Movies like In the Shadows (2001)
The best movies like In the Shadows (2001) are Run All Night (2015), Code of Silence (1985) and The Jackal (1997). If In the Shadows 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 ratedPulp Fiction (1994)8.5/10 from 31,303 votes
- NewestBy Any Means (2026)Released 2026
Run All Night (2015)
Brooklyn mobster and prolific hit man Jimmy Conlon has seen better days. Longtime best friend of a mob boss, Jimmy is haunted by the sins of his past—as well as a dogged police detective who’s been one step behind Jimmy for 30 years. But when Jimmy’s estranged son becomes a target, Jimmy must make a choice between the crime family he chose and the real family he abandoned long ago. Now, with nowhere safe to turn, Jimmy has just one night to figure out exactly where his loyalties lie and to see if he can finally make things right.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCode of Silence (1985)
A Chicago cop is caught in the middle of a gang war while his own comrades shun him because he wants to take an irresponsible cop down.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & crime
SnoozefestMovies like thisThe Jackal (1997)
Hired by a powerful member of the Russian mafia to avenge an FBI sting that left his brother dead, a psychopathic hitman known only as The Jackal proves an elusive target for the people charged with the task of bringing him down: a deputy FBI director, a Russian MVK Major, and a jailed IRA terrorist who can recognize him.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBlowback (2022)
When a master thief is sabotaged during a bank heist and left for dead, he seeks revenge on his former crew one target at a time. Now, with the cops and the mob closing in, he's in the race of his life to reclaim an untold fortune in cryptocurrency from those who double-crossed him.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Virtuoso (2021)
Danger, deception and murder descend upon a sleepy town when a professional assassin accepts a new assignment from his enigmatic boss.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller & crime
SnoozefestMovies like thisCopshop (2021)
On the run from a lethal assassin, a wily con artist devises a scheme to hide out inside a small-town police station. However, when the hit man turns up at the precinct, an unsuspecting rookie cop finds herself caught in the crosshairs.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisWar (2007)
FBI agent Jack Crawford is out for revenge when his partner is killed and all clues point to the mysterious assassin Rogue. But when Rogue turns up years later to take care of some unfinished business, he triggers a violent clash of rival gangs. Will the truth come out before it's too late? And when the dust settles, who will remain standing?
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisTo Live and Die in L.A. (1985)
When his longtime partner on the force is killed, reckless U.S. Secret Service agent Richard Chance vows revenge, setting out to nab dangerous counterfeit artist Eric Masters.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & thriller
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 action & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisFast Charlie (2023)
When his aging mob boss is whacked, Charlie Swift, a loyal friend and hired gun, will stop at nothing to destroy the upcoming crew that took him out.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisWho Is Cletis Tout? (2001)
With a hitman’s gun aimed at him, Finch tells the story of how he broke out of jail, fell in love, and took the identity of a man wanted by the Mafia.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & crime
SnoozefestMovies like thisRoad of No Return (2009)
Road of no Return follows the final nine days in the lives of four atypical hit men who are secretly brought together in a covert operation to fight the drug trafficking epidemic in the country.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & thriller
SnoozefestMovies like thisThe Killer's Game (2024)
When top hitman Joe Flood is diagnosed with a terminal illness, he decides to take matters into his own hands – by taking a hit out on himself. But when the very hitmen he hired also target his ex-girlfriend, he must fend off an army of assassin colleagues and win back the love of his life before it's too late.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisPulp Fiction (1994)
A burger-loving hit man, his philosophical partner, a drug-addled gangster's moll and a washed-up boxer converge in this sprawling, comedic crime caper. Their adventures unfurl in three stories that ingeniously trip back and forth in time.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller & crime
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisJohn Wick (2014)
Ex-hitman John Wick comes out of retirement to track down the gangsters that took everything from him.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & thriller
Worth the HypeMovies like thisHostile Takeover (2025)
Follows Pete, a professional hitman, as he faces a group of assassins after the boss of a crime syndicate suspects disloyalty due to his attendance at Workaholics Anonymous meetings.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisNo Name on the Bullet (1959)
When hired killer John Gant rides into Lordsburg, the town's folk become paranoid as each leading citizen has enemies capable of using the services of a professional killer for personal revenge.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisGemini Man (2019)
