Movies Like The Silence of the Lambs

The Silence of the Lambs (1991) is a crime and thriller film directed by Jonathan Demme. Its recurring themes include prison, kidnapping, psychopath, scientific study. The 20 films below were selected because they overlap with it on measurable signals — shared genres, shared themes, overlapping cast or crew, and the audiences TMDB records as watching both. The Silence of the Lambs stars Jodie Foster, Anthony Hopkins, Scott Glenn; where a recommendation shares one of those performers it is noted on the card.

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20 movies similar to The Silence of the Lambs

Hannibal (2001) poster

Hannibal

2001Crime, Drama6.8

After having successfully eluded the authorities for years, Hannibal peacefully lives in Italy in disguise as an art scholar. Trouble strikes again when he's discovered leaving a d…

Why it’s similar: Crime • Drama • Thriller • based on novel or book • fbi • serial killer • Also stars Anthony Hopkins

Kiss the Girls (1997) poster

Kiss the Girls

1997Thriller, Crime6.5

Forensic psychologist and detective Alex Cross travels to North Carolina and teams with escaped kidnap victim Kate McTiernan to hunt down "Casanova," a serial killer who abducts st…

Why it’s similar: Thriller • Crime • based on novel or book • kidnapping • fbi

The Green Mile (1999) poster

The Green Mile

1999Fantasy, Drama8.5

A supernatural tale set on death row in a Southern prison, where gentle giant John Coffey possesses the mysterious power to heal people's ailments. When the cell block's head guard…

Why it’s similar: Drama • Crime • based on novel or book • psychopath

Misery (1990) poster

Misery

1990Drama, Thriller7.8

After an accident, acclaimed novelist Paul Sheldon is rescued by a nurse who claims to be his biggest fan. Her obsession takes a dark turn when she holds him captive in her remote…

Why it’s similar: Drama • Thriller • based on novel or book • psychopath • psychological thriller

Fallen (1998) poster

Fallen

1998Crime, Drama6.8

Homicide detective John Hobbes witnesses the execution of serial killer Edgar Reese. Soon after the execution the killings start again, and they are very similar to Reese's style.

Why it’s similar: Crime • Drama • Thriller • psychopath • murder • serial killer

Se7en (1995) poster

Se7en

1995Crime, Mystery8.4

Two homicide detectives are on a desperate hunt for a serial killer whose crimes are based on the "seven deadly sins" in this dark and haunting film that takes viewers from the tor…

Why it’s similar: Crime • Thriller • psychopath • murder • serial killer

GoodFellas (1990) poster

GoodFellas

1990Drama, Crime8.5

The true story of Henry Hill, a half-Irish, half-Sicilian Brooklyn kid who is adopted by neighbourhood gangsters at an early age and climbs the ranks of a Mafia family under the gu…

Why it’s similar: Drama • Crime • prison • based on novel or book • murder

Primal Fear (1996) poster

Primal Fear

1996Crime, Drama7.7

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 th…

Why it’s similar: Crime • Drama • Thriller • based on novel or book • psychopath • psychiatrist

Sleepers (1996) poster

Sleepers

1996Crime, Drama7.6

Two gangsters seek revenge on the state jail worker who during their stay at a youth prison sexually abused them. A sensational court hearing takes place to charge him for the crim…

Why it’s similar: Crime • Drama • Thriller • based on novel or book • murder

The Iceman (2012) poster

The Iceman

2012Thriller, Crime6.6

The true story of Richard Kuklinski, the notorious contract killer and family man.

Why it’s similar: Thriller • Crime • Drama • psychopath • serial killer

Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile (2019) poster

Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile

2019Drama, Crime7.0

A chronicle of the crimes of Ted Bundy, from the perspective of his longtime girlfriend, Elizabeth Kloepfer, who refused to believe the truth about him for years.

Why it’s similar: Drama • Crime • prison • based on novel or book • serial killer

The Informer (2019) poster

The Informer

2019Drama, Crime6.5

In New York, former convict Pete Koslow, related to the Polish mafia, must deal with both Klimek the General, his ruthless boss, and the twisted ambitions of two federal agents, as…

Why it’s similar: Drama • Crime • Thriller • prison • based on novel or book

The Whisper Man (2026) poster

The Whisper Man

2026Crime, Drama6.3

When his young son vanishes, a widower enlists help from his estranged father, a retired detective who put away the serial killer now linked to the case.

Why it’s similar: Crime • Drama • Thriller • based on novel or book • serial killer

The Shawshank Redemption (1994) poster

The Shawshank Redemption

1994Drama, Crime8.7

Imprisoned in the 1940s for the double murder of his wife and her lover, upstanding banker Andy Dufresne begins a new life at the Shawshank prison, where he puts his accounting ski…

Why it’s similar: Drama • Crime • prison • based on novel or book

The Batman (2022) poster

The Batman

2022Crime, Mystery7.7

In his second year of fighting crime, Batman uncovers corruption in Gotham City that connects to his own family while facing a serial killer known as the Riddler.

Why it’s similar: Crime • Thriller • psychopath • serial killer • neo-noir

The Number 23 (2007) poster

The Number 23

2007Thriller, Mystery6.4

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…

Why it’s similar: Thriller • Crime • Drama • based on novel or book • psychological thriller

The Equalizer (2014) poster

The Equalizer

2014Thriller, Action7.3

McCall believes he has put his mysterious past behind him and dedicated himself to beginning a new, quiet life. But when he meets Teri, a young girl under the control of ultra-viol…

Why it’s similar: Thriller • Crime

Killers of the Flower Moon (2023) poster

Killers of the Flower Moon

2023Crime, History7.4

When oil is discovered in 1920s Oklahoma under Osage Nation land, the Osage people are murdered one by one—until the FBI steps in to unravel the mystery.

Why it’s similar: Crime • Drama

Die Hard (1988) poster

Die Hard

1988Action, Thriller7.8

High above the city of L.A. a team of terrorists has seized a building, taken hostages, and declared war. One man has manages to escape... An off-duty cop hiding somewhere inside.…

Why it’s similar: Thriller

A Working Man (2025) poster

A Working Man

2025Action, Crime6.7

Levon Cade left behind a decorated military career in the black ops to live a simple life working construction. But when his boss's daughter, who is like family to him, is taken by…

Why it’s similar: Crime • Thriller

How this list was built

Candidates come from the recommendation and similar-title data TMDB publishes for The Silence of the Lambs, merged and deduplicated. Each candidate is then re-ranked on genre overlap, shared TMDB keywords, shared director or cast members, and audience-rating confidence. Titles without a poster, a synopsis or enough votes to be a meaningful signal are dropped rather than padded in — which is why some pages show ten results and others twenty.

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