Movies like Return (2022)
The best movies like Return (2022) are The Deep End of the Ocean (1999), Brand Upon the Brain! (2007) and The Caveman's Valentine (2001). If Return hooked you with its drama and mystery, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedImpossible Things (2021)8.5/10 from 453 votes
- Newest25 Miles to Normal (2026)Released 2026
- In SpanishVeronica (2017)Also in Spanish
The Deep End of the Ocean (1999)
A three-year-old boy disappears during his mother's high school reunion. Nine years later, by chance, he turns up in the town in which the family has just relocated.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & mystery
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBrand Upon the Brain! (2007)
After returning home to his long-estranged mother upon a request from her deathbed, a man raised by his parents in an orphanage has to confront the childhood memories that have long haunted him.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & mystery
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Caveman's Valentine (2001)
Romulus, a misunderstood musician turned recluse hiding from personal demons in a New York City cave, finds the frozen body of a young drifter in a tree. The authorities, including his police officer daughter, claim the death is accidental. Romulus is convinced the man was murdered by a prominent art photographer but how can he prove he's right when everyone thinks he's insane?
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & mystery
SnoozefestMovies like thisInseparable (2012)
A troubled engineer faces pressure at work and problems at home with his moody wife. American expat Chuck, rescues him from the brink of despair and becomes an unlikely mentor.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & mystery
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisTriage (2009)
The wife of a photojournalist sets out to discover why he came home from a recent assignment without his colleague.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & mystery
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisRemember (2015)
With the aid of a fellow Auschwitz survivor and a hand-written letter, an elderly man with dementia goes in search of the person responsible for the death of his family.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & mystery
Worth the HypeMovies like thisVeronica (2017)
A female Psychologist who has stopped practicing medicine, decides to take the case of Veronica de la Serna, a young woman whose previous therapist has mysteriously disappeared.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & mystery
SnoozefestMovies like thisClose Your Eyes (2023)
Years after his mysterious disappearance, Julio Arenas, a famous Spanish actor, is back in the news thanks to a television program.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & mystery
Worth the HypeMovies like thisWhere the Red Fern Grows (2003)
Set in the Ozark Mountains during the Great Depression, Billy Coleman works hard and saves his earnings for 2 years to achieve his dream of buying two coonhound pups. He develops a new trust in God as he faces overwhelming challenges in adventure and tragedy roaming the river bottoms of Cherokee country with "Old Dan" and "Little Ann."
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisLittle Lord Fauntleroy (1980)
Young Cedric Errol and his widowed mother live in genteel poverty in 1880s Brooklyn after the death of his father. Cedric's grandfather, the Earl of Dorincourt, has long ago disowned his son for marrying an American. But after the death of the Earl's remaining son, he decides to accept Cedric as his heir.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisI Believe (2019)
A 9 year old boy experiences God's power in a supernatural way.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThat Evening Sun (2009)
An aging Tennessee farmer returns to his homestead and must confront a family betrayal, the reappearance of an old enemy, and the loss of his farm.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThree Wishes (1995)
While Jane Holman is driving with her two sons, she accidentally runs into a drifter, Jack McCloud, who breaks his leg. Being responsible, Jane invites Jack, and his dog, to stay at her home until his leg has healed. Jack struggles to adapt their lifestyle, and finds himself loved by the family.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisLittle Boy Blue (1998)
Living in rural Texas is a dysfunctional family: an abusive dad, a Vietnam vet with a war wound that's left him impotent; a compliant wife and a son of about 20, two small sons who look a lot like their brother. The dad harbors a secret, and he goes to murderous lengths to keep it hidden. The young man, Jimmy, who has suspicions, but little comes out until a Yankee woman comes to town.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisWhere the Red Fern Grows (1974)
Billy Coleman works hard and saves his earnings for two years to achieve his dream of buying two red-bone coonhound pups. He develops a new trust in life as he faces overwhelming challenges in adventure and tragedy roaming the river bottoms of Cherokee country with his dogs, Old Dan and Little Ann.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisImpossible Things (2021)
After the death of her abusive husband, Matilde finds her new best friend in Miguel, her young, insecure, and disoriented neighbor.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisMothers' Instinct (2024)
Housewives Alice and Celine are best friends and neighbours who seem to have it all. However, when a tragic accident shatters the harmony of their lives, guilt, suspicion and paranoia begin to unravel their sisterly bond.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Safety of Objects (2002)
In a suburban landscape, the lives of several families interlace with loss, despair and personal crisis. Esther Gold has lost focus on all but caring for her comatose son, Paul, and neglects her daughter and husband. Lawyer Jim Train is devoted to his career, not his family. Helen Christianson wants to find a new spark in life, while Annette Jennings tries to rebuild hers.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAngels in the Snow (2015)
The affluent, yet troubled Montgomery family hits the road for a special Christmas in the mountains.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Black Book (2023)
After his son is wrongly accused of kidnapping, a deacon who has just lost his wife takes matters into his own hands and fights a crooked police gang to clear him.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both mystery
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBefore and After (1996)
Two parents deal with the effects when their son is accused of murdering his girlfriend.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & mystery
SnoozefestMovies like thisSunday Ninth (2026)
After years apart, brothers Horst and Franz reunite. Horst is dealing with Alzheimer’s, while Franz is in debt, and sees his brother’s unspent inheritance as the solution to his financial problems. When Horst’s former love Andrea, turns up, old wounds and a buried family mystery come to the surface, forcing them to confront their past.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both mystery & drama
25 Miles to Normal (2026)
Follows a doctor as he reunites with his estranged father and the rest of their family.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Bishwas (2002)
A humble villager journeys to the city to earn money for his ailing mother’s treatment, only to find himself drawn into a dangerous world where survival demands unimaginable sacrifices.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
You'll Only Have Each Other (2018)
After the death of her mother, a disconnected daughter, Maggie, struggles to reconnect with her twin brother, Gabe, even though he's the only family she has left. As she pushes through the day of the funeral reception, her guilt for having left Gabe alone to tend to their mother in her final months begins to tangibly manifest itself in strange and horrifying ways. Maggie must now face her demons and accept responsibility for what she’s done, or forever be haunted by her past mistakes.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Better Safe Than Sorry (2021)
A date night gone wrong leads a mother and daughter to make a tough decision on how to deal with an unexpected situation involving generational trauma.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Dad is Not a Hero (2026)
A teenager who was confused when his teacher assigned him to write an essay about the good deeds of his abusive father.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Right on Time (TBA)
When Ben is late to an important family event in his Cornish hometown, memories of his tumultuous relationship with his sister Lucy intersect with the present.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
65 (2023)
Grandpa Boonmee is a former retired soldier often drinks liquor, hot-tempered and quarrels with Grandmother Rabieb, who is his wife.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Naanobba Kalla (1979)
A boy gets separated from his parents and grows up to become a thief. When he finds his parents and tries to return to them, his father who is a police officer refuses to accept him.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Return?
The closest matches to Return are The Deep End of the Ocean (1999), Brand Upon the Brain! (2007) and The Caveman's Valentine (2001). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Return?
Start with The Deep End of the Ocean (1999), the closest match to Return.
What is the highest-rated movie like Return?
Impossible Things (2021), rated 8.5/10 by 453 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Return?
25 Miles to Normal (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there Spanish movies like Return?
Yes: Veronica (2017), Close Your Eyes (2023) and Impossible Things (2021).
How are movies similar to Return chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Return, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.