Movies like The Boys Who Killed Jamie Bulger (2001)
The best movies like The Boys Who Killed Jamie Bulger (2001) are Mommy Dead and Dearest (2017), Maternal Instinct (2026) and Aileen: Queen of the Serial Killers (2025). If The Boys Who Killed Jamie Bulger 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 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 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 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 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 thisOut of Thin Air (2017)
Set within the stark Icelandic landscape, OUT OF THIN AIR examines the 1976 police investigation into the disappearance of two men in the early 1970s.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary & crime
SnoozefestMovies 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 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 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 thisWhy Did You Kill Me? (2021)
The line between justice and revenge blurs when a devastated family uses social media to track down the people who killed 24-year-old Crystal Theobald.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary & crime
SnoozefestMovies 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 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 thisThe Mystery of D.B. Cooper (2020)
This documentary brings to life the stories of four people believed by their family and friends to be “DB Cooper,” a man who hijacked a 727 flying out of Seattle and jumped from the plane over the wilds of Washington State with a parachute and $200,000, never to be heard from again.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisVoyeur (2017)
Legendary journalist Gay Talese unmasks a motel owner who spied on his guests for decades. But his bombshell story soon becomes a scandal of its own.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary & crime
SnoozefestMovies 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 thisTales of the Grim Sleeper (2014)
When Lonnie Franklin Jr. was arrested in South Central Los Angeles in 2010 as the suspected murderer of a string of young black women, police hailed it as the culmination of 20 years of investigations. Four years later documentary filmmaker Nick Broomfield took his camera to the alleged killer’s neighborhood for another view.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisH.H. Holmes: America's First Serial Killer (2004)
Torture chambers, acid vats, greased chutes and gassing rooms were just some of the devices of death designed by the Torture Doctor, H.H. Holmes in his castle of horrors. Follows Holmes' entire life as a criminal mastermind.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Menendez Brothers (2024)
Serving life in prison for murdering their parents, Lyle and Erik Menendez speak out in this documentary explaining the shocking crime and ensuing trials.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisAll the Empty Rooms (2025)
A journalist and a photographer set out to memorialize the bedrooms left behind by children killed in school shootings.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisEvil Influencer: The Jodi Hildebrandt Story (2025)
Unravel the case of Utah therapist Jodi Hildebrandt, whose child abuse arrest with parenting YouTuber Ruby Franke exposed a twisted tale of manipulation.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSarah Payne: A Mother's Story (2017)
Documentary shedding light on the emotional fallout of the murder of Sarah Payne, the eight-year-old girl who was kidnapped and killed in Kingston Gorse, West Sussex, in 2000. Two weeks after her disappearance, Sarah's body was found, and after a high profile police investigation, Roy Whiting was convicted of her murder and sentenced to life imprisonment. Testimonies from friends, family, police officers, key witnesses and experts in criminology are combined with an interview with Sarah's mother, to illustrate the tragic toll the case took on those closest to the victim.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both crime & documentary
Paradise Lost 2: Revelations (2000)
Revisiting the 1994 Arkansas murder of three 8-year-old boys and the three teenagers convicted of the crime. A follow up to Paradise Lost, Revelations features new interviews with the convicted men, as well as with the original judge and police investigators.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary & crime
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Bowraville Murders (2021)
The epic David vs Goliath battle for justice waged by the families of three Aboriginal children murdered in a small rural town 30 years ago, the system that failed them, and what it reveals about racism in Australia today.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary & crime
Millions (2005)
Two boys, still grieving the death of their mother, find themselves the unwitting benefactors of a bag of bank robbery loot in the week before the United Kingdom switches its official currency to the Euro. What's a kid to do?
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Murder of Brianna Ghey: An ITV News Special (2024)
In the aftermath of the attack and murder of 16-year-old Brianna Ghey, ITV News investigates key court evidence and an interview with Ghey's mother at the time of the killing.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
The Border (1982)
A corrupted border agent decides to clean up his act when an impoverished woman's baby is put up for sale on the black market.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisVigilante (1983)
New York City factory worker Eddie Marino is a solid citizen and regular guy, until the day a sadistic street gang brutally assaults his wife and murders his child. When a corrupt judge sets the thugs free, he goes berserk and vows revenge.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisIt Happened in Broad Daylight (1997)
Several young girls were killed in a rural area. Thus Inspector Matthaei has to travel to the region where it happened and has to search for the killer. When all the people suspect a roamer to be the killer he gets lynched and everybody thinks that the crimes will stop now but not Matthaei who searches for a blond girl that looks just like the ones that were murdered. He finds one and stays with her and her mother, attracting the murderer with the girl trying to catch him this way.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both crime
Liverpool FC: 501 Goals (2003)
501 goals from 50 of Liverpool's greatest goalscorers. Red's striking legend John Aldridge is your host as he counts down the players and goals that have made Liverpool into the one of the most successful English football clubs.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
The 51st State (2001)
An American master chemist plans to score big on a once in a lifetime drug deal. All does not go as planned and he is soon entangled in a web of deceit.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like this
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like The Boys Who Killed Jamie Bulger?
The closest matches to The Boys Who Killed Jamie Bulger are Mommy Dead and Dearest (2017), Maternal Instinct (2026) and Aileen: Queen of the Serial Killers (2025). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after The Boys Who Killed Jamie Bulger?
Start with Mommy Dead and Dearest (2017), the closest match to The Boys Who Killed Jamie Bulger.
What is the highest-rated movie like The Boys Who Killed Jamie Bulger?
Paradise Lost: The Child Murders at Robin Hood Hills (1996), rated 7.6/10 by 215 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like The Boys Who Killed Jamie Bulger?
Maternal Instinct (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like The Boys Who Killed Jamie Bulger?
Yes: Mommy Dead and Dearest (2017), Maternal Instinct (2026) and Aileen: Queen of the Serial Killers (2025).
How are movies similar to The Boys Who Killed Jamie Bulger chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside The Boys Who Killed Jamie Bulger, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.