Movies like The Investigator (2013)
The best movies like The Investigator (2013) are Class of 1984 (1982), Jesse Stone: Innocents Lost (2011) and Stone Cold (2005). If The Investigator hooked you with its drama, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedMouchette (1967)7.4/10 from 292 votes
- NewestBrave the Dark (2025)Released 2025
Class of 1984 (1982)
Andy is a new teacher at an inner city high school that is unlike any he has seen before. There are metal detectors at the front door and the place is basically run by a tough kid named Peter Stegman. Soon, Andy and Stegman become enemies and Stegman will stop at nothing to protect his turf and drug dealing business.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisJesse Stone: Innocents Lost (2011)
Jesse investigates the suspicious death of a young friend while the police force deals with the arrogant new police chief who is the son-in-law of a town councilman.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisStone Cold (2005)
Jesse Stone is a former L.A. homicide detective who left behind the big city and an ex-wife to become the police chief of the quiet New England fishing town of Paradise. Stone's old habits die hard as he continues to indulge his two favorite things: Scotch whiskey and women. After a series of murders, the first ever in Paradise, and a high school girl is raped he's forced to face his own demons in order to solve the crimes.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisIn Too Deep (1999)
Drug lord Dwayne Gittens rules Cincinnati with an iron fist. No wonder he's known as "God" on the streets. Determined to break Gittens' stranglehold on the city is undercover cop Jeffrey Cole. But as Cole takes on an assumed identity to penetrate Gittens' criminal empire, he makes a disturbing discovery -- he kind of likes being a gangster.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisJesse Stone: Sea Change (2007)
Police Chief Jesse Stone's relationship with his ex-wife worsens, and he fears he's relapsing into alcoholism. To get his mind off his problems, Jesse begins working on the unsolved murder of a bank teller shot during a robbery. Also, his investigation of an alleged rape draws him into conflict with the town council — which hopes to preserve Paradise's reputation as an ideal seaside resort.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisBlackboard Jungle (1955)
Richard Dadier is a teacher at North Manual High School, an inner-city school where many of the pupils frequently engage in anti-social behavior. Dadier makes various attempts to engage the students' interest in education, challenging both the school staff and the pupils. He is subjected to violence as well as duplicitous schemes.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisJesse Stone: No Remorse (2010)
Police Chief Jesse Stone, who was suspended by the Paradise, Mass. Town Council, begins moonlighting for his friend, State Homicide Commander Healy, by investigating a series of murders in Boston, leaving Rose and Suitcase to handle a crime spree in Paradise on their own. Jesse pours his energy into his work in an effort to push away his twin demons: booze and women. When his investigation leads to notorious mob boss Gino Fish, Jesse's pursuit becomes hazardous.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisJesse Stone: Thin Ice (2009)
Jesse Stone and Captain Healy are shot during an unauthorized stake-out in Boston. Meanwhile, a cryptic letter sent from Paradise leads the mother of a kidnapped child to Stone. Though her son was declared dead, she hopes he will reopen the case.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe United States of Leland (2003)
A withdrawn young man, Leland Fitzgerald is imprisoned for the murder of a mentally disabled boy, who also happened to be the brother of his girlfriend, Becky. As the community struggles to deal with the killing, Pearl Madison, a teacher at the prison, decides to write about Leland's case. Meanwhile, others affected by the murder, including Becky and her sister, Julie, must contend with their own problems.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
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 drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisJesse Stone: Death in Paradise (2006)
When Jesse Stone looks into the murder of a teen-age girl whose body is found floating in a local lake, it brings him up against the Boston mob and into the affluent world of a bestselling writer who exploits troubled teens.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisA Dry White Season (1989)
During the 1976 Soweto uprising, a white school teacher's life and values are threatened when he asks questions about the death of a young black boy who died in police custody.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBrave the Dark (2025)
When Mr. Deen discovers one of his students has been living out of his car and thrown into jail, he decides to bail him out. Determined to curb Nate’s self-destructive behavior, Deen quickly discovers a host of dark secrets slowly tearing Nate apart. What began as a good deed becomes a desperate fight to save Nate from his own demons. As Nate spirals deeper into despair, Deen must decide how far he’s willing to go to save a kid on the brink of losing everything—even himself.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHome Run (2013)
A pro ball player with a substance abuse problem is forced into rehab in his hometown, finding new hope when he gets honest about his checkered past, and takes on coaching duties for a misfit Little League team
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Principal (1987)
Burglary. Drugs. Assault. Rape. The students at Brandel High are more than new Principal Rick Latimer bargained for. Gangs fight to control the school using knives - even guns - when they have to. When Latimer and the head of security try to clean up the school and stop the narcotics trade, they run up against a teenage mafia. A violent confrontation on the campus leads to a deadly showdown with the drug dealer's gang, and one last chance for Latimer to save his career... and his life.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisLean On Me (1989)
