Movies like The Hostage Tower (1980)
The best movies like The Hostage Tower (1980) are The Seven-Ups (1973), John Q (2002) and Brute Force (1947). If The Hostage Tower hooked you with its thriller and crime, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedKnockin' on Heaven's Door (1997)7.7/10 from 641 votes
- NewestLast Call (2026)Released 2026
The Seven-Ups (1973)
A tough detective who is part of an elite New York City unit is trying to find out who killed his partner, but uncovers a plot to kidnap mobsters for money.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller & crime
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 & crime
Worth the HypeMovies like thisBrute Force (1947)
Timeworn Joe Collins and his fellow inmates live under the heavy thumb of the sadistic, power-tripping guard Captain Munsey. Only Collins' dreams of escape keep him going, but how can he possibly bust out of Munsey's chains?
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & thriller
Worth the HypeMovies like thisMan on a Ledge (2012)
An ex-cop turned con threatens to jump to his death from a Manhattan hotel rooftop. The NYPD dispatch a female police psychologist to talk him down. However, unbeknownst to the police on the scene, the suicide attempt is a cover for the biggest diamond heist ever pulled.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisTraitor (2008)
When straight arrow FBI agent Roy Clayton heads up the investigation into a dangerous international conspiracy, all clues seem to lead back to former U.S. Special Operations officer Samir Horn.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHe Ran All the Way (1951)
A crook on the run hides out in an innocent girl's apartment.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller & crime
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 crime & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDirty Mary Crazy Larry (1974)
Down-on-their-luck racers Larry and Deke steal from a supermarket manager to buy a car that will help them advance their racing chances. Their escape does not go as planned when Larry's one-night stand, Mary, tags along for the ride.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisGotcha! (1985)
A student on a trip to France is tricked into smuggling secrets across the Iron Curtain by a sexy spy.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMad City (1997)
A misguided museum guard who loses his job and then tries to get it back at gunpoint is thrown into the fierce world of ratings-driven TV gone mad.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMurder Mystery 2 (2023)
After starting their own detective agency, Nick and Audrey Spitz land a career-making case when their billionaire pal is kidnapped from his wedding.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisOverdrive (2017)
Master car thieves square off against French gangsters in the South of France with money, women and lives all on the line.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisChief of Station (2024)
After learning that the death of his wife was not an accident, a former CIA Station Chief is forced back into the espionage underworld, teaming up with an adversary to unravel a conspiracy that challenges everything he thought he knew.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Mask of Dimitrios (1944)
A mystery writer is intrigued by the tale of notorious criminal Dimitrios Makropolous, whose dead body was found washed up on the shore in Istanbul. He decides to follow the career of Dimitrios around Europe, in order to learn more about the man. Along the way he is joined by the mysterious Mr. Peters, who has his own motivation.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime
Worth the HypeMovies like thisWinged Creatures (2009)
A psychotic man opens fire in a diner, murdering numerous people before killing himself. The survivors struggle in different ways following this horrendous event: a doctor doubts his own instincts and elects to use an experimental medical procedure on his wife, while a gambler believes he's on a lucky streak. A waitress begins engaging in promiscuous sex, and a young girl whose father is among the dead gains unexpected fame.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime
SnoozefestMovies like thisExcess Baggage (1997)
A rich brat fakes her own kidnapping, but in the process ends up locked in the trunk of a car that gets stolen.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHow to Rob a Bank (2007)
Caught in the middle of a bank robbery, a slacker and a bank employee become the ones who arbitrate the intense situation.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime
SnoozefestMovies like thisThe Day of the Jackal (1973)
An international assassin known as ‘The Jackal’ is employed by disgruntled French generals to kill President Charles de Gaulle, with a dedicated gendarme on the assassin’s trail.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Worth the HypeMovies like thisHostage 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 thisRiot in Cell Block 11 (1954)
A prisoner leads his counterparts in a protest for better living conditions which turns violent and ugly.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime
Worth the HypeMovies like thisMannen utan ansikte (1995)
A heavily indebted construction entrepreneur robs a bank in Jakomäki, Helsinki. He takes two officers and one customer hostage from the bank. In addition to himself, the desperate robber threatens to blow up the hostages if the police who left to follow them try to prevent the escape.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both crime & thriller
Hostage (2005)
When a mafia accountant is taken hostage on his beat, a police officer – wracked by guilt from a prior stint as a negotiator – must negotiate the standoff, even as his own family is held captive by the mob.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisTempo (2003)
Jenny, a young American woman, moves to Paris and gets involved with Jack, who is seemingly the man of her dreams. However, he has a lot to hide and Jenny quickly gets entangled his dangerous lifestyle.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both crime & thriller
To Steal from a Thief (2016)
Valencia, Spain. On a rainy morning, six armed men in disguise assault a bank. But what seemed like an easy heist, quickly goes wrong with nothing unfolding as planned, and mistrust quickly builds between the two leaders of the gang.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both crime & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMasked Ward (2020)
On-call substitute doctor Shugo suddenly finds himself faced with a terrifying criminal in a clown mask. The assailant demands that Shugo treat injured high school student Hitomi. The perpetrator sets siege to the building and Shugo finds himself confined with 64 unknown patients.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both crime & thriller
Last Call (2026)
New Year’s Eve 1999, Athens: a desperate fugitive armed with a live grenade takes a family hostage and demands to go on live TV as the world counts down to the new millennium. Broadcast in real time, the situation pulls in a young journalist, media executives and a divided police force, as an entire nation watches events spiral toward a tragic and irreversible outcome.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller
A View to a Kill (1985)
A newly-developed microchip designed by Zorin Industries for the British Government that can survive the electromagnetic radiation caused by a nuclear explosion has landed in the hands of the KGB. James Bond must find out how and why. His suspicions soon lead him to big industry leader Max Zorin who forms a plan to destroy his only competition in Silicon Valley by triggering a massive earthquake in the San Francisco Bay.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisKnockin' on Heaven's Door (1997)
Two young men, Martin and Rudi, both suffering from terminal cancer, get to know each other in a hospital room. They drown their desperation in tequila and decide to take one last trip to the sea. Drunk and still in pajamas they steal the first fancy car they find, a 60's Mercedes convertible. The car happens to belong to a bunch of gangsters, which immediately start to chase it, since it contains more than the pistol Martin finds in the glove box.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both crime
Worth the HypeMovies like thisOperation Red Sea (2018)
A squad of the Jiaolong Commando Unit - Sea Dragon, a spec ops team of the Chinese Navy, carries out a hostage rescue operation in the nation of Yewaire, on the Arabian Peninsula, and fiercely fights against local rebel groups and Zaka, a terrorist organization.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller
Worth the HypeMovies like thisConnection (2025)
A kidnapped woman will be freed on one condition: She must convince her kidnapper that his life is worth living.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like The Hostage Tower?
The closest matches to The Hostage Tower are The Seven-Ups (1973), John Q (2002) and Brute Force (1947). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after The Hostage Tower?
Start with The Seven-Ups (1973), the closest match to The Hostage Tower.
What is the highest-rated movie like The Hostage Tower?
Knockin' on Heaven's Door (1997), rated 7.7/10 by 641 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like The Hostage Tower?
Last Call (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like The Hostage Tower?
Yes: The Seven-Ups (1973), John Q (2002) and Brute Force (1947).
How are movies similar to The Hostage Tower chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside The Hostage Tower, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.