Best movies like Sketches of a Strangler
Last updated March 2024
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Plot Summary:
An art student living with his sister is actually a maniac strangling dancers and prostitutes. One victim's sister starts looking for him.
IMDB Rating: 4.4
IMDB Votes: 50
Genere: Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 91 min
Plot tags: slasher, grindhouse, independent film, psychological, mind bending, serious, realistic, suspenseful, sexual, sexy
Best tv shows and movies like Sketches of a Strangler (1978):
Similar in 75%
The Grief Tourist (2012)
Plot Summary:
JIM TAHANA doesn't leave much of an impression when he passes you by. But look closer and you'll sense his hunger - the deep hunger of an insatiable American soul - always scanning to devour something - anything that might fill the searing, unexplained void within him. Jim obsesses over the hobby that has been part of his DNA since he was a young boy: grief tourism - the act of traveling with the intent to visit places of tragedy or disaster. Every year his week-long vacations from work are spent going to grief tourist locations in the lives of different serial killers he is fascinated with. This years obsession is Carl Marznap, a mass murder from New Orleans, Louisiana. But this trip is no ordinary vacation as Jim's rancid sexual impulses and weakening grip on reality deteriorate into a violent despair that will ultimately unlock an unspeakable secret festering within him, bringing The Grief Tourist to it's brutal and shocking finale.
IMDB Rating: 5.0
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 84 min
Plot tags: psychological, mind bending, serious, atmospheric, realistic, suspenseful, suspense, grindhouse
Similar in 77%
iMurders (2008)
Plot Summary:
A mysterious love triangle leads to a tragic shooting. Months later, eight members of a MySpace-esque chat room are being gruesomely murdered in the privacy of their own homes.
IMDB Rating: 3.6
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Horror, Mystery, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 99 min
Plot tags: suspense, slasher, scary, mind bending, serious, suspenseful, cyber, rough, realistic, independent film
Similar in 86%
Class of '76 (2005)
Plot Summary:
Inspector Tom Monroe (Robert Carlyle) investigates the mysterious death of several people that the only thing they have in common is being classmates. In addition, the deaths appear to be related to a mysterious "faceless child.".
IMDB Rating: 6.2
IMDB Votes: 606
Genere: Crime, Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Country: UK
Duration: 180 min
Plot tags: rough, serious, suspenseful, suspense, psychological, mind bending, realistic
Similar in 87%
Bound by Lies (2005)
Plot Summary:
When Detecive Max Garrett is assigned to protect the sultry photographer Laura Cross from a ruthless killer, he has no idea what he's in for. The more involved Garrett gets in the case, the more attracted he is to Cross, but as they get closer, so does the killer.
IMDB Rating: 3.8
IMDB Votes: 593
Genere: Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 90 min
Plot tags: tense, serious, realistic, suspenseful, detective, sexual, sexy
Similar in 75%
Killer by Nature (2010)
Plot Summary:
The troubled teenager Owen Whitmore has a sleep disorder and occasionally sleepwalks. Owen is having therapy sessions with Dr. Katherine Ramos. Having just joined the medical school, he has to move to another town, but he is divided between the college and his sweetheart, Maggie. His parents Leona and Walter Whitmore are very worried about him. When Owen has violent dreams, Dr. Ramos decides to consult with Dr. Jonas Julian, a specialist in dream analysis and sleep disorders. Meanwhile, people are protesting in front of the Townsend State Prison where the infamous serial killer Dr. Eugene "Mean Gene" Branch will be executed. Dr. Eugene is the son of another serial-killer and had performed sadistic medical experiments on his victims. Out of the blue, Marcia Freeman who went missing, is found dead in precisely the way that Owen saw in his dreams - the murder set up as if carried out by Dr. Branch.
