Movies Like Despair

If you liked Despair (2017), a drama and thriller movie directed by Hank Orion, 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
Light It Up (1999)
★ 6.6/10Also drama and thriller
On a winter day in a southside Queens high school, events collide and six students are suddenly in an armed standoff with the NYPD. At the school, classrooms freeze, teachers come and go, resources are scant.
2
The House on Carroll Street (1988)
★ 6/10Also drama and thriller
A reporter, fired after refusing to give names to a 1951 House Un-American Activities Committee, takes a part-time job as companion to an old lady. While working she overhears a noisy argument in the neighboring house…
3
6 Below: Miracle on the Mountain (2017)
★ 5.8/10Also thriller and drama
An adrenaline seeking snowboarder gets lost in a massive winter storm in the back country of the High Sierras where he is pushed to the limits of human endurance and forced to battle his own personal demons as he…
4
The Good Neighbor (2022)
★ 6.6/10Also thriller and drama
A nightmarish evening unfolds for neighbors David and Robert when they accidentally hit a woman on her bike and flee the scene. While David is increasingly plagued by feelings of guilt, Robert shows no remorse and…
5
The Truth About Emanuel (2013)
★ 6/10Also drama and thriller
A troubled young woman becomes obsessed with her mysterious new neighbor, who bears a striking resemblance to the girl's dead mother.
6
Little Boy Blue (1998)
★ 6/10Also drama and thriller
Living in rural Texas is a dysfunctional family: an abusive dad, a Vietnam vet with a war wound that's left him impotent; a compliant wife and a son of about 20, two small sons who look a lot like their brother. The…
7
Tyler Perry's Duplicity (2025)
★ 6.6/10Also thriller and drama
High-powered attorney Marley faces her most personal case yet when she is tasked with uncovering the truth behind the murder of her best friend Fela’s husband. With the help of her boyfriend – a former cop turned…
8
Chatroom (2010)
★ 5.8/10Also drama and thriller
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…
9
Hunting Season (2025)
★ 7.4/10Also drama and thriller
When a reclusive survivalist and his daughter rescue a mysterious, wounded woman from a river, they become entangled in a deadly web of violence and revenge, forcing them to confront a brutal criminal to survive.
10
The White Orchid (2018)
★ 5.8/10Also drama and thriller
A social services investigator helps a local sheriff solve the brutal murder of a beautiful blonde known only as The White Orchid.
11
SAS: Red Notice (2021)
★ 5.8/10Also drama and thriller
An off-duty SAS soldier, Tom Buckingham, must thwart a terror attack on a train running through the Channel Tunnel. As the action escalates on the train, events transpire in the corridors of power that may make the…
12
Remember (2015)
★ 7.3/10Also drama and thriller
With the aid of a fellow Auschwitz survivor and a hand-written letter, an elderly man with dementia goes in search of the person responsible for the death of his family.
13
Rogue Agent (2022)
★ 6.3/10Also thriller and drama
Conman Robert Freegard poses as an undercover MI5 agent and kidnaps countless victims amidst a high-stakes manhunt, until the woman who fell for him brings him to justice.
14
The Hummingbird Project (2019)
★ 6.2/10Also thriller and drama
A pair of high-frequency traders go up against their old boss in an effort to make millions in a fiber-optic cable deal.
15
The Operative (2019)
★ 5.8/10Also drama and thriller
A young Western woman is recruited by the Mossad to go undercover in Tehran where she becomes entangled in a complex triangle with her handler and her subject.
16
The Caveman's Valentine (2001)
★ 5.9/10Also drama and thriller
Romulus, a misunderstood musician turned recluse hiding from personal demons in a New York City cave, finds the frozen body of a young drifter in a tree. The authorities, including his police officer daughter, claim…
17
Not Without Hope (2025)
★ 6.6/10Also thriller and drama
A group of friends' fishing boat capsizes off the coast of Mexico and they're left alone stranded at sea and struggling for survival.
18
The Experiment (2010)
★ 6.4/10Also thriller and drama
20 men are chosen to participate in the roles of guards and prisoners in a psychological study that ultimately spirals out of control.
19
Magpie (2024)
★ 6.6/10Also thriller and drama
A couple's lives are thrown into disarray when their daughter is cast opposite a controversial major star.
20
The Ghoul (2017)
★ 6/10Also drama and thriller
A homicide detective goes undercover as a patient to investigate a psychotherapist he believes is linked to a strange double murder. As his therapy sessions continue the line between fantasy and reality begins to blur.