Movies like A Nightmare (1896)
The best movies like A Nightmare (1896) are Un Chien Andalou (1929), Terrifier (2011) and Dead of Night (1945). If A Nightmare hooked you with its horror, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedMeshes of the Afternoon (1943)7.6/10 from 463 votes
- NewestMonkey’s Magic Merry Go Round (2026)Released 2026
- In FrenchUn Chien Andalou (1929)Also in French
Un Chien Andalou (1929)
Un Chien Andalou is an European avant-garde surrealist film, a collaboration between director Luis Buñuel and Salvador Dali.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Worth the HypeMovies like thisTerrifier (2011)
After witnessing a brutal murder on Halloween night, a young woman becomes the next target of a maniacal entity.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDead of Night (1945)
An architect, visiting an English country house, realizes the other guests are familiar from his recurring nightmare. When they share their tales of the supernatural, he is filled with a growing dread.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Jester (2023)
A malevolent being known as The Jester terrorizes the inhabitants of a small town on Halloween night, including two estranged sisters who must come together to find a way to defeat this evil entity.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCurve (2016)
Clinging to a smooth, curved surface high above a sentient abyss, a woman tries to cover the few feet back to safety without losing purchase and falling to her death.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisA Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors (1987)
A psychiatrist, familiar with the knife-wielding dream demon Freddy Krueger, helps teens at a mental hospital battle the killer who is invading their dreams.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDust Bunny (2025)
Ten-year-old Aurora asks her hitman neighbor to kill the monster under her bed that she claims ate her family. To protect her, he must battle an onslaught of assassins while accepting that some monsters are real.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMonster (2005)
A mother battles with her son's fear of a monster lurking in the closet, but soon discovers a sinister presence all around her.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Deliverance (2024)
Ebony Jackson, a struggling single mother fighting her personal demons, moves her family into a new home for a fresh start. But when strange occurrences inside the home raise the suspicions of Child Protective Services and threaten to tear the family apart, Ebony soon finds herself locked in a battle for her life and the souls of her children.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMonkey’s Magic Merry Go Round (2026)
After a mysterious bout of amnesia, a beloved children’s television host struggles to piece together his fractured memories, only to find his once-cheerful puppet co-stars behaving with sinister intent. As reality unravels, the line between performance and nightmare begins to blur.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Worth the HypeMovies like thisCome Play (2020)
Oliver, a lonely autistic boy, seeks solace and refuge in his ever-present cell phone and tablet. When a mysterious creature uses the boy's devices against him, his parents must fight to save their son from the monster beyond the screen.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisA Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master (1988)
Freddy Krueger returns once again to terrorize the dreams of the remaining Dream Warriors, as well as those of a young woman who may be able to defeat him for good.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
SnoozefestMovies like thisMandy (2018)
The Shadow Mountains, 1983. Red and Mandy lead a loving and peaceful existence; but when their pine-scented haven is savagely destroyed, Red is catapulted into a phantasmagoric journey filled with bloody vengeance and laced with fire.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCobweb (2023)
Eight year old Peter is plagued by a mysterious, constant tapping from inside his bedroom wall—one that his parents insist is all in his imagination. As Peter's fear intensifies, he believes that his parents could be hiding a terrible, dangerous secret and questions their trustworthiness.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisGhostland (2018)
A mother of two inherits a home from her aunt. On the first night in the new home she is confronted with murderous intruders and fights for her daughters’ lives. Sixteen years later the daughters reunite at the house, and that is when things get strange...
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Worth the HypeMovies like thisMeshes of the Afternoon (1943)
A woman returning home falls asleep and has vivid dreams that may or may not be happening in reality. Through repetitive images and complete mismatching of the objective view of time and space, her dark inner desires play out on-screen.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Car (1977)
The Utah community of Santa Ynez is being terrorized by a mysterious black coupe that appears out of nowhere and begins running people down. After the car kills off the town sheriff, Captain Wade Parent is determined to stop the murderous driver.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Black Phone (2022)
Finney Blake, a shy but clever 13-year-old boy, is abducted by a sadistic killer and trapped in a soundproof basement where screaming is of little use. When a disconnected phone on the wall begins to ring, Finney discovers that he can hear the voices of the killer’s previous victims. And they are dead set on making sure that what happened to them doesn’t happen to Finney.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Worth the HypeMovies like thisYou Shall Not Sleep Tonight (2024)
A boy is haunted by terrifying nightmares where a monster lurks inside the closet. To his relief, his father appears in the middle of the night helping him to face his fears. But the boy will begin to question the true nature of these apparitions, having to face the truth about his father's destiny and the evil force that threatens to consume him.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
SnoozefestMovies like thisMalignant (2021)
Madison is paralyzed by shocking visions of grisly murders, and her torment worsens as she discovers that these waking dreams are in fact terrifying realities with a mysterious tie to her past.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisInfection (2022)
A group of friends decide to stay overnight in an abandoned theatre... only to find it overrun with zombies!
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror
The Moddey Dhoo (2025)
Past and present collide when a mythical beast is reawakened by a couple exploring a historic castle on the Isle of Man.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror
Message from Jerusalem (2011)
Made exclusively for the Hail to the King Tribute Show at Finder Creepers in Des Moines, Iowa. A surreal and non linear adaptation of the short story "Jerusalem's Lot". It was shown for exactly one month from January 22nd, 2011 to February 22nd, 2011.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror
The Cult of Kiros (2025)
After being abruptly evicted from his apartment, Mateo returns to his hometown, seeking refuge in a local house-sitting job. But as the house’s silence settles in, he begins to sense a presence lurking beneath—something that has chosen Mateo for something much bigger than himself.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror
Refused (1980)
Frieda Liappa in this short film casts an alternative gaze on the notion of historicity. Loukia is a teenager currently staying at her cousin’s house in Athens. Unlike her cousin she is timid and quite stressed for the school exam. She studies history. Between the lines of her book the historical events sprung up in a multidimensional way. Liappa transverses the dimensions of the real the imaginary and the symbolic. She invites the viewer to consider the construction of the filmic as well as the historical text. She succeeds in making a film with an open end and to leave room for our own contingent constructions.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror
The Traveler's Longing to Pray (2017)
A year has passed since the death of my mother and two of my sisters.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror
Dark Water (2002)
A woman in the midst of an unpleasant divorce moves to an eerie apartment building with her young daughter. The ceiling of their apartment has a dark and active leak.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisTomb of Torture (1963)
A woman is tormented by dreams that she is the reincarnation of a dead countess. Her father, trying to get her to stop the dreams, takes her to a village near the castle of the late countess. In the village she meets a reporter who is investigating reports of the deaths of two young women who it is believed were killed by a creature that lives in the castle.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror
Jaret's 2022 Halloween Special (2022)
In October of 2022, two student filmmakers and a viral YouTube and Tik Tok sensation disappeared in the woods near Harrisville RI. This footage was found at the scene.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror
Flow (2017)
Two female soldiers in a divided United Kingdom settle a score.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror
Like A Nightmare and something else?
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like A Nightmare?
The closest matches to A Nightmare are Un Chien Andalou (1929), Terrifier (2011) and Dead of Night (1945). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after A Nightmare?
Start with Un Chien Andalou (1929), the closest match to A Nightmare.
What is the highest-rated movie like A Nightmare?
Meshes of the Afternoon (1943), rated 7.6/10 by 463 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like A Nightmare?
Monkey’s Magic Merry Go Round (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there French movies like A Nightmare?
Yes: Un Chien Andalou (1929).
How are movies similar to A Nightmare chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside A Nightmare, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.