Movies like Stray (2018)
The best movies like Stray (2018) are Cat People (1982), Saint Catherine (2024) and Strays (1991). If Stray hooked you with its horror, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedThe Incredible Shrinking Man (1957)7.5/10 from 598 votes
- NewestMonkey’s Magic Merry Go Round (2026)Released 2026
Cat People (1982)
After years of separation, Irena Gallier and her minister brother, Paul, reunite in New Orleans. When zoologists capture a wild panther, Irena is drawn to the cat – and zoo curator Oliver to her. Soon, Paul will have to reveal the family secret: that when sexually aroused, they revert into predatory jungle cats.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSaint Catherine (2024)
An orphaned girl is rescued from a satanic ritual and taken to Saint Catherine Institute for homeless youth. There she will learn new skills while facing demons that stalk her.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisStrays (1991)
A young married couple and their daughter are terrorized by a pride of ferocious feral felines.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisA Quiet Place: Day One (2024)
As New York City is invaded by alien creatures who hunt by sound, a woman named Sam fights to survive with her cat.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCat's Eye (1985)
Three short stories linked by a stray cat that roams from one tale to the next, in this creepy triptych that begins as Dick tries to quit smoking by any means necessary. Next, we meet Johnny, an adulterous man who's forced by his lover's husband onto a building's hazardous ledge. Finally, Amanda is threatened by an evil gnome who throws suspicion on the family cat.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Dreadful (2026)
In medieval England, Anne and her domineering mother-in-law Morwen struggle to survive on the outskirts of society. But when a man from Anne's past returns from war, a curse begins to take shape through a mysterious knight and threatens to destroy them all.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
SnoozefestMovies 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 thisSleepwalkers (1992)
Charles Brady and his mother, Mary, are the last of a dying breed whose needs are not of this world. They are Sleepwalkers - able to stay alive only by feeding on the life-force of the innocent, but destined to roam the earth, avoiding discovery while searching for their next victim. That search takes them to the sleepy little town of Travis, Indiana, where beautiful teenager Tanya Robertson is about to become an unwilling pawn in their nightmarish fight for survival.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Descent: Part 2 (2009)
Distraught, confused, and half-wild with fear, Sarah Carter emerges alone from the Appalachian cave system where she encountered unspeakable terrors. Unable to plausibly explain to the authorities what happened - or why she's covered in her friends' blood - Sarah is forced back to the subterranean depths to help locate her five missing companions.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Uncanny (1977)
Wilbur Gray, a horror writer, has stumbled upon a terrible secret, that cats are supernatural creatures who really call the shots. In a desperate attempt to get others to believe him, Wilbur spews three tales of feline horror.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
SnoozefestMovies 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 horror
SnoozefestMovies like thisDark Harvest (2023)
In a small Midwestern town, a deadly annual ritual unfolds when the mythical nightmare, Sawtooth Jack, rises from the cornfields and challenges the town’s teenage boys in a bloody battle of survival.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisTales of the Black Freighter (2009)
A mariner survives an attack from the dreaded pirates of the Black Freighter, but his struggle to return home to warn it has a horrific cost.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisNightbooks (2021)
Alex, a boy obsessed with scary stories, is trapped by a witch in her modern, magical New York City apartment. His original hair-raising tales are the only thing keeping him safe as he desperately tries to find a way out of this twisted place.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisFear the Night (2023)
During a bachelorette party in a secluded California farmhouse, masked intruders launch a brutal attack, forcing eight women to fight for survival. Led by Tess, a troubled military veteran, they unite to defend themselves throughout a harrowing night.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
SnoozefestMovies like thisThe Incredible Shrinking Man (1957)
A dangerous combination of radiation and insecticide causes the unfortunate Scott Carey to shrink, slowly but surely, until he is only a few inches tall. His home becomes a wilderness where he must survive everything from spiders living in the cellar to his beloved cat.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Worth the HypeMovies like thisPlay Dead (2025)
A woman wakes up injured in a basement surrounded by corpses. To survive, she pretends to be dead while a grotesque ritual unfolds in the house above.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAbigail Haunting (2020)
After escaping the clutches of an abusive relationship, Katie reluctantly returns to the foster home she grew up in. Little does she know, her foster mother Marge is harboring a sinister secret dating back a decade. Now, Katie finds herself caught up in a horrifying family drama while confronting an angry spirit named Abigail.
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 thisThe Boy Behind the Door (2020)
Bobby tries to save himself and his best friend when they are kidnapped on their way home from school.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Last Call (2024)
The lights are dimmed and the bell is rung. It’s last orders at the Rock Lodge, but the night is only just beginning. Creepy customers, ominous calls and, for one unexpected visitor, there is still time enough to enjoy its last round…
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror
Sunday Driver (2024)
Bazza's late for the match again, but he's confident he'll get there in time...until he bumps into the Sunday drivers...
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror
Everbliss Inn (2022)
Jackson and Kate decide to spend a night at Everbliss Inn, an idyllic B&B in rural Georgia that hides a much more sinister façade beneath the surface.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror
The Foreboding: Fractured (2024)
Entering the woods for a simple camping trip, four university students find themselves hunted for reasons unknown. With their fates being intertwined in this place, how can they ever escape? Perspective is everything.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror
Dibbuk (2019)
Dan, a pious man is tasked by Sarah to examine her husband Eli. Dan thus brings together a "Minyan", a group of ten Jewish individuals, in order to perform an exorcism according to a strict and tiresome ritual.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror
Felidae (1994)
A domestic house cat named Francis investigates the grisly feline murders taking place in his new neighborhood.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSleepers of the City (2009)
A young man contemplates jumping off a bridge when he meets a beautiful woman who could have been his salvation, had she not been dead for the past seventy-five years.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror
SARAH (2019)
An overcritical guy encounters a mysterious dating app profile he can't swipe away, leaving him caught between attraction and fear.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror
An Absurd Thing (2019)
One day, a mysterious creature grows on Nam-joon's shoulder.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror
The Return of the Näcken (2024)
The Return of the Näcken is a gothic horror tale about a lonely water demon and her quest for human souls focusing on the existential anguish of being an enchanted creature doomed to an immortal life filled with grief, isolation, and loss.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Stray?
The closest matches to Stray are Cat People (1982), Saint Catherine (2024) and Strays (1991). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Stray?
Start with Cat People (1982), the closest match to Stray.
What is the highest-rated movie like Stray?
The Incredible Shrinking Man (1957), rated 7.5/10 by 598 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Stray?
Monkey’s Magic Merry Go Round (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like Stray?
Yes: Cat People (1982), Saint Catherine (2024) and Strays (1991).
How are movies similar to Stray chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Stray, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.