Best tv shows like Small Sacrifices
Last updated March 2024
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Plot Summary:
Based on the best-selling true crime book by Ann Rule, the film is about Diane Downs and the attempted murder of her three children.
IMDB Rating: 7.6
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Crime, Drama, History
Country: Canada, USA
Duration: 159 min
Plot tags: detective, tense, sincere, serious, realistic, suspenseful, disturbing, talky
Best tv shows and movies like Small Sacrifices (1989):
Similar in 87%
The Old Fox (1977)
Plot Summary:
A police department, lead by an older, experienced detective solve crimes together.
IMDB Rating: 6.3
IMDB Votes: 748
Genere: Crime, Drama
Country: West Germany
Duration: 60 min
Plot tags: detective, sincere, serious, realistic, suspenseful
Similar in 79%
Arne Dahl: Bad Blood (2012)
Plot Summary:
An American serial killer is on board a plane from New York to Stockholm. Without a proper identification and with great urgency A-group try to locate this passenger before Sweden inadvertently imports it's first American serial killer. The serial killer enters Sweden, and very soon he begins his killing spree. His methods are blood thirsty and can be traced back to the Vietnam War. A collaboration with the FBI begins in an desperate attempt to catch him.
IMDB Rating: 6.9
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Crime, Drama
Country: Sweden
Duration: 180 min
Plot tags: serious, suspenseful, realistic, exciting, captivating, detective, gloomy
Similar in 89%
Sebastian Bergman (2010)
Plot Summary:
Swedish crime drama series about forensic psychologist Sebastian Bergmann.
IMDB Rating: 6.6
IMDB Votes: 649
Genere: Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: Sweden
Duration: 90 min
Plot tags: psychological, tense, atmospheric, bleak, serious, realistic, suspenseful, stylized, detective, gloomy
Similar in 77%
The Murder Room (2004)
Plot Summary:
The lease on the Dupayne Museum is almost up and under the terms of their father's will, all three of the Dupayne children must agree to continue or the museum is to close. Neville Dupayne is dead set against continuing the museum when the money could be used for a much better purpose. One of the museum's key attractions is the Murder Room, displaying information on a series of notorious murders from between the two World Wars. When Neville dies in a way reminiscent of one of the murders on display in the Murder Room, Commander Adam Dalgleish is asked to investigate. There are any number of suspects: his siblings, several museum employees who will lose their job, his secretary with whom he once had an affair and his daughter who felt he was an absentee father. A second murder reveals some of the activities of the upper classes and the solution lies in a long-ago wrong that someone is seeking to right.
IMDB Rating: 7.1
IMDB Votes: 544
Genere: Crime, Drama, Mystery
Country: UK, USA
Duration: 180 min
Plot tags: atmospheric, serious, suspenseful, detective, tense, mind bending, realistic
Similar in 85%
In Cold Blood (1996)
Plot Summary:
At the end of the 1950s, in a more innocent America, the brutal, meaningless slaying of a Midwestern family horrified the nation. This film is based on Truman Capote's hauntingly detailed, psychologically penetrating nonfiction novel. While in prison, Dick Hickock, 20, hears a cell-mate's story about $10,000 in cash kept in a home safe by a prosperous rancher. When he's paroled, Dick persuades ex-con Perry Smith, also 20, to join him in going after the stash. On a November night in 1959, Dick and Perry break into the Holcomb, Kansas, house of Herb Clutter. Enraged at finding no safe, they wake the sleeping family and brutally kill them all. The bodies are found by two friends who come by before Sunday church. The murders shock the small Great Plains town, where doors are routinely left unlocked. Detective Alvin Dewey of the Kansas Bureau of Investigation heads the case, but there are no clues, no apparent motive and no suspects.
IMDB Rating: 6.2
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Crime, Drama, History
Country: USA, Canada
Duration: 240 min
Plot tags: tense, bleak, serious, realistic, suspenseful, disturbing
Similar in 83%
Death of an Expert Witness (1983)
Plot Summary:
When Dr. Edwin Lorrimer, a forensic scientist working at a private laboratory is found killed, Detective Superintendent Adam Dalgliesh is sent to investigate. Dalgliesh had been in the area a few months previously investigating the murder of a young woman found in an abandoned car. There are several suspects: Lorrimer's subordinate, Clifford Bradley, who despises him; the new head of the laboratory, Maxim Howarth, who is jealous of his sister's relationship with him; a colleague, Paul Middlemass, who had a fight with Lorrimer. There is also a gruff and likely unethical policeman who was on the grounds of the laboratory at the time of the killing and a local pathologist who is raising his two young children after his wife leaves him for another man. When one of the suspects is also murdered, Dalgliesh learns a key piece of information.
