50 Movies Like Chinatown (1974) You Need to Watch Next
Private eye Jake Gittes lives off of the murky moral climate of sunbaked, pre-World War II Southern California. Hired by a beautiful socialite to investigate her husband's extra-marital affair, Gittes
Updated June 2026
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Polanski's 1974 neo-noir follows private eye Jake Gittes from a routine affair case into a vast conspiracy over water, money and unspeakable family secrets in 1930s Los Angeles. Elegant, cynical and crowned by one of cinema's bleakest endings, it's the genre's modern peak. If its labyrinthine mystery and moral despair gripped you, seek out detective noirs and conspiracy thrillers where the corruption runs deeper than any one crime.
If you loved Chinatown (1974) by Roman Polanski, here are 50 movies that share its content DNA. iRankMovies measures real similarity using cosine similarity across eight weighted dimensions — genre (50%), tone (12%), pace (10%), structure (8%), era (7%), theme (6%), audience (4%) and narrative perspective (3%) — not just the rating. The closest matches according to our analysis are Bad Times at the El Royale, L.A. Confidential, Blue Velvet. Every title is ranked by how closely it matches and backed by the iRank Score, a composite of IMDb, Rotten Tomatoes, Metacritic and TMDb across 12,000+ analysed titles.
50 Movies Similar to Chinatown
Bad Times at the El Royale
2018 · Drew Goddard
Lake Tahoe, 1969. Seven strangers, each one with a secret to bury, meet at El Royale, a decadent motel with a dark past. In the course of a fateful night, everyone will have one last shot at redemptio
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L.A. Confidential
1997 · Curtis Hanson
Three detectives in the corrupt and brutal L.A. police force of the 1950s use differing methods to uncover a conspiracy behind the shotgun slayings of the patrons at an all-night diner.
In common: Crime · Mystery · Thriller
Blue Velvet
1986 · David Lynch
The discovery of a severed human ear found in a field leads a young man on an investigation related to a beautiful, mysterious nightclub singer and a group of psychopathic criminals who have kidnapped
In common: Crime · Mystery · Thriller
Se7en
1995 · David Fincher
Two homicide detectives are on a desperate hunt for a serial killer whose crimes are based on the "seven deadly sins" in this dark and haunting film that takes viewers from the tortured remains of one
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Arlington Road
1999 · Mark Pellington
Bedraggled college professor Michael Faraday has been vexed — and increasingly paranoid — since his wife's accidental death in a botched FBI operation. When a seemingly all-American couple set up hous
In common: Crime · Mystery
Cure
1997 · Kiyoshi Kurosawa
A frustrated detective deals with the case of several gruesome murders committed by people who have no recollection of what they've done.
In common: Crime · Mystery
A Haunting in Venice
2023 · Kenneth Branagh
Celebrated sleuth Hercule Poirot, now retired and living in self-imposed exile in Venice, reluctantly attends a Halloween séance at a decaying, haunted palazzo. When one of the guests is murdered, the
In common: Crime · Mystery · Thriller
8MM
1999 · Joel Schumacher
A small, seemingly innocuous plastic reel of film leads surveillance specialist Tom Welles down an increasingly dark and frightening path. With the help of the streetwise Max, he relentlessly follows
In common: Crime · Mystery · Thriller
The Woman in Cabin 10
2025 · Simon Stone
On a lavish yacht for an assignment, a journalist sees a passenger go overboard. But when no one believes her, she risks her life to uncover the truth.
In common: Crime · Mystery · Thriller
Body Heat
1981 · Lawrence Kasdan
During an extreme heatwave, a beautiful Florida woman and a seedy lawyer engage in an affair while plotting the murder of her rich husband.
In common: Crime · Thriller
Solace
2015 · Afonso Poyart
A psychic doctor, John Clancy, works with an FBI special agent in search of a serial killer.
In common: Crime · Mystery · Thriller
Copycat
1995 · Jon Amiel
An agoraphobic psychologist and a female detective must work together to take down a serial killer who copies serial killers from the past.
In common: Crime · Mystery · Thriller
The Accountant²
2025 · Gavin O'Connor
When an old acquaintance is murdered, Wolff is compelled to solve the case. Realizing more extreme measures are necessary, Wolff recruits his estranged and highly lethal brother, Brax, to help. In par
In common: Crime · Mystery · Thriller
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
2011 · David Fincher
Disgraced journalist Mikael Blomkvist investigates the disappearance of a weary patriarch's niece from 40 years ago. He is aided by the pierced, tattooed, punk computer hacker named Lisbeth Salander.
