Movies like Without a Trace (1983)
The best movies like Without a Trace (1983) are Frantic (1988), Tightrope (1984) and D.O.A. (1988). If Without a Trace hooked you with its drama and mystery, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedSearching (2018)7.6/10 from 4,437 votes
- NewestMissing (2023)Released 2023
Frantic (1988)
The wife of an American doctor suddenly vanishes in Paris. To find her, he navigates a puzzling web of language, locale, laissez-faire cops, triplicate-form filling bureaucrats and a defiant, mysterious waif who knows more than she tells.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both mystery
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisTightrope (1984)
Wes Block is a detective who's put on the case of a serial killer whose victims are young and pretty women. The murders are getting personal when the killer chooses victims who are acquaintances of Block. Even his daughters are threatened.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both mystery
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisD.O.A. (1988)
Dexter Cornell, an English Professor becomes embroiled in a series of murders involving people around him. Dexter has good reason to want to find the murderer but hasn't much time. He finds help and comfort from one of his student, Sydney Fuller.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both mystery
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Mean Season (1985)
A routine investigation of a shocking murder takes a bizarre twist when the killer contacts the reporter and appoints him his personal spokesman. As the killer's calls and clues increase, the reporter is lured into a deadly trap.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both mystery
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisWitness (1985)
While protecting an Amish boy—the sole witness to a brutal murder—and his mother, a detective is forced to seek refuge within their community when his own life comes under threat.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisMusic Box (1989)
A lawyer defends her father accused of war crimes, but there is more to the case than she suspects.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & mystery
Worth the HypeMovies like thisPower (1986)
Pete St. John is a powerful and successful political consultant, with clients spread around the country. When his long-time friend and client Ohio senator Sam Hastings decides to quit politics, he is rapidly drafted to help with the campaign of the man destined to succeed him, unknown and mysterious businessman Jerome Cade...
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisDaniel (1983)
The fictionalized story of Daniel, the son of Paul and Rochelle Isaacson, who were executed as Soviet spies in the 1950s. As a graduate student in New York in the 1960s, Daniel is involved in the antiwar protest movement and contrasts his experiences to the memory of his parents and his belief that they were wrongfully convicted.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama
Family Business (1989)
Jessie is an aging career criminal who has been in more jails, fights, schemes, and lineups than just about anyone else. His son Vito, while currently on the straight and narrow, has had a fairly shady past and is indeed no stranger to illegal activity. They both have great hope for Adam, Vito's son and Jessie's grandson, who is bright, good-looking, and without a criminal past.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisEyewitness (1981)
NYC custodian Daryll Deever is a big fan of local news reporter Tony Sokolow, so he is intrigued when she shows up to cover a story at his workplace. There's been a murder in the office building, and Tony suspects that Daryll may have insight into the crime, a notion that he furthers to stay close to her. However, when those behind the killing begin to think that he really knows something, they target the pair to keep their secrets hidden.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisFlashpoint (1984)
Two Texas border guards find a jeep buried in the desert, with a skeleton, a scoped rifle, and a box with $800,000 in cash. Before they decide whether to keep the money or report it, they privately investigate the clues and unravel a decades old mystery.
