Best movies like The Independent
Last updated March 2024
Looking for movies like The Independent? Leverage your expertise to direct others toward films and tv shows you've seen before that they might like also. Help broaden the community of people suggesting videos to each other. We welcome your engagement!
Plot Summary:
It's the final weeks of the most consequential presidential election in history. America is poised to elect either its first female president or its first viable independent candidate. Reporting history as it's made, an idealistic young journalist teams up with her idol, legendary journalist Nick Booker, to uncover a conspiracy that places the fate of the election, and the country, in their hands.
IMDB Rating: 5.7
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 108 min
Plot tags:
Best tv shows and movies like The Independent (2022):
Similar in 87%
The Imagemaker (1986)
Plot Summary:
Roger Blackwell has been a media advisor to countless politicians: probably one too many. He is set on using his experience to make a film about manipulation of the media by unscrupulous politicos.
IMDB Rating: 4.7
IMDB Votes: 153
Genere: Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 93 min
Plot tags: surprise ending, independent film
Similar in 76%
Time Bomb (2008)
Plot Summary:
Jason tragically lost his young son when their SUV exploded. Now fighting as a soldier in Iraq, the suicide bombings that occur around him on a daily basis constantly remind him of losing his son. An army scientist approaches Jason about an experimental virus that would create a squad of suicide bombers they could use against the enemy. Uncertain if he has already been infected by the virus, Jason must struggle to decipher which explosions are real and which are in his head.
IMDB Rating: 3.3
IMDB Votes: 319
Genere: Thriller
Country: Canada
Duration: 86 min
Plot tags:
Similar in 88%
The Edge of Power (1989)
Plot Summary:
The worlds of journalism and politics collide in this story about an experienced journalist who desperately needs to scoop a big story in order to revamp his career. Deciding he'll take matters into his own hands, he frames a politician and arranges to be there when the story is leaked to the public. What he doesn't realize is that his own devious behavior is about to get him caught in the middle of a dangerous web of lies and murder.
IMDB Rating: 5.1
IMDB Votes: 23
Genere: Thriller
Country: Australia
Duration: 94 min
Plot tags: independent film
Similar in 88%
Redheads (1992)
Plot Summary:
Lucy is apparently very confident, and quite "forward," as the saying used to be; she has made all the moves to pick up a staid lawyer-type for sex. Once back at her apartment, she sets a video camera going to record their coupling. However, someone breaks into the place while they are having at it, and she is barely able to leave the bed and hide before her sex-partner is killed. She never sees the intruder's face herself. In the aftermath, the terrified lass finds herself with a sympathetic female state-appointed attorney (since she's the obvious suspect) and together, they try to track down the murderer.
IMDB Rating: 5.7
IMDB Votes: 88
Genere: Thriller
Country: Australia
Duration: 107 min
Plot tags: independent film
Similar in 81%
Blow Up My Life (2022)
Plot Summary:
A disgraced pharmaceutical employee accidentally discovers a deadly opioid vape conspiracy, sending him on the run to expose the crime with a trail of chaos in his wake.
IMDB Rating: 6.8
IMDB Votes: 36
Genere: Comedy, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 80 min
Plot tags:
Similar in 90%
The Lords of Discipline (1983)
Plot Summary:
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.
IMDB Rating: 6.6
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 102 min
Plot tags: cult classic, tense, sincere, serious, realistic, suspenseful
Similar in 85%
Under Siege (1986)
Plot Summary:
Terrorists launch an attack against the USA. Their first strike is by a suicide squad that detonates a truckload of explosives at an army base in Washington DC. FBI probes indicate that the attack is by Arab terrorists led by Iranians. Subsequent attacks are via airplanes exploded in mid-air, crowded restaurants, and an attack on a mall. Administration cabinet heads push the President to retaliate. The director of the FBI believes that there may be more to the story than the investigation has revealed and the Secretary of Defense is the only other person urging caution.
