Movies Like Shannon Matthews: The Mother's Story

If you liked Shannon Matthews: The Mother's Story (2017), a documentary and crime movie, here are 20 movies with a similar feel, based on TMDB's recommendations. Each one links to its cast, trailer and where it's streaming.

1
Abducted in Plain Sight (2017)
★ 6.6/10Also documentary and crime
A family falls prey to the manipulative charms of a neighbor, who abducts their adolescent daughter. Twice.
2
Maternal Instinct (2026)
★ 7.2/10Also documentary and crime
Police pull over a woman who claims she just gave birth. But the baby — and the blood — aren't hers. Twisted lies unravel in this true-crime documentary.
3
Aileen: Queen of the Serial Killers (2025)
★ 7/10Also documentary and crime
Aileen Wuornos remains a rarity: a female serial killer. From childhood abuse to death-row revelations, this documentary revisits her life and crimes.
4
Evil Influencer: The Jodi Hildebrandt Story (2025)
★ 6.2/10Also documentary
Unravel the case of Utah therapist Jodi Hildebrandt, whose child abuse arrest with parenting YouTuber Ruby Franke exposed a twisted tale of manipulation.
5
A Toxic Love Story (2026)
★ 6.4/10Also documentary
A string of threatening emails escalates into a revenge plot involving a newly married US marshal and his ex-girlfriend.
6
Voyeur (2017)
★ 5.9/10Also documentary and crime
Legendary journalist Gay Talese unmasks a motel owner who spied on his guests for decades. But his bombshell story soon becomes a scandal of its own.
7
The Imposter (2012)
★ 7.3/10Also documentary and crime
In 1994, a 13-year-old boy disappeared without a trace from his home in San Antonio, Texas. Three-and-a-half years later, he is found alive in a village in southern Spain with a horrifying story of kidnap and torture…
8
The Crash (2026)
★ 6.8/10Also documentary and crime
A teen slams her car into a building, killing her boyfriend and his friend. What seems like a tragic accident becomes a murder case.
9
Stolen: Heist of the Century (2025)
★ 7.1/10Also documentary and crime
Antwerp, 2003. A gang of thieves rob the impenetrable Diamond Center. Who was behind one of the world's biggest heists - and how did they pull it off?
10
Con Mum (2025)
★ 6.8/10Also documentary and crime
A chef's life is upended when a jet-setting, champagne-sipping, hotel-hopping woman claims to be his long-lost mother.
11
Girl in the Picture (2022)
★ 7.1/10Also crime and documentary
A young mother’s mysterious death and her son’s subsequent kidnapping blow open a decades-long mystery about the woman’s true identity, and the murderous federal fugitive at the center of it all.
12
Out of Thin Air (2017)
★ 5.9/10Also documentary and crime
Set within the stark Icelandic landscape, OUT OF THIN AIR examines the 1976 police investigation into the disappearance of two men in the early 1970s.
13
Ted Bundy: Mind of a Monster (2019)
★ 7.6/10Also crime and documentary
New exclusive access and never before heard testimony gives a unique insight into the mind of America's most notorious serial killer, Ted Bundy. Breathtaking archive from the time and the voice of Bundy himself…
14
Predators (2025)
★ 6.7/10Also documentary and crime
In the mid-aughts, Dateline NBC's To Catch a Predator drew millions of weekly viewers to watch sting operations: men planning to meet minors for sex would instead be confronted by polished host Chris Hansen, then by…
15
Deliver Us from Evil (2006)
★ 7.2/10Also crime and documentary
Documentary filmmaker Amy Berg investigates the life of 30-year pedophile Father Oliver O'Grady and exposes the corruption inside the Catholic Church that allowed him to abuse countless children. Victims' stories and a…
16
Murder to Mercy: The Cyntoia Brown Story (2020)
★ 6.9/10Also documentary
After 16-year-old Cyntoia Brown is sentenced to life in prison, questions about her past, physiology and the law itself call her guilt into question.
17
The Mystery of D.B. Cooper (2020)
★ 6.3/10Also documentary and crime
This documentary brings to life the stories of four people believed by their family and friends to be “DB Cooper,” a man who hijacked a 727 flying out of Seattle and jumped from the plane over the wilds of Washington…
18
The Menendez Brothers (2024)
★ 7.2/10Also documentary
Serving life in prison for murdering their parents, Lyle and Erik Menendez speak out in this documentary explaining the shocking crime and ensuing trials.
19
Mommy Dead and Dearest (2017)
★ 7.4/10Also crime and documentary
Child abuse, mental illness, and forbidden love converge in this mystery involving a mother and daughter who were thought to be living a fairy tale life that turned out to be a living nightmare.
20
Kidnapped: Elizabeth Smart (2026)
★ 7.3/10Also documentary
Elizabeth Smart's harrowing abduction at 14 from her family's Utah home unfolds through her own words and never-before-seen material in this documentary.