Movies like Smash Palace (1981)
The best movies like Smash Palace (1981) are Hammett (1982), The Loveless (1984) and Silver Dream Racer (1980). If Smash Palace hooked you with its drama and thriller, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedTaxi Driver (1976)8.1/10 from 14,003 votes
- Newest6 Below: Miracle on the Mountain (2017)Released 2017
Hammett (1982)
Chinatown, San Francisco, 1928. Former private detective Dashiell Hammett, a compulsive drinker with tuberculosis who writes pulp fiction for a living, receives an unexpected visit from an old friend asking for help.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Loveless (1984)
Trouble ensues when a motorcycle gang stops in a small southern town while heading to the races at Daytona.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisSilver Dream Racer (1980)
Nick Freeman is a motorcycle racer who, following the death of his brother, inherits a revolutionary prototype motorcycle, and is determined to race it at the British Grand Prix at Silverstone.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama
Wake in Fright (1971)
A young schoolteacher descends into personal moral degradation after finding himself stranded in a brutal, menacing town in outback Australia.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & thriller
Worth the HypeMovies like thisWhat Becomes of the Broken Hearted? (1999)
Five years have passed and Jake has turned his back on his family. He's still up to his usual tricks in McClutchy's Bar, unaware, as he downs his latest opponent, that his eldest son, Nig, has died in a gang fight. The uncomfortable family reunion at Nig's funeral sparks a confrontation with second son, Sonny, and sets Jake and Sonny on a downward spiral.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThat Cold Day in the Park (1969)
Frances Austen, a young, wealthy spinster, invites a mute teenager into her apartment after finding him freezing in the park next to where she lives. Despite her best efforts, their lack of communication only increases her sense of loneliness, as her possessiveness spirals into frightening new realms.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisRunning on Empty (1982)
Mike loves his fast cars and his hot women. When he fancies the girlfriend of the local street racing king, Fox, he gets way in over his head in racing for his girl, his money and his life. Through racing, sex, nightclubs and small road trips the film depicts what it was like to be a teenager in Australia in the 1980's.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama
The Silent Partner (1978)
Toronto, Canada. A few days before Christmas, Miles Cullen, a bored teller working at a bank branch located in a shopping mall, accidentally learns that the place is about to be robbed when he finds a disconcerting note on one of the counters.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & thriller
Worth the HypeMovies like thisReturn to Macon County (1975)
In 1958, two teenagers take their pride and joy, a hopped-up Chevy, and start a cross-country journey to enter it in the National Championship drag races in California. Along the way they hook up with a pretty but dingy waitress who quits her job and hops in their car--and turns out to be more trouble than they thought--drag-race a gang of town punks who lose to to them and then accuse them of cheating, and come up against a local cop who is obsessed with putting these two "juvenile delinquents" in jail.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama
Roadgames (1981)
A truck driver plays a cat-and-mouse game with a mysterious serial killer in a van who lures young female hitchhiker victims on a desolate Australian highway.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Last American Hero (1973)
A young hell raiser quits his moonshine business and tries to become the best NASCAR racer the south has ever seen. Loosely based on the true story of NASCAR driver Junior Johnson.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisDogs in Space (1986)
The place is Melbourne, Australia 1978. The punk phenomenon is sweeping the country and Dogs In Space, a punk group, are part of it. In a squat, in a dodgy suburb, live a ragtag collection of outcasts and don't-wanna-bes who survive on a diet of old TV space films, drugs and good music. And the satellite SKYLAB could crash through their roof at any moment...
