Movies like Chain Reaction (1996)
The best movies like Chain Reaction (1996) are Backdraft (1991), Darkman (1990) and Live Free or Die Hard (2007). If Chain Reaction hooked you with its thriller and action, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedHard Boiled (1992)7.5/10 from 1,009 votes
- NewestUNABOMBER (2026)Released 2026
Backdraft (1991)
Two feuding siblings carrying on a heroic family tradition as Chicago firefighters. But when a puzzling series of arson attacks is reported, they are forced to set aside their differences to solve the mystery surrounding these crimes.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller & action
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDarkman (1990)
Dr. Peyton Westlake is on the verge of realizing a major breakthrough in synthetic skin when his laboratory is destroyed by gangsters. Having been burned beyond recognition and forever altered by an experimental medical procedure, Westlake becomes known as Darkman, assuming alternate identities in his quest for revenge and a new life with a former love.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisLive Free or Die Hard (2007)
John McClane is back and badder than ever, and this time he calls on the services of a young hacker in his bid to stop a ring of Internet terrorists intent on taking control of America's computer infrastructure.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Commuter (2018)
A businessman, on his daily commute home, gets unwittingly caught up in a criminal conspiracy that threatens not only his life but the lives of those around him.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSwordfish (2001)
Rogue agent Gabriel Shear is determined to get his mitts on $9 billion stashed in a secret Drug Enforcement Administration account. He wants the cash to fight terrorism, but lacks the computer skills necessary to hack into the government mainframe. Enter Stanley Jobson, a n'er-do-well encryption expert who can log into anything.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisEscape Room (2019)
Six strangers find themselves in circumstances beyond their control, and must use their wits to survive.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisUNABOMBER (2026)
Follow Ted Kaczynski's transformation from Harvard prodigy into the infamous Unabomber. Subjected to controversial psychological experiments by Professor Henry Murray, Kaczynski's troubled past resurfaces decades later when his manhunt, led by FBI agent Joanne Miller, brings to light the chilling consequences of ambition and isolation.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Quiet Earth (1985)
After a top-secret experiment misfires, a scientist may be the only man left alive in the world.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe X-Files (1998)
Mulder and Scully, now taken off the FBI's X Files cases, must find a way to fight the shadowy elements of the government to find out the truth about a conspiracy that might mean the alien colonization of Earth.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThree Days of the Condor (1975)
When bookish CIA researcher Joe Turner finds all his co-workers dead, he, together with a woman he has kidnapped, must work together to outwit those responsible until he determines who he can really trust.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Worth the HypeMovies like thisFace/Off (1997)
In order to foil a terrorist plot, an FBI agent undergoes facial transplant surgery and assumes the identity of a criminal mastermind. The plan turns sour when the criminal wakes up prematurely and seeks revenge.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action
Worth the HypeMovies like this10 Cloverfield Lane (2016)
After a catastrophic car crash, a young woman wakes up in a survivalist's underground bunker, where he claims to have saved her from an apocalyptic attack that has left the outside world uninhabitable.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Experiment (2010)
20 men are chosen to participate in the roles of guards and prisoners in a psychological study that ultimately spirals out of control.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Hidden (1987)
When average, law-abiding citizens suddenly turn to a life of hedonistic behavior and violent crime, Detective Tom Beck is tasked with helping young FBI agent Lloyd Gallagher determine the cause.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisButterfly on a Wheel (2007)
A sociopathic kidnapper methodically pushes a desperate pair of parents to their absolute breaking point.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisTau (2018)
Held captive in a futuristic smart house, a woman hopes to escape by befriending the A.I. program that controls the house.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBackdraft 2 (2019)
Years after the original Backdraft, Sean, son of the late Steve "Bull" McCaffrey, is assigned to investigate a deadly fire only to realize it is something much more sinister.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Crazies (2010)
Four friends find themselves trapped in their small hometown after they discover their friends and neighbors going quickly and horrifically insane.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Stanford Prison Experiment (2015)
In 1971, Stanford's Professor Philip Zimbardo conducts a controversial psychology experiment in which college students pretend to be either prisoners or guards, but the proceedings soon get out of hand. Based on a true story.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisTrance (2013)
A violent gang enlists the help of a hypnotherapist in an attempt to locate a painting which somehow vanished in the middle of a heist.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHard Boiled (1992)
A cop who loses his partner in a shoot-out with gun smugglers goes on a mission to catch them. In order to get closer to the leaders of the ring he joins forces with an undercover cop who's working as a gangster hitman. They use all means of excessive force to find them.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both action & thriller
Worth the HypeMovies like thisU.S. Marshals (1998)
U.S. Marshal Sam Gerard is accompanying a plane load of convicts from Chicago to New York. The plane crashes spectacularly, and Mark Sheridan escapes. But when Diplomatic Security Agent John Royce is assigned to help Gerard recapture Sheridan, it becomes clear that Sheridan is more than just another murderer.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller & action
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAssumed (2019)
A police officer must clear his name in a future where crime can cost someone their identity.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both action & thriller
Playing God (1997)
Stripped of his medical license after performing an operation while high on amphetamines, famed LA surgeon Dr Eugene Sands abandons his former life only to find himself crossing paths with Raymond Blossom, an infamous counterfeiter. Employed as a "gun-shot doctor" when Raymond's associates cannot risk visiting a hospital, Eugene is lured deep into the criminal world and becomes entangled with his boss's girlfriend.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both action & thriller
SnoozefestMovies like thisDrunken Master (1978)
After getting into trouble, a mischievous young man is sent to train under a brutal, but slovenly old beggar, who teaches him the secret of the Drunken Fist.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both action
Worth the HypeMovies like thisBlow Out (1981)
While recording sound effects for a slasher flick, Jack Terry stumbles upon a real-life horror: a car careening off a bridge and into a river. Jack jumps into the water and fishes out Sally from the car, but the other passenger is already dead — a governor intending to run for president. As Jack does some investigating of his tapes, and starts a perilous romance with Sally, he enters a tangled web of conspiracy that might leave him dead.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller
Worth the HypeMovies like thisMasters of the Universe (1987)
When He-Man is driven from Eternia after Skeletor seizes Castle Grayskull, a stolen portal device strands the fight on Earth, where a pair of teenagers become entangled in a war that spans worlds.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both action
SnoozefestMovies like thisBloodsport (1988)
An American Army Major goes AWOL to Hong Kong for an outlawed martial arts contest called the Kumite.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both action
Worth the HypeMovies like thisSpare Parts (1979)
Honeymooning couple Monica and Mike check into a motel in New Mexico. All seems normal until an ambulance pulls up and abducts Mike. Monica narrowly escapes and, with the help of truck driver Bill, discovers the awful secret of the motel and the ambulance service.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller
Like Chain Reaction and something else?
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Chain Reaction?
The closest matches to Chain Reaction are Backdraft (1991), Darkman (1990) and Live Free or Die Hard (2007). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Chain Reaction?
Start with Backdraft (1991), the closest match to Chain Reaction.
What is the highest-rated movie like Chain Reaction?
Hard Boiled (1992), rated 7.5/10 by 1,009 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Chain Reaction?
UNABOMBER (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like Chain Reaction?
Yes: Backdraft (1991), Darkman (1990) and Live Free or Die Hard (2007).
How are movies similar to Chain Reaction chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Chain Reaction, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.