Movies like Guardian (2021)
The best movies like Guardian (2021) are The Seven-Ups (1973), The Glass Key (1942) and Anjaam Pathiraa (2020). If Guardian hooked you with its thriller and crime, these 20 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedPickup on South Street (1953)7.4/10 from 342 votes
- NewestIslands (2025)Released 2025
- In MalayalamAnjaam Pathiraa (2020)Also in Malayalam
The Seven-Ups (1973)
A tough detective who is part of an elite New York City unit is trying to find out who killed his partner, but uncovers a plot to kidnap mobsters for money.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Glass Key (1942)
A crooked politician finds himself being accused of murder by a gangster from whom he refused help during a re-election campaign.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAnjaam Pathiraa (2020)
A psychologist with a keen interest in criminology gets entangled in a tough serial killer case which the police find hard to crack.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & thriller
Worth the HypeMovies like thisLaRoy, Texas (2024)
Broke and depressed, Ray is mistaken for a dangerous hitman and given an envelope of cash. Along with his P.I. friend Skip, he must escape the actual hitman to make it out of LaRoy alive.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisKurup (2021)
The Film is based on the infamous 'Charlie Murder Case' in the Indian State of Kerala where the main culprit Sukumara Kurup has been on the run for decades and is still not been caught. The story revolves around the perspective of Sukumara Kurup and the Police officers who were investigating the case.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisLimbo (2023)
Travis, a jaded detective, arrives in the remote outback town of Limbo to investigate the cold case murder of local Indigenous girl Charlotte Hayes 20 years ago. As truths about the murder begin to unfold, the detective gains a new insight into the unsolved case.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAnweshippin Kandethum (2024)
A team of four expert policemen go through extreme trials and tribulations to find the killer of a young woman.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisRekhachithram (2025)
Having recently served a suspension for gambling online while on duty, Circle Inspector Vivek Gopinath rejoins the police force and is looking to reclaim his lost honour. Awaiting him is a 40-year-old, unresolved murder mystery with a faceless victim.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller & crime
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Parts You Lose (2019)
An unlikely friendship unfolds between a young deaf boy, Wesley, and a fugitive criminal who takes refuge in an abandoned barn on the family’s rural North Dakota farm.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisIslands (2025)
In this twisty thriller, a tennis coach at a tropical resort finds himself at the center of a missing persons mystery. Tom teaches tennis during the day and parties at night. When an enigmatic tourist arrives, Tom is unable to shake the feeling he has met her before. Tension and attraction grow, until her husband disappears, and the police suspect Tom.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisPickup on South Street (1953)
In New York City, an insolent pickpocket, Skip McCoy, inadvertently sets off a chain of events when he targets ex-prostitute Candy and steals her wallet. Unaware that she has been making deliveries of highly classified information to the communists, Candy, who has been trailed by FBI agents for months in hopes of nabbing the spy ringleader, is sent by her ex-boyfriend, Joey, to find Skip and retrieve the valuable microfilm he now holds.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller & crime
Worth the HypeMovies like thisRorschach (2022)
When Luke Antony's wife goes missing, he sets off to search for her and stumbles upon the Balan family. However, terrorising events start occurring as Luke grows closer to them.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisNight Watch (1973)
A woman recovering from a nervous breakdown tries to convince her husband and and the local London police that she has witnessed a murder in the abandoned house next door.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisGotcha! (1985)
A student on a trip to France is tricked into smuggling secrets across the Iron Curtain by a sexy spy.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisWinged Creatures (2009)
A psychotic man opens fire in a diner, murdering numerous people before killing himself. The survivors struggle in different ways following this horrendous event: a doctor doubts his own instincts and elects to use an experimental medical procedure on his wife, while a gambler believes he's on a lucky streak. A waitress begins engaging in promiscuous sex, and a young girl whose father is among the dead gains unexpected fame.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime
SnoozefestMovies like thisOverdrive (2017)
Master car thieves square off against French gangsters in the South of France with money, women and lives all on the line.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like this6 Below: Miracle on the Mountain (2017)
An adrenaline seeking snowboarder gets lost in a massive winter storm in the back country of the High Sierras where he is pushed to the limits of human endurance and forced to battle his own personal demons as he fights for survival....
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
SnoozefestMovies like thisThe 355 (2022)
A group of top female agents from American, British, Chinese, Colombian, and German government agencies are drawn together to try and stop an organization from acquiring a deadly weapon to send the world into chaos.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Bygone (2019)
When a young rancher crosses paths with a Lakota girl from a nearby reservation, her mysterious disappearance sparks a search that uncovers a harrowing past and hints at a dire future.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisOn Fire (2023)
Inspired by true and harrowing events, an ordinary man finds his world suddenly torn apart as devastating wildfires rip through the surrounding countryside. With precious moments ticking by, he must flee with his son and pregnant wife if they have any hope of surviving the rapid forces of mother nature.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like this
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Guardian?
The closest matches to Guardian are The Seven-Ups (1973), The Glass Key (1942) and Anjaam Pathiraa (2020). Below are 17 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Guardian?
Start with The Seven-Ups (1973), the closest match to Guardian.
What is the highest-rated movie like Guardian?
Pickup on South Street (1953), rated 7.4/10 by 342 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Guardian?
Islands (2025) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there Malayalam movies like Guardian?
Yes: Anjaam Pathiraa (2020), Kurup (2021) and Anweshippin Kandethum (2024).
How are movies similar to Guardian chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Guardian, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.