IMDB Rating: 6.9
IMDB Votes: 278
Genere: Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 136 min
Plot tags: political thriller
Similar in 89%
Vortex (1982)
Plot Summary:
A film noirish atmosphere is created to show detective Lunch (a popular underground musician and poet) plow her way through the plans of a corporate businessman who seeks government defense contracts through real "corporate wars" and the manipulation of politicians.
IMDB Rating: 5.6
IMDB Votes: 114
Genere: Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 90 min
Plot tags: indie film, neo noir, independent film, eighties
Similar in 77%
88 (2022)
Plot Summary:
The Financial Director for a democratic super PAC behind a frontrunner presidential candidate investigates donations, uncovering a conspiracy.
IMDB Rating: 5.0
IMDB Votes: 225
Genere: Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 122 min
Plot tags:
Similar in 85%
The Art of Murder (2018)
Plot Summary:
When art gallery assistant Kate Miller meets the heir to a run-down estate, she stumbles upon a previously undiscovered masterpiece, and finds herself thrust into the high-stakes auction world of priceless art. But those high-stakes turn deadly when the painting's integrity and authenticity come into question. Kate and the gallery soon discover they're caught in the middle of a million-dollar conspiracy. As the auction date closes in Kate finds herself in mortal danger when a desperate stalker will stop at nothing to keep the truth from coming to light.
IMDB Rating: 4.8
IMDB Votes: 175
Genere: Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 90 min
Plot tags: tense, suspense, suspenseful
Similar in 86%
The Beneficiary (1997)
Plot Summary:
Lust, desire and money motivate a greedy woman to murder her philandering rich husband.
IMDB Rating: 5.7
IMDB Votes: 428
Genere: Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 97 min
Plot tags: detective
Similar in 86%
Kill Plan (2021)
Plot Summary:
A weathered CIA agent is thrown into a web of deception when he uncovers a rogue government plot to unleash a deadly drug on humanity.
IMDB Rating: 3.1
IMDB Votes: 4000
Genere: Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 71 min
Plot tags: tense, captivating, suspense, black cinema
Similar in 85%
MK Ultra (2022)
Plot Summary:
Set during the true and unconscionable Central Intelligence Agency MK ULTRA drug experimentations in the early 1960s. The journey of Ford Strauss, a brilliant psychiatrist, whose moral and scientific boundaries are pushed to the limit as he is recruited to run a subsect of the program in a rural Mississippi Mental Hospital.
IMDB Rating: 5.1
IMDB Votes: 8000
Genere: Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 98 min
Plot tags:
Similar in 78%
Hear No Evil (1993)
Plot Summary:
Jillian Shanahan, a deaf woman, becomes the target of a ruthless and corrupt cop. The cop is looking for a stolen coin, which he plans to keep for himself. A journalist briefly acquires the coin and hides it in Jillian's apartment, then his car explodes, now the cop is after her.
IMDB Rating: 5.0
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 97 min
Plot tags: tense, serious, realistic, suspenseful
Similar in 76%
Rainbow Drive (1990)
Plot Summary:
A Hollywood multiple murder is investigated by a homicide cop, despite high-placed efforts to cover up the crime.
IMDB Rating: 5.1
IMDB Votes: 342
Genere: Thriller
Country: USA, UK
Duration: 100 min
Plot tags:
Similar in 78%
The Skulls II (2002)
Plot Summary:
After joining the Skulls, Ryan Sommers (Robin Dunne) is warned not to betray any secrets about the organization or its high-powered members. However, when Ryan witnesses a murder within the Skulls' private chambers, he finds that the closer he gets to revealing the truth - the more dangerous life becomes.
IMDB Rating: 4.6
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 99 min
Plot tags: serious, realistic, suspenseful, slasher, independent film
Similar in 89%
Presumed Dead in Paradise (2014)
Plot Summary:
A rebellious teen becomes embroiled in a dark conspiracy that involves her late father, after everyone thinks she drowned while vacationing with her estranged stepmother on an island.
IMDB Rating: 5.5
IMDB Votes: 714
Genere: Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 87 min
Plot tags: tense, captivating, psychological, suspense, humorous, realistic, suspenseful, semi serious
Similar in 79%
Dark Power (2013)
Plot Summary:
When the mayor of a crime-ridden city and his opponent are both assassinated while seeking election, two FBI agents, John Archer and Mila Driver, reluctantly join forces to investigate the murder only to discover that City Hall holds more secrets than the identity of the killer.
