Movies like Vortex (1982)
The best movies like Vortex (1982) are Pickup on South Street (1953), Black Widow (1987) and The Truth About Emanuel (2013). If Vortex hooked you with its thriller, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedVertigo (1958)8.1/10 from 6,610 votes
- NewestHostile Takeover (2025)Released 2025
Pickup on South Street (1953)
In New York City, an insolent pickpocket, Skip McCoy, inadvertently sets off a chain of events when he targets ex-prostitute Candy and steals her wallet. Unaware that she has been making deliveries of highly classified information to the communists, Candy, who has been trailed by FBI agents for months in hopes of nabbing the spy ringleader, is sent by her ex-boyfriend, Joey, to find Skip and retrieve the valuable microfilm he now holds.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Worth the HypeMovies like thisBlack Widow (1987)
Federal agent Alexandra Barnes believes that Catherine Petersen is a serial killer who marries rich men and then murders them for their money. But since Catherine is seemingly a master of disguise and has multiple identities, Alexandra can't prove anything with conventional detective work. With no other option, she goes undercover, pursuing the same man as Catherine, and hoping that Catherine will slip up and reveal her true identity.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Truth About Emanuel (2013)
A troubled young woman becomes obsessed with her mysterious new neighbor, who bears a striking resemblance to the girl's dead mother.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Street with No Name (1948)
After two gang-related killings in "Center City," a suspect (who was framed) is arrested, released on bail...and murdered. Inspector Briggs of the FBI recruits a young agent, Gene Cordell, to go undercover in the shadowy Skid Row area (alias George Manly) as a potential victim of the same racket. Soon, Gene meets Alec Stiles, neurotic mastermind who's "building an organization along scientific lines." Stiles recruits Cordell, whose job becomes a lot more dangerous.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisNightfall (1956)
An innocent man turns fugitive as he reconstructs events that implicate him for a murder and robbery he did not commit.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Blue Lamp (1950)
P.C. George Dixon is a long-serving traditional copper who is due to retire shortly. He takes a new recruit under his aegis and introduces him to the easy-going night beat. Dixon is a classic ordinary hero but also anachronistic, unprepared and unable to answer the violence of the 1950s.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisReality (2023)
Augusta, Georgia, United States, June 3, 2017. After running some errands, Reality Winner returns home, where she is approached by two men.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSafety Last! (1923)
When a store clerk organizes a contest to climb the outside of a tall building, circumstances force him to make the perilous climb himself.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Worth the HypeMovies like thisManiac (1963)
When a stranger enters a quiet, country town and is seduced by a sensuous married woman he unwittingly finds himself at the centre of a storm of sexual guilt and murder.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisD.O.A. (1949)
Frank Bigelow is about to die, and he knows it. The accountant has been poisoned and has only 24 hours before the lethal concoction kills him. Determined to find out who his murderer is, Frank, with the help of his assistant and girlfriend, Paula, begins to trace back over his last steps. As he frantically tries to unravel the mystery behind his own impending demise, his sleuthing leads him to a group of crooked businessmen and another murder.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
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 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 thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like this5 Against the House (1955)
Former war-time Army buddies now students in college decide to rip off a Reno casino.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
SnoozefestMovies like thisHostile Takeover (2025)
Follows Pete, a professional hitman, as he faces a group of assassins after the boss of a crime syndicate suspects disloyalty due to his attendance at Workaholics Anonymous meetings.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisNo Name on the Bullet (1959)
When hired killer John Gant rides into Lordsburg, the town's folk become paranoid as each leading citizen has enemies capable of using the services of a professional killer for personal revenge.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies 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 thisCornered (1945)
A World War II veteran hunts down the Nazi collaborators who killed his wife.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Glass Key (1942)
A crooked politician finds himself being accused of murder by a gangster from whom he refused help during a re-election campaign.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBlack Angel (1946)
A falsely convicted man's wife, Catherine, and an alcoholic composer and pianist, Martin, team up in an attempt to clear her husband of the murder of a blonde singer, who is Martin's wife.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisVertigo (1958)
A retired San Francisco detective suffering from acrophobia investigates the strange activities of an old friend's wife, all the while becoming dangerously obsessed with her.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisThe Company of Thieves (2011)
A lone thief, Dex, seeks vengeance after he is left for dead in the woods by his partner; so he makes a deal with the Devil and goes on a mission to kill his partner and get his loot back.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller
Woman of the Hour (2024)
An aspiring actress crosses paths with a prolific serial killer in '70s LA when they're cast on an episode of "The Dating Game."
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisApt 6B (TBA)
Lady Blue, a decorated police officer hiding a devastating secret, awakens to find herself trapped inside her deserted apartment tower. The only other soul she encounters is Billy, a guarded teenager who appears just as lost—and just as frightened—as she is. As they search for a way out, a shadowy, violent presence begins to stalk them.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller
Point Break (1991)
In Los Angeles, a gang of bank robbers who call themselves The Ex-Presidents commit their crimes while wearing masks of Reagan, Carter, Nixon and Johnson. Believing that the members of the gang could be surfers, the F.B.I. sends young agent Johnny Utah to the beach undercover to mix with the surfers and gather information.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller
Worth the HypeMovies like thisJosh: Independence Through Unity (2013)
Fatima, a teacher living her elite life in Karachi, shattered, when her nanny Nusrat, inexplicably disappears. Fatima travels to investigate her disappearance and finds a dangerous truth about Nusrat and her village.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller
Darkness (2019)
Three sisters, Stella, Luce and Aria, live in an isolated house, immersed in the shadows, submitted by a violent and authoritarian father, a religious fanatic obsessed with the end of the world, who keeps them prisoners behind locks and closed windows, under the pretext that the Apocalypse has finally arrived.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller
Population 436 (2006)
A census-taker is sent to investigate why a certain small town has had the same population -- 436 residents -- for the last 100 years.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller
SnoozefestMovies like thisPetals on the Wind (2014)
This sequel to Flowers in the Attic picks up 10 years after Cathy, Chris and Carrie managed to escape Foxworth Hall.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDesert Road (2024)
A young woman crashes her car and walks down the road seeking help, only to find no matter which way she walks she ends up back at her car. As night falls, she realizes she’s going to die in this endless loop... unless she can find a way to escape.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller
Cure: The Life of Another (2014)
Teens Linda and Eta are inseparable friends, though they have plenty of disagreements, but one horrific argument has unexpected consequences.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Vortex?
The closest matches to Vortex are Pickup on South Street (1953), Black Widow (1987) and The Truth About Emanuel (2013). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Vortex?
Start with Pickup on South Street (1953), the closest match to Vortex.
What is the highest-rated movie like Vortex?
Vertigo (1958), rated 8.1/10 by 6,610 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Vortex?
Hostile Takeover (2025) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like Vortex?
Yes: Pickup on South Street (1953), Black Widow (1987) and The Truth About Emanuel (2013).
How are movies similar to Vortex chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Vortex, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.