Movies like The Hitchhiker (2022)
The best movies like The Hitchhiker (2022) are Sympathy for the Devil (2023), The Hitcher (2007) and Frank and Penelope (2022). If The Hitchhiker hooked you with its thriller and crime, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedThe Big Lebowski (1998)7.9/10 from 12,827 votes
- NewestIn Cold Light (2026)Released 2026
Sympathy for the Devil (2023)
After being forced to drive a mysterious passenger at gunpoint, a man finds himself in a high-stakes game of cat and mouse where it becomes clear that not everything is as it seems.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror & thriller
SnoozefestMovies like thisThe Hitcher (2007)
While driving through the New Mexico Desert during a rainy night, college students Jim Halsey and his girlfriend Grace Andrews give a ride to a hitchhiker. While in their car, the stranger proves to be a psychopath threatening the young couple with a knife, but Jim successfully throws him out of the car. This sets off a chain of events that will change all of their lives forever.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & horror
SnoozefestMovies like thisFrank 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 & horror
Worth the HypeMovies like thisManiac (1963)
When a stranger enters a quiet, country town and is seduced by a sensuous married woman he unwittingly finds himself at the centre of a storm of sexual guilt and murder.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisKalifornia (1993)
A journalist duo go on a tour of serial killer murder sites with two companions, unaware that one of them is a serial killer himself.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisKiss Me Deadly (1955)
One evening, Hammer gives a ride to Christina, an attractive hitchhiker on a lonely country road, who has escaped from the nearby lunatic asylum. Thugs waylay them and force his car to crash. When Hammer returns to semi-consciousness, he hears Christina being tortured until she dies. Hammer, both for vengeance and in hopes that "something big" is behind it all, decides to pursue the case.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller & crime
Worth the HypeMovies like thisDust Devil (1992)
A woman on the run from her abusive husband encounters a mysterious hitch-hiker.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Hitcher (1986)
On a stormy night, young Jim, who transports a luxury car from Chicago to California to deliver it to its owner, feeling tired and sleepy, picks up a mysterious hitchhiker, who has appeared out of nowhere, thinking that a good conversation will help him not to fall asleep. He will have enough time to deeply regret such an unmeditated decision.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror & thriller
Worth the HypeMovies like thisNature of the Beast (1995)
Two men, both hiding a deadly secret, are on a murderous rampage through the desert.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & thriller
SnoozefestMovies like thisNo One Lives (2013)
A gang of ruthless highway killers kidnap a wealthy couple traveling cross country only to shockingly discover that things are not what they seem.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAlone (2020)
A recently widowed traveler is kidnapped by a cold blooded killer, only to escape into the wilderness where she is forced to battle against the elements as her pursuer closes in on her.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMen (2022)
In the aftermath of a personal tragedy, Harper retreats alone to the beautiful English countryside, hoping to find a place to heal. But someone — or something — from the surrounding woods appears to be stalking her, and what begins as simmering dread becomes a fully-formed nightmare, inhabited by her darkest memories and fears.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies 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 & crime
SnoozefestMovies like thisRoadgames (1981)
A truck driver plays a cat-and-mouse game with a mysterious serial killer in a van who lures young female hitchhiker victims on a desolate Australian highway.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller & horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisNight Watch (1973)
A woman recovering from a nervous breakdown tries to convince her husband and and the local London police that she has witnessed a murder in the abandoned house next door.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller & horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisVacancy (2007)
A young married couple becomes stranded at an isolated motel and find hidden video cameras in their room. They realize that unless they escape, they'll be the next victims of a snuff film.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHunted (2021)
A woman flees two serial killers who are hot on her heels in a forest.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisGrindhouse (2007)
Grindhouse combines Robert Rodriguez's Planet Terror, a horror comedy about a group of survivors who battle zombie-like creatures, and Quentin Tarantino's Death Proof, an action thriller about a murderous stuntman who kills young women with modified vehicles. It is presented as a double feature with fictitious exploitation trailers preceding each segment.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller & horror
Worth the HypeMovies like thisAwake (2007)
While undergoing heart surgery, a man experiences a phenomenon called ‘anesthetic awareness’, which leaves him awake but paralyzed throughout the operation. As various obstacles present themselves, his wife must make life-altering decisions while wrestling with her own personal drama.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller & crime
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 & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSand Castles (2016)
In rural Indiana, Noah and his impoverished family wrestle with the mysterious return of his now mute sister, Lauren, who was kidnapped and held captive for over a decade.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller & crime
The Brandon Corey Story (2006)
A faux-documentary directed by Brian Kraft, detailing the disappearance of an anti-war activist during his investigations into Dick Cheney.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror & thriller
Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill! (1965)
A trio of thrill-seeking go-go dancers kidnap a young girl and attempt to seduce an old rancher and his two sons out of their small fortune, but their scheme doesn't play out as intended.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both crime & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisFargo (1996)
Jerry Lundegaard is a small-town Minnesota car salesman deeply in debt and willing to do almost anything to get out. Police chief Marge Gunderson discovers a string of violent crimes as Jerry's schemes spiral out of control.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both crime & thriller
Worth the HypeMovies like thisKilling Zoe (1993)
Zed is an American vault-cracker who travels to Paris to meet up with his old friend Eric. Eric and his gang have planned to raid the only bank in the city which is open on Bastille day. After offering his services, Zed soon finds himself trapped in a situation beyond his control when heroin abuse, poor planning and a call-girl named Zoe all conspire to turn the robbery into a very bloody siege.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both crime & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisConspiracy Theory (2016)
A television crew heads to Nevada to search for alien life.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror & thriller
The Big Lebowski (1998)
Jeffrey 'The Dude' Lebowski, a Los Angeles slacker who only wants to bowl and drink White Russians, is mistaken for another Jeffrey Lebowski, a wheelchair-bound millionaire, and finds himself dragged into a strange series of events involving nihilists, adult film producers, ferrets, errant toes, and large sums of money.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both crime
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisTaken Too Far (2017)
A jealous dance mom takes extreme measures to ensure her daughter wins a scholarship to an exclusive dance academy. But the victim's mother will do whatever necessary to protect her own daughter from the rival mom's evil scheme.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller
Love Shark (2023)
Love Shark is a wildly unhinged parody of Japanese paranormal TV and YouTube popularity culture. Natsume and Momoka run the failing psychic investigations channel Big Summer until a clickbait dating show they put on leads Momoka to find true love- with a contestant who is also a man-shark. Cue assassins, magic priests, decapitations, and chaos galore in this hysterical rom-com monster movie.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror
Live Escape (2022)
Two cops investigate an eerie empty homeless shelter with an endless maze of spaces and are attacked by zombies. They discover how these zombies were created. What will happen if zombies escape into the city?
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like The Hitchhiker?
The closest matches to The Hitchhiker are Sympathy for the Devil (2023), The Hitcher (2007) and Frank and Penelope (2022). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after The Hitchhiker?
Start with Sympathy for the Devil (2023), the closest match to The Hitchhiker.
What is the highest-rated movie like The Hitchhiker?
The Big Lebowski (1998), rated 7.9/10 by 12,827 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like The Hitchhiker?
In Cold Light (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like The Hitchhiker?
Yes: Sympathy for the Devil (2023), The Hitcher (2007) and Frank and Penelope (2022).
How are movies similar to The Hitchhiker chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside The Hitchhiker, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.