IMDB Rating: 3.5
IMDB Votes: 449
Genere: Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 98 min
Plot tags: suspense, tense, captivating, suspenseful, disturbing, independent film, psychological thriller, psycho film
Similar in 84%
The Passage (2007)
Plot Summary:
After the death of his girlfriend Tracy, the American Luke travels to Morocco with his British friend Adam to spend vacation and recover his loss. While in Medina, Luke meets the gorgeous Moroccan nurse Zahra and he offers to walk her home. However, she is offended by a group of men due to her Western companion and Luke defends her. Zahra offers to be his tourist guide and suggest him to travel to Atlas Mountain to the see the sunset and spend the night in a hotel. Adam decides to meet the couple in the next morning to let Luke alone with Zahra. However, the hotel manager does not accept their check-in and a local lodges the couple in a cabin of his own. During the night, Luke goes to the bathroom and finds a mace of tunnels linking the cabins in the mountain. Zahra meets him in the tunnel and he discovers a dark secret about the place.
IMDB Rating: 6.0
IMDB Votes: 512
Genere: Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 95 min
Plot tags: tense, captivating, psychological, suspense, serious, realistic, suspenseful
Similar in 80%
Revenge is a Promise (2018)
Plot Summary:
A social conscience thriller about a courageous Afro-Caribbean girl from Haiti, who is trapped inside a human-trafficking network in the United States. She chooses to risk her life in order to gain her freedom and expose an explosive conspiracy whereby unsuspecting illegal immigrants are routinely murdered in an elaborate, multi-million-dollar, life-insurance racket.
IMDB Rating: 4.4
IMDB Votes: 65
Genere: Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 92 min
Plot tags: thought provoking, multicultural, suspenseful, tense, suspense, contemplative, independent film
Similar in 89%
The Dogs of Riga (1995)
Plot Summary:
A lifeboat floats ashore at the coast of Skåne. Inside are two dead men who who've been murdered. Policeman Kurt Wallander is assigned to the case. The men are identified with the help of the police in Latvia. One of their officers travel to Sweden to to help but when he returns to his home country he is mysteriously murdered. Kurt flies to Riga to find out why and is drawn into complex conspiracy.
IMDB Rating: 5.5
IMDB Votes: 800
Genere: Thriller
Country: Sweden, Denmark
Duration: 106 min
Plot tags:
Similar in 82%
No Rest for the Wicked (1998)
Plot Summary:
Father William is an ambitious Catholic priest and former Vietnam veteran sucked into a world of crime, drugs, and duplicity. He investigates the murder of an old army buddy of his which leads him to a mysterious femme fatal, named Angelica. She draws him into a world of surreal weirdness while helping him look for his friend's killers.
IMDB Rating: 6.0
IMDB Votes: 51
Genere: Action, Thriller, War
Country: USA
Duration: 93 min
Plot tags: independent film
Similar in 87%
Suddenly (2013)
Plot Summary:
Four assassins led by Baron, pose as Secret Service agents to commandeer the house of war-widow ELLEN. Her home is a prime sniper position for their plan to assassinate the President on his visit to the small town of Suddenly. The men fool the local cops except for one, TODD. A washed-up former war hero and deputy who is now the town drunk, Todd served with Ellen’s deceased husband and has developed romantic feelings for her over the years. But she rebuffs his advances. Todd visits the house and is immediately suspicious of Baron, but no one will listen to the ravings of a drunk. Once Todd realizes what is going on, he manages to kill one of Baron’s crew, but is captured. Now he and Ellen must find a way to stop Baron and his men before they kill the President.
IMDB Rating: 3.6
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Thriller
Country: Canada, USA
Duration: 90 min
Plot tags: serious, realistic, suspenseful, political, suspense, independent film
Similar in 79%
Chain of Command (2015)
Plot Summary:
After finding his brother murdered after returning from duty, Webster searches for the perpetrators, but discovers a conspiracy that cuts deep inside the U.S. government.
