Movies like The Badge (2002)
The best movies like The Badge (2002) are Crimes of Passion (1984), Out of the Past (1947) and Frank and Penelope (2022). If The Badge 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 ratedSuccubus (2024)8.3/10 from 279 votes
- NewestAnimals (2026)Released 2026
Crimes 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: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisOut of the Past (1947)
The peaceful life of a gas station owner is disrupted when a man from his past arrives in town and forces him to return to the dark world he had tried to escape.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & thriller
Worth the HypeMovies 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 thriller & crime
Worth the HypeMovies like thisClose Range (2015)
A rogue soldier turned outlaw is thrust into a relentless fight with a corrupt sheriff, his obedient deputies, and a dangerous drug cartel in order to protect his sister and her young daughter.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBad Influence (1990)
Wimpy young executive Michael is about to get pulverized by a jealous boyfriend in a bar when a handsome, mysterious stranger steps in—and then disappears. Later that night, Michael runs into a stranger on a pier, who wheedles his way into Michael's life and turns it upside down.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisWalking Tall: Lone Justice (2007)
In Dallas, witnesses against a drug-lord are murdered in a safe-house.The testimony of FBI agents becomes the only chance to keep him in prison. They are lodged in another safe-house, but the place is invaded and the agents are executed. However, Kate is only wounded, and her boyfriend Nick believes there is a traitor in the agency and takes her to his ranch to protect her life.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller & crime
SnoozefestMovies like thisBlue Velvet (1986)
The discovery of a severed human ear found in a field leads a young man on an investigation related to a beautiful, mysterious nightclub singer and a group of psychopathic criminals who have kidnapped her child.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller & crime
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Killer Inside Me (2010)
Deputy Sheriff Lou Ford is a pillar of the community in his small west Texas town, patient and apparently thoughtful. Some people think he is a little slow and maybe boring, but that is the worst they say about him. But then nobody knows about what Lou calls his "sickness": He is a brilliant, but disturbed sociopathic sadist.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & thriller
SnoozefestMovies like thisRed Right Hand (2024)
Cash is trying to live a quiet, honest life in a small Appalachian town. When a vicious crime boss forces him back into her services, he soon learns he's capable of anything -- even killing -- to protect his family and his home.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAnimals (2026)
When the son of an L.A. mayoral candidate is kidnapped, he and his wife have a few hours to come up with the ransom payment. With most of their money spent on his political campaign, they have to get their hands dirty and expose a side of their lives they never intended to see the light of day.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Naked Kiss (1964)
A former prostitute works to create a new life for herself in a small town, but a shocking discovery could threaten everything.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Shed (2019)
The story of Stan, an orphaned teenager stuck living with his abusive grandfather and tasked with routinely protecting his best friend from high school bullies. When Stan discovers a murderous creature has taken refuge inside the tool shed in his backyard, he tries to secretly battle the demon alone until his bullied friend discovers the creature and has a far more sinister plan in mind.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBoys Don't Cry (1999)
A young transgender man explores his gender identity and searches for love in rural Nebraska.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime
Worth the HypeMovies like thisJericho Ridge (2024)
North Washington county sheriff Tabby finds herself alone in the sheriff’s office one night while her colleagues are out on patrol, but she soon finds out they’ve been set up by a murderous drug cartel while she herself comes under siege at the office, where she must battle desperately to save herself and her son.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSection 8 (2022)
After avenging the murder of his family, a former soldier is sprung from prison and recruited by a shadowy government agency.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisPlay Dead (2022)
Criminology student Chloe fakes her own death to break into a morgue, in order to retrieve a piece of evidence that ties her younger brother to a crime gone wrong. Once inside, she discovers that a sadistic coroner is using the corpses for his sick and twisted business, and when he realises that Chloe still has a pulse, a terrifying game of cat and mouse ensues.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisShades of Desire (2023)
After her twin sister Aubrey goes missing, Jennifer uncovers the scandalous, secret double-life that Aubrey leads - and that has put both of them in danger.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSuccubus (2024)
A new father going through a marital separation joins a dating app and matches with a beautiful but mysterious young woman... whose powers of seduction and manipulation entangle him in a mystery more horrifying than he could have ever imagined.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisWhisper (2007)
Sinister things begin happening to kidnappers who are holding a young boy for ransom in a remote cabin.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCandy Land (2023)
Remy, a seemingly naive and devout young woman, finds herself cast out from her religious cult. With no place to turn, she immerses herself into the underground world of truck stop sex workers. Under the watchful eye of their matriarch and an enigmatic local lawman, Remy navigates between her strained belief system and the code to find her true calling in life.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisVery Bad Things (1998)
Kyle Fisher has one last night to celebrate life as a single man before marrying Laura, so he sets out to Vegas with four of his best buddies. But a drug and alcohol filled night on the town with a stripper who goes all the way, turns into a cold night in the desert with shovels when the stripper goes all the way into a body bag after dying in their bathroom. And that's just the first of the bodies to pile up before Kyle can walk down the aisle...
