Movies like The First Law (1918)
The best movies like The First Law (1918) are Brand Upon the Brain! (2007), Autumn Leaves (1956) and The Blue Gardenia (1953). If The First Law hooked you with its mystery, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedThe Hound of the Baskervilles (1939)7.1/10 from 245 votes
- NewestGlass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery (2022)Released 2022
Brand Upon the Brain! (2007)
After returning home to his long-estranged mother upon a request from her deathbed, a man raised by his parents in an orphanage has to confront the childhood memories that have long haunted him.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both mystery
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAutumn Leaves (1956)
A woman falls for a younger man with severe mental problems.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both mystery
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Blue Gardenia (1953)
Upon waking up to the news that the man she’d gone on a date with the previous night has been murdered, a young woman with only a faint memory of the night’s events begins to suspect that she murdered him while attempting to resist his advances.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both mystery
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisChildren of the Damned (1964)
Six children are found spread through out the world that not only have enormous intelligence, but identical intelligence and have a strange bond to each other.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both mystery
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 mystery
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Night Stalker (1972)
Wisecracking reporter Carl Kolchak investigates a string of murders in Las Vegas and suspects the culprit is a vampire. His editor thinks he's crazy and the police think he's a nuisance, so Kolchak takes matters into his own hands.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both mystery
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisShadow of the Thin Man (1941)
While attending a major horse race with their young son, Nick Jr., Nick and Nora Charles witnesse a shocking murder from the crowded grandstand. What first appears to be an isolated killing soon leads to a maze of corruption, blackmail, gambling scandals, and criminal intrigue. As Nick investigates, he encounters suspicious bookmakers, dishonest officials, rival gangsters, and a mysterious killer determined to stay ahead of the law. Nora, as always, is never far from the action, bringing her quick wit and fearless curiosity to the case.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both mystery
Worth the HypeMovies like thisAbigail (2019)
A young girl Abigail lives in a city whose borders were closed many years ago because of an epidemic of a mysterious disease. Abby's father was one of the sick - and he was taken when she was six years old. Going against the authorities to find his father, Abby learns that her city is actually full of magic. And she discovers in herself extraordinary magical abilities.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both mystery
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisFallen Angel (1945)
An unemployed drifter, Eric Stanton wanders into a small California town and begins hanging around the local diner. While Eric falls for the lovely waitress Stella, he also begins romancing a quiet and well-to-do woman named June Mills. Since Stella isn't interested in Eric unless he has money, the lovelorn guy comes up with a scheme to win her over, and it involves June. Before long, murder works its way into this passionate love triangle.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both mystery
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Deep End of the Ocean (1999)
A three-year-old boy disappears during his mother's high school reunion. Nine years later, by chance, he turns up in the town in which the family has just relocated.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both mystery
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSong of the Thin Man (1947)
While attending a glamorous jazz cruise on New York’s East River, Nick and Nora Charles witness the fatal shooting of a wealthy patron. When suspicion falls on a young bandleader and his musicians, the couple steps in to clear their friends and uncover the real killer. Their investigation leads through a lively world of jazz clubs, radio personalities, high society, and backstage rivalries, where almost everyone has a secret and the next clue may be hidden in the music.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both mystery
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHailey Dean Mysteries: Murder, With Love (2016)
Former prosecutor-turned-therapist Hailey Dean is a powerhouse, Mensa bright, and acutely observant. During a tragic week, one of her patients loses her parents to separate fatal accidents along with millions of dollars that has seemingly vanished into thin air. When the police begin to question Hailey's patient, shes knows she is innocent. But who is the culprit?
