The Best Kidnapping Movies and TV Shows on Free Services

What it's about: 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...

Where to Watch: Available to watch free online (Sony Crackle), stream on a popular subscription service (Netflix) & rent or buy from $2.99 on 5 services (iTunes, Google Play & 3 others).

What it's about: In 1994 a 13-year-old boy disappeared without a trace from his home in San Antonio, Texas. Three and a half years later he is found alive thousands of miles away in a village in southern Spain with a horrifying story of kidnap and torture. His family is overjoyed to bring him home. But all is not quite as it seems.

Where to Watch: Available to watch free online (Tubi) & rent or buy from $2.99 on 2 services (Google Play & Microsoft).

What it's about: After resigning, a secret agent is abducted and taken to what looks like an idyllic village, but is really a bizarre prison. His warders demand information. He gives them nothing, but only tries to escape.

Where to Watch: 17 episodes (100%) are available to watch free online (Tubi). 17 episodes (100%) are available to stream on a popular subscription service (Prime Video). 17 episodes (100%) are available to rent or buy from $1.99 on 1 service (Prime Video).

What it's about: 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.

Where to Watch: Available to watch free online (PopcornFlix), stream on a subscription service (Fandor & Kanopy) & rent or buy from $1.99 on 6 services (iTunes, Google Play & 4 others).

What it's about: A murderous lust for the British throne sees Richard III (Ian McKellen) descend into madness. Though the setting is transposed to the 1930s, England is torn by civil war, split between the rivaling houses of York and Lancaster. Richard aspires to a fascist dictatorship, but must first remove the obstacles to his ascension -- among them his brother, his nephews and his brother's wife (Annette Bening). When the Duke of Buckingham (Jim Broadbent) deserts him, Richard's plans are compromised.

Where to Watch: Available to watch free online (Vudu) & rent or buy from $3.99 on 1 service (Vudu).

What it's about: When his SUV breaks down on a remote Southwestern road, Jeff Taylor lets his wife, Amy, hitch a ride with a trucker to get help. When she doesn't return, Jeff fixes his SUV and tracks down the trucker -- who tells the police he's never seen Amy. Johnathan Mostow's tense thriller then follows Jeff's desperate search for his wife, which eventually uncovers a small town's murderous secret.

Where to Watch: Available to watch free online (Tubi), stream on a popular subscription service (Prime Video), stream on a popular TV everywhere service (Epix) & rent or buy from $2.99 on 6 services (iTunes, Google Play & 4 others).

What it's about: Upstanding community leader Nils has just won an award for "Citizen of the Year" when he learns the news that his son has died of a heroin overdose. Suspecting foul play, Nils begins to investigate, and soon finds himself at the center of an escalating underworld gang war between Serbian drug dealers and a sociopathic criminal mastermind known only as “The Count.”

Where to Watch: Available to watch free online (Tubi) & rent or buy from $2.99 on 6 services (iTunes, Google Play & 4 others).

What it's about: Satoru Fujinuma is a struggling manga artist who has the ability to turn back time and prevent deaths. When his mother is killed he turns back time to solve the mystery, but ends up back in elementary school, just before the disappearance of his classmate Kayo.

Where to Watch: 12 episodes (100%) are available to watch free online (Crunchyroll). 12 episodes (100%) are available to stream on a popular subscription service (Netflix & Hulu).

What it's about: In 1930s Southern US, a widow and her family try to run their cotton farm with the help of a disparate group of friends.

Where to Watch: Available to watch free online (Sony Crackle) & rent or buy from $2.99 on 5 services (iTunes, Google Play & 3 others).

What it's about: Realizing the urban legend of their youth has actually come true; two filmmakers delve into the mystery surrounding five missing children and the real-life boogeyman linked to their disappearances.

Where to Watch: Available to watch free online (PopcornFlix, Tubi & Vudu), stream on a popular subscription service (Prime Video, Daring Docs & Fear Factory) & rent or buy from $2.99 on 4 services (iTunes, Prime Video & 2 others).

What it's about: In Victorian-era London, on the night of Ciel Phantomhive's tenth birthday a fire destroyed his manor and killed both of his parents. In a moment of death Ceil strikes a deal with a demon, his soul in exchange for revenge. This demon becomes his butler and calls himself by name of Sebastian Michaelis, to protect and serve Ciel until the deal has been completed. One month after the fire Ciel returns from being missing, with his new butler Sebastian. Ceil is now the head of the Phantomhive corporation, handling all business affairs as well as the work as the Queen of England’s guard dog and looking for his parents murders.

Where to Watch: 10 episodes (21%) are available to watch free online (Crunchyroll). 35 episodes (74%) are available to stream on a popular subscription service (Netflix & Hulu). 34 episodes (72%) are available to rent or buy from $1.99 on 5 services (iTunes, Google Play & 3 others).

