Movies like The Magician, The Son and The Detective (2021)
The best movies like The Magician, The Son and The Detective (2021) are Busting (1974), Ted Bundy: American Boogeyman (2021) and The Clan (2015). If The Magician, The Son and The Detective hooked you with its crime, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedThe Three Deaths of Marisela Escobedo (2020)8.8/10 from 246 votes
- NewestFacing El Chapo (2026)Released 2026
- In SpanishThe Clan (2015)Also in Spanish
Busting (1974)
Defying orders to lay-off the case, two Los Angeles vice-squad cops go after a local mobster and use unorthodox methods to achieve results.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisTed Bundy: American Boogeyman (2021)
Set in a gritty and decadent 1970s America, American Boogeyman follows the elusive and charming killer and the manhunt that brought him to justice involving the detective and the FBI rookie who coined the phrase ‘serial killer’.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Clan (2015)
In Argentina, between 1982 and 1985, the Puccios, a well-established family of San Isidro, an upper-class suburb of Buenos Aires, kidnap several people and hold them as hostages for a ransom.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Legacy of the Bones (2019)
Inspector Amaia Salazar must return to the Baztan valley in order to solve a series of suicides that seem to follow a similar pattern.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisFacing El Chapo (2026)
Two Mexican officers must survive the final hours of their shift after crossing a ruthless cartel boss.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisKill the Jockey (2024)
Remo's self-destructive behavior overshadows his talent. Abril, an upcoming jockey, is pregnant with Remo's baby and has to decide between the child or continuing to race. They both race for Sirena, a businessman who saved Remo's life in the past but now is determined to find him, dead or alive.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisKilling Them Softly (2012)
Jackie Cogan is an enforcer hired to restore order after three dumb guys rob a Mob protected card game, causing the local criminal economy to collapse.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisNo Retreat, No Surrender 3: Blood Brothers (1990)
Two feuding brothers of differing political views, one a policeman, the other a martial artist, join forces to avenge the death of their father, a retired agent who was brutally murdered by the mafia.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisNick of Time (1995)
An ordinary man is suddenly forced into a plot to kill a politician in exchange for his kidnapped daughter's freedom.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Three Deaths of Marisela Escobedo (2020)
After the death of her daughter at the hand of her boyfriend, Marisela Escobedo began to fight for justice not only against the murderer but also against the corrupt Mexican judicial system.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisBlack Caesar (1973)
Raised in Harlem, Tommy Gibbs becomes a successful mob boss but he clashes with the rival Mafia and his old enemy, dirty cop McKinney.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime
SnoozefestMovies like thisGleaming the Cube (1989)
An Orange County teenager's carefree life of ditching class and skateboarding abandoned pools comes to a screeching halt when someone close to him dies. The cops rule the death a suicide, but the bereaved skater believes he was murdered. It's up to him to solve the case, with a skateboard.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisWardriver (2026)
He’s a Wardriver: a hacker who steals from banks, not people—until he’s noticed. Now the money turns violent, and the woman caught in it could save him or kill them both.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Cavern Crimes (2025)
An intense suspense thriller with an attractive blend of crime and mystery set in the unique historical backdrop of the Atapuerca paleontological site, home of the oldest human remains outside of Africa.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime
SnoozefestMovies 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 crime
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 crime
SnoozefestMovies like thisThe Lady of Silence: The Mataviejitas Murders (2023)
Between 1998 and 2005, a wave of murders targeting elderly women hit Mexico City, triggering the hunt for — and capture — of a most unlikely suspect.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime
Worth the HypeMovies 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 crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBlood Ties (2013)
Two brothers, on either side of the law, face off over organized crime in Brooklyn during the 1970s.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Most Hated Woman in America (2017)
The true story of Madalyn Murray O'Hair -- iconoclast, opportunist, and outspoken atheist -- from her controversial rise to her untimely demise.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisEl pasamanos (2017)
The "pasamanos" are a group of young people who transport backpacks with illegal contents from the capital to the suburbs of Buenos Aires. Paula is a "pasamanos" but she is reluctant to let her brother follow in her footsteps.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both crime
Nights Away from Oklahoma (2024)
Two contract killers give up their weapons to learn how to play ping-pong.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both crime
Night Shift (2023)
The night shift clerk at a sex hotel, suffering from narcolepsy, is faced with a night when things are unusually busy and housekeeping finds a gun in room 6.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both crime
Evita (1996)
The hit musical based on the life of Evita Duarte, an Argentinian actress who eventually became the wife of Argentinian president Juan Perón, and the most beloved and hated woman in Argentina.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisLatitudes (2014)
Olívia, a fashion executive, and José, a photographer, gets together in Paris, having casual sex and talking a little about relationships. And, in some days, they meet again in another city. And another one. And another... Latitudes is a trip around the world, the love and the poem of living.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
Strangers in the Park (2026)
A former communist militant and a "live and let live" man form an unlikely friendship on a park bench, sharing their life stories with humor and heart.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
Der Untergang der Pamir (2006)
The story of the German sail-training ship Pamir that sunk in a hurricane.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
The Journey (1992)
A young man living in a cold southern village in South America, decides to start a trip looking for his father. By doing this he discovers unexpected facts about his Latin American essence.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
They Met in Argentina (1941)
A Texas oil millionaire, after failing to secure oil lands in Argentina, seeks out a famous racehorse in Buenos Aires and orders his representative to buy the nag at any price. The representative, Tim Kelly, has a love affair with Lolita O'Shea, the beautiful daughter of the prize horse's owner.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
Like The Magician, The Son and The Detective and something else?
Blend two favourites and we’ll find the films in between.
Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like The Magician, The Son and The Detective?
The closest matches to The Magician, The Son and The Detective are Busting (1974), Ted Bundy: American Boogeyman (2021) and The Clan (2015). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after The Magician, The Son and The Detective?
Start with Busting (1974), the closest match to The Magician, The Son and The Detective.
What is the highest-rated movie like The Magician, The Son and The Detective?
The Three Deaths of Marisela Escobedo (2020), rated 8.8/10 by 246 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like The Magician, The Son and The Detective?
Facing El Chapo (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there Spanish movies like The Magician, The Son and The Detective?
Yes: The Clan (2015), The Legacy of the Bones (2019) and Facing El Chapo (2026).
How are movies similar to The Magician, The Son and The Detective chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside The Magician, The Son and The Detective, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.