Movies like Public Enemy (1990)
The best movies like Public Enemy (1990) are Pink Flamingos (1972), 68 Kill (2017) and The Substitute (1996). If Public Enemy hooked you, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Public Enemy
Quick picks
- Highest ratedThe Substitute (1996)7.0/10 from 621 votes
- NewestStrange Darling (2024)Released 2024
Pink Flamingos (1972)
Notorious Baltimore criminal and underground figure Divine goes up against Connie & Raymond Marble, a sleazy married couple who make a passionate attempt to humiliate her and seize her tabloid-given title as "The Filthiest Person Alive".
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like this68 Kill (2017)
Chip's problem is that he can't say no to beautiful women. This weakness gets him into a world of trouble when he agrees to help his girlfriend steal $68,000.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
SnoozefestMovies like thisThe Substitute (1996)
When an inner-city Miami schoolteacher gets her knee broken after standing up to the school's gang leader, her mercenary combat specialist boyfriend goes undercover as a substitute teacher to take down the punk. Soon he discovers a conspiracy of criminals at work, and must reassemble his team from his last jungle raid to stop them.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Protector (1985)
Billy Wong is a New York City cop whose partner is gunned down during a robbery. Billy and his new partner, Danny Garoni, are working security at a fashion show when a wealthy man's daughter, Laura Shapiro, is kidnapped. The Federal authorities suspect that Laura's father is involved with Mr. Ko, a Hong Kong drug kingpin, so the NYC police commissioner sends the two cops to Hong Kong to investigate.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
SnoozefestMovies like thisAl Capone (1959)
In this unusually accurate biography, small-time hood Al Capone comes to Chicago at the dawn of Prohibition to be the bodyguard of racketeer Johnny Torrio. Capone's rise in Chicago gangdom is followed through murder, extortion, and political fraud. He becomes head of Chicago's biggest "business," but moves inexorably toward his downfall and ignominious end.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHard to Die (1990)
While doing the inventory for a lingerie outlet in a high rise office building, five attractive women are terrorized by a series of bizarre killings. They suspect that the strange janitor, who witnessed another series of killings six months previously, is at the bottom of the whole thing. Little do they know the real horror that they face in the end.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisPimp (2018)
An urban love story set on the hard streets of the Bronx. A struggling female pimp, named Wednesday, grows up learning the game from her dad. Once he's gone she's left to look out for her prostitute mother and girlfriend Nikki.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisGirlHouse (2014)
In an attempt to make some extra cash while away at College, Kylie moves into a house that streams content to an X-rated website. After a deranged fan hacks in to determine the house's location, she finds herself in a terrifying fight for her life.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisKing Cobra (2016)
It’s 2006, YouTube is in its infancy, and internet porn is still behind a paywall. Taking the stage name Brent Corrigan, a fresh-faced, wannabe adult video performer is molded into a star by Stephen, a closeted gay porn mogul who runs the skin flick empire Cobra Video from his seemingly ordinary suburban home.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
SnoozefestMovies like thisThe Rookie (1990)
Veteran cop Nick Pulovski is used to playing musical partners; many of the partners he's had in the past have died on the job, and often as a result of Nick's risky tactics. But the rookie who's been assigned to help Nick bust a carjacking ring is almost as hotheaded as he is … and when Nick gets kidnapped, his newbie partner is his only hope.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
SnoozefestMovies like thisState Property (2002)
A Philadelphia gang member becomes a drug kingpin and starts a feud with vicious rivals in his quest for the American Dream.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCitizen Toxie: The Toxic Avenger IV (2001)
A horrific explosion creates a dimensional portal between Tromaville and its dimensional mirror image, Amortville. While the Toxie is trapped in the mirror dimension, Tromaville comes under the control of his evil doppelganger, the Noxious Offender.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAccident Man (2018)
Mike Fallon, the Accident Man, is a stone cold killer. When a loved one is murdered by his own crew, Fallon is forced to avenge the one person who actually meant something to him.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Born Losers (1967)
A biker gang incites a reign of terror in a California coastal town that culminates in four teenage girls being raped. Vietnam veteran Billy Jack has had enough, however, and takes on the depraved bikers single-handedly. He rescues young Vicky Barrington from their clutches, but then has to contend with not only the thugs, but also the ineffectual and racist local lawmen, who have it out for the half-Native American Billy.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisConvict (2014)
Set in the dark and old Parramatta prison built by the original convicts our lead character Ray a war veteran finds himself serving 18 months for manslaughter after defending his fiance. He soon realizes that the prison boss has it in for him and does everything possible to break Ray even going after his fiance.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBad (1977)
