Best movies like Downpayment on Murder

A wife with burning desire. A husband with dangerous motives. The quest for ecstasy can turn into a struggle for survival.

One Minute to Nine (also known as "Every F---ing Day of My Life") chronicles Wendy Maldonado's last five days of freedom before she and her son were sentenced for the manslaughter of her husband, and the years of domestic abuse the family experienced prior to his death.

Allen Meighan, an intern, assures himself residency at 'General Hospital', when he saves the life of a man trapped in an explosion. Allen is in love with student nurse, Claire Donahue, and she with him, but, she is married to Tom a physically abusive husband.

An abused battered wife has had enough of husband beating up on her. Everywhere she turns for help, there's not much anyone will do. After he rapes her one night, she sets the bed on fire with him in it asleep.

A journalist must make a decision to flee with her two children from her abusive ex-husband or kill him before he kills her.

To the outside world, it would appear Shane Walsh (Josie Davis) has it all - a wealthy and loving husband, a beautiful home, and a lavish lifestyle... but appearances can be deceiving. Matt Walsh (David Millbern) is an attentive and kind husband, but behind closed doors, this monster turns his controlling and jealous rage towards Shane, leaving her battered and bruised. Knowing he will never let her go, she makes the only choice she feels will truly set her free. She must fake her own death and start a new life far away.

A multiple murder investigation in a small hunting town focuses on one suspect, Wendy Sinclair, who operates a battered women's shelter where each of the victims' wives have sought shelter.

A woman appeared to have a fairy-tale life, but six years into her marriage, the fairytale crumbles when her husband is found buried in the backyard of their home with numerous stab wounds.

A young woman fakes her own death in an attempt to escape her nightmarish marriage, but discovers it is impossible to elude her controlling husband.

Working-class waitress Slim thought she was entering a life of domestic bliss when she married Mitch, the man of her dreams. After the arrival of their first child, her picture perfect life is shattered when she discovers Mitch's hidden possessive dark side, a controlling and abusive alter ego that can turn trust, love and tranquility into terror. Terrified for her child's safety, Slim flees with her daughter. Relentless in his pursuit and enlisting the aid of lethal henchmen, Mitch continually stalks the prey that was once his family.

A group of college students accidentally see a local redneck kill his wife. A deadly game of cat-and-mouse ensues, with the students trying to escape the area while the killer sets out to eliminate the witnesses who can tie him to the murder.

A young wife and mother is abused by her husband and keeps the secret from her friends and family.

The pressures of problems at home and at work are taking a tremendous toll on a middle-aged husband, and he begins to take it out on his wife.

A loathsome man ends up dead, but it's not clear who's to blame. If ever a person got what he deserved, it's James Urbanksi, an abusive drunk who steals from his wife, Joyce, and promises her close friend Cynthia Kellogg that she'll be the next target of his rage. At a group outing, James bleeds to death after someone cuts his throat. But because he's such a terrible human being, police aren't sure which of his acquaintances decided to kill him.

The story of Joseph, a man plagued by violence and a rage that is driving him to self-destruction. As Joseph's life spirals into turmoil a chance of redemption appears in the form of Hannah, a Christian charity shop worker. Their relationship develops to reveal that Hannah is hiding a secret of her own with devastating results on both of their lives.

The film chronicles Nina Simone's journey from child piano prodigy to iconic musician and passionate activist, told in her own words.

Based on real events, Canada's most notorious serial killers, Paul Bernardo and wife Karla Homolka kidnap, sexually abuse, and murder three young girls.

Jimmy is married to the abusive Frank, but she's building a nest egg so she can leave. For a year, she's been deaf as a result of one of his beatings. One night, he pushes her over the stairwell, and she ends up in the hospital. When a charred body in her husband's car is pulled from a pond, the cops want to talk to her, but she bolts for her sister's, loses her savings pass-book, and then learns someone has emptied her bank account. She's goes on the run, with the same cops on her trail, and eventually realizes Frank may not be dead. Getting back her money, facing Frank, satisfying the police, and finding her freedom may be more than she can handle. Written by

The turbulent personal and professional life of actor Peter Sellers (1925-1980), from his beginnings as a comic performer on BBC Radio to his huge success as one of the greatest film comedians of all time; an obsessive artist so dedicated to his work that neglected his loved ones and sacrificed part of his own personality to convincingly create that of his many memorable characters.