What it's about: When a teenager from a political family in the Philippines is accused of a double murder, the country’s entire judicial system is put to the test after years of alleged corruption.

Where to Watch: Available to watch free online (Tubi), stream on a popular subscription service (Prime Video) & rent or buy from $2.99 on 4 services (iTunes, Google Play & 2 others).

What it's about: A special agent 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.

Where to Watch: Available to watch free online (Shout Factory TV, Tubi & Vudu), stream on a subscription service (Shout Factory TV) & rent or buy from $2.99 on 3 services (Google Play, Prime Video & YouTube).

What it's about: A rich man's daughter is held captive in an abandoned apartment by two former convicts who abducted her and hold her ransom in exchange for her father's money.

Where to Watch: Available to watch free online (Tubi & Vudu), stream on a subscription service (Tribeca Short List) & rent or buy from $2.99 on 4 services (iTunes, Prime Video & 2 others).

What it's about: Jerry Welbach, a reluctant bagman, has been given two ultimatums: The first is from his mob boss to travel to Mexico and retrieve a priceless antique pistol, known as "the Mexican"... or suffer the consequences. The second is from his girlfriend Samantha to end his association with the mob. Jerry figures alive and in trouble with Samantha is better than the more permanent alternative, so he heads south of the border.

Where to Watch: Available to watch free online (Tubi), stream on a popular subscription service (Prime Video) & rent or buy from $2.99 on 5 services (iTunes, Google Play & 3 others).

What it's about: A British multinational company seeks to overthrow a vicious dictator in central Africa. It hires a band of (largely aged) mercenaries in London and sends them in to save the virtuous but imprisoned opposition leader who is also critically ill and due for execution. Just when the team has performed a perfect rescue, the multinational does a deal with the vicious dictator leaving the mercenary band to escape under their own steam and exact revenge.

Where to Watch: Available to watch free online (Tubi), stream on a subscription service (Fandor) & rent or buy from $2.99 on 2 services (Prime Video & Microsoft).

What it's about: Terry is a tough mercenary and a master of martial arts. When an important business magnate dies, leaving billions to his daughter, the Mafia and Yakuza try to hire Terry to kidnap the daughter. When they refuse to meet his exorbitant price, then try to kill him to conceal their secret plans, he promptly offers his services to protect her. Much ultra-violent martial-arts fighting action, as expected, ensues. This also includes a subplot of a family's blood-feud with Terry over a disputed debt.

Where to Watch: Available to watch free online (SnagFilms & Tubi), stream on a popular subscription service (Prime Video) & rent or buy from $2.00 on 3 services (iTunes, Prime Video & Microsoft).

What it's about: When an Egyptian terrorism suspect "disappears" on a flight from Africa to Washington DC, his American wife and a CIA analyst find themselves caught up in a struggle to secure his release from a secret detention facility somewhere outside the US.

Where to Watch: Available to watch free online (Vudu) & rent or buy from $2.99 on 5 services (iTunes, Google Play & 3 others).

What it's about: A disturbed gang of youths kidnap, torture and murder two teenage girls; unbeknownst to the gang, the parents of one of the girls live nearby...

Where to Watch: Available to watch free online (PopcornFlix) & rent or buy from $3.99 on 2 services (iTunes & Prime Video).

What it's about: Two criminal drifters without sympathy get more than they bargained for after kidnapping and holding for ransom the surrogate mother of a powerful and shady man.

Where to Watch: Available to watch free online (Vudu), stream on a popular TV everywhere service (Epix) & rent or buy from $3.99 on 5 services (iTunes, Google Play & 3 others).

What it's about: Charly Matteï has turned his back on his life as an outlaw. For the last three years, he's led a peaceful life devoting himself to his wife and two children. Then, one winter morning, he's left for dead in the parking garage in Marseille's Old Port, with 22 bullets in his body. Against all the odds, he doesn't die...

Where to Watch: Available to watch free online (Tubi & Vudu), stream on a popular subscription service (Prime Video, Cinefest & ConTV) & rent or buy from $2.99 on 6 services (iTunes, Google Play & 4 others).

What it's about: Charlie, 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 Charlie plays mind games, however, his captors splinter -- each wondering whether one of their own had a hand in the crime.

Where to Watch: Available to watch free online (Vudu & IMDb TV), stream on a subscription service (Tribeca Short List) & rent or buy from $3.99 on 6 services (iTunes, Google Play & 4 others).

What it's about: Dolph Springer wakes up one morning to realize he has lost the love of his life, his dog, Paul. During his quest to get Paul (and his life) back, Dolph radically changes the lives of others -- risking his sanity all the while.

Where to Watch: Available to watch free online (PopcornFlix, Tubi & Vudu), stream on a subscription service (Cinefest) & rent or buy from $2.99 on 3 services (iTunes, Google Play & YouTube).

