Movies like How to Be a Serial Killer (2009)
The best movies like How to Be a Serial Killer (2009) are Bad (1977), The Voices (2014) and Psycho Therapy: The Shallow Tale of a Writer Who Decided to Write About a Serial Killer (2025). If How to Be a Serial Killer hooked you with its comedy and horror, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedMan Bites Dog (1992)7.2/10 from 1,049 votes
- NewestPsycho Therapy: The Shallow Tale of a Writer Who Decided to Write About a Serial Killer (2025)Released 2025
Bad (1977)
Hazel runs a beauty salon out of her house, but makes extra money by providing ruthless women the oppurtunity to perform hit jobs. L.T. is a parasite, and contacts Hazel looking for work after he runs out of money. She is reluctant to use him for a hit, since she prefers using women, but decides to try him on a trial basis. Meanwhile, the cop she pays off wants an arrest to make it look like he's doing his job, but Hazel doesn't want to sacrifice any of her "associates". The sleazy side of life is explored in this delightfully dark and deadpan film.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror & comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Voices (2014)
A mentally unhinged factory worker must decide whether to listen to his talking cat and become a killer, or follow his dog's advice to keep striving for normalcy.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisPsycho Therapy: The Shallow Tale of a Writer Who Decided to Write About a Serial Killer (2025)
A struggling writer in the midst of a divorce befriends a retired serial killer who incidentally becomes his marriage counselor by day, and killing counselor for his next book by night.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCa$h (2010)
A stroke of good luck turns lethal for Sam Phelan and his wife Leslie when they are faced with a life-changing decision that brings strange and sinister Pyke Kubic to their doorstep. As Pyke leads Sam and Leslie on a tumultuous adventure through the streets of Chicago, each are pulled deeper and deeper into a desperate spiral of deception and violence – all in the name of money.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & comedy
SnoozefestMovies like thisF Marry Kill (2025)
When true-crime junkie Eva Vaugh is shoved into the dating app world by her besties on her 30th birthday, she suddenly finds herself at the center of a real-life murder case. As new details about the murders are revealed on her favorite podcast, she realizes that one of the three men she’s dating could be the infamous "Swipe Right Killer" terrorizing the city.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like this68 Kill (2017)
Chip's problem is that he can't say no to beautiful women. This weakness gets him into a world of trouble when he agrees to help his girlfriend steal $68,000.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & crime
SnoozefestMovies like thisShadows and Fog (1991)
With a serial strangler on the loose, a bookkeeper wanders around town searching for the vigilante group intent on catching the killer.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCrush the Skull (2015)
A couple of master thieves find themselves trapped within a house they intended to rob, only to discover they've inadvertently wandered into the lair of a deranged serial killer.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisLike Minds (2006)
A forensic psychologist must determine if a minor should be charged with murder.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Dream Team (1989)
Four mental patients on a field trip in New York City must save their caring chaperone, who ends up being taken to a hospital in a coma after accidentally witnessing a murder, before the killers can find him and finish the job.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBreathless (2012)
Lorna is a strong-willed Texas woman who’s had enough of her untrustworthy husband Dale’s criminal acts and lack of husbandry. Fed up, she enlists the help of her old friend, Tiny, to help her figure out what to do with Dale after his latest double-cross involving the theft of $100,000 from a bank.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & crime
SnoozefestMovies like thisCult 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 crime & horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSheroes (2023)
When four thick-as-thieves friends arrive in Thailand, they quickly find themselves in over their heads. Fighting to stay alive, they employ their unique set of skills and unleash their fierce loyalty in a heart-pumping battle for survival.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & crime
SnoozefestMovies like thisAccident Man (2018)
Mike Fallon, the Accident Man, is a stone cold killer. When a loved one is murdered by his own crew, Fallon is forced to avenge the one person who actually meant something to him.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & comedy
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 thisVillains (2019)
When their car breaks down, a couple on the run headed southbound for a fresh start in the Sunshine State break into a nearby house looking for a new set of wheels. What they find instead is a dark secret, and a sweet-as-pie pair of homeowners who will do anything to keep it from getting out.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisInnocent Blood (1992)
Marie is a vampire with a thirst for bad guys. When she fails to properly dispose of one of her victims, a violent mob boss, she bites off more than she can chew and faces a new, immortal danger.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisOne Night at McCool's (2001)
On an ordinary night, in an ordinary part of town, a beautiful young woman walks into a bar. Her name is Jewel, and before long she is chatting to bartender Randy. The pair leave together, but he ends up getting into a tussle with her criminal boyfriend, who she then shoots dead, later persuading Randy to take the rap for her. But this isn't the end of it, as both Randy's cousin Carl and the detective assigned to the murder case also fall for Jewel's charms and find themselves caught up in the ensuing events. It seems that any man who meets Jewel falls instantly in love with her, and she's going to use this fully to her own advantage, leaving a trail of havoc in her wake. It also seems that she is going to get away with it - that is, until Randy decides to hire a hitman...
