Movies like Evil Instinct (1996)
The best movies like Evil Instinct (1996) are Revenge: A Love Story (2010), The Infernal Machine (2022) and Port of Call (2015). If Evil Instinct hooked you with its mystery and thriller, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedThesis (1996)7.5/10 from 1,011 votes
- NewestStrange Darling (2024)Released 2024
Revenge: A Love Story (2010)
A serial murderer has brutally killed several policemen and their pregnant wives. After a quick investigation, the murderer is revealed to be Kit, whom the case's detective-in-charge knows from a previous case. Once upon a time, Kit was an innocent boy in a rural village who also has a crush on naïve high school student Wing. After the death of Wing's grandmother, Kit rescues Wing from a foster care facility, and the two quickly fall in love. However, their romance ends prematurely when a local policeman arrests them. The events that follow lay the seeds for Kit's terrifying path to vengeance.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller & mystery
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Infernal Machine (2022)
Reclusive and controversial author Bruce Cogburn is drawn out of hiding by an obsessive fan, forcing the novelist to confront a past that he thought he could escape, and to account for events set in motion by his bestseller decades earlier. Cogburn's search for who is behind the manipulation and mental torment he encounters leads to an emotional roller-coaster ride full of fear and danger, where things are not always as clear as they seem to be, and where past deeds can have dire consequences.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller & mystery
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisPort of Call (2015)
Based on a real murder case where a dismembered corpse of a murdered 16-year-old prostitute girl was found in Hong Kong in 2008.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller & mystery
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisFarewell, My Lovely (1975)
Private eye Philip Marlowe is hired by ex-con Moose Malloy to find his girlfriend, a former lounge dancer. While also investigating the murder of a client and the theft of a jade necklace, Marlowe becomes entangled with seductress Helen Grayle and discovers a web of dark secrets that are better left hidden.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both mystery & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisNo Exit (2022)
Stranded at a rest stop in the mountains during a blizzard, a recovering addict discovers a kidnapped child hidden in a car belonging to one of the people inside the building which sets her on a terrifying struggle to identify who among them is the kidnapper.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller & mystery
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisGoodnight Mommy (2022)
When twin brothers arrive home to find their mother’s demeanor altered and face covered in surgical bandages, they begin to suspect the woman beneath the gauze might not be their mother.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller & mystery
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisVengeance (2009)
A French chef swears revenge after a violent attack on his daughter's family in Macau, during which her husband and her two children are murdered. To help him find the killers, he hires three local hit-men working for the mafia.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisZ Storm (2014)
ICAC principal investigator William Luk takes his job seriously, and he needs every last scintilla of support from his team to take on the powerful and cunning Supt Wong, who is corrupt to the core. Wong is an enthusiastic tool of the monstrous Malcolm Wu, a cowboy big-time share trader who will stop at nothing to secure a large slice of the upcoming float of the HK government pension fund, worth billions.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisIron Angels (1987)
Yeung’s poppy fields are torched by a law enforcement task force, she retaliates by ordering police officials assassinated. The Angels break into Yeung’s corporate offices, eventually tracing her headquarters. After Alex Fong’s character is captured and held by Yeung, the Angels mount an assault to rescue him. A complex sub-plot involving an armored car bullion robbery eventually leads the Angels to a final showdown with Yeung and her men.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisIn the Line of Duty 4 (1989)
Two detectives who are up to their necks in trouble and in each other's face, as they try to shut down a drug-trafficking scheme that could be connected with international ties to organized crime. But in the midst of their investigation, innocent immigrant dock worker Luk Wan-Ting gets caught up in the mix when he witnesses the murder of an intelligence operative and is framed for the crime.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Worth the HypeMovies like thisMalone (1987)
Erstwhile C.I.A. assassin Richard Malone hopes for a tranquil retirement in the placid Pacific Northwest, but what he gets is a rumble with a right-wing extremist plotting a secret revolution.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBloodline (2019)
Evan values family above all else, and anyone who gets between him, his wife, and newborn son learns that the hard way. But when it comes to violent tendencies, it seems the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
SnoozefestMovies like thisElection 2 (2006)
As election time nears, current Triad chairman Lok faces competition from his godsons. At the same time, Jimmy looks to increase his business relations with mainland China.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Worth the HypeMovies like thisStrange Darling (2024)
