Movies like Plötzlich und unerwartet (1985)
The best movies like Plötzlich und unerwartet (1985) are Kidnapping Mr. Heineken (2015), The Parts You Lose (2019) and How to Rob a Bank (2007). If Plötzlich und unerwartet hooked you with its crime, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedPurple Noon (1960)7.6/10 from 636 votes
- NewestLimbo (2023)Released 2023
- In GermanSauerkrautkoma (2018)Also in German
Kidnapping Mr. Heineken (2015)
The true story of the kidnapping of Freddy Heineken, the grandson of the founder of the Heineken brewery, and his driver. They were released after a ransom of 35 million Dutch guilders was paid.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Parts You Lose (2019)
An unlikely friendship unfolds between a young deaf boy, Wesley, and a fugitive criminal who takes refuge in an abandoned barn on the family’s rural North Dakota farm.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHow to Rob a Bank (2007)
Caught in the middle of a bank robbery, a slacker and a bank employee become the ones who arbitrate the intense situation.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime
SnoozefestMovies like thisThe Quiller Memorandum (1966)
After two British Secret Intelligence Service agents are murdered at the hands of a cryptic neo-Nazi group known as Phoenix, the suave agent Quiller is sent to Berlin to investigate.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime
SnoozefestMovies like thisA Study in Terror (1965)
When Watson reads from the newspaper there have been two similar murders near Whitechapel in a few days, Sherlock Holmes' sharp deductive is immediately stimulated to start its merciless method of elimination after observation of every apparently meaningless detail. He guesses right the victims must be street whores, and doesn't need long to work his way trough a pawn shop, an aristocratic family's stately home, a hospital and of course the potential suspects and (even unknowing) witnesses who are the cast of the gradually unraveled story of the murderer and his motive.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThirteen at Dinner (1985)
Actress Jane Wilkinson wants a divorce, but her husband, Lord Edgware, refuses. She convinces Hercule Poirot to use his famed tact and logic to make her case. Lord Edgware turns up murdered, a well-placed knife wound at the base of his neck. It will take the precise Poirot to sort out the lies from the alibis - and find the criminal before another victim dies.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime
SnoozefestMovies like thisThe Seven-Ups (1973)
A tough detective who is part of an elite New York City unit is trying to find out who killed his partner, but uncovers a plot to kidnap mobsters for money.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Face Behind the Mask (1941)
A kindly, enthusiastic, newly-arrived American immigrant from Hungary is forced to turn to a life of crime after his face is badly disfigured in a hotel fire.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMurder in Three Acts (1986)
In Acapulco, Hercule Poirot attends a dinner party in which one of the guests clutches his throat and suddenly dies. The causes seem to be natural until another party with most of the same guests produces another corpse.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime
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 · both crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisFind Me Guilty (2006)
Based on the true story of Jack DiNorscio, a mobster who defended himself in court for what would be the longest mafia trial in U.S. history.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime
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 · both crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThings Change (1988)
Jerry, a misfit Mafia henchman, is assigned the low-level job of keeping an eye on Gino, a shoe repairman fingered by the Mob to confess to a murder he didn't commit. But Gino's mistaken for a Mafia boss, and the two are suddenly catapulted to the highest levels of mobster status. Only friendship will see them through this dangerous adventure alive!
