Movies like Serial Killers: The Real Life Hannibal Lecters (2001)
The best movies like Serial Killers: The Real Life Hannibal Lecters (2001) are H.H. Holmes: America's First Serial Killer (2004), In Search of Darkness: Part II (2020) and Scream, Queen! My Nightmare on Elm Street (2019). If Serial Killers: The Real Life Hannibal Lecters hooked you with its documentary and thriller, these 23 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.

Quick picks
- Highest ratedBad Samaritan (2018)6.7/10 from 807 votes
- NewestSweetest Day (2026)Released 2026
H.H. Holmes: America's First Serial Killer (2004)
Torture chambers, acid vats, greased chutes and gassing rooms were just some of the devices of death designed by the Torture Doctor, H.H. Holmes in his castle of horrors. Follows Holmes' entire life as a criminal mastermind.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisIn Search of Darkness: Part II (2020)
The ultimate ‘80s Horror retrospective just got BIGGER. In Search of Darkness: Part II is a four-hour-plus sequel to the Rondo Hatton-nominated In Search of Darkness, adding 15 new interviewees and 40+ returning favorites for the biggest and most comprehensive ‘80s Horror documentary cast ever assembled.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary & horror
Worth the HypeMovies like thisScream, Queen! My Nightmare on Elm Street (2019)
Mark Patton sets the records straight about the controversial 1985 sequel to A Nightmare on Elm Street, which ended his acting career, just as it was about to begin.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary & horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Poughkeepsie Tapes (2007)
When hundreds of videotapes showing torture, murder and dismemberment are found in an abandoned house, they reveal a serial killer's decade-long reign of terror and become the most disturbing collection of evidence homicide detectives have ever seen.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBorderland (2007)
Three college students, Phil, Ed, and Henry take a road trip into Mexico for a week of drinking and carefree fun only to have Phil find himself a captive of a group of satanic Mexican drug smugglers who kill tourists and whom are looking for a group of new ones to prepare for a sacrifice.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both crime & horror
SnoozefestMovies like thisBad Samaritan (2018)
A thief makes a disturbing discovery in the house where he breaks in. Later, when he returns to the same house with his partner in crime, things are no longer how he expected.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe John Perkins Tapes (2024)
This is the recovered footage of serial killer Johns Perkins, who filmed his victims, creating what he believed to be artistic videos.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror & crime
5150 Elm's Way (2009)
Yannick moves to a small, quiet town to study cinema. One day when he fell off his bike, he knocked at the door of the Beaulieu residence so he could clean the blood off his hands. But Jacques Beaulieu and his family had other plans for Yannick. Beaulieu is a righteous psychopath and fanatic chess player who wants to rid the world of evil. And even though Ian has done nothing wrong, he is beaten, tortured and tormented before Beaulieu makes him an offer: win at chess and he is free to go. And so Ian is now a pawn in Beaulieu 's game. A game in which he will either lose his mind or his life.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHero and the Terror (1988)
Danny O'Brien is back in action fighting the notorious Simon Moon, also known as The Terror. Three years earlier O'Brien had single-handedly captured The Terror and was called Hero by the people of L.A. Now Simon has escaped and has started killing women again, and O'Brien is the only man who can stop him.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller & crime
SnoozefestMovies like thisMacabre (2009)
Six friends are captured and tortured by a murderous family after giving a ride home to a desperate stranger.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAtrocious (2018)
After they're arrested, the horrific crimes of two serial killers are revealed via confiscated videotapes. These tapes contain brutal murders displaying pure human wickedness, the background, paraphilias and psyche of these murderers.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSweetest Day (2026)
‘Survivor girl’ Mindy prepares for the battle of her life against the undead confederate soldier that nearly killed her once before.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror & thriller
Killing for Love (1995)
A group of movie people, director, screenwriter, producer, actors and actresses meet for a weekend at a remote house. Proceedings soon begin to resemble a typical slasher film: couples pair off, have sex, and get either murdered or abducted
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller & horror
Sleepless (2001)
An elderly and retired police detective and a young amateur sleuth team up to find a serial killer whom has resumed a killing spree in Turin, Italy after a 17-year hiatus.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisFantom Kiler 3 (2003)
A beautiful woman drives to the country, strips and photographs herself in various compromising positions. Naturally, Such lewed behaviour cannot go unpunished by the Fantom Kiler. Later on Ursula arrives at a run down garage where she hopes to get her car serviced. Unfortunately its not only her car that gets serviced as Natasha is forced to strip and be humiliated. But there's only so much a woman can take as she turns the tables on the licentious mechanics. But for Ursula a more terrible fate awaits her out in the woods...
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both crime & horror
The Dead Girl (2006)
The clues to a young woman's death come together as the lives of seemingly unrelated women begin to intersect.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both crime & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisEuropean Night (1993)
An aspiring actress falls for her leading man and passion ignites. When a series of murders haunts the estate where the actors are filming, her leading man no longer seems to be perfect and she is forced into a deadly choice.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both crime & horror
Frontier(s) (2007)
A gang of young thieves flee Paris during the violent aftermath of a political election, only to hole up at an Inn run by neo-Nazis.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHard Ride to Hell (2010)
A group of family and friends on a camping trip through the Texas badlands are taken on a on-way ride to Hell after they inadvertently witness a ritual sacrifice at a deserted campsite. Pursued by the devil worshiping biker gang responsible, they hole up in an abandoned church near the border, only to discover that they are pawns in a decades-old battle between good and evil.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror
Hitchhiker Massacre (2017)
Beautiful, young hitchhiker Sally (Ely LaMay), attempts to survive the night while making her way back home as a sadistic killer and cannibalistic madman (John Blyth Barrymore) haunts the desert highways, probing for fresh roadkill.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror
Dr. Petiot (1990)
A true story shot in a German Impressionistic style. In France during the Nazi occupation, Dr. Petiot (Michel Serrault) offered to help Jews escape the Nazis. They would come to his house, and he would kindly give them lethal "vaccinations" for their anticipated travel to Argentina. Then he would steal everything the brought with them (in addition to their up-front payment to him) and burn their bodies in his home-made crematorium.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both crime
ZOMBIE (2011)
ZOMBIE, a 19 minute psychological horror film, is based on the award-winning novella by literary icon Joyce Carol Oates. A Jeffrey Dahmer-esque serial killer attacks his last victim. Or does he?
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror
Santa's Slay (2005)
Santa Claus is actually a demon who lost a bet with an angel, so he became the giver of toys and happiness. But this year the bet is off, and Santa is about to return to his evil ways.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Serial Killers: The Real Life Hannibal Lecters?
The closest matches to Serial Killers: The Real Life Hannibal Lecters are H.H. Holmes: America's First Serial Killer (2004), In Search of Darkness: Part II (2020) and Scream, Queen! My Nightmare on Elm Street (2019). Below are 20 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Serial Killers: The Real Life Hannibal Lecters?
Start with H.H. Holmes: America's First Serial Killer (2004), the closest match to Serial Killers: The Real Life Hannibal Lecters.
What is the highest-rated movie like Serial Killers: The Real Life Hannibal Lecters?
Bad Samaritan (2018), rated 6.7/10 by 807 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Serial Killers: The Real Life Hannibal Lecters?
Sweetest Day (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like Serial Killers: The Real Life Hannibal Lecters?
Yes: H.H. Holmes: America's First Serial Killer (2004), In Search of Darkness: Part II (2020) and Scream, Queen! My Nightmare on Elm Street (2019).
How are movies similar to Serial Killers: The Real Life Hannibal Lecters chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Serial Killers: The Real Life Hannibal Lecters, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.






















