Movies like 16 1/2 (2025)
The best movies like 16 1/2 (2025) are The Menendez Brothers (2024), Murder to Mercy: The Cyntoia Brown Story (2020) and The Thin Blue Line (1988). If 16 1/2 hooked you with its documentary, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedO.J.: Made in America (2016)8.4/10 from 271 votes
- NewestThe Crash (2026)Released 2026
The Menendez Brothers (2024)
Serving life in prison for murdering their parents, Lyle and Erik Menendez speak out in this documentary explaining the shocking crime and ensuing trials.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisMurder to Mercy: The Cyntoia Brown Story (2020)
After 16-year-old Cyntoia Brown is sentenced to life in prison, questions about her past, physiology and the law itself call her guilt into question.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Thin Blue Line (1988)
One night in November 1976, after his car breaks down on a road outside Dallas, Randall Dale Adams accepts a ride from teenager David Harris. Harris is driving a stolen vehicle and, later that night, when Dallas police officer Robert Wood pulls the car over to check its headlights, he is shot and killed. A jury believes Adams is the killer, but stylized reenactments and interviews with key figures, conflicting testimonies and evidence are presented to argue that Adams was framed by a corrupt justice system, ultimately leading to his exoneration.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisMy Mom Jayne (2025)
Through deeply personal interviews with her siblings and an examination of the photographs, letters, and belongings left behind, Mariska assembles a new portrait of her mother Jayne Mansfield, an extraordinary and complex woman.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisThe Crash (2026)
A teen slams her car into a building, killing her boyfriend and his friend. What seems like a tragic accident becomes a murder case.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Fear of 13 (2015)
After 23 years on Death Row a convicted murderer petitions the court asking to be executed, but as his story unfolds, it becomes clear that nothing is what it seems.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like this13th (2016)
An in-depth look at the prison system in the United States and how it reveals the nation's history of racial inequality.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisFor the Love of Spock (2016)
The life of Mr. Spock, as well as that of Leonard Nimoy, the actor who played him for almost fifty years, written and directed by his son: Adam.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisWhy Did You Kill Me? (2021)
The line between justice and revenge blurs when a devastated family uses social media to track down the people who killed 24-year-old Crystal Theobald.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
SnoozefestMovies like thisNobody Speak: Trials of the Free Press (2017)
The courtroom and publicity battles between the superstar wrestler and the notorious website explode in a sensational trial all about the limits of the First Amendment and the new no holds barred nature of celebrity life in an internet dominated society.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDeliver Us from Evil (2006)
Documentary filmmaker Amy Berg investigates the life of 30-year pedophile Father Oliver O'Grady and exposes the corruption inside the Catholic Church that allowed him to abuse countless children. Victims' stories and a disturbing interview with O'Grady offer a view into the troubled mind of the spiritual leader who moved from parish to parish gaining trust ... all the while betraying so many.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisTales of the Grim Sleeper (2014)
When Lonnie Franklin Jr. was arrested in South Central Los Angeles in 2010 as the suspected murderer of a string of young black women, police hailed it as the culmination of 20 years of investigations. Four years later documentary filmmaker Nick Broomfield took his camera to the alleged killer’s neighborhood for another view.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCome See Me in the Good Light (2025)
In an intimate and joyful story of love in the face of loss, celebrated poets Andrea Gibson and Megan Falley find strength—and unexpected hilarity—in what might be their final year together.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisTed Bundy: Mind of a Monster (2019)
New exclusive access and never before heard testimony gives a unique insight into the mind of America's most notorious serial killer, Ted Bundy. Breathtaking archive from the time and the voice of Bundy himself, reveals the monster inside the man.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisO.J.: Made in America (2016)
A chronicle of the rise and fall of O.J. Simpson, whose high-profile murder trial exposed the extent of American racial tensions, revealing a fractured and divided nation.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisIn the Realms of the Unreal (2004)
In the Realms of the Unreal is a documentary about the reclusive Chicago-based artist Henry Darger. Henry Darger was so reclusive that when he died his neighbors were surprised to find a 15,145-page manuscript along with hundreds of paintings depicting The Story of the Vivian Girls, in What is Known as the Realms of the Unreal, of the Glodeco-Angelinnian War Storm, Cased by the Child Slave Rebellion.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Curse of the Dragon (1993)
