20 best movies like To Catch a Killer (1992)

The savage murders of three young children sparks a controversial trial of three teenagers accused of killing the kids as part of a satanic ritual.

Three teenage friends get in way over their head when they cross a down-home crime syndicate. They hope to make a break for it and escape their dead-end existence in a cotton-mill town but get sucked into the seedy underbelly of organized crime when one of them steals from the wrong man.

Based on a true story of serial killer a model citizen, loving father and husband and serial killer John Wayne Gacy, a man with over 30 dead men and boys entombed in the crawl space underneath his house which he shared with his family.

In this true story, Veronica Guerin is an investigative reporter for an Irish newspaper. As the drug trade begins to bleed into the mainstream, Guerin decides to take on and expose those responsible. Beginning at the bottom with addicts, Guerin then gets in touch with John Traynor, a paranoid informant. Not without some prodding, Traynor leads her to John Gilligan, the ruthless head of the operation, who does not take kindly to Guerin's nosing.

A rising young attorney successfully defends a man accused of murder, only to have the same type of murder then happen again. Right away the previously defended man hires the attorney again, and although the attorney is quite certain that he is the killer, he agrees to again defend him... much to the consternation of his friends. However, he explains that by being his attorney he will be better able to catch the man in a mistake... and on this the rest of the film develops, with the killer playing a cat and mouse game with the attorney until, at last, they both must recognize that they are not all that different.

Bobby Earl is facing the electric chair for the murder of a young girl. Eight years after the crime he calls in Paul Armstrong, a professor of law, to help prove his innocence. Armstrong quickly uncovers some overlooked evidence to present to the local police, but they aren't interested - Bobby was their killer.

Thirty years ago, in the sleepy community of Waterbury, a killer known as “The Executioner” murdered Sarah Bennett's parents. Now Sarah and her husband Dylan have returned to town, only to find herself the centerpiece in a series of horrifying murders centered around the seven deadly sins.

Two close friends kidnap and murder a young boy and are defended in court by a renowned attorney who makes an impassioned plea against capital punishment.

One night in the New Orleans slums, vicious hoodlum Blackie and his friends kill an illegal immigrant who won too much in a card game. Next morning, Dr. Clint Reed of the Public Health Service confirms the dead man had pneumonic plague. To prevent a catastrophic epidemic, Clint must find and inoculate the killers and their associates, with the reluctant aid of police captain Tom Warren, despite official skepticism, and in total secrecy, lest panic empty the city. Can a doctor turn detective? He has 48 hours to try...

A marriage that seemed perfect comes crashing down after the supposed death of Jack Saunders, husband of Adrienne Saunders. After his supposed death, strange developments begin to be discovered by Adrienne regarding Jack's past. Developments that lead her to believe she has been Deceived.

An FBI agent tracks a serial killer with the help of three of his would-be victims - all of whom have wildly different stories to tell.

Boston is being terrorized by a series of seemingly random murders of women. Based on the true story, the film follows the investigators path through several leads before introducing the Strangler as a character. It is seen almost exclusively from the point of view of the investigators who have very few clues to build a case upon.

Christine Collins is overjoyed when her kidnapped son is brought back home. But when Christine suspects that the boy returned to her isn't her child, the police captain has her committed to an asylum.

On the afternoon of July 1, 1981, Los Angeles police responded to a distress call on Wonderland Avenue and discovered a grisly quadruple homicide. The police investigation that followed uncovered two versions of the events leading up to the brutal murders - both involving legendary porn actor John Holmes. You're about to experience both versions.

A Jewish homicide detective investigates a seemingly minor murder and falls in with a Zionist group as a result.

Belfast, in 1970s. Victor Kelly is a young protestant man who hates the Catholics so much that one night he begins to brutally murder them. A reporter soon tries to uncover the murder and obtained prestige for himself, while Victor sinks deeper into madness.