Provoked is the true story of Kiranjit Ahluwalia, a Punjabi woman who moved to London after her marriage with Deepak Ahluwalia. Her husband seemed caring at first but then began to beat her up. He started drinking a lot and sleeping around with other women. he also subjected her to spousal rape. After ten years and having two children with him, out of fear, she sets him on fire.

Escaped serial killer James Becket, who killed his own father whose expectations he never fulfilled, but now especially targets his wife Theresa 'Tess' and her family, is too good at disguising himself and other deceit for detective Diffs task force. Only one man proves able to fight back in his league: former cop J.T. Dillon, who was already training Tess in self-defense and becomes her lover. Becket decides to find hiding place by kidnapping Diffs wife, and thus enforce a final show-down.

A marriage falls apart after a dutiful wife becomes the breadwinner after her husband loses his job. This angers him and after reveling in her humiliation, he leaves her. Fortunately, the wife lands on her feet, but not before she obtains closure with her brutish husband.

As rates of femicide and domestic abuse soar in Turkey and democratic rights for women are increasingly eroded, a lawyer and her clients bravely risk everything for their freedom by standing up to the government and putting violent men behind bars.

Based upon a true story. Wife with young family finds life becoming unbearable with her successful, but violent and abusive, husband. After filing for divorce, she quickly learns that her husband, through fear of his personal life embarrassing his clients, has commissioned an assassin to murder her before going to court. Unfortunately, for him, the hired assassin turns out to be an FBI agent. The FBI convince her that she must “pretend” to have been murdered in order to prove her husband’s involvement.

Katherine married Dr. Charles Raynor. She later discovers that Raynor is a sadist who torments her physically and mentally. She divorces him and take their child away. He then decides to kill her but when his plot is discovered he is charged with attempted murder and brought to trial.

Lisa's husband, Bill, abuses her. With her sister's encouragement, she takes their three kids and leaves her husband. Bill keeps interfering with Lisa's attempts at a new life. She gets an order of protection against him, but the police can't do anything else to help her. One night Bill breaks into Lisa's apartment and shoots her. As she dies in the hospital, Lisa asks her sister to promise to take care of her three children. The sister takes the kids into her home, but Bill is still on the loose, an ever present threat.

After a young prostitute is murdered and left in a rubbish heap, her mother does everything to track down the killer.

Sara Thornton was sentenced to life imprisonment after being convicted of the 1989 murder of her violent and alcoholic husband. Thornton never denied the killing, but claimed it had been an accident during an argument.

Joanne is married to Bradley, a cop who abuses her. One day she decides to run away and meets Sam, who has marital difficulties of his own. Bradley evetually tracks Joanne down, which leads to the death of Sam's wife.

The heirs to a major corporation are being brutally killed off one by one, and John Lee, the company's chairman, suspects that a mafia takeover is behind it. But, before he can uncover any evidence, he too is savagely murdered. Carol, his daughter and a friend, Brian Roberts, continue the investigation where he left off while police Captain Roberts follow up on a few suspicions of his own. The actions become explosive and deadly when they are attacked by ruthless, ninja assassins who try to prevent them from finding out who the maniacal, cold blooded killer is inside the company.

Jennifer Dulos, the wealthy, Connecticut mother-of-five who mysteriously vanished.

Charlotte marries John. Things seem ok; John has a good job and he's going up in the world, working for the government. But every so often he loses his temper and Charlotte gets the brunt of his anger. During the 18 year course of their marriage, there are at least 8 incidents of physical abuse and countless of mental. Charlotte's family and friends tell her to leave John but she keeps going back, most likely because he has convinced her that she would be nothing without him. It finally explodes in a big divorce battle balancing on the cases of abuse.

Documentary exploring the lives of two victims of domestic abuse, Hazel and Kelly, and the events that unfolded as they reported their abuse to the police.

Gritty drama of three interweaving stories of three women of various backgrounds and ages whose marriages are complicated by spouse-abuse by their husbands.

Since the death of his colleague, which was partly his fault, Lieutenant Nick Gentry lives a lonesome life. Reporter Joan wants to write a story about him, and seems to be interested in other ways too, but he rejects. Instead he falls in love with his new neighbor Irene and witnesses how she's repeatedly beaten up by her husband Allan. One day, when Allan threatens her with a gun, he shoots him. Certainly self-defense -- until it turns out, that Alan's gun was made inoperable...