Movies like The Birthday Party (1987)
The best movies like The Birthday Party (1987) are A Beautiful Place to Die: A Martha's Vineyard Mystery (2020), Garage Sale Mystery: A Case Of Murder (2017) and The Assault (2014). If The Birthday Party hooked you with its tv movie and drama, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedDoctor Who: Planet of the Dead (2009)7.5/10 from 229 votes
- NewestMangkat (2025)Released 2025
A Beautiful Place to Die: A Martha's Vineyard Mystery (2020)
After being forced into early retirement, former detective Jeff Jackson returns to a quiet life on Martha's Vineyard. Quiet, at least, until a body washes up and he's drawn back into crime solving.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both mystery & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisGarage Sale Mystery: A Case Of Murder (2017)
Jenn buys an old reel-to-reel recorder at a garage sale only to find that it includes the sound of a man pleading for his life. When the former owner of the recorder, a retired therapist, is found murdered in a patient’s apartment, Jenn’s investigation leads to other patients whose love lives are more entangled than she was first led to believe.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both mystery & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Assault (2014)
After a cheerleader is sexually assaulted by the high school football team, she must overcome her shame and use the evidence gathered from the subsequent social media firestorm to piece together the night that she can't remember in her fight for justice. Based on the true story of the Steubenville, Ohio rape case.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both mystery & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisGarage Sale Mystery: Guilty Until Proven Innocent (2016)
When Jenn's old pal Sandra becomes the prime suspect in a murder case, it'll be up to her to discover who done it before time runs out.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & mystery
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAurora Teagarden Mysteries: Haunted By Murder (2022)
A murder investigation is reignited in a house that is considered haunted by the Lawrenceton locals and where years ago Aurora and Sally, as teenagers, discovered a body.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both mystery & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisMurder, She Baked: A Chocolate Chip Cookie Mystery (2015)
Based on the New York Times bestselling book, Chocolate Chip Cookie Murder by Joanne Fluke, the film will take viewers on a mouthwatering mystery that centers on Hannah Swensen, shop owner of the Cookie Jar where much of the town's gossip percolates along with the strong coffee. But when a mysterious murder occurs, Hannah turns into a culinary detective and finds herself trying to solve the crime while getting caught in an unexpected romantic mystery of her own.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both mystery & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisWedding Planner Mystery (2014)
Wedding Planner Mystery follows the exploits of a quirky but lovable event planner who makes murder as fun as can be. Homicide doesn't follow our heroine; she seeks it out. Using her circle of contacts, her friendship with a reporter and the same research skills that enable her to plan distinctive events - if an unsolved murder occurs in Seattle, Carnegie will find out about it.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both mystery & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMiss Marple: The Murder at the Vicarage (1986)
Faced with two false confessions and numerous suspects after a despised civil magistrate is found shot in the local vicarage, Detective Inspector Slack reluctantly accepts help from Miss Marple.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both mystery & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCrossword Mysteries: Riddle Me Dead (2021)
Tess gets invited to be a part of a popular game show, but when the host is unexpectedly murdered, she and Detective Logan O'Connor seek to uncover who was behind it all.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both mystery & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisA Sister's Secret (2018)
Twin sisters secretly swap places on their thirtieth birthday. The harmless prank becomes a nightmare when one of them is murdered.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisChloe (2010)
Catherine and David Stewart are a well-to-do couple living in a posh area of Toronto, but all is not well in paradise. Catherine suspects that David is cheating on her, so she hires an escort named Chloe to meet David and see if he gives in to temptation — but events spin out of control when Chloe spills the details of her torrid encounters.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & mystery
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHello (2022)
An emotionally unavailable flight attendant meets a potential love interest and later finds out that her "perfect guy" has ulterior motives. As the clock ticks down on New Year's Eve, she must fight to keep her murdered ex-boyfriend's secrets or find herself dead.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCrossword Mysteries: Abracadaver (2020)
During her birthday celebration, Tess and Logan find themselves swept up in a world that isn't always what it seems when the headlining magician at the Magic Manor winds up dead.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both mystery
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisGarage Sale Mystery: The Novel Murders (2016)
When Jennifer makes a home delivery for a customer, she finds the recipient has been murdered. She soon realizes that the victim's cold-blooded demise is a re-enactment of a murder in a classic mystery novel.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both mystery
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisLocke & Key (2011)
Three children become the caretakers of a New England mansion that is home to a bevy of secrets and magic.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSeeds of Yesterday (2015)
The Sheffield family reveal and go through some home truths as their middle child inherits the Foxworth mansion. The family's ghosts looming over, and more tragedies are in store as the curse lives on.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDoctor Who: Planet of the Dead (2009)
A meeting in a London bus with jewel thief Lady Christina takes a turn for the worse for the Doctor when the bus takes a detour to a desert-like planet, where the deadly Swarm awaits.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both mystery
Worth the HypeMovies like thisHailey Dean Mysteries: Dating Is Murder (2017)
Attorney turned therapist Hailey Dean is pulled into another investigation when a popular new dating app links multiple missing persons cases from around the city. Reuniting with her old team, Hailey discovers the potential dangers of online interaction, and must track down a killer before anyone else gets hurt.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both mystery
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Caveman's Valentine (2001)
Romulus, a misunderstood musician turned recluse hiding from personal demons in a New York City cave, finds the frozen body of a young drifter in a tree. The authorities, including his police officer daughter, claim the death is accidental. Romulus is convinced the man was murdered by a prominent art photographer but how can he prove he's right when everyone thinks he's insane?
