Movies like Specialist 4 (2015)
The best movies like Specialist 4 (2015) are A Violent Separation (2019), Cult Killer (2024) and Cleaner (2007). If Specialist 4 hooked you with its crime and thriller, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedZ (1969)7.8/10 from 667 votes
- NewestCult Killer (2024)Released 2024
- In JapaneseCharacter (2021)Also in Japanese
A Violent Separation (2019)
1983. In a quiet Midwestern town, a young deputy covers up a murder at the hands of his brother triggering a series of events that sends them and the victim's family towards a shattering climax.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & thriller
Worth the HypeMovies 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 · both thriller & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCleaner (2007)
Single father and former cop Tom Cutler has an unusual occupation: he cleans up death scenes. But when he's called in to sterilize a wealthy suburban residence after a brutal shooting, Cutler is shocked to learn he may have unknowingly erased crucial evidence, entangling himself in a dirty criminal cover-up.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCharacter (2021)
A kind man aspires to become a manga writer, but villains and evil deeds do not come easily to him, for he has little experience or natural inclination for them. Things take a surprise turn when he comes across a family who were described as idealized that are no more. He uses the real-life situation for his work.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller & crime
Worth the HypeMovies like thisTed Bundy: American Boogeyman (2021)
Set in a gritty and decadent 1970s America, American Boogeyman follows the elusive and charming killer and the manhunt that brought him to justice involving the detective and the FBI rookie who coined the phrase ‘serial killer’.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies 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 thisGod Told Me To (1976)
A New York detective investigates a series of murders committed by random citizens who claim that 'God told them to'.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller & crime
SnoozefestMovies like thisThick as Thieves (2009)
A master thief recruits a notorious thief to help him steal two famous Faberge eggs from an impenetrable vault in an effort to pull off one final job and repay his debt to the Russian mob.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Corrupted (2019)
Set ahead of the 2012 London Olympics, the film follows Liam, an ex-con trying to win back the love and trust of his family. He has lost everything at the hands of a local crime syndicate run by Clifford Cullen, who has high-level connections in politics, finance and the police force. Liam's drive for redemption sees him caught up in a web of conspiracy, crime, and corruption.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisExit Wounds (2001)
Maverick cop Orin Boyd always brings down the domestic terrorists he tracks, but he ruffles feathers with his unorthodox techniques -- and soon finds himself reassigned to the toughest district in Detroit. When he discovers a group of detectives secretly operating a drug ring, Boyd joins forces with an unlikely ally -- gangster Latrell Walker -- to bring down the rotten cops.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & thriller
SnoozefestMovies like thisTwilight (1998)
A retired detective accepts a simple task, unaware that it will tear open old, forgotten, but deadly wounds.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisStriking Distance (1993)
Demoted Pittsburgh cop Tom Hardy works river patrol while a serial killer targets women from his past, forcing him to conduct an unauthorized investigation to prove his innocence and expose a dirty cop.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & thriller
SnoozefestMovies like thisTrouble Man (1972)
It seems that masked men are knocking over the floating crap games of Chalky and Pete. Chalky and Pete hire the cool, loose, elegant Mr. T to fix things. Then, the masked manipulators set up the death of a collector for a rival gang lord. It looks like it's up to T to hold a gang war from breaking out, keep the police off his back, and earn his fee from Chalky and Pete.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAbove the Rim (1994)
Story of a promising high school basketball star and his relationships with two brothers, one a drug dealer and the other a former basketball star fallen on hard times and now employed as a security guard.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & thriller
Worth the HypeMovies like thisKillers (2014)
A psychotic executive triggers a journalist's dark side, and they begin to form a strange bond through the internet.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMarlowe (1969)
Mysterious Orfamay Quest hires Los Angeles private investigator Philip Marlowe to find her missing brother. Though the job seems simple enough, it leads Marlowe into the underbelly of the city, turning up leads who are murdered with ice picks, exotic dancers, blackmailed television stars, and self-preserving gangsters. Soon, Marlowe's life is on the line right along with his case.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Protector (1985)
Billy Wong is a New York City cop whose partner is gunned down during a robbery. Billy and his new partner, Danny Garoni, are working security at a fashion show when a wealthy man's daughter, Laura Shapiro, is kidnapped. The Federal authorities suspect that Laura's father is involved with Mr. Ko, a Hong Kong drug kingpin, so the NYC police commissioner sends the two cops to Hong Kong to investigate.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime
SnoozefestMovies 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 crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisWelcome to the Punch (2013)
When notorious criminal Jacob Sternwood is forced to return to London, it gives detective Max Lewinsky one last chance to take down the man he's always been after.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime
SnoozefestMovies like thisBody Cam (2020)
As a police officer investigates the gruesome murder of her colleague, she discovers that a mysterious supernatural force is behind it.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisStreet Kings (2008)
Tom Ludlow is a disillusioned L.A. Police Officer, rarely playing by the rules and haunted by the death of his wife. When evidence implicates him in the execution of a fellow officer, he is forced to go up against the cop culture he's been a part of his entire career, ultimately leading him to question the loyalties of everyone around him.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both crime & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisTouch of Evil (1958)
A border-town bombing draws Mexican investigator Miguel Vargas into a corruption-ridden police investigation led by crooked captain Hank Quinlan, setting off a deadly struggle over power, justice, and truth.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both crime & thriller
Worth the HypeMovies like thisOperation Carwash: A Worldwide Corruption Scandal Made in Brazil (2017)
2013. During Operation Bidone, the Federal Police seized a truck loaded with palm heart, which contained 697 kg of cocaine. The investigation falls on the team assembled by Ivan Romano, based in Curitiba and composed by Beatriz, Júlio and Ítalo. The traffic connections lead them to the dower Alberto Youssef and later to the former Petrobras director Paulo Roberto Costa, who reveals an immense structure involving builders and the government, in order to divert public money. As the investigation progresses, the group led by Ivan is increasingly approaching some of the country's most influential politicians.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller & crime
Worth the HypeMovies like thisZ (1969)
A prominent politician is murdered during a demonstration. The government and army are trying to suppress the truth, but a tenacious magistrate is determined not to let them get away with it.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller & crime
Worth the HypeMovies like thisBackdraft (1991)
Two feuding siblings carrying on a heroic family tradition as Chicago firefighters. But when a puzzling series of arson attacks is reported, they are forced to set aside their differences to solve the mystery surrounding these crimes.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDanger: Diabolik (1968)
International man of mystery Diabolik and his sensuous lover Eva Kant pull off heist after heist, all while European cops led by Inspector Ginko and envious mobsters led by Ralph Valmont are closing in on them.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both crime & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHeaven (2002)
A woman takes the law into her own hands after police ignore her pleas to arrest the man responsible for her husband's death, and finds herself not only under arrest for murder but falling in love with an officer.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisVeronica Guerin (2003)
In this true story, Veronica Guerin is an investigative reporter for an Irish newspaper. As the drug trade begins to bleed into the mainstream, Guerin decides to take on and expose those responsible. Beginning at the bottom with addicts, Guerin then gets in touch with John Traynor, a paranoid informant. Not without some prodding, Traynor leads her to John Gilligan, the ruthless head of the operation, who does not take kindly to Guerin's nosing.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both crime & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisFrench Connection II (1975)
"Popeye" Doyle travels to Marseilles to find Alain Charnier, the drug smuggler that eluded him in New York.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both crime & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHollywoodland (2006)
When Hollywood superstar George Reeves dies in his home, private detective Louis Simo is hired to investigate his death and gets caught in a web of lies involving a big studio executive's wife. Based on a true story.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like this
Like Specialist 4 and something else?
Blend two favourites and we’ll find the films in between.
Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Specialist 4?
The closest matches to Specialist 4 are A Violent Separation (2019), Cult Killer (2024) and Cleaner (2007). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Specialist 4?
Start with A Violent Separation (2019), the closest match to Specialist 4.
What is the highest-rated movie like Specialist 4?
Z (1969), rated 7.8/10 by 667 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Specialist 4?
Cult Killer (2024) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there Japanese movies like Specialist 4?
Yes: Character (2021) and Killers (2014).
How are movies similar to Specialist 4 chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Specialist 4, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.