Based on the true story of a Russian serial killer who, over many years, claimed victim to over 50 people. His victims were mostly under the age of 17. In what was then a communists state, the police investigations were hampered by bureaucracy, incompetence and those in power. The story is told from the viewpoint of the detective in charge of the case.

How can a split-second decision change your life? While investigating noises in his house one balmy Texas night in 1989, Richard Dane puts a bullet in the brain of low-life burglar Freddy Russell. Although he’s hailed as a small-town hero, Dane soon finds himself fearing for his family’s safety when Freddy’s ex-con father, Ben, rolls into town, hell-bent on revenge.

The tragic death of a beautiful young girl starts a tense and atmospheric game of cat and mouse between hunter John Moon and the hardened backwater criminals out for his blood.

A woman framed for her husband's murder suspects he is still alive; as she has already been tried for the crime, she can't be re-prosecuted if she finds and kills him.

Based on a true story. Philip Markoff, a charismatic and popular med student at Boston University, leads a double life as a brutal and cruel sexual deviant who abuses prostitutes he finds via Craigslist.

A seasoned police detective and his partner have just uncovered a string of unusual murders that lead them to a serial killer, who believes that he is the descendant of Judas.

Private investigator Matthew Scudder is hired by a drug kingpin to find out who kidnapped and murdered his wife.

As violence escalates in Los Angeles and heinous murders are committed, Steven Hardin, a young judge of the California Supreme Court, must struggle with his tortured conscience and growing despair as he watches helplessly as the ruthless criminals brought before his court go free because clever lawyers find obscure loopholes in the law.

Guy Luthan, a British doctor working at a hospital in New York, starts making unwelcome enquiries when the body of a man who died in his emergency room disappears. After the trail leads Luthan to the door of an eminent surgeon at the hospital, Luthan soon finds himself in extreme danger people who want the hospital's secret to remain undiscovered.

A Russian teenager, living in London, dies during childbirth but leaves clues to a midwife in her journal, that could tie her child to a rape involving a violent Russian mob family.

When the body of Army Capt. Elizabeth Campbell is found on a Georgia military base, two investigators, Warrant Officers Paul Brenner and Sara Sunhill, are ordered to solve her murder. What they uncover is anything but clear-cut. Unseemly details emerge about Campbell's life, leading to allegations of a possible military coverup of her death and the involvement of her father, Lt. Gen. Joseph Campbell.

Callum Crane, a lawyer and would-be federal judge, jeopardizes his chances at a judgeship by forcing himself on his secretary. He then worsens the situation by trying to have the woman murdered. Further complicating matters, he assigns the task to a young man who, unbeknownst to Crane, is actually his son, Nathan. Nathan refuses to do the deed, but not before informing several people, one of whom tries to take on the job.

Deputy Sheriff Lou Ford is a pillar of the community in his small west Texas town, patient and apparently thoughtful. Some people think he is a little slow and maybe boring, but that is the worst they say about him. But then nobody knows about what Lou calls his "sickness": He is a brilliant, but disturbed sociopathic sadist.

A man working for the War Crimes Commission suspects that an important Nazi official has folded himself into a quaint Connecticut town.

A law firm brings in its 'fixer' to remedy the situation after a lawyer has a breakdown while representing a chemical company that he knows is guilty in a multi-billion dollar class action suit.

Based upon the true story of Bruce Johnston Sr., his son, and his brothers; together, they constituted one of suburban Philadelphia's most notorious crime families during the 1970s. Their criminal activities ranged from burglary, theft... and ultimately, murder.

A troubled detective travels to Memphis in order to track down a pair of serial killers.

Jeff Powers is the newest member of a very elite and very secret LAPD division. Their mission is to target important criminals and to get them to stop. Police brutality is not a known term for the division and they will stop at nothing to get the job done, even if it means murder.

A young district attorney seeking to prove a case against a corrupt police detective encounters a former lover and her new protector, a crime boss who refuse to help him.

