Movies like Zona J (1998)
The best movies like Zona J (1998) are Killer Heat (2024), Blue Story (2019) and In Secret (2014). If Zona J hooked you with its crime and drama, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedBlue Story (2019)7.3/10 from 254 votes
- NewestKiller Heat (2024)Released 2024
Killer Heat (2024)
An expat PI is hired to investigate a suspicious death in Crete, Greece, where jealousies run deep amongst the victim's powerful family.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisBlue Story (2019)
Blue Story is a tragic tale of a friendship between Timmy and Marco, two young boys from opposing postcodes. Timmy, a shy, smart, naive and timid young boy from Deptford, goes to school in Peckham where he strikes up a friendship with Marco, a charismatic, streetwise kid from the local area. Although from warring postcodes, the two quickly form a firm friendship until it is tested and they wind up on rival sides of a street war. Blue Story depicts elements of Rapman's own personal experiences and aspects of his childhood.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisIn Secret (2014)
In 1860s Paris, a young woman, Therese, is trapped in a loveless marriage to the sickly Camille by her domineering aunt, Madame Raquin. She spends her days behind the counter of a small shop and her evenings watching Madame play dominos with an eclectic group. After she meets her husband’s alluring friend, Laurent, she embarks on an illicit affair that leads to tragic consequences. Based on Emile Zola’s novel, Thérèse Raquin.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisFallen Angel (1945)
An unemployed drifter, Eric Stanton wanders into a small California town and begins hanging around the local diner. While Eric falls for the lovely waitress Stella, he also begins romancing a quiet and well-to-do woman named June Mills. Since Stella isn't interested in Eric unless he has money, the lovelorn guy comes up with a scheme to win her over, and it involves June. Before long, murder works its way into this passionate love triangle.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSkin (2019)
A destitute young man, raised by racist skinheads and notorious among white supremacists, turns his back on hatred and violence to transform his life, with the help of a black activist and the woman he loves.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Wild One (1953)
The Black Rebels Motorcycle Club ride into the small California town of Wrightsville, eager to raise hell. Brooding gang leader Johnny Strabler takes a liking to Kathie, the daughter of the local lawman, as another club rolls into town.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThey Live by Night (1949)
An escaped convict, injured during a robbery, falls in love with the woman who nurses him back to health, but their relationship seems doomed from the beginning.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & romance
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 thisLove Everlasting (2016)
Bridger is a young outsider who's always wanted more. He and his mother flee an abusive home, eventually finding a small town in the middle of nowhere. Once there, Bridger finds true acceptance with another misfit.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both romance & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Enforcer (2022)
A noir thriller set in Miami, the film follows an enforcer who discovers his femme fatale boss has branched out into cyber sex trafficking, putting a young runaway he’s befriended at risk. He sacrifices everything to save the young girl from the deadly organization he’s spent his life building.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Parts You Lose (2019)
An unlikely friendship unfolds between a young deaf boy, Wesley, and a fugitive criminal who takes refuge in an abandoned barn on the family’s rural North Dakota farm.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & crime
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 · both crime & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisFire with Fire (1986)
A tough, street-smart kid serving a sentence in a state youth reformatory meets a beautiful, innocent girl studying at a nearby convent. When forbidden love blossoms between them, they must fight the prison authorities, their parents and the law.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisFive Minutes of Heaven (2009)
The story of former Ulster Volunteer Force member Alistair Little. Twenty-five years after Little killed Joe Griffin's brother, the media arrange an auspicious meeting between the two.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisEmpire (2002)
Big time drug dealer Victor Rosa is looking to get out of the game and sees his chance with a big deal with a new friend who happens to be a Wall St. stockbroker. Thinking this will be his chance to go out on top, Victor soon finds out that he's been double crossed and his last option is to get revenge.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Perfect Weapon (1991)
Jeff, a young delinquent, is enrolled by his father in a kenpo school, in the hopes of teaching the boy some self-discipline. Years later, Jeff's mentor, Kim, is being threatened by one of the Korean mafia families. Jeff tries to help his old friend, but is too late to prevent Kim's death at the hands of an unknown hitman. Vowing revenge, Jeff takes on all of the families, using his martial arts skills to find the man who killed his friend.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Quiller Memorandum (1966)
