Movies like Aya (2018)
The best movies like Aya (2018) are Darc (2018), Priceless (2016) and The Marine 6: Close Quarters (2018). If Aya hooked you, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedProtector (2026)8.4/10 from 648 votes
- NewestProtector (2026)Released 2026
Darc (2018)
To bring down a global human trafficking ring, an Interpol agent recruits the help of a brutal criminal with inside knowledge of the yakuza.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisPriceless (2016)
James, down on his luck and desperate for some quick cash, agrees to drive a small truck across country. He soon realizes that he's made a huge mistake and has inadvertently become involved in a dangerous human trafficking ring. The unlikely hero risks it all to shut down the trafficking ring and save the woman he is falling in love with.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Marine 6: Close Quarters (2018)
Jake Carter and another former Marine, Luke Trapper, join forces to rescue a young kidnapped girl from a gang of international criminals.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
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
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Shipment (2021)
A former U.S. Navy Seal is forced to become the international criminal he once fought against when a powerful and violent drug cartel kidnaps his wife and daughter.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Yakuza (1974)
When George Tanner does business with high-ranking Yakuza Tono, Tono kidnaps his daughter, and George summons his old friend, private eye Harry Kilmer, to Japan to investigate.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisHands of Stone (2016)
The legendary Roberto Duran and his equally legendary trainer Ray Arcel change each other's lives.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisEden (2013)
After a night out with friends, Hyun Jae accepts a late night ride home from a young fire fighter. What begins as a night of promise quickly turns into a nightmare when she is abducted and imprisoned outside Las Vegas as a sex slave.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Protector (1985)
Billy Wong is a New York City cop whose partner is gunned down during a robbery. Billy and his new partner, Danny Garoni, are working security at a fashion show when a wealthy man's daughter, Laura Shapiro, is kidnapped. The Federal authorities suspect that Laura's father is involved with Mr. Ko, a Hong Kong drug kingpin, so the NYC police commissioner sends the two cops to Hong Kong to investigate.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
SnoozefestMovies like thisSomeone's Watching Me! (1978)
A young woman moves to a high-rise apartment building and soon begins to be tormented by an unknown stalker who seems to know her every move.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisGod Grew Tired of Us (2006)
Filmmaker Christopher Quinn observes the ordeal of three Sudanese refugees -- Jon Bul Dau, Daniel Abul Pach and Panther Bior -- as they try to come to terms with the horrors they experienced in their homeland, while adjusting to their new lives in the United States.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisProtector (2026)
Nikki's life is shattered when her daughter is kidnapped. Thrust into the criminal underworld while hunted by cops and military, she must fight to rescue her child.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Absolute CinemaMovies 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
Worth the HypeMovies like thisSkin Trade (2014)
After his family is killed by a Serbian gangster with international interests. NYC detective Nick goes to S.E. Asia and teams up with a Thai detective to get revenge and destroy the syndicates human trafficking network.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
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
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisEncounter (2021)
A decorated Marine goes on a rescue mission to save his two young sons from an unhuman threat. As their journey takes them in increasingly dangerous directions, the boys will need to leave their childhoods behind.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisA Time to Love and a Time to Die (1958)
A German soldier home on leave falls in love with a girl, then returns to World War II.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Tall Man (2012)
When her child goes missing, a mother looks to unravel the legend of the Tall Man, an entity who allegedly abducts children.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Devil's Double (2011)
A chilling vision of the House of Saddam Hussein comes to life through the eyes of the man who was forced to become the double of Hussein's sadistic son.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Bride Came C.O.D. (1941)
A financially-strapped charter pilot hires himself to an oil tycoon to kidnap his madcap daughter and prevent her from marrying a vapid band leader.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisFrozen River (2008)
A financially strapped mother joins a Mohawk woman to smuggle illegal immigrants into the United States.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDolan's Cadillac (2009)
Robinson, a once peaceful, law-abiding school teacher, has turned into an obsessed vengeance machine, intent on killing the man who murdered his wife - ruthless Las Vegas mob boss James Dolan. But to do so, Robinson must infiltrate the dangerous underworld, and devise a diabolical plan that will bury Dolan once and for all.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
SnoozefestMovies like thisThe Transporter (2002)
Former Special Forces officer Frank Martin will deliver anything to anyone for the right price, and his no-questions-asked policy puts him in high demand. But when he realizes his latest cargo is alive, it sets in motion a dangerous chain of events. The bound and gagged Lai is being smuggled to France by a shady American businessman, and Frank works to save her as his own illegal activities are uncovered by a French detective.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisTrade (2007)
A Texas cop, whose own daughter might have been forced into sexual slavery, joins forces with a Mexican youth to find the boy's sister, who was abducted and forced into prostitution. Meanwhile, a Polish woman who was promised a better life in America also becomes a victim.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Hospital (2022)
As people go missing in Detroit, signs point to mad doctors using a vacant school for human trafficking and black market distribution of bloody organs.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
It's Happening Right Here (2022)
This documentary unveils the truth that sex trafficking can happen in every community in the U.S.. Awareness about online grooming, sextortion, and trafficking, along with preventative tools, are examined through interviews with law enforcement, technology experts, and survivors. Despite the darkness of this crime, hope can be found in the organizations fighting to end trafficking and those sharing their experiences to protect others.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
Hyena (2015)
Good policing doesn't necessarily mean doing everything by the book. But as the business of crime in London turns to favour the Albanians and Turks, how does a "good" policeman survive?
Why it matches: Similar story and style
SnoozefestMovies like thisShaft in Africa (1973)
Detective John Shaft travels incognito to Ethiopia, then France, to bust a human trafficking ring.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAngels' Salvation (2020)
The film tells the story of young girls being lured abroad through social media, where their organs are removed, sold, and subjected to sexual exploitation.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
Hostel (2006)
Three backpackers head to a Slovakian city that promises to meet their hedonistic expectations, with no idea of the hell that awaits them.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
Popcorn FlickMovies like this
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Aya?
The closest matches to Aya are Darc (2018), Priceless (2016) and The Marine 6: Close Quarters (2018). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Aya?
Start with Darc (2018), the closest match to Aya.
What is the highest-rated movie like Aya?
Protector (2026), rated 8.4/10 by 648 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Aya?
Protector (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like Aya?
Yes: Darc (2018), Priceless (2016) and The Marine 6: Close Quarters (2018).
How are movies similar to Aya chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Aya, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.