Henry has wandered into a small town looking for work and a place to stay. He gets a job delivering and cleaning porto-potties and moves in with a co-worker until he gets his feet off of the ground. Henry and his new friend soon start to kill.

Ma Barker and her sons rob banks, shoot people and wind up at the top of the FBI's Most Wanted list in the 1930s.

A chronicle of the interaction between college student Jason Moss and the object of his obsession, serial killer John Wayne Gacy.

Sobering and incisive, this cautionary drama centers on a street tough 18-year-old facing a moral quandary while trying to turn his life around.

Eddie Miller struggles with his hatred of women, he's especially bothered by seeing women with their lovers. He starts a killing spree as a sniper by shooting women from far distances. In an attempt to get caught, he writes an anonymous letter to the police begging them to stop him.

After a perverted impulse drives them to kill, Alice and her boyfriend, Luc, drag the body into the woods, only to find themselves hopelessly lost – much like the fairy-tale plight of Hansel and Gretel. Starving and with no hope of being found, they chance upon a dilapidated cottage where a hulking man takes them prisoner and proceeds to feed Luc's sexual appetite.

It’s 1994: a 13-year-old boy disappears from his home in San Antonio, Texas. Three and a half years later, he is found alive, thousands of miles away, in Spain. Disoriented and quivering with fear, he divulges his shocking story of kidnap and torture. His family is overjoyed to bring him home. But all is not what it seems. Sure, he has the same tattoos, but he looks decidedly different, and he now speaks with a strange accent. Why doesn't the family seem to notice these glaring inconsistencies? It's only when an investigator starts asking questions that this astounding true story takes an even stranger turn.

A charismatic psycho suspected of killing two innocent campers in a cold-blooded double homicide grows increasingly unstable as his suburban empire starts to crack at the foundations.

An American attorney on business in China, ends up wrongfully on trial for murder and his only key to innocence is a female defense lawyer from the country.

Ray Liotta (Goodfellas) delivers an intense, electrifying performance in this explosive follow-up to the gritty urban crime thriller Street Kings. Liotta plays Detroit detective Marty Kingston, the leader of an undercover narcotics team, whose members are being systematically murdered one by one. To solve the brutal killings, Kingston joins forces with a cocky, young homicide detective. But neither of them is prepared for the shocking corruption their investigation will uncover — stunning secrets that will set both men on a violent collision course with betrayal and vengeance.

When Grace is accused of playing a role in a deadly accident, her best friend reaches out from beyond the grave to unveil the truth behind what happened.

On February 15, 1992 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Jeffrey Lionel Dahmer, one of the world's most infamous serial killers, was convicted of 15 counts of murder and sentenced to 937 years in federal prison. This movie is based on events from his life. Certain characters and events are fictional.

Inspired from real life, this fiery crime thriller depicts the phenomenal rise to power of Paritala Ravi from Andhra Pradesh, a powerful killer. When a man's father and elder brother are murdered in cold blood due to the fatal mixture of caste, crime, jealousy and dirty politics, a fearless young man who has been kept away from his family's violent lifestyle, is left with no choice but to get into the fray. He hides in the forest and begins clinically exacting revenge upon those responsible for the death of his family members. Will he be successful in his mission? How will his future unfold?

For years he terrorized California motorists as he rode the endless highways searching for his next victim. The discarded bodies turned up beaten, sexually assaulted and horribly mutilated. Deceptively charming and intelligent, the scheming murderer easily avoided police at first. But as police closed in and the killer’s pattern grew more erratic, the only question was how many more will die?

In the Philadelphia police department, Emmett Young is a hotshot, a workaholic newly promoted to homicide. He learns he has a disease that will soon kill him painfully, so he hires a stranger to arrange his own death. With one eye on the calendar (he's allowed a few days' grace before his murder), he pursues a final case, the serial killing of young women. Emmett develops a profile of the assailant. Meanwhile, his fixer hires an ex-cop to kill Emmett, a lonely security guard whom the fixer taunts and belittles. In this limited time, can Emmett sort out what's important? Written by