Movies Like Joyful Mystery

If you liked Joyful Mystery (1984), a thriller and drama movie directed by Abbo Q. Dela Cruz, 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
Animals (2026)
★ 6.9/10Also thriller and drama
When the son of an L.A. mayoral candidate is kidnapped, he and his wife have a few hours to come up with the ransom payment. With most of their money spent on his political campaign, they have to get their hands dirty…
2
The Yakuza (1974)
★ 7.1/10Also crime and drama
When George Tanner does business with high-ranking Yakuza Tono, Tono kidnaps his daughter, and George summons his old friend, private eye Harry Kilmer, to Japan to investigate.
3
Get Fast (2024)
★ 6/10Also crime and thriller
When The Thief’s partner is kidnapped after stealing millions in cash from a merciless drug lord named Nushi, he reluctantly teams up with an angst-ridden orphan to rescue him. Nushi enlists her most trusted hitman…
4
Metro Manila (2013)
★ 7.3/10Also crime and thriller
Looking for a brighter future in metropolitan Manila, Oscar Ramirez and his family leave their miserable life in the rice terraces of Banaue, in the northern Philippines. In the sweltering capital, where all kind of…
5
Alpha Dog (2006)
★ 6.7/10Also crime and drama
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…
6
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.
7
Cleveland Abduction (2015)
★ 7.3/10Also crime and drama
A single mother becomes Ariel Castro's first kidnapping victim, and finds herself trapped in his home with two other women for 11 years.
8
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.
9
Wardriver (2026)
★ 7.4/10Also thriller and crime
He’s a Wardriver: a hacker who steals from banks, not people—until he’s noticed. Now the money turns violent, and the woman caught in it could save him or kill them both.
10
7500 (2019)
★ 6.2/10Also thriller and drama
When terrorists try to seize control of a Berlin-Paris flight, a soft-spoken young American co-pilot struggles to save the lives of the passengers and crew while forging a surprising connection with one of the hijackers.
11
The Place Beyond the Pines (2013)
★ 7/10Also drama and crime
A motorcycle stunt rider considers committing a crime in order to provide for his wife and child, an act that puts him on a collision course with a cop-turned-politician.
12
A Simple Plan (1998)
★ 7.2/10Also crime and drama
Captivated by the lure of sudden wealth, the quiet rural lives of two brothers erupt into conflicts of greed, paranoia and distrust when over $4 million in cash is discovered at the remote site of a downed small…
13
Barron's Cove (2025)
★ 7.1/10Also crime and thriller
When his young son is viciously murdered by a classmate, a grieving father with a history of violence kidnaps the child responsible, igniting a frenzied manhunt fueled by a powerful politician -- the father of the…
14
The Killing (1956)
★ 7.6/10Also crime and thriller
Career criminal Johnny Clay recruits a sharpshooter, a crooked police officer, a bartender and a betting teller named George, among others, for one last job before he goes straight and gets married. But when George…
15
John Q (2002)
★ 7.2/10Also drama and thriller
John Quincy Archibald is a father and husband whose son is diagnosed with an enlarged heart and then finds out he cannot receive a transplant because HMO insurance will not cover it. Therefore, he decides to take a…
16
Close Range (2015)
★ 6.5/10Also crime and thriller
A rogue soldier turned outlaw is thrust into a relentless fight with a corrupt sheriff, his obedient deputies, and a dangerous drug cartel in order to protect his sister and her young daughter.
17
The Vault (2021)
★ 6.8/10Also drama and thriller
Madrid, Spain, 2010. While the whole city follows the national team's successful participation in the World Cup, a group of daring thieves look for a way into one of the most secure and guarded places on the planet.
18
The Laundromat (2019)
★ 6/10Also crime and drama
When a widow gets swindled out of insurance money, her search for answers leads to two cunning lawyers in Panama who hide cash for the superrich.
19
A Perfect World (1993)
★ 7.5/10Also drama and crime
A kidnapped boy strikes up a friendship with his captor: an escaped convict on the run from the law, headed by an honorable U.S. Marshal.
20
Jackie Brown (1997)
★ 7.4/10Also crime and drama
Jackie Brown is a flight attendant who gets caught in the middle of smuggling cash into the country for her gunrunner boss. When the cops try to use Jackie to get to her boss, she hatches a plan — with help from a bail…