Movies and TV shows like Wayward
If you like "Wayward" you are looking for sinister, tense and suspense movies or TV shows about / with small town, psychological manipulation, investigation, conspiracy, corruption, loss of innocence and boarding school themes of Drama, Mystery and Thriller genre shot in Canada or UK.
Find your next favorite and similar movies in two steps:
1. Identify all themes of interest from this film (block below).
2. Look for them in the presented list.
Wayward (2025)
28K
Genre: Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Country: Canada, UK
Duration: 45 min.
TV show
Story:
A small-town cop suspects that the local school for troubled teens — and its dangerously charismatic founder — may not be all it seems.
Style:
sinister, tense, suspense, dark, psychological, atmospheric, detective, creepy, mysterious, psychological thriller ...
Plot:
small town, psychological manipulation, investigation, conspiracy, corruption, loss of innocence, boarding school, moral ambiguity, abuse of power, isolation, family drama, coming of age, identity, peer pressure, generation gap, haunting, slow burn, escape, memory, pregnant woman, mysterious disappearance, ritual, lgbt, troubled teen, missing child ...
Place:
vermont, canada
Movie in categories
Most similar movies to Wayward
The list contains related movies ordered by similarity. Recommendation engine sorted out tense, dark, suspense and noir films and TV series with plots about investigation, slow burn, moral ambiguity, secrets, small town, revenge and family drama mostly in Drama, Mystery and Thriller genres. Some movies like Wayward: Bellevue (2017), Hound's Hill (2025), Awake (2021), Land of Sin (2026), Time Is a Killer (2019). The matching attributes are highlighted in bold.
Genre: Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Country: Canada
Duration: 44 min.
TV show
Story:
When a transgender teen goes missing, Annie Ryder—a cop at odds with her hometown—dives in to unravel the disappearance that suggests foul play, despite finding herself in a difficult position as she must cast suspicion on people she has known ...
Style:
mysterious, tense, suspense, crime drama, intense ...
Plot:
missing person, small town, criminal psychology, female detective, investigation, female protagonist, police detective, danger, psychopath, death, suspicion, identity ...
Place:
canada, ontario canada
Similarity:
95%
Genre: Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Country: Poland
Duration: 60 min.
TV show
Story:
A successful and renowned novelist — haunted by trauma and a mysterious blackmailer — returns to his hometown to reckon with his unresolved past.
Style:
dark, psychological, atmospheric, tense, suspenseful ...
Plot:
blackmail, secrets, investigation, hometown, investigative journalism, journalism, small town, trauma, corruption, cold case, family drama, political corruption ...
Place:
eastern europe, poland
Similarity:
64%
1K
Genre: Crime, Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Country: Serbia
Duration: 55 min.
TV show
Story:
Sonja Kljun is a young, ambitious detective, eager to prove that her refined intuition is right - the alleged suicide in peaceful Subotica hides far more serious secrets than it seems at first glance. Sonja's moving to Subotica will trigger an ...
Style:
detective, suspense, tense, psychological, dark ...
Plot:
secrets, investigation, mother and daughter, conspiracy, danger, small town, police procedural, corruption, slow burn, moral ambiguity, identity, obsession ...
Place:
eastern europe
Similarity:
61%
Genre: Crime, Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Country: Sweden
Duration: 40 min.
TV show
Story:
When a teenager goes missing, a detective with personal ties to the case joins a tense investigation that reveals fierce loyalties and old family feuds.
Style:
crime drama, psychological thriller, suspenseful, tense, atmospheric ...
Plot:
family feud, murder mystery, countryside, investigation, isolated community, small town, family drama, slow burn, moral ambiguity, haunting, revenge, psychological drama
Similarity:
52%
Movie in collections
Genre: Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Country: France
Duration: 52 min.
TV show
Story:
In 1994, at the age of sixteen, Clotilde Idrissi suffered a road accident. Clotilde is the only survivor, unlike her brother Nicolas and his parents, who died instantly. Twenty-five years later, she returns to the scene of the tragedy with her ...
Style:
psychological thriller, suspenseful, suspense, disturbing, psychological ...
Plot:
family secret, life is a bitch, troubled past, confronting the past, learning the truth, uncover truth, secret, changing lives, female protagonist, self discovery, introspection, haunting ...
Similarity:
50%
Genre: Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Country: UK
TV show
Story:
London police officer DC Hana Li is escorting Dr Matthew Nolan back to Beijing where he has been accused of a crime. However, on board flight 357, she finds herself embroiled in an escalating conspiracy and a growing number of murders.
