Movies Like Butterfly on the Shoulder

If you liked Butterfly on the Shoulder (1978), a thriller and mystery movie directed by Jacques Deray, 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
Cleaner (2007)
★ 6.1/10Also thriller and mystery
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 shocked to learn he may…
2
The Hatter's Ghost (1982)
★ 6.4/10Also thriller and mystery
A hatter in a provincial town (Michel Serrault) leads the life of a respectable citizen but is in fact a serial murderer. The only person to suspect this is his neighbour the tailor (Charles Asnavour).
3
The Mirror Crack'd (1980)
★ 6.1/10Also mystery and thriller
Jane Marple solves the mystery when a local woman is poisoned and a visiting movie star seems to have been the intended victim.
4
Awake (2007)
★ 6.6/10Also thriller and mystery
While undergoing heart surgery, a man experiences a phenomenon called ‘anesthetic awareness’, which leaves him awake but paralyzed throughout the operation. As various obstacles present themselves, his wife must make…
5
Don't Let Go (2019)
★ 6.9/10Also mystery and thriller
A detective suffering from a personal loss receives a call from his recently deceased niece. Being able to communicate across time, the two work together to try and stop the crime before it occurs.
6
Horns (2013)
★ 6.3/10Also thriller
In the aftermath of his girlfriend's mysterious death, a young man awakens to strange horns sprouting from his temples.
7
Nocebo (2022)
★ 6/10Also mystery and thriller
A fashion designer suffers from a mysterious illness that puzzles her doctors and frustrates her husband until help arrives in the form of a Filipino caregiver who uses traditional folk healing to reveal a horrifying…
8
Horsemen (2009)
★ 6/10Also mystery and thriller
A recently widowed detective still grieving over his wife's death discovers a shocking connection between himself and the suspects in a serial killing spree linked to the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse.
9
Frank and Penelope (2022)
★ 7.3/10Also thriller
A tale of love and violence when a man on his emotional last legs finds a savior seductively dancing in a run-down strip club. And a life most certainly headed off a cliff suddenly becomes redirected - as everything is…
10
The Mean Season (1985)
★ 6.2/10Also mystery and thriller
A routine investigation of a shocking murder takes a bizarre twist when the killer contacts the reporter and appoints him his personal spokesman. As the killer's calls and clues increase, the reporter is lured into a…
11
Without Apparent Motive (1971)
★ 5.9/10Also mystery and thriller
A series of murders is committed in Nice on the French riviera. The commissaire Carella is in charge and tries to find a missing link between all these murders.
12
The Truth About Emanuel (2013)
★ 6/10Also thriller
A troubled young woman becomes obsessed with her mysterious new neighbor, who bears a striking resemblance to the girl's dead mother.
13
The Lady Vanishes (2013)
★ 6.3/10Also thriller and mystery
Young socialite Iris Carr befriends an older woman while traveling solo by train. When Iris wakes from a nap, the woman is gone and other passengers claim she never existed.
14
Final Destination 2 (2003)
★ 6.3/10Also mystery
When Kimberly has a violent premonition of a highway pileup she blocks the freeway, keeping a few others meant to die, safe...Or are they? The survivors mysteriously start dying and it's up to Kimberly to stop it…
15
The Killer (2024)
★ 6.3/10Also thriller
Zee is a feared contract killer known as "the Queen of the Dead," but when she refuses to murder a young blind woman, she finds herself hunted both by criminal colleagues and a determined police detective.
16
Vultures (2025)
★ 6.6/10Also thriller and mystery
Samuel, a journalist, and Ava, his intern and daughter, cover the murder of a young girl for their magazine. Through their investigation, they discover disturbing similarities with the murder of another woman.
17
The Number 23 (2007)
★ 6.4/10Also thriller and mystery
Animal control officer Walter Sparrow becomes obsessed with a novel that he believes was written about him, as more and more similarities between himself and his literary alter ego seem to arise.
18
Black Rainbow (1989)
★ 5.9/10Also mystery and thriller
Martha Travis is a medium who makes contact with spirits "on the other side" and connects them with their loved ones still alive, in public performances. Trouble begins when she gives a message to Mary Kuron from her…
19
Play Dead (2022)
★ 6.1/10Also thriller
Criminology student Chloe fakes her own death to break into a morgue, in order to retrieve a piece of evidence that ties her younger brother to a crime gone wrong. Once inside, she discovers that a sadistic coroner is…
20
Rider on the Rain (1970)
★ 6.3/10Also thriller and mystery
Melancolie Mau is a lonely woman on the French seaside who falls victim to a horrific rape, but she manages to turn the tables and kill her attacker. She chooses not to tell anyone and dumps the body, but it comes back…