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Movies like Totem (2017)

The best movies like Totem (2017) are Another Day in Paradise (1998), The Substitute (1996) and Belly (1998). If Totem hooked you with its crime, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.

Quick picks

  1. Another Day in Paradise (1998)

    In the hope of a big score, two junkie couples team up to commit various drug robberies which go disastrously wrong, leading to dissent, violence, and murder.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime

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  2. The Substitute (1996)

    When an inner-city Miami schoolteacher gets her knee broken after standing up to the school's gang leader, her mercenary combat specialist boyfriend goes undercover as a substitute teacher to take down the punk. Soon he discovers a conspiracy of criminals at work, and must reassemble his team from his last jungle raid to stop them.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime

    Worth the HypeMovies like this
  3. Belly (1998)

    Tommy Bundy and Sincere are best friends as well as infamous and ruthless criminals and shot-callers in the hood. Respected by many but feared by all. As the police are closing in on them and new players are looking for a come up, will their reign last?

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime

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  4. Rise of the Footsoldier (2007)

    Carlton Leach rises from one of the most feared generals of the football terraces to becoming a member of a notorious gang of criminals who rampaged their way through London and Essex in the late '80s and early '90s.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime

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  5. The Valachi Papers (1972)

    When Joe Valachi has a price put on his head by Don Vito Genovese, he must take desperate steps to protect himself while in prison. An unsuccessful attempt to slit his throat puts him over the edge to break the sacred code of silence.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime

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  6. New Jack City (1991)

    A gangster, Nino, is in the Cash Money Brothers, making a million dollars every week selling crack. A cop, Scotty, discovers that the only way to infiltrate the gang is to become a dealer himself.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime

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  7. Killing Them Softly (2012)

    Jackie Cogan is an enforcer hired to restore order after three dumb guys rob a Mob protected card game, causing the local criminal economy to collapse.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime

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  8. How I Became a Gangster (2019)

    The action of the film begins in the 1970s – even then, the young protagonist knows that adrenaline tastes better than powdered milk. Over time, he also discovers a desire for money, power, and being above the law. A transformation begins, and his gangster talent blossoms. Together with a friend, they build their own army.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime

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  9. Menace II Society (1993)

    A young street hustler attempts to escape the rigors and temptations of the ghetto in a quest for a better life.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime

    Worth the HypeMovies like this
  10. Coffy (1973)

    After her younger sister gets involved in drugs and is severely injured by contaminated heroin, a nurse sets out on a mission of vengeance and vigilante justice, killing drug dealers, pimps, and mobsters who cross her path.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime

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  11. Layer Cake (2004)

    When a seemingly straight-forward drug deal goes awry, XXXX has to break his die-hard rules and turn up the heat, not only to outwit the old regime and come out on top, but to save his own skin...

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime

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  12. Havoc (2025)

    When a drug heist swerves lethally out of control, a jaded cop fights his way through a corrupt city's criminal underworld to save a politician's son.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime

    Popcorn FlickMovies like this
  13. Inside Man (2023)

    Based on true events. A disgraced police detective seeking redemption goes undercover to expose a violent crime syndicate. But as he sinks deeper into the mob, the price for absolution may be higher than he can afford.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime

    Popcorn FlickMovies like this
  14. Year of the Dragon (1985)

    In New York, racist Capt. Stanley White becomes obsessed with destroying a Chinese-American drug ring run by Joey Tai, an up-and-coming young gangster as ambitious as he is ruthless. While pursuing an unauthorized investigation, White grows increasingly willing to violate police protocol, resorting to progressively violent measures -- even as his concerned wife, Connie, and his superiors beg him to consider the consequences of his actions.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime

    Popcorn FlickMovies like this
  15. Sleepless (2017)

    Undercover Las Vegas police officer Vincent Downs, who has a lot of enemies, is caught in a high stakes web of corrupt cops and the mob-controlled casino underground. When a heist goes wrong, a crew of homicidal gangsters kidnap Downs’ teenage son T. In one sleepless night, Downs will have to rescue his son, evade an internal affairs investigation, and bring the kidnappers to justice.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime

  16. Run (1991)

    When a law student accidentally kills the son of a mob boss in a fight, he finds himself relentlessly pursued by the mob and the police.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime

    Popcorn FlickMovies like this
  17. Get Rich or Die Tryin' (2005)

    A tale of an inner city drug dealer who turns away from crime to pursue his passion, rap music.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime

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  18. All the Devils Are Here (2025)

    After a heist, four criminals lay low in a remote safehouse, waiting for orders. As paranoia builds, one thing becomes clear — the real threat may not be outside, but among them.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime

    Popcorn FlickMovies like this
  19. Al Capone (1959)

    In this unusually accurate biography, small-time hood Al Capone comes to Chicago at the dawn of Prohibition to be the bodyguard of racketeer Johnny Torrio. Capone's rise in Chicago gangdom is followed through murder, extortion, and political fraud. He becomes head of Chicago's biggest "business," but moves inexorably toward his downfall and ignominious end.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime

    Popcorn FlickMovies like this
  20. The Baker (2023)

    A quiet, stoic man, lives a monk-like existence in self-imposed exile. When his estranged son is killed in a drug deal gone bad, he is left to look after a granddaughter he never knew existed, and he is forced back into a life he tried to put behind him.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime

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  21. 7 Seconds (2005)

    When an experienced thief accidentally makes off with a Van Gogh, his partner is kidnapped by gangsters in pursuit of the painting, forcing the criminal to hatch a rescue plan.

    Why it matches: Similar story and style · both crime

  22. The Pugilist (2017)

    After his eldest son is murdered in a gangland hit, an absentee father desperately tries to protect what’s left of the shattered family he abandoned.

    Why it matches: Similar story and style · both crime

  23. Peace Breaker (2017)

    A morally bent detective has one of the worst days of his life after he tries to cover up an accidental crime.

    Why it matches: Similar story and style · both crime

  24. Time of the Gypsies (1988)

    Perhan is a gypsy teenager with telekinetic powers. A wealthy gypsy, Ahmed, visits the village and promises to get Perhan's sister the medical treatment she needs if they join him to Italy. Perhan soon discovers that Ahmed's business activities are in fact quite shady and he is soon lured into the elder's corrupt surroundings.

    Why it matches: Similar story and style · both crime

    Worth the HypeMovies like this
  25. Nisaa' min Zahab (1967)

    The film revolves around two young men who are sent to an African country to search for a gang of women who smuggle and trade drugs with most of the tourists in the city.

    Why it matches: Similar story and style · both crime

  26. The Son of Africa (1970)

    A policeman from Africa takes over the task of arresting a gang consisting of women specialized in drug smuggling and murder. He disguises himself as a businessman and gets to know one of the gang members.

    Why it matches: Similar story and style · both crime

  27. The City of Violence (2006)

    Tae-su, a detective fighting organized crime, returns to his hometown for his high school friend Wang-jae's funeral. There, he meets his old friends Pil-ho, Dong-hwan and Seok-hwan and they reminisce. Suspecting something fishy about Wang-jae's death, Tae-su and Seok-hwan start investigating it, each in his own way. Their investigations lead to a land development project that Pil-ho is directing.

    Why it matches: Similar story and style · both crime

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  28. Camilla Läckberg: The Ice Princess (2007)

    Erica returns to her hometown for her parents funeral and her childhood friend murdered

    Why it matches: Similar story and style · both crime

  29. Bad Boys: A True Story (2003)

    The story bases on four Finnish brothers, nicknamed 'the Eura Daltons' who received nation-wide notoriety for tearing gas pumps apart when they needed cash.

    Why it matches: Similar story and style · both crime

  30. Murderer (2014)

    A serial killer tries to live peacefully with his son in a countryside village. But a girl who knows he's a killer moves in. He decides he must kill her to protect his new life.

    Why it matches: Similar story and style · both crime

Like Totem and something else?

Blend two favourites and we’ll find the films in between.

Frequently asked questions

What are the best movies like Totem?

The closest matches to Totem are Another Day in Paradise (1998), The Substitute (1996) and Belly (1998). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.

What should I watch after Totem?

Start with Another Day in Paradise (1998), the closest match to Totem.

What is the highest-rated movie like Totem?

Time of the Gypsies (1988), rated 7.6/10 by 461 TMDB users.

What is the newest movie like Totem?

All the Devils Are Here (2025) is the most recent release on this list.

How are movies similar to Totem chosen?

First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Totem, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.

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