What it's about: The descendant of Elizabeth Bathory is abducted by a cult of self-proclaimed supermen who achieve this state of superiority by drinking from the "blood cows" (read: people) kept at the "dairy farm", and they try to get her to join them.

Where to Watch: Available to watch free online (PopcornFlix & Tubi), stream on a popular subscription service (Prime Video, Fandor & Shudder) & rent or buy from $3.99 on 1 service (Vudu).

What it's about: When her child goes missing, a mother looks to unravel the legend of the Tall Man, an entity who allegedly abducts children.

Where to Watch: Available to watch free online (Tubi), stream on a popular subscription service (Prime Video & Hulu) & rent or buy from $2.99 on 5 services (iTunes, Google Play & 3 others).

What it's about: A ten year old boy, prone to excessive worry, begins to succumb to his anxiety as a string of child abductions plague his town.

Where to Watch: Available to watch free online (Tubi & Vudu), stream on a popular subscription service (Prime Video) & rent or buy from $2.99 on 3 services (iTunes, Prime Video & Vudu).

What it's about: A gang of ruthless highway killers kidnap a wealthy couple traveling cross country only to shockingly discover that things are not what they seem.

Where to Watch: Available to watch free online (Tubi, Vudu & IMDb TV) & rent or buy from $2.99 on 5 services (iTunes, Prime Video & 3 others).

What it's about: An aging Texas cattle man who has outlived his time swings into action when outlaws kidnap his grandson.

Where to Watch: Available to watch free online (Tubi), stream on a popular subscription service (Prime Video) & rent or buy from $0.99 on 1 service (Prime Video).

What it's about: Kidnapped is an American television drama series from Sony Pictures Television which aired on NBC from September 20, 2006, to August 11, 2007. The series returned on Universal HD in 2008.

Where to Watch: 13 episodes (100%) are available to watch free online (Sony Crackle). 13 episodes (100%) are available to rent or buy from $1.99 on 4 services (iTunes, Google Play & 2 others).

What it's about: Angela, a corporate climber, gets stuck working late on Christmas Eve and finds herself the target of an unhinged security guard. With no help in sight, the woman must overcome physical and psychological challenges to survive.

Where to Watch: Available to watch free online (IMDb TV), stream on a popular subscription service (Prime Video, Hulu & Tribeca Short List), stream on a popular TV everywhere service (Epix) & rent or buy from $3.99 on 5 services (iTunes, Google Play & 3 others).

What it's about: Afghanistan. War correspondent Elsa Casanova is taken hostage by the Taliban. Faced with her imminent execution, a Special Forces unit is dispatched to free her. In some of the world’s most breathtaking yet hostile landscapes, a relentless pursuit begins between her kidnappers who have no intention of letting their prey escape them and a group of soldiers who risk their lives in pursuit of their single aim – to bring her home alive. This strong, independent woman and these men of duty are thrown together and forced to confront situations of great danger that inextricably bind them – emotionally, violently and intimately.

Where to Watch: Available to watch free online (Tubi & Vudu), stream on a popular subscription service (Prime Video) & rent or buy from $3.99 on 4 services (iTunes, Google Play & 2 others).

What it's about: In the crime-ridden, mafia-governed city of Ergastulum, Worick and Nicolas are two "handymen" known as "Benriya" who would take any dirty job from either police or mafia -- for a good price. After an assignment from police the two met and later joined by Alex, a former prostitute who got interested in the mysterious background of the team, in particular of Nicolas' abilities.

Where to Watch: 12 episodes (100%) are available to watch free online (Crunchyroll & Tubi). 12 episodes (100%) are available to stream on a popular subscription service (Hulu). 12 episodes (100%) are available to rent or buy from $0.99 on 4 services (iTunes, Google Play & 2 others).

What it's about: Special Agent Jennifer Marsh (Diane Lane) works in an elite division of the FBI dedicated to fighting cybercrime. She thinks she has seen it all, until a particularly sadistic criminal arises on the Internet. This tech-savvy killer posts live feeds of his crimes on his website; the more hits the site gets, the faster the victim dies. Marsh and her team must find the elusive killer before time runs out.

Where to Watch: Available to watch free online (Sony Crackle) & rent or buy from $2.99 on 6 services (iTunes, Google Play & 4 others).

What it's about: Michelle Pfeiffer is ferocious in the role of a desperate mother whose 3-year-old son disappears during her high school reunion. Nine years later, by chance, he turns up in the town in which the family has just relocated. Based on Jacquelyn Mitchard's best-selling novel (an Oprah book club selection), the movie effectively presents the troubling dynamics that exist between family members who've suffered such an unsettling loss.

Where to Watch: Available to watch free online (Sony Crackle) & rent or buy from $2.99 on 5 services (iTunes, Google Play & 3 others).