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & mystery
SnoozefestMovies like thisHailey Dean Mysteries: Murder, With Love (2016)
Former prosecutor-turned-therapist Hailey Dean is a powerhouse, Mensa bright, and acutely observant. During a tragic week, one of her patients loses her parents to separate fatal accidents along with millions of dollars that has seemingly vanished into thin air. When the police begin to question Hailey's patient, shes knows she is innocent. But who is the culprit?
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both mystery
Worth the HypeMovies like thisSaligia (2026)
After the apocalypse on Earth, seven people find themselves in an unknown space without any memories of who they are, or how they got there. One of them is convinced that they are all in her dream, from which she is trying to wake up by all means.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Coming SoonMovies like thisThe Road to Wellville (1994)
An unhappy young couple visit the infamous Kellogg spa in Battle Creek, Michigan while a young hustler tries get into the breakfast-cereal business and compete against John Kellogg's corn flakes.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisStrangers (2021)
In an anonymous city, a person collapses, appearing to have lost consciousness. Some strangers pass by, others embrace her. In a solitary quest for intimacy, blinded by a world of indifference, her gaze, her body are staggering.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Detour (1945)
The life of Al Roberts, a pianist in a New York nightclub, turns into a nightmare when he decides to hitchhike to Los Angeles to visit his girlfriend.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
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: Similar story and style · both mystery
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMangkat (2025)
Rian, a university student from Lampung, sets out on a journey to his campus in Bandung. He travels in a shared car with three other passengers. Conflict arises when the car breaks down and the driver is unable to fix it, causing some of the passengers to grow frustrated and angry. Amid the tension and uncertainty, they begin to open up to each other—sharing their backgrounds and the personal struggles they face. Through this unexpected moment of connection, they come to a new realization: “mangkat” (to depart) is not just about a physical journey, but about the courage to face life itself. Eventually, they manage to repair the car and continue their journey.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
The Carrot Cake Conversations (2008)
The story of 4 strangers who find themselves stranded in Singapore, two days before Christmas, and how each of them finds companionship with one another, over a plate of carrot cake and a conversation.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
The 12 Inch Pianist (2025)
A bar joke goes awry, unraveling into a surreal tale that explores the acceptance of self, others, and queer identity.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Spare Change (2024)
Three disillusioned outcasts meet in a laundromat. A punk who's lost his pills, a freshly-kicked-out-of-home youth, and a girl obsessed with vampires. What could go wrong?
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Passage (2024)
The woman was fixing her car and trying to start it when she heard a loud thud behind her. She turns around and sees a man show up behind her car, his shirt stained with blood and a gun in his hand.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both mystery
Like The Birthday Party and something else?
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like The Birthday Party?
The closest matches to The Birthday Party are A Beautiful Place to Die: A Martha's Vineyard Mystery (2020), Garage Sale Mystery: A Case Of Murder (2017) and The Assault (2014). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after The Birthday Party?
Start with A Beautiful Place to Die: A Martha's Vineyard Mystery (2020), the closest match to The Birthday Party.
What is the highest-rated movie like The Birthday Party?
Doctor Who: Planet of the Dead (2009), rated 7.5/10 by 229 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like The Birthday Party?
Mangkat (2025) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like The Birthday Party?
Yes: A Beautiful Place to Die: A Martha's Vineyard Mystery (2020), Garage Sale Mystery: A Case Of Murder (2017) and The Assault (2014).
How are movies similar to The Birthday Party chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside The Birthday Party, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.