Movies Like
Movies Like The Batman: Detective Noir, Not Superhero Spectacle
By Jordan A. · · Updated · 5 min read
The Batman (2022, Matt Reeves, 176 minutes) works because it is a serial killer procedural that happens to have a cape in it. The riddles, the corrupt city records, the detective who is worse at talking to people than at reading a crime scene: none of that is superhero grammar. It is Se7en grammar.
So this list is sorted by what you actually want more of, and every entry gets a year, a director, a runtime and one honest reason to skip it. Where each film streams changes month to month, so the title page on BingeNext shows current US options instead of me asserting a service.
If you want the serial killer procedural
Se7en (1995, David Fincher, 127 minutes) is the direct ancestor. A rain-soaked unnamed city, a killer who leaves a curriculum instead of clues, two detectives who represent two theories of how to survive the job. The difference from The Batman is that it gives you no protective distance at all, and the ending is genuinely cruel. Choose it if the riddle sequences were your favorite part. Skip it if you want a hero who wins.
Zodiac (2007, David Fincher, 157 minutes) is the same director doing the opposite thing: a real case, no catharsis, and three men losing years to it. It shares The Batman's obsession with paperwork and pattern. The difference is that nobody is ever caught, which some people find unbearable and others find the point. Choose it if you liked watching Batman work rather than watching Batman fight.
Prisoners (2013, Denis Villeneuve, 153 minutes) is the coldest film here. A father takes over an investigation that a detective is already running, and the film is honest about what that costs. It shares the grey-blue winter palette and the moral queasiness. The difference is that there is no mask to hide behind, so the violence lands as ordinary crime. Choose it if you want the vengeance question asked without a costume.
If you want classic noir corruption
Chinatown (1974, Roman Polanski, 130 minutes) is where the shape came from: a private detective pulls a small thread and discovers the city itself is the crime. The Batman's whole conspiracy plot is this film with a different water supply. The difference is that Chinatown is drier, funnier and far more fatalistic. Choose it if the Gotham corruption thread interested you more than the Riddler.
L.A. Confidential (1997, Curtis Hanson, 138 minutes) is the most purely entertaining film on this list. Three cops with incompatible ethics circle the same scandal in 1950s Los Angeles. It shares the institutional rot and the sense that the police are part of the problem. The difference is pace, since it moves like a thriller rather than a dirge. Choose it if you want the noir without the three-hour commitment.
The Long Goodbye (1973, Robert Altman, 112 minutes) is Altman dropping a 1940s private eye into 1970s Los Angeles and watching him fail to fit. It shares the theme of a man with an outdated code in a city that has moved on. The difference is tone: this one is loose and comic where The Batman is clenched. Choose it if you want noir that laughs at itself.
If you want the psychology, not the crime
Joker (2019, Todd Phillips, 122 minutes) is the obvious neighbor and worth naming honestly. It is a character study in Gotham clothing, and it commits to being unpleasant. It shares the grubby city and the interest in what produces a person like this. The difference is that it has no detective, no case and no interest in solving anything. Choose it if you want the atmosphere; skip it if you wanted the investigation.
Memento (2000, Christopher Nolan, 113 minutes) is a revenge investigation told backwards by a narrator who cannot hold on to what he learns. It shares the structural pleasure of assembling a case in the wrong order. The difference is that the puzzle is the film rather than the setting. Choose it if you like being made to do the detective work yourself.
The Silence of the Lambs (1991, Jonathan Demme, 118 minutes) still sets the standard for procedural dread. A trainee, a monster who will only talk to her on his terms, and a second monster with a deadline. It shares the interview-room tension The Batman keeps reaching for. The difference is that it is genuinely frightening, not just bleak. Choose it if the Arkham scenes were the ones you replayed.
Two you probably have not seen
Insomnia (2002, Christopher Nolan, 118 minutes) puts a compromised detective in an Alaskan town where the sun never sets, so he cannot sleep and cannot think straight. It shares the exhausted-investigator register. The difference is the light, which inverts the whole noir look. Choose it if you want the genre without the rain.
Incendies (2010, Denis Villeneuve, 130 minutes) is not a crime film at all, it is two siblings investigating their dead mother's life, and it builds to a revelation that reorganizes everything before it. It shares the sense of an inquiry that should have been left alone. The difference is that the subject is family and war, not a city. Choose it if what you liked was the feeling of a truth arriving too late.
Where to start
If you want the closest possible match, start with Se7en. If you want the conspiracy, start with Chinatown. If you have a weeknight and two hours, L.A. Confidential is the easiest yes on this list. And if you want the one that will stay with you longest, it is Zodiac.
If none of these land, work from the film itself. Drop The Batman and one other favorite into BingeNext movie recommendations and you will get a ranked shortlist based on what those two have in common, with a note on where each one streams. It takes about a minute.
Topics covered: superhero, dark, noir, psychological, crime, thriller
About the author
Jordan A., Founder, BingeNext
Jordan A. is the founder of BingeNext and is responsible for every guide published on this site. He built the recommendation engine after one too many nights lost to the streaming menu. Dates, season counts and where-to-watch details in these guides are checked against official sources before publishing, and corrections are welcome at Jordan@Bingenext.com.