feelsalike.comSign in
Diabolique poster

Movies that feel likeDiabolique (1955)

The cruel and abusive headmaster of a boarding school, Michel Delassalle, is murdered by an unlikely duo -- his meek wife and the mistress he brazenly flaunts. The women become increasingly unhinged by a series of odd occurrences after Delassalle's corpse mysteriously disappears.

If you loved Diabolique, the closest films we have are Dark Passage (1947), The Third Man (1949) and Le Corbeau (1943). All three share Diabolique's tense and twisty feel, which is what we rank on before quality.

Seen the big three already? The under-the-radar pick below is The Naked City (1948).

🍅 95% Rotten Tomatoes★ 8.1 IMDb ↗TMDB ↗dir. Henri-Georges Clouzottensetwistyatmospheric
7 of 12 streaming nowHBO Max · Amazon Prime Video · Criterion Channel

Can't choose? Answer three questions and get one movie for tonight.

See it on the Mood Map

When is Diabolique streaming? →

If Diabolique hit the spot, these will too

Dark Passage poster
Dark Passage
1947 · dir. Delmer Daves
🍅 90%★ 7.5thriller · mystery

Tense where it counts, twisty underneath

A man convicted of murdering his wife escapes from prison and works with a woman to try and prove his innocence.

The Third Man poster
The Third Man
1949 · dir. Carol Reed
🍅 99%★ 8.1thriller · mystery

Common ground: black and white

In postwar Vienna, Austria, Holly Martins, a writer of pulp Westerns, arrives penniless as a guest of his childhood chum Harry Lime, only to learn he has died. Martins develops a conspiracy theory after learning of a "third man" present at the time of Harry's death, running into interference from British officer Major Calloway, and falling head-over-heels for Harry's grief-stricken lover, Anna.

Le Corbeau poster
Le Corbeau
1943 · dir. Henri-Georges Clouzot
🍅 97%★ 7.8mystery · drama · thriller

Henri-Georges Clouzot working the same nerve twice

The difference: Takes it somewhere less atmospheric than Diabolique does

Remy Germain is a doctor in a French town who becomes the focus of a vicious smear campaign, as letters accusing him of having an affair and performing unlawful abortions are mailed to village leaders. The mysterious writer, who signs each letter as "Le Corbeau" (The Raven) soon targets the whole town, exposing everyone's dark secrets.

The Naked City poster
The Naked City
1948 · dir. Jules Dassin
🍅 85%★ 7.5crime · mystery · thrillerMax

Thriller with a pulse of atmosphere, in both cases

The difference: Leans harder into crime than Diabolique does

After a former model is drowned in her bathtub, Detective James Halloran and Lieutenant Dan Muldoon attempt to piece together her murder.

Stray Dog poster
Stray Dog
1949 · dir. Akira Kurosawa
🍅 100%★ 7.8crime · drama · thriller

The same preoccupation in both: black and white

A bad day gets worse for young detective Murakami when a pickpocket steals his gun on a hot, crowded bus. Desperate to right the wrong, he goes undercover, scavenging Tokyo’s sweltering streets for the stray dog whose desperation has led him to a life of crime. With each step, cop and criminal’s lives become more intertwined and the investigation becomes an examination of Murakami’s own dark side.

The Big Sleep poster
The Big Sleep
1946 · dir. Howard Hawks
🍅 96%★ 7.9mystery · crime · thriller

Tense mystery in both cases

Private Investigator Philip Marlowe is hired by wealthy General Sternwood regarding a matter involving his youngest daughter Carmen. Before the complex case is over, Marlowe sees murder, blackmail, deception, and what might be love.

Shadow of a Doubt poster
Shadow of a Doubt
1943 · dir. Alfred Hitchcock
🍅 100%★ 7.8thriller · mystery · crime

Thriller built on twists, twice over

In sleepy Santa Rosa, restless young Charlie’s world brightens when her sophisticated Uncle Charlie arrives for a long visit. But as his behavior grows increasingly strange, she begins to suspect that her beloved uncle may be hiding a terrible secret—and that danger has quietly entered her home.

High and Low poster
High and Low
1963 · dir. Akira Kurosawa
🍅 97%★ 8.4drama · crime · thrillerMax

Atmospheric mystery, and it commits to that

A Yokohama shoe executive faces a wrenching choice when kidnappers mistakenly seize his chauffeur’s son but demand the ransom anyway.

The Killers poster
The Killers
1946 · dir. Robert Siodmak
🍅 97%★ 7.7crime · mystery · thriller

Both lean on tension more than on thriller

Two hit men walk into a diner asking for a man called "the Swede". When the killers find the Swede, he's expecting them and doesn't put up a fight. Since the Swede had a life insurance policy, an investigator, on a hunch, decides to look into the murder. As the Swede's past is laid bare, it comes to light that he was in love with a beautiful woman who may have lured him into pulling off a bank robbery overseen by another man.

The Lady from Shanghai poster
The Lady from Shanghai
1947 · dir. Orson Welles
🍅 86%★ 7.5mystery · crime · thriller

Twisty mystery, and it commits to that

A romantic drifter gets caught between a corrupt tycoon and his voluptuous wife.

In a Lonely Place poster
In a Lonely Place
1950 · dir. Nicholas Ray
🍅 96%★ 7.9thriller · drama · romance

Both sit in the same atmospheric register

A violent screenwriter and a female neighbor fall in love after she clears him of murder, but she begins to have second thoughts.

The 39 Steps poster
The 39 Steps
1935 · dir. Alfred Hitchcock
🍅 96%★ 7.6mystery · thrillerPrime VideoMax

The same thriller instincts

The difference: Made in the 1930s, in a different era of the craft

Richard Hanney has a rude awakening when a glamorous female spy falls into his bed - with a knife in her back. Having a bit of trouble explaining it all to Scotland Yard, he heads for the hills of Scotland to try to clear his name by locating the spy ring known as The 39 Steps.

In the mood for more tense?

all tense movies →

The best-reviewed films that share Diabolique’s defining feeling.