Movies like Maya (2023)
The best movies like Maya (2023) are Trust (2010), Boy Wonder (2010) and Natural Born Killers (1994). If Maya hooked you with its drama and thriller, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedPalmer (2021)8.1/10 from 2,025 votes
- NewestPrimetime (2026)Released 2026
Trust (2010)
A suburban family is torn apart when fourteen-year-old Annie meets her first boyfriend online. After months of communicating via online chat and phone, Annie discovers her friend is not who he originally claimed to be. Shocked into disbelief, her parents are shattered by their daughter's actions and struggle to support her as she comes to terms with what has happened to her once innocent life.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBoy Wonder (2010)
A young Brooklyn boy witnesses the brutal murder of his mother and grows up obsessed with finding her killer. Thus begins his life as a quiet, straight-A student by day and a self-appointed hero at night. But what is a real hero? And who decides what is right or wrong? As the boundaries blur, Sean's dual life wears on his psyche and his two worlds careen dangerously close to colliding. Like a graphic novel you can't put down, Boy Wonder challenges morality, distorting perceptions of what is right and what is justified, as it races to its shocking conclusion.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisNatural Born Killers (1994)
Two victims of traumatized childhoods become lovers and serial murderers irresponsibly glorified by the mass media.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisHard Candy (2006)
Hayley’s a smart, charming teenage girl. Jeff’s a handsome, smooth fashion photographer. An Internet chat, a coffee shop meet-up, an impromptu fashion shoot back at Jeff’s place. Jeff thinks it’s his lucky night. He’s in for a surprise.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisEden (2013)
After a night out with friends, Hyun Jae accepts a late night ride home from a young fire fighter. What begins as a night of promise quickly turns into a nightmare when she is abducted and imprisoned outside Las Vegas as a sex slave.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisLuckiest Girl Alive (2022)
A successful woman in New York City finds her life upended when she is forced to confront a dark truth that threatens to unravel her meticulously crafted life.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisGirl Lost: A Hollywood Story (2020)
Interweaving stories of four different women involved in the sex industry offers a glimpse into the dark underbelly of Los Angeles and the taboo lifestyle of a sex worker. A teen runaway, single mother and two career escorts interconnect through their own personal journeys filled with loss, betrayal and the struggle to survive.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & thriller
SnoozefestMovies like thisBrimstone (2016)
In the menacing inferno of the old North-American West, Liz is a genuine survivor who is hunted by a vengeful preacher for a crime she didn’t commit.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisPrimetime (2026)
In 2006, To Catch a Predator host Chris Hansen sets out to make television history. When a high stakes operation goes fatally wrong, his veneered dream of fame curdles into a nightmare of performative justice.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisChatroom (2010)
When strangers Jim, Eva, Emily and Mo meet William online in his new 'Chelsea Teens!' chatroom, they're completely seduced by his fast-talking, charismatic character. But beneath the surface lies a much darker truth. William is a dangerous loner, channeling all his energies into cyberspace. He's become an analyser, a calculating manipulator who finds it almost impossible to interact normally with others in the real world, instead turning his hand to manipulating people online.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & thriller
SnoozefestMovies like thisWelcome to the Rileys (2010)
Years after their teenage daughter’s death, Lois and Doug Riley, an upstanding Indiana couple, are frozen by estranging grief. Doug escapes to New Orleans on a business trip. Compelled by urgencies he doesn’t understand, he insinuates himself into the life of an underage hooker, becoming her platonic guardian.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisRuthless (2023)
A high school coach, whose teenage daughter was murdered, takes matters into his own hands by going after the men who kidnap his students for their sex trafficking operation.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisPalmer (2021)
After 12 years in prison, former high school football star Eddie Palmer returns home to put his life back together—and forms an unlikely bond with Sam, an outcast boy from a troubled home. But Eddie's past threatens to ruin his new life and family.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisL.I.E. (2001)
With his mother dead and his father busy at work, Howie feels adrift in his New York suburb. He and his friend Gary spend their time burglarizing their neighbors' homes — until they make the mistake of robbing the house of Big John, a macho former Marine who is also an unrepentant pedophile. He propositions Howie, who declines, but the two eventually develop an unlikely and dangerous friendship.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisEastern Promises (2007)
A Russian teenager living in London dies during childbirth but leaves clues in her diary that could tie her child to a rape involving a violent Russian mob family.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Worth the HypeMovies like thisGunpowder Milkshake (2021)