IMDB Rating: 7.4
IMDB Votes: 374
Genere: Crime, Drama, Mystery
Country: UK
Duration: 50 min
Plot tags: detective, crime drama, atmospheric, serious, realistic, suspenseful
Similar in 82%
Red Riding: The Year of Our Lord 1980 (2009)
Plot Summary:
After 6 years of brutal murders the West Yorkshire Police fear that they may have already interviewed The Ripper and let him back into the world to continue his reign of terror upon the citizens of Yorkshire, but things become more difficult for the Police when they discover they not only have The Ripper to catch, but a copycat killer is also at large. Assistant Chief Constable of the Manchester Police, Peter Hunter, is called in to oversee the West Yorkshire Police's Ripper investigation, with the help of John Nolan and Helen Marshall, both detectives from the Manchester Police, they decide to go back and look at the crime reports from the Rippers victims to see what they could have missed.
IMDB Rating: 7.1
IMDB Votes: 9000
Genere: Crime, Drama, History
Country: UK
Duration: 93 min
Plot tags: tense, suspenseful, enigmatic, detective, atmospheric, cerebral, stylized, gloomy, mind bending, crime drama
Similar in 79%
This Is Personal: The Hunt for the Yorkshire Ripper (2000)
Plot Summary:
This is a dramatisation of the real-life investigation into the notorious Yorkshire Ripper murders of the late 1970s, showing the effect that it had on the health and career of Assistant Chief Constable George Oldfield who led the enquiry.
IMDB Rating: 7.6
IMDB Votes: 418
Genere: Crime, Drama
Country: UK
Duration: 120 min
Plot tags: psychological, exciting, serious, realistic, suspenseful
Similar in 79%
The Murder of Mary Phagan (1988)
Plot Summary:
The Murder of Mary Phagan, a 1987 two-part TV miniseries made by Orion Pictures Corporation and distributed by National Broadcasting Company (NBC), is a dramatization of the story of Leo Frank, a factory manager charged and convicted with murdering a 13-year-old girl, a factory worker named Mary Phagan, in Atlanta, Georgia in 1913. The trial was sensational and controversial. After Frank's legal appeals had failed, the governor of Georgia in 1915 commuted his death sentence to life imprisonment. In 1915 Frank was kidnapped from prison and lynched by a small group of prominent men of Marietta, Georgia. The film features Jack Lemmon, Kevin Spacey, Rebecca Miller, Charles Dutton, Peter Gallagher, Cynthia Nixon, Dylan Baker, and William H. Macy.
IMDB Rating: 7.4
IMDB Votes: 806
Genere: Crime, Drama, History
Country: USA
Duration: 251 min
Plot tags: tense, thought provoking, bleak, serious, realistic
Similar in 78%
The Jury (2004)
Plot Summary:
Set in New York City, the series brings the viewer into the jury room to watch the deliberators try to answer the many questions posed during a trial. As facts are exposed through flashbacks of testimony and crime footage, viewers will form their own opinions about the guilt or innocence of the defendant. Following each verdict, a final flashback will let viewers see the crime as it actually happened and reveal whether or not the jury made the right decision.
IMDB Rating: 6.9
IMDB Votes: 144
Genere: Crime, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 60 min
Plot tags: serious, realistic, suspenseful, disturbing, rough, bleak
Similar in 85%
Seduced by Madness: The Diane Borchardt Story (1996)
Plot Summary:
True crime story of a Wisconsin teacher's aide who hired teenaged students to murder her estranged husband.
IMDB Rating: 6.6
IMDB Votes: 401
Genere: Thriller, Drama, Crime
Country: USA
Duration: 200 min
Plot tags: psychological, tense, serious, realistic, suspenseful, gloomy, sexual, sexy
Similar in 80%
To Serve and Protect (1999)
Plot Summary:
Three generations of Dallas police officers join together to track down the deadliest serial killer ever to terrorize Texas.
