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Movies like The Killing of America

Key Features:
Social commentary, Violence-high, Racial tension, Serial killer, Crime, Disturbing imagery, Documentary, American culture, Historical context
Tone:
serious, gritty, cynical
Target Audience:
Documentary viewers, True crime enthusiasts, Viewers interested in social commentary, Those interested in American history
Emotional Arc:
Disgust → Despair

The Killing of America

1981-09-05
The Killing of America Poster - Find Similar Movies

A documentary of the decline of America. Featuring footage (most exclusive to this film) from race riots to serial killers and much, much more.

Genres
Documentary, Crime
Cast
Chuck Riley, Sirhan Sirhan, Wayne Henley, Thomas Noguchi, Ed Kemper
Crew
Leonard Schrader, Leonard Schrader, Sheldon Renan, Chieko Schrader
Rating
7.181(58 votes)
The Killing of AmericaThe Killing of America
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God Bless America

Fed up with the cruelty and stupidity of American culture, an unlikely duo goes on a killing spree, killing reality TV stars, bigots and others they find repugnant.



The Act of Killing
7.7

In this chilling and groundbreaking documentary, former Indonesian death squad leaders reenact their real-life mass killings in the style of various film genres, from gangster epics to musicals. As they recreate their past atrocities, the line between reality and performance blurs, exposing the lingering impact of Indonesia’s 1965-66 anti-communist purge and the unsettling psychology of its perpetrators.



O.J.: Made in America
8.415

A chronicle of the rise and fall of O.J. Simpson, whose high-profile murder trial exposed the extent of American racial tensions, revealing a fractured and divided nation.



Death of a Nation
4.094

Parallels are drawn between Abraham Lincoln's presidency and the presidency of Donald Trump. Not since 1860 have the Democrats so fanatically refused to accept the result of a free election. That year, their target was Lincoln. They smeared him. They went to war to defeat him. In the end, they assassinated him.



Falling Down
7.386

An ordinary man frustrated with the various flaws he sees in society begins to psychotically and violently lash out against them.



Death of a President

A fictional investigative documentary looks back on the "assassination" of George W. Bush and attempts to answer the question of who committed the murder. Perhaps less morbid and disturbing to watch now than during Bush's presidency, the film doesn't address Bush's policies at all, instead focusing on the way a nation assigns blame in a time of crisis.



Requiem for the American Dream

Through interviews filmed over four years, Noam Chomsky unpacks the principles that have brought us to the crossroads of historically unprecedented inequality – tracing a half-century of policies designed to favor the most wealthy at the expense of the majority – while also looking back on his own life of activism and political participation. He provides penetrating insight into what may well be the lasting legacy of our time – the death of the middle class, and swan song of functioning democracy.



Killing Them Softly

Jackie Cogan is an enforcer hired to restore order after three dumb guys rob a Mob protected card game, causing the local criminal economy to collapse.



Sicko
Sicko(2007)
7.352

A documentary about the corrupt health care system in The United States who's main goal is to make profit even if it means losing people’s lives. "The more people you deny health insurance the more money we make" is the business model for health care providers in America.



The Decline of Western Civilization

The Los Angeles punk music scene circa 1980 is the focus of this film. With Alice Bag Band, Black Flag, Catholic Discipline, Circle Jerks, Fear, Germs, and X.



Faces of Death
4.495

A collection of death scenes, ranging from TV-material to home-made super-8 movies. The common factor is death by some means.



The Boys Next Door
6.2

Roy and Bo leave their small town the weekend after graduation for a short road trip to LA. Soon, they find themselves lashing out and leaving a trail of bodies behind them. The violence escalates throughout.



Going to Pieces: The Rise and Fall of the Slasher Film

This historical and critical look at slasher films, which includes dozens of clips, begins with Halloween, Friday the 13th, and Prom Night. The films' directors, writers, producers, and special effects creators comment on the films' making and success. During the Reagan years, the films get gorier, budgets get smaller, and their appeal wanes. Then, Nightmare on Elm Street revives the genre. Jump to the late 90s, when Scream brings humor and TV stars into the mix.



The Show
The Show(2017)
5.7

An unsettling look at reality television, where a disturbing game show has its contestants ending their lives for the public's enjoyment.



