Movies like Die Laughing (1980)
The best movies like Die Laughing (1980) are LaRoy, Texas (2024), The Cheap Detective (1978) and Shadow of the Thin Man (1941). If Die Laughing hooked you with its comedy and thriller, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedFail Safe (1964)7.8/10 from 516 votes
- NewestThe Thursday Murder Club (2025)Released 2025
LaRoy, Texas (2024)
Broke and depressed, Ray is mistaken for a dangerous hitman and given an envelope of cash. Along with his P.I. friend Skip, he must escape the actual hitman to make it out of LaRoy alive.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Cheap Detective (1978)
A spoof of the entire 1940s detective genre. San Francisco private detective, Lou Pekinpaugh is accused of murdering his partner at the instigation of his mistress—his partner's wife.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisShadow of the Thin Man (1941)
While attending a major horse race with their young son, Nick Jr., Nick and Nora Charles witnesse a shocking murder from the crowded grandstand. What first appears to be an isolated killing soon leads to a maze of corruption, blackmail, gambling scandals, and criminal intrigue. As Nick investigates, he encounters suspicious bookmakers, dishonest officials, rival gangsters, and a mysterious killer determined to stay ahead of the law. Nora, as always, is never far from the action, bringing her quick wit and fearless curiosity to the case.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & crime
Worth the HypeMovies like thisAirheads (1994)
The Lone Rangers have heavy-metal dreams and a single demo tape they can't get anyone to play. The solution: Hijack an FM rock radio station and hold the deejays hostage until they agree to broadcast the band's tape.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Seven-Ups (1973)
A tough detective who is part of an elite New York City unit is trying to find out who killed his partner, but uncovers a plot to kidnap mobsters for money.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAurora Teagarden Mysteries: A Very Foul Play (2019)
At a gathering of mystery and true crime fans, Aurora Teagarden’s nephew, Phillip, is accused of murder when an unplanned onstage blackout during the play in which he is performing ends, revealing Phillip holding the bloody knife that has just killed one of the other performers. 12th installment in Aurora Teagarden Mysteries
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both mystery & thriller
Worth the HypeMovies like thisFoul Play (1978)
A shy San Francisco librarian and a bumbling cop fall in love as they solve a crime involving albinos, dwarves, and the Catholic Church.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & mystery
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisPsych 3: This Is Gus (2021)
In preparation for a shotgun wedding before the birth of Baby Guster, Shawn and Gus go rogue in an attempt to track down Selene’s estranged husband, as Lassiter grapples with the future of his career.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Independent (2022)
It's the final weeks of the most consequential presidential election in history. America is poised to elect either its first female president or its first viable independent candidate. Reporting history as it's made, an idealistic young journalist teams up with her idol, legendary journalist Nick Booker, to uncover a conspiracy that places the fate of the election, and the country, in their hands.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller & mystery
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisPsych: The Movie (2017)
The ambitious friends come together during the holidays after a mystery assailant targets one of their own. A comedic thrill-ride follows, as the wild and unpredictable Psych team pursues the bad guys, justice … and, of course, food!
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & crime
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Thursday Murder Club (2025)
A group of senior sleuths passionate about solving cold cases get plunged into a real-life murder mystery in this comic crime caper.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & mystery
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHow to Rob a Bank (2007)
Caught in the middle of a bank robbery, a slacker and a bank employee become the ones who arbitrate the intense situation.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & crime
SnoozefestMovies like thisGotcha! (1985)
A student on a trip to France is tricked into smuggling secrets across the Iron Curtain by a sexy spy.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisJohnny Dangerously (1984)
An honest, goodhearted man is forced to turn to a life of crime to finance his neurotic mother's skyrocketing medical bills.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Blue Gardenia (1953)
Upon waking up to the news that the man she’d gone on a date with the previous night has been murdered, a young woman with only a faint memory of the night’s events begins to suspect that she murdered him while attempting to resist his advances.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & mystery
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisIndemnity (2022)
An ex-fireman with PTSD goes on the run when accused of a crime he doesn't even remember committing, leading him down a rabbit hole of conspiracy to the highest degree.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisKept Woman (2015)
Jessica and her fiancé Evan have just moved from the city into their dream home on a quiet suburban street. Soon after, Jessica catches her seemingly friendly new neighbor, Simon, in a strange lie and can't let her suspicions rest. The danger escalates when Simon lures her inside his home and imprisons Jessica in his secret bunker, meticulously decorated in the idealized style of the 1950s.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller & mystery
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisOverdrive (2017)
Master car thieves square off against French gangsters in the South of France with money, women and lives all on the line.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller & mystery
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisStark Raving Mad (2002)
A crook quietly plots his revenge against the boss who murdered his brother while working for him.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisKiller Bean Forever (2008)
When things go bad in Beantown, top assassin Killer Bean is called to clean-up the mess. Detective Cromwell finds himself in the middle between Killer Bean and mob boss Cappuccino.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller & comedy
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Secret Agent 303 (1966)
Hong Kong's Ironman stepped up to the plate when Dr. No (1962) took the world by storm in the 1960s. Tso Tat-wah, the quintessential tough guy of Cantonese cinema who had appeared in dozens of popular action films, was licensed to spy in several 007 imitations. Here, he is Agent 303, the lucky number "3" a vivid sign of East-West integration. Presented in glorious widescreen, the film is garnished with secret weapons and ominous hideouts, mind games and technological intrigues, violence and sex, the latter in the form of a silhouette striptease!
