Movies like Cul-de-sac (1966)
The best movies like Cul-de-sac (1966) are Arsenic and Old Lace (1944), Gotcha! (1985) and Excess Baggage (1997). If Cul-de-sac hooked you with its thriller and comedy, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedPaper Moon (1973)7.9/10 from 891 votes
- NewestThe Thursday Murder Club (2025)Released 2025
Arsenic and Old Lace (1944)
Mortimer Brewster, a newspaper drama critic, playwright, and author known for his diatribes against marriage, suddenly falls in love and gets married; but when he makes a quick trip home to tell his two maiden aunts, he finds out his aunts' hobby - killing lonely old men and burying them in the cellar!
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & crime
Worth the HypeMovies like thisGotcha! (1985)
A student on a trip to France is tricked into smuggling secrets across the Iron Curtain by a sexy spy.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisExcess Baggage (1997)
A rich brat fakes her own kidnapping, but in the process ends up locked in the trunk of a car that gets stolen.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisWe're No Angels (1955)
Three convicts escape from prison on Devil's Island just before Christmas and arrive at a nearby French colonial town. They go to the store of the Ducotels, the only store that gives supplies on credit. They initially intend to take advantage of them but have a change of heart after they find the family is in financial troubles.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & crime
Worth the HypeMovies like thisShadow of the Thin Man (1941)
While attending a major horse race with their young son, Nick Jr., Nick and Nora Charles witnesse a shocking murder from the crowded grandstand. What first appears to be an isolated killing soon leads to a maze of corruption, blackmail, gambling scandals, and criminal intrigue. As Nick investigates, he encounters suspicious bookmakers, dishonest officials, rival gangsters, and a mysterious killer determined to stay ahead of the law. Nora, as always, is never far from the action, bringing her quick wit and fearless curiosity to the case.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & crime
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Brothers Grimm (2005)
Folklore collectors and con artists, Jake and Will Grimm, travel from village to village pretending to protect townsfolk from enchanted creatures and performing exorcisms. However, they are put to the test when they encounter a real magical curse in a haunted forest with real magical beings, requiring genuine courage.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & thriller
SnoozefestMovies 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 thisShadow of a Doubt (1943)
In sleepy Santa Rosa, restless young Charlie’s world brightens when her sophisticated Uncle Charlie arrives for a long visit. But as his behavior grows increasingly strange, she begins to suspect that her beloved uncle may be hiding a terrible secret—and that danger has quietly entered her home.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller & crime
Worth the HypeMovies like thisKind Hearts and Coronets (1949)
When his mother eloped with an Italian opera singer, Louis Mazzini was cut off from her aristocratic family. After the family refuses to let her be buried in the family mausoleum, Louis avenges his mother's death by attempting to murder every family member who stands between himself and the family fortune. But when he finds himself torn between his longtime love and the widow of one of his victims, his plans go awry.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & crime
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Seven-Ups (1973)
A tough detective who is part of an elite New York City unit is trying to find out who killed his partner, but uncovers a plot to kidnap mobsters for money.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHow to Rob a Bank (2007)
Caught in the middle of a bank robbery, a slacker and a bank employee become the ones who arbitrate the intense situation.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & crime
SnoozefestMovies 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 thisObsession (1949)
A British psychiatrist devises a devilish revenge plot against his wife's lover.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisKiller Bean Forever (2008)
When things go bad in Beantown, top assassin Killer Bean is called to clean-up the mess. Detective Cromwell finds himself in the middle between Killer Bean and mob boss Cappuccino.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller & comedy
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 crime & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies 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 thriller & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Thursday Murder Club (2025)
A group of senior sleuths passionate about solving cold cases get plunged into a real-life murder mystery in this comic crime caper.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHe Ran All the Way (1951)
A crook on the run hides out in an innocent girl's apartment.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller & crime
Worth the HypeMovies like thisBatman and Harley Quinn (2017)
Batman and Nightwing are forced to team with the Joker's sometimes-girlfriend Harley Quinn to stop a global threat brought about by Poison Ivy and Jason Woodrue, the Floronic Man.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAurora Teagarden Mysteries: A Very Foul Play (2019)
At a gathering of mystery and true crime fans, Aurora Teagarden’s nephew, Phillip, is accused of murder when an unplanned onstage blackout during the play in which he is performing ends, revealing Phillip holding the bloody knife that has just killed one of the other performers. 12th installment in Aurora Teagarden Mysteries
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller & crime
Worth the HypeMovies like thisPaper Moon (1973)
During the Great Depression, a con man finds himself saddled with a young girl who may or may not be his daughter, and the two forge an unlikely partnership.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy & crime
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisCaza mayor (TBA)
In the middle of the night, José Luis, an Extremadura pig herder comes home covered in blood, insisting he has seen a tiger. Is he telling the truth – or improvising an outlandish alibi to hide that he was stealing three Iberian pigs?
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy & thriller
Spree (2020)
Desperate for an online following, a rideshare driver has figured out a deadly plan to go viral and he will stop at nothing to get his five minutes of fame.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBetween Heaven and Earth (1959)
In the blasting heat of a Friday afternoon in Cairo, a group of people – among them a movie star, a thief, a madman, a cook and a pregnant woman – find themselves trapped in an elevator for 12 hours.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy & thriller
Serial Mom (1994)
Beverly is the perfect happy homemaker, along with her doting husband and two children, but this nuclear family just might explode when her fascination with serial killers collides with her ever-so-proper code of ethics.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHigh Crimes (2002)
A female attorney learns that her husband is really a marine officer who has been AWOL for fifteen years and accused of murdering fifteen civilians in El Salvador. Believing her husband when he tells her that he's being framed as part of a U.S. Military cover-up, the attorney defends him in a military court.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisEr kann's nicht lassen (1962)
Father Brown is only too happy to interfere with the work of the police in solving tricky criminal cases, usually with resounding success. That's why the clergyman is transferred to a sleepy island called Abbott's Rock. At first, nothing happens there, but somehow Father Brown seems to be attracted to crime: Soon a gang of thieves is up to no good on the island. So Brown makes the headlines again, and is punitively transferred once more. This time he finds himself in a quiet Irish millionaire community.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy & crime
Friendship (2025)
Suburban dad Craig falls hard for his charismatic new neighbor Austin, and his attempts to make an adult male friend threatens to ruin both of their lives.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSuicide, the Comedy (1998)
Matt is a screenwriter whose career is not going especially well and whose personal life is dwindling into nothingness. Matt starts talking with his friends about suicide, and nearly all of them become deeply concerned, convinced his depression has taken him over the edge. Matt insists to all around him that his questions about killing himself are merely part of his research for a script about a man who has turned suicidal. But his ex-girlfriend Amanda is the only one that seems to believe it.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy
Following (1999)
Bill, an idle, unemployed aspiring writer, walks the crowded streets of London following randomly chosen strangers, a seemingly innocent entertainment that becomes dangerous when he crosses paths with a mysterious character.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller
Worth the HypeMovies like this
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Cul-de-sac?
The closest matches to Cul-de-sac are Arsenic and Old Lace (1944), Gotcha! (1985) and Excess Baggage (1997). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Cul-de-sac?
Start with Arsenic and Old Lace (1944), the closest match to Cul-de-sac.
What is the highest-rated movie like Cul-de-sac?
Paper Moon (1973), rated 7.9/10 by 891 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Cul-de-sac?
The Thursday Murder Club (2025) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like Cul-de-sac?
Yes: Arsenic and Old Lace (1944), Gotcha! (1985) and Excess Baggage (1997).
How are movies similar to Cul-de-sac chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Cul-de-sac, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.