Movies like Trapped (2025)
The best movies like Trapped (2025) are Deepsea Challenge 3D (2014), The Deepest Breath (2023) and My Octopus Teacher (2020). If Trapped hooked you with its documentary, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedMy Octopus Teacher (2020)7.9/10 from 1,114 votes
- NewestPrompt: Make a Documentary (2026)Released 2026
Deepsea Challenge 3D (2014)
Described as being a film about determination, danger and the ocean’s greatest depths, James Cameron's "Deepsea Challenge 3D" tells the story of Cameron’s journey to fulfill his boyhood dream of becoming an explorer. The movie offers a unique insight into Cameron's world as he makes that dream reality – and makes history – by becoming the first person to travel solo to the deepest point on the planet.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Deepest Breath (2023)
Bonded by their love of freediving, a record-setting champion and a heroic safety diver try to make history with a remarkable feat, ready to risk it all.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisMy Octopus Teacher (2020)
After years of swimming every day in the freezing ocean at the tip of Africa, Craig Foster meets an unlikely teacher: a young octopus who displays remarkable curiosity. Visiting her den and tracking her movements for months on end he eventually wins the animal’s trust and they develop a never-before-seen bond between human and wild animal.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisLast Breath (2019)
A commercial diver is stranded on the seabed with only five minutes of oxygen supply, but with no chance of rescue for more than 30 minutes. With access to amazing archival footage, this is the true story of one man’s impossible fight for survival.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisDeep Sea 3D (2006)
Sea life in a whole new way. Deep Sea 3D, an underwater adventure from the filmmakers behind the successful IMAX® 3D film Into the Deep, transports audiences deep below the ocean surface. Through the magic of IMAX®; and IMAX 3D, moviegoers will swim with some of the planets most unique, dangerous and colorful creatures, and understand this inspiring underworld.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe U.S. vs. John Lennon (2006)
A documentary on the life of John Lennon, with a focus on the time in his life when he transformed from a musician into an antiwar activist.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisNaqoyqatsi (2002)
A visual montage portrait of our contemporary world dominated by globalized technology and violence.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDeep Blue (2003)
Deep Blue is a major documentary feature film shot by the BBC Natural History Unit. An epic cinematic rollercoaster ride for all ages, Deep Blue uses amazing footage to tell us the story of our oceans and the life they support.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisOcean with David Attenborough (2025)
David Attenborough takes viewers on a breathtaking journey showing there is nowhere more vital for our survival, more full of life, wonder, or surprise, than the ocean. Through spectacular sequences featuring coral reefs, kelp forests and the open ocean, Attenborough shares why a healthy ocean keeps the entire planet stable and flourishing.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisAbove Majestic (2018)
A look at the origins, history and conspiracies behind the "Majestic 12", a clandestine group of military and corporate figureheads charged with reverse-engineering extraterrestrial technology.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisElstree 1976 (2015)
A documentary about ten very different lives connected by having appeared onscreen wearing masks or helmets in Star Wars.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies 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 thisCameraperson (2016)
As a visually radical memoir, CAMERAPERSON draws on the remarkable footage that filmmaker Kirsten Johnson has shot and reframes it in ways that illuminate moments and situations that have personally affected her. What emerges is an elegant meditation on the relationship between truth and the camera frame, as Johnson transforms scenes that have been presented on Festival screens as one kind of truth into another kind of story—one about personal journey, craft, and direct human connection.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies 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 thisOur Planet: Behind the Scenes (2019)
Years spent recording footage of creatures from every corner of the globe is bound to produce a bit of drama. Here's a behind-the-scenes look.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisGhosts of the Abyss (2003)
With a team of the world's foremost historic and marine experts as well as friend Bill Paxton, James Cameron embarks on an unscripted adventure back to the wreck of the Titanic where nearly 1,500 souls lost their lives almost a century ago.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisEx Libris: The New York Public Library (2017)
A documentary about how a dominant cultural and demographic institution both sustains their traditional activities and adapts to the digital revolution.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisPowaqqatsi (1988)
An exploration of technologically developing nations and the effect the transition to Western-style modernization has had on them.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisGuillermo del Toro's Pinocchio: Handcarved Cinema (2022)
With mesmerizing footage and time lapses of animators at work, this behind-the-scenes special captures the artistry of a unique tale years in the making.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Mole: Undercover in North Korea (2020)
A real-life undercover thriller about two ordinary men who embark on an outrageously dangerous ten-year mission to penetrate the world's most secretive and brutal dictatorship: North Korea.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisCode Name Lucy: Spies Against Nazis (TBA)
