Movies like The Brutal River (2005)
The best movies like The Brutal River (2005) are Death Whisperer 3 (2025), Race with the Devil (1975) and The Island (2023). If The Brutal River hooked you with its horror and action, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedRed Right Hand (2024)6.6/10 from 264 votes
- NewestMisdirection (2026)Released 2026
Death Whisperer 3 (2025)
Malevolent forces and a vengeful spirit target a schoolgirl, forcing her brother to venture into a twisted forest to save her from an accursed cult.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror & action
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisRace with the Devil (1975)
Two couples vacationing together in an R.V. from Texas to Colorado are terrorized after they witness a murder during a Satanic ritual.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Island (2023)
When his brother is killed, LAPD officer Mark leaves the city to return to the island he grew up on. Seeking answers and ultimately vengeance, he soon finds himself in a bloody battle with the corrupt tycoon who's taken over the island paradise.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Virtuoso (2021)
Danger, deception and murder descend upon a sleepy town when a professional assassin accepts a new assignment from his enigmatic boss.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller & action
SnoozefestMovies like thisHellhound (2024)
Ready to leave his profession behind, Loreno, an assassin, lends help to an old friend, Cetan, and taking one last job in Thailand seeking out a local kingpin. A lapse in judgment means Loreno crosses paths with old colleague Paul.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisOlder Gods (2023)
After the disappearance of his troubled friend, American Chris Rivers travels to the remote Welsh countryside to investigate what happened – leading him to a dark apocalyptic cult.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisRed Right Hand (2024)
Cash is trying to live a quiet, honest life in a small Appalachian town. When a vicious crime boss forces him back into her services, he soon learns he's capable of anything -- even killing -- to protect his family and his home.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Whole Truth (2021)
When two siblings stumble on a strange hole in the wall of their grandparents' house, horrifying incidents reveal sinister secrets about their family.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisFrank and Penelope (2022)
A tale of love and violence when a man on his emotional last legs finds a savior seductively dancing in a run-down strip club. And a life most certainly headed off a cliff suddenly becomes redirected - as everything is now worth dying for.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller & horror
Worth the HypeMovies like thisTake Back (2021)
Zara and Brian are living the perfect small town life when a mysterious stranger from Zara's secret past kidnaps their daughter and now they must race to save her life.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & thriller
SnoozefestMovies like thisThe Last Days of American Crime (2020)
In the not-too-distant future, as a final response to crime and terrorism, the U.S. government plans to broadcast a signal that will make it impossible for anyone to knowingly break the law.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisTrap House (2025)
An undercover DEA agent and his partner embark on a game of cat and mouse with an audacious, and surprising group of thieves – their own rebellious teenagers, who have begun robbing from a dangerous cartel, using their parents' tactics and top-secret intel to do it.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMisdirection (2026)
A desperate couple have pulled off a string of high-end break-ins to pay off a mob debt. When they attempt to rob their latest victim, they find themselves caught in a deadly game of cat and mouse. The tables are turned and the hunters become the hunted.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisShade (2003)
Tiffany, Charlie and Vernon are con artists looking to up the ante from their typical scams. They figure a good way of doing this is taking down Dean "The Dean" Stevens, a well-known cardsharp, in a rigged game. However, they first need enough money to enter a game with Stevens, so they decide to strike a deal with fellow crook Larry Jennings to scam a local gangster -- which turns out to be a bad idea.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisS.W.A.T.: Under Siege (2017)
When a D.E.A. and S.W.A.T. cartel takedown ends in a shootout, S.W.A.T. Agent Travis Hall seizes a mysterious prisoner taking him into custody. Before long, the S.W.A.T. compound is under siege by wave-after-wave of assault teams attempting to recover the prisoner known as “The Scorpion” for the tattoo blazed across his back. When Travis discovers that his prisoner is a Secret Ops double agent planted within the cartel, it’s up to him and his expert S.W.A.T. team to keep “The Scorpion” and his billion dollar secrets safe.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & thriller
SnoozefestMovies like thisThe System (2022)
When a young soldier, newly returned from war, gets caught up in a drug bust, he is recruited by the authorities to go undercover in a notoriously dangerous prison in order to figure out what is really going on.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & thriller
Worth the HypeMovies like thisBody Cam (2020)
As a police officer investigates the gruesome murder of her colleague, she discovers that a mysterious supernatural force is behind it.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Killer (2024)
Zee is a feared contract killer known as "the Queen of the Dead," but when she refuses to murder a young blind woman, she finds herself hunted both by criminal colleagues and a determined police detective.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBest of the Best 4: Without Warning (1998)
A group of Russian mobsters have stolen a huge supply of paper for printing U.S. currency, and are now flooding the market with conterfeit bills. When one of the mobsters decides to give herself in and hand over a data CD to the DA, she is shot and killed, but not before handing the disc to an unsuspecting Tommy Lee. Despite working with the police as a martial arts instructor, Lee doesn't go to the cops with the disc, but instead goes on the run, giving the mafia time to kidnap his daughter and hold as a hostage in exchange for return of the disc. Will Tommy ever see his daughter again?