Collapse
Collapse(2009)
7.2

From the acclaimed director of American Movie, the documentary follows former Los Angeles police officer turned independent reporter Michael Ruppert. He recounts his career as a radical thinker and spells out his apocalyptic vision of the future, spanning the crises in economics, energy, environment and more.



Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer

Arriving in Chicago, Henry moves in with ex-con acquaintance Otis and starts schooling him in the ways of the serial killer.



Killer of Sheep
6.5

An African-American man working at a slaughterhouse in the Watts area of Los Angeles leads a dissatisfied and listless existence.



Capitalism: A Love Story

Michael Moore comes home to the issue he's been examining throughout his career: the disastrous impact of corporate dominance on the everyday lives of Americans (and by default, the rest of the world).



Savageland
6.8

When a small town near the Arizona-Mexico border is wiped out overnight, suspicion falls on the lone survivor. But a roll of photos the survivor took that night tells a different story.



Rampage
Rampage(2009)
5.947

The boredom of small town life is eating Bill Williamson alive. Feeling constrained and claustrophobic in the meaningless drudgery of everyday life and helpless against overwhelming global dissolution, Bill begins a descent into madness. His shockingly violent plan will shake the very foundations of society by painting the streets red with blood.



The Killing
7.649

Career criminal Johnny Clay recruits a sharpshooter, a crooked police officer, a bartender and a betting teller named George, among others, for one last job before he goes straight and gets married. But when George tells his restless wife about the scheme to steal millions from the racetrack where he works, she hatches a plot of her own.



In Cold Blood
7.5

After a botched robbery results in the brutal murder of a rural family, two drifters elude police, in the end coming to terms with their own mortality and the repercussions of their vile atrocity.



A History of Violence
7.159

An average family is thrust into the spotlight after the father commits a seemingly self-defense murder at his diner.



The Hamiltons
5

The Hamiltons seem to be the picture-perfect American family. They are hardworking community members; giving to their local charities, attending town hall meetings and always respectful of their neighbors...except for the fact that they usually end up killing them.



Fahrenheit 9/11
7.085

Michael Moore's view on how the Bush administration allegedly used the tragic events on 9/11 to push forward its agenda for unjust wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.



Bulworth
Bulworth(1998)
6.3

A suicidally disillusioned liberal politician puts a contract out on himself and takes the opportunity to be bluntly honest with his voters by affecting the rhythms and speech of hip-hop music and culture.



Evilenko
Evilenko(2004)
5.7

For years, Andrei Evilenko eluded the obsessive Detective Lesiev and the psychiatric profiler Aron Richter. Spurred on by his rabid fury at the gradual crumbling of his precious Soviet Union, Evilenko is a man who will live, die and kill as a communist.



Mississippi Burning
7.68

Two FBI agents investigating the murder of civil rights workers during the 60s seek to breach the conspiracy of silence in a small Southern town where segregation divides black and white. The younger agent trained in FBI school runs up against the small town ways of his partner, a former sheriff.



Ronny Chieng: Asian Comedian Destroys America!

Ronny Chieng ("The Daily Show," "Crazy Rich Asians") takes center stage in this stand-up special and riffs on modern American life and more.



Dying of the Light
4.669

Evan Lake, a veteran CIA agent, has been ordered to retire. But when his protégé uncovers evidence that Lake's nemesis, the terrorist Banir, has resurfaced, Lake goes rogue, embarking on a perilous, intercontinental mission to eliminate his sworn enemy.



The Last Supper
6.5

A group of idealistic but frustrated liberals succumb to the temptation of murdering right-wing pundits for their political beliefs.



Dirty Wars
7.007

Investigative journalist, Jeremy Scahill is pulled into an unexpected journey as he chases down the hidden truth behind America's expanding covert wars, and examines how the US government has responded to international terrorist threats in ways that seem to go against the established laws of the land.



Bowling for Columbine
7.516

This is not a film about gun control. It is a film about the fearful heart and soul of the United States, and the 280 million Americans lucky enough to have the right to a constitutionally protected Uzi. From a look at the Columbine High School security camera tapes to the home of Oscar-winning NRA President Charlton Heston, from a young man who makes homemade napalm with The Anarchist's Cookbook to the murder of a six-year-old girl by another six-year-old. Bowling for Columbine is a journey through the US, through our past, hoping to discover why our pursuit of happiness is so riddled with violence.



