Movies like Diary of a Serial Killer (1995)
The best movies like Diary of a Serial Killer (1995) are Strange Darling (2024), Frank and Penelope (2022) and Frenzy (1972). If Diary of a Serial Killer hooked you with its crime and horror, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedHalloween (1978)7.6/10 from 6,531 votes
- NewestBone Lake (2025)Released 2025
Strange Darling (2024)
Nothing is what it seems when a twisted one-night stand spirals into a serial killer’s vicious murder spree.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisFrank and Penelope (2022)
A tale of love and violence when a man on his emotional last legs finds a savior seductively dancing in a run-down strip club. And a life most certainly headed off a cliff suddenly becomes redirected - as everything is now worth dying for.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror & crime
Worth the HypeMovies like thisFrenzy (1972)
London is terrorized by a vicious sex killer known as The Necktie Murderer. Following the brutal slaying of his ex-wife, down-on-his-luck Richard Blaney is suspected by the police of being the killer. He goes on the run, determined to prove his innocence.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & horror
Worth the HypeMovies like thisI Spit on Your Grave (2010)
A beautiful woman from the city, Jennifer Hills, rents an isolated cabin in the country to write her latest novel. Soon, a group of local lowlifes subject her to a nightmare of degradation, rape, and violence.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisPlay Dead (2025)
A woman wakes up injured in a basement surrounded by corpses. To survive, she pretends to be dead while a grotesque ritual unfolds in the house above.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBloodline (2019)
Evan values family above all else, and anyone who gets between him, his wife, and newborn son learns that the hard way. But when it comes to violent tendencies, it seems the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
SnoozefestMovies like thisSeeding of a Ghost (1983)
After the wife of a taxi driver is raped and killed by two teenage hooligans, he pleads with a sorcerer to lift the hex and exact revenge.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Protector (1985)
Billy Wong is a New York City cop whose partner is gunned down during a robbery. Billy and his new partner, Danny Garoni, are working security at a fashion show when a wealthy man's daughter, Laura Shapiro, is kidnapped. The Federal authorities suspect that Laura's father is involved with Mr. Ko, a Hong Kong drug kingpin, so the NYC police commissioner sends the two cops to Hong Kong to investigate.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime
SnoozefestMovies like thisVengeance (2009)
A French chef swears revenge after a violent attack on his daughter's family in Macau, during which her husband and her two children are murdered. To help him find the killers, he hires three local hit-men working for the mafia.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisGrindhouse (2007)
Grindhouse combines Robert Rodriguez's Planet Terror, a horror comedy about a group of survivors who battle zombie-like creatures, and Quentin Tarantino's Death Proof, an action thriller about a murderous stuntman who kills young women with modified vehicles. It is presented as a double feature with fictitious exploitation trailers preceding each segment.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Worth the HypeMovies like thisDaddy's Little Girl (2014)
After the police find Derek’s daughter brutally murdered on the beach, he vows to make the culprit suffer for his actions, even if that person is ‘part of the family.’ With careful research into the history of torture, Derek prepares himself and his basement for a week of brutal tactics that will make his daughter’s killer feel the pain that he has inflicted upon so many others. In a time when stranger danger is ever present, a single father learns that it’s the ones you trust most who have to be watched the closest.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisIron Angels (1987)
Yeung’s poppy fields are torched by a law enforcement task force, she retaliates by ordering police officials assassinated. The Angels break into Yeung’s corporate offices, eventually tracing her headquarters. After Alex Fong’s character is captured and held by Yeung, the Angels mount an assault to rescue him. A complex sub-plot involving an armored car bullion robbery eventually leads the Angels to a final showdown with Yeung and her men.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisPort of Call (2015)
Based on a real murder case where a dismembered corpse of a murdered 16-year-old prostitute girl was found in Hong Kong in 2008.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBone Lake (2025)
A couple’s romantic vacation at a secluded lakeside estate is upended when they are forced to share the mansion with a mysterious and attractive couple. In this darkly hilarious and seductive horror story, a dream getaway spirals into a nightmarish maze of sex, lies, and manipulation, bringing terrifying secrets to light and triggering a bloody battle for survival.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
SnoozefestMovies like thisFoxy Brown (1974)
A voluptuous black woman takes a job as a high-class prostitute in order to get revenge on the mobsters who murdered her boyfriend.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime
Popcorn FlickMovies 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: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisRevenge: A Love Story (2010)
