Movies like Without a Trace (2002)
The best movies like Without a Trace (2002) are Farewell, My Lovely (1975), Stranger on the Third Floor (1940) and The Substitute 2: School's Out (1998). If Without a Trace hooked you with its crime and mystery, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedStrange Darling (2024)6.9/10 from 1,097 votes
- NewestBone Lake (2025)Released 2025
Farewell, My Lovely (1975)
Private eye Philip Marlowe is hired by ex-con Moose Malloy to find his girlfriend, a former lounge dancer. While also investigating the murder of a client and the theft of a jade necklace, Marlowe becomes entangled with seductress Helen Grayle and discovers a web of dark secrets that are better left hidden.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & mystery
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisStranger on the Third Floor (1940)
Newspaper reporter Michael Ward plunges into a nightmare of guilt, fearing that his "evidence" has sentenced the wrong man to death.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & mystery
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Substitute 2: School's Out (1998)
When teacher Randall Thomasson is killed during a carjacking, an unexpected visitor shows up at his funeral - his estranged brother, Karl Thomasson. An ex-Green Beret turned mercenary, Karl signs on as a new substitute teacher in order to investigate Randall's murder.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both mystery & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Dancer Upstairs (2002)
A police detective in a South American country is dedicated to hunting down a revolutionary guerilla leader.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Rookie (1990)
Veteran cop Nick Pulovski is used to playing musical partners; many of the partners he's had in the past have died on the job, and often as a result of Nick's risky tactics. But the rookie who's been assigned to help Nick bust a carjacking ring is almost as hotheaded as he is … and when Nick gets kidnapped, his newbie partner is his only hope.
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 thisThe Last House on the Left (2009)
When athletic teen Mari Collingwood opts to hang out with her friend Paige in town rather than spend an evening in with her parents vacationing at the family's remote lake house, it marks the beginning of a night no one is going to forget.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisUntil Death (2007)
Anthony Stowe is a dirty cop who is hooked on heroin—and everyone hates him. After a serious accident, he is placed into an induced coma, but emerges from it a better person who wants to put things right.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime
SnoozefestMovies 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 thisDeath Wish (2018)
A mild-mannered father is transformed into a killing machine after his family is torn apart by a violent act.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBlindfire (2020)
A police officer who while responding to a violent hostage call, kills the African American suspect only to later learn of his innocence. Sensing this was a set-up, and facing repercussions, he must track down the person responsible while examining his own accountability and the ingrained racism which brought him to this point.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSpiral: From the Book of Saw (2021)
Working in the shadow of an esteemed police veteran, brash Detective Ezekiel “Zeke” Banks and his rookie partner take charge of a grisly investigation into murders that are eerily reminiscent of the city’s gruesome past. Unwittingly entrapped in a deepening mystery, Zeke finds himself at the center of the killer’s morbid game.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both mystery
SnoozefestMovies like thisStrange Darling (2024)
Nothing is what it seems when a twisted one-night stand spirals into a serial killer’s vicious murder spree.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBone Lake (2025)
A couple’s romantic vacation at a secluded lakeside estate is upended when they are forced to share the mansion with a mysterious and attractive couple. In this darkly hilarious and seductive horror story, a dream getaway spirals into a nightmarish maze of sex, lies, and manipulation, bringing terrifying secrets to light and triggering a bloody battle for survival.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both mystery
SnoozefestMovies like thisFrank and Penelope (2022)
A tale of love and violence when a man on his emotional last legs finds a savior seductively dancing in a run-down strip club. And a life most certainly headed off a cliff suddenly becomes redirected - as everything is now worth dying for.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime
Worth the HypeMovies like thisMurphy's Law (1986)
A tough police detective escapes from custody after being framed and arrested for the murder of his ex-wife, and must now find the real killer and prove his innocence.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCrimes of Passion (1984)
Fashion designer Joanna Crane leads a double life. By night she is China Blue, a prostitute who's attracted the attention of a sexually frustrated private detective, and a psychopathic priest in possession of a murderous sex toy.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisRise of the Footsoldier (2007)