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both crime & mystery
The Jackal (1997)
Hired by a powerful member of the Russian mafia to avenge an FBI sting that left his brother dead, a psychopathic hitman known only as The Jackal proves an elusive target for the people charged with the task of bringing him down: a deputy FBI director, a Russian MVK Major, and a jailed IRA terrorist who can recognize him.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both crime & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThirteen Days (2000)
The story of the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962—the nuclear standoff with the USSR sparked by the discovery by the Americans of missile bases established on the Soviet-allied island of Cuba.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Sum of All Fears (2002)
When the president of Russia suddenly dies, a man whose politics are virtually unknown succeeds him. The change in political leaders sparks paranoia among American CIA officials, so CIA director Bill Cabot recruits a young analyst to supply insight and advice on the situation. Then the unthinkable happens: a nuclear bomb explodes in a U.S. city, and America is quick to blame the Russians.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisEnigma (1982)
Five highly-trained KGB agents are sent to the west to assassinate several Soviet dissidents. In order to stop the diabolical plot, an American agent must infiltrate Soviet intelligence and obtain information from a Russian computer.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller
SnoozefestMovies like thisThe Bedford Incident (1965)
During a routine patrol, a reporter is given permission to interview a hardened cold-war warrior and captain of the American destroyer USS Bedford. The reporter gets more than he bargained for when the Bedford discovers a Soviet sub and the captain begins a relentless pursuit, pushing his crew to breaking point.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller
Worth the HypeMovies like thisIce Station Zebra (1968)
A top-secret Soviet spy satellite -- using stolen Western technology -- malfunctions and then goes into a descent that lands it near an isolated Arctic research encampment called Ice Station Zebra, belonging to the British, which starts sending out distress signals before falling silent. The atomic submarine Tigerfish, commanded by Cmdr. James Ferraday, is dispatched to save them.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisOne, Two, Three (1961)
In Cold War-era West Berlin, American Coca-Cola executive C.R. 'Mac' MacNamara is tasked with playing babysitter to his boss' spoiled 17-year-old daughter Scarlett, who proves more difficult than anticipated when she reveals that she is pregnant by a Communist.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy
Worth the HypeMovies like thisFail Safe (1964)
Because of a technical defect an American bomber team mistakenly orders the destruction of Moscow. The President of the United States has but little time to prevent an atomic catastrophe from occurring.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller
Worth the HypeMovies like thisHow the Beatles Rocked the Kremlin (2009)
In August 1962, director Leslie Woodhead made a two-minute film in Liverpool's Cavern Club with a raw and unrecorded group of rockers called the Beatles. He arranged their first live TV appearances on a local show in Manchester and watched as the Fab Four phenomenon swept the world. Twenty-five years later while making films in Russia, Woodhead became aware of how, even though they were never able to play in the Soviet Union, the Beatles' legend had soaked into the lives of a generation of kids. This film meets the Soviet Beatles generation and hears their stories about how the Fab Four changed their lives, including Putin's deputy premier Sergei Ivanov, who explains how the Beatles helped him learn English and showed him another life. (Storyville)
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both music
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Die Laughing?
The closest matches to Die Laughing are LaRoy, Texas (2024), The Cheap Detective (1978) and Shadow of the Thin Man (1941). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Die Laughing?
Start with LaRoy, Texas (2024), the closest match to Die Laughing.
What is the highest-rated movie like Die Laughing?
Fail Safe (1964), rated 7.8/10 by 516 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Die Laughing?
The Thursday Murder Club (2025) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like Die Laughing?
Yes: LaRoy, Texas (2024), The Cheap Detective (1978) and Shadow of the Thin Man (1941).
How are movies similar to Die Laughing chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Die Laughing, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.