12 Movies to Watch If You Liked Pretty Lethal (2026)

Published on Mar 31, 2026

A selection of tense, fast-paced action thrillers with touches of black comedy, centered on characters fighting for survival after falling into a trap or becoming caught in a carefully planned deadly game. This collection is a great match for viewers who enjoyed “Pretty Lethal” (2026). The closest films in mood and theme are “Ballerina”, “Ready or Not”, “The Hunt”, “You're Next”, and “Abigail”.

Ballerina

1. Ballerina

Action Thriller Crime
6.8

2025 · 2h 5min

United States

Director: Len Wiseman

After her father’s death, the daughter of a contract killer tied to the criminal organization Ruska Roma is taken to a secret academy for assassins disguised as a ballet school. After 12 years of training, she grows into a cold-blooded killer driven by a desire to track down those responsible and avenge her father.

Style similarity

Most similar in: extreme violence, very high tension, fast pacing

Biggest differences: noticeably less bleak, slightly lighter tone, slightly less humorous

Shared keywords

Revenge, Orchestrated Revenge


Ready or Not

2. Ready or Not

Horror Comedy
6.8

2019 · 1h 35min

United States

Director: Matt Bettinelli-Olpin

Alex from the wealthy Le Domas family marries Grace. On their wedding night, in keeping with an old family tradition, Grace must play a game chosen at random from a wooden box in order to become a full member of the family. To her misfortune, the game turns out to be hide-and-seek, in which the family must kill her before dawn or face death themselves.

Style similarity

Most similar in: very high tension, fast pacing, very dark tone

Biggest differences: noticeably less bleak, noticeably more humorous, noticeably less action-heavy

Shared keywords

Race Against Time, Escape, Survival, Survival Game


You're Next

3. You're Next

Horror Thriller Mystery
6.6

2013 · 1h 34min

United States, United Kingdom

Director: Adam Wingard

The Davison family arrives at a country house with their closest relatives to celebrate the parents’ wedding anniversary. As the celebration gets into full swing, the guests begin to sense that someone is lurking outside, and before long they realize that the house is surrounded by masked attackers who want to kill them.

Style similarity

Most similar in: very high tension, extreme violence, fast pacing

Biggest differences: noticeably less action-heavy, slightly less bleak

Shared keywords

Revenge, Trapped, Survival


Abigail

4. Abigail

Horror Thriller Crime
6.5

2024 · 1h 49min

United States

Director: Tyler Gillett

A group of professional criminals who have never met each other are given a new assignment — to kidnap a young girl, take her to a predetermined location, and keep her there for twenty-four hours, after which they will receive their promised payment. But after carrying out the kidnapping, they realize they are the ones trapped: every exit from the house is locked, and the girl is a little bloodthirsty vampire.

Style similarity

Most similar in: very high tension, very dark tone, fast pacing

Biggest differences: noticeably more humorous, slightly less bleak, slightly less action-heavy

Shared keywords

Revenge, Orchestrated Revenge


The Babysitter

5. The Babysitter

Comedy Horror
6.4

2017 · 1h 25min

United States

Director: McG

Cole is head over heels in love with his charming babysitter. One evening, instead of going to bed, he decides to spy on what his favorite babysitter is doing and accidentally discovers that she belongs to a group of cold-blooded killers. Now he must fight for his life.

Style similarity

Most similar in: very high tension, extreme violence, fast pacing

Biggest differences: much more humorous, noticeably less bleak

Shared keywords

Escape, Survival Game


The Hunt

6. The Hunt

Action Thriller Horror
6.6

2020 · 1h 30min

United States

Director: Craig Zobel

Twelve strangers wake up in a clearing and learn they’ve become part of the ruthless elite’s entertainment—a thrill-seeking “quest” built around hunting people. A woman named Krista refuses to accept that fate and is ready to do anything to survive.

Style similarity

Most similar in: fast pacing, very high tension, very dark tone

Biggest differences: noticeably more humorous, slightly less bleak


Kate

7. Kate

Action Thriller
6.3

2021 · 1h 46min

United States, Japan

Director: Cedric Nicolas-Troyan

After a mission goes wrong, a young woman decides to leave her life as an assassin behind. During her final job, she discovers that someone has poisoned her, and now she has only 24 hours to find those responsible and take revenge before she dies.

Style similarity

Most similar in: extreme violence, very high tension, non-stop action

Biggest differences: slightly less humorous

Shared keywords

Race Against Time, Revenge


Everly

8. Everly

Thriller Action
5.1

2015 · 1h 33min

United States, Serbia

Director: Joe Lynch

A yakuza boss sends hired killers to eliminate a woman named Everly after suspecting her of working with the police. Trapped inside her apartment with an arsenal of weapons, Everly is ready to fight to the end to save her mother and daughter.

Style similarity

Most similar in: extreme violence, very high tension, non-stop action

Biggest differences: slightly less humorous


Gunpowder Milkshake

9. Gunpowder Milkshake

Action Crime Thriller
6.1

2021 · 1h 54min

United States, France

Director: Navot Papushado

Sam, a hired assassin working for the criminal organization “The Firm,” crosses her boss when she decides to save a little girl instead of carrying out an assignment. Now the organization is hunting her down, and the only people who can help her stand against an army of killers are her mother — a retired assassin — and her former partners.

Style similarity

Most similar in: extreme violence, very high tension, non-stop action

Biggest differences: noticeably less bleak, noticeably more humorous, slightly lighter tone

Shared keywords

Revenge, Escape, KeywordLabels.criminal


Bullet Train

10. Bullet Train

Action Comedy Thriller
7.3

2022 · 2h 6min

United States

Director: David Leitch

A hitman plagued by a streak of bad luck is assigned to retrieve a suitcase aboard a Japanese high-speed train. However, the job becomes far more complicated when he discovers that five other assassins on the train are connected to the same mission.

Style similarity

Most similar in: non-stop action, fast pacing, very high tension

Biggest differences: much more humorous, much less bleak, noticeably lighter tone

Shared keywords

Ensemble Cast, Revenge, Trapped


The Man from Nowhere

11. The Man from Nowhere

Action Thriller Crime
7.7

2010 · 1h 59min

South Korea

Director: Lee Jeong-beom

A former, tight-lipped special agent sets out to find a little girl from the neighborhood who has been abducted by a gang involved in trafficking organs and drugs. He won’t stop at anything as he tries to save his only friend.

Style similarity

Most similar in: extreme violence, very high tension, strong hopelessness

Biggest differences: slightly less humorous

Shared keywords

Revenge, Escape


Kill Bill: Vol. 1

12. Kill Bill: Vol. 1

Action Crime
8.2

2003 · 1h 51min

United States

Director: Quentin Tarantino

During a wedding rehearsal, former comrades from a band of killers shoot the Bride and everyone present in the church. Miraculously surviving after spending several years in a coma, she awakens with a single goal — to find and kill everyone responsible.

Style similarity

Most similar in: extreme violence, very high tension, fast pacing

Biggest differences: slightly more complex, slightly less bleak, slightly more action-heavy

About the movie Pretty Lethal

Year: 2026

Genres: Action, Thriller

Plot: On the way to a dance competition, a group of ballerinas gets stranded at a remote hotel after their bus breaks down. Before long, they realize that everything is part of a carefully planned deadly game set up by the hotel’s mysterious owner, a former ballerina.

Keywords: Ensemble Cast, Race Against Time, Revenge, Trapped, Orchestrated Revenge, Team Dynamics, Escape, Survival Game, KeywordLabels.criminal