Movies like The River (2023)
The best movies like The River (2023) are Winter's Tale (2014), Possession (2002) and Sahara (1983). If The River hooked you with its adventure and romance, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedThe Godfather (1972)8.7/10 from 23,950 votes
- NewestThe Ritual Killer (2023)Released 2023
- In ChineseA Writer's Odyssey (2021)Also in Chinese
Winter's Tale (2014)
A burglar falls for an heiress as she dies in his arms. When he learns that he has the gift of reincarnation, he sets out to save her.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & mystery
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisPossession (2002)
Maud Bailey, a brilliant English academic, is researching the life and work of poet Christabel La Motte. Roland Michell is an American scholar in London to study Randolph Henry Ash, now best-known for a collection of poems dedicated to his wife. When Maud and Roland discover a cache of love letters that appear to be from Ash to La Motte, they follow a trail of clues across England, echoing the journey of the couple over a century earlier.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & mystery
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSahara (1983)
Intent on winning a competition in place of her distinguished late father, beautiful young heiress Dale takes on the guise of a man and competes in his spot, embarking on a car race that crosses the unforgiving Sahara desert.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both adventure & drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisSupercross (2005)
Faced with the suspicious death of their father, two brothers must motivate one another to get back on their bikes and take the Las Vegas Motocross Championships by storm.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both adventure & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisA Writer's Odyssey (2021)
Lu Kongwen is the author of a fantasy novel series following a heroic teenager, also named Kongwen, on a quest to end the tyrannical rule of Lord Redmane, under the guidance of a Black Armor. But through a strange twist of fate, the fantasy world of the novel begins to impact life in the real world, leading Guan Ning to accept a mission from Tu Ling to kill the author.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both adventure & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisMiss Marple: The Murder at the Vicarage (1986)
Faced with two false confessions and numerous suspects after a despised civil magistrate is found shot in the local vicarage, Detective Inspector Slack reluctantly accepts help from Miss Marple.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both mystery & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMiss Marple: They Do It with Mirrors (1992)
At the insistence of Ruth Van Rydock, an old schoolfriend who is convinced that there is something wrong, Miss Marple agrees to visit 'Stonygates', the country house of Ruth's sister.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both mystery & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDead Man's Folly (1986)
During a murder hunt game at a country house, to which Hercule Poirot is invited as an "expert", a real murder occurs.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both mystery & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMurder in Three Acts (1986)
In Acapulco, Hercule Poirot attends a dinner party in which one of the guests clutches his throat and suddenly dies. The causes seem to be natural until another party with most of the same guests produces another corpse.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & mystery
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Call of the Wild (1972)
John Thornton, is a fearless man who's after more than gold; he wants to do what's right. Thornton works for the U.S. mail and is the only person daring and smart enough to figure out how to travel the deadly 600 miles from Skagway to Dawson, Alaska in the icy winter. His incredibly dog Buck is by his side and part of how he survives.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both adventure & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Ritual Killer (2023)
Unable to process the death of his daughter, Detective Boyd embarks on a hunt for a serial killer who murders according to a brutal tribal ritual: Muti. The only person who can help Boyd is Professor Mackles, an anthropologist who hides an unspeakable secret. The line between sanity and madness thins as Boyd goes deeper into the killer’s world.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both mystery & drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisAurora Teagarden Mysteries: Haunted By Murder (2022)
A murder investigation is reignited in a house that is considered haunted by the Lawrenceton locals and where years ago Aurora and Sally, as teenagers, discovered a body.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both mystery & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisSherlock: Case of Evil (2002)
Early in his crime-solving career, Sherlock Holmes attempts to prevent Moriarty from cornering the heroin market.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both mystery & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisEndless Night (1972)
Shiftless dreamer Michael Rogers fantasizes about a lifestyle above his means and marries a wealthy, young girl who just came of age. They hire a famous architect to build their dream home amidst a series of suspicious incidents. The spouse has dark intentions toward his naive, inexperienced bride. Secrets from his past and sinister ties to their house guest Greta lead to a terrible turn of unexpected events.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both mystery & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Five Venoms (1978)
A dying master sends his last student to check up on five former pupils, who each know a special style of kung-fu.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & mystery
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisPeter Ibbetson (1935)
When his mother dies, young Peter Ibbetson leaves Paris and his best friend, Mary, behind to live with a severe uncle in England. Years later, Peter is an architect with little time for women, until he begins a project with the Duke and Duchess of Towers. When Peter and the duchess become great friends, she reveals that she is Mary — but the duke soon suspects his wife of infidelity and challenges Peter to a duel, threatening the pair's second chance.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
Worth the HypeMovies like thisBrotherhood of Blades (2014)
In the late Ming Dynasty, three sworn brothers who serve as the imperial secret police are dispatched to hunt down Wei Zhongxian, a eunuch politician who had been forced to resign from his influential post and exiled from Beijing. The brothers return successfully from their quest, only to find that their task was but the beginning of a strange conspiracy.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both romance & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisNorthanger Abbey (2007)
