Movies like Cry in the Wild: The Taking of Peggy Ann (1991)
The best movies like Cry in the Wild: The Taking of Peggy Ann (1991) are Red Riding: The Year of Our Lord 1983 (2009), Red Riding: The Year of Our Lord 1974 (2009) and Dead Man's Folly (1986). If Cry in the Wild: The Taking of Peggy Ann hooked you with its tv movie and drama, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedPrisoners (2013)8.1/10 from 13,764 votes
- NewestThe Whisper Man (2026)Released 2026
Red Riding: The Year of Our Lord 1983 (2009)
Detective Chief Superintendent Maurice Jobson is forced to remember the very similar disappearance of Clare Kemplay, who was found dead in 1974, and the subsequent imprisonment of local boy Michael Myshkin. Washed-up local solicitor John Piggott becomes convinced of Myshkin's innocence and begins to fight on his behalf, unwittingly providing a catalyst for Jobson to start to right some wrongs.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisRed Riding: The Year of Our Lord 1974 (2009)
Yorkshire, 1974. Fear, mistrust and institutionalised police corruption are running riot. Rookie journalist Eddie Dunford is determined to search for the truth in an increasingly complex maze of lies and deceit surrounding the police investigation into a series of child abductions. When young Clare Kemplay goes missing, Eddie and his colleague, Barry, persuade their editor to let them investigate links with two similar abductions that draw them into a deadly world of secrecy, intimidation, shocking revelations and police brutality.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDead Man's Folly (1986)
During a murder hunt game at a country house, to which Hercule Poirot is invited as an "expert", a real murder occurs.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Hound of the Baskervilles (2002)
Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson are called in to unravel a mysterious curse that has plagued the Baskerville family for generations. When Sir Charles Baskerville is found dead, his heir, Sir Henry, begs Holmes to save him from the terrifying supernatural hound that has brought fear and death to his household.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAt Close Range (1986)
Brad Whitewood Jr. lives in rural Pennsylvania and has few prospects. Against his mother's wishes, he seeks out his estranged father, the head of a gang of thieves in a nearby town. Though his new girlfriend supports his criminal ambitions, Brad Jr. soon learns that his father is a dangerous man.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisPrisoners (2013)
After his six-year-old daughter is abducted, a desperate father takes justice into his own hands when he loses faith in the detective leading the investigation, setting both men on a collision course as the search descends into obsession and moral compromise.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & thriller
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisThe Village (2004)
When a willful young man tries to venture beyond his sequestered Pennsylvania hamlet, his actions set off a chain of chilling incidents that will alter the community forever.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Highwaymen (2019)
In 1934, Frank Hamer and Manny Gault, two former Texas Rangers, are commissioned to put an end to the wave of vicious crimes perpetrated by Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow, a notorious duo of infamous robbers and cold-blooded killers who nevertheless are worshiped by the public.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAurora Teagarden Mysteries: Haunted By Murder (2022)
A murder investigation is reignited in a house that is considered haunted by the Lawrenceton locals and where years ago Aurora and Sally, as teenagers, discovered a body.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisI Am Elizabeth Smart (2017)
The story of Elizabeth Smart's kidnapping and captivity, as told from her perspective.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisJasper Jones (2017)
Fourteen-year-old Charlie's life changes when Jasper takes his help to dispose of the body of his girlfriend, Laura. He decides to look for the murderer and falls in love with Laura's younger sister.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCape Fear (1962)
Sam Bowden witnesses a rape committed by Max Cady and testifies against him. When released after 8 years in prison, Cady begins stalking Bowden and his family but is always clever enough not to violate the law.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisSexy Beast (2001)
Ex-safecracker Gal Dove has served his time behind bars and is blissfully retired to a Spanish villa paradise with a wife he adores. The idyll is shattered by the arrival of his nemesis Don Logan, intent on persuading Gal to return to London for one last big job.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisWalker, Texas Ranger: Trial by Fire (2005)
Walker investigates a murder connected with a missing government weapon. In addition, he tries to track down a teen on the run from a crime syndicate.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBelieve Me: The Abduction of Lisa McVey (2018)
On the night she plans on taking her own life, 17-year-old 'Lisa McVey' is kidnapped and finds herself fighting to stay alive and is raped. She manages to talk her attacker into releasing her, but when she returns home, no one believes her story except for one detective, who suspects she was abducted by a serial killer. Based on horrifying true events.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisThe Elizabeth Smart Story (2003)
Based on the true story of the kidnapping of teenager Elizabeth Smart,in June 2002, by two people in Salt Lake City, Utah.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisWitness (1985)
