Movies Like The Desperate Hours

If you liked The Desperate Hours (1955), a crime and thriller movie directed by William Wyler, 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
Panic Room (2002)
★ 6.8/10Also crime and thriller
Trapped in their New York brownstone's panic room, a hidden chamber built as a sanctuary in the event of break-ins, newly divorced Meg Altman and her young daughter Sarah play a deadly game of cat-and-mouse with three…
2
Breaking In (2018)
★ 6/10Also crime and thriller
Shaun Russell takes her son and daughter on a weekend getaway to her late father's secluded, high-tech vacation home in the countryside. The family soon gets an unwelcome surprise when four men break into the house to…
3
Mother's Day (2010)
★ 6.5/10Also crime and thriller
Crazed members of a sadistic family return to their childhood home to terrorize the new owners.
4
Trapped (2002)
★ 6.2/10Also crime and thriller
Held hostage in different cities after their daughter is kidnapped by a master extortionist, a desperate couple must find a way to outsmart a seemingly foolproof plot.
5
Cleveland Abduction (2015)
★ 7.3/10Also crime
A single mother becomes Ariel Castro's first kidnapping victim, and finds herself trapped in his home with two other women for 11 years.
6
Dead Man's Wire (2026)
★ 6.5/10Also crime and thriller
In 1977, former real estate developer Tony Kiritsis puts a dead man's switch on himself and the mortgage banker who did him wrong, demanding $5 million and a personal apology.
7
Hostage (2005)
★ 6.4/10Also thriller and crime
When a mafia accountant is taken hostage on his beat, a police officer – wracked by guilt from a prior stint as a negotiator – must negotiate the standoff, even as his own family is held captive by the mob.
8
Butterfly on a Wheel (2007)
★ 6.5/10Also crime and thriller
A sociopathic kidnapper methodically pushes a desperate pair of parents to their absolute breaking point.
9
All the Money in the World (2017)
★ 6.5/10Also crime and thriller
The story of the kidnapping of 16-year-old John Paul Getty III and the desperate attempt by his devoted mother to convince his billionaire grandfather Jean Paul Getty to pay the ransom.
10
Protector (2026)
★ 8.4/10Also thriller
Nikki's life is shattered when her daughter is kidnapped. Thrust into the criminal underworld while hunted by cops and military, she must fight to rescue her child.
11
Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer (1986)
★ 6.7/10Also crime and thriller
Arriving in Chicago, Henry moves in with ex-con acquaintance Otis and starts schooling him in the ways of the serial killer.
12
No Good Deed (2014)
★ 5.9/10Also crime and thriller
Terri is a devoted wife and mother of two, living an ideal suburban life in Atlanta when Colin, a charming but dangerous escaped convict, shows up at her door claiming car trouble. Terri offers her phone to help him…
13
Don't Breathe (2016)
★ 7/10Also thriller
A group of teens break into a blind man's home thinking they'll get away with the perfect crime. They're wrong.
14
Alpha Dog (2006)
★ 6.7/10Also crime and thriller
Johnny Truelove likes to see himself as tough. He's the son of an underworld figure and a drug dealer. Johnny also likes to get tough when things don't go his way. When Jake Mazursky fails to pay up for Johnny, things…
15
Becky (2020)
★ 6.3/10Also thriller
A teenager's weekend at a lake house with her father takes a turn for the worse when a group of convicts wreaks havoc on their lives.
16
Girl in the Basement (2021)
★ 7.6/10Also thriller and crime
Sara is a teen girl who is looking forward to her 18th birthday to move away from her controlling father Don. But before she could even blow out the candles, Don imprisons her in the basement of their home.
17
Restraint (2008)
★ 5.9/10Also thriller
Two fugitives land in hot water when they take a hostage who poses a threat to their well-being.
18
Housebound (2014)
★ 6.6/10Also thriller
When Kylie Bucknell is sentenced to home detention, she's forced to come to terms with her unsociable behaviour, her blabbering mother and a hostile spirit who seems less than happy about the new living arrangement.
19
The Call (2013)
★ 6.8/10Also crime and thriller
Jordan Turner is an experienced 911 operator but when she makes an error in judgment and a call ends badly, Jordan is rattled and unsure if she can continue. But when teenager Casey Welson is abducted in the back of a…
20
Hunted (2021)
★ 6.2/10Also thriller
A woman flees two serial killers who are hot on her heels in a forest.