Movies like Escape 28 (2016)
The best movies like Escape 28 (2016) are Emancipation (2022), 12 Years a Slave (2013) and Emperor (2020). If Escape 28 hooked you with its history and drama, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedGladiator (2000)8.2/10 from 21,845 votes
- NewestBhuthan: The World’s Happiest Man (2025)Released 2025
Emancipation (2022)
Inspired by the gripping true story of a man who would do anything for his family—and for freedom. When Peter, an enslaved man, risks his life to escape and return to his family, he embarks on a perilous journey of love and endurance.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & history
Worth the HypeMovies like this12 Years a Slave (2013)
In the pre-Civil War United States, Solomon Northup, a free black man from upstate New York, is abducted and sold into slavery. Facing cruelty as well as unexpected kindnesses Solomon struggles not only to stay alive, but to retain his dignity. In the twelfth year of his unforgettable odyssey, Solomon’s chance meeting with a Canadian abolitionist will forever alter his life.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & history
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisEmperor (2020)
An escaped slave travels north and has chance encounters with Frederick Douglass and John Brown. Based on the life story of Shields Green.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both history & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisFree State of Jones (2016)
In 1863, Mississippi farmer Newt Knight serves as a medic for the Confederate Army. Opposed to slavery, Knight would rather help the wounded than fight the Union. After his nephew dies in battle, Newt returns home to Jones County to safeguard his family but is soon branded an outlaw deserter. Forced to flee, he finds refuge with a group of runaway slaves hiding out in the swamps. Forging an alliance with the slaves and other farmers, Knight leads a rebellion that would forever change history.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & history
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHarriet (2019)
The extraordinary tale of Harriet Tubman's escape from slavery and transformation into one of America's greatest heroes. Her courage, ingenuity and tenacity freed hundreds of slaves and changed the course of history.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & history
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Way Back (2010)
A small band of multicultural convicts stages a daring escape from a WWII-era Siberian gulag, and embarks on a treacherous journey across five countries in a desperate race for freedom and survival.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & history
Worth the HypeMovies like thisMaze (2017)
Inspired by the true events of the infamous 1983 prison breakout of 38 IRA prisoners from HMP Maze, which was to become the biggest prison escape in Europe since World War II.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & history
SnoozefestMovies like thisPublic Enemies (2009)
Depression-era bank robber John Dillinger's charm and audacity endear him to much of America's downtrodden public, but he's also a thorn in the side of J. Edgar Hoover and the fledgling FBI. Desperate to capture the elusive outlaw, Hoover makes Dillinger his first Public Enemy Number One and assigns his top agent, Melvin Purvis, the task of bringing him in dead or alive.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both history & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisRaid on Entebbe (1976)
Based on a true operation by Israeli commandos. An Air France flight is hijacked by the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine. The airplane landed in Uganda. The terrorists released some passengers, keeping 94 Jews and 12 air crew hostage. The Israeli government would not negotiate. A rescue plan was devised, and less than 100 commandos were flown across Africa to rescue the passengers in surprisingly successful operation.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & history
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Birth of a Nation (2016)
Nat Turner, a former slave in America, leads a liberation movement in 1831 to free African-Americans in Virginia that results in a violent retaliation from whites.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Defiant Ones (1958)
Two convicts—one white, one black—escape while chained to each other.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisExtremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile (2019)
A chronicle of the crimes of Ted Bundy, from the perspective of his longtime girlfriend, Elizabeth Kloepfer, who refused to believe the truth about him for years.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Chase (1966)
The escape of Bubber Reeves from prison affects the inhabitants of a small Southern town.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisGirl in the Box (2016)
The true story of 20-year-old Colleen Stan, a hitchhiking woman abducted by a young couple and held captive for seven years, during which time she's tortured and forced to live as a slave to her captors.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
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 drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Adventures of Huck Finn (1993)
Mischievous Huck Finn is unnerved when his father, reemerging after years away, kidnaps him in an attempt to take away a $600 inheritance from his late mother. Fearing for his life, Huck fakes his own death and escapes. He soon runs into his friend, Jim, a slave fleeing his master. Together, the pair embarks on a raft journey down the Mississippi River, staying ahead of pursuers who blame the slave for Huck's alleged murder.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBrubaker (1980)
