Movies like Malevolent Ascent (2010)
The best movies like Malevolent Ascent (2010) are The Call (2013), Captive (2020) and Mr. Frost (1990). If Malevolent Ascent hooked you with its 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
- NewestProtector (2026)Released 2026
The Call (2013)
Jordan Turner is an experienced 911 operator but when she makes an error in judgment and a call ends badly, Jordan is rattled and unsure if she can continue. But when teenager Casey Welson is abducted in the back of a man's car and calls 911, Jordan is the one called upon to use all of her experience, insights and quick thinking to help Casey escape, and not just to save her, but to make sure the man is brought to justice.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCaptive (2020)
A teenage runaway who’s trapped by a delusional man, pretends to be his daughter in order to escape.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMr. Frost (1990)
Frost is arrested and committed for murder after he is apprehended burying his victims in the garden. However, even while under psychiatric care and tight hospital security, it becomes obvious that Mr. Frost is not all he seems to be.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like this10 Cloverfield Lane (2016)
After a catastrophic car crash, a young woman wakes up in a survivalist's underground bunker, where he claims to have saved her from an apocalyptic attack that has left the outside world uninhabitable.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Worth the HypeMovies like thisShock Corridor (1963)
With the help of his girlfriend Cathy and Dr. Fong, a psychiatrist, ambitious journalist Johnny Barrett poses as a madman in order to be admitted to a mental institution where a bloody murder has been committed.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Experiment (2010)
20 men are chosen to participate in the roles of guards and prisoners in a psychological study that ultimately spirals out of control.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisContainment (2015)
Neighbors in a block wake one morning to find they have been sealed inside their apartments. Can they work together to find out why? Or will they destroy each other in their fight to escape?
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
SnoozefestMovies like thisBloody Hell (2020)
A man with a mysterious past flees the country to escape his own personal hell... only to arrive somewhere much worse. In an effort to survive this new horror, he turns to his personified conscience.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMona Lisa and the Blood Moon (2022)
A young woman with psychokinetic powers breaks out of a Louisiana asylum and makes her way to New Orleans, where she falls into the city’s netherworld of misfits and miscreants.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Maze Runner (2014)
A teenager with no memory of his past finds himself among a group of boys living in a walled enclosure surrounded by a massive, ever-changing maze. As he struggles to adapt to their rules and society, he begins to uncover clues that may lead to escape and the truth behind their confinement.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Worth the HypeMovies 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 thisNowhere to Run (1993)
Escaped convict Sam Gillen single-handedly takes on ruthless developers who are determined to evict a widow with two young children.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies 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 thisGod Is a Bullet (2023)
Vice detective Bob Hightower finds his ex-wife murdered and daughter kidnapped by a cult. Frustrated by the botched official investigations, he quits the force and infiltrates the cult to hunt down the leader with the help of the cult’s only female victim escapee, Case Hardin.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisIn Cold Light (2026)
Fresh out of prison, Ava's attempt to reclaim her drug operation collapses when she witnesses a brutal crime, forcing her to flee into a nightmarish underworld where allies are scarce and enemies multiply by the minute.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
SnoozefestMovies like thisStonehearst Asylum (2014)
An Oxford Medical School graduate takes a position at a mental institution and soon becomes obsessed with a female mental patient, but he has no idea of a recent and horrifying staffing change.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisGrave Encounters (2011)
A crew from a paranormal reality television show lock themselves in a haunted psychiatric hospital. They search for evidence of paranormal activity as they shoot what ends up becoming their final episode.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
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 thriller
Worth the HypeMovies like thisHider in the House (1989)
A deranged man hides in the attic of a new house and becomes obsessed with the unsuspecting family that moves in.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Evil (1978)
Shortly after moving into a dark, brooding mansion, a psychologist and his co-workers are terrorized by a horrible evil being.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
SnoozefestMovies like thisThe Blue Room (2014)
In their blue hotel room, a clandestine couple of two married lovers plan an impossible future, as death shutters their already frail tranquillity. Now, the noose tightens more and more around innocents and sinners; but, was there a crime?
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Actress (2011)
The banker Vagif Fataliyev is found murdered in his own house. During the investigation, two more murders occur one after the other.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller
Cochin Express (1967)
Rajan, a police officer, is in charge of the investigation regarding a murder that took place on a train. He tries by hook or by crook to find the culprit as he has only one witness.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller
Evil Under the Sun (1982)
An opulent beach resort provides a scenic background to this amusing whodunit as Poirot attempts to uncover the nefarious evildoer behind the strangling of a notorious stage star.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSunburn (TBA)
A mother inexplicably and abruptly walks out on her family and hitches a ride to a nowhere beach town 100 miles away. It’s the start of a twisted plan that involves a murder in her past, a hidden stash of millions, and an urge to be free from all the men who have tried to control her. By the time she’s over the state line, we realize this isn’t the first time she’s vanished. She has several secret lives scattered in her wake, and the people she left behind are eager for revenge.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller
Sathya (2017)
An IT employee, who works in Australia, gets a call from his ex-lover, asking him to help her find her missing daughter. The former has a tough time ahead when he comes to know about some shocking revelations
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller
Sweat (TBA)
A psychological thriller following rising fitness influencer Emma Kent who dreams of matching the success of her idol, social media superstar Kat Highbrook. Her carefully curated world begins to collapse when an encounter with Kat goes horribly wrong, and she is forced into a dangerous arrangement with Trent, an obsessive fan. His unhinged devotion pushes her to choose how far she’s willing to go for fame.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller
Cassandra's Dream (2007)
The tale of two brothers with serious financial woes. When a third party proposes they turn to crime, things go bad and the two become enemies.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBest Seller (1987)
Hit man Cleve approaches writer/cop Dennis about a story for his next book: How Cleve made a living, working for one of the most powerful politicians in the country. To get the story right, they travel around the country to gather statements and evidence, while strong forces use any means they can to keep the story untold.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisJindabyne (2006)
Outside the Australian town of Jindabyne, local man Stuart Kane is on a fishing trip with friends when they discover the body of a murdered girl.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller
SnoozefestMovies like this
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Malevolent Ascent?
The closest matches to Malevolent Ascent are The Call (2013), Captive (2020) and Mr. Frost (1990). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Malevolent Ascent?
Start with The Call (2013), the closest match to Malevolent Ascent.
What is the highest-rated movie like Malevolent Ascent?
Protector (2026), rated 8.4/10 by 648 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Malevolent Ascent?
Protector (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like Malevolent Ascent?
Yes: The Call (2013), Captive (2020) and Mr. Frost (1990).
How are movies similar to Malevolent Ascent chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Malevolent Ascent, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.