IMDB Rating: 3.6
IMDB Votes: 327
Genere: Adventure, Crime, Drama, Romance, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 94 min
Plot tags: psychological, tense, serious, suspenseful, captivating, realistic, independent film, slasher
Similar in 82%
Papertrail (1998)
Plot Summary:
A burnt out detective follows the trail of a serial killer who sends him messages about the murders.
IMDB Rating: 4.5
IMDB Votes: 521
Genere: Crime, Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Country: Canada
Duration: 89 min
Plot tags: independent film, scary, psychological, tense, mind bending, serious, slasher, realistic, suspenseful, surprise ending
Similar in 82%
Pretty When You Cry (2001)
Plot Summary:
A wife is caught in a web of sex and violence.
IMDB Rating: 4.1
IMDB Votes: 456
Genere: Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 90 min
Plot tags: erotic, serious, realistic, suspenseful, sexy, independent film, gloomy, sexual
Similar in 85%
Dead Connection (1994)
Plot Summary:
After a series of murders in motel rooms are connected, a cop, Dickson, heads out on the trail to find a serial killer. He discovers that he signs the motel guest-books with the names of boxers, and hence gets a lead on him. However, when he just fails to catch up arrest him, the chase becomes personal.
IMDB Rating: 4.8
IMDB Votes: 587
Genere: Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 93 min
Plot tags: detective, independent film, tense, rough, mind bending, serious, realistic, suspenseful, sexual, neo noir
Similar in 78%
Banshee (2006)
Plot Summary:
A kick-ass professional car thief, Sage, (Taryn Manning), steals a classic '66 Charger on a challenge. It turns out the car belongs to a serial killer (is there another kind?), who proceeds to slice and dice her friends because he wants his car back, and wants Sage dead. Sage also deals with treacherous fellow criminals, and a cop who wants her in jail, or wants to start a relationship (he hasn't decided yet).
IMDB Rating: 5.5
IMDB Votes: 665
Genere: Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 95 min
Plot tags: realistic, serious, suspenseful, psychological, exciting, bleak, suspense
Similar in 80%
Love Her Madly (2000)
Plot Summary:
Three men are dangerously obsessed with the same woman.
IMDB Rating: 3.4
IMDB Votes: 138
Genere: Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 92 min
Plot tags: serious, realistic, suspenseful, captivating, independent film, mind bending, neo noir
Similar in 80%
Last Screening (2011)
Plot Summary:
Sylvain, a film-obsessed 31-year-old, lives in the basement of a small art-house theater where he works as a programmer, projectionist and cashier. Each night, after the last showing, he goes out for a murderous ritual.
IMDB Rating: 5.6
IMDB Votes: 354
Genere: Drama, Thriller
Country: France
Duration: 81 min
Plot tags: tense, suspenseful, psychological, captivating, scary, bleak, serious, realistic, slasher
Similar in 81%
The Prophet's Game (2000)
Plot Summary:
The Prophet has arrived in the ultimate playing ground... Los Angeles. It has taken an innocent childhood game and twisted it into a deadly match of wits, where the only prize is survival. Moving from city to city, The Prophet lures unsuspecting contestants into solving the riddles it supplies. If the contestants are wrong, somebody dies... somebody famous.
IMDB Rating: 4.8
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: USA, Germany
Duration: 106 min
Plot tags: suspenseful, disturbing, psychological, bleak, realistic, suspense, serious
Similar in 86%
Murder Eleven (2013)
Plot Summary:
A serial killer is loose on the streets of Atlantic City. His ten victims are prostitutes, his methods are ruthless and yet his motives are unknown. Two embattled homicide detectives, Mayfield and Jesse, are in a race against time to catch this killer. They have just a few hours to utilize all of their resources and prevent murder number eleven. But with very few leads, very little support, and luck playing against them they are in for a long night because being wrong is unforgiving and number eleven is already gone.
