Movies like James Bulger: The New Revelations (2018)
The best movies like James Bulger: The New Revelations (2018) are Mommy Dead and Dearest (2017), Girl in the Picture (2022) and Aileen: Queen of the Serial Killers (2025). If James Bulger: The New Revelations hooked you with its documentary and crime, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedParadise Lost: The Child Murders at Robin Hood Hills (1996)7.6/10 from 215 votes
- NewestMaternal Instinct (2026)Released 2026
Mommy Dead and Dearest (2017)
Child abuse, mental illness, and forbidden love converge in this mystery involving a mother and daughter who were thought to be living a fairy tale life that turned out to be a living nightmare.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisGirl in the Picture (2022)
A young mother’s mysterious death and her son’s subsequent kidnapping blow open a decades-long mystery about the woman’s true identity, and the murderous federal fugitive at the center of it all.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisAileen: Queen of the Serial Killers (2025)
Aileen Wuornos remains a rarity: a female serial killer. From childhood abuse to death-row revelations, this documentary revisits her life and crimes.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary & crime
Worth the HypeMovies like thisPredators (2025)
In the mid-aughts, Dateline NBC's To Catch a Predator drew millions of weekly viewers to watch sting operations: men planning to meet minors for sex would instead be confronted by polished host Chris Hansen, then by the police — all on hidden camera.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDeliver Us from Evil (2006)
Documentary filmmaker Amy Berg investigates the life of 30-year pedophile Father Oliver O'Grady and exposes the corruption inside the Catholic Church that allowed him to abuse countless children. Victims' stories and a disturbing interview with O'Grady offer a view into the troubled mind of the spiritual leader who moved from parish to parish gaining trust ... all the while betraying so many.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisMy Father, the BTK Killer (2025)
Raised by a man leading a monstrous double life, the daughter of the BTK serial killer shares her chilling story.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisTed Bundy: Mind of a Monster (2019)
New exclusive access and never before heard testimony gives a unique insight into the mind of America's most notorious serial killer, Ted Bundy. Breathtaking archive from the time and the voice of Bundy himself, reveals the monster inside the man.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisAileen: Life and Death of a Serial Killer (2003)
British documentarian Nick Broomfield creates a follow-up piece to his 1992 documentary of the serial killer Aileen Wuornos, a highway prostitute who was convicted of killing six men in Florida between 1989 and 1990. Interviewing an increasingly mentally unstable Wuornos, Broomfield captures the distorted mind of a murderer whom the state of Florida deems of sound mind -- and therefore fit to execute. Throughout the film, Broomfield includes footage of his testimony at Wuornos' trial.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAbducted in Plain Sight (2017)
A family falls prey to the manipulative charms of a neighbor, who abducts their adolescent daughter. Twice.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisA Deadly American Marriage (2025)
A chilling 911 call. A gruesome scene. What really happened inside a family's quiet suburban home? Murder or self-defense? Told from both sides, this documentary explores Jason Corbett's brutal death.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAmerican Murder: The Family Next Door (2020)
Using raw, firsthand footage, this documentary examines the disappearance of Shanann Watts and her children, and the terrible events that followed.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisLong Shot (2017)
When Juan Catalan is arrested for a murder he insists he didn't commit, he builds his case for innocence around unexpected raw footage.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisDirty John: The Dirty Truth (2019)
John Meehan created a terrifying trap of seduction, deceit and betrayal for countless victims. The illuminating revelations into his backstory showcase a series of events that flipped switches to create a monster wired for psychopathy. Goffard exposes John’s troubled background that built the foundation for his ominous fantasy world of lies and manipulation. In addition to hearing the Newell family’s terrifying tale, John’s first wife Tonia Bales and her daughters Emily and Abigail Meehan speak out, along with other women from his past who were caught in his web of lies.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary & crime
SnoozefestMovies like this4 Little Girls (1997)
On September 15, 1963, a bomb destroyed a black church in Birmingham, Alabama, killing four young girls who were there for Sunday school. It was a crime that shocked the nation--and a defining moment in the history of the civil-rights movement. Spike Lee re-examines the full story of the bombing, including a revealing interview with former Alabama Governor George Wallace.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisWhitey: United States of America v. James J. Bulger (2014)
