Movies like Fear City (1984)
The best movies like Fear City (1984) are The First Deadly Sin (1980), Tightrope (1984) and Vice Squad (1982). If Fear City hooked you with its crime and thriller, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedKlute (1971)6.8/10 from 558 votes
- NewestThe Ice Harvest (2005)Released 2005
The First Deadly Sin (1980)
A serial killer is stalking New York City. Inspector Edward Delaney is an NYPD detective, nearing retirement, who is trying to put together the pieces of the case. Are the victims somehow linked? What does the brutal method of death signify?
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both crime & thriller
SnoozefestMovies like thisTightrope (1984)
Wes Block is a detective who's put on the case of a serial killer whose victims are young and pretty women. The murders are getting personal when the killer chooses victims who are acquaintances of Block. Even his daughters are threatened.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both thriller & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisVice Squad (1982)
An unlikely Hollywood hooker helps a detective set a trap for a mutilator pimp.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both crime & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisEye of the Beholder (1999)
A reclusive surveillance expert is hired to spy on a mysterious blackmailer, who just may be a serial killer.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both thriller
SnoozefestMovies like thisThe Detective (1968)
New York City Police detective Joe Leland investigates the grisly murder of Teddy Leikman, the gay son of a politically influential department store owner. While investigating, he discovers links to official corruption in NYC in this drama that delves into a world of sex and drugs, homophobia, homosexuality and bisexuality.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both crime
SnoozefestMovies like thisRelentless (1989)
Two Los Angeles police detectives hunt for a serial killer who randomly chooses his victims from a phone directory.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both thriller & crime
Sea of Love (1989)
Seen-it-all New York detective Frank Keller is unsettled - he has done twenty years on the force and could retire, and he hasn't come to terms with his wife leaving him for a colleague. Joining up with an officer from another part of town to investigate a series of murders linked by the lonely hearts columns he finds he is getting seriously and possibly dangerously involved with Helen, one of the main suspects.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCrimes of Passion (1984)
Fashion designer Joanna Crane leads a double life. By night she is China Blue, a prostitute who's attracted the attention of a sexually frustrated private detective, and a psychopathic priest in possession of a murderous sex toy.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both crime & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Temp (1993)
Peter Derns, an executive at Mrs. Appleby's Cooke Company, fears his future prospects are crumbling fast, until the arrival of Kris Bolin, a gorgeous, cooly efficient temp - and sultry temptress - who helps him develop a marketing campaign that slays the competition. But after two executives mysteriously die, Peter discovers his job security may vanish due to the one person he needs to trust: his temp.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both thriller
SnoozefestMovies like thisDeadly Force (1983)
Stoney Cooper, a former Los Angeles police officer, is at a low point in his life. Kicked off the force because of his anti-authority attitude, he now ekes out a living as a freelancer in New York. All this changes when the daughter of an old friend is killed by serial killer terrorizing L.A. Although almost nobody in his old home town is happy to see him back, Cooper pledges to bring the killer to justice before any more innocent people die.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both crime & thriller
Jade (1995)
When a prominent art dealer is found murdered, the man's death leads to an intriguing investigation steeped in sex, corruption and crime. District Attorney David Corelli gets assigned to the case and discovers that a key suspect is his ex-lover Katrina Gavin, a beautiful psychologist who has settled down with his old friend and peer. As Corelli gets deeper into the case, he uncovers dark secrets with far-reaching implications.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both thriller & crime
SnoozefestMovies like thisThe January Man (1989)
Nick and Frank Starkey were both policemen. A scandal forced Nick to leave the force, now a serial killer has driven the police to take him back. A web that includes Frank's wife, bribery, and corruption all are in the background as Nick tries to uncover the secret of where the killer will strike next, and finally must lay a trap without the police.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both crime & thriller
SnoozefestMovies like thisThe Art of Dying (1991)
A cinematographer and his assistant are attracting aspiring young actors and actresses by getting them to try out for their movie. Once filming, the evil cameraman actually kills them. The detective on the case has his hands full trying to help out runaways with stars in their eyes. When some of the people he knows turn up dead, he takes it personally, and as he gets closer to the truth his girlfriend is endangered.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both crime & thriller
Slam Dance (1987)
When framed for the murder of a sultry blonde, an underground cartoonist is drawn into a web of corruption, blackmail and deceit.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both thriller & crime
SnoozefestMovies like this10 to Midnight (1983)