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama
Autumn Blood (2013)
Two young orphans in the Tirolian Mountains come under siege by a vicious band of hunters. Frightened of being separated by child services following the death of their mother, a self-sufficient 16-year-old girl and her 10-year-old brother - who hasn't spoken a word since seeing his father killed by the mayor - strive to live off the land in peace. Their innocence is shattered, however, when a group of hunters led by the mayor's son brutalizes and rapes the free-spirited girl. Later, when a well-meaning social services worker arrives too late to protect the terrorized siblings, the girl and her brother prepare to take a stand against their ruthless attackers.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & thriller
SnoozefestMovies like thisSleeping Dogs (1978)
Recluse Smith is drawn into a revolutionary struggle between guerrillas and right-wingers in New Zealand. Implicated in a murder and framed as a revolutionary conspirator, Smith tries to maintain an attitude of non-violence while caught between warring factions.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & thriller
SnoozefestMovies like thisA Question of Silence (1982)
When three women with no previous acquaintance kill a male shopkeeper in the middle of the day, the female psychiatrist assigned to the case sets out to understand why.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisChopper (2000)
The true and infamous story of Australia's notorious criminal Mark 'Chopper' Read and his years of crime, interest in violence, drugs and prostitutes.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSiberian Education (2013)
The story of a gang of children growing up in a community of banished criminals, in a forgotten corner of the former Soviet Union. This community rejects the world outside. The only law it obeys… is its own. Against this backdrop two best friends, Kolyma and Gagarin, gradually become fierce enemies as they find themselves on opposite sides of the strict code of honour of the ‘honest criminal’ brotherhood.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisPit Stop (1969)
Rick Bowman, a drag racing street punk, comes to the attention of crafty businessman Grant Willard. Willard bails him out of jail and offers him sponsorship as a stock car driver. Bowman accepts and enters the demolition derby-adjacent world of "figure eight" racing. As Bowman moves up in the ranks, his regard for his friends slips-- giving way to outright obsession with becoming the best.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama
The Hit (1984)
Ten years after ratting on his old mobster friends in exchange for personal immunity, two hit men drive a hardened criminal to Paris for his execution. However, while on the way, whatever can go wrong, does go wrong.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Iceman (2012)
The true story of Richard Kuklinski, the notorious contract killer and family man.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both thriller & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisVanishing Point (1971)
Kowalski works for a car delivery service, and takes delivery of a 1970 Dodge Challenger to drive from Colorado to San Francisco. Shortly after pickup, he takes a bet to get the car there in less than 15 hours.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & thriller
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Boston Strangler (1968)
Boston is being terrorized by a series of seemingly random murders of women. Based on the true story, the film follows the investigators path through several leads before introducing the Strangler as a character. It is seen almost exclusively from the point of view of the investigators who have very few clues to build a case upon.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisOnce Were Warriors (1994)
In a violent relationship, it takes a mother’s strength to save herself and her children from the man she loved. Once Were Warriors is a violent love story set against a contemporary urban backdrop.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisTaxi Driver (1976)
Suffering from insomnia, disturbed loner Travis Bickle takes a job as a New York City cabbie, haunting the streets nightly, growing increasingly detached from reality as he dreams of cleaning up the filthy city.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisThief (1981)
Frank is an expert professional safecracker, specialized in high-profile diamond heists. He plans to use his ill-gotten income to retire from crime and build a nice life for himself complete with a home, wife and kids. To accelerate the process, he signs on with a top gangster for a big score.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both thriller & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Killing (1956)
Career criminal Johnny Clay recruits a sharpshooter, a crooked police officer, a bartender and a betting teller named George, among others, for one last job before he goes straight and gets married. But when George tells his restless wife about the scheme to steal millions from the racetrack where he works, she hatches a plot of her own.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both thriller & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisLittle Boy Blue (1998)
Living in rural Texas is a dysfunctional family: an abusive dad, a Vietnam vet with a war wound that's left him impotent; a compliant wife and a son of about 20, two small sons who look a lot like their brother. The dad harbors a secret, and he goes to murderous lengths to keep it hidden. The young man, Jimmy, who has suspicions, but little comes out until a Yankee woman comes to town.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Truth About Emanuel (2013)
A troubled young woman becomes obsessed with her mysterious new neighbor, who bears a striking resemblance to the girl's dead mother.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe House on Carroll Street (1988)
A reporter, fired after refusing to give names to a 1951 House Un-American Activities Committee, takes a part-time job as companion to an old lady. While working she overhears a noisy argument in the neighboring house, being conducted largely in German and involving her HUAC prosecutor. She begins to investigate, enlisting the help of the FBI Agent initially detailed to surveil her.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like this6 Below: Miracle on the Mountain (2017)
An adrenaline seeking snowboarder gets lost in a massive winter storm in the back country of the High Sierras where he is pushed to the limits of human endurance and forced to battle his own personal demons as he fights for survival....
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller & drama
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Smash Palace?
The closest matches to Smash Palace are Hammett (1982), The Loveless (1984) and Silver Dream Racer (1980). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Smash Palace?
People who watched Smash Palace most often go on to Hammett (1982), The Loveless (1984) and Silver Dream Racer (1980).
What is the highest-rated movie like Smash Palace?
Taxi Driver (1976), rated 8.1/10 by 14,003 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Smash Palace?
6 Below: Miracle on the Mountain (2017) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like Smash Palace?
Yes: Hammett (1982), The Loveless (1984) and Silver Dream Racer (1980).
How are movies similar to Smash Palace chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Smash Palace, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.