Why it matches: Fans watch both
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisA Soldier's Story (1984)
In a rural town in Louisiana, a black Master Sergeant is found shot to death just outside the local Army Base. Military lawyer, Captain Davenport—also a black man—is sent from Washington to conduct an investigation. Facing an uncooperative chain of command and fearful black troops, Davenport must battle with deceit and prejudice in order to find out exactly who really did kill the Master Sergeant.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both mystery & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisFor Queen & Country (1988)
A retired British soldier struggles to adjust to everyday life, with increasing difficulty.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisLittle Nikita (1988)
An FBI agent works to uncover an all-American family as Soviet sleeper agents, and gets caught up in friendship with their oblivious teenage son.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisTrack 29 (1988)
Years after a desperate teenage Linda gives up her baby for adoption, she finds herself face-to-face with Martin, a young man claiming to be her long-lost son. Linda embraces Martin and in him finds a welcome reprieve from her unhappy marriage to the neglectful Henry. But soon Martin grows violent and becomes obsessed with Henry -- a philandering man whose only offspring is an expansive model train set that devours his waking hours.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & mystery
SnoozefestMovies like thisFirstborn (1984)
Because he's the oldest, Jake has been the man of the house, since his parents divorce. When Mom starts seeing Sam, who always seems to be trying some new way to get rich quick, and declares he's the man of the house now, Jake puts up with it. Until he discovers Sam's illegal activities.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Conversation (1974)
A paranoid, secretive surveillance expert has a crisis of conscience when he suspects that the couple he is spying on will be murdered.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & mystery
Worth the HypeMovies like thisCountry (1984)
Jewell and Gil are farmers. They seem to be working against the odds, producing no financial surplus. Gil has lost hope of ever becoming prosperous, but Jewell decides to fight for her family.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama
The 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: Fans watch both · both drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisAbsence of Malice (1981)
Megan Carter is a reporter duped into running an untrue story on Michael Gallagher, a suspected racketeer. He has an alibi for the time his crime was allegedly committed—but it involves an innocent party. When he tells Carter the truth and the newspaper runs it, tragedy follows, forcing Carter to face up to the responsibilities of her job when she is confronted by Gallagher.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHomicide (1991)
While investigating the ruthless murder of an elderly woman, a Jewish police detective unravels a bizarre conspiracy involving a Zionist organization.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & mystery
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisNight Falls on Manhattan (1997)
A newly elected District attorney finds himself in the middle of a police corruption investigation that may involve his father and his partner.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAmazing Grace and Chuck (1987)
Average American boy Chuck Murdock goes on a school outing to a nuclear weapons facility, where he learns about the destructive power that sits at the fingertips of the military. Knowing that the world could end with the push of a button, he protests against nuclear war by walking out on his Little League team during a game. Chuck's stunt ends up in the local paper, and as the story snowballs, basketball star "Amazing Grace" Smith decides to boycott sports, too.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama
Racing with the Moon (1984)
In a small coastal California town, Henry and Nicky are pals from blue collar families with only a short time before they ship off to World War II. Henry begins romancing new-to-town Caddie Winger, believing her to be wealthy. Mischievous and irresponsible, Nicky gets into trouble which forces the other two to become involved, testing their relationship, as well as the friendship between the boys.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Rookie (1990)
Veteran cop Nick Pulovski is used to playing musical partners; many of the partners he's had in the past have died on the job, and often as a result of Nick's risky tactics. But the rookie who's been assigned to help Nick bust a carjacking ring is almost as hotheaded as he is … and when Nick gets kidnapped, his newbie partner is his only hope.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisTrue Believer (1989)
Eddie Dodd is a burnt out former civil rights lawyer who now specializes in defending drug dealers. Roger Baron, newly graduated from law school, has followed Eddie's great cases and now wants to learn at his feet. With Roger's idealistic prodding, Eddie reluctantly takes on a case of a young Korean man who, according to his mother, has been in jail for eight years for a murder he didn't commit.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisRoommates (1995)
An elderly, yet young-at-heart man, moves in with his grandson, and both their lives turn upside-down.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama
The Deep End of the Ocean (1999)
A three-year-old boy disappears during his mother's high school reunion. Nine years later, by chance, he turns up in the town in which the family has just relocated.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & mystery
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMissing (2023)
When her mother disappears while on vacation in Colombia with her new boyfriend, June’s search for answers is hindered by international red tape. Stuck thousands of miles away in Los Angeles, June creatively uses all the latest technology at her fingertips to try and find her before it’s too late.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & mystery
Worth the HypeMovies like thisSearching (2018)
After David Kim's 16-year-old daughter goes missing, a local investigation is opened and a detective is assigned to the case. But 37 hours later and without a single lead, David decides to search the one place no one has looked yet, where all secrets are kept today: his daughter's laptop.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & mystery
Worth the HypeMovies like this
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Without a Trace?
The closest matches to Without a Trace are Frantic (1988), Tightrope (1984) and D.O.A. (1988). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Without a Trace?
People who watched Without a Trace most often go on to Frantic (1988), Tightrope (1984) and D.O.A. (1988).
What is the highest-rated movie like Without a Trace?
Searching (2018), rated 7.6/10 by 4,437 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Without a Trace?
Missing (2023) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like Without a Trace?
Yes: Frantic (1988), Tightrope (1984) and D.O.A. (1988).
How are movies similar to Without a Trace chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Without a Trace, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.