Top 250 Movies Like Criminal Confessions

A detective must solve a case where a girl was murdered in a room--and all the doors and windows were locked from the inside.

A merciless district attorney prosecutes a case that mirrors his own life.

Sara Novak is an introverted college student with a few skeletons in her closet. Shying away from classmates, she prefers to spend time with Vern, an older comic store owner who shares her passion for mind games and riddles. But when the riddles she solves lead to the deaths of those around her, she realizes the riddles are more than a simple game.....

An LA police officer is murdered in the onion fields outside of Bakersfield. However, legal loopholes could keep his kidnappers from receiving justice, and his partner is haunted by overwhelming survivor's guilt.

A schoolteacher with a phobia of hospitals finds herself searching for her boyfriend inside one while teaming up with a man suffering the same ordeal that she's in.

In a quiet Connecticut town, a kindly priest is murdered while waiting at a street corner. The citizens are horrified and demand action from the police. All of the witnesses identify John Waldron, a nervous out-of-towner, as the killer. Although Waldron vehemently denies the crime, no one will believe him. District Attorney Henry Harvey is then put on the case and faces political opposition in his attempt to prove Waldron's innocence. Based on a true story.

In the 1970s, a foundling lass, Patrick "Kitten" Braden, comes of age by leaving her Irish town for London, in part to look for her mother and in part because her transgender nature is beyond the town's understanding.

Jessica and her fiancé Evan just moved from the city into their dream home on a quiet suburban street. Soon after, Jessica catches her seemingly friendly new neighbor, Simon, in a strange lie and can't let her suspicions rest. The danger escalates when Simon lures her inside his home and imprisons Jessica in his secret bunker, meticulously decorated in the idealized style of the 1950's.

An agoraphobic inherits her father's house in a remote part of the Florida Keys. When weird things start happening, she discovers that there's something far more terrifying trapped inside the house with her.

A counter-terrorism expert takes a job protecting a young heiress. After an attempted kidnapping puts both of their lives in danger, they must flee.

A criminology professor becomes a target herself when she tries to establish the innocence of her star student in a murder.

After his young son dies from the negligence at a hospital, Harry Fertig takes matters into his own hands and kills the doctors responsible. Slick lawyer Roy Bleakie, looking only to win a case and not caring of the matters involved, is assigned Fertig's case. Shocked to hear that his client wants to plead guilty, the case causes Bleakie to question his own morals by defending an honorable man.

A small time thief from Belfast, Gerry Conlon, is falsely implicated in the IRA bombing of a pub that kills several people while he is in London. He and his four friends are coerced by British police into confessing their guilt. Gerry's father and other relatives in London are also implicated in the crime. He spends fifteen years in prison with his father trying to prove his innocence.

Los Angeles homicide detective Jerry Beck searches for the murderer who killed a police officer on Christmas Eve. The investigation takes Beck inside the violent world of hate groups and white supremacists, who are hatching a deadly plot to attack even more innocent people. Beck must also confront his own personal demons, including his growing problem with alcohol, if he wants to track down and stop the violent neo-Nazis before it is too late.

Three old high school friends meet in a Michigan motel room to dissect painful memories from their past.

A sister and her disturbed twin are implicated in a murder and a police detective must figure out which one's the killer.

As a maniac slashes his way through the city, a lone survivor tries to stop his vicious murder spree, only to discover there is far more going on than just murder.

When her best friend vanishes during a girls' trip to Croatia, Beth races to figure out what happened. But each clue yields another unsettling deception.

Harriet O'Malley tries to solve a murder aboard a train en route to New York.

Rose, a desperate mother takes her adopted daughter, Sharon, to the town of Silent Hill in an attempt to cure her of her ailment. After a violent car crash, Sharon disappears and Rose begins a desperate search to get her back. She descends into the center of the twisted reality of a town's terrible secret. Pursued by grotesquely deformed creatures and townspeople stuck in permanent purgatory, Rose begins to uncover the truth behind the apocalyptic disaster that burned the town 30 years earlier.

Trapped in their New York brownstone's panic room, a hidden chamber built as a sanctuary in the event of break-ins, newly divorced Meg Altman and her young daughter Sarah play a deadly game of cat-and-mouse with three intruders - Burnham, Raoul and Junior - during a brutal home invasion. But the room itself is the focal point because what the intruders really want is inside it.

