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Movies like Wallander: The Village Idiot (2005)

The best movies like Wallander: The Village Idiot (2005) are Avengement (2019), Miami Blues (1990) and God Is a Bullet (2023). If Wallander: The Village Idiot 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

  1. Avengement (2019)

    While on a prison furlough, a lowly criminal evades his guards and returns to his old stomping ground to take revenge on the people who turned him into a cold blooded killer.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & thriller

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  2. Miami Blues (1990)

    After Junior is released from prison, he plans on starting a new life in Miami. But when he kills a man in the airport, he flees the scene and finds Susie, a mild-mannered prostitute searching for stability. The two opposites become romantically involved, and Junior steals a badge and gun from a veteran detective. Using the officer's identity, Junior embarks on a crime spree and convinces Susie that he is the perfect man.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & thriller

    Popcorn FlickMovies like this
  3. God Is a Bullet (2023)

    Vice detective Bob Hightower finds his ex-wife murdered and daughter kidnapped by a cult. Frustrated by the botched official investigations, he quits the force and infiltrates the cult to hunt down the leader with the help of the cult’s only female victim escapee, Case Hardin.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller & crime

    Popcorn FlickMovies like this
  4. The Hot Spot (1990)

    Upon arriving to a small town, a drifter quickly gets into trouble with the local authorities — and the local women — after he robs a bank.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & thriller

    Popcorn FlickMovies like this
  5. I Spit on Your Grave 2 (2013)

    Broke, and in desperate need to update her portfolio, New York City model Katie calls a number from a tear-off flyer offering free photos. But this innocent attempt quickly turns into an unthinkable kidnapping nightmare where she's ripped away from everyone and everything she knows.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller & crime

    Popcorn FlickMovies like this
  6. Rampage: Capital Punishment (2014)

    A man takes over a TV station and holds a number of hostages as a political platform to awaken humanity, instead of money.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & thriller

    Popcorn FlickMovies like this
  7. Crank: High Voltage (2009)

    Chelios faces a Chinese mobster who has stolen his nearly indestructible heart and replaced it with a battery-powered ticker that requires regular jolts of electricity to keep working.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller & crime

    Popcorn FlickMovies like this
  8. In the Blood (2014)

    When her husband goes missing during their Caribbean vacation, a woman sets off on her own to take down the men she thinks are responsible.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & thriller

  9. Cut Throat City (2020)

    Four boyhood friends return to New Orleans’ Lower Ninth Ward after Hurricane Katrina, to find their home decimated and prospects for work swept away. Turning to a local gangster for employment, the crew is hired to pull off a daring casino heist, right in the heart of the city.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & thriller

    Popcorn FlickMovies like this
  10. Smokin' Aces (2006)

    When a Las Vegas performer-turned-snitch named Buddy Israel decides to turn state's evidence and testify against the mob, it seems that a whole lot of people would like to make sure he's no longer breathing.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & thriller

    Popcorn FlickMovies like this
  11. The Rookie (1990)

    Veteran cop Nick Pulovski is used to playing musical partners; many of the partners he's had in the past have died on the job, and often as a result of Nick's risky tactics. But the rookie who's been assigned to help Nick bust a carjacking ring is almost as hotheaded as he is … and when Nick gets kidnapped, his newbie partner is his only hope.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & thriller

  12. Hobo with a Shotgun (2011)

    A vigilante homeless man pulls into a new city and finds himself trapped in urban chaos, a city where crime rules and where the city's crime boss reigns. Seeing an urban landscape filled with armed robbers, corrupt cops, abused prostitutes and even a pedophile Santa, the Hobo goes about bringing justice to the city the best way he knows how - with a 20-gauge shotgun. Mayhem ensues when he tries to make things better for the future generation. Street justice will indeed prevail.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & thriller

  13. Too Late for Tears (1949)

    Through a fluke circumstance, a ruthless woman stumbles across a suitcase filled with $60,000, and is determined to hold onto it even if it means murder.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & thriller

    Popcorn FlickMovies like this
  14. Johan Falk: GSI – Special Operations Group (2009)

    Johan works in tandem with the GSI organized crime unit to bring in a cadre of armored car robbers

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller & crime

    Popcorn FlickMovies like this
  15. The Collector (1965)

    A man kidnaps a woman and holds her hostage just for the pleasure of having her there.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller

    Worth the HypeMovies like this
  16. The 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

  17. From Dusk Till Dawn (1996)

    After kidnapping a father and his two kids, the Gecko brothers head south to a seedy Mexican bar to hide out in safety, unaware of its notorious clientele.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime

    Worth the HypeMovies like this
  18. Grindhouse (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 thriller

    Worth the HypeMovies like this
  19. 68 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 crime

  20. Rampage (2009)

    The boredom of small town life is eating Bill Williamson alive. Feeling constrained and claustrophobic in the meaningless drudgery of everyday life and helpless against overwhelming global dissolution, Bill begins a descent into madness. His shockingly violent plan will shake the very foundations of society by painting the streets red with blood.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime

    Popcorn FlickMovies like this
  21. Metro (1997)

    Roper, a hostage negotiator catches a murderous bank robber after a blown heist. The bank robber escapes and immediately goes after the man who put him behind bars.

    Why it matches: Similar story and style · both crime & thriller

  22. John Q (2002)

    John Quincy Archibald is a father and husband whose son is diagnosed with an enlarged heart and then finds out he cannot receive a transplant because HMO insurance will not cover it. Therefore, he decides to take a hospital full of patients hostage until the hospital puts his son's name on the donor's list.

    Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller & crime

    Worth the HypeMovies like this
  23. The Taking of Pelham One Two Three (1974)

    In New York, armed men hijack a subway car and demand a ransom for the passengers while the authorities question about the method of their escape.

    Why it matches: Similar story and style · both crime & thriller

    Worth the HypeMovies like this
  24. The Exorcism of Emily Rose (2005)

    When a young girl called Emily Rose dies, everyone puts blame on the exorcism which was performed on her by Father Moore prior to her death. The priest is arrested on suspicion of murder. The trial begins with lawyer Erin Bruner representing Moore, but it is not going to be easy, as no one wants to believe what Father Moore says is true.

    Why it matches: Similar story and style · both crime & thriller

    Popcorn FlickMovies like this
  25. The Baader Meinhof Complex (2008)

    When German police viciously quell a protest against the shah of Iran, popular journalist Ulrike Meinhof rebels against her dishonest marriage, walks away from her children and joins radical anarchist Andreas Baader. Together with Baader's girlfriend, Gudrun Ensslin, they form the violent Red Faction Army, and together perpetrate a slew of terrorist attacks as a way of disrupting the fabric of what they see as an increasingly fascist state.

    Why it matches: Similar story and style · both crime & thriller

    Worth the HypeMovies like this
  26. Breaking News (2004)

    After a disastrous failure to stop a robber gang, the police attempt to redeem themselves through a series of publicity stunts and shootouts.

    Why it matches: Similar story and style · both crime & thriller

    Popcorn FlickMovies like this
  27. Hijacked: Flight 285 (1996)

    A convicted murderer is escorted by marshals on a regular flight from Phoenix to Dallas. Shortly after takeoff, two of his aides, traveling as ordinary passengers, take control and free him. He demands $20 million in bonds upon landing. And a sick passenger, bad weather or mechanical problems won't stop him.

    Why it matches: Similar story and style · both crime & thriller

  28. Five Minutes to Live (1961)

    A guitar playing killer terrorizes a housewife while his partner robs the bank where her husband works.

    Why it matches: Similar story and style · both crime & thriller

  29. Cash on Demand (1961)

    A charming but ruthless criminal holds the family of a bank manager hostage as part of a cold-blooded plan to steal £90,000.

    Why it matches: Similar story and style · both crime & thriller

    Worth the HypeMovies like this
  30. Cadillac Man (1990)

    Joe's a car salesman with a problem—he has two days to sell 12 cars or he loses his job. This would be a difficult task at the best of times but Joe has to contend with his girlfriends (he's two-timing), a missing teenage daughter and an ex-wife.

    Why it matches: Similar story and style · both crime

Like Wallander: The Village Idiot and something else?

Blend two favourites and we’ll find the films in between.

Frequently asked questions

What are the best movies like Wallander: The Village Idiot?

The closest matches to Wallander: The Village Idiot are Avengement (2019), Miami Blues (1990) and God Is a Bullet (2023). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.

What should I watch after Wallander: The Village Idiot?

Start with Avengement (2019), the closest match to Wallander: The Village Idiot.

What is the highest-rated movie like Wallander: The Village Idiot?

The Taking of Pelham One Two Three (1974), rated 7.5/10 by 682 TMDB users.

What is the newest movie like Wallander: The Village Idiot?

God Is a Bullet (2023) is the most recent release on this list.

How are movies similar to Wallander: The Village Idiot chosen?

First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Wallander: The Village Idiot, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.

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