IMDB Rating: 3.5
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Action, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 88 min
Plot tags:
Similar in 80%
Executive Power (1997)
Plot Summary:
While protecting the U.S. President, Secret Service agent Nick Sager helps him to dispose of the body of a young girl, who accidentally died during an adulterous encounter. Some time later, a few weeks before the elections, the disillusioned ex-agent is approached by his former partner. The President's former aide, and one of few people who knew about the cover-up, is found dead in mysterious circumstances.
IMDB Rating: 4.6
IMDB Votes: 393
Genere: Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 115 min
Plot tags: independent film, serious, realistic, suspenseful, political thriller
Similar in 80%
The Student (2017)
Plot Summary:
After leading a jury to wrongly sentence a man, Abigail enters her new teaching job at the law school with a newfound commitment to ethics. When she takes over her new class, it includes Vincent, an intensely ambitious student who will do anything for an A. When Abigail fails him for academic dishonesty, Vincent threatens that he will stop at nothing to get what he wants. As Vincent's devious plot begins to unravel, she must take her life into her own hands, or Vincent will take it himself.
IMDB Rating: 4.5
IMDB Votes: 766
Genere: Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 90 min
Plot tags: tense, captivating, suspense, suspenseful, disturbing
Similar in 84%
We Take the Low Road (2019)
Plot Summary:
A Wiki-Leaks release illuminates the collusion amongst politicians and the medical industry that drives the cost of medical care to an unattainable price for the middle class. With the guilty parties' names and addresses being released, a vigilante movement springs up around the Untied States. After his father loses the battle with cancer, Mason, along with Thompson and Bobbi, seek violent justice and hope for riches along the way. A shotgun blast sparks a string of unintended consequences that leads the group down a dark road.
IMDB Rating: 4.9
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 99 min
Plot tags: tense, captivating, suspense, disturbing
Similar in 88%
Red Eye (2005)
Plot Summary:
After attending the funeral of her grandmother in Dallas, the Lux Atlantic Hotel manager Lisa is waiting for a flight to Miami. Due to the bad weather and consequent flight delay, she meets in the airport bar Jack Rippner, who is also in the waiting list. They sit together in the plane, and Jack reveals that he wants Lisa to change the room in Lux of an important American politician to facilitate a terrorist attempt against him. Otherwise, Lisa's father will be killed by a hit man. Lisa has to decide what to do with the menacing man at her side.
IMDB Rating: 6.5
IMDB Votes: 133000
Genere: Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 85 min
Plot tags: suspenseful, exciting, psychological, tense, suspense, intense, psychological thriller, serious, realistic, scary
Similar in 86%
Hidden Agenda (1990)
Plot Summary:
In Ireland, American lawyer Ingrid Jessner and her activist partner, Paul Sullivan, struggle to uncover atrocities committed by the British government against the Northern Irish during the "Troubles." But when Sullivan is assassinated in the streets, Jessner teams up with Peter Kerrigan, a British investigator acting against the will of his own government, and struggles to uncover a conspiracy that may even implicate one of Kerrigan's colleagues.
IMDB Rating: 6.9
IMDB Votes: 5000
Genere: Drama, Thriller
Country: UK
Duration: 108 min
Plot tags: controversial, political, political thriller, suspense, mysterious, independent film, tense, rough, thought provoking, bleak
Similar in 88%
Shadow Conspiracy (1997)
Plot Summary:
Bobby Bishop (Sheen) is a special assistant to the President of the United States. Accidentally, he meets his friend professor Pochenko on the street. Pochenko has time to tell Bishop about some conspiracy in the White House but then immediately gets killed by an assassin. Now bad guys are after Bobby as the only man who knows about a plot. Bishop must now not only survive, but to stop the conspirators from achieving their goal. And he doesn't know whom to trust.
IMDB Rating: 4.9
IMDB Votes: 5000
Genere: Action, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 103 min
Plot tags: suspense, exciting, political thriller, serious, suspenseful, rough, realistic, political, melancholic, absurd