feelsalike.comSign in
The Usual Suspects poster

Movies that feel likeThe Usual Suspects (1995)

Held in an L.A. interrogation room, Verbal Kint attempts to convince the feds that a mythic crime lord, Keyser Soze, not only exists, but was also responsible for drawing him and his four partners into a multi-million dollar heist that ended with an explosion in San Pedro harbor – leaving few survivors. Verbal lures his interrogators with an incredible story of the crime lord's almost supernatural prowess.

If you loved The Usual Suspects, the closest films we have are Inside Man (2006), Ocean's Eleven (2001) and Le Cercle Rouge (1970). All three share The Usual Suspects' gritty and tense feel, which is what we rank on before quality.

Seen the big three already? The under-the-radar pick below is Dhoom 2 (2006).

🍅 87% Rotten Tomatoes★ 8.5 IMDb ↗TMDB ↗dir. Bryan Singercontemplativegrittytenseplayful
7 of 12 streaming nowNetflix · HBO Max · Amazon Prime Video

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

Stream it:HBO Max ↗
See it on the Mood Map

When is The Usual Suspects streaming? →

If The Usual Suspects hit the spot, these will too

Inside Man poster
Inside Man
2006 · dir. Spike Lee
🍅 86%★ 7.6crime · drama · thriller

A crime told sideways, with everyone in the room working an angle

The difference: Cool procedural puzzle solved in real time, not spun from a story

When an armed, masked gang enter a Manhattan bank, lock the doors and take hostages, the detective assigned to effect their release enters negotiations preoccupied with corruption charges he is facing.

Ocean's Eleven poster
Ocean's Eleven
2001 · dir. Steven Soderbergh
🍅 83%★ 7.7thriller · crimeMaxStarz

A hand-picked crew, an audacious score and reveals held to the last

The difference: Breezy and consequence-free — charm where Suspects has dread

Less than 24 hours into his parole, charismatic thief Danny Ocean is already rolling out his next plan: In one night, Danny's hand-picked crew of specialists will attempt to steal more than $150 million from three Las Vegas casinos. But to score the cash, Danny risks his chances of reconciling with ex-wife, Tess.

Le Cercle Rouge poster
Le Cercle Rouge
1970 · dir. Jean-Pierre Melville
🍅 96%★ 7.9crime · drama · thriller

Professional criminals, a meticulous job and fate closing the circle

The difference: Melville's icy patience — long silences instead of narration tricks

When French criminal Corey gets released from prison, he resolves to never return. He is quickly pulled back into the underworld, however, after a chance encounter with escaped murderer Vogel. Along with former policeman and current alcoholic Jansen, they plot an intricate jewel heist. All the while, quirky Police Commissioner Mattei, who was the one to lose custody of Vogel, is determined to find him.

Red Rock West poster
Red Rock West
1993 · dir. John Dahl
🍅 95%★ 7crime · thriller

A nobody caught in a criminal misunderstanding that keeps twisting

The difference: Small-town neo-noir — one sweaty mess, no mythic mastermind

When a promised job for Texan Michael fails to materialize in Wyoming, Mike is mistaken by Wayne to be the hitman he hired to kill his unfaithful wife, Suzanne. Mike takes full advantage of the situation, collects the money, and runs. During his getaway, things go wrong, and soon get worse when he runs into the real hitman, Lyle.

Falling Down poster
Falling Down
1993 · dir. Joel Schumacher
🍅 77%★ 7.5crime · drama · thriller

An LA day pieced together by a cop chasing a man he cannot read

The difference: Blunt character study of a meltdown, with no puzzle to assemble

An ordinary man frustrated with the various flaws he sees in society begins to psychotically and violently lash out against them.

Dhoom 2 poster
Dhoom 2
2006 · dir. Sanjay Gadhvi
🍅 93%★ 6.6drama · action · thrillerNetflix

A master thief in disguises keeping the cops and audience guessing

The difference: A Bollywood spectacle with songs — flash, not noir menace

Jai and Ali return, this time on the trail of an international thief who steals priceless artifacts and has chosen Mumbai as his next target.

Now You See Me 2 poster
Now You See Me 2
2016 · dir. Jon M. Chu
🍅 33%★ 6.4crime · thrillerPrime VideoStarz

New York City shapes both of them

The difference: The critics' underdog of the pair

One year after outwitting the FBI and winning the public’s adulation with their mind-bending spectacles, the Four Horsemen resurface only to find themselves face to face with a new enemy who enlists them to pull off their most dangerous heist yet.

Phone Booth poster
Phone Booth
2003 · dir. Joel Schumacher
🍅 72%★ 7.1thriller · crimePrime Video

Both land grit and tension at once

The difference: Easier on the stillness than The Usual Suspects

A slick New York publicist who picks up a ringing receiver in a phone booth is told that if he hangs up, he'll be killed... and the little red light from a laser rifle sight is proof that the caller isn't kidding.

The Killing poster
The Killing
1956 · dir. Stanley Kubrick
🍅 96%★ 7.9crime · thriller · dramaPrime Video

A crack crew's perfect plan, told out of order as it comes apart

The difference: Blunt 1950s clarity — you see exactly who's to blame and why

Career criminal Johnny Clay recruits a sharpshooter, a crooked police officer, a bartender and a betting teller named George, among others, for one last job before he goes straight and gets married. But when George tells his restless wife about the scheme to steal millions from the racetrack where he works, she hatches a plot of her own.

The Godfather Part III poster
The Godfather Part III
1990 · dir. Francis Ford Coppola
🍅 67%★ 7.5crime · drama · thriller

Contemplative drama, and it commits to that

In the midst of trying to legitimize his business dealings in 1979 New York and Italy, aging mafia don, Michael Corleone seeks forgiveness for his sins while taking a young protege under his wing.

Primal Fear poster
Primal Fear
1996 · dir. Gregory Hoblit
🍅 77%★ 7.7crime · drama · thrillerParamount+

A slippery client and a case that keeps changing shape underneath you

The difference: Courtroom drama in a moral register rather than underworld myth-making

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 Chicago. Vail finds himself up against his ex-pupil and ex-lover, but as the case progresses and the Church's dark secrets are revealed, Vail finds that what appeared a simple case takes on a darker, more dangerous aspect.

Ronin poster
Ronin
1998 · dir. John Frankenheimer
🍅 70%★ 7.2action · thriller · crime

Common ground: heist

The difference: Leans harder into action than The Usual Suspects does

A briefcase with undisclosed contents – sought by Irish terrorists and the Russian mob – makes its way into criminals' hands. An Irish liaison assembles a squad of mercenaries, or 'ronin', and gives them the thorny task of recovering the case.

In the mood for more contemplative?

all contemplative movies →

The best-reviewed films that share The Usual Suspects’ defining feeling.