Movies like The Hot Spot (1990)
The best movies like The Hot Spot (1990) are The Grifters (1990), China Moon (1994) and Black Widow (1987). If The Hot Spot hooked you with its romance and crime, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedBlood Simple (1985)7.3/10 from 1,720 votes
- NewestOne Night at McCool's (2001)Released 2001
The Grifters (1990)
A small-time conman has his loyalties torn between his estranged mother and his new girlfriend, both of whom are high-stakes grifters with their own angles to play.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisChina Moon (1994)
Detective Kyle Bodine falls for Rachel Munro who is trapped in a violent marriage. After she shoots her husband, Kyle relucantly agrees to help hide the body, but his partner is showing an unusual flair for finding clues.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both thriller & crime
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: Fans watch both · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisOne Night at McCool's (2001)
On an ordinary night, in an ordinary part of town, a beautiful young woman walks into a bar. Her name is Jewel, and before long she is chatting to bartender Randy. The pair leave together, but he ends up getting into a tussle with her criminal boyfriend, who she then shoots dead, later persuading Randy to take the rap for her. But this isn't the end of it, as both Randy's cousin Carl and the detective assigned to the murder case also fall for Jewel's charms and find themselves caught up in the ensuing events. It seems that any man who meets Jewel falls instantly in love with her, and she's going to use this fully to her own advantage, leaving a trail of havoc in her wake. It also seems that she is going to get away with it - that is, until Randy decides to hire a hitman...
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both crime
SnoozefestMovies like thisTrouble in Mind (1985)
The lives of an ex-con, a coffee-shop owner, and a young couple looking to make it rich intersect in the hypnotic Rain City.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both crime
SnoozefestMovies like thisThe 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: Fans watch both · both thriller & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisKill Me Again (1989)
After Faye and her psychotic boyfriend, Vince, successfully rob a mob courier, Faye decides to abscond with the loot. She heads to Reno, where she hires feckless private investigator Jack Andrews to help fake her death. He pulls the scheme off and sets up Faye with a new identity, only to have her skip out on him without paying. Jack follows her to Vegas and learns he's not the only one after her. Vince has discovered that she's still alive.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both thriller & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisImpulse (1990)
A Los Angeles vice cop, caught between her undercover role as a sex worker and her personal relationships, is thrown into a web of murder and deceit.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both thriller & crime
SnoozefestMovies like thisBody Heat (1981)
During an extreme heatwave, a beautiful Florida woman and a seedy lawyer engage in an affair while plotting the murder of her rich husband.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both thriller & crime
Worth the HypeMovies like thisPalmetto (1998)
After being released from prison on a bum charge, Harry Barber is out for payback to regain his lost two years. He's hired by Mrs. Malroux to fake the kidnapping of her stepdaughter (the daughter of a dying millionaire). He discovers that he is being set up on multiple levels and will soon face a longer sentence if he doesn't prove the truth.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both crime & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Postman Always Rings Twice (1981)
The sensuous wife of a lunch wagon proprietor and a rootless drifter begin a sordidly steamy affair and conspire to murder her Greek husband.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both crime & romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisNight of the Juggler (1980)
When a twisted psychotic kidnaps a young girl, mistaking her for the daughter of a wealthy developer, her father, a hardened ex-cop, doggedly hunts them through New York's seamy streets.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both crime & thriller
The Underneath (1995)
A recovering gambling addict attempts to reconcile with his family and friends but finds trouble and temptation when caught between feelings for his ex-wife and her dangerous hoodlum boyfriend.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both crime & thriller
SnoozefestMovies like thisRed Rock West (1993)
When a promised job for Texan Michael fails to materialize in Wyoming, Mike is mistaken by Wayne to be the hitman he hired to kill his unfaithful wife, Suzanne. Mike takes full advantage of the situation, collects the money, and runs. During his getaway, things go wrong, and soon get worse when he runs into the real hitman, Lyle.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both crime & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like this52 Pick-Up (1986)
Harry Mitchell is a successful Los Angeles manufacturer whose wife is running for city council. His life is turned upside down when three blackmailers confront him with a videotape of him with his young mistress and demand $100,000. Fearing that the story will hurt his wife's political campaign if he goes to the police, Harry pretends that he will pay the men, but does not follow through.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both crime & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisU Turn (1997)
When a desperate man’s car breaks down in a bizarre desert town while evading vengeful bookies, he becomes entangled in a dangerous love triangle. Caught between a married couple, he’s faced with deadly contracts to kill them both.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both thriller & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Two Jakes (1990)
