Movies like The Essence: Part II (2019)
The best movies like The Essence: Part II (2019) are Belly (1998), Violent Saturday (1955) and Ill Manors (2012). If The Essence: Part II hooked you with its crime and drama, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedBonnie and Clyde (1967)7.5/10 from 1,884 votes
- Newest180 (2026)Released 2026
Belly (1998)
Tommy Bundy and Sincere are best friends as well as infamous and ruthless criminals and shot-callers in the hood. Respected by many but feared by all. As the police are closing in on them and new players are looking for a come up, will their reign last?
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisViolent Saturday (1955)
Three men case a small town very carefully, with plans to rob the bank on the upcoming Saturday, which turns violent and deadly.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisIll Manors (2012)
Ensemble film revolving around characters living in Forest Gate, London. Over the course of a few days, six inter-linking stories explore issues of drug use, prostitution and urban poverty.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisPanic (2000)
Alex is going through a midlife crisis and it has become a very difficult time for him. His marriage is struggling, he's worried about his son, and his job of killing people for his family has become the most stressful part of his life. He seeks the help of a therapist and meets a woman in the waiting room that he connects with.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Sound of Fury (1950)
A family man – desperate for a job – latches onto a friend who encourages him into being a criminal.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & drama
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 & drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisPlunder Road (1957)
A spectacular heist starts to unravel as the crooks take it on the lam.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisLittle Caesar (1931)
A small-time hood shoots his way to the top, but how long can he stay there?
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSiberian Education (2013)
The story of a gang of children growing up in a community of banished criminals, in a forgotten corner of the former Soviet Union. This community rejects the world outside. The only law it obeys… is its own. Against this backdrop two best friends, Kolyma and Gagarin, gradually become fierce enemies as they find themselves on opposite sides of the strict code of honour of the ‘honest criminal’ brotherhood.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisRun (1991)
When a law student accidentally kills the son of a mob boss in a fight, he finds himself relentlessly pursued by the mob and the police.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAdulthood (2008)
After serving six years for killing his schoolmate, a young man learns that someone is out for revenge.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like this180 (2026)
When an unexpected road rage incident puts his son in critical condition, an enraged father spirals down a dark path of emotional turmoil and vengeance.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisCry of the City (1948)
Petty crook and cop-killer Martin Rome, in bad shape from wounds in the hospital prison ward, still refuses to help slimy lawyer Niles clear his client by confessing to another crime. Police Lt. Candella must check Niles' allegation; a friend of the Rome family, he walks a tightrope between sentiment and cynicism. When Martin fears Candella will implicate his girlfriend Teena, he'll do anything to protect her. How many others will he drag down to disaster with him?
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAbove the Rim (1994)
Story of a promising high school basketball star and his relationships with two brothers, one a drug dealer and the other a former basketball star fallen on hard times and now employed as a security guard.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisEach Dawn I Die (1939)
A corrupt D.A. with governatorial ambitions is annoyed by an investigative reporter's criticism of his criminal activities and decides to frame the reporter for manslaughter in order to silence him.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisViolent Ends (2025)
A man raised in a violent crime family struggles to build an honest life with his fiancée but is dragged back into the criminal world after his cousin’s armed robbery leaves an innocent person caught in the crossfire.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & drama
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 Protector (1985)
Billy Wong is a New York City cop whose partner is gunned down during a robbery. Billy and his new partner, Danny Garoni, are working security at a fashion show when a wealthy man's daughter, Laura Shapiro, is kidnapped. The Federal authorities suspect that Laura's father is involved with Mr. Ko, a Hong Kong drug kingpin, so the NYC police commissioner sends the two cops to Hong Kong to investigate.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime
SnoozefestMovies like thisIn the Blood (2014)
When her husband goes missing during their Caribbean vacation, a woman sets off on her own to take down the men she thinks are responsible.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime
SnoozefestMovies like thisWelcome to the Punch (2013)
When notorious criminal Jacob Sternwood is forced to return to London, it gives detective Max Lewinsky one last chance to take down the man he's always been after.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime
SnoozefestMovies like thisBonnie and Clyde (1967)
In the 1930s, bored waitress Bonnie Parker falls in love with an ex-con named Clyde Barrow, and together they start a violent crime spree throughout the country, stealing cars and robbing banks.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both crime & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisDistrict (2018)
A young adult learns that some boys in the hood are simply just goods to wealthy men in the area. It's a tale that truly questions how much you value your self-worth.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & crime
Independence Night (1948)
Park, Ohn - Ran (Kim Shin - jae) has been watching the surroundings of the pawn shop owner Min - ga, who is the enemy who killed his father with Song (Choi Dong - san) for five years. The private house tries to rape her daughter who does not recognize her daughter Sunhee to leave the ring. Young-gil (Choi In-gyu) goes in front of the pawn shop and saves Sun-hee and the two hide in a nearby warehouse. Sunhee left after the mother who was driven by the private house and came back from liberation. Song binds Sunhee and Kyungil, but Olan releases her, saying that the house is the enemy and not the daughter. And after hearing the conversation between the two, he finds that he is his younger brother.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both crime & drama
Hell of a Day (2011)
Gianni is a young criminal who is indebted to the nasty gang boss "Er Tajola". He must find a bunch of money by evening and he'll dive into absurd and dangerous situations.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both crime & drama
Perro callejero (1980)
An abandoned child steals to survive and has problems when he decides to steal from the priest who helps him.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both crime & drama
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisStep Back (2021)
A young man finds himself in troubled times, can he regain footing in his life?
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both crime & drama
The Essence (2019)
Off a major event, Isaac attempts to get his life back on track. Will he succeed in doing so?
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both crime & drama
The Essence 3: Now or Never (2020)
Despite major collateral damage, the conflict between Isaac and Marcus shows no sign of stopping.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both crime & drama
The Immortal (2019)
After reuniting with his first mentor Bruno and receiving his latest mission, an exiled Ciro is left to fearlessly confront whatever comes his way, navigating a new chapter of gang warfare while grappling with devastating memories of loss and trauma. Weaving between his past as an orphan in Naples' cruel underworld and present as a hardened, cunning assassin with nothing left to lose, Ciro is plunged into the cold, dark depths of a world where immortality is just another form of damnation.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both crime & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisLaundry Day (2018)
A bizarre fight in a dive bar-laundromat among four New Orleans low-lifes is revisited from each person's perspective, revealing an intricate web of harrowing, horrific, & hilarious service industry intrigue. Everybody has a reason but nobody has a clue.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & crime
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like The Essence: Part II?
The closest matches to The Essence: Part II are Belly (1998), Violent Saturday (1955) and Ill Manors (2012). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after The Essence: Part II?
Start with Belly (1998), the closest match to The Essence: Part II.
What is the highest-rated movie like The Essence: Part II?
Bonnie and Clyde (1967), rated 7.5/10 by 1,884 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like The Essence: Part II?
180 (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like The Essence: Part II?
Yes: Belly (1998), Violent Saturday (1955) and Ill Manors (2012).
How are movies similar to The Essence: Part II chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside The Essence: Part II, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.