IMDB Rating: 3.8
IMDB Votes: 246
Genere: Crime, Mystery, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 90 min
Plot tags: rough, serious, suspenseful, suspense, slasher, mind bending, realistic
Similar in 85%
Anatomy of a Psycho (1961)
Plot Summary:
The crazed brother of a condemned killer sent to the gas chamber swears vengeance on those he holds responsible for his brother's execution.
IMDB Rating: 4.1
IMDB Votes: 611
Genere: Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 75 min
Plot tags: psychotronic, suspense, grindhouse, independent film, psychological, tense, atmospheric, rough, serious, realistic
Similar in 83%
The Lost (2006)
Plot Summary:
A charismatic psycho suspected of killing two innocent campers in a cold-blooded double homicide grows increasingly unstable as his suburban empire starts to crack at the foundations.
IMDB Rating: 5.8
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 119 min
Plot tags: disturbing, psychological, serious, suspenseful, realistic, rough, slasher, erotic, sexy, depressing
Similar in 76%
Nightmare in Columbia County (1991)
Plot Summary:
The recounting of a terrible crime that wracked a family and galvanized police in South Carolina in the 1980's. Southern beauty pageant winner Dawn Smith is targeted by a sadistic stalker whose obsession with her leads him to kidnap her younger sister.
IMDB Rating: 5.6
IMDB Votes: 385
Genere: Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 100 min
Plot tags: tense, rough, mind bending, serious, realistic, suspenseful, cult film
Similar in 87%
Freeway Killer (2010)
Plot Summary:
For years he terrorized California motorists as he rode the endless highways searching for his next victim. The discarded bodies turned up beaten, sexually assaulted and horribly mutilated. Deceptively charming and intelligent, the scheming murderer easily avoided police at first. But as police closed in and the killer’s pattern grew more erratic, the only question was how many more will die?.
IMDB Rating: 5.4
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 85 min
Plot tags: rough, serious, suspenseful, scary, mind bending, realistic
Similar in 78%
Out of the Darkness (1985)
Plot Summary:
A gripping thriller telling the true story of the hunt and capture of David Berkowitz, a.k.a. "Son of Sam" — the infamous serial killer who stalked New York in the 70s.
IMDB Rating: 6.1
IMDB Votes: 471
Genere: Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 94 min
Plot tags: psychological, detective, rough, mind bending, serious, realistic, suspenseful
Similar in 86%
Zodiac Killer (2005)
Plot Summary:
A young man who works at a nursing home uses the legendary Zodiac killer's M.O. to kill people who neglect their elderly relatives.
IMDB Rating: 2.1
IMDB Votes: 5000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 83 min
Plot tags: slasher, rough, serious, suspenseful, disturbing, suspense, scary, bleak
Similar in 90%
Kemper (2008)
Plot Summary:
A film based on the true story of Ed Kemper, a serial killer who murdered ten in Santa Cruz, CA during the late sixties and early seventies.
IMDB Rating: 3.0
IMDB Votes: 599
Genere: Crime, Horror, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 88 min
Plot tags: psychological, serious, slasher, realistic, suspenseful, suspense, scary
Similar in 87%
Bundy: An American Icon (2009)
Plot Summary:
Bundy, starring Corin Nemec in the title role and co-starring Kane Hodder, details the dark psyche and previously unexplored motivations of the man who became known as one of the most notorious serial killers to leave behind a legacy of evil.
IMDB Rating: 3.7
IMDB Votes: 922
Genere: Crime, Drama, Horror, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 96 min
Plot tags: rough, serious, slasher, suspenseful, disturbing, scary, realistic
Similar in 78%
Rampage: The Hillside Strangler Murders (2006)
Plot Summary:
Kenneth Bianchi, one of the two serial rapists and killers who terrorized the Los Angeles area in the late 1970s, is giving police station interviews to psychiatrist Samantha Stone, who has disquieting lifestyle issues of her own. It falls to her to delve into the details of the case to determine the veracity of Bianchi's claims of multiple personality disorder, but in so doing, she is forced to relive the horrific crimes, one of which occurs at her very doorstep.