Tells the story of one day in the lives of the various people who populate a police detective squad. An embittered cop, Det. Jim McLeod, leads a precinct of characters in their grim daily battle with the city's lowlife. The characters who pass through the precinct over the course of the day include a young petty embezzler, a pair of burglars, and a naive shoplifter.

A priest sets out to catch the man who killed one of his colleagues.

A detective tracking a stolen gem begins to suspect there's more to the case than just theft.

Dick died last night, and Zeke and Earl don’t want anybody finding out how. That’s too bad though, cause news travels fast in small-town Alabama.

2001 French documentary about the murder trial of a 15 year old black teen accused of murder in Jacksonville, Florida. Winner of 2002 Academy Award for Best Documentary.

A high school shooting has repercussions on the town and students.

In 1994 a 13-year-old boy disappeared without a trace from his home in San Antonio, Texas. Three-and-a-half years later he is found alive thousands of miles away in a village in southern Spain with a horrifying story of kidnap and torture. His family is overjoyed to bring him home. But all is not quite as it seems.

Tenacious homicide detective Cassie Mayweather and her still-green partner are working a murder case, attempting to profile two malevolently brilliant young men: cold, calculating killers whose dark secrets might explain their crimes.

A widow's decision to run for mayor kicks off a battle of the sexes in a small town.

25 years ago, four LAPD officers were acquitted in a state court for beating King, sparking three days of rioting that left 53 people dead. Now, around the anniversary, this Spike Lee-produced one-man show (Roger Guenver Smith) will be streaming on Netflix. A complex, semi-tragic figure, King drowned in 2012. His life was rarely smooth, or simple – its telling makes for a sober, moving watch.

A distraught disc jockey seeks out a mystery caller who may be the killer of his girlfriend.

Based on a true story, Barbara Hershey and Morgan Weisser portray two star crossed lovers who will stop at nothing to be together without any ridicule. "Stay the Night" tells the dark tale of the controversial romance of a small town teenage boy named Michael Kettman and a free-spirited older woman named Jimmie Sue Finger, who suffers from an abusive marriage. Jimmie Sue and her younger lover plot to murder her husband, which leads to either eternal bliss for the both of them or a curse on their relationship.

A cop clashes with his priest brother while investigating the brutal murder of a young prostitute.

A young writer is interrogated by a sadistic secret policeman. She is accused of embedding political messages in her children's stories. The entire movie takes place in one room, with only the two actors. The movie is set in an unidentified, modern police state.

As a rookie detective struggling to find acceptance in a police department defined by a culture of bullying and intolerance, things go from bad to worse when the chief suspect in a series of brutal ritualistic murders takes a personal interest in her. A game of cat and mouse ensues which sees Rebecca’s grasp on reality beginning to spiral out of control, leading to a terrifying climax where she needs to fight for her sanity, her life and maybe even her soul.

An underworld drama set in the early 1980s, about a lonely factory worker whose life is transformed when he becomes a nightclub doorman.

Wealthy scion Peter DeHaven, about to marry socialite Christine Lunceford, wakes up after bachelor party revelry to find he's been turned invisible by eccentric college professor Reginald Shotesbury. An unbelievable series of events is revealed by several witnesses testifying in a "mystery trial" to determine the reason for DeHaven's "disappearance".

A mob assassin holds innocent hostages at an airport in upstate New York.

Copenhagen, Denmark, 1951. Criminal investigator Anders Olsen follows the case of a bank robber who eyewitnesses say appears to have been acting under some kind of trance.

Although his murdered friend was by all accounts a scoundrel, Edward Wales is determined to trap his killer by staging a seance using a famous medium. Many of the 13 seance participants had a reason and a means to kill, and one of them uses the cover of darkness to kill again. When someone close to the medium is suspected she turns detective, in the hope of uncovering the true murderer.

A popular singer, Marian Washburn, suddenly and unexplainably loses her voice, causing a shake-up at the club where she works. Her worried but loyal piano player, Luke Jordan, helps to promote a new, younger singer, Susan Caldwell, to temporarily replace Marian. Susan finds some early acclaim but decides to leave the club after a few performances. Soon after Susan quits, she is gunned down, and Marian quickly becomes a suspect.