IMDB Rating: 5.5
IMDB Votes: 229
Genere: Thriller, Crime, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 169 min
Plot tags: detective, psychological, exciting, tense, rough, mind bending, serious, realistic, suspenseful
Similar in 83%
Helter Skelter (1976)
Plot Summary:
The investigation of two horrific mass murders leads to the capture and trial of the psychotic pseudo-hippie Charles Manson and his "family".
IMDB Rating: 7.3
IMDB Votes: 4000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 194 min
Plot tags: disturbing, slasher horror, spooky, psychological, tense, rough, serious, realistic, suspenseful, talky
Similar in 81%
See No Evil: The Moors Murders (2006)
Plot Summary:
The film is the first known dramatisation of one of the most notorious killing sprees in British history and was made to mark the fortieth anniversary of Hindley and Brady's trial. It was made with the full backing of the victims' families, and was based on two years research, including interviews with detectives, relatives of the murdered children, and Hindley's brother-in-law David Smith.
IMDB Rating: 7.1
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: UK
Duration: 180 min
Plot tags: serious, disturbing, realistic, suspenseful, detective, rough
Similar in 90%
Perfect Murder, Perfect Town: JonBenét and the City of Boulder (2000)
Plot Summary:
About the infamous murder of six year old child beauty pageant contestant JonBenét Ramsey and the hysterical media coverage that made the investigation even more difficult.
IMDB Rating: 6.1
IMDB Votes: 590
Genere: Crime, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 178 min
Plot tags: psychological, serious, suspenseful, disturbing, realistic, talky, sad, mind bending, adaptation directed by original author
Similar in 88%
Fatal Vision (1984)
Plot Summary:
A retiree spends nine years relentlessly seeking to prove that his son-in-law, a former Green Beret Army doctor, murdered his pregnant wife and two children.
IMDB Rating: 7.7
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Crime, Drama, History, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 181 min
Plot tags: tense, serious, realistic, suspenseful
Similar in 79%
The Murders at White House Farm (2020)
Plot Summary:
Factual drama based on the notorious Whitehouse Farm murders, and the ensuing police investigation and court case.
IMDB Rating: 7.4
IMDB Votes: 12000
Genere: Biography, Crime, Drama, History, Mystery
Country: UK
Duration: 277 min
Plot tags: serious, captivating, realistic, suspenseful, tense, disturbing, crime drama
Similar in 89%
Code of a Killer (2015)
Plot Summary:
Set in 1984, Code of a Killer is a true story which tells of the discovery of DNA fingerprinting. Detective David Baker leads an investigation of the vicious murders of the two Leicestershire schoolgirls, Lynda Mann and Dawn Ashworth. Alec Jeffreys at the time was an ambitious scientist who uncovered a remarkable method to read each individual's unique DNA finger print. Convinced the murderer was local, Baker approached Jeffreys to utilise his newly discovered scientific technique as a way to solve the murders. The first ever DNA manhunt and blood testing of many men followed - all in the aid of catching the killer.
IMDB Rating: 7.6
IMDB Votes: 4000
Genere: Biography, Crime, Drama, History
Country: UK
Duration: 65 min
Plot tags: captivating, tense, serious, exciting, thought provoking, disturbing, detective, crime drama, realistic, suspenseful
Similar in 90%
Chiefs (1983)
Plot Summary:
Three generations of police chiefs for a southern town go about their jobs while a serial murderer operates.
IMDB Rating: 8.1
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 200 min
Plot tags: detective, serious, realistic, suspenseful
Similar in 90%
The Pembrokeshire Murders (2021)
Plot Summary:
Detective superintendent reopens two unsolved murder cases from the 1980s. Forensic methods link the crimes to a string of burglaries. Steve's team has to find more evidence before the perpetrator is released from prison.
IMDB Rating: 7.1
IMDB Votes: 10000
Genere: Crime, Drama, History
Country: UK
Duration: 144 min
Plot tags: suspense, disturbing, suspenseful, tense, psychological, detective
Similar in 83%
Five Daughters (2010)
Plot Summary:
Factually-based drama telling the stories of five young women who were tragically murdered in Ipswich in 2006.
IMDB Rating: 7.5
IMDB Votes: 593
Genere: Crime, Drama
Country: UK
Duration: 60 min
Plot tags: tense, serious, suspenseful, bleak, captivating, realistic
Similar in 83%
Torso: The Evelyn Dick Story (2002)
Plot Summary:
The 1946/1947 murder trial of young and beautiful Evelyn Dick remains the most lurid murder case in Canadian history. After children find only the torso of her missing husband, John, Evelyn is arrested for his murder.
