Movies like The Madeleine McCann Case (2023)
The best movies like The Madeleine McCann Case (2023) are Mommy Dead and Dearest (2017), Abducted in Plain Sight (2017) and Girl in the Picture (2022). If The Madeleine McCann Case hooked you with its documentary, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedMommy Dead and Dearest (2017)7.4/10 from 263 votes
- NewestMaternal Instinct (2026)Released 2026
Mommy Dead and Dearest (2017)
Child abuse, mental illness, and forbidden love converge in this mystery involving a mother and daughter who were thought to be living a fairy tale life that turned out to be a living nightmare.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisAbducted 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 · both documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisGirl in the Picture (2022)
A young mother’s mysterious death and her son’s subsequent kidnapping blow open a decades-long mystery about the woman’s true identity, and the murderous federal fugitive at the center of it all.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Imposter (2012)
In 1994, a 13-year-old boy disappeared without a trace from his home in San Antonio, Texas. Three-and-a-half years later, he is found alive in a village in southern Spain with a horrifying story of kidnap and torture. His family is overjoyed to bring him home. But all is not quite as it seems.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisMy Mom Jayne (2025)
Through deeply personal interviews with her siblings and an examination of the photographs, letters, and belongings left behind, Mariska assembles a new portrait of her mother Jayne Mansfield, an extraordinary and complex woman.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisMaternal Instinct (2026)
Police pull over a woman who claims she just gave birth. But the baby — and the blood — aren't hers. Twisted lies unravel in this true-crime documentary.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisTo Kill a Tiger (2023)
Ranjit, a farmer in India, takes on the fight of his life when he demands justice for his 13-year-old daughter, the victim of a brutal gang rape. His decision to support his daughter is virtually unheard of, and his journey unprecedented.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisAmerican Murder: The Family Next Door (2020)
Using raw, firsthand footage, this documentary examines the disappearance of Shanann Watts and her children, and the terrible events that followed.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisOut of Thin Air (2017)
Set within the stark Icelandic landscape, OUT OF THIN AIR examines the 1976 police investigation into the disappearance of two men in the early 1970s.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
SnoozefestMovies like thisMurder to Mercy: The Cyntoia Brown Story (2020)
After 16-year-old Cyntoia Brown is sentenced to life in prison, questions about her past, physiology and the law itself call her guilt into question.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisWhat Jennifer Did (2024)
When Jennifer Pan calls 911 to report that her parents have been shot, she becomes the primary focus of a captivating criminal case.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisI Am Vanessa Guillen (2022)
Vanessa Guillen was 20 years old when she was found murdered at a US Army base. Rather than submit to silence, her family fought for justice and change.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisBright Lights: Starring Carrie Fisher and Debbie Reynolds (2016)
An intimate portrait of Hollywood royalty featuring Debbie Reynolds, Todd Fisher, and Carrie Fisher.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisMea Maxima Culpa: Silence in the House of God (2012)
Alex Gibney explores the charged issue of pedophilia in the Catholic Church, following a trail from the first known protest against clerical sexual abuse in the United States and all way to the Vatican.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Crystal Calls - Making The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance (2019)
Go behind the scenes with stars, puppeteers and creators as they bring Jim Henson's magical world of Thra back to life in a sweeping fantasy series.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisTake Care of Maya (2023)
When Jack and Beata Kowalski are wrongfully accused of child abuse after their 10-year-old daughter Maya visits the ER, a nightmare unfolds.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisDeliver Us from Evil (2006)
Documentary filmmaker Amy Berg investigates the life of 30-year pedophile Father Oliver O'Grady and exposes the corruption inside the Catholic Church that allowed him to abuse countless children. Victims' stories and a disturbing interview with O'Grady offer a view into the troubled mind of the spiritual leader who moved from parish to parish gaining trust ... all the while betraying so many.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisLooking for Richard (1996)
Al Pacino's deeply-felt rumination on Shakespeare's significance and relevance to the modern world through interviews and an in-depth analysis of "Richard III."