Following the lead up to one of the biggest robberies of the century, Hatton Garden The Heist watches the journey of Brian Reader, John Collins, Terry Perkins, Daniel Jones and the mysterious Basil throughout the audacious heist.

Using raw, firsthand footage, this documentary examines the disappearance of Shanann Watts and her children, and the terrible events that followed.

Bookkeeper Sam Wilson learns from his boss, Malcolm Jarvis, that he is losing his job because the company is closing down. Jarvis then makes a strange proposition, saying he intends to commit suicide but wants Sam to make it look like a murder, in order for his wife and son to inherit Jarvis's life insurance. Sam declines, but when he goes to see Jarvis and finds his dead body, he reluctantly goes along with the scheme.

Drama telling the true story of the murder of 20-year-old Sophie Lancaster in 2007, who was kicked to death in a park by a gang. Her boyfriend, Robert Maltby, was also severely beaten and put into a coma. The two of them were attacked because they were dressed as goths.

A lawyer is asked to come to the police station to clear up a few loose ends in his witness report of a foul murder. "This will only take ten minutes", they say, but it turns out to be one loose end after another, and the ten minutes he is away from his speech become longer and longer.

After being arrested, a Texas man begins confessing to the brutal murder of over 200 women. He recounts his random selection of victims and his traveling companions, his friend and friend's sister. But the police can't be sure whether to believe him or not until he locates a body and shows them some polaroids. Based on the true story of Henry Lee Lucas.

Monster tells the harrowing tale of Richard, Mary and Andrew - a family of three. On the outside, Mary and Richard appear normal and their son, a deformed hulk of a 7 foot monster rarely seen. However, the true monster is the one who is deformed on the inside.

An unidentified man posts a live feed on social media showing that he has kidnapped two strangers and intends to kill one before the day is out. His intention is to hold a capital 'trial' online. As the authorities recognize what's happening, it becomes apparent that the online public is going to act as judge and jury.

When a young woman takes a trip down Rogue River, her car mysteriously disappears. Lost without transport or communication, she accepts the hospitality of a stranger who offers her shelter for the night at his cabin. With no other options available, she reluctantly accepts only to forever regret it. The ensuing hours yield nothing but torture, indescribable pain, and horrific agony. If you've seen Misery, you've seen nothing. This movie starts where horror films end and leaves viewers paralysed by fear and disgust.

Set within the stark Icelandic landscape, OUT OF THIN AIR examines the 1976 police investigation into the disappearance of two men in the early 1970s.

Shipping magnate Cyrus Wentworth, downcast over a disaster to his ocean liner 'Wentworth Castle' (carrying, oddly enough, an illicit shipment of Chinese bonds) is shot in his office at the very moment of kicking out his daughter's fiance Dick Fleming. Of course, Captain Street arrests Dick, but reporter Bobbie Logan, the attractive thorn in Street's side, is so convinced he's wrong that she enlists the help of detective James Lee Wong to find the real killer.

A series of interviews are conducted with convicted serial killer Ted Bundy in hopes of gaining insight into the Green River Killer who is terrorizing Seattle.

Following the brutal murder of a young real estate agent, a hardened detective attempts to uncover the truth in a case where nothing is as it seems, and by doing so dismantles the illusions in his own life.

This shocking documentary chronicles a happy-go-lucky nomad's ascent to viral stardom and the steep downward spiral that resulted in his imprisonment.

Kenneth Bianchi, one of the two serial rapists and killers who terrorized the Los Angeles area in the late 1970s, is giving police station interviews to psychiatrist Samantha Stone, who has disquieting lifestyle issues of her own. It falls to her to delve into the details of the case to determine the veracity of Bianchi's claims of multiple personality disorder, but in so doing, she is forced to relive the horrific crimes, one of which occurs at her very doorstep.

Jane Alexander's idyllic life in San Francisco is shattered when her beloved, elderly aunt is brutally murdered. But when her fiancé, Tom O'Donnell, becomes the main suspect, Jane must put aside her grief to aid the police before the chance at justice is lost forever.

25 years after the verdict in the Jamie Bulger murder trial, we reveal what the jury, public and press never heard, and what his two killers, Thompson and Venables, said during their time in custody from arrest to release.

