Netflix’s Carry On became a breakout hit during the 2024 holiday season and continues to dominate the platform in 2025. If you’re looking for films with a similar storyline or craving more TSA-centric content, we got you covered.
Airport (1970)
In what became one of the most lucrative and Oscar-nominated disaster films of all time—earning 10 Academy Award nominations, including Best Picture—Airport set the stage for the 1970s craze of “disaster” films. Unlike the terrorist-driven tension in Carry-On, Airport focuses on a dual crisis: Dean Martin stars as an airplane pilot grappling with a bomb threat, while Burt Lancaster portrays an air-traffic controller battling to keep a Chicago airport operational during a relentless snowstorm.
Red Eye (2005)
Directed by Wes Craven, this 30,000-foot-high thriller shares thematic similarities with Netflix’s Carry-On in its high-stakes, confined setting. Starring Rachel McAdams as a woman kidnapped by a charming but dangerous terrorist (Cillian Murphy) during a routine flight, the story spirals into a tense plot involving the assassination of a political figure. Like Carry-On, it blends personal stakes with an escalating, claustrophobic sense of tension. Psycho Drive-In notes, “What could have been a forgettable summer thriller instead evolves into a slow-burning, taut narrative full of surprises,” highlighting Craven’s ability to create suspense within a real-world framework.
She’s Out of My League (2010)
Are you craving more movies about TSA agents? Well, believe it or not Carry On is really the only one. Well, except for She’s Out of My League, but it’s a silly comedy film, not an action movie. Instead of high-stakes hijackings and life-or-death decisions, She’s Out of My League gives us Kirk (Jay Baruchel), a lovable underdog trying to navigate his way through an out-of-his-league romance. Though, come to think of it, that is kind of the plot line of Carry On as Ethan Kopek is definitely married to someone out of his league in that film.
Non-Stop (2014)
Bill Marks (Liam Neeson) is an alcoholic and disillusioned air marshal on a transatlantic flight, thrust into a high-stakes scenario similar to Netflix’s Carry-On. He receives anonymous text messages demanding a $150 million ransom, with the threat that someone on the plane will die every twenty minutes until the money is transferred. Both films share a confined, airborne setting and escalating tension driven by personal and external stakes. Note: This film was actually made by the same director as Carry On.
Blood Red Sky (2021)
This high-concept action-horror movie explores the terrifying question, what happens when a vampire is trapped on an airplane with terrorists? (A very realistic and relatable premise, lol). Nadja (Peri Baumeister), a seemingly sickly woman, boards a flight to New York City with her young son, Elias (Carl Koch), seeking medical treatment for her mysterious condition. However, their journey takes a nightmarish turn when terrorists hijack the plane. As chaos unfolds, Nadja is forced to reveal her dark secret—she is a vampire. What she has kept hidden to protect her son becomes her greatest weapon in a desperate fight for survival. While its supernatural premise sets it apart from Carry-On, this film similarly uses the backdrop of air travel and family bonds to heighten its drama.
0 Comments