Movies like Where The Head Lies (2024)
The best movies like Where The Head Lies (2024) are Shaft (1971), Legend (2015) and Cry of the City (1948). If Where The Head Lies hooked you, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedBoyz n the Hood (1991)7.6/10 from 2,396 votes
- Newest1992 (2024)Released 2024
Shaft (1971)
Cool Black private eye John Shaft is hired by a crime lord to find and retrieve his kidnapped daughter.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisLegend (2015)
Suave, charming and volatile, Reggie Kray and his unstable twin brother Ronnie start to leave their mark on the London underworld in the 1960s. Using violence to get what they want, the siblings orchestrate robberies and murders while running nightclubs and protection rackets. With police Detective Leonard "Nipper" Read hot on their heels, the brothers continue their rapid rise to power and achieve tabloid notoriety.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisCry of the City (1948)
Petty crook and cop-killer Martin Rome, in bad shape from wounds in the hospital prison ward, still refuses to help slimy lawyer Niles clear his client by confessing to another crime. Police Lt. Candella must check Niles' allegation; a friend of the Rome family, he walks a tightrope between sentiment and cynicism. When Martin fears Candella will implicate his girlfriend Teena, he'll do anything to protect her. How many others will he drag down to disaster with him?
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCrips and Bloods: Made in America (2009)
With a first-person look at the notorious Crips and Bloods, this film examines the conditions that have lead to decades of devastating gang violence among young African Americans growing up in South Los Angeles.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSouth Central (1992)
During a 10-year sentence for murdering the leader of a rival South Central Los Angeles gang, Bobby Johnson finds religion and rehabilitation with the help of Muslim inmate Ali. Upon his release, Bobby returns home to find that his young son, Jimmie, has joined the Deuces, his old crew. Tensions rise as Bobby struggles to convince Jimmie to leave the gang that was his only family during the painful years his absent father spent behind bars.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBoyz n the Hood (1991)
Three friends growing up in South Central Los Angeles navigate a neighborhood plagued by violence, unemployment, and crime, each responding differently to the harsh realities of street life. As tragedy strikes close to home, their friendship, choices, and hopes for a better future are put to the ultimate test.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisGangster Squad (2013)
Los Angeles, 1949. Ruthless, Brooklyn-born mob king Mickey Cohen runs the show in this town, reaping the ill-gotten gains from the drugs, the guns, the prostitutes and — if he has his way — every wire bet placed west of Chicago. And he does it all with the protection of not only his own paid goons, but also the police and the politicians who are under his control. It’s enough to intimidate even the bravest, street-hardened cop… except, perhaps, for the small, secret crew of LAPD outsiders led by Sgt. John O’Mara and Jerry Wooters who come together to try to tear Cohen’s world apart.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMenace II Society (1993)
A young street hustler attempts to escape the rigors and temptations of the ghetto in a quest for a better life.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisExtraction 2 (2023)
Back from the brink of death, highly skilled commando Tyler Rake takes on another dangerous mission: saving the imprisoned family of a ruthless gangster.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisBelly (1998)
Tommy Bundy and Sincere are best friends as well as infamous and ruthless criminals and shot-callers in the hood. Respected by many but feared by all. As the police are closing in on them and new players are looking for a come up, will their reign last?
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisImperial Dreams (2014)
A 21-year-old reformed gangster's devotion to his family and his future is put to the test when he is released from prison and returns to his old stomping grounds in Watts, Los Angeles.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like this1992 (2024)
In 1992, Mercer is desperately trying to rebuild his life and his relationship with his son amidst the turbulent Los Angeles uprising following the Rodney King verdict. Across town, another father and son put their own strained relationship to the test as they plot a dangerous heist to steal catalytic converters, which contain valuable platinum from the factory where Mercer works. As tensions rise and chaos erupts, both families reach their boiling points when their worlds collide.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCode of Silence (1985)
A Chicago cop is caught in the middle of a gang war while his own comrades shun him because he wants to take an irresponsible cop down.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
SnoozefestMovies like thisLet Him Have It (1991)
In 1950s England, slow-witted Derek Bentley falls in with a group of petty criminals led by Chris Craig, a teenager with a fondness for American gangster films. Chris and Derek's friendship leads to their involvement in the true case which would forever shake England's belief in capital punishment.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDeath Wish 3 (1985)
Architect/vigilante Paul Kersey arrives back in New York City and is forcibly recruited by a crooked police chief to fight street crime caused by a large gang terrorizing the neighborhoods.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisWe Die Young (2019)
Lucas, a 14-year-old boy inducted into the gang life in Washington D.C., is determined that his 10-year-old brother won't follow the same path. When an Afghanistan war veteran comes into the neighborhood, an opportunity arises.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDon't Be a Menace to South Central While Drinking Your Juice in the Hood (1996)
When Ashtray moves to South Central L.A. to live with his father (who appears to be the same age he is) and grandmother (who likes to talk tough and smoke reefer), he falls in with his gang-banging cousin Loc Dog, who along with the requisite pistols and Uzi carries a thermo-nuclear warhead for self-defense. Will Ashtray be able to keep living the straight life?
