Movies like Instinct (1999)
The best movies like Instinct (1999) are Rise of the Planet of the Apes (2011), 6 Below: Miracle on the Mountain (2017) and The Caveman's Valentine (2001). If Instinct hooked you with its drama and thriller, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedA Perfect World (1993)7.5/10 from 1,972 votes
- NewestSin piedad (2025)Released 2025
Rise of the Planet of the Apes (2011)
A highly intelligent chimpanzee named Caesar has been living a peaceful suburban life ever since he was born. But when he gets taken to a cruel primate facility, Caesar decides to revolt against those who have harmed him.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like this6 Below: Miracle on the Mountain (2017)
An adrenaline seeking snowboarder gets lost in a massive winter storm in the back country of the High Sierras where he is pushed to the limits of human endurance and forced to battle his own personal demons as he fights for survival....
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller & drama
SnoozefestMovies 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 & thriller
SnoozefestMovies like thisOutbreak (1995)
A deadly airborne virus finds its way into the USA and starts killing off people at an epidemic rate. Col. Sam Daniels' job is to stop the virus spreading from a small town, which must be quarantined, and to prevent an over reaction by the White House.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBrute Force (1947)
Timeworn Joe Collins and his fellow inmates live under the heavy thumb of the sadistic, power-tripping guard Captain Munsey. Only Collins' dreams of escape keep him going, but how can he possibly bust out of Munsey's chains?
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & thriller
Worth the HypeMovies like thisKiller's Kiss (1955)
Davey Gordon, a New York City boxer at the end of his career, falls for dancer Gloria Price. However, their budding relationship is interrupted by Gloria's violent boss, Vincent Rapallo, who has eyes for Gloria. The two decide to skip town, but before they can, Vincent and his thugs abduct Gloria, and Davey is forced to search for her among the most squalid corners of the city, with his enemy hiding in the shadows.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller & drama
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 & thriller
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Defiant Ones (1958)
Two convicts—one white, one black—escape while chained to each other.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & thriller
Worth the HypeMovies like thisNell (1994)
In a remote woodland cabin, a small town doctor discovers Nell — a beautiful young hermit woman with many secrets.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDawn of the Planet of the Apes (2014)
A group of scientists in San Francisco struggle to stay alive in the aftermath of a plague that is wiping out humanity, while Caesar tries to maintain dominance over his community of intelligent apes.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & thriller
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Woman in the Window (1944)
A seductive woman gets an innocent professor mixed up in murder.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & thriller
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe House on Carroll Street (1988)
A reporter, fired after refusing to give names to a 1951 House Un-American Activities Committee, takes a part-time job as companion to an old lady. While working she overhears a noisy argument in the neighboring house, being conducted largely in German and involving her HUAC prosecutor. She begins to investigate, enlisting the help of the FBI Agent initially detailed to surveil her.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & thriller
SnoozefestMovies like thisDead Man (1995)
On the run after committing murder, an accountant encounters a strange Native American man who prepares him for his journey into the spiritual world.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisColossal (2017)
A woman discovers that severe catastrophic events are somehow connected to the mental breakdown from which she's suffering.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe 355 (2022)
A group of top female agents from American, British, Chinese, Colombian, and German government agencies are drawn together to try and stop an organization from acquiring a deadly weapon to send the world into chaos.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisOkja (2017)
A young girl named Mija risks everything to prevent a powerful, multi-national company from kidnapping her best friend - a massive animal named Okja.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisKiss of Death (1947)
An ex-con trying to go straight must face a crazed criminal out for revenge.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Worth the HypeMovies like thisGemini Man (2019)
Henry Brogan is an elite 51-year-old assassin who's ready to call it quits after completing his 72nd job. His plans get turned upside down when he becomes the target of a mysterious operative who can seemingly predict his every move. To his horror, Brogan soon learns that the man who's trying to kill him is a younger, faster, cloned version of himself.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisA Perfect World (1993)
A kidnapped boy strikes up a friendship with his captor: an escaped convict on the run from the law, headed by an honorable U.S. Marshal.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisHereafter (2010)
Three people — a blue-collar American, a French journalist and a London school boy — are touched by death in different ways.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisEdge of Darkness (2010)
As a seasoned homicide detective, Thomas Craven has seen the bleakest side of humanity. But nothing prepares him for the toughest investigation of his life: the search for his only daughter Emma's killer. Now, he is on a personal mission to uncover the disturbing secrets surrounding her murder, including corporate corruption, government collusion and Emma's own mysterious life.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisFrailty (2002)
A mysterious man arrives at the offices of an FBI agent and recounts his childhood: how his religious fanatic father received visions telling him to kill people who were in fact "demons."
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & thriller
Worth the HypeMovies like thisHunting Housewives (2024)
Four harried housewives plan a weekend spa getaway but end up stranded in the wilderness when their plane goes down.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & thriller
Sin piedad (2025)
Under the relentless sun, a killer stalks through the mountains, where the innocence of a young couple becomes prey. With no shadows to hide their fate, the hunt is a macabre game in broad daylight, where fear is not hidden in the darkness, but burns with the rawness of the unperturbed noon.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller & drama
Final Girl (2015)
Veronica, the new girl in town, is lured into the woods by a group of senior boys looking to make her a victim. But the boys don't know that Veronica's been trained to handle herself in surprisingly lethal ways.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & thriller
SnoozefestMovies like thisHe Loves Me… He Loves Me Not (2002)
A talented art student named Angélique is passionately in love with Dr. Loïc Le Garrec, a handsome married man whom she believes will leave his wife. When he eventually decides to stay in his marriage, it causes Angélique to spiral. However, as the story shifts from Angélique's perspective to Loïc's, the surprising truth about their relationship is revealed.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Last Supper (1995)
A group of idealistic but frustrated liberals succumb to the temptation of murdering right-wing pundits for their political beliefs.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Wolf of Snow Hollow (2020)
Terror grips a small mountain town as bodies are discovered after each full moon. Losing sleep, raising a teenage daughter, and caring for his ailing father, officer Marshall struggles to remind himself there's no such thing as werewolves.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like this3000 Miles to Graceland (2001)
It was an ingenious enough plan: rob the Riviera Casino's count room during an Elvis impersonator convention. But Thomas Murphy decided to keep all the money for himself and shot all his partners, including recently-freed ex-con Michael Zane. With $3.2 million at stake, the Marshals Service closing in, Michael must track down Murphy.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller
SnoozefestMovies like thisDeadly Game (1982)
A hunting party arrives at a lodge in the Tatra mountains in Slovakia, where one woman in the party had “accidentally” shot and killed her first husband some time ago.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Like Instinct and something else?
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Instinct?
The closest matches to Instinct are Rise of the Planet of the Apes (2011), 6 Below: Miracle on the Mountain (2017) and The Caveman's Valentine (2001). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Instinct?
Start with Rise of the Planet of the Apes (2011), the closest match to Instinct.
What is the highest-rated movie like Instinct?
A Perfect World (1993), rated 7.5/10 by 1,972 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Instinct?
Sin piedad (2025) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like Instinct?
Yes: Rise of the Planet of the Apes (2011), 6 Below: Miracle on the Mountain (2017) and The Caveman's Valentine (2001).
How are movies similar to Instinct chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Instinct, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.