A documentary that captures the sensational trial of infamous gangster James 'Whitey' Bulger, using the legal proceedings as a springboard to explore allegations of corruption within the highest levels of law enforcement. Academy Award-nominated filmmaker Joe Berlinger examines Bulger's relationship with the FBI and Department of Justice that allowed him to reign over a criminal empire in Boston for decades.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisParadise Lost: The Child Murders at Robin Hood Hills (1996)
A horrific triple child murder leads to an indictment and trial of three nonconformist boys based on questionable evidence.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary & crime
Worth the HypeMovies like thisMaternal Instinct (2026)
Police pull over a woman who claims she just gave birth. But the baby — and the blood — aren't hers. Twisted lies unravel in this true-crime documentary.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary & crime
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Crash (2026)
A teen slams her car into a building, killing her boyfriend and his friend. What seems like a tragic accident becomes a murder case.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Imposter (2012)
In 1994, a 13-year-old boy disappeared without a trace from his home in San Antonio, Texas. Three-and-a-half years later, he is found alive in a village in southern Spain with a horrifying story of kidnap and torture. His family is overjoyed to bring him home. But all is not quite as it seems.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary & crime
Worth the HypeMovies like thisOklahoma City Bombing: American Terror (2025)
This gripping documentary revisits the shocking 1995 bombing of an Oklahoma City federal building, the deadliest act of domestic terrorism in US history.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisFreight Train: Slayer of Innocence (2017)
This documentary details the investigations into the disappearances and murders of several young boys throughout the Midwest in the 1970s. Detectives conducted a nine-day, twenty-four-hour surveillance of a suspect for several hundred miles with a team of police officers from several agencies. With William 'Freight Train' Guatney in custody the kidnappings and murders of young boys stopped.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary & crime
Gone (2019)
When the detectives won’t believe she was abducted, a woman must do her own investigation to identify the person who kidnapped her.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both crime
Accused: The Hampstead Paedophile Hoax (2024)
Two children accused parents and teachers of leading a paedophilic satanic cult, supposedly headquartered in secret rooms on the school premises. The story was not true. But once the fire was lit, it was hard to put out. Emily Turner’s film considers the real-world impact of an outrageous online conspiracy theory, exploring the importance of truth and the cost of lies.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary & crime
Love You to Death: Mommy's Missing (2024)
The case of a missing mother reveals twisted family secrets that leave a trail of flames, arrests and deaths in their wake.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both crime & documentary
300 ans des 4 saisons de Vivaldi (2025)
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
Buckingham : les princesses malheureuses (2023)
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
Murder and Justice: The Case of Martha Moxley (2019)
On October 30, 1975, 15-year old Martha Moxley was found brutally murdered beneath a tree on her own front lawn in the exclusive community of Greenwich, Connecticut. Following her death, the investigation was stalled for 23 years before an individual was arrested and pulled into the limelight: Michael Skakel, who was Martha's neighbor at the time of her death and a cousin to the famous Kennedy fam.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
Red Desert Nights: Making Ghosts of Mars (2001)
Documentary about the making of John Carpenter's sci-fi horror movie, "Ghosts of Mars." Produced for the "Ghosts of Mars" DVD.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
L'énigme Céline Dion (2022)
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
Twiggy (2025)
Twiggy takes a comprehensive look at the life story of UK model and cultural icon Twiggy, real name Lesley Lawson, whose career kickstarted in the 1960s. It features interviews with Twiggy and her husband Leigh Lawson, as well as commentary from Erin O’Connor, Paul McCartney, Lulu, Poppy Delavigne, Brooke Shields, Pattie Boyd and Zandra Rhodes.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like James Bulger: The New Revelations?
The closest matches to James Bulger: The New Revelations are Mommy Dead and Dearest (2017), Girl in the Picture (2022) and Aileen: Queen of the Serial Killers (2025). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after James Bulger: The New Revelations?
Start with Mommy Dead and Dearest (2017), the closest match to James Bulger: The New Revelations.
What is the highest-rated movie like James Bulger: The New Revelations?
Paradise Lost: The Child Murders at Robin Hood Hills (1996), rated 7.6/10 by 215 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like James Bulger: The New Revelations?
Maternal Instinct (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like James Bulger: The New Revelations?
Yes: Mommy Dead and Dearest (2017), Girl in the Picture (2022) and Aileen: Queen of the Serial Killers (2025).
How are movies similar to James Bulger: The New Revelations chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside James Bulger: The New Revelations, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.