Movies like The Kidnapping of Baby John Doe (1987)
The best movies like The Kidnapping of Baby John Doe (1987) are The Memory Keeper's Daughter (2008), Stolen Baby: The Murder of Heidi Broussard (2023) and Girl in the Box (2016). If The Kidnapping of Baby John Doe hooked you with its drama and tv movie, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedSound of Freedom (2023)7.9/10 from 2,898 votes
- NewestPulanglah... Aku Tak Bisa Sendiri (2026)Released 2026
The Memory Keeper's Daughter (2008)
During a blizzard in 1964, Dr. David Henry delivers his son Paul with the help of nurse Caroline. But when Henry realizes his wife is also carrying a girl with Down syndrome, he hands the second child over to Caroline without his wife's knowledge. Henry's fateful decision yields grave consequences for his family over the next 20 years.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisStolen Baby: The Murder of Heidi Broussard (2023)
Based on a true story of best friends Magen and Heidi who have known each other for a decade. Pretending to be pregnant at the same time as her friend, Magen makes the journey from Houston to Austin to be by Heidi’s side once she learns she is ready to give birth. However, when Heidi goes missing with her newborn daughter just a few weeks after giving birth, suspicions about Magen’s loyalty and her true intentions are questioned. Authorities begin to suspect that she is hiding a huge secret as they begin to uncover her twisted and elaborate plan.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Absolute CinemaMovies 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 thisI Am Elizabeth Smart (2017)
The story of Elizabeth Smart's kidnapping and captivity, as told from her perspective.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisTaken Back: Finding Haley (2012)
Unable to get over the abduction of her daughter, a mother is convinced she has finally found her, but is she simply a mother obsessed?
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies 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 thisAnne of Green Gables (2016)
Anne Shirley, an orphan, is fostered by farmer Matthew Cuthbert and his sister Marilla, who were expecting a boy to be sent them to help with their farm work. They accept Anne, who quickly endears herself to them and to the local villagers.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisCleveland Abduction (2015)
A single mother becomes Ariel Castro's first kidnapping victim, and finds herself trapped in his home with two other women for 11 years.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisNormal (2003)
A Midwestern husband and father announces his plan to have a sex change operation.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Murder at Road Hill House (2011)
In 1860, Inspector Jack Whicher of Scotland Yard is sent to rural Wiltshire to investigate the murder of the three-year-old boy Saville Kent, who was snatched from his bed at night and murdered.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks (2017)
An African-American woman becomes an unwitting pioneer for medical breakthroughs when her cells are used to create the first immortal human cell line in the early 1950s.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Girl Who Escaped: The Kara Robinson Story (2023)
Based on a true story. 15-year-old Kara Robinson was kidnapped, assaulted and held captive for 18 hours. With her survival instincts kicking in, she plots a daring escape from the serial killer and leads police to his apartment.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisSamantha: An American Girl Holiday (2004)
Kindhearted Samantha Parkington's world starts to change the day Nellie O'Malley walks into her life. Nellie, her father, and her two little sisters have moved in next door to be servants for the Ryland family. Though they come from completely different backgrounds, Samantha and Nellie become fast friends. The girls turn to each other in happiness and sorrow, adventure and danger.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
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 drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe 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
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Disappearance of Alice Creed (2009)
A rich man's daughter is held captive in an abandoned apartment by two former convicts who abducted her and hold her ransom in exchange for her father's money.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAbducted by My Teacher: The Elizabeth Thomas Story (2023)
The story of Elizabeth Thomas, a 15-year-old high school student who was groomed and abducted by teacher Tad Cummins.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAmber Alert (2024)
A ride-share turns into a high-stakes game of cat and mouse after it follows a car fitting the description of an AMBER Alert.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisHours (2013)
A father struggles to keep his infant daughter alive in the wake of Hurricane Katrina.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSound of Freedom (2023)