Hazel runs a beauty salon out of her house, but makes extra money by providing ruthless women the oppurtunity to perform hit jobs. L.T. is a parasite, and contacts Hazel looking for work after he runs out of money. She is reluctant to use him for a hit, since she prefers using women, but decides to try him on a trial basis. Meanwhile, the cop she pays off wants an arrest to make it look like he's doing his job, but Hazel doesn't want to sacrifice any of her "associates". The sleazy side of life is explored in this delightfully dark and deadpan film.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisStrange Darling (2024)
Nothing is what it seems when a twisted one-night stand spirals into a serial killer’s vicious murder spree.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Overnight (2015)
Alex, Emily, and their son, RJ, are new to Los Angeles. A chance meeting at the park introduces them to the mysterious Kurt, Charlotte, and Max. A family “playdate” becomes increasingly interesting as the night goes on.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
SnoozefestMovies like thisAll About the Benjamins (2002)
Bounty hunter Bucum Jackson teams with the small-time con artist, Reggie Wright, that he is pursuing, in an attempt to locate a missing stash of diamonds and a lottery ticket worth millions of dollars. Bucum and Reggie find themselves in a race to the finish as they embark on an unlikely partnership that should -- when all is said and done -- prove beneficial to them both.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
SnoozefestMovies like thisStranger on the Third Floor (1940)
Newspaper reporter Michael Ward plunges into a nightmare of guilt, fearing that his "evidence" has sentenced the wrong man to death.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe White Masai (2005)
A girl, Carola, whose vacation in Kenya takes an interesting turn when she becomes infatuated with a Masai. Carola decides to leave her boyfriend to stay with her lover. There, she has to adapt to the Masai's way of life and get used to their food which includes milk mixed with blood. She also has to face her husband's attitude towards women and what he expects from a wife. Nonetheless, Carola is welcomed warmly into the tribe she has chosen to join.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisNoel Clarke vs Ladyboys (2016)
Short fictionalised documentary of Noel Clarke's time in Thailand, played exclusively before Adulthood (2016)
Why it matches: Similar story and style
Emanuelle in the Country (1982)
When Selenia arrives in the small Italian village heads start turning and eyes start popping. All males in the town are falling all over themselves trying to get a look -- or a feel -- of the new doctor.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
Diary of a Sex Addict (2001)
A restaurant owner leads a double life.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
SnoozefestMovies like thisTorso (1973)
A masked serial killer with psychosexual issues strangles female coeds with scarves before dismembering them. When a wealthy student identifies one of the scarves and thinks she has a lead on a suspect, she becomes the killer's next target, retreating to her family's remote cliffside villa with three of her girlfriends.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisEntreturnos (2014)
Beto is a bus conductor married to Gilda, who longs to have a child. When Beto gets closer to Leia, owner of his favorite bar, he meets Valcir, a newcomer who completes the love triangle that results in pregnancy. Amid the difficulties in dealing with this situation, the characters run through the city and find out more about themselves as they learn to confront their personal conflicts.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
Cecilia (1983)
After repeatedly flaunting her peerless body to her servants, snobbish aristocrat Cecilia becomes the victim of rape. But the experience triggers a carnal awakening, full of socialite sex parties and woodland orgies. And before long, Cecilia finds her amorous adventures spinning out of control, particularly when her husband decides to join in on the free-love lifestyle.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
Art of Love (2021)
A mysterious, erotic and haunting love story between a writer/professor at Puerto Rico's leading University and an aspiring artist from the immigrant Chinese community.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
The Paradise Suite (2015)
The lives of six people, who seem to have nothing more in common than their faraway homelands, become inextricably linked in Amsterdam, the city they have chosen as their new home.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
Maximum Thrust (2003)
A down and out all girl race team, Maximum Thrust, hires a sexy newbie street racer, Bekka (Beverly Lynne), in hopes of saving a failing business and salvaging street creds and respect. The action is fast and furious on and off the track when Bekka is seduced by a rival racer, Junior Sloan. When it is discovered Junior intends on destroying Maximum Thrust, even if it means killing the driver, Bekka reunites with the team. With friends and lovers helping, the women of Maximum Thrust build an awesome street racing machine and lay it all on the line when they challenge Junior to a race at "Street Wars." It is a high octane battle where Bekka blows by Junior and stops him on the track. Using intimate information, Bekka and the team have Junior arrested and the team reigns as the Street Wars champions.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Public Enemy?
The closest matches to Public Enemy are Pink Flamingos (1972), 68 Kill (2017) and The Substitute (1996). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Public Enemy?
Start with Pink Flamingos (1972), the closest match to Public Enemy.
What is the highest-rated movie like Public Enemy?
The Substitute (1996), rated 7.0/10 by 621 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Public Enemy?
Strange Darling (2024) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like Public Enemy?
Yes: Pink Flamingos (1972), 68 Kill (2017) and The Substitute (1996).
How are movies similar to Public Enemy chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Public Enemy, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.