Movies Like Check Mate (2012)

Check Mate is a 2012 drama, thriller film from José María Cabral with a MovieMagicScore of 5.5/10. Here are 20 similar films, ranked by real viewer ratings — starting with Perico Ripiao and High and Low.

Drama Thriller

Perico Ripiao

2003

Three convicted criminals escape from prison carrying only a güiro, a tambor and an accordion. During their journey, they meet with a bunch of interesting characters and are forced to use their musical skills to help them get home.

7.2

MagicScore

High and Low

1963

A Yokohama shoe executive faces a wrenching choice when kidnappers mistakenly seize his chauffeur’s son but demand the ransom anyway.

8.4

MagicScore

The Silence of the Lambs

1991

Clarice Starling is a top student at the FBI's training academy. Jack Crawford wants Clarice to interview Dr. Hannibal Lecter, a brilliant psychiatrist who is also a violent psychopath, serving life behind bars for various acts of murder and cannibalism. Crawford believes that Lecter may have insight into a case and that Starling, as an attractive young woman, may be just the bait to draw him out.

8.3

MagicScore

Prisoners

2013

After his six-year-old daughter is abducted, a desperate father takes justice into his own hands when he loses faith in the detective leading the investigation, setting both men on a collision course as the search descends into obsession and moral compromise.

8.1

MagicScore

The Secret in Their Eyes

2009

Hoping to put to rest years of unease concerning a past case, retired criminal investigator Benjamín begins writing a novel based on the unsolved mystery of a newlywed’s rape and murder. With the help of a former colleague, judge Irene, he attempts to make sense of the past.

8.0

MagicScore

Fargo

1996

Jerry, a small-town Minnesota car salesman is bursting at the seams with debt... but he's got a plan. He's going to hire two thugs to kidnap his wife in a scheme to collect a hefty ransom from his wealthy father-in-law. It's going to be a snap and nobody's going to get hurt... until people start dying. Enter Police Chief Marge, a coffee-drinking, parka-wearing - and extremely pregnant - investigator who'll stop at nothing to get her man. And if you think her small-time investigative skills will give the crooks a run for their ransom... you betcha!

7.8

MagicScore

Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance

2002

A deaf man and his girlfriend resort to desperate measures in order to fund a kidney transplant for his sister. Things go horribly wrong, and the situation spirals rapidly into a cycle of violence and revenge.

7.5

MagicScore

Man on Fire

2004

Jaded ex-CIA operative John Creasy reluctantly accepts a job as the bodyguard for a 10-year-old girl in Mexico City. They clash at first, but eventually bond, and when she's kidnapped he's consumed by fury and will stop at nothing to save her life.

7.5

MagicScore

Inside Man

2006

When an armed, masked gang enter a Manhattan bank, lock the doors and take hostages, the detective assigned to effect their release enters negotiations preoccupied with corruption charges he is facing.

7.4

MagicScore

#10

Mesrine: Killer Instinct

2008

Jacques Mesrine, a loyal son and dedicated soldier, is back home and living with his parents after serving in the Algerian War. Soon he is seduced by the neon glamour of sixties Paris and the easy money it presents. Mentored by Guido, Mesrine turns his back on middle class law-abiding and soon moves swiftly up the criminal ladder.

7.3

MagicScore

#11

Seven Days in May

1964

A U.S. Marine Corps colonel alerts the president of a planned military coup against him.

7.3

MagicScore

#12

A Wolf at the Door

2013

Love turns to hate and panic breeds suspicion as two parents deal with the kidnapping of their child.

7.3

MagicScore

#13

Ransom!

1956

A wealthy business man stuns his wife and town with a televised response to his son's kidnappers.

7.2

MagicScore

#14

Seance on a Wet Afternoon

1964

Working-class British housewife Myra Savage reinvents herself as a medium, holding seances in the sitting room of her home with the hidden assistance of her under-employed, asthmatic husband, Billy. In an attempt to enhance her credibility as a psychic, Myra hatches an elaborate, ill-conceived plot to kidnap a wealthy couple's young daughter so that she can then help the police "find" the missing girl.

7.2

MagicScore

#15

John Q

2002

John Quincy Archibald is a father and husband whose son is diagnosed with an enlarged heart and then finds out he cannot receive a transplant because HMO insurance will not cover it. Therefore, he decides to take a hospital full of patients hostage until the hospital puts his son's name on the donor's list.

7.1

MagicScore

#16

The Yakuza

1974

When George Tanner does business with high-ranking Yakuza Tono, Tono kidnaps his daughter, and George summons his old friend, private eye Harry Kilmer, to Japan to investigate.

7.1

MagicScore

#17

Layer Cake

2004

When a seemingly straight-forward drug deal goes awry, XXXX has to break his die-hard rules and turn up the heat, not only to outwit the old regime and come out on top, but to save his own skin...

6.9

MagicScore

#18

Breakdown

1997

On their cross-country drive, a married couple, Jeff and Amy Taylor, experience car trouble after their SUV breaks down. Stranded in the New Mexico desert, the two catch a break when a passing truck driver offers Amy a ride to a nearby café to call for help. Meanwhile, Jeff is able to fix the car and make his way to the café, but Amy isn't there. He tracks down the trucker ― who tells the police he's never seen Jeff or his wife before. Jeff then begins a desperate, frenzied search for Amy.

6.9

MagicScore

#19

Clearcut

1991

A white lawyer finds his values shaken when he is paired with an angry Indigenous activist who insists on kidnapping the head of a logging company to teach him the price of his destruction.

6.9

MagicScore

#20

Cargo 200

2007

While returning to Leningrad from a visit to his brother, Professor Artyom's car breaks down and he finds assistance at an isolated farmhouse occupied by Alexey, his wife, a Vietnamese laborer, and a stranger who wanders around the farm. When his car is repaired, Artyom leaves, drunk on moonshine, and students Valera and Angelika arrive. After Valera gets drunk, the stranger abducts Angelika.

6.9

MagicScore

Frequently asked

What are the best movies like Check Mate?

The top films similar to Check Mate by MovieMagicScore are Perico Ripiao (7.2), High and Low (8.4), The Silence of the Lambs (8.3). Each shares drama/thriller themes and is ranked by real viewer ratings, not critics or studios.

Is Check Mate worth watching?

Check Mate holds a MovieMagicScore of 5.5/10 from 21 viewer ratings.

What kind of movie is Check Mate?

Check Mate (2012) is a drama, thriller film directed by José María Cabral, starring Adrián Mas, Frank Perozo, Marcos Bonetti.

Where can I find more recommendations like Check Mate?

Browse the full ranked list above, or explore more drama recommendations on MovieMagicScore, where every list is ordered by genuine viewer ratings.

Keep exploring

Movies like Perico Ripiao Movies like High and Low Movies like The Silence of the Lambs Movies like Prisoners Movies like The Secret in Their Eyes Movies like Fargo

About movies like Check Mate

This ranked list pairs Check Mate (2012), a drama and thriller film from José María Cabral, with similar titles by genre, theme and cast overlap (fans of Adrián Mas take note). Unlike critic-driven sites, every position here is ordered by MovieMagicScore — a rating built only from real viewers, with no studio marketing or paid placement. Scores update as more people rate, so the list stays current.

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