20 best movies like Cold Case (2003)

An inventive crime thriller told backwards -- reversing day by day through a week -- following a local sheriff's quest to unlock the mystery of three small town criminals and a bank heist gone wrong.

A C-list celebrity gets kidnapped and held hostage after a night-club appearance. When the police interrogate the man she accuses, they question whether she's after justice or a front-page story.

Sexy New York detective and single mother Harlee Santos fell in with a tight-knit group of dirty cops, taking bribes and protection money that she uses to provide the best life for her honest, talented daughter. But when she's trapped by the FBI and forced to inform on her own "brothers," she'll have to walk the fine line between love, loyalty, honor and betrayal, and try to keep it together for her daughter's future.

The series follows Detective Carter, a radical LAPD detective, and Detective Lee, a by-the-book detective from Hong Kong, as they are forced into forming an unlikely partnership

When a women's husband is brutally murdered and casterated, she enlists the help of a paranormal expert to analyze strange phone calls from his phone and her investigations lead her to a group of swingers that expose her husband's double life.

An heiress who's been shut inside her apartment building for nearly two decades is forced to confront her fears after one of her neighbors is killed and a detective arrives to begin the investigation.

A homicide detective teams up with a criminal profiler to catch a serial killer whose crimes are inspired by the children's game, Hangman.

Fiona Wagner, a journalism student, tracks a cold-blooded killer with the help of her detective father and a therapist.

Eight years after fleeing the Congo following his assassination of that country's minister of mining, former assassin Jim Terrier is back, suffering from PTSD and digging wells to atone for his violent past. After an attempt is made on his life, Terrier flies to London to find out who wants him dead -- and why. Terrier's search leads him to a reunion with Annie, a woman he once loved, who is now married to an oily businessman with dealings in Africa.

The bonds of brotherhood, the laws of loyalty, and the futility of violence in the shadows of the US Mexico border gang wars.

Massachusetts, 1892. An unmarried woman of 32 and a social outcast, Lizzie lives a claustrophobic life under her father's cold and domineering control. When Bridget Sullivan, a young maid, comes to work for the family, Lizzie finds a sympathetic, kindred spirit, and a secret intimacy soon blossoms into a wicked plan.

A stranger in the increasingly strange city of San Francisco, Japanese crime novelist Aki is unsure of precisely what role she has to play in a real-life murder mystery involving ambiguous MacGuffins and amorphous identities. Unfolding in lonely places such as bookshops and hotel bars, Dave Boyle's moody thriller uncovers exhilarating new takes on genre conventions. Consequently, it's an alluring l'homme fatal who supplies Aki with the breadcrumb trail of clues that entices her into a labyrinthine plot of sinister dealings. In turn, the aging sheriff (veteran character actor Pepe Serna, fantastic in a rare leading role), who should rightfully be riding to her rescue, proves to be equally out of his depth. The game is afoot, the chase is exhilarating and the stakes are perilously high in this inspired neo-noir.

Before Sam Axe teamed up with Michael and Fiona, he was Commander Axe, U.S. Navy SEAL. The Fall of Sam Axe tells the story of how Sam went from respected Naval Commander to the man of mystery we've come to know on Burn Notice. On what will turn out to be Sam's last military mission, he is sent to the jungles of Colombia to investigate claims of a vicious terrorist organization known only as the "Espada Ardiente" (Flaming Sword). His mission: to determine whether U.S. military aid is necessary to deal with the threat. But when he arrives, things are more complicated than he'd imagined. He receives word that the rebels have targeted a small civilian clinic deep in the jungle. Sam must now save the clinic's doctors and patients from certain death. However, nothing is as it seems and the Espada Ardiente may not be the biggest threat Sam Axe faces.

This English-language adaptation of the Swedish novel by Stieg Larsson follows a disgraced journalist, Mikael Blomkvist, as he investigates the disappearance of a weary patriarch's niece from 40 years ago. He is aided by the pierced, tattooed, punk computer hacker named Lisbeth Salander. As they work together in the investigation, Blomkvist and Salander uncover immense corruption beyond anything they have ever imagined.

A dark comedy about four self-absorbed twenty-somethings who become entangled in an ominous mystery when a former college acquaintance suddenly disappears.