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisPredators (2025)
In the mid-aughts, Dateline NBC's To Catch a Predator drew millions of weekly viewers to watch sting operations: men planning to meet minors for sex would instead be confronted by polished host Chris Hansen, then by the police — all on hidden camera.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBoys State (2020)
This raucous journey into the heart of democracy captures an unusual rite of passage: 1,100 teenage boys from across Texas coming together to build a representative government from the ground up.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisWomen of the White Buffalo (2022)
With exclusive access to the lives of 8 women, ranging in age from 10 to 98, explore powerful testimonials of loss and survival and gain insight into the experience of a modern Indigenous American living on a reservation. Gripping historical accounts and startling timely statistics guide viewers down the path that has led to these present day conditions.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
Use Your Eyes (1970)
“Use Your Eyes” is a police training film produced by the Alhambra Police Department, California, in 1970. It is intended to demonstrate to police officers how to search a residence for evidence of marijuana use, and what rights they have to search the property once certain prima facia evidence is established.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
Escaping Captivity: The Kara Robinson Story (2021)
Kara Robinson Chamberlain recounts in vivid detail being taken at gun point from a friend’s front yard. Forced into in a cramped, dark storage container in her captor’s car, Kara instantly knew her life was in grave danger. In a moment she describes as a divine intervention, the 15-year-old realized she had to be her own victor and take her life back; she had to escape.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
Devil in the Ozarks (2023)
A brazen sexual assault shocks a small town, but goes unsolved for 20 years, until a nearby murder produces a suspect with matching DNA.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
Madeleine McCann: The Unseen Evidence (2025)
Documentary following an investigation by The Sun into Madeleine McCann's disappearance, which uncovers further evidence that could point towards the prime suspect's involvement in this unsolved crime
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
Uneven Ground: The Melissa Witt Story (2023)
Determined to find answers, LaDonna Humphrey and her team spent eight years on a journey like no other. Never before seen case files, interviewing witnesses, potential suspects, and working alongside retired detectives to find justice.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
The Jewel Thief (2023)
Gerald Blanchard's surprising, first-hand account as a calculating and accomplished criminal mastermind. Two unlikely detectives track him worldwide as he commits increasingly elaborate heists in a quest for fame.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
The Murder of Meredith Kercher (2023)
Examining the brutal murder of 21-year-old student Meredith Kercher in 2007.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
The Kidnap & Murder of Lynda Spence (2023)
Documentary examining the mysterious disappearance of financial advisor Lynda Spence, who vanished without a trace in 2011 from her hometown of Glasgow. As the police launched their investigation, they began to uncover hidden multiple identities, links to suspected gangsters and property fraud which stretched from Glasgow to London. What followed was one of the longest murder trials in Scotland's history, but without a body, the case remained unsolved. Fast forward to April 2022 and police have reopened the search for Lynda, but will they finally find out what happened to her?
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
Highway of Tears (2020)
Discover the endless highway in British Columbia where over 40 indigenous women and girls (by unofficial estimates) have disappeared since the 1970s.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like The Madeleine McCann Case?
The closest matches to The Madeleine McCann Case are Mommy Dead and Dearest (2017), Abducted in Plain Sight (2017) and Girl in the Picture (2022). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after The Madeleine McCann Case?
Start with Mommy Dead and Dearest (2017), the closest match to The Madeleine McCann Case.
What is the highest-rated movie like The Madeleine McCann Case?
Mommy Dead and Dearest (2017), rated 7.4/10 by 263 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like The Madeleine McCann Case?
Maternal Instinct (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like The Madeleine McCann Case?
Yes: Mommy Dead and Dearest (2017), Abducted in Plain Sight (2017) and Girl in the Picture (2022).
How are movies similar to The Madeleine McCann Case chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside The Madeleine McCann Case, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.