Movies like X Marks the Spot (1942)
The best movies like X Marks the Spot (1942) are Cult Killer (2024), Marlowe (1969) and Righteous Kill (2008). If X Marks the Spot hooked you with its mystery, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedPsycho (1960)8.4/10 from 11,435 votes
- NewestCult Killer (2024)Released 2024
Cult Killer (2024)
A private investigator is forced into a dangerous alliance with a killer in order to uncover a quiet town’s grisly criminal underbelly and clear the name of her mentor, who is implicated in the crimes.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both mystery
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMarlowe (1969)
Mysterious Orfamay Quest hires Los Angeles private investigator Philip Marlowe to find her missing brother. Though the job seems simple enough, it leads Marlowe into the underbelly of the city, turning up leads who are murdered with ice picks, exotic dancers, blackmailed television stars, and self-preserving gangsters. Soon, Marlowe's life is on the line right along with his case.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both mystery
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisRighteous Kill (2008)
Two veteran New York City detectives work to identify the possible connection between a recent murder and a case they believe they solved years ago; is there a serial killer on the loose, and did they perhaps put the wrong person behind bars?
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both mystery
SnoozefestMovies like thisCrooked House (2017)
A private investigator helps a former flame solve the murder of her wealthy grandfather, who lived in a sprawling estate surrounded by his idiosyncratic family.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both mystery
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Big Fix (1978)
Private detective Moses Wine is hired by his former college girlfriend to investigate a political smear campaign and he sets out to find out who is responsible, with deadly results.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both mystery
SnoozefestMovies like thisGone Baby Gone (2007)
When 4 year old Amanda McCready disappears from her home and the police make little headway in solving the case, the girl's aunt, Beatrice McCready hires two private detectives, Patrick Kenzie and Angie Gennaro. The detectives freely admit that they have little experience with this type of case, but the family wants them for two reasons—they're not cops and they know the tough neighborhood in which they all live.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both mystery
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Big Sleep (1946)
Private Investigator Philip Marlowe is hired by wealthy General Sternwood regarding a matter involving his youngest daughter Carmen. Before the complex case is over, Marlowe sees murder, blackmail, deception, and what might be love.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both mystery
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Late Show (1977)
An over-the-hill gumshoe in Los Angeles seeks to avenge the killing of an old pal, another detective who was involved in a case concerning a murdered broad, stolen stamps, a nickel-plated handgun, a cheating dolly, and a kidnapped pussycat.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both mystery
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Long Goodbye (1973)
In 1970s Hollywood, Detective Philip Marlowe tries to help a friend who is accused of murdering his wife.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both mystery
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Black Book (2023)
After his son is wrongly accused of kidnapping, a deacon who has just lost his wife takes matters into his own hands and fights a crooked police gang to clear him.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both mystery
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMcQ (1974)
Police Lieutenant Lon McQ investigates the killing of his best friend and uncovers corrupt elements of the police department dealing in confiscated drugs.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both mystery
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Kid Detective (2020)
A once-celebrated kid detective, now 31, continues to solve the same trivial mysteries between hangovers and bouts of self-pity. Until a naive client brings him his first 'adult' case, to find out who brutally murdered her boyfriend.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both mystery
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisWho's Harry Crumb? (1989)
Harry Crumb is a bumbling and inept private investigator who is hired to solve the kidnapping of a young heiress which he's not expected to solve because his employer is the mastermind behind the kidnapping.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both mystery
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisZero Effect (1998)
Daryl Zero is a private investigator and—along with his assistant, Steve Arlo—he solves impossible crimes and puzzles. Although Daryl's a master investigator, he doesn't know what to do with himself when he's not working; he has no social skills, writes bad music and drives Steve crazy.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both mystery
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisLady in the Lake (1946)
Private eye Phillip Marlowe wants to get out of the detective racket and into crime writing. But when he's called to the office of editor Adrienne Fromsett, it's not to talk about his story ideas — she wants him to locate the missing wife of her boss, Mr. Kingsby. The assignment quickly becomes complicated when bodies start turning up.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both mystery
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisFarewell, My Lovely (1975)
Private eye Philip Marlowe is hired by ex-con Moose Malloy to find his girlfriend, a former lounge dancer. While also investigating the murder of a client and the theft of a jade necklace, Marlowe becomes entangled with seductress Helen Grayle and discovers a web of dark secrets that are better left hidden.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both mystery
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Interview (1998)
A duel between a suspected murderer and a detective pressed by people who want results. But whose skin is really wanted?