Spree
Spree(2020)
6.4

Desperate for an online following, a rideshare driver has figured out a deadly plan to go viral and he will stop at nothing to get his five minutes of fame.



The Trigger Effect
5.7

A blackout leaves those affected to consider what is necessary, what is legal, and what is questionable, in order to survive in a predatory environment.



Kill Theory
5.318

While celebrating a graduation at a secluded vacation home, a group of college students find themselves targeted by a sadistic killer who forces them to play a deadly game of killing one another in order to survive.



Chaos: The Manson Murders

In August 1969, Charles Manson's followers killed seven people on his orders. Why? Explore a conspiracy of mind control, CIA experiments, and murder.



Jack the Ripper
5.8

A serial killer whose mother was a prostitute starts killing streetwalkers as a way of paying back his mother for her abuse.



Hardcore
Hardcore(1979)
6.7

A conservative Midwest businessman ventures into the sordid underworld of pornography in search of his runaway teenage daughter who’s making hardcore films in the pits of Los Angeles.



Civil War
Civil War(2024)
6.852

In the near future, a group of war journalists attempt to survive while reporting the truth as the United States stands on the brink of civil war.



Targets
Targets(1968)
7

An aging horror-movie icon's fate intersects with that of a seemingly ordinary young man on a psychotic shooting spree around Los Angeles.



Dead Bang
Dead Bang(1989)
6.303

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.



This Film Is Not Yet Rated

Kirby Dick's provocative documentary investigates the secretive and inconsistent process by which the Motion Picture Association of America rates films, revealing the organization's underhanded efforts to control culture. Dick questions whether certain studios get preferential treatment and exposes the discrepancies in how the MPAA views sex and violence.



The Monopoly of Violence

As anger and resentment grow in the face of social inequalities, many citizens-led protests are being repressed with an ever-increasing violence. In this documentary, David Dufresne gathers a panel of citizens to question, exchange and confront their views on the social order and the legitimacy of the use of force by the State.



Dark Blue
Dark Blue(2002)
6.2

Set during the Rodney King riots, a robbery homicide investigation triggers a series of events that will cause a corrupt LAPD officer to question his tactics.



Murder-Set-Pieces
3.878

A ferocious, misogynistic, and morally deprived serial killer is active in Las Vegas. Obsessed with the collapse of the Twin Towers, and with Nazi tendencies, he even targets underage girls.



American Murder: The Family Next Door

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



Why Did You Kill Me?

The line between justice and revenge blurs when a devastated family uses social media to track down the people who killed 24-year-old Crystal Theobald.



America: Imagine the World Without Her

A story that questions the shaming of the US through revisionist history, lies and omissions by educational institutions, political organizations, Alinsky, Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, and other progressives to destroy America.



Death to 2021
6

This comedic retrospective mixes archival footage and scripted sketches as it revisits all the dread — and occasional delight — that 2021 had to offer.



Aileen: Life and Death of a Serial Killer

British documentarian Nick Broomfield creates a follow-up piece to his 1992 documentary of the serial killer Aileen Wuornos, a highway prostitute who was convicted of killing six men in Florida between 1989 and 1990. Interviewing an increasingly mentally unstable Wuornos, Broomfield captures the distorted mind of a murderer whom the state of Florida deems of sound mind -- and therefore fit to execute. Throughout the film, Broomfield includes footage of his testimony at Wuornos' trial.



Freakonomics
6.112

Some of the world's most innovative documentary filmmakers will explore the hidden side of everything.



Helter Skelter
6.8

The investigation of two horrific mass murders leads to the capture and trial of the psychotic pseudo-hippie Charles Manson and his "family".



The End of Violence
5.291

In Hollywood, the lives of a successful film producer, his wife, a police detective and a surveillance agent intersect after a botched abduction.



Crack: Cocaine, Corruption & Conspiracy

A cheap, powerful drug emerges during a recession, igniting a moral panic fueled by racism. Explore the complex history of crack in the 1980s.



Dave Chappelle: Killin' Them Softly

Dave Chappelle returns for a stand-up to D.C. and riffs on politics, police, race relations, drugs, Sesame Street and more.



Death Wish
6.9

After his wife is murdered by street punks, a pacifistic New York City architect becomes a one-man vigilante squad, prowling the streets for would-be muggers after dark.



