Movies like Desperate Love
The best movies like Desperate Love are Abducted in Plain Sight (2017), The Boy Behind the Door (2020) and Cecil B. Demented (2000). If Desperate Love hooked you, these 20 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Desperate Love
Quick picks
- Highest ratedCleveland Abduction (2015)7.3/10 from 453 votes
- NewestShe Rides Shotgun (2025)Released 2025
Abducted in Plain Sight (2017)
A family falls prey to the manipulative charms of a neighbor, who abducts their adolescent daughter. Twice.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Boy Behind the Door (2020)
Bobby tries to save himself and his best friend when they are kidnapped on their way home from school.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCecil B. Demented (2000)
A young lunatic director and his devoted cult of cinema terrorists kidnap a Hollywood movie goddess and force her to star in their radical underground movie.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Tall Man (2012)
When her child goes missing, a mother looks to unravel the legend of the Tall Man, an entity who allegedly abducts children.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe 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
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisLight of My Life (2019)
Years after a pandemic wipes out most of the female population, a father struggles to shield his daughter from a dangerous and predatory world.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisPalmetto (1998)
After being released from prison on a bum charge, Harry Barber is out for payback to regain his lost two years. He's hired by Mrs. Malroux to fake the kidnapping of her stepdaughter (the daughter of a dying millionaire). He discovers that he is being set up on multiple levels and will soon face a longer sentence if he doesn't prove the truth.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMatilda (1996)
Matilda Wormwood is an brilliant and intelligent little girl. Unfortunately, her parents, Harry and Zinnia, fail to see that fact. As time passes, she finally starts school and has a kind teacher, loyal friends, and a terrifying, sadistic headmistress. As she becomes fed up with the constant cruelty, she discovers she has a special gift that she just might be able to use to outwit the unruly adults around her.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisSundays at Tiffany's (2010)
Jane, a soon-to-be-married woman, is reunited with her imaginary friend Michael who returns in a human form. Soon, Jane begins doubting her feelings for her fiance as she gets attracted to Michael.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCleveland Abduction (2015)
A single mother becomes Ariel Castro's first kidnapping victim, and finds herself trapped in his home with two other women for 11 years.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisShe Rides Shotgun (2025)
Newly released from prison and marked for death by unrelenting enemies, Nate must now protect his estranged 11-year-old daughter, Polly, at all costs. With scant resources and no one to trust, Nate and Polly forge a bond under fire as he shows her how to fight and survive—and she teaches him the true meaning of unconditional love.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Final (2010)
A group of high school outcasts get revenge on the students that torment them.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Bride Came C.O.D. (1941)
A financially-strapped charter pilot hires himself to an oil tycoon to kidnap his madcap daughter and prevent her from marrying a vapid band leader.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Big Sleep (1978)
Private eye Philip Marlowe investigates a case of blackmail involving the two wild daughters of a rich general, a pornographer and a gangster.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
SnoozefestMovies like thisKidnap (2017)
A mother (in her Minivan) stops at nothing to recover her kidnapped son.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisTrapped (2002)
Held hostage in different cities after their daughter is kidnapped by a master extortionist, a desperate couple must find a way to outsmart a seemingly foolproof plot.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisRuthless People (1986)
Sam Stone hates his wife Barbara so much that he wants her dead. He's ecstatic when she's taken by a duo of kidnappers who want $500,000 ransom in exchange for her life. Fully intending to ignore every one of the kidnappers' demands in the hopes that they do him a favor and murder her for him, the two confused kidnappers have to figure out how they're going get their money, and what they're going to do with the overbearing Barbara.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAbducted by My Teacher: The Elizabeth Thomas Story (2023)
The story of Elizabeth Thomas, a 15-year-old high school student who was groomed and abducted by teacher Tad Cummins.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAdventures in Public School (2018)
A socially-awkward, home-schooled kid forces his way into public school against his suffocating, but loving, mother's wishes.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisEndless Love (2014)
A privileged girl and a charismatic boy's instant desire sparks a love affair made only more reckless by parents trying to keep them apart.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like this
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Desperate Love?
The closest matches to Desperate Love are Abducted in Plain Sight (2017), The Boy Behind the Door (2020) and Cecil B. Demented (2000). Below are 17 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Desperate Love?
Start with Abducted in Plain Sight (2017), the closest match to Desperate Love.
What is the highest-rated movie like Desperate Love?
Cleveland Abduction (2015), rated 7.3/10 by 453 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Desperate Love?
She Rides Shotgun (2025) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like Desperate Love?
Yes: Abducted in Plain Sight (2017), The Boy Behind the Door (2020) and Cecil B. Demented (2000).
How are movies similar to Desperate Love chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Desperate Love, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.