In common: Crime · Mystery · Thriller
Cleaner
2007 · Renny Harlin
Single father and former cop Tom Cutler has an unusual occupation: he cleans up death scenes. But when he's called in to sterilize a wealthy suburban residence after a brutal shooting, Cutler is shock
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Forgotten
2017 · Chang Hang-jun
Jin-seok, 21-year-old, moves into a new house with his family. He suffers from a slight schizophrenia but he carries an ordinary life under the warm care of the family. His older brother Yu-seok is a
In common: Crime · Mystery · Thriller
Death on the Nile
2022 · Kenneth Branagh
Belgian sleuth Hercule Poirot's Egyptian vacation aboard a glamorous river steamer turns into a terrifying search for a murderer when a picture-perfect couple's idyllic honeymoon is tragically cut sho
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The Batman
2022 · Matt Reeves
In his second year of fighting crime, Batman uncovers corruption in Gotham City that connects to his own family while facing a serial killer known as the Riddler.
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Basic Instinct
1992 · Paul Verhoeven
Catherine, a novelist with an insatiable sexual appetite, becomes a prime suspect when her boyfriend is brutally murdered -- a crime she had described in her latest story.
In common: Mystery · Thriller
Zodiac
2007 · David Fincher
Over the course of a decade, editors of the San Francisco Chronicle entice themselves in the murders of the Zodiac Killer. However, as time runs its course, interest in the case dwindles in the eyes o
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It Was Just an Accident
2025 · Jafar Panahi
An unassuming mechanic is reminded of his time in an Iranian prison when he encounters a man he suspects to be his sadistic jailhouse captor.
In common: Crime · Mystery
Nightmare Alley
2021 · Guillermo del Toro
An ambitious carnival man with a talent for manipulating people with a few well-chosen words hooks up with a female psychologist who is even more dangerous than he is.
In common: Crime · Thriller
Reptile
2023 · Grant Singer
Following the brutal murder of a young real estate agent, a hardened detective attempts to uncover the truth in a case where nothing is as it seems, and by doing so dismantles the illusions in his own
In common: Crime · Mystery
The Bone Collector
1999 · Phillip Noyce
Lincoln Rhyme was the department's top homicide detective and leading expert in criminal forensics until an injury left him paralyzed, depressed, and incapable of working. But when a gruesome murder i
In common: Crime · Mystery
Edge of Darkness
2010 · Martin Campbell
As a seasoned homicide detective, Thomas Craven has seen the bleakest side of humanity. But nothing prepares him for the toughest investigation of his life: the search for his only daughter Emma's kil
In common: Crime · Mystery
Double Jeopardy
1999 · Bruce Beresford
Libby Parsons, wrongly convicted of her husband Nick's murder, thinks he is still alive. She survives the long years in prison with two burning desires sustaining her -- finding her son and solving th
In common: Crime · Mystery · Thriller
Serenity
2019 · Steven Knight
The quiet life of Baker Dill, a fishing boat captain who lives on the isolated Plymouth Island, where he spends his days obsessed with capturing an elusive tuna while fighting his personal demons, is
In common: Mystery · Thriller
Prisoners
2013 · Denis Villeneuve
Keller Dover is facing every parent’s worst nightmare. His six-year-old daughter, Anna, is missing, together with her young friend, Joy, and as minutes turn to hours, panic sets in. The only lead is a
In common: Crime · Thriller
Drive
2011 · Nicolas Winding Refn
Driver is a skilled Hollywood stuntman who moonlights as a getaway driver for criminals. Though he projects an icy exterior, lately he's been warming up to a pretty neighbor named Irene and her young
In common: Crime · Thriller
Primal Fear
1996 · Gregory Hoblit
Defense attorney Martin Vail takes on jobs for money and prestige rather than any sense of the greater good. His latest case involves an altar boy, accused of brutally murdering the archbishop of Chic
In common: Crime · Mystery
Uncut Gems
2019 · Benny Safdie
A charismatic New York City jeweler always on the lookout for the next big score makes a series of high-stakes bets that could lead to the windfall of a lifetime. Howard must perform a precarious high
In common: Crime · Thriller
Wind River
2017 · Taylor Sheridan
An FBI agent teams with the town's veteran game tracker to investigate a murder that occurred on a Native American reservation.
