Movies like The Killer Strikes at Dawn (1970)
The best movies like The Killer Strikes at Dawn (1970) are Inspector Lavardin (1986), The Adversary (2002) and The Pariah (1972). If The Killer Strikes at Dawn hooked you with its drama and crime, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedRemember (2015)7.3/10 from 785 votes
- NewestMaigret and the Dead Lover (2026)Released 2026
- In FrenchInspector Lavardin (1986)Also in French
Inspector Lavardin (1986)
Inspector Lavardin is called to a provincial village to investigate a murder – only to find that one of his ex-lovers is the victim’s widow.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Adversary (2002)
Based on the 2000 book of the same name by Emmanuel Carrère, it is inspired by the real-life story of Jean-Claude Romand. L'Adversaire's protagonist Jean-Marc Faure (Auteuil) pursues an imaginary career as a doctor of medicine in a plot more closely based on Romand's life and Carrère's book than was Laurent Cantet's 2001 film L'Emploi du Temps. The film was nominated for a Palme d'Or at the 2002 Cannes Film Festival.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both mystery & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Pariah (1972)
For more than 15 years, two Marseille friends and criminals battle the law, rival gangs, prison authorities and even mined beaches in order to survive.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMaigret Sets a Trap (1958)
Four women are murdered, each knifed and, despite torn garments, remain virtuous. As famed police inspector Jules Maigret pieces the clues together, he comes to realise that for the elusive man that he suspects to be unmasked, he has to set a trap.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Bride Wore Black (1968)
Julie Kohler is prevented from suicide by her mother. She leaves home with the intent to track down, charm and kill five men who do not know her. What is her goal? What is her purpose?
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisGarage Sale Mystery: A Case Of Murder (2017)
Jenn buys an old reel-to-reel recorder at a garage sale only to find that it includes the sound of a man pleading for his life. When the former owner of the recorder, a retired therapist, is found murdered in a patient’s apartment, Jenn’s investigation leads to other patients whose love lives are more entangled than she was first led to believe.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both mystery & crime
Worth the HypeMovies like thisMaigret and the Dead Lover (2026)
Commissioner Maigret rushes to the Quai d’Orsay with Lieutenant Janvier. There, they find Mademoiselle Larrieu in a state of shock. That very morning, she discovered the bullet-riddled body of Mr. Berthier-Lagès, a renowned former ambassador whom she had served as a housekeeper for 46 years. While searching the victim's apartment, Maigret and Janvier uncover hundreds of letters. The diplomat had maintained a fifty-year-long love correspondence with a certain Princess of Vuynes, whose husband - by a strange coincidence - had died just a few days earlier. As he confronts the various members of the two families and the suspicious silence of Mademoiselle Larrieu, Maigret finds himself faced with surprise after surprise, watching his certainties crumble - until the solution to the mystery finally hits him in the face at the very last moment...
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both mystery & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSuburbicon (2017)
In the quiet family town of Suburbicon during the 1950s, the best and worst of humanity is hilariously reflected through the deeds of seemingly ordinary people. When a home invasion turns deadly, a picture-perfect family turns to blackmail, revenge and murder.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisAurora Teagarden Mysteries: Reunited and It Feels So Deadly (2020)
Aurora's high school reunion turns deadly when a body is found in the hotel pool. Aurora and her Real Murders Club help investigate which classmate was most likely to kill.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both mystery & crime
Worth the HypeMovies like thisOne Deadly Summer (1983)
Shortly after Elle Wieck moves to a small French village, she begins dating Pin-Pon, a quiet young mechanic who has grown obsessed with the beautiful newcomer. But Elle has her own reason for the relationship...
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both mystery & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Caveman's Valentine (2001)
Romulus, a misunderstood musician turned recluse hiding from personal demons in a New York City cave, finds the frozen body of a young drifter in a tree. The authorities, including his police officer daughter, claim the death is accidental. Romulus is convinced the man was murdered by a prominent art photographer but how can he prove he's right when everyone thinks he's insane?
