Movies like Undertow (2012)
The best movies like Undertow (2012) are Hostage House (2021), The Girl Who Escaped: The Kara Robinson Story (2023) and Taken Back: Finding Haley (2012). If Undertow hooked you with its tv movie and thriller, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedProtector (2026)8.4/10 from 648 votes
- NewestSapiens (2026)Released 2026
Hostage House (2021)
A realtor and her daughter are taken hostage by armed robbers.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Girl Who Escaped: The Kara Robinson Story (2023)
Based on a true story. 15-year-old Kara Robinson was kidnapped, assaulted and held captive for 18 hours. With her survival instincts kicking in, she plots a daring escape from the serial killer and leads police to his apartment.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Worth the HypeMovies like thisTaken Back: Finding Haley (2012)
Unable to get over the abduction of her daughter, a mother is convinced she has finally found her, but is she simply a mother obsessed?
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisLocke & Key (2011)
Three children become the caretakers of a New England mansion that is home to a bevy of secrets and magic.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisTrapped (2002)
Held hostage in different cities after their daughter is kidnapped by a master extortionist, a desperate couple must find a way to outsmart a seemingly foolproof plot.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisInside Man: Most Wanted (2019)
An NYPD hostage negotiator teams up with a federal agent to rescue dozens of tourists held hostage during a 10-hour seige at the U.S. Federal Reserve.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisProof of Life (2000)
When Peter Bowman, an American engineer working in a South American country, is captured by anti-government forces, the rebels learn his identity and demand $5 million for his safe return. However, his US employer is on the verge of insolvency and will not provide the ransom. Peter's wife Alice is forced to deal with the matter on her own and she retains the services of freelance professional hostage negotiator Terry Thorne.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCleveland Abduction (2015)
A single mother becomes Ariel Castro's first kidnapping victim, and finds herself trapped in his home with two other women for 11 years.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisExtortion (2017)
A doctor desperately tries to save his wife and their 5 year old son after their vacation in the Bahamas takes an unexpected turn.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisRestraint (2008)
Two fugitives land in hot water when they take a hostage who poses a threat to their well-being.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
SnoozefestMovies like thisProtector (2026)
Nikki's life is shattered when her daughter is kidnapped. Thrust into the criminal underworld while hunted by cops and military, she must fight to rescue her child.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisRampage: Capital Punishment (2014)
A man takes over a TV station and holds a number of hostages as a political platform to awaken humanity, instead of money.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAdulterers (2016)
On a steamy New Orleans afternoon, Sam Deuprey decides to surprise his beautiful wife, Ashley, for their anniversary and comes home early. But Ashley is not alone in the bedroom. She and her lover, Damien are about to learn how far a jealous husband will go.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both 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
Worth the HypeMovies like thisRansom (1996)
When a rich man's son is kidnapped, he cooperates with the police at first but then tries a unique tactic against the criminals.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisJohn Q (2002)
John Quincy Archibald is a father and husband whose son is diagnosed with an enlarged heart and then finds out he cannot receive a transplant because HMO insurance will not cover it. Therefore, he decides to take a hospital full of patients hostage until the hospital puts his son's name on the donor's list.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Worth the HypeMovies like thisToy Soldiers (1991)
After federal agents arrest a drug czar and put him on trial, the cartel leader's vicious son storms a prep school and takes its students hostage. They rebel against the armed intruders and try to take back their academy by any means necessary.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisGirl in the Bunker (2018)
When Elizabeth is abducted by a fugitive sexual predator, she realizes she must take matters into her own hands and plot her escape. Based on a true story.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Equalizer 2 (2018)
Robert McCall, who serves an unflinching justice for the exploited and oppressed, embarks on a relentless, globe-trotting quest for vengeance when his former partner is murdered.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisStolen Girl (2025)
In 1993, Maureen’s six-year-old daughter Amina is snuck out of the country by her ex-husband, Karim. After years of unsuccessful attempts to find her, Maureen intersects with a professional retriever of internationally abducted children who promises to help her find Amina in exchange for her collaboration.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Wrong Babysitter (2017)
A recent kidnapping has single mom Susan worried about leaving her daughter Christy at home for an out-of-town trip - until neighbor Teri offers to "babysit," looking in on Christy and spending the night. But Susan rushes home when Christy goes missing, under circumstances reminiscent of her police detective husband's death. Susan will have to open the past wound of her husband's death in order to rescue the only family she has left.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller
Taken Too Far (2017)
A jealous dance mom takes extreme measures to ensure her daughter wins a scholarship to an exclusive dance academy. But the victim's mother will do whatever necessary to protect her own daughter from the rival mom's evil scheme.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller
Miami Vice (2006)
A case involving drug lords and murder in South Florida takes a personal turn for undercover detectives Sonny Crockett and Ricardo Tubbs. Unorthodox Crockett gets involved romantically with the Chinese-Cuban wife of a trafficker of arms and drugs, while Tubbs deals with an assault on those he loves.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Godfather Part III (1990)
In the midst of trying to legitimize his business dealings in 1979 New York and Italy, aging mafia don, Michael Corleone seeks forgiveness for his sins while taking a young protege under his wing.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller
Worth the HypeMovies like thisA History of Violence (2005)
An average family is thrust into the spotlight after the father commits a seemingly self-defense murder at his diner.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller
Worth the HypeMovies like thisStar Trek V: The Final Frontier (1989)
A renegade Vulcan with a startling secret hijacks the U.S.S. Enterprise in order to find a mythical planet.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller
SnoozefestMovies like thisSand Castles (2016)
In rural Indiana, Noah and his impoverished family wrestle with the mysterious return of his now mute sister, Lauren, who was kidnapped and held captive for over a decade.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller
Sapiens (2026)
Na Do-han, a man with Dissociative Identity Disorder, shares his body with four different identities. One dawn, he wakes up in a motel with blood-soaked hands and the word 'Run!' scrawled on a mirror. Soon linked to the disappearance of a wealthy corporate heir, Do-han becomes the prime suspect. Concurrently pursued by corporate lawyer Seo Hee-jae, he must interrogate his own identities, each concealing a secret.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller
Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill! (1965)
A trio of thrill-seeking go-go dancers kidnap a young girl and attempt to seduce an old rancher and his two sons out of their small fortune, but their scheme doesn't play out as intended.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Silence of the Lambs (1991)
Clarice Starling is a top student at the FBI's training academy. Jack Crawford wants Clarice to interview Dr. Hannibal Lecter, a brilliant psychiatrist who is also a violent psychopath, serving life behind bars for various acts of murder and cannibalism. Crawford believes that Lecter may have insight into a case and that Starling, as an attractive young woman, may be just the bait to draw him out.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller
Absolute CinemaMovies like this
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Undertow?
The closest matches to Undertow are Hostage House (2021), The Girl Who Escaped: The Kara Robinson Story (2023) and Taken Back: Finding Haley (2012). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Undertow?
Start with Hostage House (2021), the closest match to Undertow.
What is the highest-rated movie like Undertow?
Protector (2026), rated 8.4/10 by 648 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Undertow?
Sapiens (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like Undertow?
Yes: Hostage House (2021), The Girl Who Escaped: The Kara Robinson Story (2023) and Taken Back: Finding Haley (2012).
How are movies similar to Undertow chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Undertow, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.