Movies like The Hitcher (1986)
The best movies like The Hitcher (1986) are Unhinged (2020), Sympathy for the Devil (2023) and Grindhouse (2007). If The Hitcher hooked you with its horror and action, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedDiabolique (1955)7.9/10 from 1,156 votes
- NewestThieves Highway (2025)Released 2025
Unhinged (2020)
Rachel is a divorced single mother whose bad day gets even worse. She's running late to drop her son off at school when she honks her horn impatiently at a fellow driver during rush-hour traffic. After an exchange of words, she soon realizes that the mysterious man is following her and her young son in his truck. A case of road rage quickly escalates, at horrifyingly psychotic proportions, into full-blown terror as Rachel discovers the psychopath's sinister plan for revenge. He is single-mindedly determined to teach her a deadly lesson.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSympathy 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 action & horror
SnoozefestMovies 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 & action
Worth the HypeMovies 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 action & horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Forever Purge (2021)
All the rules are broken as a sect of lawless marauders decides that the annual Purge does not stop at daybreak and instead should never end as they chase a group of immigrants who they want to punish because of their harsh historical past.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & horror
Popcorn FlickMovies 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 horror & 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 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 thisWhite of the Eye (1987)
In a wealthy and isolated desert community, a sound expert is targeted as the prime suspect of a series of brutal murders of local suburban housewives who were attacked and mutilated in their homes. As he desperately tries to prove his innocence, his wife starts to uncover startling truths...
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror & thriller
SnoozefestMovies like thisSisters (1973)
Inquisitive journalist Grace Collier is horrified when she witnesses her neighbor, fashion model Danielle Breton, violently murder a man. Panicking, she calls the police. But when the detective arrives at the scene and finds nothing amiss, Grace is forced to take matters into her own hands. Her first move is to recruit private investigator Joseph Larch, who helps her to uncover a secret about Danielle's past that has them both seeing double.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller & horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMute Witness (1995)
When a mute makeup/special effects artist working on a low-budget slasher film gets locked in a dilapidated Moscow movie studio late one night, she thinks she witnesses the making of a snuff film. Thus begins a night of terror.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller & horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Cell (2000)
A psychotherapist journeys inside the mind of a comatose serial killer in the hopes of saving his latest victim.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Prowler (1981)
Thirty years after a murder on the night of Avalon Bay's graduation dance, the sleepy town's teens meet grisly ends at the hands of a prowler once thought to be a jilted soldier home from war.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror & thriller
SnoozefestMovies like thisNight of the Hunted (2023)
When an unsuspecting woman stops at a remote gas station in the dead of night, she's made the plaything of a sociopath sniper with a secret vendetta. To survive, she must not only dodge his bullets and fight for her life, but also figure out who wants her dead and why.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisGunslingers (2025)
When the most wanted man in America surfaces in a small Kentucky town, his violent history -- and a blood-thirsty mob seeking vengeance and a king’s ransom -- soon follow. As brothers face off against one another and bullets tear the town to shreds, this lightning-fast gunslinger makes his enemies pay the ultimate price for their greed.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThieves Highway (2025)
After discovering a plot to haul stolen cattle in the middle of nowhere, a desperate and isolated lawman becomes the only thing standing between a group of dangerous rustlers and a clear run to the border.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller & action
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Last Stand (2013)
Ray Owens is sheriff of the quiet US border town of Sommerton Junction after leaving the LAPD following a bungled operation. Following his escape from the FBI, a notorious drug baron, his gang, and a hostage are heading toward Sommerton Junction where the police are preparing to make a last stand to intercept them before they cross the border. Owens is reluctant to become involved but ultimately joins in with the law enforcement efforts.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & thriller
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 action & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Purge: Anarchy (2014)
One night per year, the government sanctions a 12-hour period in which citizens can commit any crime they wish -- including murder -- without fear of punishment or imprisonment. Leo, a sergeant who lost his son, plans a vigilante mission of revenge during the mayhem. However, instead of a death-dealing avenger, he becomes the unexpected protector of four innocent strangers who desperately need his help if they are to survive the night.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisPsycho II (1983)
Norman Bates is declared sane and released from the facility in which he was being held, despite the complaints of Lila Loomis, sister of his most famous victim. Is he really cured, or will he kill again?
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBlack Mountain Side (2016)
A group of archaeologists working in Northern Canada uncover a strange structure dating over ten thousand years before the present. The team soon finds themselves isolated when their communication systems fail and they begin to feel the effects of solitude.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller & horror
SnoozefestMovies like thisBullitt (1968)
Senator Walter Chalmers is aiming to take down mob boss Pete Ross with the help of testimony from the criminal's hothead brother Johnny, who is in protective custody in San Francisco under the watch of police lieutenant Frank Bullitt. When a pair of mob hitmen enter the scene, Bullitt follows their trail through a maze of complications and double-crosses. This thriller includes one of the most famous car chases ever filmed.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both action & thriller
Worth the HypeMovies like thisDawn of the Dead (2004)
A group of survivors take refuge in a shopping mall after the world is taken over by aggressive, flesh-eating zombies.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror & action
Worth the HypeMovies like thisDuel (1971)
Traveling businessman David Mann angers the driver of a rusty tanker while crossing the California desert. A simple trip turns deadly, as Mann struggles to stay on the road while the tanker plays cat and mouse with his life.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both action & thriller
Worth the HypeMovies like thisReporte Aqui (2022)
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller & horror
Dirty Harry (1971)
When a madman dubbed 'Scorpio' terrorizes San Francisco, hard-nosed cop, Harry Callahan – famous for his take-no-prisoners approach to law enforcement – is tasked with hunting down the psychopath.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both action & thriller
Worth the HypeMovies like thisFirst Blood (1982)
When former Green Beret John Rambo is harassed by local law enforcement and arrested for vagrancy, he is forced to flee into the mountains and wage an escalating one-man war against his pursuers.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both action & thriller
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Big Sleep (1946)
Private Investigator Philip Marlowe is hired by wealthy General Sternwood regarding a matter involving his youngest daughter Carmen. Before the complex case is over, Marlowe sees murder, blackmail, deception, and what might be love.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller
Worth the HypeMovies like thisDawn of the Dead (1978)
During an ever-growing epidemic of zombies that have risen from the dead, two Philadelphia SWAT team members, a traffic reporter, and his television-executive girlfriend seek refuge in a secluded shopping mall.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror
Worth the HypeMovies like thisDiabolique (1955)
The cruel and abusive headmaster of a boarding school, Michel Delassalle, is murdered by an unlikely duo -- his meek wife and the mistress he brazenly flaunts. The women become increasingly unhinged by a series of odd occurrences after Delassalle's corpse mysteriously disappears.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like The Hitcher?
The closest matches to The Hitcher are Unhinged (2020), Sympathy for the Devil (2023) and Grindhouse (2007). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after The Hitcher?
Start with Unhinged (2020), the closest match to The Hitcher.
What is the highest-rated movie like The Hitcher?
Diabolique (1955), rated 7.9/10 by 1,156 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like The Hitcher?
Thieves Highway (2025) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like The Hitcher?
Yes: Unhinged (2020), Sympathy for the Devil (2023) and Grindhouse (2007).
How are movies similar to The Hitcher chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside The Hitcher, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.