A 1993 documentary film about Bruce Lee. The film includes interviews from some of his fellow students and opponents who worked alongside him in his movies.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisCrystal Lake Memories: The Complete History of Friday the 13th (2013)
Taking inspiration from Peter M. Bracke's definitive book of the same name, this seven-hour documentary dives into the making of all twelve Friday the 13th films, with all-new interviews from the cast and the crew.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisAs I Was Moving Ahead Occasionally I Saw Brief Glimpses of Beauty (2000)
A compilation of over 30 years of private home movie footage shot by Lithuanian-American avant-garde director Jonas Mekas, assembled by Mekas "purely by chance", without concern for chronological order.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisWhitney: Can I Be Me (2017)
The life and tragic death of Whitney Houston.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisFreedom Downtime (2001)
A feature-length documentary about the Free Kevin movement and the hacker world.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
Into the Deep: The Submarine Murder Case (2020)
When journalist Kim Wall disappears after boarding inventor Peter Madsen's submarine, his changing story about her fate masks a terrifying truth.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHinterkaifeck - Die wahre Geschichte hinter Tannöd (2009)
Still today, people say that during the stormy night from March 31st to April 1st, 1922, the devil had come to Hinterkaifeck. On the farmstead near Schrobenhausen, all 6 inhabitants – 4 Adults and two children – are struck down bestially. The police did not manage to seek out the murderer(s). As the case is still unsolved as of today, the story still lives on in the minds of the people. Motion pictures, theatre plays, and the bestselling novel “Tannöd”, behind all of them stands Hinterkaifeck. Aspiring police investigators and a self-declared “Internet – special commission ‘Hinterkaifeck’” have now once again taken up the trail of the case. This exciting search for traces is followed by the film, and its findings are recreated in elaborate play scenes. Thereby, a picture of an era thought to be bygone and an idea of what really happened back then comes into existence. More precise than any fiction, the docudrama manages to get closer to the truth.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
Tupac Assassination Conspiracy Or Revenge (2009)
Tupac: Assassination is a documentary film about the unsolved murder of rapper Tupac Shakur. The film is produced by Frank Alexander (Tupac's bodyguard who was the only guard assigned and present at the time of the shooting) and RJ Bond, who also directed the film.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
Behind the Crime: The Nipsey Hussle Murder (2023)
As told by the people involved, and using real footage from the tragic event, we take a deep dive into the murder trial, story, and case of rap icon and street legend Nipsey Hussle.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
Ted Bundy: Natural Porn Killer (2006)
Documentary about serial killer Ted Bundy. This documentary asks the question whether Bundy's obsession with pornography was the cause of his crimes.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
Untitled Luigi Mangione Documentary (TBA)
From the seemingly meticulous execution to the alleged killer Luigi Mangione’s manifesto and his Ivy League background to the public’s unapologetic apathy towards healthcare CEO Brian Thompson, an investigative deep dive that asks how killers are created, what this killing says about our society and the values we place on who lives and who dies.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
Until the Light Takes Us (2008)
Chronicles the history, ideology and aesthetic of Norwegian black metal, a musical subculture infamous as much for a series of murders and church arsons as it is for its unique musical and visual aesthetics. This is the first film to truly shed light on a movement that has heretofore been shrouded by rumor and obscured by inaccurate and shallow depictions. Featuring exclusive interviews with the musicians themselves, Until the Light Takes Us explores every aspect of the controversial movement that has captured the attention of the world.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Untold Story of Emmett Louis Till (2005)
Never-before-seen testimony is included in this documentary on Emmett Louis Till, who, in 1955, was brutally murdered after he whistled at a white woman.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
Scenes from a Teenage Killing (2011)
Travelling the length and breadth of Britain, the film explores the impact of teenage killings on families of different religion, race and class.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like 16 1/2?
The closest matches to 16 1/2 are The Menendez Brothers (2024), Murder to Mercy: The Cyntoia Brown Story (2020) and The Thin Blue Line (1988). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after 16 1/2?
Start with The Menendez Brothers (2024), the closest match to 16 1/2.
What is the highest-rated movie like 16 1/2?
O.J.: Made in America (2016), rated 8.4/10 by 271 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like 16 1/2?
The Crash (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like 16 1/2?
Yes: The Menendez Brothers (2024), Murder to Mercy: The Cyntoia Brown Story (2020) and The Thin Blue Line (1988).
How are movies similar to 16 1/2 chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside 16 1/2, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.