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Prisoners poster

Movies that feel likePrisoners (2013)

After his six-year-old daughter is abducted, a desperate father takes justice into his own hands when he loses faith in the detective leading the investigation, setting both men on a collision course as the search descends into obsession and moral compromise.

If you loved Prisoners, the closest films we have are Sicario (2015), No Country for Old Men (2007) and The Master (2012). All three share Prisoners' dread feel, which is what we rank on before quality.

Seen the big three already? The under-the-radar pick below is Blue Velvet (1986).

πŸ… 81% Rotten Tomatoesβ˜… 8.2 IMDb β†—TMDB β†—dir. Denis Villeneuvedreadtenseobsessivegrittybleak
11 of 12 streaming nowNetflix Β· HBO Max Β· Amazon Prime Video

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See it on the Mood Map

If Prisoners hit the spot, these will too

Sicario poster
Sicario
2015 Β· dir. Denis Villeneuve
πŸ… 91%β˜… 7.7action Β· crime Β· thrillerMax

Denis Villeneuve working the same nerve twice

The difference: Trades the obsession of Prisoners for an angle of its own

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.

No Country for Old Men poster
No Country for Old Men
2007 Β· dir. Joel Coen
πŸ… 93%β˜… 8.2crime Β· thriller Β· westernParamount+Peacock

Dread-soaked where it counts, tense underneath

The difference: Sits closer to western than Prisoners does

Llewelyn Moss stumbles upon dead bodies, $2 million and a hoard of heroin in a Texas desert, but methodical killer Anton Chigurh comes looking for it, with local sheriff Ed Tom Bell hot on his trail. The roles of prey and predator blur as the violent pursuit of money and justice collide.

The Master poster
The Master
2012 Β· dir. Paul Thomas Anderson
πŸ… 85%β˜… 7.1drama

Both lean on obsession more than on drama

Freddie, a volatile, heavy-drinking veteran who suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder, finds some semblance of a family when he stumbles onto the ship of Lancaster Dodd, the charismatic leader of a new "religion" he forms after World War II.

Eyes Wide Shut poster
Eyes Wide Shut
1999 Β· dir. Stanley Kubrick
πŸ… 77%β˜… 7.5drama Β· thriller Β· mysteryMax

Dread-soaked thriller in both cases

After Dr. Bill Harford's wife, Alice, admits to having sexual fantasies about a man she met, Bill becomes obsessed with having a sexual encounter. He discovers an underground sexual group and attends one of their meetings -- and quickly discovers that he is in over his head.

Sin City poster
Sin City
2005 Β· dir. Robert Rodriguez
πŸ… 76%β˜… 8crime Β· thrillerPeacock

Both keep coming back to the same thing: neo-noir

Welcome to Sin City. This town beckons to the tough, the corrupt, the brokenhearted. Some call it dark… Hard-boiled. Then there are those who call it home β€” Crooked cops, sexy dames, desperate vigilantes. Some are seeking revenge, others lust after redemption, and then there are those hoping for a little of both. A universe of unlikely and reluctant heroes still trying to do the right thing in a city that refuses to care.

Perfume: The Story of a Murderer poster
Perfume: The Story of a Murderer
2006 Β· dir. Tom Tykwer
πŸ… 59%β˜… 7.5crime Β· fantasy Β· drama

Crime built on grit, twice over

Jean-Baptiste Grenouille, born in the stench of 18th century Paris, develops a superior olfactory sense, which he uses to create the world's finest perfumes. However, his work takes a dark turn as he tries to preserve scents in the search for the ultimate perfume.

The Number 23 poster
The Number 23
2007 Β· dir. Joel Schumacher
πŸ… 7%β˜… 6.4thriller Β· mystery Β· crime

Common ground: psychological thriller

The difference: The scrappier of the two with critics

Animal control officer Walter Sparrow becomes obsessed with a novel that he believes was written about him, as more and more similarities between himself and his literary alter ego seem to arise.

The Girl on the Train poster
The Girl on the Train
2016 Β· dir. Tate Taylor
πŸ… 44%β˜… 6.5crime Β· mystery Β· thrillerStarz

Tense thriller, and it commits to that

Rachel Watson, devastated by her recent divorce, spends her daily commute fantasizing about the seemingly perfect couple who live in a house that her train passes every day, until one morning she sees something shocking happen there and becomes entangled in the mystery that unfolds.

Trap poster
Trap
2024 Β· dir. M. Night Shyamalan
πŸ… 57%β˜… 5.8crime Β· thriller Β· musicPrime VideoMax

One thread runs through both: father

A father and teen daughter attend a pop concert, where they realize they're at the center of a dark and sinister event.

8MM poster
8MM
1999 Β· dir. Joel Schumacher
πŸ… 23%β˜… 6.6thriller Β· crime Β· mystery

The same preoccupation in both: the investigation

A small, seemingly innocuous plastic reel of film leads surveillance specialist Tom Welles down an increasingly dark and frightening path. With the help of the streetwise Max, he relentlessly follows a bizarre trail of evidence to determine the fate of a complete stranger. As his work turns into obsession, he drifts farther and farther away from his wife, family and simple life as a small-town PI.

Wind River poster
Wind River
2017 Β· dir. Taylor Sheridan
πŸ… 87%β˜… 7.7crime Β· mystery Β· thrillerNetflix

Both are built on the same subject: the investigation

An FBI agent teams with the town's veteran game tracker to investigate a murder that occurred on a Native American reservation.

Blue Velvet poster
Blue Velvet
1986 Β· dir. David Lynch
πŸ… 87%β˜… 7.7mystery Β· thriller Β· crime

Common ground: detective

The difference: Made in the 1980s, in a different era of the craft

The discovery of a severed human ear found in a field leads a young man on an investigation related to a beautiful, mysterious nightclub singer and a group of psychopathic criminals who have kidnapped her child.

In the mood for more dread?

all dread movies β†’

The best-reviewed films that share Prisoners’ defining feeling.