What it's about: A drama based on an ancient Chinese proverb that breaks life down into four emotional cornerstones: happiness, pleasure, sorrow and love. A businessman bets his life on a horse race; a gangster sees the future; a pop star (Gellar) falls prey to a crime boss; a doctor must save the love of his life.

Where to Watch: Available to watch free online (PopcornFlix & Tubi) & rent or buy from $2.99 on 5 services (iTunes, Google Play & 3 others).

What it's about: Docu-drama based on the life of Ted Bundy, a serial killer who killed at least 19 young women during the 1970's (though some sources say as many as 30 to 35 were murdered). Set from his college student years, to his first victims, his capture, escape from prison (twice), his final killing spree to his trial, conviction and execution.

Where to Watch: Available to watch free online (PopcornFlix, Tubi & Vudu), stream on a popular subscription service (Prime Video) & rent or buy from $2.99 on 5 services (iTunes, Google Play & 3 others).

What it's about: A recently released ex-con gets involved in a fake kidnapping scheme that turns very real.

Where to Watch: Available to watch free online (Vudu) & rent or buy from $2.99 on 4 services (iTunes, Google Play & 2 others).

What it's about: In coastal Cornwall, England, during the early 19th Century, a young woman discovers that she's living with a gang of criminals who arrange shipwrecking for profit.

Where to Watch: Available to watch free online (SnagFilms), stream on a subscription service (Fandor & Kanopy) & rent or buy from $3.99 on 1 service (Google Play).

What it's about: Teens P.J. and Goose get their thrills on BMX bikes, performing hair-raising tricks all across Sydney, Australia. Along with their new friend Judy, they discover a box of walkie-talkies -- and find out that a gang of criminals intends to use them to monitor police signals during a bank robbery. When the young trio snatches the devices, it propels them on a hair-raising adventure in which their pedaling skills might just save their necks.

Where to Watch: Available to watch free online (PopcornFlix & Tubi) & stream on a popular subscription service (Prime Video, Fandor & Shout Factory TV).

What it's about: To remedy his financial problems, a travel agent has his eye on a frozen corpse, which just happens to be sought after by two hitmen.

Where to Watch: Available to watch free online (IMDb TV) & rent or buy from $1.99 on 1 service (Prime Video).

What it's about: The young daughter of a politician runs away due to lack of attention. She hides in the car of two not too bright crooks who are slowly converted into parent figures as the police web closes down on the supposed kidnappers.

Where to Watch: Available to watch free online (Vudu), stream on a popular subscription service (Prime Video, Dove Channel & Kanopy) & rent or buy from $1.99 on 3 services (Google Play, Prime Video & Microsoft).

What it's about: A rich brat (Alicia Silverstone) fakes her own kidnapping, but in the process ends up locked in the trunk of a car that gets stolen.

Where to Watch: Available to watch free online (Sony Crackle) & rent or buy from $2.99 on 6 services (iTunes, Google Play & 4 others).

What it's about: 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.

Where to Watch: Available to watch free online (Sony Crackle & IMDb TV) & rent or buy from $3.99 on 1 service (Prime Video).

What it's about: When the Russian mob kidnaps the daughter of a reformed criminal, he rounds up his old crew and seeks his own brand of justice.

Where to Watch: Available to watch free online (Tubi), stream on a popular subscription service (Prime Video) & rent or buy from $2.99 on 3 services (iTunes, Prime Video & Vudu).

What it's about: After his family is kidnapped during their sailing trip in Spain, a young Wall Street trader is confronted by the people responsible: intelligence agents looking to recover a mysterious briefcase.

Where to Watch: Available to watch free online (Vudu) & rent or buy from $3.99 on 6 services (iTunes, Google Play & 4 others).

What it's about: In the midst of World War II, Sherlock Holmes rescues the Swiss inventor of a new bomb-sight from the Gestapo and brings him to England, where he shortly falls into the clutches of Professor Moriarty.

Where to Watch: Available to watch free online (SnagFilms), stream on a popular subscription service (Prime Video, Starz, Fandor & 1 other), stream on a popular TV everywhere service (Starz & Epix) & rent or buy from $2.00 on 2 services (Prime Video & Vudu).

What it's about: In rural Indiana, Noah and his impoverished family wrestle with the mysterious return of his now mute sister, Lauren, who was kidnapped and held captive for over a decade.

Where to Watch: Available to watch free online (Tubi & Vudu) & rent or buy from $1.99 on 4 services (iTunes, Google Play & 2 others).

What it's about: A group of high school outcasts get revenge on the students that torment them.

Where to Watch: Available to watch free online (Tubi, Vudu & IMDb TV) & rent or buy from $3.99 on 5 services (iTunes, Google Play & 3 others).