IMDB Rating: 4.3
IMDB Votes: 863
Genere: Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 85 min
Plot tags: psychological, rough, realistic, suspenseful, bleak, erotic, suspense, tense, serious, surprise ending
Similar in 86%
Skeletons in the Closet (2001)
Plot Summary:
A father suspects his son to be a murderer...or is he just paranoid and trying to cover up his own past which involves his wife being killed in a fire?.
IMDB Rating: 5.1
IMDB Votes: 712
Genere: Crime, Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 87 min
Plot tags: psychological, bleak, serious, suspenseful, realistic
Similar in 77%
The Boston Strangler (1968)
Plot Summary:
Boston is being terrorized by a series of seemingly random murders of women. Based on the true story, the film follows the investigators path through several leads before introducing the Strangler as a character. It is seen almost exclusively from the point of view of the investigators who have very few clues to build a case upon.
IMDB Rating: 7.1
IMDB Votes: 11000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 116 min
Plot tags: psychological, tense, disturbing, rough, suspense, detective, suspenseful, slasher, psychosexual thriller, retro
Similar in 90%
Son of Sam (2008)
Plot Summary:
This chilling tale recounts the late 70's in New York City, when a serial killer on the loose dubbed "Son of Sam" creates havoc. When arrested, "Son of Sam" tells police he was influenced by a satanic cult. New York would never be the same.
IMDB Rating: 1.8
IMDB Votes: 469
Genere: Crime, Horror, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 80 min
Plot tags: psychological, serious, realistic, suspenseful, psychological thriller, slasher
Similar in 90%
The Gunman (2004)
Plot Summary:
When Detective Ben Simm's wife is killed, he has to learn to be both father and mother to his little girl while searching for a Vigilante that has his own sense of justice.
IMDB Rating: 4.5
IMDB Votes: 465
Genere: Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 90 min
Plot tags: disturbing, tense, serious, suspenseful, independent film, bleak, realistic
Similar in 90%
The Alienist (2018)
Plot Summary:
Crime reporter, John Moore, meets with psychologist, Dr. Laszlo Kreizler, to investigate a serial killer in New York during the late 19th century.
IMDB Rating: 7.7
IMDB Votes: 59000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Mystery
Country: USA
Duration: 60 min
Plot tags: exciting, tense, suspenseful, detective, costume drama, psychological thriller, suspense, captivating, psychological, atmospheric
Similar in 81%
Lucky Day (2002)
Plot Summary:
Nora Barkin is an aspiring actress who supports herself by working for a courier service. No sooner has Nora's friend and coworker Bill Reagan jubilantly announced that he possesses a lottery ticket worth 13 million dollars than Bill is killed by an unknown assailant. Though discouraged from doing so by investigating detective Marinello, Nora insists upon trying to solve Bill's murder herself.
IMDB Rating: 5.2
IMDB Votes: 345
Genere: Crime, Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 95 min
Plot tags: psychological, serious, realistic, suspenseful, mind bending
Similar in 89%
Gone but Not Forgotten (2005)
Plot Summary:
An Oregon woman vanishes. In her wake remains a single black rose & a note reading gone but not forgotten. Now a man stands accused: a private eye has gone missing: a detective knows more than she lets on: & a tough female attorney has entered a web of duplicity revenge & multiple murder.
IMDB Rating: 6.1
IMDB Votes: 705
Genere: Crime, Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 150 min
Plot tags: tense, realistic, psychological, serious, suspenseful
Similar in 88%
The Case of the Hillside Stranglers (1989)
Plot Summary:
The true chilling story of the "two of a kind", killing cousins Angelo Buono and Kenneth Bianchi, better known as the Hillside Stranglers, is told in this TV drama.
IMDB Rating: 6.0
IMDB Votes: 754
Genere: Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 120 min
Plot tags: tense, rough, serious, realistic, suspenseful