6 Best Blackmail and Extortion Movies

By Vlad Zakh · June 3, 2026

Blackmail drags a story along like a slowly tightening noose. A Simple Favor has a vlogger investigating her friend’s disappearance, Disclosure turns a harassment claim into a corporate power play, and Body Heat draws a lawyer into a deadly affair. Dial M for Murder, The Big Clock and Blackmail, from 1929, prove the formula has been working for a very long time.

A Simple Favor (2018)

TMDB ★ 6.9

A mommy-blogger investigates the sudden disappearance of her glamorous best friend.

Directed by Paul Feig · 1h 57m · Rated R

Where to watch

Stream: fuboTV, Lionsgate+ Amazon Channel · Rent: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home, Spectrum On Demand · Buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

Disclosure (1994)

TMDB ★ 5.9

A software executive faces a sexual harassment claim that turns out to be a corporate power play against him.

Directed by Barry Levinson · 2h 08m · Rated R

Where to watch

Rent: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home, Spectrum On Demand · Buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

Body Heat (1981)

TMDB ★ 7.0

A small-town lawyer's passionate affair with a married woman draws him into a deadly scheme.

Directed by Lawrence Kasdan · 1h 53m · Rated R

Where to watch

Rent or buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

Dial M for Murder (1954)

IMDb ★ 8.1 RT 90% Metacritic 75

A husband meticulously plots his wife's murder, only to have his scheme go disastrously wrong.

Directed by Alfred Hitchcock · 1h 45m · Rated PG

Nominated for 1 BAFTA Award5 wins & 3 nominations

Where to watch

Stream: IndieFlix Shorts Amazon Channel · Rent: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home, Spectrum On Demand · Buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

The Big Clock (1948)

TMDB ★ 7.4

A magazine editor is forced to lead the investigation into a murder he knows his own boss committed.

Directed by John Farrow · 1h 35m

Where to watch

Rent or buy: Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

Blackmail (1929)

TMDB ★ 6.7

A woman who kills a man in self-defence becomes the target of a blackmailer who saw it happen.

Directed by Alfred Hitchcock · 1h 26m · Rated NR

Where to watch

Stream: Amazon Prime Video, Lionsgate+ Amazon Channel, Amazon Prime Video with Ads, IndieFlix Shorts Amazon Channel, Artiflix · Rent or buy: Amazon Video

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

Streaming availability data from JustWatch, via TMDB. Availability changes often, so check the service before you plan a movie night.

Vlad Zakh

Founder, Movieix

Founder of Movieix. He started the site because most recommendation pages felt like noise. Here, lists are sorted by who's in the film, where it's from and what mood you're in tonight.

6 Best Blackmail and Extortion Movies

A Simple Favor (2018)

Disclosure (1994)

Body Heat (1981)

Dial M for Murder (1954)

The Big Clock (1948)

Blackmail (1929)

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