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & thriller
SnoozefestMovies like thisThieves Highway (2025)
After discovering a plot to haul stolen cattle in the middle of nowhere, a desperate and isolated lawman becomes the only thing standing between a group of dangerous rustlers and a clear run to the border.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller & action
Worth the HypeMovies like thisBody (2007)
A man tries to prove that his nightmares about a girl who screams for help and is then murdered are real, and contain a message reaching out to her murderer.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisTakien (2003)
While animal hunting, Wittaya and Lokrai inadvertently offend Nang Takien, the guardian spirit of the forest, who then kills Lokrai.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror & thriller
Dead Bite (2011)
A band travelling by ship becomes stranded on Mermaid Island, and the locals hunt them down to make their forest goddess happy.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror & thriller
The Vanquisher (2009)
After completing a covert mission in southern Thailand, CIA agent Gunja finds herself forced to fight off operatives who've been ordered to take her out at all costs. She survives and after two years of laying low, re-emerges in Bangkok to face her old foes and foil a plot to detonate a bomb in the city.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both action & thriller
Lizard Woman (2004)
A group of geologists is attacked by gecko fiends that possess them, transforming them into zombies. Kwan travels there to give lectures and is possessed by the evil gecko spirit, However, her skeptical boyfriend doctor doesn't understand what's happening to her.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror & thriller
Muay Thai Chaiya (2007)
In a small town, Piak, Pao and Samor train under Pao's father who is a Muay Thai fighter. However, fate leads them to Bangkok where Piak and Samor join the underworld while Pao becomes a boxer.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both action & thriller
Meat Grinder (2009)
A poverty stricken woman starts a restaurant where she slaughters people and serves up human flesh, cut from her victims.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror & thriller
SnoozefestMovies like thisHell (2005)
While traveling, a crew of documentary makers meet a horrible fate when their van falls off a cliff. Though only one of them really dies, the rest are 'accidentally' dragged into hell where each are tortured according to their sins.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller & horror
The Victim (2006)
Ting, an actress for murder illustration is hired to simulate a real-life murder case of Min, a former Miss Thailand who was brutally killed.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror & thriller
Scared (2005)
A group of freshmen on a road trip survive an accident, only to end up in an abandoned town where they are hunted down and killed one by one.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror & thriller
Like The Brutal River and something else?
Blend two favourites and we’ll find the films in between.
Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like The Brutal River?
The closest matches to The Brutal River are Death Whisperer 3 (2025), Race with the Devil (1975) and The Island (2023). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after The Brutal River?
Start with Death Whisperer 3 (2025), the closest match to The Brutal River.
What is the highest-rated movie like The Brutal River?
Red Right Hand (2024), rated 6.6/10 by 264 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like The Brutal River?
Misdirection (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
How are movies similar to The Brutal River chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside The Brutal River, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.