Movies like The Life of Riley (2011)
The best movies like The Life of Riley (2011) are The Infernal Machine (2022), Farewell, My Lovely (1975) and For the Sake of Vicious (2021). If The Life of Riley hooked you with its mystery, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedFear City: A Family-Style Comedy (1994)7.5/10 from 1,389 votes
- NewestBone Lake (2025)Released 2025
The Infernal Machine (2022)
Reclusive and controversial author Bruce Cogburn is drawn out of hiding by an obsessive fan, forcing the novelist to confront a past that he thought he could escape, and to account for events set in motion by his bestseller decades earlier. Cogburn's search for who is behind the manipulation and mental torment he encounters leads to an emotional roller-coaster ride full of fear and danger, where things are not always as clear as they seem to be, and where past deeds can have dire consequences.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both mystery
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 mystery
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisFor the Sake of Vicious (2021)
An overworked nurse returns home to find a maniac hiding out with a bruised and beaten hostage. When an unexpected wave of violent intruders descend upon her home, it becomes a fight for survival.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both mystery
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisTightrope (1984)
Wes Block is a detective who's put on the case of a serial killer whose victims are young and pretty women. The murders are getting personal when the killer chooses victims who are acquaintances of Block. Even his daughters are threatened.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both mystery
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBody Double (1984)
After losing an acting role and his girlfriend, Jake Scully finally catches a break: he gets offered a gig house-sitting in the Hollywood Hills. While peering through the beautiful home's telescope one night, he spies a gorgeous woman dancing in her window. But when he witnesses the girl's murder, it leads Scully through the netherworld of the adult entertainment industry on a search for answers—with porn actress Holly Body as his guide.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both mystery
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisOriginal Sin (2001)
A young man is plunged into a life of subterfuge, deceit and mistaken identity in pursuit of a femme fatale whose heart is never quite within his grasp.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both mystery
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSpiral: From the Book of Saw (2021)
Working in the shadow of an esteemed police veteran, brash Detective Ezekiel “Zeke” Banks and his rookie partner take charge of a grisly investigation into murders that are eerily reminiscent of the city’s gruesome past. Unwittingly entrapped in a deepening mystery, Zeke finds himself at the center of the killer’s morbid game.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both mystery
SnoozefestMovies like thisOldboy (2013)
A man has only three and a half days and limited resources to discover why he was imprisoned in a nondescript room for 20 years without any explanation.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both mystery
SnoozefestMovies like thisThe Substitute 2: School's Out (1998)
When teacher Randall Thomasson is killed during a carjacking, an unexpected visitor shows up at his funeral - his estranged brother, Karl Thomasson. An ex-Green Beret turned mercenary, Karl signs on as a new substitute teacher in order to investigate Randall's murder.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both mystery
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Echo (2008)
An ex-prisoner moves to an old apartment, where one gets to see in the middle of a domestic problem between a police officer, his wife and his daughter. When he tries to intervene, he will be caught in a mysterious curse.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both mystery
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSilver City (2004)
The discovery of a corpse and the ensuing probe by an idealistic journalist threatens to unravel a bumbling local politician's campaign for governor of Colorado.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both mystery
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisKiss Me Deadly (1955)
One evening, Hammer gives a ride to Christina, an attractive hitchhiker on a lonely country road, who has escaped from the nearby lunatic asylum. Thugs waylay them and force his car to crash. When Hammer returns to semi-consciousness, he hears Christina being tortured until she dies. Hammer, both for vengeance and in hopes that "something big" is behind it all, decides to pursue the case.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both mystery
Worth the HypeMovies like thisLuckiest Girl Alive (2022)
A successful woman in New York City finds her life upended when she is forced to confront a dark truth that threatens to unravel her meticulously crafted life.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both mystery
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Killing of Kenneth Chamberlain (2021)
Based on the true story of the events that led to the death of Kenneth Chamberlain Sr., an elderly African American veteran with bipolar disorder, who was killed during a conflict with police officers who were dispatched to check on him.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both mystery
Worth the HypeMovies like thisNarrow Margin (1990)
An L.A. District Attorney attempts to take an unwilling murder witness back to the United States to testify against a top-level mob boss. Frantically attempting to escape two deadly hitmen sent to silence her, they board a Vancouver-bound train only to discover that the killers are onboard with them. For the next 20 hours, as the train hurls through the beautiful but isolated Canadian wilderness, a deadly game of cat and mouse ensues in which their ability to tell friend from foe is a matter of life and death.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both mystery
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisToo Late (2016)
Private investigator Mel Sampson is tasked with tracking down the whereabouts of a missing woman from his own past.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both mystery
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBasic Instinct (1992)
