Movies like The Kill-Off (1989)
The best movies like The Kill-Off (1989) are Cry of the City (1948), Johnny O'Clock (1947) and The Naked City (1948). If The Kill-Off hooked you with its drama and crime, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedThe Asphalt Jungle (1950)7.5/10 from 561 votes
- NewestNancy Drew and the Hidden Staircase (2019)Released 2019
Cry of the City (1948)
Petty crook and cop-killer Martin Rome, in bad shape from wounds in the hospital prison ward, still refuses to help slimy lawyer Niles clear his client by confessing to another crime. Police Lt. Candella must check Niles' allegation; a friend of the Rome family, he walks a tightrope between sentiment and cynicism. When Martin fears Candella will implicate his girlfriend Teena, he'll do anything to protect her. How many others will he drag down to disaster with him?
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisJohnny O'Clock (1947)
When an employee at an illegal gambling den dies suspiciously, her sister, Nancy, looks into the situation and falls for Johnny O'Clock, a suave partner in the underground casino. Selfish and non-committal by nature, Johnny slowly begins to return Nancy's affection and decides to run away with her, but conflict within his business threatens their plans. As Johnny tries to distance himself from the casino, his shady past comes back to haunt him.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Naked City (1948)
After a former model is drowned in her bathtub, Detective James Halloran and Lieutenant Dan Muldoon attempt to piece together her murder.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisPitfall (1948)
An insurance man wishing for a more exciting life becomes wrapped up in the affairs of an imprisoned embezzler, his model girlfriend, and a violent private investigator.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe File on Thelma Jordon (1949)
Cleve Marshall, an assistant district attorney, falls for Thelma Jordon, a mysterious woman with a troubled past. When Thelma becomes a suspect in her aunt's murder, Cleve tries to clear her name.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisA Kiss Before Dying (1956)
A college student tries to get rich quick by wooing two wealthy sisters.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & crime
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 crime & drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisForce of Evil (1950)
Lawyer Joe Morse wants to consolidate all the small-time numbers racket operators into one big powerful operation. But his elder brother Leo is one of these small-time operators who wants to stay that way, preferring not to deal with the gangsters who dominate the big-time.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDark City (1950)
War hero Danny Haley fleeces out-of-town dupes in a rigged poker game. He and his pals see Arthur Winant as an easy mark, but they've reckoned without Winant's homicidal brother, who wants revenge after Arthur commits suicide.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBorn to Kill (1947)
A calculating divorcée risks her chances at wealth and security with a man she doesn't love by getting involved with a hotheaded murderer.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Asphalt Jungle (1950)
Recently paroled from prison, legendary burglar "Doc" Riedenschneider, with funding from Alonzo Emmerich, a crooked lawyer, gathers a small group of veteran criminals together in the Midwest for a big jewel heist.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisWhile the City Sleeps (1956)
Newspaper men compete against each other to find a serial killer dubbed "The Lipstick Killer".
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisNightmare Alley (1947)
A roustabout joins a traveling carny and schemes to figure out the mind-reading act of Mademoiselle Zeena and her alcoholic husband.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Big Clock (1948)
George Stroud, a crime magazine's crusading editor, has to postpone a vacation with his wife - again - when a glamorous blonde is murdered and he is assigned by his publishing boss to find the killer. As the investigation proceeds to its conclusion, Stroud must try to disrupt his ordinarily brilliant investigative team as they increasingly build evidence that he is the killer.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime
Worth the HypeMovies 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 crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisNancy Drew and the Hidden Staircase (2019)
Nancy Drew, a smart high schooler with a penchant for keen observation and deduction, stumbles upon the haunting of a local home. A bit of an outsider struggling to fit into her new surroundings, Nancy and her pals set out to solve the mystery, make new friends, and establish their place in the community
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime
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 crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisWonderstruck (2017)
The story of a young boy in the Midwest is told simultaneously with a tale about a young girl in New York from fifty years ago as they both seek the same mysterious connection.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDon't Bother to Knock (1952)
An airline pilot pursues a live-in babysitter at his hotel and gradually realizes she is not as stable as perhaps she should be.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
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 crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisNot For, or Against (Quite the Contrary) (2003)
"Ni Pour, Ni Contre" tracks the fall of a young TV camerawoman, Caty, after she becomes involved with a group of petty criminals and their enigmatic leader, Jean. The gang lives hand-to-mouth until the day Jean plans a daring bank robbery. Although other gang members feel out of their league, Jean persuades them to take part and Caty finds herself in a hellish world of betrayal, violence and murder.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisLes Lionceaux (1960)
Patrice's good looks have made him a consummate womanizer but they also helped him win the heart of Juliette, the daughter of Blanche Eroli, an influential Parisian clothes designer. The latter doesn't want him as a husband for Juliette and would prefer to see her married to Vincent, her right hand man. To this end she offers Patrice a juicy check if he agrees to leave Juliette. He accepts the deal and leaves for the Riviera, where he discovers love in the person of pretty Caroline. But Juliette, who does not love Vincent, traces Patrice as far as Nice. Soon afterwards her dead body is found lying on her former fiancé's bed...
