovies like thisAwake (2007)
While undergoing heart surgery, a man experiences a phenomenon called ‘anesthetic awareness’, which leaves him awake but paralyzed throughout the operation. As various obstacles present themselves, his wife must make life-altering decisions while wrestling with her own personal drama.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDark City (1950)
War hero Danny Haley fleeces out-of-town dupes in a rigged poker game. He and his pals see Arthur Winant as an easy mark, but they've reckoned without Winant's homicidal brother, who wants revenge after Arthur commits suicide.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCollision (2022)
Over the course of one fateful day, a corrupt businessman and his socialite wife race to save their daughter from a notorious crime lord.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller & crime
SnoozefestMovies like thisSuicide Kings (1997)
Carlo, a former mobster, is abducted by five privileged young men desperate to raise a $2 million ransom to save the sister of a friend. As Carlo plays mind games, however, his captors splinter -- each wondering whether one of their own had a hand in the crime.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Public Eye (1992)
A crime photographer gets involved in a conspiracy.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCa$h (2010)
A stroke of good luck turns lethal for Sam Phelan and his wife Leslie when they are faced with a life-changing decision that brings strange and sinister Pyke Kubic to their doorstep. As Pyke leads Sam and Leslie on a tumultuous adventure through the streets of Chicago, each are pulled deeper and deeper into a desperate spiral of deception and violence – all in the name of money.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & thriller
SnoozefestMovies like this3000 Miles to Graceland (2001)
It was an ingenious enough plan: rob the Riviera Casino's count room during an Elvis impersonator convention. But Thomas Murphy decided to keep all the money for himself and shot all his partners, including recently-freed ex-con Michael Zane. With $3.2 million at stake, the Marshals Service closing in, Michael must track down Murphy.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & thriller
SnoozefestMovies like thisThe Jackal (1997)
Hired by a powerful member of the Russian mafia to avenge an FBI sting that left his brother dead, a psychopathic hitman known only as The Jackal proves an elusive target for the people charged with the task of bringing him down: a deputy FBI director, a Russian MVK Major, and a jailed IRA terrorist who can recognize him.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMaximum Risk (1996)
Alain Moreau's investigation into the death of his identical twin brother leads him from the beauty of the south of France to the mean streets of New York City and into the arms of his brother's beautiful girlfriend. Pursued by ruthless Russian mobsters and renegade FBI agents, the duo race against time to solve his brother's murder and expose an international conspiracy.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller & crime
SnoozefestMovies like thisAcross 110th Street (1972)
In a daring robbery, some $300,000 is taken from the Italian mob. Several mafiosi are killed, as are two policemen. Lt. Pope and Capt. Mattelli are two New York City cops trying to break the case. Three small-time criminals are on the run with the money. Will the mafia catch them first, or will the police?
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Laundromat (2019)
When a widow gets swindled out of insurance money, her search for answers leads to two cunning lawyers in Panama who hide cash for the superrich.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCriminal (2004)
Needing a new partner capable of intricate cons, Richard Gaddis, recruits Rodrigo, a crook with a perfect poker face. The two plan a big-time scam: selling a fake Silver Certificate to currency collector William Hannigan. Rodrigo distrusts his new associate, but needs money to help out his ill father. The situation becomes more complicated when Rodrigo falls for Gaddis' sister, Valerie, drawing another player into the game.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Lady from Shanghai (1947)
A romantic drifter gets caught between a corrupt tycoon and his voluptuous wife.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both crime & thriller
Worth the HypeMovies like thisLe Doulos (1962)
Enigmatic gangster Silien may or may not be responsible for informing on Faugel, who was just released from prison and is already involved in what should be a simple heist. By the end of this brutal, twisting, and multilayered policier, who will be left to trust?
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller & crime
Worth the HypeMovies like thisAgainst All Odds (1984)
Terry Brogan, a cynical former football star, is hired to find Jessie Wyler, the runaway mistress of ruthless LA nightclub owner Jake Wise. But trouble brews when he tracks down and falls in love with the beautiful Jessie on a Mexican island—and Jake dispatches his henchman to bring the lovers back.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both crime & thriller
SnoozefestMovies like thisBrooklyn's Finest (2010)
Enforcing the law within the notoriously rough Brownsville section of the city and especially within the Van Dyke housing projects is the NYPD's sixty-fifth precinct. Three police officers struggle with the sometimes fine line between right and wrong.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both crime & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisFilthy Luck (2014)
J.D. Flitner arrives in Asuncion to strike a deal with crime lord Brasiguayo to grow marijuana on land he owns. Things take a dark turn for J.D. when Brasiguayo's lieutenant plans a coup during a trip through the streets.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller & crime
Billie & Carl (2026)
In 1960s Paris, Billie and Carl, a tight-knit brother and sister duo, survive on small-time thefts. But when a high-society gala offers a once-in-a-lifetime prize, their biggest heist may force them to choose between freedom… and loyalty.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both crime & thriller
The Ice Harvest (2005)
A shady lawyer attempts a Christmas Eve crime, hoping to swindle the local mob out of some money. But his partner, a strip club owner, might have different plans for the cash.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both crime & thriller
SnoozefestMovies like thisThe Infernal Trio (1974)
Marseilles, 1919. Georges Sarret is a distinguished and respected lawyer, recently honoured for his services in the First World War. He takes as his lover Philomène Schmidt, a young German woman, who has just lost her job and home. To enable Philomène to remain in France, Georges finds her a husband – who dies conveniently of natural causes a month after the wedding. Georges repeats the trick with Philomène's sister, Catherine – marrying her off to an old man who dies suddenly so that the scheming trio can profit from his life insurance. When an accomplice in the scheme, Marcel Chambon, threatens to blackmail them, Georges and his two lovers have no option but to kill him and his mistress...
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both crime
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 thisThe Big White (2005)
To remedy his financial problems, a travel agent has his eye on a frozen corpse, which just happens to be sought after by two hitmen.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like this
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Just Play Dead?
The closest matches to Just Play Dead are The Last Seduction (1994), City of Ghosts (2002) and Phantom Halo (2014). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Just Play Dead?
Start with The Last Seduction (1994), the closest match to Just Play Dead.
What is the highest-rated movie like Just Play Dead?
Sleuth (1972), rated 7.7/10 by 760 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Just Play Dead?
Billie & Carl (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like Just Play Dead?
Yes: The Last Seduction (1994), City of Ghosts (2002) and Phantom Halo (2014).
How are movies similar to Just Play Dead chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Just Play Dead, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.