15 Best Movies Like Where the Crawdads Sing

Summary

• Where the Crawdads Sing offers a unique blend of drama, romance, and mystery in a historical Southern setting.
• The film has a one-of-a-kind storyline with popular appeal despite mixed reviews from critics.
• Leading performances and character-driven plot twists keep the audience engaged in this captivating murder mystery.

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In an era of sequels, reboots, and spinoffs, movies like Where the Crawdads Sing offer a nice respite from Hollywood blockbusters with their fascinating plots and stunning visuals. The 2022 film is set in the 1950s-60s American South and follows Kya Clark (Daisy Edgar-Jones), a young woman from the swamps of North Carolina who becomes embroiled in a mysterious murder. Blending drama, romance, and mystery into one story, Where the Crawdads Sing told a unique coming-of-age story with a historical backdrop. Based on Delia Owens’ best-selling novel of the same name, the film managed to deftly balance a range of tones from intrigue to outright terror.

Though critics weren’t sold on the film, Where the Crawdads Sing garnered an impressive audience response on Rotten Tomatoes, and it was clear that the one-of-a-kind story had popular appeal. The cast of Where the Crawdads Sing only served to elevate the material, and the character-driven narrative had enough twists and turns to keep things engaging throughout. While there was a distinct uniqueness to the movie’s plot and visual execution, plenty of movies like Where the Crawdads Sing have dotted the cinematic landscape and tell their own tales of dramatic mystery.

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15 Snow Falling On Cedars (1999)

A Japanese American Man Is Accused Of Murder

Long before movies like Where the Crawdads Sing were popular, Snow Falling on Cedars, based on the award-winning David Guterson novel of the same name, dealt with similar themes. Set in the Pacific Northwest in 1950, the story follows a Japanese American fisherman who is put on trial for the murder of his neighbor. Like Kya, Kabuo Miyamoto (Rick Yune) is treated as lesser than by his peers, and the movie tackles tough topics like racism in post-war America.

At the center of the courtroom drama is also a sweeping romance with Ethan Hawke as a reporter looking into the case surrounding Kabuo who also had a romance in the past with Kabuo’s wife. The foggy environs of Puget Sound offer a stark visual contrast to the swamps of North Carolina, but the eerie tone is present throughout the forgotten ’90s thriller.

14 Knives Out (2019)

Benoit Blanc Investigates A Family Murder

Making the murder mystery movie popular again, Knives Out launched a brand-new cinematic franchise. After a famous novelist is murdered, detective Benoit Blanc (Daniel Craig) investigates the writer’s shady family who all have sinister motives.

Among the various colorful characters of the family, the writer’s nurse Marta (Ana de Armas) is revealed to know more about the case than she is letting on. Knives Out features several of the same themes as Where the Crawdads Sing, most importantly the murder mystery. Both movies keep the viewer in the dark until the final reveal.

Unlike Where the Crawdads Sing, Knives Out uses humor to get its point across, making the murder mystery less scary and more playful. It also features a wonderful supporting cast that includes Chris Evans, Jamie Lee Curtis, and Michael Shannon. It spawned a sequel, Glass Onion, with a third Benoit Blanc mystery on the way.

13 Murder On The Orient Express (2017)

Hercule Poirot Investigates A Death On A Train

Adapted from the best-selling Agatha Christie book, Murder on the Orient Express revived the classic novel with a modern cinematic flare. Detective Hercule Poirot (Kenneth Branagh) investigates a grisly murder aboard the world-famous trans-continental train.

When one of the passengers is found dead during the commute, it becomes obvious another passenger is responsible with the brilliant detective searching through the many motivations. It is another star-studded mystery with the likes of Johnny Depp, Olivia Coleman, Daisy Ridley, Willem Dafoe, and others.

As with most movies like Where The Crawdads Sing, Murder on the Orient Express dedicates itself to its mystery and doesn’t get sidetracked by much else. Slowly but surely, information is revealed, which has the viewers desperately trying to piece together what really happened. Though a bit more procedural than Where the Crawdads Sing, the Branagh-directed adaptation nevertheless finds a way to be shocking in its own right.

12 Marrowbone (2017)

Siblings Cover Up Their Mother’s Death

Though Where the Crawdads Sing mixed in subtle horror elements, the psychological thriller Marrowbone embraces the horrific much more openly. In 1960s Maine, the mysterious Marrowbone family must cover up the death of their mother in order to retain ownership of the family estate.

However, their secrets soon give way to something more sinister as they are haunted by an unknown presence in the massive manor. Notable stars like Mia Goth, Anya Taylor-Joy, and George MacKay make up the cast, and the young stars are reminiscent of Where the Crawdads Sing‘s ensemble.

