Movies like The River Murders (2011)
The best movies like The River Murders (2011) are Pavement (2002), Identity (2003) and Mindhunters (2004). If The River Murders hooked you with its thriller and mystery, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedSe7en (1995)8.4/10 from 24,192 votes
- NewestTime of Death (2026)Released 2026
Pavement (2002)
Samuel Browne is a tracker in Alaska. When his sister meets a grisly death in San Francisco, he goes there to hunt her killer. As more murders occur, police investigator Buckley Clarke reluctantly joins forces with Sam. The brass are convinced this is a serial killer choosing victims at random, but Sam and Buckley discover a pattern involving health personnel who work in neonatal intensive care. Doctors aren't supposed to play god, but someone's decision years before has driven a killer over the brink. Can they find him?
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both thriller & mystery
Identity (2003)
Complete strangers stranded at a remote desert motel during a raging storm soon find themselves the target of a deranged murderer. As their numbers thin out, the travelers begin to turn on each other, as each tries to figure out who the killer is.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both mystery & thriller
Worth the HypeMovies like thisMindhunters (2004)
Trainees in the FBI's psychological profiling program must put their training into practice when they discover a killer in their midst. Based very loosely on Agatha Christie's And Then There Were None.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both mystery & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Crimes That Bind (2018)
Michiko Oshitani, who lived in Shiga Prefecture, is found dead at an apartment in Tokyo. She was strangled to death. Mutsuo Koshikawa is the owner of the apartment and he goes missing. Detectives including Yuhei Matsumiya who is a cousin of Detective Kyoichiro Kaga , have difficulties in solving the case. They can't find a connection between Michiko Oshitani and Mutsuo Koshikawa. They soon learn that Michiko Oshitani came to Tokyo to visit Hiromi Asai . They graduated from the same school, but there isn't a connection between Hiromi Asai and Mutsuo Koshikawa. Detective Yuhei Matsumiya finds something near Michiko Oshitani's body. That something has the names of 12 bridges surrounding the Nihonbashi area of Tokyo. Detective Kyoichiro Kaga learns of the clue and becomes agitated. There's a connection with his late mother
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both mystery & thriller
Worth the HypeMovies like thisMystic River (2003)
The lives of three men who were childhood friends are shattered when one of them suffers a family tragedy.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both thriller & mystery
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Secret in Their Eyes (2009)
Hoping to put to rest years of unease concerning a past case, retired criminal investigator Benjamín begins writing a novel based on the unsolved mystery of a newlywed’s rape and murder. With the help of a former colleague, judge Irene, he attempts to make sense of the past.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both mystery & thriller
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisThrough the Glass Darkly (2020)
A year after Charlie's daughter disappears, another girl from Elrod, Georgia goes missing. Convinced there is a connection, Charlie draws suspicion and contempt from local law enforcement and townspeople as she stops at nothing to expose its most devastating and darkest secret.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both thriller & mystery
Crescent City (2024)
When a ruthless serial killer terrorizes a small Southern town, everyone becomes a suspect -- including local authorities. As the body count rises and the dark mystery deepens, the chief detective becomes haunted by the horrors of his past.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both thriller & mystery
Popcorn FlickMovies like this88 Minutes (2007)
Famed forensic psychiatrist Dr. Jack Gramm enjoys a reputation as one of the most sought-after profilers around. His expert testimony has resulted in the conviction of many criminals, including serial killer Jon Forster. On the eve of Forster's execution, one of Gramm's students is murdered in a vicious copycat crime, and Gramm himself receives an ominous message informing him that he has less than 90 minutes to live.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both thriller & mystery
SnoozefestMovies like thisMarshland (2014)
The Spanish Deep South, 1980. A series of brutal murders of adolescent girls in a remote and forgotten town bring together two disparate characters – both detectives in the homicide division – to investigate the cases.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both mystery & thriller
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Hunt for the I-5 Killer (2011)
