Movies like I Was a Stranger: 20 to watch next
If you loved I Was a Stranger (2025) — a drama and thriller film directed by Brandt Andersen — these 20 movies are the closest matches.
The first picks are what fans of I Was a Stranger most often go on to watch; the rest share its genres and themes like refugee. 11 of them are streaming in India right now — each entry shows where.
Where to watch I Was a Stranger →·Get picks for your whole taste →
- 1
The Truth About Emanuel 2013★ 6.0
Shares: Drama, Thriller
A troubled young woman becomes obsessed with her mysterious new neighbor, who bears a striking resemblance to the girl's dead mother.
Not on subscription streaming in India right now
- 2
Light It Up 1999★ 6.6
Shares: Drama, 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.
Not on subscription streaming in India right now
- 3
The Good Neighbor 2022★ 6.7
Shares: Thriller, 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 becomes overbearing and possessive.
Stream in India on Amazon Prime Video, Amazon Prime Video with Ads
- 4
Not Without Hope 2025★ 6.6
Shares: Thriller, 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.
Not on subscription streaming in India right now
- 5
Hunting Season 2025★ 7.4
Shares: Drama, 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.
Not on subscription streaming in India right now
- 6
The 355 2022★ 6.0
Shares: Thriller
A group of top female agents from American, British, Chinese, Colombian, and German government agencies are drawn together to try and stop an organization from acquiring a deadly weapon to send the world into chaos.
Stream in India on Lionsgate Play
- 7
SAS: Red Notice 2021★ 5.8
Shares: Drama, 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 difference as to whether Buckingham and the civilian passengers make it out of the tunnel alive.
Stream in India on Netflix
- 8
A Dry White Season 1989★ 6.7
Shares: Drama, Thriller
During the 1976 Soweto uprising, a white school teacher's life and values are threatened when he asks questions about the death of a young black boy who died in police custody.
Stream in India on MGM Plus Amazon Channel
- 9
Rogue Agent 2022★ 6.3
Shares: Thriller, 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.
Stream in India on Amazon Prime Video, Zee5, Amazon Prime Video with Ads
- 10
The System 2022★ 7.3
Shares: Thriller
When a young soldier, newly returned from war, gets caught up in a drug bust, he is recruited by the authorities to go undercover in a notoriously dangerous prison in order to figure out what is really going on.
Not on subscription streaming in India right now
- 11
The Lords of Discipline 1983★ 6.6
Shares: Drama, Thriller
Will arrives for his last year at Military Academy, in the Deep South USA, in the 1960's. A black student, Pearce, has been accepted, for the first time and Will is asked to keep an eye out for the inevitable racism. The racists come in the form of The Ten, a secret group of the elite students. They want Pearce to leave on his own free will, but are prepared to torture him to make it 'his free will'. Will is forced to help Pearce and he is prepared to risk his own career to do so.
Not on subscription streaming in India right now
- 12
Point Blank 2019★ 6.0
Shares: Thriller
A nurse is forced to spring a wounded murder suspect from the hospital when the man’s brother kidnaps his pregnant wife and wants to make a trade.
Stream in India on Netflix
- 13
Interceptor 2022★ 6.0
Shares: Thriller
A U.S. Army Captain uses her years of tactical training to save humanity from sixteen nuclear missiles launched at the U.S. as a violent attack threatens her remote missile interceptor station.
Stream in India on Netflix
- 14
Stolen Girl 2025★ 6.5
Shares: Thriller
In 1993, Maureen’s six-year-old daughter Amina is snuck out of the country by her ex-husband, Karim. After years of unsuccessful attempts to find her, Maureen intersects with a professional retriever of internationally abducted children who promises to help her find Amina in exchange for her collaboration.
Stream in India on Amazon Prime Video, Amazon Prime Video with Ads
- 15
180 2026★ 5.9
Shares: Thriller, Drama
When an unexpected road rage incident puts his son in critical condition, an enraged father spirals down a dark path of emotional turmoil and vengeance.
Stream in India on Netflix
- 16
The Operative 2019★ 5.8
Shares: Drama, 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.
Not on subscription streaming in India right now
- 17
The Killer 2024★ 6.2
Shares: Thriller
Zee is a feared contract killer known as "the Queen of the Dead," but when she refuses to murder a young blind woman, she finds herself hunted both by criminal colleagues and a determined police detective.
Stream in India on VI movies and tv
- 18
Damage 2009★ 6.6
Shares: Thriller, Drama
An ex-con battles it out in the cage to pay for the operation that would save the daughter of his victim. Along the way he finds fatherly love, and friendship, in the most unlikely of places.
Not on subscription streaming in India right now
- 19
The Hit List 2011★ 6.0
Shares: Thriller
A disgruntled man creates a hit list with a stranger during a drunken night out and must then race to try to save those he marked for extermination as the bodies begin to pile up and all fingers point to him.
Stream in India on AP International South Cinema Amazon Channel
- 20
Luce 2019★ 6.4
Shares: Drama, Thriller
A star athlete and top student, Luce's idealized image is challenged by one of his teachers when his unsettling views on political violence come to light, putting a strain on family bonds while igniting intense debates on race and identity.
Not on subscription streaming in India right now