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Though a supernatural horror story, Marrowbone also subtly ratchets up the tension, and the picturesque period locations are as visually stunning as those in Where the Crawdads Sing. It makes for an effective setting to deliver the scares and craft an intriguing mystery.

11 Lost Girls (2020)

Amy Ryan Searches For Her Missing Daughter

Women-centric true-crime stories are abundant, but the film Lost Girls used the real-life narrative from Robert Kolker’s book to explore failures in the criminal justice system. Oscar nominee Amy Ryan stars as Mari Gilbert whose daughter goes missing.

After the police fail to uncover anything she takes it upon herself to find her child and stumbles across multiple unsolved murders of women. Lost Girls focuses on the importance of unsolved crimes, especially those involving women and sex workers.

It makes for a powerful story within the intriguing mystery in which more is revealed as Mari continues to peel back the layers. While darker than Where The Crawdads Sing, the same themes are present including, murder, betrayal, and the hunt for the truth in the face of impossible odds. Lost Girls is equal parts haunting and jaw-dropping.

10 The Girl On The Train (2016)

Emily Blunt Becomes Obsessed With Strangers

Much like how Where the Crawdads Sing was fast-tracked to the big screen after the success of the novel, The Girl on the Train brought Paula Hawkins’ best-selling novel to life. Emily Blunt stars in the adaptation as Rachel, a woman who sees the same couple as she passes their home during her daily train commute. However, when she witnesses something in one of these communities, she is pulled into a dark and twisting mystery.

The Girl on the Train‘s greatest strength is its building eeriness, which makes it akin to Where the Crawdads Sing in tone. It also focuses mostly on Rachel instead of an ensemble cast, much like Kya and her own journey and self-discovery. Both movies are spearheaded by strong female leads and focus on the importance of finding the truth, no matter the consequences.

9 The Little Things (2021)

Denzel Washington And Rami Malek Investigate A Serial Killer

Though Where the Crawdads Sing used its rural setting as a perfect backdrop, 2021’s The Little Things showed that urban environments were still ripe for a gripping thriller story. While in Los Angeles on an evidence-gathering mission, a veteran cop (Denzel Washington) finds himself assisting in the hunt for a vicious serial killer. When he and the younger detective (Rami Maleck) zero in on a suspect (Jared Leto), the frustration over closing the case begins to push them to dark places.

While The Little Things focuses on the bureaucratic procedures of big city policing, it has the same undertones as Where The Crawdads Sing. There’s an ominous feeling as the case continues to escalate, and there is a claustrophobic vibe as the city closes in. Uncomfortable to watch, the twists continue up into the film’s last moments.

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8 Midnight In The Garden Of Good And Evil (1997)

A Murder Mystery In The Heart Of New Orleans’ Upper Society

John Berendt’s landmark true-crime book Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil captured the Southern Gothic essences of Savannah Georgia, and the film mimicked its style excellently. A young journalist (John Cusack) travels to Savannah to cover the city’s annual Christmas festivities and submerges himself in the town’s culture and true crime.

When a popular and wealthy local (Kevin Spacey) is accused of murder, it becomes clear there are some dark truths to be revealed. Movies like Where the Crawdads Sing often rely on contrived fictional situations to get their message across, but Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil used true stories to offer its twisted story.

Ranging from strangely humorous to nightmarish and grisly, the two films overlap in their tones and Southern Gothic visual style. Director Clint Eastwood does a terrific job of creating a unique and entertaining community in which the story evolves.

7 The Woman In The Window (2021)

Amy Adams Witnesses A Murder

A.J. Finn’s novel The Woman in the Window was ripe for adaptation, and it joined a growing roster of movies like Where the Crawdads Sing that analyze crime from the female perspective. Anna (Amy Adams) is a woman with agoraphobia living an isolated life in her apartment.

After she believes she witnessed a murder in the house across the street, Anna attempts to uncover the truth which leads to her questioning her own sanity. Like Where The Crawdads Sing, the strong performances in The Woman in the Window are its anchor with a strong cast that includes Julianne Moore, Brian Tyree Henry, Wyatt Russell, and Gary Oldman.

Both Kya and Anna are outcasts watching the rest of the world from the sidelines, horrified at what they witness but desperate to piece together the truth of what they’ve seen.

6 George Washington (2000)

A Group Of Young Friends Face A Tragedy Together

Perhaps the most overlooked aspect of Where the Crawdads Sing is its coming-of-age elements, and the indie darling George Washington tackled similar ideas. Set in rural North Carolina, a tight-knit group of young kids is shattered when one of their own is accidentally killed and they decide to cover it up. As they deal with the aftermath, it sends them on their own paths of redemption.

