Movies like Maternal Instincts (1996)
The best movies like Maternal Instincts (1996) are Magpie (2024), 6 Below: Miracle on the Mountain (2017) and The Truth About Emanuel (2013). If Maternal Instincts hooked you with its thriller and drama, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedThe Testament of Dr. Mabuse (1933)7.6/10 from 301 votes
- NewestHunting Season (2025)Released 2025
Magpie (2024)
A couple's lives are thrown into disarray when their daughter is cast opposite a controversial major star.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like this6 Below: Miracle on the Mountain (2017)
An adrenaline seeking snowboarder gets lost in a massive winter storm in the back country of the High Sierras where he is pushed to the limits of human endurance and forced to battle his own personal demons as he fights for survival....
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller & drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisThe Truth About Emanuel (2013)
A troubled young woman becomes obsessed with her mysterious new neighbor, who bears a striking resemblance to the girl's dead mother.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisNot Without Hope (2025)
A group of friends' fishing boat capsizes off the coast of Mexico and they're left alone stranded at sea and struggling for survival.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDevil's Pond (2003)
After a brief courtship, Julianne marries her handsome boyfriend, Mitch. To celebrate their honeymoon, the couple travel to a remote cabin on a small island. When they arrive, however, Mitch becomes aggressive and physically abusive, and Julianne soon realizes he's not the ideal husband she once thought he was. Knowing that Mitch doesn't plan on ever letting her leave the island, Julianne, who is afraid of water, must find a way to escape.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisTyler Perry's Duplicity (2025)
High-powered attorney Marley faces her most personal case yet when she is tasked with uncovering the truth behind the murder of her best friend Fela’s husband. With the help of her boyfriend – a former cop turned private investigator – Marley’s search for what really happened leads her down a treacherous maze of deception and betrayal.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Hummingbird Project (2019)
A pair of high-frequency traders go up against their old boss in an effort to make millions in a fiber-optic cable deal.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHunting Season (2025)
When a reclusive survivalist and his daughter rescue a mysterious, wounded woman from a river, they become entangled in a deadly web of violence and revenge, forcing them to confront a brutal criminal to survive.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & thriller
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Good Neighbor (2022)
A nightmarish evening unfolds for neighbors David and Robert when they accidentally hit a woman on her bike and flee the scene. While David is increasingly plagued by feelings of guilt, Robert shows no remorse and becomes overbearing and possessive.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe House on Carroll Street (1988)
A reporter, fired after refusing to give names to a 1951 House Un-American Activities Committee, takes a part-time job as companion to an old lady. While working she overhears a noisy argument in the neighboring house, being conducted largely in German and involving her HUAC prosecutor. She begins to investigate, enlisting the help of the FBI Agent initially detailed to surveil her.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisA Dry White Season (1989)
During the 1976 Soweto uprising, a white school teacher's life and values are threatened when he asks questions about the death of a young black boy who died in police custody.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisLight It Up (1999)
On a winter day in a southside Queens high school, events collide and six students are suddenly in an armed standoff with the NYPD. At the school, classrooms freeze, teachers come and go, resources are scant.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Doctor (1991)
Jack McKee is a doctor with it all: he's successful, he's rich, and he has no problems.... until he is diagnosed with throat cancer. Now that he has seen medicine, hospitals, and doctors from a patient's perspective, he realises that there is more to being a doctor than surgery and prescriptions.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAwake (2007)
While undergoing heart surgery, a man experiences a phenomenon called ‘anesthetic awareness’, which leaves him awake but paralyzed throughout the operation. As various obstacles present themselves, his wife must make life-altering decisions while wrestling with her own personal drama.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisStrange but True (2019)
A woman surprises the family of her deceased boyfriend by telling them she's pregnant with his child.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDragonfly (2002)
A grieving doctor is being contacted by his late wife through his patient's near death experiences.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisInterceptor (2022)