Catherine, a novelist with an insatiable sexual appetite, becomes a prime suspect when her boyfriend is brutally murdered -- a crime she had described in her latest story.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both mystery
Worth the HypeMovies like thisRed Sparrow (2018)
Prima ballerina Dominika Egorova faces a bleak and uncertain future after she suffers an injury that ends her career. She soon turns to Sparrow School, a secret intelligence service that trains exceptional young people to use their minds and bodies as weapons. Dominika emerges as the most dangerous Sparrow after completing the sadistic training process. As she comes to terms with her new abilities, she meets a CIA agent who tries to convince her that he is the only person she can trust.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both mystery
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisNo Exit (2022)
Stranded at a rest stop in the mountains during a blizzard, a recovering addict discovers a kidnapped child hidden in a car belonging to one of the people inside the building which sets her on a terrifying struggle to identify who among them is the kidnapper.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both mystery
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBone Lake (2025)
A couple’s romantic vacation at a secluded lakeside estate is upended when they are forced to share the mansion with a mysterious and attractive couple. In this darkly hilarious and seductive horror story, a dream getaway spirals into a nightmarish maze of sex, lies, and manipulation, bringing terrifying secrets to light and triggering a bloody battle for survival.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both mystery
SnoozefestMovies like thisA Lovely Way to Die (1968)
A cop quits the force after too much disappointment in the system. He becomes a bodyguard of a rich recent widow. She is on trial for her husband's murder. He decides to help her clear her name... and get over her husband.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both mystery
City Hunter: Shinjuku Private Eyes (2019)
When gorgeous model Ai Shindo finds herself stalked by mysterious men, she comes to Ryo and his crew for protection. While he tries to hunt down the potential assassins (and maybe score a little nookie in the process), he ends up catching wind of a superweapon shipment landing in Shinjuku very soon. Could the two be connected? And with City Hunter on the case, will Tokyo survive the night?!
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both mystery
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisGold Bodyguard (2023)
Tong Song, who is unable to walk, is the founder of Paradox Security. There are two other people in the team, An Ning, who is talented in mechanics, and Da Niu, who is simple-minded yet highly skilled. The company's main business is to protect the safety of their clients and their clients' property, also known as "bodyguards." On this day, they received a three-day anonymous commission to protect An Ning's sister, An Yi. Since then, An Yi has had ran into many accidents. Tong Song thinks it's not a coincidence, but he does find a clue in the details that confirms his suspicions. There is a high possibility that the organization behind this is one that is good at making murders look like accidents. Just then, An Yi disappears... Who is trying to assassinate An Yi? Is An Yi aware of the danger she's in? Is there really such an organization? How will Tong Song and the others save An Yi?
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both mystery
Ultra Protection (2021)
Tong Song lost his legs in a car accident, An Ning, a technical consultant, and Liang Meng, a safety consultant, partner to start a bodyguard company. Unexpectedly, the first mission of the bodyguard team encounters many accidents.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both mystery
Avenging Angelo (2002)
A woman who has recently discovered that she is the daughter of Angelo, a major mafia boss, decides to wreak vengeance when he is killed by a hitman. She's aided by his faithful bodyguard, with whom she soon falls in love.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
SnoozefestMovies like thisThe Girl from Monaco (2008)
A brilliant and neurotic attorney goes to Monaco to defend a famous criminal. But, instead of focusing on the case, he falls for a beautiful she-devil, who turns him into a complete wreck... Hopefully, his zealous bodyguard will step in and put everything back in order... Or will he ?
Why it matches: Similar story and style
SnoozefestMovies like thisFear City: A Family-Style Comedy (1994)
A second-class horror movie has to be shown at Cannes Film Festival, but, before each screening, the projectionist is killed by a mysterious fellow, with hammer and sickle, just as it happens in the film to be shown.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
Worth the HypeMovies like thisUsagi Yojimbo: The Last Request (2014)
Lintika Films has recently made a proof of concept short film that they are shopping around Hollywood. It is a combination of 2D and 3D stop-motion animation and it is pretty entertaining, while capturing a lot of the spirit and tradition of the source material.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
The Underdog Knight (2008)
Lao San is a young veteran high in Kungfu power but low in intelligence. After landing on a job as a body guard for a wealthy antique collector, Lao San finds out his boss's plot to rob the National Art Museum.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
My Name Is Lenny (2017)
The life story of one of Britain's most notorious bare-knuckle fighters, Lenny McLean, also known as "The Guv'nor".
Why it matches: Similar story and style
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like The Life of Riley?
The closest matches to The Life of Riley are The Infernal Machine (2022), Farewell, My Lovely (1975) and For the Sake of Vicious (2021). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after The Life of Riley?
Start with The Infernal Machine (2022), the closest match to The Life of Riley.
What is the highest-rated movie like The Life of Riley?
Fear City: A Family-Style Comedy (1994), rated 7.5/10 by 1,389 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like The Life of Riley?
Bone Lake (2025) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like The Life of Riley?
Yes: The Infernal Machine (2022), Farewell, My Lovely (1975) and For the Sake of Vicious (2021).
How are movies similar to The Life of Riley chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside The Life of Riley, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.