Movies like The Detective (2007)
The best movies like The Detective (2007) are The Locksmith (2023), Shimmer Lake (2017) and They Call Me Mister Tibbs! (1970). If The Detective hooked you with its drama and thriller, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedOnce Upon a Time in the West (1968)8.3/10 from 5,132 votes
- NewestAll the Devils Are Here (2025)Released 2025
The Locksmith (2023)
A thief fresh out of prison, tries to work his way back into the life of his daughter and ex-fiancé. Determined, he is forced to use the skills he has as a gifted locksmith. Things take a tumultuous turn after an unexpected disappearance.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller & mystery
SnoozefestMovies like thisShimmer Lake (2017)
Shot in reverse day-by-day through a week—a local sheriff embarks on a quest to unlock the mystery of three small-town criminals and a bank heist gone wrong.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThey Call Me Mister Tibbs! (1970)
A police detective's investigation of a prostitute's murder points to his best friend.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & thriller
SnoozefestMovies like thisI Am All Girls (2021)
A special crimes investigator forms an unlikely bond with a serial killer to bring down a global child sex trafficking syndicate.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & mystery
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisTime Without Pity (1957)
Alec Graham is sentenced to death for the murder of his girlfriend Jennie, with whom he spent a weekend at the English country home of the parents of his friend Brian Stanford. Alec’s father, David Graham, a not-so-successful writer and alcoholic who has neglected his son in the past, flies in from Canada to visit his son on death row. David then goes on a quest to try and clear his son’s name while battling “the bottle.”
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisLimbo (2023)
Travis, a jaded detective, arrives in the remote outback town of Limbo to investigate the cold case murder of local Indigenous girl Charlotte Hayes 20 years ago. As truths about the murder begin to unfold, the detective gains a new insight into the unsolved case.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisFarewell, My Lovely (1975)
Private eye Philip Marlowe is hired by ex-con Moose Malloy to find his girlfriend, a former lounge dancer. While also investigating the murder of a client and the theft of a jade necklace, Marlowe becomes entangled with seductress Helen Grayle and discovers a web of dark secrets that are better left hidden.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & mystery
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSuburbicon (2017)
In the quiet family town of Suburbicon during the 1950s, the best and worst of humanity is hilariously reflected through the deeds of seemingly ordinary people. When a home invasion turns deadly, a picture-perfect family turns to blackmail, revenge and murder.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller & crime
SnoozefestMovies like thisStolen (2009)
A detective becomes obsessed with solving a child's 50-year-old murder, uncovering striking similarities between the case and his son's disappearance.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisDead Man's Folly (1986)
During a murder hunt game at a country house, to which Hercule Poirot is invited as an "expert", a real murder occurs.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisA Witness Out of the Blue (2019)
In this classic whodunit, a police detective must rely on the only witness - a parrot, to catch the killer of an armed robber.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies 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 thisLimbo (2021)
Veteran detective Cham works with rookie cop Will to hunt down the city's serial killer. The investigation leads them to a lair littered with dismembered female limbs, and an ex-con who killed Cham's wife and child years ago...
