Sudden DeathMovies like Sudden Death
- Key Features:
- Hostage situation, Ticking clock, Father-daughter relationship, Terrorism, High stakes, Action hero, Explosions, Rescue mission, Violence-high
- Tone:
- suspense-driven, serious
- Target Audience:
- Action fans, Thrill-seekers, Fans of suspense, Disaster movie enthusiasts
- Emotional Arc:
- Anxiety → Tension → Relief
Sudden Death

When a man's daughter is suddenly taken during a championship hockey game – with the captors demanding a billion dollars by game's end – he frantically sets a plan in motion to rescue her and abort an impending explosion before the final buzzer.
Sudden Death
A former Marine races against time to save a group of hostages -- including his young daughter and a congressman — when armed militants take over his stepfather's store.

Jesse Freeman is a former special forces officer and explosives expert now working a regular job as a security guard in a state-of-the-art basketball arena. Trouble erupts when a tech-savvy cadre of terrorists kidnap the team's owner and Jesse's daughter during opening night. Facing a ticking clock and impossible odds, it's up to Jesse to not only save them but also a full house of fans in this highly charged action thriller.

A vicious gang war for drug dominance draws in a disturbed Special Forces veteran John Bradley. Trying to adjust to normal life and haunted by inner demons of a violent past, the underworld's retribution on his last connection to humanity, a daughter and grandchild leads to a descent of fury and violence that not even the brutality of gangland is prepared for.

A female FBI agent holidaying in Eastern Europe with her family gets her life upside down when her daughter is kidnapped. She has to team up with a criminal on the run to save her daughter before time runs out.

A father is without the means to pay for his daughter's medical treatment. As a last resort, he partners with a greedy co-worker to rob a casino. When things go awry they're forced to hijack a city bus.

In the aftermath of a massive earthquake in California, a rescue-chopper pilot makes a dangerous journey across the state in order to rescue his estranged daughter.

A young man receives an emergency phone call on his cell phone from an older woman. She claims to have been kidnapped – and the kidnappers have targeted her husband and child next.

When a young rape victim takes justice into her own hands and becomes a serial killer, it's up to Dirty Harry Callahan, on suspension from the SFPD, to bring her to justice.

When a mafia accountant is taken hostage on his beat, a police officer – wracked by guilt from a prior stint as a negotiator – must negotiate the standoff, even as his own family is held captive by the mob.

John Matrix, the former leader of a special commando strike force that always got the toughest jobs done, is forced back into action when his young daughter is kidnapped. To find her, Matrix has to fight his way through an array of punks, killers, one of his former commandos, and a fully equipped private army. With the help of a feisty stewardess and an old friend, Matrix has only a few hours to overcome his greatest challenge: finding his daughter before she's killed.

Capitol Policeman John Cale has just been denied his dream job with the Secret Service protecting President James Sawyer. Not wanting to let down his little girl with the news, he takes her on a tour of the White House, when the complex is overtaken by a heavily armed paramilitary group. Now, with the nation's government falling into chaos and time running out, it's up to Cale to save the president, his daughter, and the country.

When their daughter is abducted by experienced kidnappers, the Jennings turn the tables on their seemingly fool-proof plan.

An innocent woman is forced to confront a dangerous kingpin who has kidnapped her young daughter and is holding her for ransom. She teams up with a corrupt Interpol agent, whose son is also being held hostage, to rip off various criminals to raise the ransom to save their offspring. Together they have one hour to save their families from the wrath of bigwig.

When the daughter of veteran 911 call center operator Pamela, and her estranged husband Jeremy, a Senior Police Officer, is kidnapped and held hostage, they are left desperate, with no choice but to follow the kidnapper's rules: send messages through dispatch for all police and fire units to scatter to remote locations throughout the city where they are met with chaos. Not knowing who or why, they must race against the clock to make the choice of their lives: save the city — or save their daughter.

Secret-service agent Vic Davis is on his way to pick up his estranged son, Sean, from his college campus when he finds himself in the middle of a high-stakes terrorist operation. His son's friend Erin Walton, the daughter of Supreme Court Justice Walton is the target, and this armed faction will stop at nothing to kidnap her and use her as leverage for a pending landmark legal case.

