Movies like Acts of Desperation (2018)
The best movies like Acts of Desperation (2018) are Frank and Penelope (2022), Hider in the House (1989) and Chief of Station (2024). If Acts of Desperation hooked you with its thriller, these 20 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedThe Experiment (2010)6.4/10 from 1,385 votes
- Newest180 (2026)Released 2026
Frank and Penelope (2022)
A tale of love and violence when a man on his emotional last legs finds a savior seductively dancing in a run-down strip club. And a life most certainly headed off a cliff suddenly becomes redirected - as everything is now worth dying for.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Worth the HypeMovies like thisHider in the House (1989)
A deranged man hides in the attic of a new house and becomes obsessed with the unsuspecting family that moves in.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisChief of Station (2024)
After learning that the death of his wife was not an accident, a former CIA Station Chief is forced back into the espionage underworld, teaming up with an adversary to unravel a conspiracy that challenges everything he thought he knew.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisRogue Agent (2022)
Conman Robert Freegard poses as an undercover MI5 agent and kidnaps countless victims amidst a high-stakes manhunt, until the woman who fell for him brings him to justice.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisWardriver (2026)
He’s a Wardriver: a hacker who steals from banks, not people—until he’s noticed. Now the money turns violent, and the woman caught in it could save him or kill them both.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Worth the HypeMovies like thisBlack Site (2022)
A group of officers based in a labyrinthine top-secret prison must fight for their lives against Hatchet, a brilliant and infamous high-value detainee. When he escapes, his mysterious and deadly agenda has far reaching and dire consequences.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCity of Ghosts (2002)
A con man who is on the run from law enforcement in the U.S. travels to Cambodia to collect his share in an insurance scam but discovers more than he bargained for.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
SnoozefestMovies like thisIn Cold Light (2026)
Fresh out of prison, Ava's attempt to reclaim her drug operation collapses when she witnesses a brutal crime, forcing her to flee into a nightmarish underworld where allies are scarce and enemies multiply by the minute.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
SnoozefestMovies like thisTyler Perry's Duplicity (2025)
High-powered attorney Marley faces her most personal case yet when she is tasked with uncovering the truth behind the murder of her best friend Fela’s husband. With the help of her boyfriend – a former cop turned private investigator – Marley’s search for what really happened leads her down a treacherous maze of deception and betrayal.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisUntil Death (2007)
Anthony Stowe is a dirty cop who is hooked on heroin—and everyone hates him. After a serious accident, he is placed into an induced coma, but emerges from it a better person who wants to put things right.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
SnoozefestMovies like thisMisdirection (2026)
A desperate couple have pulled off a string of high-end break-ins to pay off a mob debt. When they attempt to rob their latest victim, they find themselves caught in a deadly game of cat and mouse. The tables are turned and the hunters become the hunted.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCrush the Skull (2015)
A couple of master thieves find themselves trapped within a house they intended to rob, only to discover they've inadvertently wandered into the lair of a deranged serial killer.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisOut of Exile (2023)
Recently paroled thief Gabriel Russell tries to balance his life and mend a troubled family as an FBI agent hunts him down, along with his crew after a botched armored car robbery.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Quiller Memorandum (1966)
After two British Secret Intelligence Service agents are murdered at the hands of a cryptic neo-Nazi group known as Phoenix, the suave agent Quiller is sent to Berlin to investigate.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
SnoozefestMovies 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 this180 (2026)
When an unexpected road rage incident puts his son in critical condition, an enraged father spirals down a dark path of emotional turmoil and vengeance.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
SnoozefestMovies like thisCanary Black (2024)
Top level CIA agent Avery Graves is blackmailed by terrorists into betraying her own country to save her kidnapped husband. Cut off from her team, she turns to her underworld contacts to survive and help locate the coveted intelligence that the kidnappers want.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisRun (1991)
When a law student accidentally kills the son of a mob boss in a fight, he finds himself relentlessly pursued by the mob and the police.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Devil You Know (2022)
Once-incarcerated Marcus Cowans is trying to turn over a new leaf with the support of his loving family. Upon discovering that one of his brothers may have been involved in a horrific crime, Marcus grapples with the limits of brotherhood and loyalty. He and his family, increasingly weary of the justice system’s failings, end up in the crosshairs of a seasoned but jaded detective.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisStretch (2014)
A hard-luck limo driver struggling to go straight and pay off a debt to his bookie takes on a job with a crazed passenger whose sought-after ledger implicates some seriously dangerous criminals.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like this
Like Acts of Desperation and something else?
Blend two favourites and we’ll find the films in between.
Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Acts of Desperation?
The closest matches to Acts of Desperation are Frank and Penelope (2022), Hider in the House (1989) and Chief of Station (2024). Below are 17 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Acts of Desperation?
Start with Frank and Penelope (2022), the closest match to Acts of Desperation.
What is the highest-rated movie like Acts of Desperation?
The Experiment (2010), rated 6.4/10 by 1,385 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Acts of Desperation?
180 (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like Acts of Desperation?
Yes: Frank and Penelope (2022), Hider in the House (1989) and Chief of Station (2024).
How are movies similar to Acts of Desperation chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Acts of Desperation, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.