The story of military hero Eric Carter’s return to the U.S. and the trouble that follows him back – compelling him to ask CTU for help in saving his life, and stopping what potentially could be one of the largest-scale terror attacks on American soil.

As investigative reporter Ward Jansen and his partner Yardley Acheman chase a sensational, career-making story with the help of Ward's younger brother Jack and sultry death-row groupie Charlotte Bless, the pair tries to prove violent swamp-dweller Hillary Van Wetter was framed for the murder of a corrupt local sheriff.

Detective Inspector Richard Poole is transferred to Sainte Marie, an island in the Caribbean. Totally unsuited to the Caribbean way of life, Richard hates the sun, sea and sand and isn't used to the Sainte Marie style of policing. Working with the exotic Camille each week Richard investigates intricate and intriguing murders.

Two women have been murdered within hours of one another near St. Pancras station, but in quite different ways. When a connection is made with two other murders which occurred months before, but also on the same day, DI Thorne realizes two serial killers may be at work in a macabre partnership

After a painful breakup, Leah seems to meet the perfect guy. But she soon discovers his violent side that disrupts her life.

After an alcohol induced blacked-out night of drinking, Teddy discovers he has severely beaten his wife, Molly. As he attempts to redeem himself to her she must decide whether or not she will take him back as her mother, Angela, continuously expresses her disapproval, all the while her brother, Gordon, falls in way over his head as he tries to hire an ex-con, Howard, to kill Teddy.

A once-abused woman devotes herself to ridding victims of their domestic abusers while hunting down the one she must kill to be truly free.

When Baton Rouge police detective Bud Carter busts contract killer Jesse Weiland, he convinces Jesse to become an informant and rat out the South's most powerful crime ring.

Bounty hunters seek shelter from a raging blizzard and get caught up in a plot of betrayal and deception.

A young author comes into possession of a manuscript sent by critically acclaimed writer, Germund Rein, shortly before he commits suicide.

Los Angeles Police Department detective Russell Poole has spent years trying to solve his biggest case -- the murders of The Notorious B.I.G. and Tupac Shakur -- but after two decades, the investigation remains open. Jack Jackson, a reporter desperate to save his reputation and career, is determined to find out why. In search of the truth, the two team up and unravel a growing web of institutional corruption and lies.

Inspired by actual events, a group of 12 year old girls face a night of horror when the compulsive addiction of an online social media game turns a moment of cyber bullying into a night of insanity.

Follows disillusioned young family man John as a mysterious stranger, Richie takes him on a murder-fueled ride that transforms the weak-willed John into a desperate hero willing to go to any length to protect his family.

Aaron Falk returns to his drought-stricken hometown to attend a tragic funeral. But his return opens a decades-old wound - the unsolved death of a teenage girl.

A cerebral revenge film about two adopted siblings who fall in love, and hatch a plan to kill their abusive father.

A murdered hotel millionaire's son finds himself tangled up in a game of seduction and murder after a raunchy night with three beautiful women.

Once a Los Angeles homicide detective, Police Chief Jesse Stone now presides over the quiet, seaside village of Paradise, Massachusetts. When the facts don't add up in a brutal Boston-area murder case, Jesse opens an investigation filled with surprises, unlikely suspects and grave danger. Though it's widely believed the murder was committed by an incarcerated serial killer, Jesse suspects another killer is at large and is hell-bent on bringing him to justice.

Minnesota, 1990. Detective Bruce Kenner investigates the case of young Angela, who accuses her father, John Gray, of an unspeakable crime. When John unexpectedly and without recollection admits guilt, renowned psychologist Dr. Raines is brought in to help him relive his memories and what they discover unmasks a horrifying nationwide mystery.

Lila, a grief-stricken mother reeling from her son’s murder, attends a support group where she meets Eve, who urges her to take matters into her own hands to track down her son’s killers.

The hunt is on to find the murderer of a wealthy glamorous heiress who is found dead in her London townhouse. Based on the short story by Agatha Christie.

Porter Wren is a Manhattan tabloid writer with an appetite for scandal. On the beat he sells murder, tragedy, and anything that passes for the truth. At home, he is a dedicated husband and father. But when Caroline, a seductive stranger asks him to dig into the unsolved murder of her filmmaker husband Simon, he is drawn into a very nasty case of sexual obsession and blackmail--one that threatens his job, his marriage, and his life.