When a rich man's son is kidnapped, he cooperates with the police at first but then tries a unique tactic against the criminals.

The tranquility of a small town is marred only by sheriff Tod Shaw's unsuccessful courtship of widow Ellen Benson, a pacifist who can't abide guns and those who use them. But violence descends on Ellen's household willy-nilly when the U.S. President passes through town... and slightly psycho hired assassin John Baron finds the Benson home ideal for an ambush.

A man looking for the release of a long-time prisoner takes a police officer, his daughter, and a group of strangers hostage.

A CIA agent is interned for failing to kill an international terrorist. Escaping from his island exile, he teams up with a flamboyant arms dealer and sets out to find the terrorist and rescue the agent's family. Together they're a two-man arsenal... with enough voltage to rock the free world.

An ordinary man is suddenly forced into a plot to kill a politician in exchange for his kidnapped daughter's freedom.

NATO operative Jacques Kristoff (Jean-Claude Van Damme) is summoned into action—on his birthday, no less—to track down Galina Konstantin (Laura Harring), who has stolen an extremely valuable and dangerous top-secret container from the Slovakian Government. Finding Galina doesn't take long, and Jacques must wrap up the mission by returning Galina and the contraband to his superiors by train. Things seem to be going smoothly as Jacques and Galina board the train posing as a couple, but soon all hell breaks loose.

When a terrorist who specializes in explosives takes hold of an underground tunnel, he threatens to kill hostages if his demands are not met.

An overnight flight to Miami quickly becomes a battle for survival when Lisa realizes her seatmate plans to use her as part of a chilling assassination plot against the Deputy Secretary of Homeland Security. If she refuses to cooperate, her own father will be killed. As the miles tick by, she's in a race against time to find a way to warn the potential victims before it's too late.

An obsessive, insubordinate homicide cop is convinced a serial killer is loose in the Hollywood area and disobeys orders in order to catch him.

Bryan Mills, a former government operative, is trying to reconnect with his teenage daughter Kim. After reluctantly agreeing with his ex-wife to let Kim go to Paris on vacation with a friend, his worst nightmare comes true. While on the phone with his daughter shortly after she arrives in Paris, she and her friend are abducted by a gang of human traffickers. Working against the clock, Bryan relies on his extensive training and skills to track down the ruthless gang that abducted her and launch a one-man war to rescue his daughter.

A psychotic sniper plans a massive killing spree in a Los Angeles football stadium during a major championship game. The police, led by Captain Peter Holly and the SWAT commander, learn of the plot and rush to the scene.

Captain Glass of the USS Arkansas discovers that a coup d'état is taking place in Russia, so he and his crew join an elite group working on the ground to prevent a war.

Victoria is a young mother trying to put her dark past as a Russian drug courier behind her, but retired cop Damon forces Victoria to do his bidding by holding her daughter hostage. Now, Victoria must use guns, guts and a motorcycle to take out a series of violent gangsters—or she may never see her child again.

A biker is forced to deliver a ticking time bomb by a mysterious caller who has put an explosive helmet on his ex-girlfriend.

When a mysterious caller plants a bomb under his car seat, a bank executive begins a high-speed chase across the city to complete a specific series of tasks — all with his kids trapped in the back seat.

Desperate to keep custody of his daughter, a mixed martial arts fighter abandons a big match and races across Berlin to attend her birthday party.

After the G20 Summit is overtaken by terrorists, President Danielle Sutton must bring all her statecraft and military experience to defend her family and her fellow leaders.

A mild-mannered father is transformed into a killing machine after his family is torn apart by a violent act.

After the FBI receives a threat that endangers the entire city, an interrogator and an I.T. specialist are plunged into a series of mind games with a criminal mastermind, desperately racing against time to uncover the villain's true agenda as they fight to protect thousands of lives.

After her mother is killed by a car bomb, a 17-year-old girl lives a reckless and decadent lifestyle. She begins having sex with a boy who works at a local ski resort. He falls in love, and she tells him of her suspicions that her strict father was responsible for her mother's death and wants him to help her out of her situation. He must decide whether she's telling the truth or using him to her own ends.