Carlton Leach rises from one of the most feared generals of the football terraces to becoming a member of a notorious gang of criminals who rampaged their way through London and Essex in the late '80s and early '90s.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisVice Squad (1982)
An unlikely Hollywood hooker helps a detective set a trap for a mutilator pimp.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisOut for Justice (1991)
Gino Felino is an NYPD detective from Brooklyn who knows everyone and everything in his neighborhood. Killing his partner was someone's big mistake... because he's now out for justice.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMercy (2000)
Detective Catherine Palmer is on the trail of an elusive serial killer. During her investigation she meets Vickie Kittrie, who belongs to an exclusive club of women who engage in secret sessions of bondage and S&M. Matters become even more complicated when Palmer finds herself attracted to Kittrie, leading to a brief lesbian encounter. Palmer soon learns that each victim belonged to this club of prominent, sexually experimental women. In order to catch the killer, Catherine must trust Vickie to guide her through the dangerous and illicit underground.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both mystery & crime
Joy in Hong Kong (1992)
Joy flies to Hong Kong, where she meets her best friend Alain. With him, she visits the hottest districts of the city. She is kidnapped and imprisoned in a brothel and has to pay a high price for her freedom.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both crime
The Females (1970)
A young woman joins an exclusive health clinic and discovers that the town is populated almost entirely by women, and they have surprising intentions for any male tourists who visit.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both crime
Homejack Reverse (2017)
The roles are reversed in this sequel to the 2016 film, with two women "raping" a man during a home invasion.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both crime
Susanna (1996)
An irresponsible young Spaniard having spent 6 months in jail for embezzlement gets a job as a waiter in a bar restaurant and becomes involved in a stolen goods racket.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both crime
Forever Mine (1999)
A hotel cabana boy falls for the wife of a powerful politico. But when she confesses to the affair, her husband determines to end it forever.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both crime
SnoozefestMovies like thisAmateur Porn Star Killer (2006)
The unofficial story of a killer who kidnaps and kills three girls is told through the tale of his last victim, 'Amateur Porn Star Killer' is about a girl he picks up on the street and convinces to go back to his hotel room. The girl is shy, unnerved, and yet unable to take herself out of a bad situation. The killer is a guy who seems at first nothing more than your standard, 18 year old pervert with a penchant for filming his sexual escapades. An unsettling darkness descends.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both crime
Good Morning... and Goodbye! (1967)
Burt can't satisfy Angel, so she seeks the arms of another man, who is caught by Angel in the arms of another woman. Angel ends up with Justin, who ends up with a co-worker's wife. As Angel and Burt argue, a sorceress watches, and eventually seduces Burt while Angel gets to know Ray, who had previously chased a blonde girl down on the coast. You get the idea.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both crime
Dark Nights in St Pauls (1966)
After the body of the girl is brought to a Hamburg hospital, a doctor tries to reconstruct the course of events that led to her death.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both crime
Unter den Dächern von St. Pauli (1970)
Rival gangs are fighting for control of Hamburg's notorious harbor district, spreading fear and terror in the process. In the streets, houses and clubs, the thriller shows the lives of a handful of people whose fates will be decided within 24 hours.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both crime
Like Without a Trace and something else?
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Without a Trace?
The closest matches to Without a Trace are Farewell, My Lovely (1975), Stranger on the Third Floor (1940) and The Substitute 2: School's Out (1998). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Without a Trace?
Start with Farewell, My Lovely (1975), the closest match to Without a Trace.
What is the highest-rated movie like Without a Trace?
Strange Darling (2024), rated 6.9/10 by 1,097 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Without a Trace?
Bone Lake (2025) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like Without a Trace?
Yes: Farewell, My Lovely (1975), Stranger on the Third Floor (1940) and The Substitute 2: School's Out (1998).
How are movies similar to Without a Trace chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Without a Trace, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.