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & crime
Bloody Crayons (2017)
A group of friends goes to an island for a short film project when they are attacked by a mysterious killer after playing a game of bloody crayons.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both crime & drama
Sea of Love (1989)
Seen-it-all New York detective Frank Keller is unsettled - he has done twenty years on the force and could retire, and he hasn't come to terms with his wife leaving him for a colleague. Joining up with an officer from another part of town to investigate a series of murders linked by the lonely hearts columns he finds he is getting seriously and possibly dangerously involved with Helen, one of the main suspects.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both crime & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDeath at Dawn (1960)
The prestigious composer Virgilio Delise, suspected of being involved in the death of his stepfather, unexpectedly runs away. Doria, an ambitious insurance detective, will stop at nothing to prove his guilt.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Death Will Return (1961)
Adapted from Nikos Foskolos’ theatrical play. On a terribly stormy night, in a secluded hotel, the owner, Brigadier Norton, is murdered. Prime suspects: his daughter Elena, his second wife Liza, Liza’s niece and her fiancé, Norton’s physician, and the hotel staff. Inspector Fox and his assistant, policeman Petridis, are assigned the investigation of the crime. While the suspects’ questioning is under way, some more people arrive at the hotel: detective Tilemachos Christofis with his assistant Aliki, and lieutenant Karalis, a sworn enemy of the victim, complicating things even more.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both crime
Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence (1983)
Island of Java, 1942, during World War II. British Major Jack Celliers arrives at a Japanese prison camp, run by the strict Captain Yonoi. Colonel John Lawrence, who has a profound knowledge of Japanese culture, and Sergeant Hara, brutal and simpleton, will witness the struggle of wills between two men from very different backgrounds who are tragically destined to clash.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisMystère à Shanghai (1950)
In Shangai, the "Green Dragon" threatens to kill Herbert Aboody, a rich exporter, unless he pays him 50,000 dollars. One of Aboody's secretaries calls inspector Wens for help. An amazing fact occurs, Wens kills Aboody and then disappears. What is the key to this mystery?
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both crime
Baby Snatcher (1992)
A woman is delighted to have given birth to a baby girl but her life is turned into a nightmare when she goes missing. The police mount a frantic search but to the woman's horror she finds out that it's herself who is the main suspect.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
If Beale Street Could Talk (2018)
After her fiance is falsely imprisoned, a pregnant African-American woman sets out to clear his name and prove his innocence.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like this
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like The Kill-Off?
The closest matches to The Kill-Off are Cry of the City (1948), Johnny O'Clock (1947) and The Naked City (1948). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after The Kill-Off?
Start with Cry of the City (1948), the closest match to The Kill-Off.
What is the highest-rated movie like The Kill-Off?
The Asphalt Jungle (1950), rated 7.5/10 by 561 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like The Kill-Off?
Nancy Drew and the Hidden Staircase (2019) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like The Kill-Off?
Yes: Cry of the City (1948), Johnny O'Clock (1947) and The Naked City (1948).
How are movies similar to The Kill-Off chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside The Kill-Off, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.