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisGloria (1980)
When a young boy's family is killed by the mob, their tough neighbor Gloria becomes his reluctant guardian. In possession of a book that the gangsters want, the pair go on the run in New York.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisWake of Death (2004)
Ben Archer, an ex-mob enforcer, seeks revenge against a ruthless Chinese kingpin responsible for his wife's brutal murder. When Archer joins forces with his old underworld friends, an all-out war is waged against the Chinese Triad.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisPaid in Full (2002)
Ace is an impressionable young man working for a dry cleaning business. His friend, drug dealer Mitch, goes to prison. In an unrelated incident, he finds some cocaine in a pants pocket. Soon, Ace finds himself dealing cocaine for Lulu. Via lucky breaks and solid interpersonal skills, Ace moves to the top of the Harlem drug world. Of course, unfaithful employees and/or rivals conspire to bring about Ace's fall.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
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
Blow (2001)
The story of how George Jung, together with the Medellín Cartel led by Pablo Escobar, established the billion-dollar cocaine empire in the United States in the 1970s.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
Worth the HypeMovies like thisRoad to Perdition (2002)
Mike Sullivan works as a hit man for crime boss John Rooney. Sullivan views Rooney as a father figure, however after his son is witness to a killing, Mike Sullivan finds himself on the run in attempt to save the life of his son and at the same time looking for revenge on those who wronged him.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
Worth the HypeMovies like thisMurder Death Koreatown (2020)
The bizarre found footage from an investigation into a true crime murder. An unemployed man’s curiosity about his neighbor’s murder warps into a conspiratorial obsession.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
American Gangster (2007)
Loosely based on the criminal career of Frank Lucas, a gangster from La Grange, North Carolina, who smuggled heroin into the United States on American service planes returning from the Vietnam War, before being detained by a task force led by Newark Detective Richie Roberts.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Runaway Bride (1930)
Mary Gray elopes to Atlantic City, NJ, but begins having second thoughts about the marriage. Then she becomes inexplicably locked in her hotel room, and a series of cops, robbers and kidnappers passes through. Desperate, Mary trusts the shifty chambermaid Clara who whisks her away to the mansion of wealthy George Blaine. There, Mary must pretend to be a lowly cook, but that seems better than sticking with the guy she was engaged to.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
Final Analysis (1992)
A psychiatrist becomes romantically involved with the sister of one of his patients, but the influence of her controlling gangster husband threatens to destroy them both.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
SnoozefestMovies like thisLayer Cake (2004)
When a seemingly straight-forward drug deal goes awry, XXXX has to break his die-hard rules and turn up the heat, not only to outwit the old regime and come out on top, but to save his own skin...
Why it matches: Similar story and style
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisA Bullet for Pretty Boy (1970)
A biography of Charles "Pretty Boy" Floyd, a gangster who started his career at a young age after seeking revenge for his father's murder.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
The Hand of Destiny (1954)
In-Ja, the madam of a cabaret is a mistress of the boss of espionage agent. She gathers information from the guests and gives it to Seon-Tae.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
Like Where The Head Lies and something else?
Blend two favourites and we’ll find the films in between.
Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Where The Head Lies?
The closest matches to Where The Head Lies are Shaft (1971), Legend (2015) and Cry of the City (1948). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Where The Head Lies?
Start with Shaft (1971), the closest match to Where The Head Lies.
What is the highest-rated movie like Where The Head Lies?
Boyz n the Hood (1991), rated 7.6/10 by 2,396 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Where The Head Lies?
1992 (2024) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like Where The Head Lies?
Yes: Shaft (1971), Legend (2015) and Cry of the City (1948).
How are movies similar to Where The Head Lies chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Where The Head Lies, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.