Style:
psychological, tension, suspense, thrilling, captivating ...
Audience:
adult
Plot:
airplane, conspiracy, murder, police officer, murder investigation, murder mystery, threat, assassination plot, murderer, claustrophobia, isolation, investigation ...
Place:
beijing china, london, china, asia, england ...
Similarity:
49%
Genre: Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Country: Sweden
Duration: 55 min.
TV show
Story:
On a summer's evening in 1984, a five-year-old boy vanishes in rural southern Sweden. The police investigation fails to find the truth, leaving behind rumors, suspicion, and a grieving family. Twenty years later, the boy's older sister ...
Style:
psychological thriller, atmospheric, melancholic, mysterious, tense
Plot:
missing child, secrets, cold case, grief, loss of innocence, small town, investigation, memory, abduction, guilt, suspicion, haunting ...
Time:
80s, 2000s, year 1984, year 2004
Similarity:
48%
Genre: Drama, Thriller
Country: Spain
Duration: 36 min.
TV show
Story:
A father and daughter involved in the investigation of a murdered teenage girl in the picturesque fictional town of Cárdena, set in Andalusia. The two are forced to put their differences aside and to succumb their tense relationship in order to ...
Style:
suspenseful, crime thriller, exciting, biting, tension ...
Audience:
teen drama
Plot:
murder investigation, father daughter relationship, investigation, young woman, murder mystery, city, murder, strained relationship, father and daughter, father, crime investigation, small town ...
Place:
andalusia
Similarity:
48%
Movie in collections
Genre: Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Country: Russia
Duration: 50 min.
TV show
Story:
A rich heiress, Maria Sorokina, goes missing after a quarrel with her husband. Boris Novinsky, head of the police station, entrusts this case to a young detective, yesterday's intern, Alina Novinskaya, his daughter. It turns out that a maniac ...
Style:
tense, suspense, detective, bleak, serious ...
Plot:
investigation, serial killer, maniac, homicidal maniac, murder, police, police investigation, brutality, police officer, death, husband wife relationship, unfaithful husband ...
Similarity:
47%
Genre: Drama, Mystery
Country: Israel
Duration: 25 min.
TV show
Story:
Ne'elamim (The Missing) is a compelling young adult skewed thriller which follows Emma and Alon, a brother and sister who move to a small town and quickly find out that nothing is quite as it seems in their new neighborhood, which is awash with ...
Style:
psychological, suspense, captivating, thrilling, atmospheric ...
Audience:
teen drama
Plot:
investigation, small town, lifestyle change, changing lives, problem, private investigator, private investigation, eccentric family, amateur sleuth, crime solving, uncover truth, brother sister relationship ...
Similarity:
46%
Genre: Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 43 min.
TV show
Story:
Single mother Jane Sadler's life is turned upside down when her young daughter goes missing in the middle of the night. And just like in the controversial police TV show she produces, everything is a mystery, everyone has a secret and no one ...
Style:
suspense, emotional, suspenseful, tension, twisted ...
Plot:
police, investigation, missing child, twists and turns, husband wife relationship, secret, kidnapping, female protagonist, secrets, deception, grief, police procedural ...
Place:
los angeles
Similarity:
46%
Genre: Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 50 min.
TV show
Story:
In a small rust belt town in post-recession America, a one-dollar bill changing hands connects a group of characters involved in a shocking multiple murder.
Style:
captivating, atmospheric, talky, tense, suspense ...
Plot:
murder, investigation, frame up, social problems, murder mystery, twists and turns, small town, workplace, social differences, small town life, intrigue, disorder ...
Place:
america
Similarity:
46%
Genre: Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Country: Spain
TV show
Story:
In an inaccessible place between the mountains and isolated from the world, a school is located next to an old monastery. The students are rebellious and problematic young people who live under the strict and severe discipline imposed by the center ...
Style:
tense, suspense, dark, captivating, sinister ...
Audience:
teen drama
Plot:
boarding school, reform school, supernatural, threat, coming of age, reformatory, secrets, isolation, dark secret, supernatural power, problem child, mysticism ...
Similarity:
46%
3K
Genre: Crime, Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Country: Ireland
Duration: 60 min.
TV show
Story:
Cat Hogan returns to West Meath upon her mother's sudden death - she has an accident at home and died (or was it an accident?). Blood is about old secrets, older betrayals, mind games and the lies family tell each other.
