Movies like Ellie (2016)
The best movies like Ellie (2016) are Saw (2003), Captive (2020) and Tau (2018). If Ellie hooked you with its thriller, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedReservoir Dogs (1992)8.1/10 from 16,026 votes
- NewestOrdeal of Evil (2026)Released 2026
Saw (2003)
David, an orderly at a hospital, tells his horrific story of being kidnapped and forced to play a vile game of survival.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Worth the HypeMovies like thisCaptive (2020)
A teenage runaway who’s trapped by a delusional man, pretends to be his daughter in order to escape.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisTau (2018)
Held captive in a futuristic smart house, a woman hopes to escape by befriending the A.I. program that controls the house.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Escapist (2008)
Frank Perry is an institutionalized convict twelve years into a life sentence without parole. When his estranged daughter falls ill, he is determined to make peace with her before it's too late. He develops an ingenious escape plan, and recruits a dysfunctional band of escapists - misfits with a mutual dislike for one other but united by their desire to escape their hell hole of an existence.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisLocked (2025)
When Eddie breaks into a luxury SUV, he steps into a deadly trap set by William, a self-proclaimed vigilante delivering his own brand of twisted justice. With no means of escape, Eddie must fight to survive in a ride where escape is an illusion, survival is a nightmare, and justice shifts into high gear.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
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 thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisRoom (2015)
Held captive for 7 years in an enclosed space, a woman and her young son finally gain their freedom, allowing the boy to experience the outside world for the first time.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisThe Experiment (2010)
20 men are chosen to participate in the roles of guards and prisoners in a psychological study that ultimately spirals out of control.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisTrapped (2002)
Held hostage in different cities after their daughter is kidnapped by a master extortionist, a desperate couple must find a way to outsmart a seemingly foolproof plot.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMad City (1997)
A misguided museum guard who loses his job and then tries to get it back at gunpoint is thrown into the fierce world of ratings-driven TV gone mad.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDead of Winter (1987)
A fledgling actress is lured to a remote mansion for a screen-test, soon discovering she is actually a prisoner in the middle of a blackmail plot.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBreaking In (2018)
Shaun Russell takes her son and daughter on a weekend getaway to her late father's secluded, high-tech vacation home in the countryside. The family soon gets an unwelcome surprise when four men break into the house to find hidden money. After managing to escape, Shaun must now figure out a way to turn the tables on the desperate thieves and save her captive children.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCurve (2016)
Clinging to a smooth, curved surface high above a sentient abyss, a woman tries to cover the few feet back to safety without losing purchase and falling to her death.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Desperate Hours (1955)
Escaped convicts terrorize a suburban family they're holding hostage.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Worth the HypeMovies like thisMona Lisa and the Blood Moon (2022)
A young woman with psychokinetic powers breaks out of a Louisiana asylum and makes her way to New Orleans, where she falls into the city’s netherworld of misfits and miscreants.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Dark Past (1948)
A gang hold a family hostage in their own home. The leader of the escaped cons is bothered by a recurring dream that the doctor of the house may be able to analyze.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisTake Cover (2024)
A burned-out professional sniper finds himself trapped in an all-glass penthouse by a lethal competitor and must find a way to survive and escape with little to no cover between him and the killer.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDark Passage (1947)
A man convicted of murdering his wife escapes from prison and works with a woman to try and prove his innocence.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Worth the HypeMovies like thisPoint Blank (2019)
A nurse is forced to spring a wounded murder suspect from the hospital when the man’s brother kidnaps his pregnant wife and wants to make a trade.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisFight for Your Life (1977)
A minister dispenses justice on three convicts who take his family hostage.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
SnoozefestMovies like thisReservoir Dogs (1992)
A botched robbery indicates a police informant, and the pressure mounts in the aftermath at a warehouse. Crime begets violence as the survivors -- veteran Mr. White, newcomer Mr. Orange, psychopathic parolee Mr. Blonde, bickering weasel Mr. Pink and Nice Guy Eddie -- unravel.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisCuriosity (2009)
On a quiet night, a young couple find themselves caught up in a nightmarish ordeal after they witness a murderer disposing of a body in this claustrophobic thriller.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller
CLEAN (TBA)
"Have you ever answered the wrong call—only to change a life? When a middle-aged sanitation worker picks up a ringing helpline phone, she becomes an unexpected lifeline to a young woman in despair, revealing the quiet power of empathy from society’s most overlooked."
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller
Ordeal of Evil (2026)
In a university controlled by a totalitarian regime, Lucas gradually becomes aware of the oppressive world around him. Guided by Elena, he discovers an underground network that is trying to save books by digitizing and distributing them.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller
The Island (2005)
In 2019, Lincoln Six-Echo is a resident of a seemingly "Utopian" but contained facility. Like all of the inhabitants of this carefully-controlled environment, Lincoln hopes to be chosen to go to The Island — reportedly the last uncontaminated location on the planet. But Lincoln soon discovers that everything about his existence is a lie.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisChronicles of the Beyond (2009)
Watch as everyday people go from their safe, simple lives into a realm of the supernatural.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller
Unsettled (2024)
A young man is drugged and abducted from a gay club, escapes and seeks to bring his tormentors to justice in a deeply conservative Bible Belt Oklahoma.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller
MRITYORMUKSHI (2025)
Single father Raghu is pulled into a deadly conspiracy when his child is taken hostage, forcing him into a violent game of crime and fate.Hunted by a mysterious masked figure, he must confront the consequences of his past choices. Mrityormukshi is a gripping thriller about guilt,morality, and the price of one’s actions. “Mrityormukshi” is a a gripping thriller that explores guilt,morality, and the inescapable grasp of destiny.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller
Boiling Point (2019)
During the busy run-up to Christmas, a single-take snapshot of the immense stress and skills of a talented head chef reveals that things are about to burst behind the restaurant's flash façade.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller
Wedlock (1991)
A male prison escapee heads for his hidden loot, electronically attached to a female prisoner.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller
SnoozefestMovies like this
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Ellie?
The closest matches to Ellie are Saw (2003), Captive (2020) and Tau (2018). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Ellie?
Start with Saw (2003), the closest match to Ellie.
What is the highest-rated movie like Ellie?
Reservoir Dogs (1992), rated 8.1/10 by 16,026 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Ellie?
Ordeal of Evil (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like Ellie?
Yes: Saw (2003), Captive (2020) and Tau (2018).
How are movies similar to Ellie chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Ellie, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.