Armed insurgents attempt a coup d'etat in a troubled Eastern European country, and the president flees to the U.S. embassy for protection. When the U.S. ambassador is murdered by the ruthless and gun-happy rebels, it comes down to the second-in-command of the embassy, Sam Keenan, played by Belgian kickboxer Jean-Claude Van Damme, to use his amazing martial arts technique to defend the besieged.

After being double crossed by his most trusted operative, a ruthless crime lord takes revenge by kidnapping the her son. Overwhelmed with fear, the operative is given one night to make up for her misdeeds by systematically eliminating his enemies. As the hours rush by, the steaks begin to rise and the darkened city streets turn into a brutal and bloody battle ground.

The work of billionaire tech CEO Donovan Chalmers is so valuable that he hires mercenaries to protect it, and a terrorist group kidnaps his daughter just to get it.

When a stadium is seized by a group of heavily armed criminals during a major sporting event, an ex-soldier must use all his military skills to save both the daughter of a fallen comrade and the huge crowd unaware of the danger.

When Chechen rebels take over a Russian nuclear reactor, it’s up to a special ops marksman to rescue the hostages and prevent nuclear catastrophe.

While Carlos, a banking executive, takes his two kids to school in his car, he gets a phone call telling him that there is a bomb under the seats and he must to gather a large amount of money; otherwise, his car will blow up.

A father and teen daughter attend a pop concert, where they realize they're at the center of a dark and sinister event.

After an earthquake rocks D.C., the Army Corp races against the clock to rescue the President trapped under the rubble while a sinister plot aims to capitalize on the disaster.

Jack Hammond is sentenced to life in prison, but manages to escape. To get away from the police he takes a girl as hostage and drives off in her car. The girl happens to be the only daughter of one of the richest men in the state. In a while the car chase is being broadcast live on every TV-channel.

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.

A madman captures a young boy and rigs him with explosives. Ray Fitzpatrick, still haunted by the loss of his own son, will defy orders to stop the clock and save a life

Following a series of bomb attacks in London, a group of terrorists seize Britain's ambassador to Scandinavia. With the ambassador now a hostage in his residence, another group hijacks an airliner at the capital's airport, announcing that the passengers will not be freed until their demands are met. Colonel Nils Tahlvik, Scandinavia's resourceful and ruthless head of security, seeks to take an uncompromising stance against the terrorists yet his attempts meet resistance from unknown forces at every turn...

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.

After a massive shootout, a mysterious stranger arrives at a local hospital on the brink of death. Then, a foreign gang brazenly comes to the hospital to hunt him down. His nurse, the sole surviving witness to the follow-up shootout, must face an FBI interrogation that unlocks a plot of international intrigue and revenge.

When his wife is kidnapped by terrorists for ransom, veteran war hero Brad Paxton races against the clock to rescue her in a daring and deadly operation that pits him against powerful and dark forces.

A special agent's plans to reconcile with his ex-fiancé are ruined when she boards a private jet that is targeted by hijackers working for the same crime lord that he is chasing.

A police chief tries to solve a kidnapping that involves a bank robber holding a young boy hostage.

A helicopter charter turns deadly when the pilot finds that she is on a building held by terrorists. It is up to her and her husband to save the hostages.

The Belgian PM is abducted and he finds his wife and children taken hostage. If he wants to see them again – alive – he has to kill the person he is meeting later that day. And that person is no less than... the president of the United States.

When political thugs murder an opponent's volunteer and also kill a cop, chief inspector Verjeat believes the politician who hired them is as guilty as the murderous goon. Verjeat's pursuit of the councilman, Lardatte, gets him a warning from his superiors. When he embarrasses Lardatte while disarming a hostage (the dead volunteer's father), Verjeat is told he's being transferred within a week. He speeds up his hunt for the goon and, with Lefévre, one of his young detectives, he engineers a complicated scheme to buy more time before the transfer. How should Verjeat play out his values of honor and duty?

A former Marine and his old war buddy face off against the Mexican cartel behind the disappearance of his daughter.

An ex-hacker is forced to break into high-level banking institutions, another man must try to penetrate the booby-trapped building to get the young man off the hot seat.