Though not nearly as cinematic as the big-budgeted Where the Crawdads Sing, George Washington uses its rural Southern backdrop as the perfect stage for coming-of-age drama. Both films deal with underserved youth and tackle the tragic consequences of mistakes that get way out of hand, even if George Washington is much more realistic in its execution. Though he is now known for movies like Pineapple Express and the Halloween reboot movies, David Gordon Green made a stunning directorial debut with this movie.

5 Dark Places (2015)

Charlize Theron Revisits A Family Tragedy

Author Gillian Flynn has become a popular source of content for movies and TV, with Gone Girl being her most iconic crime story. While Dark Places has never reached that level of popularity, it remains an absorbing thriller.

Decades after her family was brutally murdered and her brother was arrested for the crime, Libby (Charlize Theron) is forced to revisit the traumatic night of her family’s murder when investigators reopen the case and start to ask hard questions.

Noted for featuring yet another strong female character from Flynn’s oeuvre, Dark Places is full of twists and haunting revelations that have the viewer questioning the lengths people will go to in order to keep their secrets. Much like Where The Crawdads Sing, both movies are hauntingly dark and thrilling to watch with a particularly strong eye towards psychological chills.

4 Rebecca (2020)

Lily James Looks Into The Past Relationship Of Her New Husband

Though Where the Crawdads Sing is a modern mystery novel, it does share similarities to some older works of the genre that have received modern film adaptations. Based on the classic novel by Daphne du Maurier, Rebecca follows Mrs. de Winter, a new bride (Lily James) who moves into her husband’s (Armie Hammer) estate but finds herself living in the shadow of his titular first wife. Mrs. de Winter begins to question not only her husband but herself, as she’s haunted by her predecessor’s legacy.

Serving as the blueprint for movies like Where the Crawdads Sing, du Maurier’s tale has a lot to say about marriage from the female perspective. Though the 2020 adaptation of Rebecca changed things from the novel, it maintained the haunting atmosphere that makes it a perfect companion to Where the Crawdads Sing.

3 Beloved (1998)

Oprah Winfrey Is Haunted By The Memory Of Her Child

Finally bringing Toni Morrison’s masterpiece Pulitzer Prize-winning novel to life, Beloved is an allegorical take on many of the same themes covered in Where the Crawdads Sing. Sethe (Oprah Winfrey) is tortured by her past as a formerly enslaved person and haunted by the seeming reincarnation of her lost child, Beloved (Thandiwe Newton).

It forces her to grapple with her grief while also attempting to move on with her life. Directed by Oscar winner Jonathan Demme, Beloved is a complex movie that is not easy to categorize into one genre but hits certain similar beats as Where the Crawdads Sing.

Both films deal with characters who have been ostracized from society, and while Kya is symbolically haunted, Sethe is haunted in a more literal sense. Though Beloved is a largely forgotten box office bomb, it helped pave the way for movies like Where the Crawdads Sing.

2 A Mouthful Of Air (2021)

Amanda Seyfried Deals With Childhood Trauma

The psychology of trauma was the heart of Amy Koppelman’s novel, and the adaptation of A Mouthful of Air explored the same ideas. Julie Davis (Amanda Seyfried) is a bestselling children’s author who writes encouraging stories to teach children to face their fears. However, when she faces the birth of her daughter, she realizes that she is still not facing some of the trauma of her own childhood.

One common thread dealt with in both movies is hidden and repressed childhood memories that won’t go away. Kya of Where the Crawdads Sing buried much of her childhood in order to cope as an adult, similarly to Julie. Both women are confronted with their trauma and hidden pasts and must overcome them if they want to move forward, though Julie’s journey isn’t nearly as eerie as Kya’s.

1 The Starling (2021)

Melissa McCarthy Struggles With Grief

While the word “heartwarming” usually wouldn’t be used to describe movies like Where the Crawdads Sing, 2021’s The Starling fits that description. Following a tragic loss, Lily (Melissa McCarthy) deals with her husband being committed to a psychiatric facility. As she deals with him and ignores her own grief, she soon finds herself fighting and subsequently befriending a starling that has taken to nesting in her backyard.

The Starling focuses on the importance of reopening one’s heart, as does Where The Crawdads Sing. Themes of love, acceptance, and grief are present in both films, but The Starling uses a subtle sense of humor to get its point across with none of the creepiness of Where the Crawdads Sing. It also features a solid dramatic role for McCarthy as well as a strong supporting cast, including Chris O’Dowd, Kevin Kline, and Timothy Olyphant.

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