Movies like Insomnia
The best movies like Insomnia (2002) are The Stranger (2022), Limbo (2023) and The Woman in the Window (1944). If Insomnia hooked you with its thriller and crime, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedWitness for the Prosecution (1957)8.2/10 from 1,814 votes
- NewestMa fleur, je t'aime à la folie (2024)Released 2024
The Stranger (2022)
Two strangers strike up a conversation on a long journey. However, neither is who they appear to be, each carry secrets that threaten to ruin them — and in the background, one of the nation's largest police operations is closing in.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller & 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 & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Woman in the Window (1944)
A seductive woman gets an innocent professor mixed up in murder.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisEvil Under the Sun (1982)
An opulent beach resort provides a scenic background to this amusing whodunit as Poirot attempts to uncover the nefarious evildoer behind the strangling of a notorious stage star.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisStrangers on a Train (1951)
A charming psychopath tries to coerce a tennis star into his theory that two strangers can commit the perfect crime by exchanging murders—each killing the other’s most-hated person.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & thriller
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe File on Thelma Jordon (1949)
Cleve Marshall, an assistant district attorney, falls for Thelma Jordon, a mysterious woman with a troubled past. When Thelma becomes a suspect in her aunt's murder, Cleve tries to clear her name.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller & drama
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 drama & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisKiller's Kiss (1955)
Davey Gordon, a New York City boxer at the end of his career, falls for dancer Gloria Price. However, their budding relationship is interrupted by Gloria's violent boss, Vincent Rapallo, who has eyes for Gloria. The two decide to skip town, but before they can, Vincent and his thugs abduct Gloria, and Davey is forced to search for her among the most squalid corners of the city, with his enemy hiding in the shadows.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisOut of Time (2003)
Matt Lee Whitlock, respected chief of police in small Banyan Key, Florida, must solve a vicious double homicide before he himself falls under suspicion. Matt Lee has to stay a few steps ahead of his own police force and everyone he's trusted in order to find out the truth.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSherlock: The Abominable Bride (2016)
Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson find themselves in 1890s London in this holiday special.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisShadow of a Doubt (1943)
In sleepy Santa Rosa, restless young Charlie’s world brightens when her sophisticated Uncle Charlie arrives for a long visit. But as his behavior grows increasingly strange, she begins to suspect that her beloved uncle may be hiding a terrible secret—and that danger has quietly entered her home.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller & crime
Worth the HypeMovies 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 & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMarlowe (1969)
Mysterious Orfamay Quest hires Los Angeles private investigator Philip Marlowe to find her missing brother. Though the job seems simple enough, it leads Marlowe into the underbelly of the city, turning up leads who are murdered with ice picks, exotic dancers, blackmailed television stars, and self-preserving gangsters. Soon, Marlowe's life is on the line right along with his case.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies 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 thriller & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisWitness for the Prosecution (1957)
An ailing barrister is thrust back into the courtroom in what becomes one of the most unusual and eventful murder cases of the lawyer's career when he finds himself defending a man being tried for the murder of a socialite.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & crime
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisWoman on the Run (1950)
Frank Johnson, a sole witness to a gangland murder, goes into hiding and is trailed by Police Inspector Ferris, on the theory that Frank is trying to escape from possible retaliation. Frank's wife, Eleanor, suspects he is actually running away from their unsuccessful marriage. Aided by a newspaperman, Danny Leggett, Eleanor sets out to locate her husband. The killer is also looking for him, and keeps close tabs on Eleanor.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAurora Teagarden Mysteries: Reunited and It Feels So Deadly (2020)
Aurora's high school reunion turns deadly when a body is found in the hotel pool. Aurora and her Real Murders Club help investigate which classmate was most likely to kill.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like this16 Blocks (2006)
An aging cop is assigned the ordinary task of escorting a fast-talking witness from police custody to a courthouse, but they find themselves running the gauntlet as other forces try to prevent them from getting there.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisIn the Heat of the Night (1967)
African-American Philadelphia police detective Virgil Tibbs is arrested on suspicion of murder by Bill Gillespie, the racist police chief of tiny Sparta, Mississippi. After Tibbs proves not only his own innocence but that of another man, he joins forces with Gillespie to track down the real killer. Their investigation takes them through every social level of the town, with Tibbs making enemies as well as unlikely friends as he hunts for the truth.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Mechanic (1972)
Arthur Bishop is a veteran hit man who, owing to his penchant for making his targets' deaths seem like accidents, thinks himself an artist. It's made him very rich, but as he hits middle age, he's so depressed and lonely that he takes on one of his victim's sons, Steve McKenna, as his apprentice. Arthur puts him through a rigorous training period and brings him on several hits. As Steven improves, Arthur worries that he'll discover who killed his father.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisLabyrinth (2003)
Psychologist Dr. Brennac is asked by a colleague to help with the case of Claude, a patient on trial for multiple murders. Is Claude really guilty of the crimes, or is he a victim of his own mind?
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both crime & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisRiver's Edge (1986)
A group of high-school friends must come to terms with the fact that one of them, Samson, killed another, Jamie. Faced with the brutality of death, each must decide whether to turn their friend in to the police, or to help him escape the consequences of his dreadful deed.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both crime & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisRolling Thunder (1977)
A recently-returned Vietnam POW loses his family and his right hand during a violent home invasion, and seeks retribution against those responsible.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSPEC: Close Reincarnation (2013)
Mysteries are revealed like the words "Simple Plan," "Third Secret of Fatima" and also the mysterious white man which are all mentioned in the movie "SPEC: Heaven".
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & crime
Whiteout (2009)
The only U.S. Marshal assigned to Antarctica, Carrie Stetko will soon leave the harsh environment behind for good – in three days, the sun will set and the Amundsen-Scott Research Station will shut down for the long winter. When a body is discovered out on the open ice, Carrie's investigation into the continent's first homicide plunges her deep into a mystery that may cost her her own life.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both crime & thriller
SnoozefestMovies like thisAwarapan (2007)
A loyal henchman is ordered by his boss to keep an eye on his mistress, and trouble begins when he refuses to kill her.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Seamstress (2009)
The Seamstress was brought into being by the desperate curse of an innocent woman being tortured to death by a vigilante mob. Voracious for blood, the hideously-mutilated specter hunts a small group of friends who become trapped on the island where she died.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both crime & thriller
A Prophet (2009)
Sentenced to six years in prison, Malik El Djebena is alone in the world and can neither read nor write. On his arrival at the prison, he seems younger and more brittle than the others detained there. At once he falls under the sway of a group of Corsicans who enforce their rule in the prison. As the 'missions' go by, he toughens himself and wins the confidence of the Corsican group.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both crime & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisJackson County Jail (1976)
A young woman stumbles into a nightmare land of hijacking and humiliation while driving cross-country from California to New York.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both crime & drama
Ma fleur, je t'aime à la folie (2024)
Love at first sight
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Insomnia?
The closest matches to Insomnia are The Stranger (2022), Limbo (2023) and The Woman in the Window (1944). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Insomnia?
Start with The Stranger (2022), the closest match to Insomnia.
What is the highest-rated movie like Insomnia?
Witness for the Prosecution (1957), rated 8.2/10 by 1,814 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Insomnia?
Ma fleur, je t'aime à la folie (2024) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like Insomnia?
Yes: The Stranger (2022), Limbo (2023) and The Woman in the Window (1944).
How are movies similar to Insomnia chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Insomnia, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.