Movies Like Diary of a Serial Killer

If you liked Diary of a Serial Killer (1969), a crime movie directed by Helmut Käutner, here are 20 movies with a similar feel, based on TMDB's recommendations. Each one links to its cast, trailer and where it's streaming.

1
Ted Bundy: American Boogeyman (2021)
★ 6.6/10Also crime
Set in a gritty and decadent 1970s America, American Boogeyman follows the elusive and charming killer and the manhunt that brought him to justice involving the detective and the FBI rookie who coined the phrase…
2
Schramm (1993)
★ 5.8/10Also crime
Lothar Schramm is a simple man with complex problems, yet he seems like such a nice guy. He works as a taxi driver and lives by himself where he is happy to answer his door to strangers and kill them outright. As with…
3
The Blue Gardenia (1953)
★ 6.5/10Also crime
Upon waking up to the news that the man she’d gone on a date with the previous night has been murdered, a young woman with only a faint memory of the night’s events begins to suspect that she murdered him while…
4
Strange Darling (2024)
★ 6.9/10Also crime
Nothing is what it seems when a twisted one-night stand spirals into a serial killer’s vicious murder spree.
5
The Crash (2026)
★ 6.8/10Also crime
A teen slams her car into a building, killing her boyfriend and his friend. What seems like a tragic accident becomes a murder case.
6
Winged Creatures (2009)
★ 5.9/10Also crime
A psychotic man opens fire in a diner, murdering numerous people before killing himself. The survivors struggle in different ways following this horrendous event: a doctor doubts his own instincts and elects to use an…
7
All the Devils Are Here (2025)
★ 6.2/10Also crime
After a heist, four criminals lay low in a remote safehouse, waiting for orders. As paranoia builds, one thing becomes clear — the real threat may not be outside, but among them.
8
Maniac (1963)
★ 6.2/10Also crime
When a stranger enters a quiet, country town and is seduced by a sensuous married woman he unwittingly finds himself at the centre of a storm of sexual guilt and murder.
9
Striking Distance (1993)
★ 5.9/10Also crime
Demoted Pittsburgh cop Tom Hardy works river patrol while a serial killer targets women from his past, forcing him to conduct an unauthorized investigation to prove his innocence and expose a dirty cop.
10
Psycho Therapy: The Shallow Tale of a Writer Who Decided to Write About a Serial Killer (2025)
★ 6.8/10Also crime
A struggling writer in the midst of a divorce befriends a retired serial killer who incidentally becomes his marriage counselor by day, and killing counselor for his next book by night.
11
The Calendar Killer (2024)
★ 6.2/10Also crime
Klara is going to die today unless she kills her husband instead. The Calendar Killer has given her that impossible choice. When Jules starts his night shift at a telephone safety helpline for lonely women on their way…
12
The Virtuoso (2021)
★ 5.9/10Also crime
Danger, deception and murder descend upon a sleepy town when a professional assassin accepts a new assignment from his enigmatic boss.
13
Ca$h (2010)
★ 5.9/10Also crime
A stroke of good luck turns lethal for Sam Phelan and his wife Leslie when they are faced with a life-changing decision that brings strange and sinister Pyke Kubic to their doorstep. As Pyke leads Sam and Leslie on a…
14
Suburbicon (2017)
★ 5.9/10Also crime
In the quiet family town of Suburbicon during the 1950s, the best and worst of humanity is hilariously reflected through the deeds of seemingly ordinary people. When a home invasion turns deadly, a picture-perfect…
15
Run (1991)
★ 6/10Also crime
When a law student accidentally kills the son of a mob boss in a fight, he finds himself relentlessly pursued by the mob and the police.
16
Belly (1998)
★ 6.4/10Also crime
Tommy Bundy and Sincere are best friends as well as infamous and ruthless criminals and shot-callers in the hood. Respected by many but feared by all. As the police are closing in on them and new players are looking…
17
Panic (2000)
★ 6.2/10Also crime
Alex is going through a midlife crisis and it has become a very difficult time for him. His marriage is struggling, he's worried about his son, and his job of killing people for his family has become the most stressful…
18
Faces in the Crowd (2011)
★ 6.1/10Also crime
Anna is living with "face-blindness" after surviving a serial killer's attack. As she lives with her condition, one in which facial features change each time she loses sight of them, the killer closes in.
19
Maternal Instinct (2026)
★ 7.2/10Also crime
Police pull over a woman who claims she just gave birth. But the baby — and the blood — aren't hers. Twisted lies unravel in this true-crime documentary.
20
Accident Man (2018)
★ 6.3/10Also crime
Mike Fallon, the Accident Man, is a stone cold killer. When a loved one is murdered by his own crew, Fallon is forced to avenge the one person who actually meant something to him.