Movies Like Plötzlich und unerwartet

If you liked Plötzlich und unerwartet (1985), a crime movie directed by Thomas Engel, 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
Kidnapping Mr. Heineken (2015)
★ 6/10Also crime
The true story of the kidnapping of Freddy Heineken, the grandson of the founder of the Heineken brewery, and his driver. They were released after a ransom of 35 million Dutch guilders was paid.
2
The Parts You Lose (2019)
★ 6.7/10Also crime
An unlikely friendship unfolds between a young deaf boy, Wesley, and a fugitive criminal who takes refuge in an abandoned barn on the family’s rural North Dakota farm.
3
A Study in Terror (1965)
★ 6.2/10Also crime
When Watson reads from the newspaper there have been two similar murders near Whitechapel in a few days, Sherlock Holmes' sharp deductive is immediately stimulated to start its merciless method of elimination after…
4
Thirteen at Dinner (1985)
★ 5.9/10Also crime
Actress Jane Wilkinson wants a divorce, but her husband, Lord Edgware, refuses. She convinces Hercule Poirot to use his famed tact and logic to make her case. Lord Edgware turns up murdered, a well-placed knife wound…
5
The Seven-Ups (1973)
★ 6.3/10Also crime
A tough detective who is part of an elite New York City unit is trying to find out who killed his partner, but uncovers a plot to kidnap mobsters for money.
6
How to Rob a Bank (2007)
★ 5.8/10Also crime
Caught in the middle of a bank robbery, a slacker and a bank employee become the ones who arbitrate the intense situation.
7
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…
8
Things Change (1988)
★ 6.2/10Also crime
Jerry, a misfit Mafia henchman, is assigned the low-level job of keeping an eye on Gino, a shoe repairman fingered by the Mob to confess to a murder he didn't commit. But Gino's mistaken for a Mafia boss, and the two…
9
Murder in Three Acts (1986)
★ 6/10Also crime
In Acapulco, Hercule Poirot attends a dinner party in which one of the guests clutches his throat and suddenly dies. The causes seem to be natural until another party with most of the same guests produces another corpse.
10
Little Caesar (1931)
★ 6.9/10Also crime
A small-time hood shoots his way to the top, but how long can he stay there?
11
Indemnity (2022)
★ 6.6/10Also crime
An ex-fireman with PTSD goes on the run when accused of a crime he doesn't even remember committing, leading him down a rabbit hole of conspiracy to the highest degree.
12
LaRoy, Texas (2024)
★ 6.8/10Also crime
Broke and depressed, Ray is mistaken for a dangerous hitman and given an envelope of cash. Along with his P.I. friend Skip, he must escape the actual hitman to make it out of LaRoy alive.
13
Find Me Guilty (2006)
★ 6.6/10Also crime
Based on the true story of Jack DiNorscio, a mobster who defended himself in court for what would be the longest mafia trial in U.S. history.
14
The Asphalt Jungle (1950)
★ 7.5/10Also crime
Recently paroled from prison, legendary burglar "Doc" Riedenschneider, with funding from Alonzo Emmerich, a crooked lawyer, gathers a small group of veteran criminals together in the Midwest for a big jewel heist.
15
Sun and Concrete (2023)
★ 7/10Also crime
The four friends Lukas, Julius, Gino and Sanchez are trying to survive the everyday life in Neukölln, Berlin between drugs, gangs, rap, violence and boredom. Until they are one day making a serious decision with…
16
Limbo (2023)
★ 6.1/10Also crime
Travis, a jaded detective, arrives in the remote outback town of Limbo to investigate the cold case murder of local Indigenous girl Charlotte Hayes 20 years ago. As truths about the murder begin to unfold, the…
17
Islands (2025)
★ 6.1/10Also crime
In this twisty thriller, a tennis coach at a tropical resort finds himself at the center of a missing persons mystery. Tom teaches tennis during the day and parties at night. When an enigmatic tourist arrives, Tom is…
18
Cry of the City (1948)
★ 6.7/10Also crime
Petty crook and cop-killer Martin Rome, in bad shape from wounds in the hospital prison ward, still refuses to help slimy lawyer Niles clear his client by confessing to another crime. Police Lt. Candella must check…
19
The Man Who Cheated Himself (1950)
★ 6.2/10Also crime
A veteran homicide detective who has witnessed his socialite girlfriend kill her husband sees his inexperienced brother assigned to the case.
20
Perfect Sisters (2014)
★ 5.8/10Also crime
Tired of their mother's alcoholism and a string of her abusive boyfriends, two sisters plot to kill her.