Movies like King of the Children (1988)
The best movies like King of the Children (1988) are Dave Made a Maze (2017), Secret Society of Second-Born Royals (2020) and The Warriors Gate (2016). If King of the Children hooked you with its comedy and horror, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedSlumberland (2022)7.2/10 from 999 votes
- NewestA Knight's War (2025)Released 2025
- In ChineseMojin: The Worm Valley (2018)Also in Chinese
Dave Made a Maze (2017)
Dave, an artist who has yet to complete anything significant in his career, builds a fort in his living room out of pure frustration, only to wind up trapped by the fantastical pitfalls, booby traps, and critters of his own creation. Ignoring his warnings, Dave’s girlfriend Annie leads a band of oddball explorers on a rescue mission. Once inside, they find themselves trapped in an ever-changing supernatural world, threatened by booby traps and pursued by a bloodthirsty Minotaur.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & adventure
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSecret Society of Second-Born Royals (2020)
A rebellious teenage princess discovers she has superhuman abilities and joins a secret society of extraordinary second-born royals tasked with protecting the world.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & adventure
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Warriors Gate (2016)
After a mysterious chest opens a gateway through time, teen gamer Jack is transported to an ancient empire terrorized by a cruel barbarian king. Jack will need all of his gaming skills as he battles to defeat the barbarian, protect a beautiful princess, and somehow find his way back home.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & adventure
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMojin: The Worm Valley (2018)
Legendary tomb explorer Hu Bayi is on a dangerous mission as he seeks out the Tomb of Emperor Xian, located on an island of monstrous creatures in this mystical action-adventure.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & fantasy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAngels Fallen: Warriors of Peace (2024)
When an Iraq War veteran receives a calling from a higher power, he embarks on a mission to stop a fallen angel from raising an army of the dead to take over the world.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & adventure
SnoozefestMovies like thisSlumberland (2022)
A young girl discovers a secret map to the dreamworld of Slumberland, and with the help of an eccentric outlaw, she traverses dreams and flees nightmares, with the hope that she will be able to see her late father again.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both adventure & comedy
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Monkey King (2023)
A stick-wielding monkey teams with a young girl on an epic quest for immortality, battling demons, dragons, gods — and his own ego — along the way.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both fantasy & adventure
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMonster Hunt (2015)
Young monster kids try to make peace between the world of humans and the world of the monsters.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & fantasy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Thousand Faces of Dunjia (2017)
The world is on the brink of catastrophe in a chaotic age where evil demons roam. In order to keep evil at bay, a mysterious organisation from the pugilist world emerges. A new constable and a young girl with a mysterious past are also drawn into this group, and the group embarks on an incredible adventure.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both adventure & action
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Willoughbys (2020)
When the four Willoughby children are abandoned by their selfish parents, they must learn how to adapt their Old-Fashioned values to the contemporary world in order to create something new: The Modern Family.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both adventure & comedy
Worth the HypeMovies like thisNezha Conquers the Dragon King (1979)
In Chentang Pass, Nezha, the magical son of General Li Jing, makes enemies with Ao Guang, the Dragon King of East Sea. When he is reported to heaven's court and his home is threatened, Nezha takes it upon himself to destroy the palace and defeat the dragons. A retelling of the classic chapters from Investiture of The Gods.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both fantasy & adventure
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Spine of Night (2021)
When ancient dark magic falls into sinister hands and unleashes ages of suffering onto mankind, a group of heroes from different eras and cultures must band together in order to defeat it at all costs.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both fantasy & action
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDragon Blade (2015)
Huo An, the commander of the Protection Squad of the Western Regions, was framed by evil forces and becomes enslaved. On the other hand, a Roman general escapes to China after rescuing the Prince. The heroic duo meet in the Western Desert and a thrilling story unfolds.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both adventure & action
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSheroes (2023)
When four thick-as-thieves friends arrive in Thailand, they quickly find themselves in over their heads. Fighting to stay alive, they employ their unique set of skills and unleash their fierce loyalty in a heart-pumping battle for survival.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & comedy
SnoozefestMovies like thisA Knight's War (2025)
A fearless knight braves a deadly realm to save the Chosen One’s soul. Facing witches, demons, and brutal foes, he discovers her return could ignite chaos and doom humanity.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror & action
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBasilisk: The Serpent King (2006)
Two millennia ago, a Lybian king has a basilisk (snake-shaped dragon), which petrifies people, subjected to the same fate with a golden scepter during a solar eclipse. Both these and several victims are dug up by modern archaeologist Harrison 'Harry' McColl's expedition. Despite a cryptic warning from tribal locals, everything goes to his Colorado university's museum. It's all exhibited during another eclipse, which leads to the monster reviving. Harry and some of his friends must try to petrify the monster again.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDetective Chinatown (2015)