On her first assignment aboard Air Force One, a rookie Secret Service agent faces the ultimate test when terrorists hijack the plane, intent on derailing a pivotal energy deal. With the President's life on the line and a global crisis at stake, her bravery and skills are pushed to the limit in a relentless battle that could change the course of history.

When Russian neo-nationalists hijack Air Force One, the world's most secure and extraordinary aircraft, the President is faced with a nearly impossible decision to give in to terrorist demands or sacrifice not only the country's dignity, but the lives of his wife and daughter.

Keller Dover is facing every parent’s worst nightmare. His six-year-old daughter, Anna, is missing, together with her young friend, Joy, and as minutes turn to hours, panic sets in. The only lead is a dilapidated RV that had earlier been parked on their street.

Roper, a hostage negotiator catches a murderous bank robber after a blown heist. The bank robber escapes and immediately goes after the man who put him behind bars.

After a bank job goes badly wrong, three desperate criminals take a young woman and a father and child hostage - it's the beginning of a frantic and violent road trip that not all of them will survive.

Communication is the key to the survival for nine strangers who have been kidnapped by a masked gunman and told that one of them will die every ten minutes until they discover how they are all connected. Who of the nine lives and who dies?

In a desperate bid to reunite with his daughter, an armed man bursts into the medical center where his estranged wife works and kidnaps her.

Frank Penny is a disgraced cop looking for a shot at redemption. When the police chief's 11-year-old daughter is abducted, Frank goes rogue to try and save her. But to find the girl, Frank will need the help of Ava Brooks, whose live-streaming news channel is broadcasting Frank's every move.

When his daughter is murdered, William Duncan takes the law into his own hands, setting out on a quest for retribution. After killing the street thug responsible for her death, he finds himself in the middle of a war with the thug's brother, father, and their gang, who are equally hell-bent on getting even. What ensues is a tense back-and-forth game of vengeance. By the end, William comes to find that the quest for revenge never has a winner.

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.

After a former elite agent rescues a 12-year-old Chinese girl who's been abducted, they find themselves in the middle of a standoff between Triads, the Russian Mafia and high-level corrupt New York City politicians and police.

Jack Traven, an LAPD cop on SWAT detail, and veteran SWAT officer Harry Temple thwart an extortionist-bomber's scheme for a $3 million ransom. As they corner the bomber, he flees and detonates a bomb vest, seemingly killing himself. Weeks later, Jack witnesses a mass transit city bus explode and nearby a pay phone rings. On the phone is that same bomber looking for vengeance and the money he's owed. He gives a personal challenge to Jack: a bomb is rigged on another city bus - if it slows down below 50 mph, it will explode - bad enough any day, but a nightmare in LA traffic. And that's just the beginning...

Mack is a former soldier who, after the war, moved to a town with a nuclear power plant, where nearly everybody works. Life is peaceful for him there, until a gang of mercenaries led by Ron storm the reactor and take everybody hostage, including a group of children on a school trip. Now Mack is in a race against the clock and must use his military training to defeat Ron before he puts the reactor into meltdown. Along the way he discovers Ron’s motive, which unravels a greater secret Mack’s town is hiding.

While filming an advertisement, some extreme sports enthusiasts unwittingly stop a group of terrorists.

Master thief Will Montgomery is just released from the State penitentiary after serving a 10 year sentence, is contacted by Vincent, his ex comrade in crime, who is holding Will’s teenage daughter ransom in a hijacked taxi cab. Vincent will only surrender her when Will reveals the whereabouts of the 20 million dollars he contrived to conceal from their last robbery.

A man named Mr. Smith delivers a woman's baby during a shootout, and is then called upon to protect the newborn from the army of gunmen.

Frank Martin puts the driving gloves on to deliver Valentina, the kidnapped daughter of a Ukrainian government official, from Marseilles to Odessa on the Black Sea. En route, he has to contend with thugs who want to intercept Valentina's safe delivery and not let his personal feelings get in the way of his dangerous objective.

Brazil is a contract killer, willing to take any job if the price is right. Flint left the assassin game when a ruthless drug dealer’s brutal attack left his wife in a coma. When a contract is put out on the same coldblooded drug dealer, both Brazil and Flint want him dead – one for the money, the other for revenge. With crooked Interpol agents and vicious members of the criminal underworld hot on their trail, these two assassins reluctantly join forces to quickly take out their target before they themselves are terminated.