A U.S. Army Captain uses her years of tactical training to save humanity from sixteen nuclear missiles launched at the U.S. as a violent attack threatens her remote missile interceptor station.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisPieces of a Woman (2020)
When a young mother's home birth ends in unfathomable tragedy, she begins a year-long odyssey of mourning that fractures relationships with loved ones in this deeply personal story of a woman learning to live alongside her loss.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Unsaid (2001)
A doctor dealing with the aftermath of his son's death tries to help a troubled young man.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisA Mouthful of Air (2021)
Julie is a new mom and children's book author, who escapes into the bright Crayola-colored world of her creation in order to leave behind the darkness caused by her post-partum depression.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHe Loves Me… He Loves Me Not (2002)
A talented art student named Angélique is passionately in love with Dr. Loïc Le Garrec, a handsome married man whom she believes will leave his wife. When he eventually decides to stay in his marriage, it causes Angélique to spiral. However, as the story shifts from Angélique's perspective to Loïc's, the surprising truth about their relationship is revealed.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisInhale (2010)
A couple goes to dangerous lengths to find a lung donor for their daughter.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisEe Sabdam Innathe Sabdam (1985)
A group of unruly youth harasses Dr. Ramachandran (Mammotty) and his family. His wife (Sobhana) ends up being raped and murdered by this group. His sister Pushpa (Rohini) becomes mentally ill following the trauma. Distraught when the law doesn't give him justice, the doctor ends up being a vigilante and decides to take revenge on the people who destroyed his family.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller & drama
October Gale (2014)
A doctor takes in a mysterious man who washes ashore at her remote cottage with a gunshot wound. Quickly they both learn the killer has arrived to finish the job, while a storm has cut them off from the mainland.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller & drama
SnoozefestMovies like this42plus (2007)
When the beautiful, efficient and successful Christine, 42, arrives at their summer beach home with her husband and teenage daughter, a young hitchhiker catches her eye. What follows is the story of a woman who frees herself, tears her life into pieces and puts it back together in a different order.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
The Testament of Dr. Mabuse (1933)
After a detective is assaulted by thugs and placed in an asylum run by Professor Baum, he observes the professor's preoccupation with another patient, the criminal genius Dr. Mabuse the hypnotist. When Mabuse's notes are found to be connected with a rash of recent crimes, Commissioner Lohmann must determine how Mabuse is communicating with the criminals, despite conflicting reports on the doctor's whereabouts, and capture him for good.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller
Worth the HypeMovies like thisAamir (2008)
A doctor of Indian origin returning to Mumbai from London is forced to participate in a terrorist plot.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisChrysalis (2007)
Paris 2020, a high tech surgeon and her daughter are involved in a horrific car accident, the surgeon saves her daughter's life at the cost of manipulating her dreams and memories.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller
SnoozefestMovies like thisIn the Land of Women (2007)
After a bad breakup with his girlfriend leaves him heartbroken, Carter Webb moves to Michigan to take care of his ailing grandmother. Once there, he gets mixed up in the lives of the mother and daughters who live across the street.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
SnoozefestMovies like this1 Message (2011)
Tells the story of Becca, a beautiful 28 year-old woman whose perfect life is brought to an abrupt halt after she accidentally discovers a lump in her breast.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Like Maternal Instincts and something else?
Blend two favourites and we’ll find the films in between.
Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Maternal Instincts?
The closest matches to Maternal Instincts are Magpie (2024), 6 Below: Miracle on the Mountain (2017) and The Truth About Emanuel (2013). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Maternal Instincts?
Start with Magpie (2024), the closest match to Maternal Instincts.
What is the highest-rated movie like Maternal Instincts?
The Testament of Dr. Mabuse (1933), rated 7.6/10 by 301 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Maternal Instincts?
Hunting Season (2025) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like Maternal Instincts?
Yes: Magpie (2024), 6 Below: Miracle on the Mountain (2017) and The Truth About Emanuel (2013).
How are movies similar to Maternal Instincts chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Maternal Instincts, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.