A young woman's penchant for sensational Gothic novels leads to misunderstandings in the matters of the heart.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both romance & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisPride and Prejudice (1940)
In early 19th century England, Mr and Mrs Bennet's five unmarried daughters vie for the affections of rich and eligible Mr Bingley and his status-conscious friend, Mr Darcy, who have moved into their neighbourhood. While Bingley takes an immediate liking to eldest daughter Jane, Darcy has difficulty adapting to local society and repeatedly clashes with second-eldest Elizabeth.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisPast Malice: An Emma Fielding Mystery (2018)
Archaeologist Emma Fielding is hired to consult on the acquisition of a castle-like estate that local legend states is cursed. But she finds herself in the middle of a murder case after discovering the body of the archaeologist she was hired to shadow in a secret chamber in the bowels of the huge building. Assisted by her friend, FBI special agent Jim Conner, Fielding must sift through clues and a long list of suspects, each of whom has their own reason for wanting the man dead, to determine who is the killer.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both mystery & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Name of the Rose (1986)
14th-century Franciscan monk William of Baskerville and his young novice arrive at a conference to find that several monks have been murdered under mysterious circumstances. To solve the crimes, William must rise up against the Church's authority and fight the shadowy conspiracy of monastery monks using only his intelligence; which is considerable.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & mystery
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Wages of Fear (1953)
In a run-down South American town, four men are paid to drive trucks loaded with nitroglycerin into the jungle through to the oil field. Friendships are tested and rivalries develop as they embark upon the perilous journey.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & adventure
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisThe Elementary Particles (2006)
Based on Michel Houellebecq's controversial novel, Atomised (aka The Elementary Particles) focuses on Michael and Bruno, two very different half-brothers and their disturbed sexuality. After a chaotic childhood with a hippie mother only caring for her affairs, Michael, a molecular biologist, is more interested in genes than women, while Bruno is obsessed with his sexual desires, but mostly finds his satisfaction with prostitutes. But Bruno's life changes when he gets to know the experienced Christiane. In the meantime, Michael meets Annabelle, the love of his youth, again.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAnatomy of a Murder (1959)
Semi-retired Michigan lawyer Paul Biegler takes the case of Army Lt. Manion, who murdered a local innkeeper after his wife claimed that he raped her. Over the course of an extensive trial, Biegler parries with District Attorney Lodwick and out-of-town prosecutor Claude Dancer to set his client free, but his case rests on the victim's mysterious business partner, who's hiding a dark secret.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & mystery
Worth the HypeMovies like thisAbout a Boy (2002)
Will Freeman is a good-looking, smooth-talking bachelor whose primary goal in life is avoiding any kind of responsibility. But when he invents an imaginary son in order to meet attractive single moms, Will gets a hilarious lesson about life from a bright, but hopelessly geeky 12-year-old named Marcus. Now, as Will struggles to teach Marcus the art of being cool, Marcus teaches Will that you're never too old to grow up.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisRebecca (1940)
Story of a young woman who marries a fascinating widower only to find out that she must live in the shadow of his former wife, Rebecca, who died mysteriously several years earlier. The young wife must come to grips with the terrible secret of her handsome, cold husband, Max De Winter. She must also deal with the jealous, obsessed Mrs. Danvers, the housekeeper, who will not accept her as the mistress of the house.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both mystery & romance
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisUnder Your Bed (2019)
Naoto was ignored by other people. During his school days, Chihiro was the first person who called his name. Naoto dreams of seeing her again and tries to find her. Finally, after 11 years, he locates her, but she is a totally different person now. Naoto becomes obsessed with her. Naoto sneaks into her house and stays under her bed.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Jackie Brown (1997)
Jackie Brown is a flight attendant who gets caught in the middle of smuggling cash into the country for her gunrunner boss. When the cops try to use Jackie to get to her boss, she hatches a plan — with help from a bail bondsman — to keep the money for herself.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisBlade Runner (1982)
In the smog-choked dystopian Los Angeles of 2019, blade runner Rick Deckard is called out of retirement to terminate a quartet of replicants who have escaped to Earth seeking their creator for a way to extend their short life spans.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisThe Godfather (1972)
Spanning the years 1945 to 1955, a chronicle of the fictional Italian-American Corleone crime family. When organized crime family patriarch, Vito Corleone barely survives an attempt on his life, his youngest son, Michael steps in to take care of the would-be killers, launching a campaign of bloody revenge.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Absolute CinemaMovies like this
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like The River?
The closest matches to The River are Winter's Tale (2014), Possession (2002) and Sahara (1983). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after The River?
Start with Winter's Tale (2014), the closest match to The River.
What is the highest-rated movie like The River?
The Godfather (1972), rated 8.7/10 by 23,950 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like The River?
The Ritual Killer (2023) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there Chinese movies like The River?
Yes: A Writer's Odyssey (2021), The Five Venoms (1978) and Brotherhood of Blades (2014).
How are movies similar to The River chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside The River, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.