After being rejected from the police college, a mannerly man travels to Bangkok where he and an energetic distant relative must solve a murder case.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & action
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisShorts (2009)
A young boy's discovery of a colorful, wish-granting rock causes chaos in the suburban town of Black Falls when jealous kids and scheming adults alike set out to get their hands on it.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both fantasy & comedy
SnoozefestMovies like thisAnimal Crackers (2018)
A family must use a magical box of Animal Crackers to save a rundown circus from being taken over by their evil uncle Horatio P. Huntington.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & adventure
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Unhealer (2021)
A botched faith healing bestows supernatural Shaman powers on a bullied teenager. When his lifelong tormentors pull a prank that kills someone he loves, he uses his powers for revenge and goes on a bloody rampage to settle the score.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both fantasy & horror
SnoozefestMovies like thisThunder Ninja Kids 3: Hunt For The Devil Boxer (1991)
All Satan needs to enslave the souls of all mankind is the Sacred Sword which is kept by Master William and his son Falcon. The Thunder Ninja Kids battle Satan and his ghouls, and with the help of Falcon's new master Samson, they avenge Master William's murder, vanquish Satan and save mankind.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both action & comedy
Mr. Zombie 2 (2019)
It is about Mao Shanhao leading his apprentice Qiu Sheng and Wen Cai to open a shop and run a monster in Qinglong Town. Wen Cai asked his elder brother for help from marrying his daughter, and Qiu Sheng took the risk to find the legendary Huang Yao to borrow money. One person and one demon didn't know each other and had love. Despite the obstruction of Mao Shanhao, the captain of the public security team in Qinglong Town, Hu Biao, insisted on putting an ancient holy relic in the exhibition of the World Expo. Mao Shanhao came to the rescue but was completely secretive, making the evil spirit escape and blood-washed the World Expo. Mao Shanhao led the battle, but he was not an opponent. When the crisis happened, Huang Yao appeared, sacrificed himself to remove the relics, and saved the people of Qinglong Town
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both action & comedy
Kung Fu Zombie (1981)
A criminal comes to town in order to kill Billy Chong over a past dispute. But instead of getting his own hands dirty, he hires a Taoist wizard to animate some zombies to do the job for him.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both action & horror
The 3-D Army (1989)
An evil sorcerer traps a young hopping zombie and his friend with magic. He later tries to raise an army of zombies to help carry out his nefarious schemes. It is up to a few heroes to try to stop his sinister schemes and his undead minions. (from ZMDB)
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror & adventure
Fantasy Mission Force (1983)
A force of loners and fighters is put together to try and rescue the generals and save the war effort with the promise of gold and pardons of past crimes.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both action & adventure
SnoozefestMovies like thisThe Shadow Boxing (1979)
Lau Kar-leung returns to the success of his first directed film, "The Spiritual Boxer," which also stars the original film's bumbling ghost controller, Wong Yu. Hoping to make the lightning of success strike in the same place, Lau had his two brothers Lau Kar-Wing and Gordon Liu not only act but also help with the fights. The end result is a martial arts film masterpiece filled with breathtaking action and set pieces.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy & action
The Trail (1983)
A gang of opium smugglers, disguised as Taoist Priests transporting hopping corpses, are hired to transport a real dead body to it's final resting place.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror & adventure
Rigor Mortis (2013)
When a former actor moves into an apartment building with the intention of commiting suicide, he is saved by a Taoist priest who used to specialize in hunting Chinese hopping vampires: or Jiāngshī. Elsewhere in the building, a woman turns to a specialist in black magic to bring her husband back to life.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror & action
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Last Heroes (2019)
A group of friends - a tomb raider, a chatty salesman, a naughty journalist, a lazy nerd and the shy assistant of a mysterious blind and silent shopkeeper - meet again in the quiet small town where they had shared a terrible secret. When a skeptical policeman discovers the link between a weird animals slaughter and some occult practices, strange things start happening. Together, they will discover the ancient curse of Kaisha and have to face the demons of the past.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both fantasy & horror
The Living Corpse (1958)
Famed director Zhu Shilin tries his hand at a horror film! The beginning of The Living Corpse immediately sets the tone with a folk duet clearly inspired by the popular 1956 musical Songs of the Peach Blossom River. The duet, in addition to Zhu's frequent use of long, empty shots and crisp editing, gives this horror film a traditional poetic charm and a strong folk flavor. Mise-en-scene and sound effects create a terrifying atmosphere, and successfully communicate the ghostliness of a world without ghosts.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like King of the Children?
The closest matches to King of the Children are Dave Made a Maze (2017), Secret Society of Second-Born Royals (2020) and The Warriors Gate (2016). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after King of the Children?
Start with Dave Made a Maze (2017), the closest match to King of the Children.
What is the highest-rated movie like King of the Children?
Slumberland (2022), rated 7.2/10 by 999 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like King of the Children?
A Knight's War (2025) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there Chinese movies like King of the Children?
Yes: Mojin: The Worm Valley (2018), Monster Hunt (2015) and The Thousand Faces of Dunjia (2017).
How are movies similar to King of the Children chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside King of the Children, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.