A serial murderer has brutally killed several policemen and their pregnant wives. After a quick investigation, the murderer is revealed to be Kit, whom the case's detective-in-charge knows from a previous case. Once upon a time, Kit was an innocent boy in a rural village who also has a crush on naïve high school student Wing. After the death of Wing's grandmother, Kit rescues Wing from a foster care facility, and the two quickly fall in love. However, their romance ends prematurely when a local policeman arrests them. The events that follow lay the seeds for Kit's terrifying path to vengeance.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisNightmare Cinema (2018)
A series of down-on-their-luck individuals enter the decrepit and spine-chilling Rialto theater, only to have their deepest and darkest fears brought to life on the silver screen by The Projectionist – a mysterious, ghostly figure who holds the nightmarish futures of all who attend his screenings.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
SnoozefestMovies like thisBewitched (1981)
While possessed by an evil spirit, a man murders his daughter. A police detective investigating the case also becomes possessed. A good monk helps fight the evil spirit.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisZ Storm (2014)
ICAC principal investigator William Luk takes his job seriously, and he needs every last scintilla of support from his team to take on the powerful and cunning Supt Wong, who is corrupt to the core. Wong is an enthusiastic tool of the monstrous Malcolm Wu, a cowboy big-time share trader who will stop at nothing to secure a large slice of the upcoming float of the HK government pension fund, worth billions.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Card Player (2004)
Policewoman Anna Mari is forced to play a dangerous game with the title serial killer. If she loses, she witnesses the maniac's tortured victims having their throats cut in explicit close-up detail via webcam. She teams up with British cop John Brennan to find out the identity of the murderer.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both crime & horror
SnoozefestMovies like thisLike Minds (2006)
A forensic psychologist must determine if a minor should be charged with murder.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMonster (2003)
In 1989, prostitute Aileen Wuornos befriends and enters a relationship with a young woman named Selby. Determined to straighten out her life, Aileen's limited education lands her back on the corner. She's raped by a trick, who she kills. A string of murder and robbery follows that ultimately leads Aileen to becoming America's first female serial killer.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both crime
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThrough Eyes of the Dead (1999)
Shocking music videos and interviews with Necrophagia. Film works as an introduction to the underground that influences this particular music movement and showcases moments of intense performances.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror
Halloween (1978)
Fifteen years after murdering his sister on Halloween Night 1963, Michael Myers escapes from a mental hospital and returns to the small town of Haddonfield, Illinois to kill again.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror
Worth the HypeMovies like thisDirty Harry (1971)
When a madman dubbed 'Scorpio' terrorizes San Francisco, hard-nosed cop, Harry Callahan – famous for his take-no-prisoners approach to law enforcement – is tasked with hunting down the psychopath.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both crime
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Freeway Killer: Lost Murder Tapes (2022)
In 1970s California, a serial killer dumps young boys' bodies along the freeways. An L.A. street reporter on the case receives information that embroils him in the dilemma of a lifetime. Decades later, lost confession tapes help experts uncover the truth.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both crime
Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me (1992)
In the questionable town of Deer Meadow, Washington, FBI Agent Desmond inexplicably disappears while hunting for the man who murdered a teen girl. The killer is never apprehended, and, after experiencing dark visions and supernatural encounters, Agent Dale Cooper chillingly predicts that the culprit will claim another life. Meanwhile, in the more cozy town of Twin Peaks, hedonistic beauty Laura Palmer hangs with lowlifes and seems destined for a grisly fate.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Hamiltons (2006)
The Hamiltons seem to be the picture-perfect American family. They are hardworking community members; giving to their local charities, attending town hall meetings and always respectful of their neighbors...except for the fact that they usually end up killing them.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror
SnoozefestMovies like thisBeast (2018)
A troubled woman living in an isolated community finds herself pulled between the control of her oppressive family and the allure of a secretive outsider suspected of a series of brutal murders.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like this
Like Diary of a Serial Killer and something else?
Blend two favourites and we’ll find the films in between.
Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Diary of a Serial Killer?
The closest matches to Diary of a Serial Killer are Strange Darling (2024), Frank and Penelope (2022) and Frenzy (1972). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Diary of a Serial Killer?
Start with Strange Darling (2024), the closest match to Diary of a Serial Killer.
What is the highest-rated movie like Diary of a Serial Killer?
Halloween (1978), rated 7.6/10 by 6,531 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Diary of a Serial Killer?
Bone Lake (2025) is the most recent release on this list.
How are movies similar to Diary of a Serial Killer chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Diary of a Serial Killer, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.