When 16-year-old Becky Watts went missing in 2015, it sparked a major police investigation to find the teenager. But only two people knew where she was - her stepbrother Nathan and his girlfriend Shauna. Here, Susanna Reid gains unprecedented access to police interview room footage to reveal the strategy and skill involved in catching Becky's killers. There is also first-person testimony from some of the officers, and Susanna talks to Becky's family about the impact of this appalling crime

A famed criminologist reexamines the evidence in this powerful interview with murderer Bert Spencer, suspected in the killing a paperboy in 1978.

Sir Trevor McDonald revisits the murder of 2-year-old toddler, James Bulger, 25 years after he first reported on it.

Delve into the world of Batman and the vigilante justice that he brought to the city of Gotham. Batman is a man who, after experiencing great tragedy, devotes his life to an ideal--but what happens when one man takes on the evil underworld alone? Examine why Batman is who he is--and explore how a boy scarred by tragedy becomes a symbol of hope to everyone else.

A brilliant young surgeon takes the blame for a colleague when a botched surgery causes a patient's death and buries himself at a wilderness research facility.

Investigative journalist Rae de Leon travels nationwide to uncover and examine a shocking pattern: Young women tell the police they’ve been sexually assaulted, but instead of finding justice, they’re charged with the crime of making a false report, arrested, and even imprisoned by the system they believed would protect them.

A deconstructed crime thriller, inspired by the French new wave, in which a woman’s confession of murder is not as simple as it seems.

Election Night 1979: Margaret Thatcher is about to come into power. A young black man is held on suspicion of murdering his pregnant wife. Officers Karn and Wilby, racist to the core and high on the prospect of a Conservative Party victory, try to lure the suspect into a quick confession. But the night has just begun...Callous humiliation gives way to a barrage of sinister violence, leading to a devastating conclusion.Written by Barrie Keefe, who was behind the British classic The Long Good Friday, SUS is an emotionally charged and incredibly tense crime drama that serves as a powerful outcry against past institutional racism. But in the age of counter-terrorism SUS also begs the question: has history caught up with us?

Beatle is a quirky loner who refuses to live by society's rules. Her business cards read "Towing/Assassination," and she even has a hit man infomercial to go along with it. Her only human contact is with her psychiatrist and the stripper/hooker she employs once a week. Everything changes the night she meets Athena Klendon, a suicidal blonde with a secret. With a demented killer on their tail, courtesy of Athena's crooked former employer, the two quickly strike a bargain. Athena will change her life insurance policy to reflect Beatle as the beneficiary in exchange for her own execution. And while they wait for the paperwork to come through, Beatle will provide room and board and get some extra help on her infomercial. The two have no idea that Detective Holt has been on their case reviewing their every move. Just when he thinks he's got Beatle pinned beyond a shadow of a doubt, this comedic mystery takes a wild and unexpected turn.

A police detective consults with incarcerated serial killer Ted Bundy to help him catch The Green River Killer. Based on terrifying true life elements which inspired Silence of the Lambs. In 1984, police in Washington State are investigating a spate of serial murders committed by a mysterious man known as The Green River Killer. With no leads to go on, the detective in charge of the case consults with psychologists in an attempt to get inside the mind of the killer. But when that doesn't produce a positive result and the killings continue, the detective realizes that the only way to understand what makes a serial killer tick is to meet one. So he visits the imprisoned Ted Bundy, one of the most notorious serial killers in American history.

A loner from an early age, Thomas Quick went on to become Sweden's most notorious serial killer, openly confessing to the gruesome murders of more than 30 people. Held for decades in a psychiatric institute, Quick's confessions emerged after years working with a group of touchy feely therapists, convinced that the recovery of memories would cure patients of their criminality. In a country with a low crime rate, the nation watched with horror as Quick's confessions mounted, accounting for many of the country's unsolved murders. With testimonials from a range of people whose lives have been dominated by this story - including Quick himself - and dramatic reenactment, Brian Hill weaves a stylish noir thriller that works a treat on the big screen. What appears at first to be a tale of unimaginable evil evolves into something much more layered as Hill digs deep into the motivations behind those working closely with Quick.

Ed Kemper, also known as the Co-Ed Killer, murdered and dismembered 10 people, including his own mother. Former FBI agent John Douglas takes us through his extensive interviews with Kemper, which became the backbone of modern criminal psychology.

