Movies like Drifters (2015)
The best movies like Drifters (2015) are Adulthood (2008), Another Day in Paradise (1998) and Belly (1998). If Drifters hooked you with its crime and drama, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedTrainspotting (1996)8.0/10 from 10,822 votes
- NewestKing of Dope (2026)Released 2026
Adulthood (2008)
After serving six years for killing his schoolmate, a young man learns that someone is out for revenge.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & drama
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 · both crime & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies 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 · both crime & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCrissCross (1992)
A 12-year-old boy comes of age in 1969 Key West against the backdrop of the Apollo moon landing, when he begins to sell cocaine so his mother can stop stripping.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies 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 · both crime & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Valachi Papers (1972)
When Joe Valachi has a price put on his head by Don Vito Genovese, he must take desperate steps to protect himself while in prison. An unsuccessful attempt to slit his throat puts him over the edge to break the sacred code of silence.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisTrainspotting (1996)
Heroin addict Mark Renton stumbles through bad ideas and sobriety attempts with his unreliable friends --Sick Boy, Begbie, Spud and Tommy. He also has an underage girlfriend, Diane, along for the ride. After cleaning up and moving from Edinburgh to London, Mark finds he can't escape the life he left behind as Begbie and Sick Boy come knocking.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & crime
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisWasteman (2026)
Taylor's hopes for a fresh start post-parole are jeopardised by cellmate Dee's arrival. As Dee takes Taylor under his wing, a vicious attack tests their bond, forcing Taylor to choose between protecting Dee and his own chances at freedom.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisLight Sleeper (1992)
John LeTour is a recovering drug user who suffers insomnia and still deals to a high-end New York clientele, even though he’s trying to move on from the business. John’s professional midlife crisis becomes something more acute — and dangerous — when he re-encounters an old flame while a string of seemingly drug-related murders rocks the city.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & crime
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: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Man with the Golden Arm (1955)
When illegal card dealer and recovering heroin addict Frankie Machine gets out of prison, he decides to straighten up. Armed with nothing but an old drum set, Frankie tries to get honest work as a drummer. But when his former employer and his old drug dealer re-enter his life, Frankie finds it hard to stay clean and eventually finds himself succumbing to his old habits.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & crime
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Preppie Connection (2016)
A student at a private school uses his connections to establish a drug trafficking network.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAbove the Rim (1994)
Story of a promising high school basketball star and his relationships with two brothers, one a drug dealer and the other a former basketball star fallen on hard times and now employed as a security guard.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & drama
Worth the HypeMovies 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 · both drama & crime
Worth the HypeMovies like thisTrue Believer (1989)
Eddie Dodd is a burnt out former civil rights lawyer who now specializes in defending drug dealers. Roger Baron, newly graduated from law school, has followed Eddie's great cases and now wants to learn at his feet. With Roger's idealistic prodding, Eddie reluctantly takes on a case of a young Korean man who, according to his mother, has been in jail for eight years for a murder he didn't commit.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & drama
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 · both drama & crime
Worth the HypeMovies like thisRise of the Footsoldier (2007)
Carlton Leach rises from one of the most feared generals of the football terraces to becoming a member of a notorious gang of criminals who rampaged their way through London and Essex in the late '80s and early '90s.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Poker House (2008)
Agnes and her two sisters struggle through a day in a home overrun by gamblers, thieves, and johns.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisFoxy Brown (1974)
A voluptuous black woman takes a job as a high-class prostitute in order to get revenge on the mobsters who murdered her boyfriend.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisClean and Sober (1988)
Hotshot real estate salesman Daryl has a bad cocaine habit. After embezzling his company's money, he wakes up next to a girl who overdosed. To hide from the police, he checks into a rehabilitation program guaranteeing anonymity. Under the mentorship of counselor Craig, Daryl accepts that he has a substance abuse problem. As he falls in love with fellow patient Charlie, Daryl begins committing to a newly sober life.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisGet Rich or Die Tryin' (2005)
A tale of an inner city drug dealer who turns away from crime to pursue his passion, rap music.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisTattoo (2002)
Marc Schrader, a rookie cop caught red-handed with drugs in a police raid of an illegal rave, joins a homicide investigation conducted by Chief Inspector Minks. The victim is a naked young woman with the skin stripped off her back, killed as she staggered into traffic. As Schrader and Minks investigate the murder, the case is complicated by a finger found in the stomach of the victim. Forensic examination proves the finger belongs to Nobert Günzel, who was previously convicted of rape and assault. The police raid Günzel’s residence, and discover a blood-stained table with restraints and bits of human flesh in his basement. They also find video equipment and preserved, tattooed skin from the victim’s back. Soon, they found dead bodies buried in the garden. Günzel then goes missing.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCamorra (1972)
The fast career of a young Neapolitan among contraband, gambling dens, bribes and illegality. He will upgrade its rank till the maximum level of the "Family".
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & crime
A 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 & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisReno 911!: Miami (2007)
A rag-tag team of Reno cops are called in to save the day after a terrorist attack disrupts a national police convention in Miami Beach during spring break. Based on the Comedy Central series.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both crime
SnoozefestMovies like thisKing of Dope (2026)
Dawid is an ordinary boy who builds a legal drug empire and becomes an overnight millionaire. Sudden fame, beautiful women, fast cars, endless partying, confrontations with gangsters, and dealings at the highest levels of power—this is his new world, where the line between legal and illegal is as thin as the line in a mirror. When an ethical cop arrives, everything is at stake. Will Dawid be able to stop him before it's too late? Will love save him from ultimate collapse?
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both crime
Uphill Love (2015)
Pablo is a young man going through a crisis of love. His best friend decides to take him to reunion party; there he encounters Daniela, the great love in his adolescence. In the middle of the party he tries conquer her heart, but discovers a reality that he did not expect of her: she is dedicated to the oldest trade in the world
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
The Lion King II: Simba's Pride (1998)
The circle of life continues for Simba, now fully grown and in his rightful place as the king of Pride Rock. Simba and Nala have given birth to a daughter, Kiara who's as rebellious as her father was. But Kiara drives her parents to distraction when she catches the eye of Kovu, the son of the evil lioness, Zira. Will Kovu steal Kiara's heart?
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHalf of Me (2024)
A young gay, neurotic and ex-religious art student goes into a spin with the surprise visit of an eccentric childhood friend.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Landing Up (2018)
When a young woman finds herself living life on the streets she learns the art of picking up men to put a roof over her head. But when she meets the guy of her dreams her secret threatens to ruin their perfect relationship.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Drifters?
The closest matches to Drifters are Adulthood (2008), Another Day in Paradise (1998) and Belly (1998). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Drifters?
Start with Adulthood (2008), the closest match to Drifters.
What is the highest-rated movie like Drifters?
Trainspotting (1996), rated 8.0/10 by 10,822 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Drifters?
King of Dope (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
How are movies similar to Drifters chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Drifters, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.