Movies like Scenes from the Life of a Detective (2018)
The best movies like Scenes from the Life of a Detective (2018) are Veronica Mars (2014), Cult Killer (2024) and Kiss Me Deadly (1955). If Scenes from the Life of a Detective hooked you, these 20 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedKiss Me Deadly (1955)7.2/10 from 434 votes
- NewestChief of Station (2024)Released 2024
Veronica Mars (2014)
Years after walking away from her past as a teenage private eye, Veronica Mars gets pulled back to her hometown - just in time for her high school reunion - in order to help her old flame Logan Echolls, who's embroiled in a murder mystery.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCult Killer (2024)
A private investigator is forced into a dangerous alliance with a killer in order to uncover a quiet town’s grisly criminal underbelly and clear the name of her mentor, who is implicated in the crimes.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisKiss Me Deadly (1955)
One evening, Hammer gives a ride to Christina, an attractive hitchhiker on a lonely country road, who has escaped from the nearby lunatic asylum. Thugs waylay them and force his car to crash. When Hammer returns to semi-consciousness, he hears Christina being tortured until she dies. Hammer, both for vengeance and in hopes that "something big" is behind it all, decides to pursue the case.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies 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
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Lost Son (1999)
Xavier Lombard is a world-weary private eye in London, in exile from his native Paris; his best friend is Nathalie, a high-class call girl. He gets a call from an old friend from the Paris police department, now a businessman whose brother-in-law is missing. The missing man's parents hire Xavier over their daughter's objections, and quickly he finds himself in the realm of children's sexual slavery.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMy Favorite Brunette (1947)
Ronnie Jackson is a lowly baby photographer who secretly fantasizes about being a private detective. When a lovely baroness actually mistakes him for one and asks him to help locate her missing husband, Baron Montay, Ronnie finds himself agreeing. Several days later he is on death row whiling away the hours until his execution by recounting to a group of reporters the bizarre tale of how he ended up there.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisChief of Station (2024)
After learning that the death of his wife was not an accident, a former CIA Station Chief is forced back into the espionage underworld, teaming up with an adversary to unravel a conspiracy that challenges everything he thought he knew.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Rookie (1990)
Veteran cop Nick Pulovski is used to playing musical partners; many of the partners he's had in the past have died on the job, and often as a result of Nick's risky tactics. But the rookie who's been assigned to help Nick bust a carjacking ring is almost as hotheaded as he is … and when Nick gets kidnapped, his newbie partner is his only hope.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
SnoozefestMovies like thisMr. Right (2016)
A girl falls for the "perfect" guy, who happens to have a very fatal flaw: he's a hitman on the run from the crime cartels who employ him.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Losers (2010)
On a mission deep in the Bolivian jungle, a team of elite commandos finds itself on the receiving end of a lethal betrayal. Now presumed dead, the men join forces with a mysterious operative named Aisha to hunt down their enemy and even the score.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Kid Detective (2020)
A once-celebrated kid detective, now 31, continues to solve the same trivial mysteries between hangovers and bouts of self-pity. Until a naive client brings him his first 'adult' case, to find out who brutally murdered her boyfriend.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Big Fix (1978)
Private detective Moses Wine is hired by his former college girlfriend to investigate a political smear campaign and he sets out to find out who is responsible, with deadly results.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
SnoozefestMovies like thisDick Tracy (1990)
The comic strip detective finds his life vastly complicated when Breathless Mahoney makes advances towards him while he is trying to battle Big Boy Caprice's united mob.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisZero Effect (1998)
Daryl Zero is a private investigator and—along with his assistant, Steve Arlo—he solves impossible crimes and puzzles. Although Daryl's a master investigator, he doesn't know what to do with himself when he's not working; he has no social skills, writes bad music and drives Steve crazy.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Two Jakes (1990)
Real estate developer Jake Berman hires private investigator and war veteran Jake Gittes for some run-of-the-mill matrimonial work. After Berman shoots his wife's lover, who happens to be his business partner, Gittes is drawn into a web of conspiracy and deceit involving the oil reserves beneath Los Angeles. While investigating, Gittes hears a voice from his past that causes him to revisit a traumatic case in Chinatown.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisWho's Harry Crumb? (1989)
Harry Crumb is a bumbling and inept private investigator who is hired to solve the kidnapping of a young heiress which he's not expected to solve because his employer is the mastermind behind the kidnapping.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisLike Minds (2006)
A forensic psychologist must determine if a minor should be charged with murder.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Killers (1964)
A hit man and his partner try to find out why their latest victim, a former race-car driver, did not try to get away.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Dark Corner (1946)
Ex-con turned private investigator Bradford Galt suspects someone is following him and maybe even trying to kill him. With the assistance of his spunky secretary, Kathleen Stewart, he dives deep into a mystery in search of answers.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBad Hair Day (2015)
Monica is desperate to be prom queen, but on the big night, her hair is an uncontrollable mess. Meanwhile, FBI agent Liz Morgan is on the hunt for a jewel thief who is looking for a stolen necklace, which Monica has in her possession. Soon, she and the agent chase the jewel thief, and she's whizzed on a wild adventure in the city.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Scenes from the Life of a Detective?
The closest matches to Scenes from the Life of a Detective are Veronica Mars (2014), Cult Killer (2024) and Kiss Me Deadly (1955). Below are 17 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Scenes from the Life of a Detective?
Start with Veronica Mars (2014), the closest match to Scenes from the Life of a Detective.
What is the highest-rated movie like Scenes from the Life of a Detective?
Kiss Me Deadly (1955), rated 7.2/10 by 434 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Scenes from the Life of a Detective?
Chief of Station (2024) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like Scenes from the Life of a Detective?
Yes: Veronica Mars (2014), Cult Killer (2024) and Kiss Me Deadly (1955).
How are movies similar to Scenes from the Life of a Detective chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Scenes from the Life of a Detective, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.