Movies like Villain (2017)
The best movies like Villain (2017) are Oscar Shaw (2026), Ayyappanum Koshiyum (2020) and Indemnity (2022). If Villain hooked you with its action and crime, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedLe Cercle Rouge (1970)7.6/10 from 773 votes
- NewestOscar Shaw (2026)Released 2026
- In MalayalamAyyappanum Koshiyum (2020)Also in Malayalam
Oscar Shaw (2026)
After retiring from the police force, a relentless detective haunted by the tragic loss of his closest friend sets out on a perilous quest for vengeance, seeking redemption and fighting to restore justice to the streets he once swore to protect.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAyyappanum Koshiyum (2020)
Ayyappan, a police officer, is an upright man who always strives to do the right thing. However, things change when a retired army havildar, Koshy, settles in his village and the two egos clash.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & thriller
Worth the HypeMovies like thisIndemnity (2022)
An ex-fireman with PTSD goes on the run when accused of a crime he doesn't even remember committing, leading him down a rabbit hole of conspiracy to the highest degree.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Blue Lamp (1950)
P.C. George Dixon is a long-serving traditional copper who is due to retire shortly. He takes a new recruit under his aegis and introduces him to the easy-going night beat. Dixon is a classic ordinary hero but also anachronistic, unprepared and unable to answer the violence of the 1950s.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies 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 thisRekhachithram (2025)
Having recently served a suspension for gambling online while on duty, Circle Inspector Vivek Gopinath rejoins the police force and is looking to reclaim his lost honour. Awaiting him is a 40-year-old, unresolved murder mystery with a faceless victim.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller & crime
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Mirror Crack'd (1980)
Jane Marple solves the mystery when a local woman is poisoned and a visiting movie star seems to have been the intended victim.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAnjaam Pathiraa (2020)
A psychologist with a keen interest in criminology gets entangled in a tough serial killer case which the police find hard to crack.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & thriller
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Scarlet Claw (1944)
When a woman is found dead with her throat torn out, the local villagers blame a supernatural monster. But Sherlock Holmes, who gets drawn into the case from nearby Quebec, suspects a human murderer.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & thriller
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Quiller Memorandum (1966)
After two British Secret Intelligence Service agents are murdered at the hands of a cryptic neo-Nazi group known as Phoenix, the suave agent Quiller is sent to Berlin to investigate.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller & crime
SnoozefestMovies like thisLady in the Lake (1946)
Private eye Phillip Marlowe wants to get out of the detective racket and into crime writing. But when he's called to the office of editor Adrienne Fromsett, it's not to talk about his story ideas — she wants him to locate the missing wife of her boss, Mr. Kingsby. The assignment quickly becomes complicated when bodies start turning up.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDrishyam 2 (2021)
Seven years after the events of the first film, the family lives with the trauma from that fateful night. A gripping tale of an investigation and a family threatened by it. Will Georgekutty be able to protect his family this time?
