Movies like Careful (2017)
The best movies like Careful (2017) are The Mirror Crack'd (1980), Force of Nature: The Dry 2 (2024) and Murder Most Foul (1964). If Careful 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 ratedThe Naked City (1948)7.2/10 from 298 votes
- NewestOscar Shaw (2026)Released 2026
- In MalayalamRorschach (2022)Also in Malayalam
The 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 mystery & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisForce of Nature: The Dry 2 (2024)
When five women take part in a corporate hiking retreat and only four come out on the other side, Federal Agents Aaron Falk and Carmen Cooper head deep into the Victorian mountain ranges to investigate in the hopes of finding their whistle-blowing informant, Alice Russell, alive.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both mystery & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies 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 mystery & thriller
Worth the HypeMovies like thisRorschach (2022)
When Luke Antony's wife goes missing, he sets off to search for her and stumbles upon the Balan family. However, terrorising events start occurring as Luke grows closer to them.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller & mystery
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Naked City (1948)
After a former model is drowned in her bathtub, Detective James Halloran and Lieutenant Dan Muldoon attempt to piece together her murder.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both mystery & thriller
Worth the HypeMovies 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 mystery & thriller
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Lady Vanishes (2013)
Young socialite Iris Carr befriends an older woman while traveling solo by train. When Iris wakes from a nap, the woman is gone and other passengers claim she never existed.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller & mystery
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMurder on the Orient Express (1974)
In 1935, when his train is stopped by deep snow, detective Hercule Poirot is called on to solve a murder that occurred in his car the night before.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller & mystery
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Man Who Cheated Himself (1950)
A veteran homicide detective who has witnessed his socialite girlfriend kill her husband sees his inexperienced brother assigned to the case.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHailey Dean Mysteries: Murder, With Love (2016)
Former prosecutor-turned-therapist Hailey Dean is a powerhouse, Mensa bright, and acutely observant. During a tragic week, one of her patients loses her parents to separate fatal accidents along with millions of dollars that has seemingly vanished into thin air. When the police begin to question Hailey's patient, shes knows she is innocent. But who is the culprit?
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both mystery
Worth the HypeMovies like thisJoseph (2018)
Joseph is a retired police officer with adept investigative skills. He accidentally gets involved in a crime case after his ex-wife’s unexpected demise.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Blue Gardenia (1953)
Upon waking up to the news that the man she’d gone on a date with the previous night has been murdered, a young woman with only a faint memory of the night’s events begins to suspect that she murdered him while attempting to resist his advances.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both mystery
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Interview (1998)
A duel between a suspected murderer and a detective pressed by people who want results. But whose skin is really wanted?
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both mystery
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Deep End of the Ocean (1999)
A three-year-old boy disappears during his mother's high school reunion. Nine years later, by chance, he turns up in the town in which the family has just relocated.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both mystery
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisOscar 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 thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisA Shot in the Dark (1964)
Inspector Jacques Clouseau, smitten with the accused maid Maria Gambrelli, unwittingly turns a straightforward murder investigation into a comedic series of mishaps, testing the patience of his irritable boss Charles Dreyfus as casualties mount.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both mystery
Worth the HypeMovies like thisA Beautiful Place to Die: A Martha's Vineyard Mystery (2020)
After being forced into early retirement, former detective Jeff Jackson returns to a quiet life on Martha's Vineyard. Quiet, at least, until a body washes up and he's drawn back into crime solving.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both mystery
Worth the HypeMovies like thisNancy Drew and the Hidden Staircase (2019)
Nancy Drew, a smart high schooler with a penchant for keen observation and deduction, stumbles upon the haunting of a local home. A bit of an outsider struggling to fit into her new surroundings, Nancy and her pals set out to solve the mystery, make new friends, and establish their place in the community
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both mystery
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisFramed for Murder: A Fixer Upper Mystery (2017)
In the small resort town of Lighthouse Cove, everyone knows that the best man for the job is a woman. And that woman is Shannon Hughes, owner of a construction company and an expert in Victorian home restoration and renovation. Through her renovations she will find clues to uncover the house’s secret past and in turn become an unlikely sleuth to help crack these unsolved mysteries
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both mystery
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisEach Dawn I Die (1939)
A corrupt D.A. with governatorial ambitions is annoyed by an investigative reporter's criticism of his criminal activities and decides to frame the reporter for manslaughter in order to silence him.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHouse of Wax (2005)
A group of unwitting teens are stranded near a strange wax museum and soon must fight to survive and keep from becoming the next exhibit.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller & mystery
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Order (2003)
For centuries, a secret Order of priests has existed within the Church. A renegade priest, Father Alex Bernier, is sent to Rome to investigate the mysterious death of one of the Order's most revered members. Following a series of strangely similar killings, Bernier launches an investigation that forces him to confront unimaginable evil.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both mystery & thriller
SnoozefestMovies like thisScarlet Winter (2022)
After Mark wakes up to find his girlfriend murdered in bed, he must try to cover up her death and piece together the events of the previous night to find her killer.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller & mystery
Cheerleader Massacre (2003)
Five high school cheerleaders, their coach and a couple of adolescent sex-crazed guys travel to a cabin in the woods for a weekend getaway only to be killed off one by one by an unseen maniac.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller
SnoozefestMovies like thisMs. Lekha Tharoor Kaanunnathu (2013)
Lekha Tharoor is an intelligent woman with a breadth of knowledge about everything who anchors a popular TV show of her own. She was blinded at a young age in an accident involving firecrackers. She gets her sight back after getting a transplant. However post the operation she starts getting strange visions which unfortunately makes the people around her think that she lost her mind.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller
Hostile Intent (1997)
Paint-ball playing computer geeks who invent a computer chip which can keep the government or any agency from gaining access to computer files are targeted by government assassins during a paint-ball competition.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller
A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors (1987)
A psychiatrist, familiar with the knife-wielding dream demon Freddy Krueger, helps teens at a mental hospital battle the killer who is invading their dreams.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCry_Wolf (2005)
After a local woman is murdered, a group of teenage liars create a warning e-mail of a serial killer named “The Wolf”, coming on the next full moon. The teens describe each death method The Wolf uses, but when the described victims actually do start turning up dead, suddenly no one knows where the lies end and the truth begins.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller
SnoozefestMovies like thisThe Return (2006)
Joanna Mills has a successful career but feels her personal life is spinning out of control. She has few friends, an estranged father, and a crazy ex-boyfriend who is stalking her. Joanna begins having terrifying visions of a woman's murder, and it seems that she is the killer's next target. Determined to solve the mystery and escape her apparent fate, Joanna follows her visions to the victim's hometown and finds that some secrets just do not stay buried.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisA Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master (1988)
Freddy Krueger returns once again to terrorize the dreams of the remaining Dream Warriors, as well as those of a young woman who may be able to defeat him for good.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller
SnoozefestMovies like this
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Careful?
The closest matches to Careful are The Mirror Crack'd (1980), Force of Nature: The Dry 2 (2024) and Murder Most Foul (1964). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Careful?
Start with The Mirror Crack'd (1980), the closest match to Careful.
What is the highest-rated movie like Careful?
The Naked City (1948), rated 7.2/10 by 298 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Careful?
Oscar Shaw (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there Malayalam movies like Careful?
Yes: Rorschach (2022), Rekhachithram (2025) and Joseph (2018).
How are movies similar to Careful chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Careful, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.