The Killers
6.9

A hit man and his partner try to find out why their latest victim, a former race-car driver, did not try to get away.



LA 92
LA 92(2017)
7.714

Twenty-five years after the verdict in the Rodney King trial sparked several days of protests, violence and looting in Los Angeles, LA 92 immerses viewers in that tumultuous period through stunning and rarely seen archival footage.



Food, Inc.
7.3

Documentary filmmaker Robert Kenner examines how mammoth corporations have taken over all aspects of the food chain in the United States, from the farms where our food is grown to the chain restaurants and supermarkets where it's sold. Narrated by author and activist Eric Schlosser, the film features interviews with average Americans about their dietary habits, commentary from food experts like Michael Pollan and unsettling footage shot inside large-scale animal processing plants.



Killing Season
5.538

Two veterans of the Bosnian War, one American, one Serbian, clash in the remote Smoky Mountain wilderness.



Horror Noire: A History of Black Horror

Delving into a century of genre films that by turns utilized, caricatured, exploited, sidelined, and finally embraced them, this is the untold history of black Americans in Hollywood through their connection to the horror genre.



Strong Island
6.367

Examining the violent death of the filmmaker’s brother and the judicial system that allowed his killer to go free, this documentary interrogates murderous fear and racialized perception, and re-imagines the wreckage in catastrophe’s wake, challenging us to change.



C.S.A.: The Confederate States of America

Through the eyes of a British "documentary", this film takes a satirically humorous, and sometimes frightening, look at the history of an America where the South won the Civil War.



A Deadly American Marriage

Murder or self-defense? Told from both sides, this documentary explores the killing of Jason Corbett during a dispute with his wife and her father.



Dead Presidents
6.653

On the streets they call cash dead presidents. And that's just what a Vietnam veteran is after when he returns home from the war only to find himself drawn into a life of crime. With the aid of his fellow vets he plans the ultimate heist -- a daring robbery of an armored car filled with unmarked U.S. currency!



The Hunting Ground
7.38

A startling expose of rape crimes on US campuses, their institutional cover-ups, and the devastating toll they take on students and their families. The film follows the lives of several undergraduate assault survivors as they attempt to pursue—despite incredible push back, harassment and traumatic aftermath—both their education and justice.



The Killer
6.58

After a fateful miss, an assassin battles his employers, and himself, on an international manhunt he insists isn't personal.



The Shock Doctrine
7.1

An investigation of "disaster capitalism", based on Naomi Klein's proposition that neo-liberal capitalism feeds on natural disasters, war and terror to establish its dominance.



The House I Live In
7.507

In the past 40 years, the War on Drugs has accounted for 45 million arrests, made America the world's largest jailer, and destroyed impoverished communities at home and abroad. Yet drugs are cheaper, purer, and more available today than ever. Where did we go wrong?



Killers
Killers(2014)
6.5

A psychotic executive triggers a journalist's dark side, and they begin to form a strange bond through the internet.



Surveillance
6

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.



The Corporation
7.6

Since the late 18th century American legal decision that the business corporation organizational model is legally a person, it has become a dominant economic, political and social force around the globe. This film takes an in-depth psychological examination of the organization model through various case studies. What the study illustrates is that in the its behaviour, this type of "person" typically acts like a dangerously destructive psychopath without conscience. Furthermore, we see the profound threat this psychopath has for our world and our future, but also how the people with courage, intelligence and determination can do to stop it.



The Purge: Election Year

Two years after choosing not to kill the man who killed his son, former police sergeant Leo Barnes has become head of security for Senator Charlene Roan, the front runner in the next Presidential election due to her vow to eliminate the Purge. On the night of what should be the final Purge, a betrayal from within the government forces Barnes and Roan out onto the street where they must fight to survive the night.



The Fall of the American Empire

A shy and insecure delivery driver arrives on the scene of a robbery-gone-wrong and picks up two bags of cash and hides them in his truck. He is interrogated by two tough police detectives and manages to evade suspicion but he is warned that whoever owns the money will be looking for it. Only the help of a prostitute and a former biker recently released from jail might get him out of trouble.



American Psycho
7.408

A wealthy New York investment banking executive hides his alternate psychopathic ego from his co-workers and friends as he escalates deeper into his illogical, gratuitous fantasies.