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both crime & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDead & Nowhere (2008)
Homicide cop Ray Maldonado has found a third dead hooker in as many days. The realization that he's got a serial killer on his hands hits him. Wanting to stop the string of murders, Maldonado turns to the obvious suspect: Street preacher Jimmy Christmas. Searching for redemption from his past life of crime, Christmas wants the hookers he protects off the streets. But his prayers aren't enough. To hide the darkness of his past. Protect his girls. Fend off the anger of mysterious pimp Anthony and Anthony's lawyer Phillip. Jimmy knows. There will be Hell to pay if he cannot stop the disappearances of Anthony's money-making machines. It could mean his life. Caught in an impossible love with Jimmy, Violet, Anthony's favorite girl, refuses to stop walking the streets unless its on her terms. That means stealing for herself the money Jimmy collects from the other girls. But... Someone has his eyes on Violet. That someone wants Violet dead to satisfy the voices in his head.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller & crime
Mona Lisa (1986)
George is a small-time crook just out of prison who discovers his tough-guy image is out of date. Reduced to working as a minder/driver for high class call girl Simone, he has to agree when she asks him to find a young colleague from her King's Cross days. That's when George's troubles just start.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both crime & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisOne False Move (1992)
Following a series of drug deals and murders, three criminals -- Fantasia, Ray Malcolm and Pluto -- travel from Los Angeles to Houston, finally arriving in a small Arkansas town to go into hiding. Two detectives from the LAPD, who are already on the case, contact the town's sheriff, Dale Dixon, to alert him of the fugitives' presence in the area. Underestimating Dixon, the criminals have no idea what they are about to face.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both crime & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like this8 Million Ways to Die (1986)
Scudder is a detective with the Sheriff's Department who is forced to shoot a violent suspect during a narcotics raid. The ensuing psychological aftermath of this shooting worsens his drinking problem and this alcoholism causes him to lose his job, as well as his marriage.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller & crime
SnoozefestMovies like thisSpearphishing (2021)
An Afghan war veteran looks to live the quiet life as a small-town police officer. That changes when a group of Russian hackers moves to the area, intending to disrupt the Canadian elections.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller & crime
Taxali Gate (2024)
In the red light district of Lahore, when the daughter of an underprivileged wedding dancer is raped by the powerful Choudhary's son, the neighbourhood pimp and the top prostitute help the pair seek justice.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both crime & thriller
Raptor (2001)
When a series of unexplained vicious animal attacks strikes his community, Sheriff Jim Tanner and his assistant Barbara trace them back to a Dr. Hyde, a former military researcher whose government funding for a dinosaur cloning project was cut. When the Pentagon discovers Hyde obtained foreign backing to continue his experiments, they send in a strike team to save Tanner and Barbara and stop Hyde.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller
SnoozefestMovies like thisEvil's City (2005)
Reporters uncover the dark secret behind Acheron, a shadowy town whose inhabitants have mysteriously died.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller
House of Wax (2005)
A group of unwitting teens are stranded near a strange wax museum and soon must fight to survive and keep from becoming the next exhibit.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like this
Like The Badge and something else?
Blend two favourites and we’ll find the films in between.
Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like The Badge?
The closest matches to The Badge are Crimes of Passion (1984), Out of the Past (1947) and Frank and Penelope (2022). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after The Badge?
Start with Crimes of Passion (1984), the closest match to The Badge.
What is the highest-rated movie like The Badge?
Succubus (2024), rated 8.3/10 by 279 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like The Badge?
Animals (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like The Badge?
Yes: Crimes of Passion (1984), Out of the Past (1947) and Frank and Penelope (2022).
How are movies similar to The Badge chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside The Badge, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.