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller & crime
Worth the HypeMovies like thisOne Night in Bangkok (2020)
A hit man named Kai flies into Bangkok, gets a gun, and orders a cab. He offers a professional female driver big money to be his all-night driver. But when she realizes Kai is committing brutal murders at each stop, it's too late to walk away. Meanwhile, an offbeat police detective races to decode the string of slayings before more blood is spilled.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisInside 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 & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAll 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 & mystery
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Parts You Lose (2019)
An unlikely friendship unfolds between a young deaf boy, Wesley, and a fugitive criminal who takes refuge in an abandoned barn on the family’s rural North Dakota farm.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Public Eye (1992)
A crime photographer gets involved in a conspiracy.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Devil You Know (2022)
Once-incarcerated Marcus Cowans is trying to turn over a new leaf with the support of his loving family. Upon discovering that one of his brothers may have been involved in a horrific crime, Marcus grapples with the limits of brotherhood and loyalty. He and his family, increasingly weary of the justice system’s failings, end up in the crosshairs of a seasoned but jaded detective.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSpecial ID (2013)
A career-long undercover Hong Kong cop is sent to Mainland China when his former protégé becomes the primary suspect in a murder.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBrother (2000)
A Japanese Yakuza gangster's deadly existence in his homeland gets him exiled to Los Angeles, where he is taken in by his little brother and his brother's gang.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both crime & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisEyes Wide Shut (1999)
After Dr. Bill Harford's wife, Alice, admits to having sexual fantasies about a man she met, Bill becomes obsessed with having a sexual encounter. He discovers an underground sexual group and attends one of their meetings -- and quickly discovers that he is in over his head.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & thriller
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Karamazovs (2024)
Fyodor Karamazov is ill and holed up in his oceanfront home with his loyal caretaker Liz, when his three estranged children return home to settle a financial dispute. Despite carving out new lives for themselves—Aly has found refuge in religion, Viv is a queer artist, and Dmitri is a charismatic schemer—each is in the midst of their crisis. Their attempts at reconciliation are complicated further when Fyodor is murdered and they must finally face the truth about their dark past. Part murder mystery, part spiritual quest, The Karamazovs follows Liz, who pieces together memories of that eventful week.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & thriller
Arne Dahl: Himmelsöga (2015)
Through a christmas decorated Stockholm staggers a half naked and beaten woman. The tracks lead police to a warehouse with illegal medical preparations that can be linked to international smuggling organization Maximus. According to Interpol is the organization's principal is likely in Sweden and the A-group assignment is to find him. The investigation is lined with a number bisara findings in a series of women found beaten and murdered. The victims have in common is that they are found with white pillowcases over their heads.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Winona (2020)
Seems like an ordinary trip to a remote beach. Four young women enjoy the warmth of the sun, the coolness of the sea and one another's company. None of them is "Winona"
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Head or Tails (2016)
Lilly convinces her best friend René to join her on a nocturnal trespassing adventure. The two young women break into a zoo and enter an idiosyncratic animal kingdom where the boundaries between fear and desire begin to blur.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Human Touch (2017)
Two withdrawn individuals constantly seeking human connection, role-play their first accidental encounters
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
The Three Brothers (1915)
Three brothers: Bob, Will and Charlie, all are in love with Mae. Bob, the eldest, is sullen and revengeful, and Mae is afraid of him. Will, the middle brother, is a happy-go-lucky boy with whom she falls in love, and Charlie, the youngest, sacrifices his own feelings for Will, who loves Charlie devotedly. Will and Mae are engaged. During his absence in the city, where he is trying to get a hold in business, so that he and Mae can marry, Bob makes violent love to his brother's fiancée. Charlie comes to her rescue. Learning of the episode, Will later has word sent home that he is dead, and Mae marries Charlie. Some time after this, Will cannot resist coming home to see his mother and Charlie, though he intends that Mae shall not know of his return. Before he can slip away, however, an incident occurs in which he is called upon to save Charlie's life. His presence and his heroism become known to Mae. The inference is that she had a good deal of a struggle to overcome vain regrets.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Once Upon a Time in the West (1968)
As the railroad builders advance unstoppably through the Arizona desert on their way to the sea, Jill arrives in the small town of Flagstone with the intention of starting a new life.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisMonsieur Ibrahim (2003)
Paris, 1960s. Momo, a resolute and independent Jewish teenager who lives with his father, a sullen and depressed man, in a working-class neighborhood, develops a close friendship with Monsieur Ibrahim, an elderly Muslim who owns a small grocery store.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like this
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like The Detective?
The closest matches to The Detective are The Locksmith (2023), Shimmer Lake (2017) and They Call Me Mister Tibbs! (1970). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after The Detective?
Start with The Locksmith (2023), the closest match to The Detective.
What is the highest-rated movie like The Detective?
Once Upon a Time in the West (1968), rated 8.3/10 by 5,132 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like The Detective?
All the Devils Are Here (2025) is the most recent release on this list.
How are movies similar to The Detective chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside The Detective, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.