Movies like Open Water
If Open Water hooked you with its horror and thriller, these are the films to watch next. Every pick says why it matches.
Leviathan (1989)
Underwater deep-sea miners encounter a Soviet wreck and bring back a dangerous cargo to their base on the ocean floor with horrifying results. The crew of the mining base must fight to survive against a genetic mutation that hunts them down one by one.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both adventure & horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Descent: Part 2 (2009)
Distraught, confused, and half-wild with fear, Sarah Carter emerges alone from the Appalachian cave system where she encountered unspeakable terrors. Unable to plausibly explain to the authorities what happened - or why she's covered in her friends' blood - Sarah is forced back to the subterranean depths to help locate her five missing companions.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both adventure & horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisJaws (1975)
When the seaside community of Amity finds itself under attack by a dangerous great white shark, the town's chief of police, a young marine biologist, and a grizzled shark hunter embark on a desperate quest to kill the beast before it strikes again.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror & thriller
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Most Dangerous Game (1932)
When legendary hunter Bob Rainsford is shipwrecked on the perilous reefs surrounding a mysterious island, he finds himself the guest of the reclusive and eccentric Count Zaroff. While he is very gracious at first, Zaroff eventually forces Rainsford and two other shipwreck survivors, brother and sister Eve and Martin Towbridge, to participate in a sadistic game of cat and mouse in which they are the prey and he is the hunter.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller & adventure
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDead Sea (2024)
Stranded in the open sea after a fatal accident, a young woman and her two friends are rescued by a fishing vessel's captain, unaware that the ship harbors a chilling secret.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Abyss (1989)
A civilian oil rig crew is recruited to conduct a search and rescue effort when a nuclear submarine mysteriously sinks. One diver soon finds himself on a spectacular odyssey 25,000 feet below the ocean's surface where he confronts a mysterious force that has the power to change the world or destroy it.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both adventure & thriller
Worth the HypeMovies like thisBelow (2002)
In the dark silence of the sea during World War II, the submarine USS Tiger Shark prowls on what should be a routine rescue mission. But for the shell-shocked crew, trapped together in the sub's narrow corridors and constricted spaces, this is about to become a journey into the sensory delusions, mental deceptions and runaway fears that lurk just below the surface of the ocean.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller & horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThrash (2026)
When a catastrophic hurricane slams a coastal town, stranded residents must survive rapidly rising waters swarming with ravenous sharks.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller & horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisGold (2022)
In the not-too-distant future, two drifters traveling through the desert stumble across the biggest gold nugget ever found and the dream of immense wealth and greed takes hold. They hatch a plan to excavate their bounty, with one man leaving to secure the necessary tools while the other remains with the gold. The man who remains must endure harsh desert elements, ravenous wild dogs, and mysterious intruders, while battling the sinking suspicion that he has been abandoned to his fate.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both adventure & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Devil's Mouth (2026)
A group of college friends' Thailand adventure turns deadly when they become trapped in submerged caves with a dangerous predator. As oxygen runs low, past conflicts emerge in their desperate fight for survival.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisNo Way Up (2024)
Characters from different backgrounds are thrown together when the plane they're travelling on crashes into the Pacific Ocean. A nightmare fight for survival ensues with the air supply running out and dangers creeping in from all sides.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller & horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Deep (1977)
A pair of young vacationers are involved in a dangerous conflict with treasure hunters when they discover a way into a deadly wreck in Bermuda waters.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller & adventure
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisInto the Deep (2025)
Divers searching for sunken treasure witness the murder of drug dealers by modern-day pirates, but a killer great white is determined not to let any of them escape its waters.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror & thriller
SnoozefestMovies like thisLake Mungo (2009)
After 16-year-old Alice Palmer drowns at a local dam, her family experiences a series of strange, inexplicable events centered in and around their home. Unsettled, the Palmers seek the help of a psychic and parapsychologist, who discovers that Alice led a secret, double life. At Lake Mungo, Alice's secret past emerges.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like this47 Meters Down (2017)
Two sisters on Mexican vacation are trapped in a shark observation cage at the bottom of the ocean, with oxygen running low and great whites circling nearby, they have less than an hour of air left to figure out how to get to the surface.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror & thriller
SnoozefestMovies like thisThe Last Breath (2024)
A group of old college friends reunite on a Caribbean scuba diving trip exploring the wreckage of a WWII battleship and find themselves trapped inside the underwater labyrinth of rusted metal surrounded by great white sharks.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMonstrous (2022)
Laura, traumatized by an abusive relationship, runs away from her former husband with her seven-year-old son Cody. But in their new, idyllic and remote sanctuary, they find they have another, bigger and more terrifying monster to deal with…
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror & thriller
SnoozefestMovies like thisJaws 2 (1978)
Police chief Brody must protect the citizens of Amity after a second monstrous shark begins terrorizing the waters.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBlack Rainbow (1989)
Martha Travis is a medium who makes contact with spirits "on the other side" and connects them with their loved ones still alive, in public performances. Trouble begins when she gives a message to Mary Kuron from her husband, Tom. But Tom isn't dead... yet. And Martha not only knows he will die, she also knows who killed him. And the murderer knows she knows...