The greatest secret of the Second World War has remained a mystery for the last 80 years: a Jewish Communist, Sandor Rado, led a spy network that proved essential to the victory of Allied Forces. Rado received details of strictly confidential strategies from the highest echelons of the Nazi State through Rudolf Roessler, a dedicated anti-Nazi he'd only known as code name "Lucy." Aided by key German industry leaders, Roessler transmitted timely information from high-ranking collaborators within the German army headquarters. Despite their achievement, Rado, Roessler and their sources remained unacknowledged heroes until today. Thanks to the recent declassification of secret archives, we are now able to step behind the scenes of this incredible story.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
Monkey on a Stick (2024)
The story of the Hare Krishna movement in the West, contrasting the spiritual exploration of its devotees with the leadership's systemic, long-term cover-up of criminality, moral decay and abuse of power.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
Prompt: Make a Documentary (2026)
Prompt: Make a Documentary investigates the growing influence of artificial intelligence on the film industry. The documentary places the rise of AI within the broader historical context of cinema’s evolution, drawing parallels with earlier technological shifts such as the introduction of sound, colour, and digital visual effects. By revisiting landmark moments in film history, the film demonstrates that disruption has always been part of cinema’s DNA, while questioning whether AI represents a fundamentally different kind of change. Featuring insights from directors, academics, and practitioners, Prompt: Make a Documentary explores the tension between innovation and integrity, the democratisation of creative tools, and the ethical implications of automation in the arts. The film ultimately asks whether artificial intelligence will empower the next generation of storytellers or redefine creativity itself.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
Comala (2021)
A man’s journey to learn the story of his estranged father, a failed hitman killed several years ago. A man's journey to face the scattered members of his dysfunctional family and understand the life of his absent father, a failed hit man murdered years ago in a Mexican border town. While the story of the father takes shape, each family member comments on the behavioral patterns that influenced his criminal actions.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
THE QUEST: Everest VR (2024)
'THE QUEST: Everest VR' is a one-of-a-kind "real-life" Virtual Reality documentary to climb and reveal the most legendary mountain on earth, Mt. Everest, in stunning 360 degree video! It is the only real-life Virtual Reality experience that puts you directly in the boots with filmmaker and explorer, Alex Harz, on an epic 52 day quest to the Top of the World (29,032 feet / 8849 meters), and the closest thing to climbing Everest without all the rigorous training, planning and high risk needed to physically step foot on the mountain! 'THE QUEST: Everest VR' can be experienced worldwide in Virtual Reality headsets, and on computers, phones, tablets, etc...
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
The Milwaukee Cannibal (2026)
With documentary cartoonist Derf Backderf, a poignant look back at the story of ‘My Friend Dahmer’, an investigative graphic novel exploring existential issues. The author sets out to explore his adolescence, which was overshadowed by Jeffrey Dahmer, a former high school friend who went on to become a serial killer.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
Can't Stop Eating (2006)
This documentary follows a small number of British people with an incurable genetic disease called Prader-Willi syndrome. This rare disorder makes the sufferer unable to control their eating habits. Prader–Willi syndrome is a rare genetic disorder in which seven genes (or some subset thereof) on chromosome 15 (q 11-13) are deleted or unexpressed (chromosome 15q partial deletion) on the paternal chromosome. The film is set in Gretton House, near Kettering in England, which is a government-funded care home deliberately constructed to assist people with PWS. The film focuses on a new resident, Joe Blackburn, who is 21 and begins the documentary weighing over 30 stone (190 kg, 420 lbs) and with fears for his health. Resident Tamara Allwood is also featured, who was at one point close to death from overeating.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
The Last of the Sea Women (2024)
On the shores of Jeju Island, a fierce group of South Korean divers fight to save their vanishing culture from looming threats.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
La vie au temps de Cro-Magnon (2019)
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
Behind the Crime: Killer Ex-Boyfriend (2023)
Dive into the case of a Wisconsin father, convicted of brutally murdering his ex-lover's new partner - a man whose body was never found.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Trapped?
The closest matches to Trapped are Deepsea Challenge 3D (2014), The Deepest Breath (2023) and My Octopus Teacher (2020). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Trapped?
Start with Deepsea Challenge 3D (2014), the closest match to Trapped.
What is the highest-rated movie like Trapped?
My Octopus Teacher (2020), rated 7.9/10 by 1,114 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Trapped?
Prompt: Make a Documentary (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like Trapped?
Yes: Deepsea Challenge 3D (2014), The Deepest Breath (2023) and My Octopus Teacher (2020).
How are movies similar to Trapped chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Trapped, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.