Movies like Polar Bear (1959)
The best movies like Polar Bear (1959) are 49th Parallel (1941), Bunker (2023) and Soldiers of the Damned (2015). If Polar Bear hooked you with its war and thriller, these 20 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedThe Beast of War (1988)7.1/10 from 231 votes
- NewestOff the Grid (2025)Released 2025
49th Parallel (1941)
In the early days of World War II, a German U-boat is sunk in Canada's Hudson Bay. Hoping to evade capture, a small band of German soldiers led by commanding officer Lieutenant Hirth attempts to cross the border into the United States, which has not yet entered the war and is officially neutral. Along the way, the German soldiers encounter brave men such as a French-Canadian fur trapper, Johnnie, a leader of a Hutterite farming community, Peter, an author, Philip and a soldier, Andy Brock.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both war & thriller
Worth the HypeMovies like thisBunker (2023)
Trapped in a bunker during World War I, a group of soldiers are faced with an ungodly presence that slowly turns them against each other.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller & war
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSoldiers of the Damned (2015)
WWII German soldiers take an occult scientist into a haunted forest in Romania, only to be confronted by their own ghosts.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both war & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisEssential Killing (2010)
A Taliban soldier struggles to survive after he escapes his captors and flees into the Polish countryside.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller & war
SnoozefestMovies like thisDecision Before Dawn (1951)
WWII is entering its last phase: Germany is in ruins, but does not yield. The US army lacks crucial knowledge about the German units operating on the opposite side of the Rhine, and decides to send two German prisoners to gather information. The scheme is risky: the Gestapo retains a terribly efficient network to identify and capture spies and deserters. Moreover, it is not clear that "Tiger", who does not mind any dirty work as long as the price is right, and war-weary "Happy", who might be easily betrayed by his feelings, are dependable agents. After Tiger and another American agent are successfully infiltrated, Happy is parachuted in Bavaria. His duty: find out the whereabouts of a powerful German armored unit moving towards the western front.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both war & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe One That Got Away (1957)
Based on the true story of Oberleutnant Franz von Werra, the only German prisoner of war captured in Britain to escape back to Germany during the Second World War.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both war
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Secret of Santa Vittoria (1970)
During World War II, Italian villagers hide their wine from the German army.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both war
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBlack Widow (1987)
Federal agent Alexandra Barnes believes that Catherine Petersen is a serial killer who marries rich men and then murders them for their money. But since Catherine is seemingly a master of disguise and has multiple identities, Alexandra can't prove anything with conventional detective work. With no other option, she goes undercover, pursuing the same man as Catherine, and hoping that Catherine will slip up and reveal her true identity.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHell Hath No Fury (2021)
Branded a traitor by her countrymen, French national Marie DuJardin is rescued by American soldiers on one condition: to survive, she must lead them to a cache of gold - before the Nazis return to claim it for themselves.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both war
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Beast of War (1988)
During the war in Afghanistan a Soviet tank crew commanded by a tyrannical officer find themselves lost and in a struggle against a band of Mujahadeen guerrillas in the mountains.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both war
Worth the HypeMovies like thisOff the Grid (2025)
After a morally-bankrupt company tries to weaponize a brilliant scientist's revolutionary technology, he goes off the grid to safeguard humanity. When the company sends a strike force to find him, they make their biggest mistake of all – they weaponize the man they are trying to catch.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisWolf Hound (2022)
Inspired by the real-life German special operations unit KG 200 that shot down, repaired, and flew Allied aircraft as Trojan horses, "Wolf Hound" takes place in 1944 German-occupied France and follows the daring exploits of Jewish-American fighter pilot Captain David Holden. Ambushed behind enemy lines, Holden must rescue a captured B-17 Flying Fortress crew, evade a ruthless enemy stalking him at every turn, and foil a plot that could completely alter the outcome of World War II.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both war
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisLights Out (2024)
A drifting ex-soldier turns underground fighter with the help of a just-released ex-con, pitting him against corrupt cops and hired killers now gunning for him and all those he cares about.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Worth the HypeMovies like thisHarrison's Flowers (2000)
1991. Harrison Lloyd, a renowned photojournalist covering the war in Yugoslavia, is reported missing. Sarah, his wife, convinced that he is not dead, decides to go to Bosnia to find him.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both war
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSahara (1995)
After the fall of Tobruk in June 1942, U.S. Army sergeant Joe Gunn leads his tank into the Sahara desert, in order to evade advancing Rommel's forces and reach Allied lines. Along the way he picks up few Allied soldiers, but soon they are running out of water. They find water at the ancient well, but the well is a goal of an entire German battalion. Despite the impossible odds, Sergeant Gunn decides to defend the well.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both war
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHow I Unleashed World War II, Part III: Among Friends (1970)
Disguised as an Italian medic, Dolas finds himself on a ship evacuating wounded Axis soldiers to Italy. He leaves the ship disguised as a Nazi soldier, but is found out, declared a deserter and sent to the Eastern Front. However, on the flight to Russia, he is able to escape with a parachute, and finds himself back in Poland, now occupied by Nazis.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both war
Worth the HypeMovies like thisSection 8 (2022)
After avenging the murder of his family, a former soldier is sprung from prison and recruited by a shadowy government agency.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies 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 thisEradication (2022)
When an unknown disease wipes out most of the world’s population, a man with unique blood is isolated for study. Fearing for his wife’s safety, he breaks his quarantine – into a world overrun by monstrous Infected and a shadowy agency hunting them down.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisShepherd: The Story of a Jewish Dog (2020)
Follow the perilous journey to freedom when a young boy and his dog attempt to escape a concentration camp during World War II. Based on true events.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both war
Popcorn FlickMovies like this
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Polar Bear?
The closest matches to Polar Bear are 49th Parallel (1941), Bunker (2023) and Soldiers of the Damned (2015). Below are 17 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Polar Bear?
Start with 49th Parallel (1941), the closest match to Polar Bear.
What is the highest-rated movie like Polar Bear?
The Beast of War (1988), rated 7.1/10 by 231 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Polar Bear?
Off the Grid (2025) is the most recent release on this list.
How are movies similar to Polar Bear chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Polar Bear, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.