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller & horror
SnoozefestMovies like thisThe Descent (2005)
After a personal tragedy, Sarah joins her friends on a caving expedition in the Appalachian Mountains. But when a rockfall traps them deep underground, their adventure turns into a nightmare. As they search for a way out, the group discovers they are not alone—lurking in the darkness are savage, cave-dwelling creatures. With rising tension and dwindling trust, the women must fight to survive against both the predators and each other.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both adventure & horror
Worth the HypeMovies like thisGrizzly II: Revenge (2020)
All hell breaks loose when a giant grizzly, reacting to the slaughter of her cubs by poachers, attacks a massive rock concert in the National Park. [This sequel to "Grizzly" (1976) was left unfinished after production wrapped prematurely in 1983, and was not officially released until 2020, though a bootleg workprint version had been in circulation for some years prior to this.]
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror & thriller
SnoozefestMovies like thisBefore I Wake (2016)
An orphaned child's dreams—and nightmares—manifest physically as he sleeps.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisTerrified (1995)
Traumatized after witnessing her jealous husband kill her adulterous lover and then himself, an unbalanced, nymphomaniac young woman finds herself stalked by an unknown assailant, but she cannot make anyone believe her desperate situation.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller & horror
Cold Prey II (2008)
After surviving the events in the Jotunheimen mountains in which four of her friends were murdered, the badly injured Jannicke is brought to the local hospital. But when she wakes up, the building is dark and deserted... and she soon realizes that her nightmare isn’t over yet.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThey (2002)
A psychology student who experienced night terrors as a child must face the chilling realization that her nightmares were not all in her head.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror & thriller
SnoozefestMovies like thisMidsummer (2003)
It is the last day of school for Christian and his younger sister Sophie. They are heading to a party at his friend Trina. High school graduation is just around the corner and after the freedom and future. But behind the idyllic facade lurks tragedy and secrets. That evening Sophie commits suicide.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror & thriller
Walled In (2009)
Having finally secured her first assignment from her family's demolition business, Sam Walczak is sent to supervise the destruction of an apartment house, only to discover a group of tenants still living in the condemned building. One such tenant, Jimmy, tells Sam an urban legend about a serial murderer who used to live in the building and entomb his victims in the walls. What's worse, the dead are believed to still harass the residents to this day.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror & thriller
SnoozefestMovies like thisSolita (2022)
Alone at night, a woman lays in bed as she reveals a traumatizing nightmare to her beloved cat.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror & thriller
Dream House Nightmare (2017)
A young couple buy their dream home in New Orleans, only to be tormented by an obsessive mother who believes the house should be hers.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller & horror
Funeral Sunshine (2018)
Wake up on your commute through your dream as it consumes you again.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller & horror
Like Open Water and something else?
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Open Water?
The closest matches to Open Water are Leviathan, The Descent: Part 2, Jaws.
How are movies similar to Open Water chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Open Water, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.
Are there English movies like Open Water?
Yes: Leviathan, The Descent: Part 2, Jaws.