Nothing is what it seems when a twisted one-night stand spirals into a serial killer’s vicious murder spree.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisParadox (2017)
When a Hong Kong police negotiator is informed about the sudden disappearance of his 16-year-old daughter in Thailand, he travels there to search for her whereabouts.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisIn 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 thriller
SnoozefestMovies like thisDaddy's Little Girl (2014)
After the police find Derek’s daughter brutally murdered on the beach, he vows to make the culprit suffer for his actions, even if that person is ‘part of the family.’ With careful research into the history of torture, Derek prepares himself and his basement for a week of brutal tactics that will make his daughter’s killer feel the pain that he has inflicted upon so many others. In a time when stranger danger is ever present, a single father learns that it’s the ones you trust most who have to be watched the closest.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisVice Squad (1982)
An unlikely Hollywood hooker helps a detective set a trap for a mutilator pimp.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
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 · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAsylum (2005)
A woman becomes very curious about one of her psychiatrist husband's inmates, a man who was found guilty in the murder and disfigurement of his former wife.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDeath Pool (2017)
Johnny Taylor has a big problem: he LOVES to drown good-looking girls. When he sees water and attractive females together, something in his head begs him to kill - the psychological result of a traumatic near-drowning during his childhood at the hands of a twisted babysitter. Fighting the urge to act on his sinister thoughts most of his adult life, Johnny finally succumbs to his dark instincts when the only work he can find is around water, cleaning pools. Filled with colorful characters, beautiful women and set against the backdrop of the LA party scene, Death Pool encapsulates the desire for fame, the lust for desire, and the urge to kill.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller & mystery
Club Dread (2004)
When a serial killer interrupts the fun at the swanky Coconut Pete's Coconut Beach Resort -- a hedonistic island paradise for swingers --- it's up to the club's staff to stop the violence ... or at least hide it!
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both mystery & thriller
SnoozefestMovies like thisStriking Distance (1993)
Demoted Pittsburgh cop Tom Hardy works river patrol while a serial killer targets women from his past, forcing him to conduct an unauthorized investigation to prove his innocence and expose a dirty cop.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both mystery & thriller
SnoozefestMovies like thisDressed to Kill (1980)
After witnessing a mysterious woman brutally slay a homemaker, prostitute Liz Blake finds herself trapped in a dangerous situation. While the police thinks she is the murderer, the real killer is intent on silencing her only witness.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller & mystery
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisVirtuosity (1995)
The Law Enforcement Technology Advancement Centre (LETAC) has developed SID version 6.7: a Sadistic, Intelligent, and Dangerous virtual reality entity which is synthesized from the personalities of more than 150 serial killers, and only one man can stop him.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller
SnoozefestMovies like thisThe Cell (2000)
A psychotherapist journeys inside the mind of a comatose serial killer in the hopes of saving his latest victim.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisKiller Clown (2010)
A serial killer dressed in a clown mask and a long black robe terrorizes a small town and murders people randomly and for no apparent reason. A man whose girlfriend gets killed by the clown seeks revenge and enacts his own brand of vigilante justice.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller
Thesis (1996)
While working on a thesis about audiovisual violence, film student Ángela finds a snuff video where a girl is tortured until death. Soon she discovers that she was a former student in her university, and that the authors of the video are not very far either.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller
Worth the HypeMovies like thisAntibodies (2005)
When a notorious German serial killer is captured after committing some of the most heinous acts against humanity ever imaginable, a farmer and police officer from a sleepy rural community on the outskirts of Berlin is drawn into the case as he searches for the answers to a murder that has shaken his tight-knit community.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Neighbor (2020)
A spy from a multiversal agency tracks a rival spy to a familiar neighborhood.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Evil Instinct?
The closest matches to Evil Instinct are Revenge: A Love Story (2010), The Infernal Machine (2022) and Port of Call (2015). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Evil Instinct?
Start with Revenge: A Love Story (2010), the closest match to Evil Instinct.
What is the highest-rated movie like Evil Instinct?
Thesis (1996), rated 7.5/10 by 1,011 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Evil Instinct?
Strange Darling (2024) is the most recent release on this list.
How are movies similar to Evil Instinct chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Evil Instinct, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.