Movies like A Guide to Becoming an Elm Tree (2023)
The best movies like A Guide to Becoming an Elm Tree (2023) are Starve Acre (2024), The Surrender (2025) and Presence (2025). If A Guide to Becoming an Elm Tree hooked you with its drama and horror, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedThe Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1920)7.9/10 from 1,853 votes
- NewestHokum (2026)Released 2026
Starve Acre (2024)
When their son starts acting strangely, a couple unwittingly allow dark and sinister forces into their home, awakening a long-dormant ancient evil rooted deep in the countryside.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror & drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisThe Surrender (2025)
A fraught mother-daughter relationship is put to a terrifying test when the family patriarch dies, and the grieving mother hires a mysterious stranger to bring her husband back from the dead.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & horror
SnoozefestMovies like thisPresence (2025)
A couple and their children move into a seemingly normal suburban home. When strange events occur, they begin to believe there is something else in the house with them. The presence is about to disrupt their lives in unimaginable ways.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Craft: Legacy (2020)
An eclectic foursome of aspiring teenage witches get more than they bargained for as they lean into their newfound powers.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisNo Such Thing (2002)
A young journalist journeys to Iceland to find her missing fiancé only to encounter a mythical creature who longs to die.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Eyes of My Mother (2016)
A young, lonely woman is consumed by her deepest and darkest desires after tragedy strikes her quiet country life.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisFrankenstein (2025)
Dr. Victor Frankenstein, a brilliant but egotistical scientist, brings a creature to life in a monstrous experiment that ultimately leads to the undoing of both the creator and his tragic creation.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & horror
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Ritual (2025)
Two priests, one in crisis with his faith and the other confronting a turbulent past, must overcome their differences to perform a risky exorcism.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror & drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisThe Watchers (2024)
A young artist gets stranded in an extensive, immaculate forest in western Ireland, where, after finding shelter, she becomes trapped alongside three strangers, stalked by mysterious creatures each night.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisGretel & Hansel (2020)
A long time ago in a distant fairy tale countryside, a young girl leads her little brother into a dark wood in desperate search of food and work, only to stumble upon a nexus of terrifying evil.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHokum (2026)
When novelist Ohm Bauman retreats to a remote inn to scatter his parents' ashes, he is consumed by tales of a witch haunting the honeymoon suite. Disturbing visions and a shocking disappearance forces him to confront dark corners of his past.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisNever Let Go (2024)
As an evil takes over the world beyond their front doorstep, the only protection for a mother and her twin sons is their house and their family’s protective bond.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Woman in Black (1989)
A lawyer travels to a small seaside town to settle the estate of a recently deceased woman, but soon becomes ensnared in something much more sinister.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Evil (1978)
Shortly after moving into a dark, brooding mansion, a psychologist and his co-workers are terrorized by a horrible evil being.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
SnoozefestMovies like thisPilgrimage (2017)
In 13th century Ireland a group of monks must escort a sacred relic across a landscape fraught with peril.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDaddy's Head (2024)
A boy and his stepmother fear for their safety after an eerie creature resembling the boy's recently deceased father visits them.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
SnoozefestMovies like thisA Dark Song (2016)
A determined young woman and a damaged occultist risk their lives and souls to perform a dangerous ritual that will grant them what they want.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Witch (2016)
In 1630, a farmer relocates his family to a remote plot of land on the edge of a forest where strange, unsettling things happen. With suspicion and paranoia mounting, each family member's faith, loyalty and love are tested in shocking ways.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Worth the HypeMovies like thisInsidious: Chapter 2 (2013)
The haunted Lambert family seeks to uncover the mysterious childhood secret that has left them dangerously connected to the spirit world.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisOddity (2024)
After the brutal murder of her twin sister, Darcy goes after those responsible by using haunted items as her tools for revenge.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1920)
Francis, a young man, recalls in his memory the horrible experiences he and his fiancée Jane recently went through. Francis and his friend Alan visit The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, an exhibit where the mysterious doctor shows the somnambulist Cesare, and awakens him for some moments from his death-like sleep.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & horror
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisSpellbound (2022)
James' dull daily routine is disrupted by a strange apparition that begins to haunt him in his waking moments and dreams alike. Suspecting who might be behind these disturbances, James sets out to confront the culprit.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror
Donnie Darko (2001)
After narrowly escaping a bizarre accident, a troubled teenager is plagued by visions of a large bunny rabbit that manipulates him to commit a series of crimes.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisPLASTIC CHAIRS (2026)
Plastic Chairs follows Dylan, a recovering addict forced back into a support meeting by his sister after a near-fatal overdose. There, he meets Tom — a man further along the same path, who recognises his own past in Dylan and quietly offers understanding rather than judgment. As stories are shared and silences linger, the film observes the difficult, often invisible act of choosing to stay. Plastic Chairs is an intimate short film about relapse, accountability, and the courage it takes to show up for yourself when it feels impossible. Chloe Webb makes her directorial debut.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
The Science of Sleep (2006)
A man entranced by his dreams and imagination is lovestruck with a French woman and feels he can show her his world.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisBeneath The Surface (2025)
Nothing is what it seems-five gripping tales where every secret hides something darker.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
An Uninvited Guest (2011)
A crazed and dangerous man barges into Eun Jin's home while she's alone. His actions and behavior are strangely similar to that of her husband. Eun Jin's neighbor comes by with rice cakes, and she too is taken hostage. The strange man is scary, but he reveals even scarier things about Eun Jin's husband.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror
Lost Highway (1997)
A tormented jazz musician finds himself lost in an enigmatic story involving murder, surveillance, gangsters, doppelgängers, and an impossible transformation inside a prison cell.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like this
Like A Guide to Becoming an Elm Tree and something else?
Blend two favourites and we’ll find the films in between.
Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like A Guide to Becoming an Elm Tree?
The closest matches to A Guide to Becoming an Elm Tree are Starve Acre (2024), The Surrender (2025) and Presence (2025). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after A Guide to Becoming an Elm Tree?
Start with Starve Acre (2024), the closest match to A Guide to Becoming an Elm Tree.
What is the highest-rated movie like A Guide to Becoming an Elm Tree?
The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1920), rated 7.9/10 by 1,853 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like A Guide to Becoming an Elm Tree?
Hokum (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like A Guide to Becoming an Elm Tree?
Yes: Starve Acre (2024), The Surrender (2025) and Presence (2025).
How are movies similar to A Guide to Becoming an Elm Tree chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside A Guide to Becoming an Elm Tree, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.