Movies like The Back Room (2008)
The best movies like The Back Room (2008) are While the City Sleeps (1956), Crime Wave (1953) and The Man Who Cheated Himself (1950). If The Back Room hooked you, these 20 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
The Back Room
Quick picks
- Highest ratedThe Spiral Staircase (1946)7.1/10 from 289 votes
- NewestThe Wailer (2006)Released 2006
While the City Sleeps (1956)
Newspaper men compete against each other to find a serial killer dubbed "The Lipstick Killer".
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCrime Wave (1953)
Reformed parolee Steve Lacey is caught in the middle when a wounded former cellmate seeks him out for shelter. The other two former cellmates then attempt to force him into doing a bank job.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Man Who Cheated Himself (1950)
A veteran homicide detective who has witnessed his socialite girlfriend kill her husband sees his inexperienced brother assigned to the case.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Blue Gardenia (1953)
Upon waking up to the news that the man she’d gone on a date with the previous night has been murdered, a young woman with only a faint memory of the night’s events begins to suspect that she murdered him while attempting to resist his advances.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisLittle Caesar (1931)
A small-time hood shoots his way to the top, but how long can he stay there?
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisManiac (1963)
When a stranger enters a quiet, country town and is seduced by a sensuous married woman he unwittingly finds himself at the centre of a storm of sexual guilt and murder.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Glass Key (1942)
A crooked politician finds himself being accused of murder by a gangster from whom he refused help during a re-election campaign.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisGrip of the Strangler (1958)
A researcher investigating a notorious serial killer who was hanged 20 years earlier seemingly becomes possessed by the long dead strangler.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisConflict (1945)
Unhappily married Richard Mason concocts a meticulous scheme to kill his shrewish wife so that he'll be free to marry her sister.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisYou Only Live Once (1937)
Based partially on the story of Bonnie and Clyde, Eddie Taylor is an ex-convict who cannot get a break after being released from prison. When he is framed for murder, Taylor is forced to flee with his wife Joan Graham and baby. While escaping prison after being sentenced to death, Taylor becomes a real murderer, condemning himself and Joan to a life of crime and death on the road.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisEach Dawn I Die (1939)
A corrupt D.A. with governatorial ambitions is annoyed by an investigative reporter's criticism of his criminal activities and decides to frame the reporter for manslaughter in order to silence him.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHurry Sundown (1967)
A ruthless Southern opportunist tries to buy his cousin's land, and when thwarted, brings several tragedies to the lives of his loved ones.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Spiral Staircase (1946)
On a stormy night, the mute servant to an ailing matriarch is stalked by a serial killer.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisBlack Widow (1987)
Federal agent Alexandra Barnes believes that Catherine Petersen is a serial killer who marries rich men and then murders them for their money. But since Catherine is seemingly a master of disguise and has multiple identities, Alexandra can't prove anything with conventional detective work. With no other option, she goes undercover, pursuing the same man as Catherine, and hoping that Catherine will slip up and reveal her true identity.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Wailer (2006)
On their way to Mexico, six students are stranded in a small town where years before a tragedy took place.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Night Strangler (1973)
After being run out of Las Vegas, reporter Carl Kolchak heads for Seattle and another reporting job with the local paper. It's not long before he’s on the trail of another string of bizarre murders. It seems that every 21 years, for the past century, a killer murders a certain number of people, drains them of their blood, and then disappears into the night. Kolchak is on his trail, but can he stop him?
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe 'Burbs (1989)
When secretive new neighbors move in next door, suburbanite Ray Peterson and his friends let their paranoia get the best of them as they start to suspect the newcomers of evildoings and commence an investigation. But it's hardly how Ray, who much prefers drinking beer, reading his newspaper and watching a ball game on the tube expected to spend his vacation.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Sniper (1952)
Eddie Miller struggles with his hatred of women, he's especially bothered by seeing women with their lovers. He starts a killing spree as a sniper by shooting women from far distances. In an attempt to get caught, he writes an anonymous letter to the police begging them to stop him.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisGood Neighbor Sam (1964)
To help his divorced neighbor claim a substantial inheritance, a family man poses as her husband. The ruse spills over into his career in advertising, and his recent promotion relies on his wholesome and moral appearance.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisFigures in a Landscape (1970)
Two escaped convicts are on the run in an unnamed Latin American country. But everywhere they go, they are followed and hounded by a menacing black helicopter.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like this
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like The Back Room?
The closest matches to The Back Room are While the City Sleeps (1956), Crime Wave (1953) and The Man Who Cheated Himself (1950). Below are 17 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after The Back Room?
Start with While the City Sleeps (1956), the closest match to The Back Room.
What is the highest-rated movie like The Back Room?
The Spiral Staircase (1946), rated 7.1/10 by 289 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like The Back Room?
The Wailer (2006) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like The Back Room?
Yes: While the City Sleeps (1956), Crime Wave (1953) and The Man Who Cheated Himself (1950).
How are movies similar to The Back Room chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside The Back Room, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.



















