A Closer Look At Captivity: 21+ Intense Movies About Kidnapping

Movies About Kidnapping (Top Picks At A Glance)

Kidnapping movies are a thriller genre all their own. They take the fear of being taken captive and amplify it tenfold on the big screen.

Whether the kidnapping is done by a deranged individual or a group of terrorists, these films are sure to keep you on the edge of your seat. If you’re looking for a good scare, or just want to watch some truly suspenseful films, check out our list of the best movies about kidnapping.

Taken Movie Description

After his government operative days, Bryan Mills (Liam Neeson) is trying to reconnect with his daughter, Kim (Maggie Grace).

Unfortunately, when they arrive in Paris for vacation, sex slaves abduct Kim and her friend. With just four days until they’ll be auctioned off, Bryan must call on all of his skills to rescue them.

• Movies Like Taken

Prisoners Movie Description

Keller Dover (Hugh Jackman) is frantic when his 6-year-old daughter and her friend disappear without a trace. The only lead is an old RV that had been parked on their street.

The head of the investigation, Detective Loki (Jake Gyllenhaal), arrests the driver but has to release him for lack of evidence. Dover realizes that he has to take matters into his own hands if he wants to find his daughter alive.

• Movies Like Prisoners

Misery Movie Description

Annie Wilkes (Kathy Bates) is a former nurse and Sheldon’s (James Caan) biggest fan. After Sheldon is in a serious car crash, she rescues him and brings him to her remote cabin to recover.

While at the cabin, Annie’s obsession with Sheldon takes a dark turn as she discovers he is killing off her favorite character from his novels. Sheldon grows more and more desperate to escape as Annie becomes increasingly controlling, even violent, forcing him to write according to her twisted fantasies.

Raising Arizona Movie Description

In order to have a child, an unlikely pair goes to extreme lengths. When an incompetent robber marries a policewoman, they discovered that they are infertile.

The man does whatever it takes to appease his wife’s longings for a child, even if it means kidnapping one of a set of quintuplets. However, mayhem ensued when the rich father of the quintuplets sends a rabbit-shooting bounty hunter after them.

Room Movie Description

Upon gaining their freedom after years of captivity, a woman and her son experience the outside world for the first time.

With wonder and excitement, the boy takes in all the new sights and sounds around him. Even though they are finally free, the memories of their time in captivity always linger.

Split Movie Description

As Kevin (James McAvoy) has shown 23 distinct personalities to his psychiatrist, Dr. Fletcher (Betty Buckley), one remains hidden and is poised to take over the others.

When Casey, a willful and observant teenage girl, catches Kevin’s eye, he abducts her along with two other girls. However, as different aspects of Kevin’s personality begin to fight for control, survival becomes more difficult, not just for him but also for those around him.

• Movies Like Split

Ruthless People Movie Description

As Sam Stone (Danny DeVito) hears of his wife Barbara’s (Bette Midler) kidnapping, he is overjoyed. He had long wished for her death and is confident that the kidnappers will do him the favor of killing her.

However, when the two bumbling kidnappers fail to understand his demands, they must figure out how to get their money another way. All while dealing with the overbearing Barbara.

Ransom Movie Description

Tom Mullen (Mel Gibson), an airline owner, has a great deal of wealth. When criminals want a piece of his cash, they kidnap his son for a $2 million ransom.

Tom’s wife and an FBI agent convince him to pay the ransom, but the drop goes wrong. Tom gets angry and decides to make the kidnappers a target with a bounty on their heads instead.

The Call Movie Description

Jordan (Halle Berry) is a veteran emergency operator who has saved countless lives. However, when she fails to save a young woman from a prowler, she decides to leave her job.

Jordan becomes a trainer for new operators, but when a call from a kidnapped teen comes in, she takes charge and attempts to rescue the girl.

Old Boy Movie Description

Dae-Su is kidnapped and held in a cell for 15 years. He is released one day and tasked with finding his kidnapper.

Tau Movie Description

A woman must find a way to escape from a madman’s smart house, which is guarded by advanced artificial intelligence.

Berlin Syndrom Movie Description

A photographer meets an older teacher one night out and goes back to his apartment with him.

However, things soon take a dark turn when the disturbed man holds her captive in his apartment and begins to psychologically torment her.