After two British Secret Intelligence Service agents are murdered at the hands of a cryptic neo-Nazi group known as Phoenix, the suave agent Quiller is sent to Berlin to investigate.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & crime
SnoozefestMovies like thisThe Locksmith (2023)
A thief fresh out of prison, tries to work his way back into the life of his daughter and ex-fiancé. Determined, he is forced to use the skills he has as a gifted locksmith. Things take a tumultuous turn after an unexpected disappearance.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisBlindfire (2020)
A police officer who while responding to a violent hostage call, kills the African American suspect only to later learn of his innocence. Sensing this was a set-up, and facing repercussions, he must track down the person responsible while examining his own accountability and the ingrained racism which brought him to this point.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisWinter's Tale (2014)
A burglar falls for an heiress as she dies in his arms. When he learns that he has the gift of reincarnation, he sets out to save her.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSergeant Rutledge (1960)
Respected black cavalry Sergeant Brax Rutledge stands court-martial for raping and killing a white woman and murdering her father, his superior officer.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both crime & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisI Proud to Be an Indian (2004)
Indian (Sohail Khan), or I, as he goes by, is distraught when he must move to London with his father in order to live with the rest of his family, who have been living in England for a while. Once there, I begins to realize that many of the minority families are being bullied by white skinheads, and he decides he must get involved in order to stop the cycle of hatred.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both crime & drama
A Patch of Blue (1965)
A blind, uneducated white girl is befriended by a black man, who becomes determined to help her escape her impoverished and abusive home life.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & romance
Worth the HypeMovies like thisWinter Bay (1996)
John-John is young and black, growing up with his mother and stepfather in a boring suburb south of Stockholm. On one of the last days of the summer vacation, they rescue 10-year old Patricia from drowning at a public bath in Vinterviken in Lake Mälaren. Her father shows his gratitude by taking them home to the wealthy neighborhood, Bromma, where he and his family lives. John-John meets his daughter Elisabeth, and instantly fall in love with her. But it's a long way to go before he wins her love and her father's consent.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both crime & drama
Ask the Dust (2006)
Mexican beauty Camilla hopes to rise above her station by marrying a wealthy American. That is complicated by meeting Arturo Bandini, a first-generation Italian hoping to land a writing career and a blue-eyed blonde on his arm.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both romance & drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisTheir Eyes Were Watching God (2005)
A drama set in the 1920s, where free-spirited Janie Crawford's search for happiness leads her through several different marriages, challenging the morals of her small town. Based on the novel by Zora Neale Hurston.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & romance
Bride of the Orient (1989)
After the death of his mother, a lonely farmer in rural Switzerland considers finally starting a family of his own. Eventually he pays for a bride from Thailand. The couple don't share a language, but being to know each other. However the village neighbors are suspicious of foreigners.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & romance
Son of the South (2021)
In civil rights era Montgomery, Alabama, Klansman's grandson Bob Zellner must choose which side of history to be on during the Movement. Defying his family and white Southern norms, he fought against social injustice, repression and violence to change the world around him
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisFinian's Rainbow (1968)
An Irishman and his daughter arrive in the American South with a stolen pot of gold, hoping to make their fortune. Pursued by a leprechaun desperate to recover his treasure, they become entangled in a battle over land, love, and prejudice in Rainbow Valley—where the gold’s magic turns wishes, and lives, upside down.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both romance
SnoozefestMovies like thisPressure Point (1962)
An African-American prison psychiatrist finds the boundaries of his professionalism sorely tested when he must counsel a disturbed inmate with bigoted Nazi tendencies.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like this
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Zona J?
The closest matches to Zona J are Killer Heat (2024), Blue Story (2019) and In Secret (2014). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Zona J?
Start with Killer Heat (2024), the closest match to Zona J.
What is the highest-rated movie like Zona J?
Blue Story (2019), rated 7.3/10 by 254 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Zona J?
Killer Heat (2024) is the most recent release on this list.
How are movies similar to Zona J chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Zona J, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.