Style:
suspenseful, suspense, psychological thriller, captivating, enigmatic ...
Plot:
family secret, investigation, secrets, family drama, murder mystery, murder investigation, murder, confronting the past, crime solving, family relations, uncover truth, private investigation ...
Similarity:
44%
Genre: Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Country: Japan
Duration: 55 min.
TV show
Story:
The suspense story begins when Jin Saeki, a policeman in Yamanashi Prefecture, arrives at a prominent estate residence in response to a tip, and finds the skeletal remains of 13 children, as well as a mysterious marking. Jūzō Haikawa, the ...
Style:
suspense, detective, dark, tense, sinister ...
Plot:
investigation, secrets, haunting, cold case, abandonment, abuse, trauma, missing child, justice, orphan, obsession, police procedural ...
Place:
japan, tokyo
Similarity:
43%
Genre: Crime, Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Country: UK
Duration: 50 min.
TV show
Story:
DCI Jeanette Kilburn and eminent psychotherapist Dr. Sophia Craven join forces to hunt the killer of young men. The investigation takes Jeanette and Sophia into a dangerous world of historic abuse and murder.
Style:
psychological thriller, intense, tense, suspense, dark ...
Plot:
psychotherapist, investigation, murder mystery, serial killer, justice, sexual abuse, female detective, haunting, trauma, revenge, moral ambiguity, violence ...
Similarity:
43%
Genre: Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Country: UK
Duration: 239 min.
TV show
Story:
Doctor Joseph O'Loughlin a man who appears to have the perfect life and a successful career as a clinical psychologist.
But nothing can be taken for granted, even the most flawless existence is only a loose thread away from unravelling.
Style:
psychological thriller, suspense, thrilling, tense, captivating ...
Plot:
suspect, murder mystery, investigation, uncover truth, life is a bitch, secret, sleuth, forensics, crime investigation, problem, police procedural, mental illness ...
Similarity:
39%
Genre: Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Country: South Korea
Duration: 30 min.
TV show
Story:
Baek Je-na is a third-generation conglomerate and a gold spoon of the highest class at Cheongdam International High School. Kim Hye-in grew up in poverty and is offered a chance to study at the Cheongdam International High School in exchange for her ...
Style:
psychological, suspense, captivating, suspenseful, exciting ...
Audience:
teen drama
Plot:
high school, rivalry, investigation, bullying, murder mystery, secrets, asian school, teenage girl, asian woman, school, schoolgirl, female rivalry ...
Similarity:
39%
Movie in collections
Genre: Crime, Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Country: Spain
Duration: 70 min.
TV show
Story:
While investigating the disappearance of a teen girl in a tight-knit Galician town, a Civil Guard officer uncovers secrets linked to a loss of her own.
Style:
tense, suspenseful, psychological, detective, captivating ...
Audience:
teen drama
Plot:
investigation, police detective, child abduction, missing person, disappearance, secrets, rescue, justice, danger, parents and children, race against time, hopes ...
Time:
2010s, 21st century
Place:
spain, galicia
Similarity:
38%
31
Genre: Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Country: Poland
TV show
Story:
Laura (Vanessa Aleksander) returns to her hometown after many years in connection with the death of her mother - Maria (Malgorzata Foremniak). This unplanned meeting awakens demons from the past and sheds new light on family secrets, while Laura ...
Style:
suspenseful, psychological, psychological thriller, thrilling, captivating ...
Plot:
investigation, mother daughter relationship, family secret, secrets, family drama, problem, tragic past, crime solving, family problems, confronting the past, secret, uncover truth ...
Place:
poland
Similarity:
36%
Genre: Crime, Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Country: UK
Duration: 60 min.
TV show
Story:
A serial killer thriller told in reverse, unravelling the truth behind a series of murders as DCI Gabriel Markham hunts down a brutal killer.
Style:
dark, tense, suspense, detective, crime thriller ...
Plot:
serial killer, police, investigation, forensic, mental illness, vengeance, weapons, danger, disfigured face, obsession, disfigurement, cat and mouse ...
Similarity:
36%
Genre: Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Country: South Korea
Duration: 60 min.
TV show
Story:
4 young men who don't have jobs face a woman in an alley. The woman says "save me."
Style:
suspense, rough, psychological, disturbing, intense ...