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & mystery
SnoozefestMovies like thisRemember (2015)
With the aid of a fellow Auschwitz survivor and a hand-written letter, an elderly man with dementia goes in search of the person responsible for the death of his family.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & mystery
Worth the HypeMovies like thisFramed for Murder: A Fixer Upper Mystery (2017)
In the small resort town of Lighthouse Cove, everyone knows that the best man for the job is a woman. And that woman is Shannon Hughes, owner of a construction company and an expert in Victorian home restoration and renovation. Through her renovations she will find clues to uncover the house’s secret past and in turn become an unlikely sleuth to help crack these unsolved mysteries
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & mystery
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisTriage (2009)
The wife of a photojournalist sets out to discover why he came home from a recent assignment without his colleague.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & mystery
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisEndless Night (1972)
Shiftless dreamer Michael Rogers fantasizes about a lifestyle above his means and marries a wealthy, young girl who just came of age. They hire a famous architect to build their dream home amidst a series of suspicious incidents. The spouse has dark intentions toward his naive, inexperienced bride. Secrets from his past and sinister ties to their house guest Greta lead to a terrible turn of unexpected events.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both mystery & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMothers' Instinct (2019)
When a sudden tragedy uproots the lives of two women and their families, they begin to question the relationships they once held so dear.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & mystery
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Ritual Killer (2023)
Unable to process the death of his daughter, Detective Boyd embarks on a hunt for a serial killer who murders according to a brutal tribal ritual: Muti. The only person who can help Boyd is Professor Mackles, an anthropologist who hides an unspeakable secret. The line between sanity and madness thins as Boyd goes deeper into the killer’s world.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both mystery & drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisAll the Devils Are Here (2025)
After a heist, four criminals lay low in a remote safehouse, waiting for orders. As paranoia builds, one thing becomes clear — the real threat may not be outside, but among them.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & mystery
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisPasha (1968)
Six months before his retirement from the criminal police, inspector Joss finds his colleague Gouvion dead, in a poorly faked suicide attempt. Joss loses his temper, and investigates on his own, which leads him through the bas-fond of Paris...
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & crime
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 & mystery
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDeadly Game (1982)
A hunting party arrives at a lodge in the Tatra mountains in Slovakia, where one woman in the party had “accidentally” shot and killed her first husband some time ago.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both mystery & drama
Knife of Ice (1972)
A mute woman, traumatized by her parents' death, faces new horrors when her cousin is murdered by a suspected killer. As danger looms, the truth proves far more complex.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both mystery & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCruising (1980)
When New York is caught in the grip of a sadistic serial killer who preys on patrons of the city's underground bars, rookie cop Steve Burns infiltrates the gay S&M subculture to try and lure him out of the shadows.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both crime & mystery
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisClaudio (2022)
Claudio walks around the city without realizing that he is being followed.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both crime & mystery
Blood and Black Lace (1964)
Isabella, a young model, is murdered by a mysterious masked figure at a fashion house in Rome. When her diary, which details the house employees' many vices, disappears, the masked killer begins killing off all the models in and around the house to find it.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both crime & mystery
Worth the HypeMovies like thisSex of the Devil (1971)
After a relaxing anniversary cruise, Andrea and his wife Barbara are dropped off in Istanbul, Turkey. There, they meet Andrea’s reserved assistant Silvia and his Turkish colleague Omar, who hasn’t been back to his home country in fifteen years. Andrea’s secretary has arranged a luxurious seafront villa for them to stay in while they’re in the country. Upon arriving at the villa, Omar experiences an unsettling feeling of déjà vu, as though he has been in the house before, while the married couple can’t stop bickering. However, the vacation soon turns into a nightmare when mysterious and deadly events begin to unfold.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Seven Blood-Stained Orchids (1972)
A maniac on the loose is committing savage acts of slaughter, and one survivor may be the only key to unmasking the serial slayer known as the Half-Moon Killer. The mysterious half-moon lockets he leaves with his victims could be the only key to unraveling his sinister motives, but will that be enough before he completes his ice-cold plot to claim his intended seven victims?
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both mystery
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Editor (2014)
A one-time (and now one-handed) master film editor toiling in the cinematic sweatshops of 1970s Italy becomes the prime suspect in a series of brutal murders.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both mystery
SnoozefestMovies like thisThe Lumiere Sisters (TBA)
After her sister's suicide, Carey starts experiencing bizarre dreams, leading her to believe there is more to her sibling's death than she thought.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both mystery
Trauma (1978)
Daniel, a writer seeking seclusion to work on his new book, finds himself stranded at a rural bed and breakfast run by a strange and prudish young woman and her ailing, wheelchair-bound husband who remains shut in his room all day. As night falls, a psychotic, razor-wielding killer begins stalking the bed and breakfast, brutally slashing the throats of its most sex-crazed guests, whose bodies and luggage then mysteriously disappear the following morning...
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like The Killer Strikes at Dawn?
The closest matches to The Killer Strikes at Dawn are Inspector Lavardin (1986), The Adversary (2002) and The Pariah (1972). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after The Killer Strikes at Dawn?
Start with Inspector Lavardin (1986), the closest match to The Killer Strikes at Dawn.
What is the highest-rated movie like The Killer Strikes at Dawn?
Remember (2015), rated 7.3/10 by 785 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like The Killer Strikes at Dawn?
Maigret and the Dead Lover (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there French movies like The Killer Strikes at Dawn?
Yes: Inspector Lavardin (1986), The Adversary (2002) and The Pariah (1972).
How are movies similar to The Killer Strikes at Dawn chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside The Killer Strikes at Dawn, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.