In common: Crime · Mystery
Le Trou
1960 · Jacques Becker
Four prison inmates have been hatching a plan to literally dig out of jail when another prisoner, Claude Gaspard, is moved into their cell. They take a risk and share their plan with the newcomer. Ove
In common: Crime · Thriller
Mystic River
2003 · Clint Eastwood
The lives of three men who were childhood friends are shattered when one of them suffers a family tragedy.
In common: Crime · Mystery
A Walk Among the Tombstones
2014 · Scott Frank
Private investigator Matthew Scudder is hired by a drug kingpin to find out who kidnapped and murdered his wife.
In common: Crime · Mystery
Insomnia
2002 · Christopher Nolan
Two Los Angeles homicide detectives are dispatched to a northern town where the sun doesn't set to investigate the methodical murder of a local teen.
In common: Crime · Thriller
Striking Distance
1993 · Rowdy Herrington
Coming from a police family, Tom Hardy ends up fighting his uncle after the murder of his father. Tom believes the killer is another cop, and goes on the record with his allegations. Demoted to water-
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Survivor
2015 · James McTeigue
A Foreign Service Officer in London tries to prevent a terrorist attack set to hit New York, but is forced to go on the run when she is framed for crimes she did not commit.
In common: Crime · Mystery
Eastern Promises
2007 · David Cronenberg
A Russian teenager living in London dies during childbirth but leaves clues in her diary that could tie her child to a rape involving a violent Russian mob family.
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Under the Silver Lake
2018 · David Robert Mitchell
Young and disenchanted Sam meets a mysterious and beautiful woman who's swimming in his building's pool one night. When she suddenly vanishes the next morning, Sam embarks on a surreal quest across Lo
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Knives Out
2019 · Rian Johnson
When renowned crime novelist Harlan Thrombey is found dead at his estate just after his 85th birthday, the inquisitive and debonair Detective Benoit Blanc is mysteriously enlisted to investigate. From
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Mulholland Drive
2001 · David Lynch
Blonde Betty Elms has only just arrived in Hollywood to become a movie star when she meets an enigmatic brunette with amnesia. Meanwhile, as the two set off to solve the second woman's identity, filmm
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Clue
1985 · Jonathan Lynn
Clue finds six colorful dinner guests gathered at the mansion of their host, Mr. Boddy -- who turns up dead after his secret is exposed: He was blackmailing all of them. With the killer among them, th
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Sicario: Day of the Soldado
2018 · Stefano Sollima
Agent Matt Graver teams up with operative Alejandro Gillick to prevent Mexican drug cartels from smuggling terrorists across the United States border.
In common: Crime · Thriller
Mindhunters
2004 · Renny Harlin
Trainees in the FBI's psychological profiling program must put their training into practice when they discover a killer in their midst. Based very loosely on Agatha Christie's And Then There Were Non
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No Country for Old Men
2007 · Joel Coen
Llewelyn Moss stumbles upon dead bodies, $2 million and a hoard of heroin in a Texas desert, but methodical killer Anton Chigurh comes looking for it, with local sheriff Ed Tom Bell hot on his trail.
In common: Crime · Thriller
Sin City
2005 · Robert Rodriguez
Welcome to Sin City. This town beckons to the tough, the corrupt, the brokenhearted. Some call it dark… Hard-boiled. Then there are those who call it home — Crooked cops, sexy dames, desperate vigilan
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The Girl on the Train
2016 · Tate Taylor
Rachel Watson, devastated by her recent divorce, spends her daily commute fantasizing about the seemingly perfect couple who live in a house that her train passes every day, until one morning she sees
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Sicario
2015 · Denis Villeneuve
An idealistic FBI agent is enlisted by a government task force to aid in the escalating war against drugs at the border area between the U.S. and Mexico.
In common: Crime · Thriller
Rebecca
1940 · Alfred Hitchcock
Story of a young woman who marries a fascinating widower only to find out that she must live in the shadow of his former wife, Rebecca, who died mysteriously several years earlier. The young wife must
In common: Mystery