Plot:
religious cult, brainwashing, abuse, friendship, irrational behavior, scam, ritual, suicide, psychological abuse, rescue, manipulation, cult leader ...
Place:
korea
Similarity:
36%
Genre: Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Country: India
Duration: 40 min.
TV show
Story:
Paridhi, a cop undergoing a stressful personal situation, must solve a mysterious murder case that has put the police department on its toes.
Style:
suspense, tense, disturbing, suspenseful, captivating ...
Plot:
investigation, police, murder, uncover truth, fight, sleuth, fighting crime, crime investigation, murder investigation, police officer, race against time, police investigation ...
Time:
2020s
Place:
india
Similarity:
36%
Movie in collections
Genre: Drama, Mystery
Country: Canada
Duration: 43 min.
TV show
Story:
When Anthony Sullivan disappears on his tenth birthday, his family is devastated. However, as more and more time passes without the police being able to locate him, long-buried family secrets are dragged to the surface, turning the Sullivan family ...
Style:
atmospheric, non-linear, detective, bleak, social ...
Plot:
missing child, family drama, police, investigation, treasure hunt, judge, hopes, parents and children, family secret, grief, dysfunctional family, family conflict ...
Place:
quebec
Similarity:
35%
Genre: Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: UK
TV show
Story:
Morfa Halen is a tight-knit Welsh town precariously nestled between towering mountains and a fast-encroaching sea that threatens its very existence. As a once-in-a-generation storm begins to gather far out at sea, former detective turned teacher ...
Style:
detective, atmospheric, emotional, dark, suspense ...
Audience:
adult
Plot:
cold case, secrets, small town, investigation, coastal town, community, grief, trauma, loss, isolation, family drama, realism ...
Place:
wales
Similarity:
34%
Genre: Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 50 min.
TV show
Story:
Since the tragic death of her young son, acclaimed author Aggie Wiggs has receded from public life, unable to write, a ghost of her former self. But she finds an unlikely subject for a new book when the house next door is bought by Nile Sheldon, a ...
Style:
psychological thriller, tense, suspense, atmospheric, dark ...
Plot:
female protagonist, loss, murder mystery, grief, haunting, obsession, trauma, cat and mouse, paranoia, investigation, missing person, secrets ...
Place:
new york
Similarity:
33%
Genre: Crime, Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Country: France
Duration: 410 min.
TV show
Story:
Nine years after little Marina went missing along a highway near Dunkerque, a young woman with amnesia who looks just like her reappears in practically the same spot.
Style:
suspense, tense, captivating, disturbing, psychological thriller ...
Plot:
missing child, disappearance, amnesia, memory loss, missing person, secret past, accident, female protagonist, amnesiac, uncover truth, memory lapse, identity ...
Similarity:
32%
Genre: Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 59 min.
TV show
Story:
Gen Z amateur sleuth and tech-savvy hacker Darby Hart and eight other guests are invited by a reclusive billionaire to participate in a retreat at a remote location. When one of the other guests is found dead, Darby must use her skills to prove it ...
Style:
detective, suspense, enigmatic, suspenseful, captivating ...
Plot:
amateur sleuth, murder mystery, murder, murder investigation, female protagonist, whodunit, female detective, private investigation, murderer, guest, crime investigation, investigation ...
Time:
2020s
Place:
iceland
Similarity:
32%
Genre: Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Country: Canada
TV show
Story:
The Jacob are gifted with unusual abilities. They are misunderstood, soon to be feared by all. Premonition relates the story of a hunted family, fighting for survival.
Style:
tense, suspenseful, thrilling, captivating, suspense ...
Plot:
supernatural, survival, psychic power, on the run, fight, supernatural ability, supernatural power, psychic, problem, family problems, struggle for survival, secret ...
Time:
2010s
Place:
montreal
Similarity:
32%
Genre: Crime, Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Country: UK
Duration: 85 min.
TV show
Story:
This psychological mystery/thriller, adapted from Barbara Vine aka Ruth Rendell's novel of the same name, depicts a family on the edge. Two sisters, the elder, obsessive Vera, and the younger, manipulative Eden, cut a path of secrecy and ...
Style:
psychological thriller, tense, suspenseful, dark, twisted ...
Audience:
adult
Plot:
murder, sibling rivalry, family drama, jealousy, obsession, revenge, secrets, psychological manipulation, manipulation, betrayal, adaptation, moral ambiguity ...
Time:
1940s, 1950s, 50s
Similarity:
32%
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