“Hunt for the I-5 Killer” is a dramatization based on the haunting true story of the yearlong manhunt for a killer suspected of murdering 14 victims and committing numerous sexual assaults up and down the I-5 highway corridor through California, Washington and Oregon. As Detective Dave Kominek (John Corbett) starts to discover similarities in the cases, he becomes determined to prove the seemingly unrelated killings are the work of one man. As the case unfolds and more victims come to light, a shocking twist comes into play – could the sadistic mass murderer possibly be a handsome, all-American athlete? The movie is from Ann Rule’s book, and also stars Sara Canning.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both thriller
Chasing Ghosts (2005)
A serial killer targeting the city's mobsters taunts police with clues and photos left behind at the crime scenes. A veteran cop takes on a rookie partner hoping to crack one last case before retiring. As the web of deception and lies unravels, the truth slowly begins to reveal itself.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both mystery & thriller
Hierro (2009)
Traveling on a ferry heading to the island of Hierro where they will spend their holidays, Mary loses her son Diego, and no one can explain what happened. Six months later, Maria struggles to overcome the pain of loss and continue his life. Then, you receive an unexpected phone call: they found the body of a child, so it must return to the island. There, in the suggestive and disturbing landscape, surrounded by disturbing and sinister characters, Mary is forced to confront their worst nightmares. And as he travels this road, he discovers that some mysteries should not be disclosed ...
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both mystery & thriller
SnoozefestMovies like thisMemento (2000)
Leonard Shelby is tracking down the man who raped and murdered his wife. The difficulty of locating his wife's killer, however, is compounded by the fact that he suffers from a rare, untreatable form of short-term memory loss. Although he can recall details of life before his accident, Leonard cannot remember what happened fifteen minutes ago, where he's going, or why.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both mystery & thriller
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisRoom of Death (2007)
While on a joyride with the headlights turned off, two men hit and kill another man carrying a satchel full of money. The two men decide to take the money and throw the body into a pond and bury the money in a coal hill. The next morning the police discover the body of a kidnapped 12-year blind girl, Melody, in a warehouse near the site of the hit-and-run. They determine that the kidnapper saw the girl's father bringing the ransom to him and also witnessed the hit-and-run and the men stealing the ransom.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both mystery & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisTaking Lives (2004)
Recruited to assist Montreal police in their desperate search for a serial killer who assumes the identities of his victims, FBI profiler Illeana Scott knows it's only a matter of time before the killer strikes again. Her most promising lead is a museum employee who might be the killer's only eyewitness.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSe7en (1995)
Two homicide detectives are on a desperate hunt for a serial killer whose crimes are based on the "seven deadly sins" in this dark and haunting film that takes viewers from the tortured remains of one victim to the next. The seasoned Det. Somerset researches each sin in an effort to get inside the killer's mind, while his novice partner, Mills, scoffs at his efforts to unravel the case.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both mystery & thriller
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisVoice of a Murderer (2007)
After Gyeong-bae's son is kidnapped, he receives a call from the kidnapper asking for 100 million won. The detectives are teamed up for the case, yet the culprit gets away at every opportunity.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both thriller & mystery
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Bone Collector (1999)
Lincoln Rhyme was the department's top homicide detective and leading expert in criminal forensics until an injury left him paralyzed, depressed, and incapable of working. But when a gruesome murder in Manhattan leaves detectives baffled, they call on Rhyme to help solve the mystery. Amelia Donaghy, a rookie cop whose quick thinking preserved a gruesome murder scene, is enlisted by Rhyme to be his on-the-scene forensics expert. With Amelia reluctantly acting as Rhyme's able-bodied go-between, the pair piece together cryptic clues the killer leaves behind at the scene of the crime, hoping to catch the grisly serial killer.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both thriller & mystery
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisFalse Trail (2011)
The Interrogator Erik Backstrom is forced to return to his former home village to solve a murder mystery, in which the local polices and some hunters and even Erik's family seems to be involved. Soon, the conflicts are in full action, especially between Erik and the local police Torsten. Torsten does not support Erik very much in his job and has, for some personal reasons, already arrested a suspected perpetrator. Eric takes great risks when he starts digging in the criminal material of the horrible murder case.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both thriller & mystery