When principal Joe Clark takes over decaying Eastside High School, he's faced with students wearing gang colors and graffiti-covered walls. Determined to do anything he must to turn the school around, he expels suspected drug dealers, padlocks doors and demands effort and results from students, staff and parents. Autocratic to a fault, this real-life educator put it all on the line.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisChild's Play (1972)
At an exclusive boys' school, a new gym teacher is drawn into a feud between two older instructors, and he discovers that everything at the school is not quite as staid, tranquil and harmless as it seems.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisTo Sir, with Love II (1996)
After thirty years teaching in London, Mark Thackeray retires and returns to Chicago. There, however, the challenge of teaching kids in an inner city school proves to be too much to resist.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisImperial Dreams (2014)
A 21-year-old reformed gangster's devotion to his family and his future is put to the test when he is released from prison and returns to his old stomping grounds in Watts, Los Angeles.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMob Town (2019)
Based on the true story of the notorious 1957 ‘mob summit’ in upstate New York. Spearheaded by Vito Genovese, more than 50 leaders of the organized crime syndicates from around the country converged on the sleepy town to discuss upcoming expansion plans. Their plans are foiled when local police trooper Ed Croswell discovers their activities and, consequently, exposes the mob to the American public. Croswell’s actions shed light on the massive web of corruption and changed the face of law enforcement forever.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisWe Shall Overcome (2006)
A drama about a boy who's inspired by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and challenges repressive school authority in 1969 Denmark.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisChildren of a Lesser God (1986)
Starting his new job as an instructor at a New England school for the deaf, James Leeds meets Sarah Norman, a young deaf woman who works at the school as a member of the custodial staff. In spite of Sarah's withdrawn emotional state, a romance slowly develops between the pair.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisNo Good Deed (2002)
While doing a friend a favor and searching for a runaway teenager, a police detective stumbles upon a bizarre band of criminals about to pull off a bank robbery.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisSmall World (2021)
After disappearing from a small Polish town, a mother discovers her 4-year old daughter, Ola, has been abducted by the Russian Mafia. In pursuit of her daughter, she is stopped for speeding by a police officer, Robert Goc. His intervention results in the escape of the kidnappers across the Eastern border. Feeling guilt for failing to prevent the abduction, Robert becomes engaged in an international investigation to find the missing girl.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisWest Side Story (1961)
In Manhattan’s Upper West Side, rival gangs of Polish-Americans and newly arrived Puerto Ricans clash for control of the neighborhood, even as two young members from opposite sides fall dangerously in love.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisMouchette (1967)
A young girl living in the French countryside suffers constant indignities at the hand of alcoholism and her fellow man.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Rage (2023)
An unprecedented epidemic of rabies is breaking out in the taiga. Infected wolves become more and more ferocious, and even the slightest bite brings certain death. At the same time, a desperate father decides to forcibly isolate his son in one of the hunting lodges in order to save him from addiction. Soon, he and several local residents will have to fight not only with a rabid pack, but also with the most dangerous predator of the forest.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisGlory Road (2006)
In 1966, Texas Western coach Don Haskins led the first all-black starting line-up for a college basketball team to the NCAA national championship.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Staffroom (2021)
Anamarija starts her job as a counsellor at a new school. Together with her, the viewers begin to appreciate what kind of people the staffroom teachers are, they witness the petty conflicts and also uncover the power games that go on behind the scenes. This self-assured debut from Sonja Tarokić about the individual's struggle within the system and the sheer effort required to preserve one’s integrity, also presents a complex study of an institution whose employees have taken on one of the most responsible roles an adult can have – to educate future generations.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
The Class (2008)
Teacher and novelist François Bégaudeau plays a version of himself as he negotiates a year with his racially mixed students from a tough Parisian neighborhood.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like this
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like The Investigator?
The closest matches to The Investigator are Class of 1984 (1982), Jesse Stone: Innocents Lost (2011) and Stone Cold (2005). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after The Investigator?
Start with Class of 1984 (1982), the closest match to The Investigator.
What is the highest-rated movie like The Investigator?
Mouchette (1967), rated 7.4/10 by 292 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like The Investigator?
Brave the Dark (2025) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like The Investigator?
Yes: Class of 1984 (1982), Jesse Stone: Innocents Lost (2011) and Stone Cold (2005).
How are movies similar to The Investigator chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside The Investigator, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.