Firefighter Gordon Brewer is plunged into the complex and dangerous world of international terrorism after he loses his wife and child in a bombing credited to Claudio 'The Wolf' Perrini.

When terrorists take over two oil rigs, and threaten to blow them up if their demands are not met, an eccentric anti-terrorism expert volunteers his unique commando unit to stop them.

When a former CIA operative is kidnapped by a group of terrorists, his son learns there is no plan for his father to be saved—so he launches his own rescue operation.

New York city mechanic Robert Saunders is knocked unconscious at his birthday dinner by Russian thugs and wakes up to find himself locked inside the restaurant's industrial freezer. This ruthless gang demand he return the $8 million he has stolen from them. The only problem Robert has no idea what they are talking about. But as the temperature drops and the terror grows, the shocking truth begins to emerge as Robert struggles to survive.

Innocent lives hang on the whim of an elusive psychopathic murderer whose strange riddles and impossible timelines force three people into a mission to end the game before one or all of them die.

A slick New York publicist who picks up a ringing receiver in a phone booth is told that if he hangs up, he'll be killed... and the little red light from a laser rifle sight is proof that the caller isn't kidding.

With a ticking bomb locked to his neck, a young freerunner races against the clock and all types of baddies to get from one end of the city to the other to save himself and his girlfriend.

When an experienced thief accidentally makes off with a Van Gogh, his partner is kidnapped by gangsters in pursuit of the painting, forcing the criminal to hatch a rescue plan.

A high school coach, whose teenage daughter was murdered, takes matters into his own hands by going after the men who kidnap his students for their sex trafficking operation.

The plan was easy; the job was not. On a snowy night a tight crew of four criminals plan to pull off a routine heist. When things go horribly wrong, friendship, loyalty and trust are pushed to the limit.

A special agent is assigned to protect a wealthy business magnate. However, when the businessman is kidnapped in a daring ambush, he teams up with a seasoned detective to crack the case. But soon he discovers the case isn't that simple.

Police inspector and excellent hostage negotiator Ho Sheung-Sang finds himself in over his head when he is pulled into a 72 hour game by a cancer suffering criminal out for vengeance on Hong Kong's organized crime syndicates.

Inspired by one of the longest and bloodiest real-life events in police history, Officer Mike Chandler and a young civilian passenger find themselves under-prepared and outgunned when fate puts them squarely in the crosshairs of a daring bank heist in progress by a fearless team of highly-trained and heavily-armed men.

Hostage negotiator Alan Bender is called to rescue the president from a kidnapping, only to find himself also mediating to save his wife and marriage.

Taking his kids to school with the car, Berlin real estate developer Karl gets a call from a blackmailer: If he doesn’t pay up, the car will blow up. A deadly race against time begins.

Canadian policeman Louis Burke is assigned in a jail to investigate the murders of prisoners and jailors. While there, Louis, using his outstanding martial arts skills, is able to save his life and make himself respected in this violent world.

Two fugitives land in hot water when they take a hostage who poses a threat to their well-being.

Fresh out of prison, a former debt collector working for a gangland boss is told he has a terminal brain tumour. In an attempt to atone for his past he rescues a young girl from trafficking, forcing him into a deadly game of cat-and-mouse with his boss.

When Cassie's father finds himself vulnerable and bedridden, she believes she has the perfect revenge for her mother's death.

A psychotic small-time criminal realizes that the everyday robberies, rapes and murders he commits aren't profitable enough, so he figures to hit the big time by kidnapping the daughter of a rich man.

Carlo, a former mobster, is abducted by five privileged young men desperate to raise a $2 million ransom to save the sister of a friend. As Carlo plays mind games, however, his captors splinter -- each wondering whether one of their own had a hand in the crime.

After 30 years of searching, Harry has finally met the girl of his dreams. Unfortunately, before they even have a chance to go on their first date, Harry intercepts some chilling news: WWIII has begun and nuclear missiles will destroy Los Angeles in less than an hour!