While protecting an Amish boy—the sole witness to a brutal murder—and his mother, a detective is forced to seek refuge within their community when his own life comes under threat.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & thriller
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Murder at Road Hill House (2011)
In 1860, Inspector Jack Whicher of Scotland Yard is sent to rural Wiltshire to investigate the murder of the three-year-old boy Saville Kent, who was snatched from his bed at night and murdered.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Whisper Man (2026)
When his young son vanishes, a widower enlists help from his estranged father, a retired detective who put away the serial killer now linked to the case.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisShooter (2007)
A top Marine sniper, Bob Lee Swagger, leaves the military after a mission goes horribly awry and disappears, living in seclusion. He is coaxed back into service after a high-profile government official convinces him to help thwart a plot to kill the President of the United States. Ultimately double-crossed and framed for the attempt, Swagger becomes the target of a nationwide manhunt. He goes on the run to track the real killer and find out who exactly set him up, and why, eventually seeking revenge against some of the most powerful and corrupt leaders in the free world.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · 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
Settle the Score (1989)
Katherine Whately, a tough, young Chicago cop, comes home to her small town to settle her teenage rape. She is welcomed by her brother but shunned by her father. Josh, the town doctor, is her only ally in her quest for the truth. Together Katherine and Josh find the bloody trail of a serial murderer and shatter the lie that is two decades old.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
My Amish Double Life (2025)
By day Emma is a good Amish girl, but by night she sneaks out with her Amish friend, Rebecca, and together they lead a double life, going to clubs, flirting with boys, and falling in love in the forbidden “English” world. When Emma accidentally witnesses a murder while out, her life and community is thrown into peril.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller
A Fall from Grace (2020)
When a law-abiding woman gets indicted for murdering her husband, her lawyer soon realizes that a larger conspiracy may be at work.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & thriller
Worth the HypeMovies like thisHenry: Portrait of a Serial Killer (1986)
Arriving in Chicago, Henry moves in with ex-con acquaintance Otis and starts schooling him in the ways of the serial killer.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Dead Pool (1988)
Dirty Harry Callahan returns for his final film adventure. Together with his partner Al Quan, he must investigate the systematic murder of prominent figures. By the time Harry learns that the murders are part of a sick game to predict such deaths, it may be too late.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCut (2000)
A group of film students set out to finish filming a movie that was never completed after its director was murdered. After they begin filming, they realize they're in for a bit of trouble, not unlike the late director...
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller
SnoozefestMovies like thisRavenous (1999)
After arriving at his new, remote Army outpost, Capt. John Boyd and his regiment aid a wounded frontiersman who recounts a horrifying tale of a wagon train murdered by its supposed guide – a vicious U.S. Army colonel gone rogue. Fearing the worst, the regiment heads out into the wilderness to verify the gruesome claims.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Sweet Hereafter (1997)
A small mountain community in Canada is devastated when a school bus accident leaves more than a dozen of its children dead. A big-city lawyer arrives to help the survivors' and victims' families prepare a class-action suit, but his efforts only seem to push the townspeople further apart. At the same time, one teenage survivor of the accident has to reckon with the loss of innocence brought about by a different kind of damage.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisA Nightmare on Elm Street: The Dream Child (1989)
The pregnant Alice finds Freddy Krueger striking through the sleeping mind of her unborn child, hoping to be reborn into the real world.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller
SnoozefestMovies like this
Like Cry in the Wild: The Taking of Peggy Ann and something else?
Blend two favourites and we’ll find the films in between.
Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Cry in the Wild: The Taking of Peggy Ann?
The closest matches to Cry in the Wild: The Taking of Peggy Ann are Red Riding: The Year of Our Lord 1983 (2009), Red Riding: The Year of Our Lord 1974 (2009) and Dead Man's Folly (1986). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Cry in the Wild: The Taking of Peggy Ann?
Start with Red Riding: The Year of Our Lord 1983 (2009), the closest match to Cry in the Wild: The Taking of Peggy Ann.
What is the highest-rated movie like Cry in the Wild: The Taking of Peggy Ann?
Prisoners (2013), rated 8.1/10 by 13,764 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Cry in the Wild: The Taking of Peggy Ann?
The Whisper Man (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like Cry in the Wild: The Taking of Peggy Ann?
Yes: Red Riding: The Year of Our Lord 1983 (2009), Red Riding: The Year of Our Lord 1974 (2009) and Dead Man's Folly (1986).
How are movies similar to Cry in the Wild: The Taking of Peggy Ann chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Cry in the Wild: The Taking of Peggy Ann, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.