The story of Tim Ballard, a former US government agent, who quits his job in order to devote his life to rescuing children from global sex traffickers.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisSolomon Northup's Odyssey (1991)
A free Black man from New York is tricked, kidnapped, and sold into slavery in the South, where he endures twelve years of brutal servitude before finding a way to contact his family and secure his freedom.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Baby Bootcamp (2014)
Fitness instructor Julia is down on her luck, trying to make her baby boot camp a thriving business. To make ends meet, she becomes a part-time nanny for a single widowed father. Trouble is, she knows nothing about taking care of children.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Life As We Know It (2010)
After a disastrous first date for caterer Holly and network sports director Messer, all they have in common is a dislike for each other and their love for their goddaughter Sophie. But when they suddenly become all Sophie has in this world, Holly and Messer must set their differences aside. Juggling careers and social calendars, they'll have to find common ground while living under the same roof.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisTokyo Godfathers (2003)
On Christmas Eve, three homeless people living on the streets of Tokyo discover a newborn baby among the trash and set out to find its parents.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisHundred Dogs (2012)
Adam creates Eve and puts her on his throne. A Child is about to be born.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Pulanglah... Aku Tak Bisa Sendiri (2026)
Two psychotic sisters kidnap a little girl named Chacha and imprison her inside their house. Unexpectedly, they leave for a two-week vacation, abandoning her alone and locked inside. Instead of feeling relieved, her nightmare has only just begun. Trapped without food or water, Chacha must fight to survive. Will she make it out alive before it’s too late?
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Beauty, Brains, and Personality (2021)
A girls'-night-in dinner party among three friends turns into a disaster when one of them makes a hurtful remark.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Joshua (2007)
The arrival of a newborn girl causes the gradual disintegration of the Cairn family; particularly for 9-year-old Joshua, an eccentric boy whose proper upbringing and refined tastes both take a sinister turn.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisVoll korrekte Jungs (2002)
3 boys and a baby. X-mas is coming and there is a present for 17 years old Frank: his baby daughter. Frank's Mother has gone on a vacation, his father has left the family years ago. Frank will not do the same. He will not desert his child. So - who's going to help? His best friends - Wolle the nice weirdo and Burhan the young turkish macho - decide: if women can raise children real guys like they are can do it too. And the trouble starts....
Why it matches: Similar story and style
Last Hit (2026)
A pair of criminals seeking a fresh start are intervened by their boss, who takes one of them hostage to force a final job. Vincent and Maya decide to escape their gang and settle for a peaceful life, but they are trapped into one last hit with hidden agendas, betrayals, and unexpected alliances. Last Hit is a high-stakes, action-packed thriller about redemption, betrayal, and the ultimate cost of freedom. Vincent and Maya decide to escape from their life of crime when their boss, Dante starts blurring the lines between heists and hits. During their last job they realize they've walked into a setup orchestrated by Dante himself. This trap pushed Vincent and Maya to the firm decision to walk away from the gang.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Like The Kidnapping of Baby John Doe and something else?
Blend two favourites and we’ll find the films in between.
Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like The Kidnapping of Baby John Doe?
The closest matches to The Kidnapping of Baby John Doe are The Memory Keeper's Daughter (2008), Stolen Baby: The Murder of Heidi Broussard (2023) and Girl in the Box (2016). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after The Kidnapping of Baby John Doe?
Start with The Memory Keeper's Daughter (2008), the closest match to The Kidnapping of Baby John Doe.
What is the highest-rated movie like The Kidnapping of Baby John Doe?
Sound of Freedom (2023), rated 7.9/10 by 2,898 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like The Kidnapping of Baby John Doe?
Pulanglah... Aku Tak Bisa Sendiri (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like The Kidnapping of Baby John Doe?
Yes: The Memory Keeper's Daughter (2008), Stolen Baby: The Murder of Heidi Broussard (2023) and Girl in the Box (2016).
How are movies similar to The Kidnapping of Baby John Doe chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside The Kidnapping of Baby John Doe, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.