The new warden of a small prison farm in Arkansas tries to clean it up of corruption after initially posing as an inmate.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisPapillon (1973)
A man befriends a fellow criminal as the two of them begin serving their sentence on a dreadful prison island, which inspires the man to plot his escape.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisGirl in the Bunker (2018)
When Elizabeth is abducted by a fugitive sexual predator, she realizes she must take matters into her own hands and plot her escape. Based on a true story.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Devil All the Time (2020)
In Knockemstiff, Ohio and its neighboring backwoods, sinister characters converge around young Arvin Russell as he fights the evil forces that threaten him and his family.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisAmistad (1997)
In 1839, the slave ship Amistad set sail from Cuba to America. During the long trip, Cinque leads the slaves in an unprecedented uprising. They are then held prisoner in Connecticut, and their release becomes the subject of heated debate. Freed slave Theodore Joadson wants Cinque and the others exonerated and recruits property lawyer Roger Baldwin to help his case. Eventually, John Quincy Adams also becomes an ally.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & history
Worth the HypeMovies like thisSpartacus (1960)
The rebellious Thracian Spartacus, born and raised a slave, is sold to Gladiator trainer Batiatus. After weeks of being trained to kill for the arena, Spartacus turns on his owners and leads the other slaves in rebellion. As the rebels move from town to town, their numbers swell as escaped slaves join their ranks. Under the leadership of Spartacus, they make their way to southern Italy, where they will cross the sea and return to their homes.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both history & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Ten Commandments (1956)
Escaping death, a Hebrew infant is raised in a royal household to become a prince. Upon discovery of his true heritage, Moses embarks on a personal quest to reclaim his destiny as the leader and liberator of the Hebrew people.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & history
Worth the HypeMovies like thisApocalypto (2006)
Set in the Mayan civilization, when a man's idyllic presence is brutally disrupted by a violent invading force, he is taken on a perilous journey to a world ruled by fear and oppression where a harrowing end awaits him. Through a twist of fate and spurred by the power of his love for his woman and his family he will make a desperate break to return home and to ultimately save his way of life.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & history
Worth the HypeMovies like thisCaligula's Slaves (1984)
Roman emperor Caligula leaves the last days of glory amidst orgies of food and sex. During a show by two nude slaves, the emperor is particularly attracted to one of them, Lysia, ignoring that she had been planted close to him with orders to murder him. Only, the young man makes her feel for him, passion and motherly love, and she'll protect him rather then fulfill her mission. Drama ensues.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & history
Enemy Mine (1985)
A soldier from Earth crashlands on an alien world after sustaining battle damage. Eventually he encounters another survivor, but from the enemy species he was fighting; they band together to survive on this hostile world. In the end the human finds himself caring for his enemy in a completely unexpected way.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisSweet Country (2018)
In 1929, an Australian Aboriginal stockman kills a white station owner in self-defense and goes on the lam, pursued by a posse.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisGone with the Wind (1939)
The spoiled daughter of a Georgia plantation owner conducts a tumultuous romance with a cynical profiteer during the American Civil War and Reconstruction Era.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisGladiator (2000)
After the death of Emperor Marcus Aurelius, his devious son takes power and demotes Maximus, one of Rome's most capable generals who Marcus preferred. Eventually, Maximus is forced to become a gladiator and battle to the death against other men for the amusement of paying audiences.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisBhuthan: The World’s Happiest Man (2025)
Bhutan: The World’s Happiest Man tells the story of Mr. Bishnu, an aging Bhutanese-American in Ohio, who dreams of returning to his homeland. After his unexpected death, his family faces a conflict over his final resting place, torn between past memories and present realities. This emotional drama explores themes of love, loss, and the search for belonging.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Escape 28?
The closest matches to Escape 28 are Emancipation (2022), 12 Years a Slave (2013) and Emperor (2020). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Escape 28?
Start with Emancipation (2022), the closest match to Escape 28.
What is the highest-rated movie like Escape 28?
Gladiator (2000), rated 8.2/10 by 21,845 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Escape 28?
Bhuthan: The World’s Happiest Man (2025) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like Escape 28?
Yes: Emancipation (2022), 12 Years a Slave (2013) and Emperor (2020).
How are movies similar to Escape 28 chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Escape 28, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.