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both mystery
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Laurel-Hardy Murder Case (1930)
The boys think their days of fishing to feed themselves have come to an end, when Stan's rich uncle Ebenezer dies leaving a large estate. But they soon learn that Ebenezer was murdered and all the relatives, including Stan, are suspects.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both mystery
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisFramed for Murder: A Fixer Upper Mystery (2017)
In the small resort town of Lighthouse Cove, everyone knows that the best man for the job is a woman. And that woman is Shannon Hughes, owner of a construction company and an expert in Victorian home restoration and renovation. Through her renovations she will find clues to uncover the house’s secret past and in turn become an unlikely sleuth to help crack these unsolved mysteries
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both mystery
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAurora Teagarden Mysteries: Haunted By Murder (2022)
A murder investigation is reignited in a house that is considered haunted by the Lawrenceton locals and where years ago Aurora and Sally, as teenagers, discovered a body.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both mystery
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Thin Man Goes Home (1944)
Hoping for a peaceful visit with his parents in the small town of Sycamore Springs, Nick Charles and his wife Nora soon find themselves surrounded by old rivalries, family tensions, and a mysterious murder. Nick’s father, a respected retired doctor, would much rather see his son give up detective work, but a suspicious shooting quickly draws Nick back into action. As Nick and Nora investigate, they uncover jealousy, deception, hidden motives, and a dangerous secret involving the town’s prominent citizens.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both mystery
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Assault (2014)
After a cheerleader is sexually assaulted by the high school football team, she must overcome her shame and use the evidence gathered from the subsequent social media firestorm to piece together the night that she can't remember in her fight for justice. Based on the true story of the Steubenville, Ohio rape case.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both mystery
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Stone Tape (1972)
A research team from an electronics company move into an old Victorian house to start work on finding a new recording medium. When team member Jill Greeley witnesses a ghost, team director Peter Brock decides not only to analyse the apparition, which he believes is a psychic impression trapped in a stone wall (dubbed a "stone tape"), but to exorcise it too - with terrifying results...
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both mystery
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 mystery
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisLEGO Scooby-Doo! Knight Time Terror (2015)
Mystery Inc. is summoned to investigate occurrences in a haunted villa, where a black knight terrorizes anybody who tries to get close to treasure hidden by the former owner of the building.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both mystery
Worth the HypeMovies like thisLos cómplices del infierno (1995)
Sandra and Deborah are two women trying to escape from a tragic recent event. They go for a vacation on a beach house but are then followed by an evil cult.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both mystery
Apocalypsis (2018)
Set in a parallel universe entering a black hole, a woman reading the book of Revelation has visions of regeneration during Anthropocene.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both mystery
Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery (2022)
World-famous detective Benoit Blanc heads to Greece to peel back the layers of a mystery surrounding a tech billionaire and his eclectic crew of friends.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both mystery
Worth the HypeMovies like thisOrigin (2010)
A woman tries to keep her family together when her son falls ill after he's bitten by a mysterious creature.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both mystery
Down (2001)
After the elevators at a New York City skyscraper begin inexplicably malfunctioning, putting its passengers at risk, mechanic Mark Newman and reporter Jennifer Evans begin separate investigations. Newman gets resistance from superiors at his company, which manufactured the elevator, while additional elevator incidents cause several gruesome deaths. The police get involved and suspect that terrorists are responsible, but a far stranger explanation looms.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both mystery
SnoozefestMovies like thisSome (2004)
Murder, conspiracy, chases, unexpected turns of events in 24 hours everything as it is now will change! Seventy-two hours before the incident: 100,000,000 won worth of drugs are stolen from a police convoy as they are being delivered as evidence.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both mystery
Mardan (2014)
A police officer finds himself haunted by a traumatic childhood memory as he searches for a missing man in the rugged mountains of Iraqi Kurdistan, in this striking feature debut by Batin Ghobadi.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both mystery
The Hound of the Baskervilles (1939)
When a nobleman is threatened by a family curse on his newly inherited estate, detective Sherlock Holmes is hired to investigate.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both mystery
Worth the HypeMovies like thisSpirits in the Dark (2020)
A lonely widower finds a mysterious video on his computer that leads him to an abandoned town occupied by an ominous entity.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both mystery
The Iced Bullet (1917)
A "scientific detective" story about the attempted murder of a wealthy New Yorker in his mountain lodge is framed with a satire of Hollywood as the writer of the story comically tries to get the script read and accepted by a studio.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both mystery
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like The First Law?
The closest matches to The First Law are Brand Upon the Brain! (2007), Autumn Leaves (1956) and The Blue Gardenia (1953). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after The First Law?
Start with Brand Upon the Brain! (2007), the closest match to The First Law.
What is the highest-rated movie like The First Law?
The Hound of the Baskervilles (1939), rated 7.1/10 by 245 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like The First Law?
Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery (2022) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like The First Law?
Yes: Brand Upon the Brain! (2007), Autumn Leaves (1956) and The Blue Gardenia (1953).
How are movies similar to The First Law chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside The First Law, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.