H.H. Holmes: America's First Serial Killer

Torture chambers, acid vats, greased chutes and gassing rooms were just some of the devices of death designed by the Torture Doctor, H.H. Holmes in his castle of horrors. Follows Holmes' entire life as a criminal mastermind.



Mayhem
Mayhem(2017)
6.5

A virus spreads through an office complex causing white collar workers to act out their worst impulses.



Death by Hanging
7.4

A Korean man is sentenced to death in Japan but somehow survives his execution, sending the authorities into a panic about what to do next.



Some Guy Who Kills People

A former mental patient's repressed anger reaches the boiling point, leading him to embark on a mission of revenge against the thugs who once subjected him to severe physical and mental trauma.



The Brotherhood of Justice

High-school students start a vigilante group in their neighbourhood but, as their power increases, they become more abusive and dangerous.



Killers Anonymous
4.63

A failed attempt to murder a Senator is connected to a group meeting secretly to discuss their darkest urges—to take lives.



American Carnage
5.948

After a governor issues an executive order to arrest the children of undocumented immigrants, the detained youth are offered an opportunity to have their charges dropped by volunteering to provide care to the elderly. Once inside the elder care facility, however, they discover more twisted secrets than they could have possibly imagined.



Fahrenheit 11/9
7.11

Michael Moore's provocative documentary explores the two most important questions of the Trump Era: How did we get here, and how do we get out.



The Axe Murders of Villisca

Three ghost-hunting high-schoolers visit the Moore House in Villisca, Iowa—the site of one of America’s most grisly unsolved mass murders. After their private tour is interrupted, the group sneaks back in at night, unaware of the otherworldly terror that awaits them.



Vigilante
Vigilante(1983)
6.2

New York City factory worker Eddie Marino is a solid citizen and regular guy, until the day a sadistic street gang brutally assaults his wife and murders his child. When a corrupt judge sets the thugs free, he goes berserk and vows revenge.



Tales from the Hood
6.26

A strange mortician tells four horrific tales to three drug dealers that he traps in their local funeral parlor.



American Grindhouse
6.742

This documentary explores the hidden history of the American Exploitation Film. The movie digs deep into this often overlooked category of U.S. cinema and unearths the shameless and occasionally shocking origins of this popular entertainment.



Elephant
Elephant(1993)
6.552

A chilling depiction of a series of violent killings during the Troubles in Northern Ireland.



Candyman
Candyman(2021)
6.001

A Chicago artist's sanity starts to unravel, unleashing a terrifying wave of violence when he begins to explore the macabre history of the Candyman.



Killer Movie
5.573

A reality TV director copes with a spoiled celebutante and a show gone haywire when a masked killer starts bumping off the crew in this slasher-movie satire.



Carne
Carne(1991)
6.798

After a dreadful incident coupled with an ungovernable paroxysm of violence, a butcher will fall into a downward spiral that will burn to the ground whatever dignity still remained in him.



Rampage: Capital Punishment

A man takes over a TV station and holds a number of hostages as a political platform to awaken humanity, instead of money.



Rampage
Rampage(1987)
5.9

Liberal district attorney decides to seek the death penalty for a man who slaughtered a family at Christmastime, then drank their blood. He escapes, though, and starts killing again.



A Time to Kill
7.4

A young lawyer defends a black man accused of murdering two white men who raped his 10-year-old daughter, sparking a rebirth of the KKK.



Hillary's America: The Secret History of the Democratic Party

Bestselling author and influential filmmaker Dinesh D’Souza reveals the sordid truth about Hillary Clinton and the secret history of the Democratic Party. This important and controversial film releases at a critical time leading up to the 2016 Presidential campaign and challenges the state of American politics.



The Driller Killer
5.2

An artist slowly goes insane while struggling to pay his bills, work on his paintings, and care for his two female roommates, which leads him taking to the streets of New York after dark and randomly killing derelicts with a power drill.



A Short Film About Killing

Jacek climbs into the taxi driven by Waldemar, tells him to drive to a remote location, then brutally strangles him, seemingly without motive.



Redacted
Redacted(2007)
5.997

A fictional documentary discusses the effects the Iraq war has had on soldiers and local people through interviews with members of an American military unit, the media, and local Iraqis.

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