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both mystery
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSmall Town Crime (2018)
Mike Kendall, a disgraced ex-cop, is fighting a losing battle with the bottle. When he finds a woman left for dead at the side of a road, Kendall turns private eye to track down her killers, taking one last shot at redemption.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both mystery
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMiss Marple: The Murder at the Vicarage (1986)
Faced with two false confessions and numerous suspects after a despised civil magistrate is found shot in the local vicarage, Detective Inspector Slack reluctantly accepts help from Miss Marple.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both mystery
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisA Walk Among the Tombstones (2014)
Private investigator Matthew Scudder is hired by a drug kingpin to find out who kidnapped and murdered his wife.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both mystery
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisChinatown (1974)
Private eye Jake Gittes lives off of the murky moral climate of sunbaked, pre-World War II Southern California. Hired by a beautiful socialite to investigate her husband's extra-marital affair, Gittes is swept into a maelstrom of double dealings and deadly deceits, uncovering a web of personal and political scandals that come crashing together.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both mystery
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisThe Maltese Falcon (1941)
A private detective takes on a case that involves him with three eccentric criminals, a beautiful liar, and their quest for a priceless statuette.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both mystery
Worth the HypeMovies like thisShattered (1991)
Dan Merrick comes out from a shattering car accident with amnesia. He finds that he is married to Judith who is trying to help him start his life again. He keeps getting flashbacks about events and places that he can't remember. He meets pet shop owner and part time private detective Gus Klein who has supposedly done some work for him prior to the accident. Klein helps Merrick to find out more...
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both mystery
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMurder, My Sweet (1944)
After being hired to find an ex-con's former girlfriend, Philip Marlowe is drawn into a deeply complex web of mystery and deceit.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both mystery
Worth the HypeMovies like thisPsycho (1960)
When larcenous real estate clerk Marion Crane goes on the lam with a wad of cash and hopes of starting a new life, she ends up at the notorious Bates Motel, where manager Norman Bates cares for his housebound mother.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both mystery
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisAngel Heart (1987)
A down-and-out Brooklyn detective is hired to track down a singer on an odyssey that will take him through the desperate streets of Harlem, the smoke-filled jazz clubs of New Orleans, and the swamps of Louisiana and its seedy underworld of voodoo.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both mystery
Worth the HypeMovies like thisBlonde for a Day (1946)
Newspaper reporter Tim Rourke keeps writing articles that attack the police department for its failure to solve a chain of murders, which nearly leads to the reporter's death. He calls in private detective Michael Shayne, who turns up a blonde and a blackmailer.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both mystery
Money Hunt: The Mystery of the Missing Link (1984)
In this film noir comedy, detective Cash Hunt follows clues to solve a difficult puzzle. The producers offered a prize of $100,000 for the first viewer who could find the solution.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both mystery
Wander (2020)
After getting hired to probe a suspicious death in the small town of Wander, a mentally unstable private investigator becomes convinced the case is linked to the same 'conspiracy cover up' that caused the death of his daughter.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both mystery
SnoozefestMovies like thisThis Girl for Hire (1983)
In this pilot for a proposed TV series, B.T. Brady is a flippant, but somewhat klutzy female private detective in Hollywood who sets out to solve the murder of a obnoxious mystery writer. Along the way, Brady gets help from her flamboyant mother Zandra, a washed-up actress, as well as Brady's live-in boyfriend Wolfe who runs a memorabilia shop.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both mystery
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like X Marks the Spot?
The closest matches to X Marks the Spot are Cult Killer (2024), Marlowe (1969) and Righteous Kill (2008). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after X Marks the Spot?
Start with Cult Killer (2024), the closest match to X Marks the Spot.
What is the highest-rated movie like X Marks the Spot?
Psycho (1960), rated 8.4/10 by 11,435 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like X Marks the Spot?
Cult Killer (2024) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like X Marks the Spot?
Yes: Cult Killer (2024), Marlowe (1969) and Righteous Kill (2008).
How are movies similar to X Marks the Spot chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside X Marks the Spot, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.