25 years after he first reported on it, Sir Trevor re-visits the case of Beverley Allitt, one of Britain's most prolific serial killers.

A respected citizen with secret ties to the local mob is faced with revealing his criminal connections to save two innocent people from execution

A wounded, bloodied man takes a priest hostage, hell-bent on confessing a vengeful truth before it is too late. The seemingly random encounter is soon revealed to be anything but as the two men’s lives are inextricably linked.

Inside The Mind of Leonardo is based on the artist’s private journals dating from the Italian Renaissance. With over 6,000 pages of handwritten notes and drawings, da Vinci’s private journals are the most comprehensive documents that chronicle the work of the world’s most renowned inventor, philosopher, painter and genius. Using this precious collection of writings and drawings to recount Da Vinci’s story in his own words, and combining them with stunning visual effects and 3D technology, we re-create the mindscape and ideas of mankind’s greatest polymath.

A murder is committed during the auction of a valuable statue. The prime suspect is Boston Blackie, whose reputation for living on the edge of the law makes him an easy target for the police. When the body disappears, Blackie must find it to prove his innocence.

For 31 years Dennis Rader aka BTK killer was able to live a double life. This documentary chronicle's comprehensive interviews with law enforcement, victim's family members, reporters and his daughter Kerri Rawson.

The 60s, London: The Krays are on the rise, using their inimitable violent ways to gain power over the city. One man, the fearless Detective Nipper Read, is sent in to tackle the unenviable task of bringing the city back under the rule of law and taking on the country's most feared mobsters in the process. As he faces bent coppers, political backstabbing, and terrified witnesses, Nipper becomes increasingly obsessed, putting everything and everyone he knows at risk.

Richard Kuklinski was a devoted husband, a loving father...and a ruthless killer. A decade after HBO last visited him in prison, the convicted murderer, who freely admits having whacked more than 100 people in cold blood, takes viewers back inside his cold, calculating mind. In this follow-up to America Undercover's 1992 film The Iceman Tapes: Conversations with a Killer, Kuklinski provides all-new insights about his exploits as one of the Mafia's most notorious assassins...and reveals some shocking confessions for a number of previously unsolved murders.

For the third time, HBO cameras go inside Trenton State Maximum Security Prison--and inside the mind of one of the most prolific killers in U.S. history--in this gripping documentary. Mafia hit man Richard Kuklinski freely admits to killing more than 100 people, but in this special, he speaks with top psychiatrist Dr. Park Dietz in an effort to face the truth about his condition. Filled with more never-before-revealed confessions, it's the most chillingly candid Iceman special yet as it combines often-confrontational interview footage between Kuklinski and Dietz with photos, crime reenactments and home movies that add new layers to this evolving and fascinating story.

Fiona Bruce investigates the true crime story of Emile Cilliers who attempted to kill his wife Victoria by sabotaging her parachute, and how she refused to testify in court.

Norfolk, England, 1999. During three days, farmer Tony Martin is questioned by police following the violent death of Fred Barras, a teenage burglar who broke into his property, Bleak House, in Emneth Hungate, along with other intruder, Brendon Fearon, on the evening of August 20th of that year.

A look into the events leading up to a horrific massacre that stunned the small town of Piketon, Ohio in 2016.

Kara Robinson Chamberlain recounts in vivid detail being taken at gun point from a friend’s front yard. Forced into in a cramped, dark storage container in her captor’s car, Kara instantly knew her life was in grave danger. In a moment she describes as a divine intervention, the 15-year-old realized she had to be her own victor and take her life back; she had to escape.

More than 25 years after her murder, mystery still surrounds the infamous case of JonBenét Ramsey, who was killed inside her family's home in Boulder, Colorado in the early morning hours just after Christmas. This documentary explores the unsolved crime with unprecedented access and family cooperation from John Ramsey, JonBenét's father, who after finally being cleared as a suspect, continues to push the Boulder Police Department to re-test and make available key pieces of physical evidence which may hold the answers to the killer's identity.