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & crime
SnoozefestMovies like thisGod Told Me To (1976)
A New York detective investigates a series of murders committed by random citizens who claim that 'God told them to'.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & horror
SnoozefestMovies like thisStrange 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 thisBig Monster on Campus (1998)
A student receives a serial killer's brain in a transplant after being thrown into a pool with no water in it.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy & horror
Man Bites Dog (1992)
The activities of rampaging, indiscriminate serial killer Ben are recorded by a willingly complicit documentary team, who eventually become his accomplices and active participants. Ben provides casual commentary on the nature of his work and arbitrary musings on topics of interest to him, such as music or the conditions of low-income housing, and even goes so far as to introduce the documentary crew to his family. But their reckless indulgences soon get the better of them.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy & crime
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Soap Maker (TBA)
Inspired by the true story of Italian serial killer Leonarda Cianciulli, who in the late 1930s and early '40s murdered three local women in the town of Correggio and disposed of their bodies with chemicals — using what was left to make soaps, candles, cookies and cakes that she shared with people in her community.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both crime & horror
The Tripper (2006)
A Ronald Reagan-obsessed serial killer targets a bunch of hippies who are heading to a weekend-long concert.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror & comedy
SnoozefestMovies like thisThe Lodger: A Story of the London Fog (1927)
London. A mysterious serial killer brutally murders young blond women by stalking them in the night fog. One foggy, sinister night, a young man who claims his name is Jonathan Drew arrives at the guest house run by the Bunting family and rents a room.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both crime
Worth the HypeMovies like thisLady Frankenstein (1971)
When Dr. Frankenstein is killed by a monster he created, his daughter and his lab assistant continue his experiments.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror
SnoozefestMovies like thisMr. Brooks (2007)
A psychological thriller about a man who is sometimes controlled by his murder-and-mayhem-loving alter ego.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisNight Rain (2023)
An injured woman shows up on two guys' vacation doorstep.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror
The Human Trap (2021)
A camping trip featuring a group of naïve teens turns out to be the weekend from hell when they come into contact with a deranged Doctor and his evil assistant.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like How to Be a Serial Killer?
The closest matches to How to Be a Serial Killer are Bad (1977), The Voices (2014) and Psycho Therapy: The Shallow Tale of a Writer Who Decided to Write About a Serial Killer (2025). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after How to Be a Serial Killer?
Start with Bad (1977), the closest match to How to Be a Serial Killer.
What is the highest-rated movie like How to Be a Serial Killer?
Man Bites Dog (1992), rated 7.2/10 by 1,049 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like How to Be a Serial Killer?
Psycho Therapy: The Shallow Tale of a Writer Who Decided to Write About a Serial Killer (2025) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like How to Be a Serial Killer?
Yes: Bad (1977), The Voices (2014) and Psycho Therapy: The Shallow Tale of a Writer Who Decided to Write About a Serial Killer (2025).
How are movies similar to How to Be a Serial Killer chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside How to Be 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.