To protect an 8-year-old girl, a dangerous assassin reunites with her mother and her lethal associates to take down a ruthless crime syndicate and its army of henchmen.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDrop (2025)
Violet, a widowed mother on her first date in years, arrives at an upscale restaurant where she is relieved that her date, Henry, is more charming and handsome than she expected. But their chemistry begins to curdle as Violet begins being irritated and then terrorized by a series of anonymous drops to her phone.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMammal (2016)
After Margaret, a divorcée living in Dublin, loses her teenage son, she develops an unorthodox relationship with Joe, a homeless youth. Their tentative trust is threatened by his involvement with a violent gang and the escalation of her ex-husband's grieving rage.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisGirl in the Bunker (2018)
When Elizabeth is abducted by a fugitive sexual predator, she realizes she must take matters into her own hands and plot her escape. Based on a true story.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisMoonlight (2016)
The tender, heartbreaking story of a young man’s struggle to find himself, told across three defining chapters in his life as he experiences the ecstasy, pain, and beauty of falling in love, while grappling with his own sexuality.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Good Son (1993)
A young boy stays with his aunt and uncle, and befriends his cousin who's the same age. But his cousin begins showing increasing signs of psychotic behavior.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisNahir (2024)
One of the most controversial cases in recent years in Argentina, this movie is based on the true story of Nahir Galarza and the murder of her boyfriend that rocked the country. The youngest woman to be convicted and sentenced to life in prison in Argentina, but questions still remain- was this a crime of passion, or is the truth still yet to be fully discovered?
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & thriller
SnoozefestMovies like thisThe Exorcism of Emily Rose (2005)
When a young girl called Emily Rose dies, everyone puts blame on the exorcism which was performed on her by Father Moore prior to her death. The priest is arrested on suspicion of murder. The trial begins with lawyer Erin Bruner representing Moore, but it is not going to be easy, as no one wants to believe what Father Moore says is true.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Life Before Her Eyes (2008)
As the 15th anniversary of a fatal high school shooting approaches, former pupil Diana McFee is haunted by memories of the tragedy. After losing her best friend Maureen in the attack, Diana has been profoundly affected by the incident - her seemingly perfect life shaped by the events of that day.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBasic Instinct 2 (2006)
Novelist Catherine Tramell is once again in trouble with the law, and Scotland Yard appoints psychiatrist Dr. Michael Glass to evaluate her. Though, like Detective Nick Curran before him, Glass is entranced by Tramell and lured into a seductive game.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller
SnoozefestMovies like thisCarrie (1976)
Withdrawn and sensitive teenager Carrie White faces bullying from her classmates and abuse from her fanatically pious mother. When she begins to suspect that she has supernatural powers, things take a dark and violent turn.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller
Worth the HypeMovies like thisSicario (2015)
An idealistic FBI agent is enlisted by a government task force to aid in the escalating war against drugs at the border area between the U.S. and Mexico.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller
Worth the HypeMovies like thisBrick (2006)
A teenage loner pushes his way into the underworld of a high school crime ring to investigate the disappearance of his ex-girlfriend.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisNewsies (2017)
A week in the life of the exploited, child newspaper sellers in turn-of-the-century New York. When their publisher, Joseph Pulitzer, tries to squeeze a little more profit out of their labours, they organize a strike, only to be confronted with the Pulitzer's hard-ball tactics.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisHow to Deal (2003)
For teenager Halley, love seems like an alien concept. Her mother is divorcing her father, who is dating a younger woman Halley can't stand. Her sister is about to get married and doesn't realize that her fiancé is not the man of her dreams. And her best friend has fallen madly in love for the first time, leaving Halley to feel even more alone. But, when she meets edgy Macon, she learns what love is really all about.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
SnoozefestMovies like this
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Maya?
The closest matches to Maya are Trust (2010), Boy Wonder (2010) and Natural Born Killers (1994). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Maya?
Start with Trust (2010), the closest match to Maya.
What is the highest-rated movie like Maya?
Palmer (2021), rated 8.1/10 by 2,025 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Maya?
Primetime (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like Maya?
Yes: Trust (2010), Boy Wonder (2010) and Natural Born Killers (1994).
How are movies similar to Maya chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Maya, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.