Henry Brogan is an elite 51-year-old assassin who's ready to call it quits after completing his 72nd job. His plans get turned upside down when he becomes the target of a mysterious operative who can seemingly predict his every move. To his horror, Brogan soon learns that the man who's trying to kill him is a younger, faster, cloned version of himself.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & 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 action & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBy Any Means (2026)
In 1960s Mississippi, a young Black FBI agent is forced to partner with a notorious mafia hitman to investigate a wave of brutal civil rights murders.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBranded to Kill (1967)
After botching his latest assignment, a third-ranked Japanese hit man becomes the target of another assassin.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller & crime
Worth the HypeMovies like thisBlow Out (1981)
While recording sound effects for a slasher flick, Jack Terry stumbles upon a real-life horror: a car careening off a bridge and into a river. Jack jumps into the water and fishes out Sally from the car, but the other passenger is already dead — a governor intending to run for president. As Jack does some investigating of his tapes, and starts a perilous romance with Sally, he enters a tangled web of conspiracy that might leave him dead.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both crime & thriller
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Cougar Diaries of Liv and Zea (2024)
The film toggles between the year 2024 an 2054 in Cape Town South Africa. We are presented with two old ladies "Liv and Zea" In their younger years, whilst desperate for money to fund shopping sprees and a lifestyle they could not afford, they were recruited by an international spy organization to carry out "hits" on people who were deemed to be undesirable by the agency. These adventures take them to some exotic locations. Liv is a stereotypical dizzy blonde who is always getting herself in to trouble. Zea is a Russian immigrant with an unusual understanding of the English language who fled her native country to escape a war.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both crime & thriller
Death Proof (2007)
Austin's hottest DJ, Jungle Julia, sets out into the night to unwind with her two friends Shanna and Arlene. Covertly tracking their moves is Stuntman Mike, a scarred rebel leering from behind the wheel of his muscle car, revving just feet away.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both action & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Man with the Golden Gun (1974)
Cool government operative James Bond searches for a stolen invention that can turn the sun's heat into a destructive weapon. He soon crosses paths with the menacing Francisco Scaramanga, a hitman so skilled he has a seven-figure working fee. Bond then joins forces with the swimsuit-clad Mary Goodnight, and together they track Scaramanga to a Thai tropical isle hideout where the killer-for-hire lures the slick spy into a deadly maze for a final duel.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both action & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThere Are No Saints (2022)
A man is imprisoned for a crime he didn't commit. When his wife is murdered and his son kidnapped and taken to Mexico, he devises an elaborate and dangerous plan to rescue his son and avenge the murder.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both action & thriller
SnoozefestMovies like thisMurder at Monkey Hill (1976)
The story deals with a professional hitman, who falls in love with the woman he sets out to murder.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller
High Anxiety (1977)
A psychiatrist with intense acrophobia (fear of heights) goes to work for a mental institution run by doctors who appear to be crazier than their patients, and have secrets that they are willing to commit murder to keep.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Star Chamber (1983)
As violence escalates in Los Angeles and heinous murders are committed, Steven Hardin, a young judge of the California Supreme Court, must struggle with his tortured conscience and growing despair as he watches helplessly as the ruthless criminals brought before his court go free because clever lawyers find obscure loopholes in the law.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSew Torn (2025)
A seamstress, her thread, and a deal gone bad - the short film that inspired the feature.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both crime
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like In the Shadows?
The closest matches to In the Shadows are Run All Night (2015), Code of Silence (1985) and The Jackal (1997). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after In the Shadows?
Start with Run All Night (2015), the closest match to In the Shadows.
What is the highest-rated movie like In the Shadows?
Pulp Fiction (1994), rated 8.5/10 by 31,303 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like In the Shadows?
By Any Means (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like In the Shadows?
Yes: Run All Night (2015), Code of Silence (1985) and The Jackal (1997).
How are movies similar to In the Shadows chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside In the Shadows, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.