Run Movie Description

Chloe was raised by her mother Diane in a remote cabin. Diane has been a strict and overbearing mother, but as Chloe enters her teenage years she starts to explore the secrets her mother has been keeping from her.

Don’t Breathe Movie Description

Three young Detroit thieves, Rocky (Jane Levy), Alex, and Money, get their kicks by breaking into the houses of wealthy people. Money hears about a blind veteran who won a major cash settlement following the death of his only child, so they figure he would be an easy target.

They invade his secluded home in an abandoned neighborhood but find themselves trapped inside after making a shocking discovery about their supposedly helpless victim. The young intruders must fight for their lives after realizing that they are not the only ones in the house.

The Disappearance Of Alice Creed Movie Description

After being kidnapped, Alice Creed (Gemma Arterton) comes to find out that her boyfriend was one of the kidnappers.

Forced to continue pretending they are strangers, the two of them must deal with the dangerous Vic (Eddie Marsan), who would kill them if he found out about their relationship.

Extraction Movie Description

A mercenary is hired to rescue the son of an imprisoned international crime lord.

However, the mission quickly becomes impossible as he navigates the dangerous underworld of weapons dealers and drug traffickers.

• Movies Like Extraction

Captain Phillips Movie Description

The Maersk Alabama was sailing towards its destination on a normal day when Somali pirates boarded the ship and took everyone hostage.

The captain, Richard Phillips (Tom Hanks), must now use his wits to keep everyone safe and get them home safely.

10 Cloverfield Lane Movie Description

After a car accident, Michelle (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) wakes up to find herself in an underground bunker with two men. Howard (John Goodman) informs her that the air has become toxic from a chemical attack and that the only way to stay alive is by not venturing outside.

Although she feels comfortable at home, Howard’s overbearing personality causes Michelle to yearn for freedom. She takes matters into her own hands and finally learns what is happening in the world beyond their doorstep.

• Cloverfield Movies Timeline

Gone Baby Gone Movie Description

Helene McCready, a mother from a tough Boston suburb, hires private detective Patrick Kenzie to find her missing daughter. Police chief Doyle doesn’t think Patrick will be successful as she’s been gone for 76 hours already.

However, Cheese—a Haitian gangster—and molester Corwin Earle both pose serious threats that could stand in Patrick’s way of finding the young girl alive. In addition to these clear dangers outside his neighborhood, he recognizes that the real danger may actually come from those closest to him at home.

Saw Movie Description

The bathroom is dark and dank, and the smell of sewage fills the air. Photographer Adam Stanheight (Leigh Whannell) and oncologist Lawrence Gordon (Cary Elwes) awake to find themselves chained to pipes at either end of the room. They soon realize that they are trapped by a sadistic serial killer known as “Jigsaw” and must complete his perverse puzzle in order to live.

As they try to figure out what Jigsaw wants from them, flashbacks reveal the fates of his previous victims. Meanwhile, Dr. Gordon’s wife (Monica Potter) and young daughter (Makenzie Vega) are forced to watch his torture on a closed-circuit video.

• Movies Like Saw

All The Money In The World Movie Description

J. Paul Getty is a billionaire who is forced to deal with the kidnapping of his grandson. The kidnappers demand $17 million from him, but Getty refuses to pay them anything.

His former daughter-in-law Gail and adviser Fletcher Chase become desperate to save the teenager’s life, and they soon turn to each other for help.

The Silence Of The Lambs Movie Description

Clarice Starling (Jodie Foster) is a top student at the FBI’s training academy. She is chosen by Jack Crawford (Scott Glenn) to interview Dr. Hannibal Lecter (Anthony Hopkins), a brilliant psychiatrist who is also a violent psychopath.

Crawford believes that Lecter may have information about a case and suggests using Starling as bait because she is an attractive young woman.

5 More Movies About Kidnapping (Honorable Mentions)

While our top picks of movies about kidnapping offer a thrilling and intense experience, there are a number of other films that also delve into this intense subject. From films that explore the psychological impact of abduction to those that follow the race against time to rescue the victim, the genre of kidnapping films offers a diverse range of storytelling and suspense.

In this honorable mentions section, we have compiled a small list of films that, while not making the top of our list, are still worth a watch for those who enjoy this genre.

• The Collector (1965)
• Fargo (1996)
• The Missing (2003)
• The Black Phone (2021)
• Shuttle (2008)