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller & crime
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe House of Fear (1945)
The Good Comrades are a collection of varied gentlemen who crave one thing - solitude. They reside at Drearcliff House, ancestral home of their eldest member. All seems serene and convivial until one by one the members begin to perish in the most grisly of manners. Foul play is suspected by the Good Comrades' insurance agent, who turns to Sherlock Holmes and Dr. John Watson for guidance.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHe Walked by Night (1949)
Roy Martin aka Roy Morgan is a burglar and former war-time Radio & Electronics Engineer who listens in to radio police calls, allowing him to stay one step ahead of the cops.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Glass Key (1942)
A crooked politician finds himself being accused of murder by a gangster from whom he refused help during a re-election campaign.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSherlock Holmes Faces Death (1943)
During WWII several murders occur at a convalescent home where Dr. Watson has volunteered his services. He summons Holmes for help and the master detective proceeds to solve the crime from a long list of suspects including the owners of the home, the staff and the patients recovering there.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & 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 thisMemories (2013)
Sam Alex, a former police officer haunted by the tragic loss of his family, drowns his grief in alcohol until duty calls him back. When a string of eerily similar murders emerges, he’s forced to confront both the case and the ghosts of his past.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & thriller
Worth the HypeMovies like thisMurder Most Foul (1964)
A murderer is brought to court and only Miss Marple is unconvinced of his guilt. Once again she begins her own investigation.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & thriller
Worth the HypeMovies like thisLaRoy, Texas (2024)
Broke and depressed, Ray is mistaken for a dangerous hitman and given an envelope of cash. Along with his P.I. friend Skip, he must escape the actual hitman to make it out of LaRoy alive.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisFreeway (1996)
Following the arrest of her mother, Ramona, young Vanessa Lutz decides to go in search of her estranged grandmother. On the way, she is given a ride by school counselor Bob Wolverton. During the journey, Lutz begins to realize that Bob is the notorious I-5 Killer and manages to escape by shooting him several times. Wounded but still very much alive, Bob pursues Lutz across the state in this modern retelling of Little Red Riding Hood.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both crime & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Zodiac (2005)
An elusive serial killer known as the Zodiac terrorizes the San Francisco Bay in the late 1960s, while detectives aim to stop him before he claims more victims. Based on a true story.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both crime & thriller
SnoozefestMovies like thisBody Double (1984)
After losing an acting role and his girlfriend, Jake Scully finally catches a break: he gets offered a gig house-sitting in the Hollywood Hills. While peering through the beautiful home's telescope one night, he spies a gorgeous woman dancing in her window. But when he witnesses the girl's murder, it leads Scully through the netherworld of the adult entertainment industry on a search for answers—with porn actress Holly Body as his guide.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both crime & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisErasmus (2016)
Montse just wanted to make a documentary about partying at the Barcelona night clubs. But what begins as a fun evening out turns into hours of unending terror as Montse's video cameras capture a mysterious fiend killing off her friends one by one.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both crime & thriller
Maradona (2018)
Maradona, a young man, due to some dangerous situations, moves out of his hometown and reaches Bangalore to stay with his distant relatives. However, during his stay there, his situation worsens further.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both action & thriller
Le Cercle Rouge (1970)
When French criminal Corey gets released from prison, he resolves to never return. He is quickly pulled back into the underworld, however, after a chance encounter with escaped murderer Vogel. Along with former policeman and current alcoholic Jansen, they plot an intricate jewel heist. All the while, quirky Police Commissioner Mattei, who was the one to lose custody of Vogel, is determined to find him.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both crime & thriller
Worth the HypeMovies like thisAdam Joan (2017)
Adam, a young man from Kerala, returns to Scotland upon learning that his mother has been murdered and his daughter, Ila, kidnapped. He then sets out to find the offenders and rescue Ila.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both action & thriller
Tightrope (1984)
Wes Block is a detective who's put on the case of a serial killer whose victims are young and pretty women. The murders are getting personal when the killer chooses victims who are acquaintances of Block. Even his daughters are threatened.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisJade (1995)
When a prominent art dealer is found murdered, the man's death leads to an intriguing investigation steeped in sex, corruption and crime. District Attorney David Corelli gets assigned to the case and discovers that a key suspect is his ex-lover Katrina Gavin, a beautiful psychologist who has settled down with his old friend and peer. As Corelli gets deeper into the case, he uncovers dark secrets with far-reaching implications.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller & crime
SnoozefestMovies like this8 PM: A Murder Mystery (2008)
A cop investigates about a serial killer who follows a pattern of killing a fashion model at 8 PM.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both crime & thriller
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Villain?
The closest matches to Villain are Oscar Shaw (2026), Ayyappanum Koshiyum (2020) and Indemnity (2022). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Villain?
Start with Oscar Shaw (2026), the closest match to Villain.
What is the highest-rated movie like Villain?
Le Cercle Rouge (1970), rated 7.6/10 by 773 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Villain?
Oscar Shaw (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there Malayalam movies like Villain?
Yes: Ayyappanum Koshiyum (2020), Rekhachithram (2025) and Anjaam Pathiraa (2020).
How are movies similar to Villain chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Villain, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.