Warren Stacy, an office equipment repairman, begins murdering women after they reject his advances. To minimize the evidence, Stacy always kills while naked, wearing nothing but gloves, and further evades the law with his strong alibis. Veteran detective Leo Kessler is convinced of Stacy's guilt and begins using questionable methods to catch him.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both crime & thriller
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: Fans watch both · both crime & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisShakedown (1988)
When a local drug dealer shoots a dishonest cop in self-defense, lawyer and renegade undercover cop join forces to clear him. But when their investigation leads them into a maze of greed and corruption, they learn that in a town where everything is for sale, anything can happen.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both crime & thriller
SnoozefestMovies like thisNight Falls on Manhattan (1997)
A newly elected District attorney finds himself in the middle of a police corruption investigation that may involve his father and his partner.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHomicide (1991)
While investigating the ruthless murder of an elderly woman, a Jewish police detective unravels a bizarre conspiracy involving a Zionist organization.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both crime & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisManiac Cop (1988)
A killer dressed in a police uniform begins murdering innocent people on the streets of New York City.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisStreet Smart (1987)
A New York journalist lies when his fake story about a pimp describes a real pimp up for murder.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both thriller & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisChina Girl (1987)
Teenage lovers Tony and Tyan-Hwa tip the balance of power in New York's Little Italy and Chinatown.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Banker (1990)
High-priced prostitutes are being systematically murdered, their corpses mutilated, and a bizarre South American symbol painted in blood is found at the scene. The cop investigating is out to solve the crime before his ex wife, a reporter, becomes the next victim.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both crime & thriller
52 Pick-Up (1986)
Harry Mitchell is a successful Los Angeles manufacturer whose wife is running for city council. His life is turned upside down when three blackmailers confront him with a videotape of him with his young mistress and demand $100,000. Fearing that the story will hurt his wife's political campaign if he goes to the police, Harry pretends that he will pay the men, but does not follow through.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both crime & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisPrince of the City (1981)
New York City detective Daniel Ciello agrees to help the United States Department of Justice eliminate corruption in the police department, as long as he will not have to turn in any close friends. In doing so, Ciello uncovers a conspiracy within the force to smuggle drugs to street informants.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both thriller & crime
Worth the HypeMovies like thisBlack Widow (1987)
Federal agent Alexandra Barnes believes that Catherine Petersen is a serial killer who marries rich men and then murders them for their money. But since Catherine is seemingly a master of disguise and has multiple identities, Alexandra can't prove anything with conventional detective work. With no other option, she goes undercover, pursuing the same man as Catherine, and hoping that Catherine will slip up and reveal her true identity.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisEyewitness (1981)
NYC custodian Daryll Deever is a big fan of local news reporter Tony Sokolow, so he is intrigued when she shows up to cover a story at his workplace. There's been a murder in the office building, and Tony suspects that Daryll may have insight into the crime, a notion that he furthers to stay close to her. However, when those behind the killing begin to think that he really knows something, they target the pair to keep their secrets hidden.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both thriller & crime
SnoozefestMovies like thisUndercover (1995)
A female cop goes undercover in a high price whorehouse to find a murderer and discovers she likes the assignment more than she should.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both thriller
The Ice Harvest (2005)
A shady lawyer attempts a Christmas Eve crime, hoping to swindle the local mob out of some money. But his partner, a strip club owner, might have different plans for the cash.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & thriller
SnoozefestMovies like thisKlute (1971)
A high-priced call girl is forced to depend on a reluctant private eye when she is stalked by a psychopath.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like this
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Fear City?
The closest matches to Fear City are The First Deadly Sin (1980), Tightrope (1984) and Vice Squad (1982). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Fear City?
People who watched Fear City most often go on to The First Deadly Sin (1980), Tightrope (1984) and Vice Squad (1982).
What is the highest-rated movie like Fear City?
Klute (1971), rated 6.8/10 by 558 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Fear City?
The Ice Harvest (2005) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like Fear City?
Yes: The First Deadly Sin (1980), Tightrope (1984) and Vice Squad (1982).
How are movies similar to Fear City chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Fear City, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.