Real estate developer Jake Berman hires private investigator and war veteran Jake Gittes for some run-of-the-mill matrimonial work. After Berman shoots his wife's lover, who happens to be his business partner, Gittes is drawn into a web of conspiracy and deceit involving the oil reserves beneath Los Angeles. While investigating, Gittes hears a voice from his past that causes him to revisit a traumatic case in Chinatown.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both crime & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBound (1996)
Corky, a tough female ex-convict working on an apartment renovation in a Chicago building, meets a couple living next door, Caesar, a paranoid mobster, and Violet, his seductive girlfriend, who is immediately attracted to her.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both thriller & crime
Worth the HypeMovies like thisBlood Simple (1985)
The owner of a seedy small-town Texas bar discovers that one of his employees is having an affair with his wife. A chaotic chain of misunderstandings, lies and mischief ensues after he devises a plot to have them murdered.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both crime & thriller
Worth the HypeMovies like thisOne False Move (1992)
Following a series of drug deals and murders, three criminals -- Fantasia, Ray Malcolm and Pluto -- travel from Los Angeles to Houston, finally arriving in a small Arkansas town to go into hiding. Two detectives from the LAPD, who are already on the case, contact the town's sheriff, Dale Dixon, to alert him of the fugitives' presence in the area. Underestimating Dixon, the criminals have no idea what they are about to face.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both crime & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisPhoenix (1998)
Gambling fever -- along with a brutal bookie -- leads three crooked cops into a double-dealing scheme that lands them in hot water way over their heads.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both thriller & crime
SnoozefestMovies like thisSea of Love (1989)
Seen-it-all New York detective Frank Keller is unsettled - he has done twenty years on the force and could retire, and he hasn't come to terms with his wife leaving him for a colleague. Joining up with an officer from another part of town to investigate a series of murders linked by the lonely hearts columns he finds he is getting seriously and possibly dangerously involved with Helen, one of the main suspects.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both crime & romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisPoodle Springs (1998)
Private eye Philip Marlowe and his bride move to a desert town, where he uncovers a land scheme.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both crime
This World, Then the Fireworks (1997)
In 1950s, two incestuous lovers, a depraved suave journalist and his equally depraved prostitute sister, plan to get rich through seduction and murder.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both crime & thriller
Masquerade (1988)
A recently orphaned heiress meets a young racing yacht captain on Long Island. He shows interest in her and, being heiress to $200,000,000, love may not be the reason.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both romance & thriller
SnoozefestMovies like thisTequila Sunrise (1988)
In a seaside California town, best friends Mac and Nick are on opposite sides of the law. Mac is a former drug dealer trying to clean up his act, while Nick is a high-profile detective trying to take down a Mexican drug lord named Carlos. Soon Nick's loyalties are put to the test when he begins an affair with restaurateur Jo Ann -- a love interest of Mac's -- unwittingly leading his friend into a police-orchestrated trap.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both thriller & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisWild at Heart (1990)
Young lovers Sailor and Lula hit the road to start a new life together away from the wrath of Lula’s deranged, disapproving mother, who has hired a team of hitmen to cut the lovers’ surreal honeymoon short.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both crime & thriller
Worth the HypeMovies like thisBlood and Wine (1996)
A man who has failed as a father and husband commits a heist to make money for his fledging business, but things become complicated when his wife interferes.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both crime & thriller
SnoozefestMovies like thisCity of Industry (1997)
A retired thief swears revenge on the lunatic who murdered his brother and partner, while going on the run with the loot they stole.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both thriller & crime
SnoozefestMovies like thisWhite Sands (1992)
A small southwestern town sheriff finds a body in the desert with a suitcase and $500,000. He impersonates the man and stumbles into an FBI investigation.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both crime & thriller
SnoozefestMovies like this
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like The Hot Spot?
The closest matches to The Hot Spot are The Grifters (1990), China Moon (1994) and Black Widow (1987). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after The Hot Spot?
People who watched The Hot Spot most often go on to The Grifters (1990), China Moon (1994) and Black Widow (1987).
What is the highest-rated movie like The Hot Spot?
Blood Simple (1985), rated 7.3/10 by 1,720 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like The Hot Spot?
One Night at McCool's (2001) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like The Hot Spot?
Yes: The Grifters (1990), China Moon (1994) and Black Widow (1987).
How are movies similar to The Hot Spot chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside The Hot Spot, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.