Movies like Pandora (2016)
The best movies like Pandora (2016) are Tidal Wave (2009), Assassination (2015) and 12.12: The Day (2023). If Pandora 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 ratedMemories of Murder (2003)8.1/10 from 4,933 votes
- NewestEscape (2024)Released 2024
- In KoreanTidal Wave (2009)Also in Korean
Tidal Wave (2009)
On Haeundae Beach, a guilt-ridden fisherman takes care of a woman whose father accidentally got killed. A scientist reunites with his ex-wife and a daughter who doesn't even remember his face. And a poor rescue worker falls in love with a rich city girl. When they all find out a gigantic tsunami will hit the beach, they realize they only have 10 minutes to escape.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAssassination (2015)
In Japanese-occupied Korea, three freedom fighters are assigned a mission to assassinate a genocidal military leader and his top collaborator. But the plan goes completely awry amidst double-crossings, counter-assassinations, and a shocking revelation about one of the assassins' past.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & thriller
Worth the HypeMovies like this12.12: The Day (2023)
After the assassination of President Park, martial law has been declared. A coup d'état bursts out by Defense Security Commander Chun Doo-gwang and a private band of officers following him. Capital Defense Commander Lee Tae-shin, an obstinate soldier who believes the military should not take political actions, fights against Chun Doo-gwang to stop him. The conflict between the two grows while military leaders are holding their decision and Defense Minister is gone. In the midst of chaos, the spring of Seoul that everyone longed for heads to unexpected direction.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & thriller
Worth the HypeMovies like thisHard Hit (2021)
On his way to work, a bank manager receives an anonymous call claiming there's a bomb under his car seat, and if anyone exits the car, it will explode unless he can pay a ransom.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisSympathy for Mr. Vengeance (2002)
A deaf man and his girlfriend resort to desperate measures in order to fund a kidney transplant for his sister. Things go horribly wrong, and the situation spirals rapidly into a cycle of violence and revenge.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisWalking Tall: Lone Justice (2007)
In Dallas, witnesses against a drug-lord are murdered in a safe-house.The testimony of FBI agents becomes the only chance to keep him in prison. They are lodged in another safe-house, but the place is invaded and the agents are executed. However, Kate is only wounded, and her boyfriend Nick believes there is a traitor in the agency and takes her to his ranch to protect her life.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & thriller
SnoozefestMovies like thisA Better Tomorrow (2010)
An idealistic policeman must bring down his estranged older brother, now a powerful gangster in a South Korean port city.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & action
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisEscape (2024)
After completing his required decade of military service and being honored as a hero, a North Korean sergeant makes a sudden shocking attempt to defect to the South, risking life and limb for the chance to finally determine his own destiny.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisBadland Hunters (2024)
After a deadly earthquake turns Seoul into a lawless badland, a fearless huntsman springs into action to rescue a teenager abducted by a mad doctor.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Chaser (2008)
Joong-ho is a dirty detective turned pimp, who's in financial trouble as several of his girls have recently disappeared without clearing their debts. While trying to track them down, he finds a clue that the vanished girls were all called up by the same client, whom one of his girls is meeting with right now.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller & action
Worth the HypeMovies like thisNight in Paradise (2020)
An assassin named Tae-goo is offered a chance to switch sides with his rival Bukseong gang, headed by Chairman Doh. Tae-goo rejects the offer that results in the murder of his sister and niece. In revenge, Tae-goo brutally kills Chairman Doh and his men and flees to Jeju Island where he meets Jae-yeon, a terminally ill woman. Though, the henchman of the Bukseong gang, Executive Ma is mercilessly hunting Tae-goo to take revenge.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller & action
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Tower (2012)
Tower Sky, a luxurious building complex, has organised a lavish Christmas party for its VIP guests. However, things go awry when a fire breaks out and thousands of lives are endangered.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisHijack 1971 (2024)
In the year 1971, former Korean Air Force fighter pilot Tae-In (Ha Jung-Woo) works as a pilot for a commercial airline. He faces a crisis inside a hijacked flight with the passengers, including Yong-Dae (Yeo Jin-Goo), and his crew members, including Captain Kyu-Sik (Sung Dong-Il) and Flight Attendant Ok-Soon (Chae Soo-Bin).
