Movies like Dark City (1990)
The best movies like Dark City (1990) are Believer 2 (2023), American Gangster (2007) and Shaft (2019). If Dark City hooked you, these 20 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Dark City
Quick picks
- Highest ratedThe Gangster, the Cop, the Devil (2019)7.9/10 from 1,622 votes
- NewestArt of Eight Limbs (2024)Released 2024
- In KoreanBeliever 2 (2023)Also in Korean
Believer 2 (2023)
A determined detective continues his search for the truth behind Asia's largest drug organization and its elusive boss he has unfinished business with.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAmerican Gangster (2007)
Loosely based on the criminal career of Frank Lucas, a gangster from La Grange, North Carolina, who smuggled heroin into the United States on American service planes returning from the Vietnam War, before being detained by a task force led by Newark Detective Richie Roberts.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisShaft (2019)
JJ, aka John Shaft Jr., may be a cyber security expert with a degree from MIT, but to uncover the truth behind his best friend’s untimely death, he needs an education only his dad can provide. Absent throughout JJ’s youth, the legendary locked-and-loaded John Shaft agrees to help his progeny navigate Harlem’s heroin-infested underbelly.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSniper: Rogue Mission (2022)
When a crooked federal agent is involved in a human sex trafficking ring, Sniper and CIA Rookie Brandon Beckett goes rogue, teaming up with his former allies Homeland Security Agent Zero and assassin Lady Death to uncover the corrupt agent and take down the criminal organization.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBlow (2001)
The story of how George Jung, together with the Medellín Cartel led by Pablo Escobar, established the billion-dollar cocaine empire in the United States in the 1970s.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Substitute (1996)
When an inner-city Miami schoolteacher gets her knee broken after standing up to the school's gang leader, her mercenary combat specialist boyfriend goes undercover as a substitute teacher to take down the punk. Soon he discovers a conspiracy of criminals at work, and must reassemble his team from his last jungle raid to stop them.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Baker (2023)
A quiet, stoic man, lives a monk-like existence in self-imposed exile. When his estranged son is killed in a drug deal gone bad, he is left to look after a granddaughter he never knew existed, and he is forced back into a life he tried to put behind him.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe 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
SnoozefestMovies like thisWho'll Stop the Rain (1978)
John, a disillusioned Vietnam War journalist, turns to heroin smuggling. He cons Ray, an equally burnt out veteran into delivering the drugs stateside to his wife. Everything soon falls apart and Ray ends up on the run with John's wife trying to evade crooked narcotics agents.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBeliever (2018)
After a traumatic event, a drug trafficker turns sides and conspires with a dangerously ambitious undercover police officer to bring down the mysterious kingpin of a major drug cartel.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisOverdrive (2017)
Master car thieves square off against French gangsters in the South of France with money, women and lives all on the line.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisWake of Death (2004)
Ben Archer, an ex-mob enforcer, seeks revenge against a ruthless Chinese kingpin responsible for his wife's brutal murder. When Archer joins forces with his old underworld friends, an all-out war is waged against the Chinese Triad.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSwitchblade Sisters (1975)
The leader of an inner city girl gang is challenged when a new girl moves into the neighborhood.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Gangster, the Cop, the Devil (2019)
After barely surviving a brutal attack by a sadistic serial killer, crime boss Jang Dong-su is left humiliated. Determined to catch the killer known as K, he forms an uneasy alliance with Jung Tae-seok, a relentless and incorruptible detective who often disrupts his illegal business. However, while Jang Dong-su wants K dead, Jung Tae-suk is determined to bring him to justice. With a deal in place—whoever finds K first will decide his fate—the hunt begins, blurring the lines between crime and law.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisBelly (1998)
Tommy Bundy and Sincere are best friends as well as infamous and ruthless criminals and shot-callers in the hood. Respected by many but feared by all. As the police are closing in on them and new players are looking for a come up, will their reign last?
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAnother Day in Paradise (1998)
In the hope of a big score, two junkie couples team up to commit various drug robberies which go disastrously wrong, leading to dissent, violence, and murder.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Basketball Diaries (1995)
A high school basketball player’s life turns upside down after free-falling into the harrowing world of drug addiction.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Organization (1971)
After a group of young revolutionaries break into a company's corporate headquarters and steal $5,000,000 worth of heroin to keep it off the street, they call on San Francisco Police Lieutenant Virgil Tibbs for assistance.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisLayer Cake (2004)
When a seemingly straight-forward drug deal goes awry, XXXX has to break his die-hard rules and turn up the heat, not only to outwit the old regime and come out on top, but to save his own skin...
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisArt of Eight Limbs (2024)
Four canisters of deadly VX nerve gas have fallen into the hands of an international arms dealer in Myanmar. A CIA recruit delivers a high-tech detection device to an agent already on the ground.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like this
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Dark City?
The closest matches to Dark City are Believer 2 (2023), American Gangster (2007) and Shaft (2019). Below are 17 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Dark City?
Start with Believer 2 (2023), the closest match to Dark City.
What is the highest-rated movie like Dark City?
The Gangster, the Cop, the Devil (2019), rated 7.9/10 by 1,622 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Dark City?
Art of Eight Limbs (2024) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there Korean movies like Dark City?
Yes: Believer 2 (2023), Believer (2018) and The Gangster, the Cop, the Devil (2019).
How are movies similar to Dark City chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Dark City, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.