Movies like Playdate (2012)
The best movies like Playdate (2012) are The Night Stalker (1972), Maniac (1963) and The Night Strangler (1973). If Playdate hooked you with its thriller and tv movie, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedThe Godfather Part II (1974)8.6/10 from 14,593 votes
- NewestOscar Shaw (2026)Released 2026
The 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 horror & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies 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 & 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 & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisGrip of the Strangler (1958)
A researcher investigating a notorious serial killer who was hanged 20 years earlier seemingly becomes possessed by the long dead strangler.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Mirror Crack'd (1980)
Jane Marple solves the mystery when a local woman is poisoned and a visiting movie star seems to have been the intended victim.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Glass Key (1942)
A crooked politician finds himself being accused of murder by a gangster from whom he refused help during a re-election campaign.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisLady in the Lake (1946)
Private eye Phillip Marlowe wants to get out of the detective racket and into crime writing. But when he's called to the office of editor Adrienne Fromsett, it's not to talk about his story ideas — she wants him to locate the missing wife of her boss, Mr. Kingsby. The assignment quickly becomes complicated when bodies start turning up.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisZ (2019)
A family find themselves terrorized by their eight-year-old son's imaginary friend.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Man Who Cheated Himself (1950)
A veteran homicide detective who has witnessed his socialite girlfriend kill her husband sees his inexperienced brother assigned to the case.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Mechanic (1972)
Arthur Bishop is a veteran hit man who, owing to his penchant for making his targets' deaths seem like accidents, thinks himself an artist. It's made him very rich, but as he hits middle age, he's so depressed and lonely that he takes on one of his victim's sons, Steve McKenna, as his apprentice. Arthur puts him through a rigorous training period and brings him on several hits. As Steven improves, Arthur worries that he'll discover who killed his father.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisChronicle Mysteries: Vines that Bind (2019)
The latest edition of Alex McPherson’s true crime podcast leads her and most of the Chronicle staff to nearby Macklin, where they investigate the death of a vintner that was ruled an accident by the local police.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisOscar Shaw (2026)
After retiring from the police force, a relentless detective haunted by the tragic loss of his closest friend sets out on a perilous quest for vengeance, seeking redemption and fighting to restore justice to the streets he once swore to protect.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMurder! (1930)
When actress Diana Baring is found in a daze beside her colleague’s murdered body, all evidence points to her guilt. During the trial, juror Sir John Menier doubts the verdict, but yields to pressure. Haunted by remorse, he launches his own investigation.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & thriller
SnoozefestMovies like thisThe Dark Mirror (1946)
A sister and her disturbed twin are implicated in a murder and a police detective must figure out which one's the killer.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller & horror
Worth the HypeMovies like thisWhat's the Matter with Helen? (1971)
Two middle-aged women move to Hollywood after their sons are convicted of a notorious murder and open a dance school for children eager to tap their way to stardom.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller & horror
SnoozefestMovies like thisRace with the Devil (1975)
Two couples vacationing together in an R.V. from Texas to Colorado are terrorized after they witness a murder during a Satanic ritual.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBasilisk: The Serpent King (2006)
Two millennia ago, a Lybian king has a basilisk (snake-shaped dragon), which petrifies people, subjected to the same fate with a golden scepter during a solar eclipse. Both these and several victims are dug up by modern archaeologist Harrison 'Harry' McColl's expedition. Despite a cryptic warning from tribal locals, everything goes to his Colorado university's museum. It's all exhibited during another eclipse, which leads to the monster reviving. Harry and some of his friends must try to petrify the monster again.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisGarage Sale Mystery (2013)
Jennifer Shannon can always find a diamond in the rough, when it comes to garage sales, that is. Whether it's a new antique to sell at her consignment shop, an Atari game for her son or a piece of furniture for her handy husband Jason to refurbish, she has made a career out of her treasure hunting prowess. When a string of burglaries hits her town, Jennifer's keen eye for detail and her natural problem solving instincts even help her see the connection between these burglaries and local garage sales! Jennifer works with Detective Adam Iverson to investigate her theory that the perpetrators of the burglaries are fellow garage sale regulars. The case escalates to dangerous levels when Jennifer discovers the dead body of her friend. Even though the deceased's husband, Ben Douglas, finds nothing missing in their house, and the police label the death as accidental, Jennifer suspects that the death may be related to the burglaries.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Shed (2019)
The story of Stan, an orphaned teenager stuck living with his abusive grandfather and tasked with routinely protecting his best friend from high school bullies. When Stan discovers a murderous creature has taken refuge inside the tool shed in his backyard, he tries to secretly battle the demon alone until his bullied friend discovers the creature and has a far more sinister plan in mind.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBlack Angel (1946)
A falsely convicted man's wife, Catherine, and an alcoholic composer and pianist, Martin, team up in an attempt to clear her husband of the murder of a blonde singer, who is Martin's wife.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Interpreter (2005)
After Silvia Broome, an interpreter at United Nations headquarters, overhears plans of an assassination, an American Secret Service agent is sent to investigate.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both crime & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisLucky Number Slevin (2006)
Slevin is mistakenly put in the middle of a personal war between the city’s biggest criminal bosses. Under constant watch, Slevin must try not to get killed by an infamous assassin and come up with an idea of how to get out of his current dilemma.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller & crime
Worth the HypeMovies like thisSin City: A Dame to Kill For (2014)
Some of Sin City's most hard-boiled citizens cross paths with a few of its more reviled inhabitants.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both crime & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCochin Express (1967)
Rajan, a police officer, is in charge of the investigation regarding a murder that took place on a train. He tries by hook or by crook to find the culprit as he has only one witness.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both crime & thriller
The Girl From Hong Kong (1973)
Frank Boyd comes to Hong Kong to visit a friend, but unfortunately he was murdered a few days ago. The father of his fiancee puts $ 10,000 reward for the capture of the murderer and Frank wants to earn this money.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both crime & thriller
The Actress (2011)
The banker Vagif Fataliyev is found murdered in his own house. During the investigation, two more murders occur one after the other.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both crime & thriller
The Good German (2006)
An American journalist arrives in Berlin just after the end of World War Two. He becomes involved in a murder mystery surrounding a dead GI who washes up at a lakeside mansion during the Potsdam negotiations between the Allied powers. Soon his investigation connects with his search for his married pre-war German lover.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both crime
SnoozefestMovies like thisMemento (2000)
Leonard Shelby is tracking down the man who raped and murdered his wife. The difficulty of locating his wife's killer, however, is compounded by the fact that he suffers from a rare, untreatable form of short-term memory loss. Although he can recall details of life before his accident, Leonard cannot remember what happened fifteen minutes ago, where he's going, or why.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisThe Godfather Part II (1974)
In the continuing saga of the Corleone crime family, a young Vito Corleone grows up in Sicily and in 1910s New York. In the 1950s, Michael Corleone attempts to expand the family business into Las Vegas, Hollywood and Cuba.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both crime
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisGhost (1990)
After a young man is murdered, his spirit stays behind to warn his lover of impending danger, with the help of a reluctant psychic.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller
Worth the HypeMovies like this
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Playdate?
The closest matches to Playdate are The Night Stalker (1972), Maniac (1963) and The Night Strangler (1973). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Playdate?
Start with The Night Stalker (1972), the closest match to Playdate.
What is the highest-rated movie like Playdate?
The Godfather Part II (1974), rated 8.6/10 by 14,593 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Playdate?
Oscar Shaw (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like Playdate?
Yes: The Night Stalker (1972), Maniac (1963) and The Night Strangler (1973).
How are movies similar to Playdate chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Playdate, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.