The deadliest weapon on the battlefield is neither the bullet nor the gun-it's the lone sniper. Through the scopes of the world's most precise marksmen SNIPER: INSIDE THE CROSSHAIRS takes you on a journey to discover the science and psychology behind the most extreme shots in military history. Deconstruct well-known missions from Vietnam to Iraq to Afghanistan by hearing firsthand recollections from the soldiers who were there and whose fingers pulled the triggers. Finally meet Canadian sniper Rob Furlong who for the first time on American television tells the story of his history-making shot in Afghanistan-striking a Taliban fighter from 1.5 miles away. Ballistics tactics weaponry stalking--this feature-length special examines these critical components in vivid detail and uses compelling interviews cinematic reenactments CGI technology and modern-day shooting demonstrations to put you squarely inside the crosshairs.

Ross Kemp examines the April 2015 heist when a group of criminals carried out what has been described as the biggest burglary in British history. With access to the secret surveillance footage that put the thieves behind bars.

Whitey Bulger: the Making of a Monster is the definitive biographical documentary about Whitey – a story that takes viewers into the heart of darkness of the legendary crime boss and cold-blooded killer. It digs deep into the mind of a psychopath, exploring the roots of his insatiable need for power and control. The documentary debunks the myth of the “Robin Hood of South Boston,” painting a deeply rendered portrait of evil.

In April 2013, chaos erupted in Boston near the finish line of one of the world's oldest and most prestigious marathons. It was the worst terrorist attack on the United States since 9/11 and led to one of the most extensive and public manhunts in American history. Now, as the one-year anniversary approaches, National Geographic Channel presents a special two-hour event, Inside the Hunt for the Boston Bombers.

Jeffrey Dahmer lived a ghastly double life as an adult, ultimately becoming known as one of America’s most infamous serial killers. Through an exclusive interview with Dahmer, as well as his mother and father, this program takes an extended look inside the mind of a serial killer.

A behind-the-scenes inside a news story that swept the US: a Zumba instructor, Alexis Wright, who lead a double life as a prostitute. With never-before-seen interviews from men on “the List,” local media and even her husband, Sex, Lies and Zumba will delve deeper into the operation, those involved, and just how this scandal took place in the small town of Kennebunk, Maine.

Explore the events of the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis and hear from some of the actual participants in this riveting program. After an American naval blockade intercepted Soviet submarines on a secret mission to set up a military base in Cuba, the two nations engaged in a tense standoff that led the world to the brink of nuclear war. Submariners from both sides talk about the conflict, and viewers get a look inside their subs and the U.S. war room.

An in-depth look into the Branch Davidians, a religious cult led by David Koresh in the late 1980s and early 1990s that ultimately met with a tragic, fiery end.

Speech-making is the art of persuasion. Well-honed rhetoric appeals not just to the mind, but to the heart and, deeper down, in the guts. Examining the speeches that provoked radical change, surprised pundits or shocked listeners, poet Simon Armitage dissects what makes a perfect speech. Simon gets the inside story behind some of the famous speeches of the modern age, talking to Tony Blair's speechwriter, to Earl Spencer on his controversial address at his sister's funeral and the woman who challenged the rioters in Hackney. We hear how Peter Tatchell confronted the BNP, Paul Boateng on how Enoch Powell's divisive speech personally affected him as a child, and Colonel Tim Collins, whose charge was to motivate his troops on the eve of the Iraq war. Simon discusses the nuts and bolts of speech writing with Vincent Franklin, aka the blue-sky thinking guru Stuart Pearson from The Thick of It, and gets tips on powerful delivery from actor Charles Dance.

About the relationship between Dean, a young deaf man who is accused of murdering his flatmate, and Penny, the sign language interpreter assigned to his case.

The film takes you on a journey inside the Vatican like you've never seen it before. From the ancient "City of the Dead" beneath St. Peter's basilica to the vaults of the Secret Archives, to the Pope's private offices and TV room. The show also explores the long and tumultuous relationship between the Vatican and the U.S., uncovering documents that date back to the Civil War and exploring Reagan's relationship with John Paul II in their quest to combat the Soviets during the Cold War.

A mysterious killer known as The Fiend uses an unusual bullet as his trademark for his murders.

After years of chasing a notorious serial killer nicknamed, "The Mistress Murderer," a tenacious police detective is told the infamous murderer has turned himself in, and in order to hear his true confession, he demands to tell his life story.

In this twisting documentary, a mechanic tries online dating for the first time and meets a woman who takes romantic obsession to a deadly extreme.

When Jennifer Pan calls 911 to report that her parents have been shot, she becomes the primary focus of a captivating criminal case.