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMemories of Murder (2003)
A sadistic serial rapist and murderer of young women terrorizes a small province in 1980s South Korea. To prevent further crimes, three increasingly desperate detectives with conflicting methods race against time to unravel the violent mind of the killer in a futile effort to solve the case.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & thriller
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisThe System (2022)
When a young soldier, newly returned from war, gets caught up in a drug bust, he is recruited by the authorities to go undercover in a notoriously dangerous prison in order to figure out what is really going on.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & thriller
Worth the HypeMovies like thisGangnam Blues (2015)
Jong-dae and Yong-ki make a living by picking up paper and empty bottles. Both then join different gangster clan and becomes involved in a struggle of political interests over development in Gangnam, Seoul.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAsura: The City of Madness (2016)
A shady cop finds himself in over his head when he gets caught between Internal Affairs and the city’s corrupt mayor.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisShimmer Lake (2017)
Shot in reverse day-by-day through a week—a local sheriff embarks on a quest to unlock the mystery of three small-town criminals and a bank heist gone wrong.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBeliever 2 (2023)
A determined detective continues his search for the truth behind Asia's largest drug organization and its elusive boss he has unfinished business with.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller & action
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisV.I.P. (2017)
A son to a high-ranked official in North Korea commits a series of murders going across the countries around the world. The movie depicts the following events as South Korea, North Korea and Interpol start chasing down after him.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller & action
Worth the HypeMovies like thisCity Hall (1996)
The accidental shooting of a boy in New York City leads to an investigation by the Deputy Mayor, and unexpectedly far-reaching consequences.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDaylight (1996)
A group of armed robbers fleeing the police head for the New Jersey Tunnel and run right into trucks transporting toxic waste. The spectacular explosion that follows results in both ends of the tunnel collapsing and the handful of people who survived the explosion are now in peril. Kit Latura is the only man with the skill and knowledge to lead the band of survivors out of the tunnel before the structure collapses.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both action & 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: Similar story and style · both thriller & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisIn Starland (2026)
In small-town America, a solitary man drifts through life - until a group of fearless young artists crash into his world. A coming-of-middle-age story about identity, belonging, and the strange beauty of connection.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & thriller
Coming SoonMovies like thisLe Cercle Rouge (1970)
When French criminal Corey gets released from prison, he resolves to never return. He is quickly pulled back into the underworld, however, after a chance encounter with escaped murderer Vogel. Along with former policeman and current alcoholic Jansen, they plot an intricate jewel heist. All the while, quirky Police Commissioner Mattei, who was the one to lose custody of Vogel, is determined to find him.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & thriller
Worth the HypeMovies like thisTae Guk Gi: The Brotherhood of War (2004)
When two brothers are forced to fight in the Korean War, the elder decides to take the riskiest missions if it will help shield the younger from battle.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both action & drama
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisMiracle Landing (1990)
Based on a real, in-flight incident in 1988, a passenger jet loses a portion of its fuselage in flight over Hawaii and is forced to make an emergency landing.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Dream Kiss (1992)
The gorgeous Margot supports her aged father by seducing men on trains, slipping them a Mickey Finn (a beso de sueño) and robbing them. One night her victim is a currency smuggler taking 100 million pesetas out of Spain. He's being watched by a cop and by a burned-out alcoholic.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller
Beyond the Horizon (1975)
On a Connecticut farm, James Mayo's two sons both love Ruth Atkins. Robert, the younger son, is sickly and dreams of escaping to a romantic life somewhere "beyond the horizon." Andy is hard-working and steadfast and loves his brother deeply. When Ruth reveals that she loves Robert and not, as everyone believed, Andy, Robert's plans to go to sea with his uncle are disrupted. He decides to stay at home and marry Ruth, while Andy, unwilling to remain close at hand as his brother marries the girl he loves, takes Robert's place on the voyage. This turn of events leads to heartache and tragedy for everyone involved.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Mauri (1988)
Rewi Rapana returns to the small country town of Te Mata after his family has left the district. His arrival rekindles old tensions as well as renewing family ties. He is seeking an identity and a permanent place to call home yet desperately hiding a secret from his past. Oddly enough there is one person with whom he finds peace of mind. She is an old woman known as Kara. A special relationship develops between Rewi, Kara and Kara’s great granddaughter Awatea.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Pandora?
The closest matches to Pandora are Tidal Wave (2009), Assassination (2015) and 12.12: The Day (2023). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Pandora?
Start with Tidal Wave (2009), the closest match to Pandora.
What is the highest-rated movie like Pandora?
Memories of Murder (2003), rated 8.1/10 by 4,933 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Pandora?
Escape (2024) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there Korean movies like Pandora?
Yes: Tidal Wave (2009), Assassination (2015) and 12.12: The Day (2023).
How are movies similar to Pandora chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Pandora, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.