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisLimbo (2023)
Travis, a jaded detective, arrives in the remote outback town of Limbo to investigate the cold case murder of local Indigenous girl Charlotte Hayes 20 years ago. As truths about the murder begin to unfold, the detective gains a new insight into the unsolved case.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisRiot in Cell Block 11 (1954)
A prisoner leads his counterparts in a protest for better living conditions which turns violent and ugly.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime
Worth the HypeMovies like thisMurder at the Gallop (1963)
Miss Marple and Mr. Stringer are witnesses to the death by heart attack of elderly, rich Mr. Enderby. Yet they have their doubts about what happened. The police don't believe them, thus leading Miss Marple to yet again investigate by herself.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime
Worth the HypeMovies like thisSauerkrautkoma (2018)
When a hilariously dull policeman moves in with his best buddy in Munich, he has to deal with scandals, a corpse — and potential marriage.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime
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 · both crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHouse of Strangers (1949)
Ruthless Italian-American banker Gino Monetti is engaged in a number of criminal activities. Three of his four grown sons refuse to help their father stay out of prison after he's arrested for his questionable business practices. Three of them take over the business but kick their father out. Max, a lawyer, is the only son that remains loyal.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime
Worth the HypeMovies like thisCry of the City (1948)
Petty crook and cop-killer Martin Rome, in bad shape from wounds in the hospital prison ward, still refuses to help slimy lawyer Niles clear his client by confessing to another crime. Police Lt. Candella must check Niles' allegation; a friend of the Rome family, he walks a tightrope between sentiment and cynicism. When Martin fears Candella will implicate his girlfriend Teena, he'll do anything to protect her. How many others will he drag down to disaster with him?
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHannibal (2001)
After having successfully eluded the authorities for years, Hannibal peacefully lives in Italy in disguise as an art scholar. Trouble strikes again when he's discovered leaving a deserving few dead in the process. He returns to America to make contact with now disgraced Agent Clarice Starling, who is suffering the wrath of a malicious FBI rival as well as the media.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisA Simple Plan (1998)
Captivated by the lure of sudden wealth, the quiet rural lives of two brothers erupt into conflicts of greed, paranoia and distrust when over $4 million in cash is discovered at the remote site of a downed small airplane. Their simple plan to retain the money while avoiding detection opens a Pandora's box when the fear of getting caught triggers panicked behavior and leads to virulent consequences.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both crime
Worth the HypeMovies like thisPurple Noon (1960)
Tom Ripley is a talented mimic, moocher, forger and all-around criminal improviser; but there's more to Tom Ripley than even he can guess.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both crime
Worth the HypeMovies like thisYellow Is Not Just the Color of the Sun (1979)
Ten-year-old Brigitte spends holiday with her father Peter on the Baltic Sea and everything is perfect until they meet strange and beautiful woman on the beach.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both crime
Antitrust (2001)
A computer programmer's dream job at a hot Portland-based firm turns nightmarish when he discovers his boss has a secret and ruthless means of dispatching anti-trust problems.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisStolen from the Womb (2014)
A psychotic stalker gives a pregnant woman a labor-inducing drug, then kidnaps her newborn.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both crime
Nisaa' min Zahab (1967)
The film revolves around two young men who are sent to an African country to search for a gang of women who smuggle and trade drugs with most of the tourists in the city.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both crime
The Son of Africa (1970)
A policeman from Africa takes over the task of arresting a gang consisting of women specialized in drug smuggling and murder. He disguises himself as a businessman and gets to know one of the gang members.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both crime
Four Dogs Playing Poker (2000)
With the help of their mentor Felix, a group of the best friends and first-time thieves steal a valuable statuette for a ruthless black market art dealer. After the amateurs botch the delivery of the objet d'art, the dealer kills Felix and forces the remaining four to "find" $1 million within a week's time or face certain death.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both crime
The Naked City (1948)
After a former model is drowned in her bathtub, Detective James Halloran and Lieutenant Dan Muldoon attempt to piece together her murder.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both crime
Worth the HypeMovies like this
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Plötzlich und unerwartet?
The closest matches to Plötzlich und unerwartet are Kidnapping Mr. Heineken (2015), The Parts You Lose (2019) and How to Rob a Bank (2007). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Plötzlich und unerwartet?
Start with Kidnapping Mr. Heineken (2015), the closest match to Plötzlich und unerwartet.
What is the highest-rated movie like Plötzlich und unerwartet?
Purple Noon (1960), rated 7.6/10 by 636 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Plötzlich und unerwartet?
Limbo (2023) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there German movies like Plötzlich und unerwartet?
Yes: Sauerkrautkoma (2018) and Yellow Is Not Just the Color of the Sun (1979).
How are movies similar to Plötzlich und unerwartet chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Plötzlich und unerwartet, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.