Movies like Footprints on Water (2023)
The best movies like Footprints on Water (2023) are Secret in Their Eyes (2015), The Tall Man (2012) and Bunny Lake Is Missing (1965). If Footprints on Water hooked you with its thriller, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedSearching (2018)7.6/10 from 4,439 votes
- NewestOn the Hunt (2026)Released 2026
Secret in Their Eyes (2015)
A tight-knit team of FBI investigators, along with their District Attorney supervisor, is suddenly torn apart when they discover that one of their own teenage daughters has been brutally murdered.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies 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 · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBunny Lake Is Missing (1965)
A woman reports that her young daughter is missing, but there seems to be no evidence that she ever existed.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Worth the HypeMovies like thisStolen Girl (2025)
In 1993, Maureen’s six-year-old daughter Amina is snuck out of the country by her ex-husband, Karim. After years of unsuccessful attempts to find her, Maureen intersects with a professional retriever of internationally abducted children who promises to help her find Amina in exchange for her collaboration.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisShe Rides Shotgun (2025)
Newly released from prison and marked for death by unrelenting enemies, Nate must now protect his estranged 11-year-old daughter, Polly, at all costs. With scant resources and no one to trust, Nate and Polly forge a bond under fire as he shows her how to fight and survive—and she teaches him the true meaning of unconditional love.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Worth the HypeMovies like thisEvery Secret Thing (2014)
One clear summer day in a Baltimore suburb, a baby goes missing from her front porch. Two young girls serve seven years for the crime and are released into a town that hasn't fully forgiven or forgotten. Soon, another child is missing, and two detectives are called in to investigate the mystery in a community where everyone seems to have a secret.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisOrphan: First Kill (2022)
After escaping from an Estonian psychiatric facility, Leena Klammer travels to America by impersonating Esther, the missing daughter of a wealthy family. But when her mask starts to slip, she is put against a mother who will protect her family from the murderous “child” at any cost.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like this6 Bullets (2012)
An ex-mercenary known for finding missing children is hired by a mixed martial arts fighter whose daughter has been kidnapped.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisStrange but True (2019)
A woman surprises the family of her deceased boyfriend by telling them she's pregnant with his child.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMagpie (2024)
A couple's lives are thrown into disarray when their daughter is cast opposite a controversial major star.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisYou're Not Alone (2020)
After the premature death of her estranged husband, Emma (Winter) regains custody of their young daughter Isla (Jones) and hopes to rebuild their relationship after many years apart. But when an evil entity begins to torment them, mother and daughter are forced to face the inexplicable presence that inhabits the walls of their new home.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
SnoozefestMovies like thisCucuy: The Boogeyman (2018)
When children start disappearing, a rebellious teen under house arrest starts to suspect that a legendary evil, a boogeyman known as the Cucuy, might be responsible.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSearching (2018)
After David Kim's 16-year-old daughter goes missing, a local investigation is opened and a detective is assigned to the case. But 37 hours later and without a single lead, David decides to search the one place no one has looked yet, where all secrets are kept today: his daughter's laptop.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Worth the HypeMovies like thisShades of Desire (2023)
After her twin sister Aubrey goes missing, Jennifer uncovers the scandalous, secret double-life that Aubrey leads - and that has put both of them in danger.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisRaging Grace (2023)
An undocumented Filipina immigrant lands a job as a careworker for a seemingly terminal old man, securing a better life for her and her daughter. But a dark discovery threatens to destroy everything she’s strived for and holds dear.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisWhite Bird in a Blizzard (2014)
In 1988, a teenage girl's life is thrown into chaos when her mother disappears.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDaddy's Little Girl (2014)
After the police find Derek’s daughter brutally murdered on the beach, he vows to make the culprit suffer for his actions, even if that person is ‘part of the family.’ With careful research into the history of torture, Derek prepares himself and his basement for a week of brutal tactics that will make his daughter’s killer feel the pain that he has inflicted upon so many others. In a time when stranger danger is ever present, a single father learns that it’s the ones you trust most who have to be watched the closest.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisA Bluebird in My Heart (2018)
An ex-con's attempts to live a quiet life are derailed when the daughter of the woman sheltering him is the victim of a vicious attack.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
SnoozefestMovies like thisLabor Day (2013)
Two strangers are drawn together under incredible circumstances. What starts as an unforeseen encounter over a long holiday weekend soon becomes a second chance love story.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Worth the HypeMovies like thisOne Battle After Another (2025)
Washed-up revolutionary Bob exists in a state of stoned paranoia, surviving off-grid with his spirited, self-reliant daughter, Willa. When his evil nemesis resurfaces after 16 years and she goes missing, the former radical scrambles to find her, father and daughter both battling the consequences of his past.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Worth the HypeMovies like thisSin Nombre (2009)
Sayra, an Indigenous Latina American teenage girl from Honduras, Central America, hungers for a better life. Her chance for one comes when she is reunited with her long-estranged father, who intends to emigrate to Mexico and then enter the United States. Sayra's life collides with a pair of Indigenous Latino American gang members from Mexico, North America who have boarded the same USA-bound train.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller
Worth the HypeMovies like thisNight Moves (1975)
Private detective and former football player Harry Moseby gets hired on to what seems a standard missing person case - a former Hollywood actress wants Moseby to find and return her daughter. Harry travels to Florida to find her, but he begins to see a connection between the runaway girl, the world of Hollywood stuntmen, and a suspicious mechanic when an unsolved murder comes to light.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisA Lady Without Passport (1950)
An undercover U.S. Immigration agent falls in love with an immigrant attempting to enter the United States through Havana, Cuba in an illegal smuggling ring.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller
Macabre (1958)
After his wife and her blind sister have died under his care, a doctor's young daughter is kidnapped and reported as buried alive, leaving him with mere hours to find and rescue her.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSiege (Asedio) (2023)
During an eviction procedure in a troubled area of Madrid, police officer Dani makes a shocking discovery.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller
SnoozefestMovies like thisA Mother's Sacrifice (2017)
A mother fear that her daughter has been abducted when a phone call is interrupted by something suspicious
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller
Insular (2024)
The only survivor of an illegal boat trip bound for Puerto Rico struggles to survive in a deserted isle. As time passes, the castaway comes to believe the island is testing him by granting him what he needs if he chooses to stay.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller
On the Hunt (2026)
A former military woman takes on a ruthless criminal underworld in a race against time to find her missing daughter.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller
Shaft 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 · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMaria Full of Grace (2004)
A pregnant Colombian teenager becomes a drug mule to make some desperately needed money for her family.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller
Worth the HypeMovies like this
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Footprints on Water?
The closest matches to Footprints on Water are Secret in Their Eyes (2015), The Tall Man (2012) and Bunny Lake Is Missing (1965). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Footprints on Water?
Start with Secret in Their Eyes (2015), the closest match to Footprints on Water.
What is the highest-rated movie like Footprints on Water?
Searching (2018), rated 7.6/10 by 4,439 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Footprints on Water?
On the Hunt (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like Footprints on Water?
Yes: Secret in Their Eyes (2015), The Tall Man (2012) and Bunny Lake Is Missing (1965).
How are movies similar to Footprints on Water chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Footprints on Water, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.