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2011)
Disgraced journalist Mikael Blomkvist investigates the disappearance of a weary patriarch's niece from 40 years ago. He is aided by the pierced, tattooed, punk computer hacker named Lisbeth Salander. As they work together in the investigation, Blomkvist and Salander uncover immense corruption beyond anything they have ever imagined.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both thriller & mystery
Worth the HypeMovies like thisOldboy (2003)
With no clue how he came to be imprisoned, drugged and tortured for 15 years, a desperate man seeks revenge on his captors.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both thriller & mystery
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisThe Crimson Rivers (2000)
Two French policemen, one investigating a grisly murder at a remote mountain college, the other working on the desecration of a young girl's grave by skinheads, are brought together by the clues from their respective cases. Soon after they start working together, more murders are committed, and the pair begin to discover just what dark secrets are behind the killings.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both mystery & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisTime of Death (2026)
When a prisoner vanishes without a trace, Detective Frank Morley (Michael Kelly) is sent to a decaying prison on the verge of shutdown. What begins as a routine investigation quickly spirals into a dangerous search for answers.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both thriller & mystery
Stone (2010)
Parole officer Jack Mabry has only a few weeks left before retirement and wishes to finish out the cases he's been assigned. One such case is that of Gerald 'Stone' Creeson, a convicted arsonist who is up for parole. Jack is initially reluctant to indulge Stone in the coarse banter he wishes to pursue and feels little sympathy for the prisoner's pleads for an early release. Seeing little hope in convincing Jack himself, Stone arranges for his wife to seduce the officer, but motives and intentions steadily blur amidst the passions and buried secrets of the corrupted players in this deadly game of deception.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both thriller & mystery
SnoozefestMovies like thisCleaner (2007)
Single father and former cop Tom Cutler has an unusual occupation: he cleans up death scenes. But when he's called in to sterilize a wealthy suburban residence after a brutal shooting, Cutler is shocked to learn he may have unknowingly erased crucial evidence, entangling himself in a dirty criminal cover-up.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller & mystery
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAll the Devils Are Here (2025)
After a heist, four criminals lay low in a remote safehouse, waiting for orders. As paranoia builds, one thing becomes clear — the real threat may not be outside, but among them.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both mystery & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisGod Told Me To (1976)
A New York detective investigates a series of murders committed by random citizens who claim that 'God told them to'.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller & mystery
SnoozefestMovies like thisMindcage (2022)
Detectives Jake Doyle and Mary Kelly seek the help of an incarcerated serial killer named The Artist when a copycat killer strikes. While Mary searches for clues in The Artist's brilliant but twisted psyche, she and Jake are lured into a diabolical game of cat and mouse, racing against time to stay one step ahead of The Artist and his copycat.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both mystery & thriller
SnoozefestMovies like thisThe Ritual Killer (2023)
Unable to process the death of his daughter, Detective Boyd embarks on a hunt for a serial killer who murders according to a brutal tribal ritual: Muti. The only person who can help Boyd is Professor Mackles, an anthropologist who hides an unspeakable secret. The line between sanity and madness thins as Boyd goes deeper into the killer’s world.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both mystery & thriller
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like The River Murders?
The closest matches to The River Murders are Pavement (2002), Identity (2003) and Mindhunters (2004). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after The River Murders?
People who watched The River Murders most often go on to Pavement (2002), Identity (2003) and Mindhunters (2004).
What is the highest-rated movie like The River Murders?
Se7en (1995), rated 8.4/10 by 24,192 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like The River Murders?
Time of Death (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like The River Murders?
Yes: Pavement (2002), Identity (2003) and Mindhunters (2004).
How are movies similar to The River Murders chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside The River Murders, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.