Movies like American Criminal (2019)
The best movies like American Criminal (2019) are The Killer Is Loose (1956), Avengement (2019) and Vigilante (1983). If American Criminal hooked you with its thriller, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedSympathy for Mr. Vengeance (2002)7.5/10 from 1,821 votes
- NewestIn Cold Light (2026)Released 2026
The Killer Is Loose (1956)
A savings-and-loan bank is robbed; later, a police wiretap identifies meek bank teller Leon Poole as the inside man. In capturing him, detective Sam Wagner accidentally kills Poole's young wife, and at his trial Poole swears vengeance against Wagner. Poole begins his plans to get revenge when he escapes his captors.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAvengement (2019)
While on a prison furlough, a lowly criminal evades his guards and returns to his old stomping ground to take revenge on the people who turned him into a cold blooded killer.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisVigilante (1983)
New York City factory worker Eddie Marino is a solid citizen and regular guy, until the day a sadistic street gang brutally assaults his wife and murders his child. When a corrupt judge sets the thugs free, he goes berserk and vows revenge.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisFight for Your Life (1977)
A minister dispenses justice on three convicts who take his family hostage.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
SnoozefestMovies like thisPeppermint (2018)
A grieving mother transforms herself into a vigilante following the murders of her husband and daughter, eluding the authorities to deliver her own personal brand of justice.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Escapist (2008)
Frank Perry is an institutionalized convict twelve years into a life sentence without parole. When his estranged daughter falls ill, he is determined to make peace with her before it's too late. He develops an ingenious escape plan, and recruits a dysfunctional band of escapists - misfits with a mutual dislike for one other but united by their desire to escape their hell hole of an existence.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDeath Warrant (1990)
Canadian policeman Louis Burke is assigned in a jail to investigate the murders of prisoners and jailors. While there, Louis, using his outstanding martial arts skills, is able to save his life and make himself respected in this violent world.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Equalizer 2 (2018)
Robert McCall, who serves an unflinching justice for the exploited and oppressed, embarks on a relentless, globe-trotting quest for vengeance when his former partner is murdered.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDeath Wish II (1982)
Paul Kersey is again a vigilante trying to find five punks who murdered his housekeeper and daughter in Los Angeles.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisFaster (2010)
After 10 years in prison, Driver is now a free man with a single focus - hunting down the people responsible for brutally murdering his brother.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDark Passage (1947)
A man convicted of murdering his wife escapes from prison and works with a woman to try and prove his innocence.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Worth the HypeMovies like thisClose Range (2015)
A rogue soldier turned outlaw is thrust into a relentless fight with a corrupt sheriff, his obedient deputies, and a dangerous drug cartel in order to protect his sister and her young daughter.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHarry Brown (2009)
An elderly ex-serviceman and widower looks to avenge his best friend's murder by doling out his own form of justice.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisRaw Deal (1948)
Joe Sullivan is itching to get out of prison. He's taken the rap for his accomplice Rick, a sadistic mobster who owes him $50,000 from the job they pulled. Rick sets up an escape for Joe, assuming that Joe will be killed while fleeing. But with the help of his love-struck girl Pat and his sympathetic legal caseworker Ann, Joe gets further than Rick intended...
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisLaw Abiding Citizen (2009)
A frustrated man decides to take justice into his own hands after a plea bargain sets one of his family's killers free. He targets not only the killer but also the district attorney and others involved in the deal.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Worth the HypeMovies like this10 to Midnight (1983)
Warren Stacy, an office equipment repairman, begins murdering women after they reject his advances. To minimize the evidence, Stacy always kills while naked, wearing nothing but gloves, and further evades the law with his strong alibis. Veteran detective Leo Kessler is convinced of Stacy's guilt and begins using questionable methods to catch him.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSavage Salvation (2022)
Newly engaged Shelby John and Ruby Red want a fresh start after their struggles with addiction, but when Shelby discovers his beloved Ruby dead on their porch, he embarks on a vengeful killing spree of the dealers who supplied her. Armed with nothing but adrenaline and a nail gun, Shelby begins to unleash chaos on the town’s criminal underbelly, as he hunt’s down crime lord Coyote. Sheriff Church must race against the clock to put an end to Shelby's vigilante justice before the entire town descends into a bloodbath.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSudden Impact (1983)
When a young rape victim takes justice into her own hands and becomes a serial killer, it's up to Dirty Harry Callahan, on suspension from the SFPD, to bring her to justice.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Desperate Hours (1955)
Escaped convicts terrorize a suburban family they're holding hostage.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Worth the HypeMovies like thisIn Cold Light (2026)
Fresh out of prison, Ava's attempt to reclaim her drug operation collapses when she witnesses a brutal crime, forcing her to flee into a nightmarish underworld where allies are scarce and enemies multiply by the minute.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
SnoozefestMovies like thisSand Castles (2016)
In rural Indiana, Noah and his impoverished family wrestle with the mysterious return of his now mute sister, Lauren, who was kidnapped and held captive for over a decade.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller
Road to Perdition (2002)
Mike Sullivan works as a hit man for crime boss John Rooney. Sullivan views Rooney as a father figure, however after his son is witness to a killing, Mike Sullivan finds himself on the run in attempt to save the life of his son and at the same time looking for revenge on those who wronged him.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Brave One (2007)
A woman struggles to recover from a brutal attack by setting out on a mission for revenge.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Devil's Own (1997)
Frankie McGuire, one of the IRA's deadliest assassins, draws an American family into the crossfire of terrorism. But when he is sent to the U.S. to buy weapons, Frankie is housed with the family of Tom O'Meara, a New York cop who knows nothing about Frankie's real identity. Their surprising friendship, and Tom's growing suspicions, forces Frankie to choose between the promise of peace or a lifetime of murder.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisUnder Siege (1980)
A band of thugs belonging to an organized crime family assaults several casinos at the same time creating death and panic in their wake. As they flee the scenes of their crimes police begin to close in on them, so they quickly hide themselves in a villa owned by a wealthy industrialist taking him and his family hostage.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller
Cry Terror! (1958)
A mad bomber holds an innocent family hostage.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller
Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance (2002)
A deaf man and his girlfriend resort to desperate measures in order to fund a kidney transplant for his sister. Things go horribly wrong, and the situation spirals rapidly into a cycle of violence and revenge.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Jackal (1997)
Hired by a powerful member of the Russian mafia to avenge an FBI sting that left his brother dead, a psychopathic hitman known only as The Jackal proves an elusive target for the people charged with the task of bringing him down: a deputy FBI director, a Russian MVK Major, and a jailed IRA terrorist who can recognize him.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisLayer Cake (2004)
When a seemingly straight-forward drug deal goes awry, XXXX has to break his die-hard rules and turn up the heat, not only to outwit the old regime and come out on top, but to save his own skin...
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisRendition (2007)
When an Egyptian terrorism suspect "disappears" on a flight from Africa to Washington DC, his American wife and a CIA analyst find themselves caught up in a struggle to secure his release from a secret detention facility somewhere outside the US.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like American Criminal?
The closest matches to American Criminal are The Killer Is Loose (1956), Avengement (2019) and Vigilante (1983). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after American Criminal?
Start with The Killer Is Loose (1956), the closest match to American Criminal.
What is the highest-rated movie like American Criminal?
Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance (2002), rated 7.5/10 by 1,821 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like American Criminal?
In Cold Light (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like American Criminal?
Yes: The Killer Is Loose (1956), Avengement (2019) and Vigilante (1983).
How are movies similar to American Criminal chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside American Criminal, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.