IMDB Rating: 5.9
IMDB Votes: 438
Genere: Crime
Country: Canada
Duration: 91 min
Plot tags: serious, realistic, suspenseful, neo noir, tense, mind bending, talky, tension, cerebral, thought provoking
Similar in 89%
Aspe (2004)
Plot Summary:
In each episode of this Flemish whodunit based on the books of Pieter Aspe, a serious crime - usually one or more murders in the author's home town Bruges - gets investigated by the grumpy but brilliant chief inspector Pieter Van In and his team.
IMDB Rating: 6.6
IMDB Votes: 405
Genere: Crime, Drama
Country: Belgium
Duration: 100 min
Plot tags: serious, realistic, suspenseful, detective
Similar in 90%
The Murders (2019)
Plot Summary:
A rookie Homicide detective's negligence in a fellow officer's death has her searching for redemption in her investigations.
IMDB Rating: 5.6
IMDB Votes: 740
Genere: Crime, Drama
Country: Canada
Duration: 45 min
Plot tags: tense, suspense, suspenseful, disturbing, detective, contemplative
Similar in 87%
Karen Sisco (2003)
Plot Summary:
As a U.S. Deputy Marshal, based on Miami, Florida's Gold Coast, Karen must deal with the underbelly of South Beach nightlife and Palm Beach high life while tracking down fugitives. She also struggles to win the respect of her fellow officers. Karen occasionally gets advice from her father, a retired Miami police officer turned private investigator, who is Karen’s confidant, counselor, and confessor.
IMDB Rating: 7.2
IMDB Votes: 915
Genere: Crime, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 60 min
Plot tags: exciting, serious, realistic, tense, captivating, disturbing, detective, humorous, suspenseful, neo noir
Similar in 80%
Secrets and Lies (2015)
Plot Summary:
Detective Andrea Cornell is a tough, thorough Homicide Detective who leaves no stone unturned. Her unwavering dedication to her job makes her the most formidable opponent - or a highly valuable ally.
IMDB Rating: 7.6
IMDB Votes: 12000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Mystery
Country: USA
Duration: 43 min
Plot tags: serious, tense, suspenseful, captivating, realistic, detective, idiotic
Similar in 85%
The Hunt for a Killer (2020)
Plot Summary:
Based on true stories about real homicide investigations in the south of Sweden between 1989-2004. The six-part series explores the murder of 10-year-old Helen Nilsson in Hörby, southern Sweden, a seemingly impossible case that remained unsolved for 15 years. On the March 1989 night when Helen disappeared, there were around 20 suspected paedophiles living in Hörby.
IMDB Rating: 7.4
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Mystery
Country: Sweden, Finland, Norway, Iceland, Denmark
Duration: 45 min
Plot tags: detective, psychological, unusual plot structure, suspense, suspenseful, contemplative, tense
Similar in 77%
Des (2020)
Plot Summary:
The story of one of the most infamous cases in UK criminal history, that of serial killer Dennis Nilsen. Told through the prism of three men, the series explores the personal and professional consequences of coming into contact with a man like Nilsen.
IMDB Rating: 7.6
IMDB Votes: 20000
Genere: Crime, Drama, History, Thriller
Country: UK
Duration: 143 min
Plot tags: tense, detective, suspense, suspenseful, disturbing, thought provoking, emotional, thrilling, contemplative, moody
Similar in 88%
American Crime Story (2016)
Plot Summary:
An anthology series centered around some of history's most famous criminals.
IMDB Rating: 8.4
IMDB Votes: 98000
Genere: Biography, Crime, Drama, History
Country: USA
Duration: 42 min
Plot tags: anthology, realistic, serious, psychological, feel good, political, suspense, entertaining, detective, mind blowing
Similar in 84%
The Deliberate Stranger (1986)
Plot Summary:
Based on a true story, this film depicts the life of Theodore Robert Bundy, the serial killer. In 1974, after having murdered several young women, he leaves Seattle for Utah, where he is a law student and where other girls disappear. It takes the cooperation of a number of police forces to work efficiently on this case. Soon, but not soon enough, the police eliminate endless possibilities and close in on him. Bundy is tried in the media and his good-boy attitude brings him sympathy but also the hatred of many.
IMDB Rating: 7.3
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 185 min
Plot tags: psychotronic, psychological, tense, rough, bleak, serious, realistic, suspenseful, disturbing, cult film