Movies like The Howling (1981)
The best movies like The Howling (1981) are Never Let Go (2024), Sleepwalkers (1992) and Wolfen (1981). If The Howling hooked you with its horror, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedPsycho (1960)8.4/10 from 11,426 votes
- NewestClayface (2026)Released 2026
Never 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 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 thisWolfen (1981)
A New York City cop and an expert criminologist trying to solve a series of grisly deaths in which the victims have seemingly been maimed by feral animals discover a sinister connection between the crimes and an old legend.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
SnoozefestMovies like thisThe Invisible Man (2020)
When Cecilia's abusive ex takes his own life and leaves her his fortune, she suspects his death was a hoax. As a series of coincidences turn lethal, Cecilia works to prove that she is being hunted by someone nobody can see.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Worth the HypeMovies like thisDressed to Kill (1980)
After witnessing a mysterious woman brutally slay a homemaker, prostitute Liz Blake finds herself trapped in a dangerous situation. While the police thinks she is the murderer, the real killer is intent on silencing her only witness.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisLust for a Vampire (1971)
In 1830, the Karnstein heirs use the blood of an innocent to bring forth the evil that is the beautiful Mircalla - or as she was in 1710, Carmilla. The nearby Finishing School offers rich pickings not only in in the blood of nubile young ladies but also with the headmaster who is desperate to become Mircalla's disciple, and the equally besotted and even more foolish author Richard Lestrange.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
SnoozefestMovies like thisWrong Turn (2021)
Jen and a group of friends set out to hike the Appalachian Trail. Despite warnings to stick to the trail, the hikers stray off course—and cross into land inhabited by The Foundation, a hidden community of mountain dwellers who use deadly means to protect their way of life.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
SnoozefestMovies like thisBurnt Offerings (1976)
A family moves into a large old mansion in the countryside which seems to have a mysterious and sinister power over its new residents.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisPsycho (1960)
When larcenous real estate clerk Marion Crane goes on the lam with a wad of cash and hopes of starting a new life, she ends up at the notorious Bates Motel, where manager Norman Bates cares for his housebound mother.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisStrange Darling (2024)
Nothing is what it seems when a twisted one-night stand spirals into a serial killer’s vicious murder spree.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBone Lake (2025)
A couple’s romantic vacation at a secluded lakeside estate is upended when they are forced to share the mansion with a mysterious and attractive couple. In this darkly hilarious and seductive horror story, a dream getaway spirals into a nightmarish maze of sex, lies, and manipulation, bringing terrifying secrets to light and triggering a bloody battle for survival.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
SnoozefestMovies like thisGod Is a Bullet (2023)
Vice detective Bob Hightower finds his ex-wife murdered and daughter kidnapped by a cult. Frustrated by the botched official investigations, he quits the force and infiltrates the cult to hunt down the leader with the help of the cult’s only female victim escapee, Case Hardin.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Bride! (2026)
A lonely Frankenstein travels to 1930s Chicago to ask groundbreaking scientist Dr. Euphronious to create a companion for him. The two revive a murdered young woman and The Bride is born. But what ensues is beyond what either of them imagined.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisA Nun's Curse (2020)
A group of travelers are forced to seek shelter inside an abandoned jail where a notorious nun named Sister Monday had once been assigned and was suspected of murdering prisoners.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSalem's Lot (2024)
Author Ben Mears returns to his childhood home of Jerusalem's Lot only to discover his hometown is being preyed upon by a bloodthirsty vampire.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
SnoozefestMovies like thisDeranged (1974)
A man living in rural Wisconsin takes care of his bed-ridden mother, who is very domineering and teaches him that all women are evil. After she dies, he misses her, and a year later digs her up and takes her home. He learns about taxidermy and begins robbing graves to get materials to patch her up, and inevitably begins looking for fresher sources of materials. Based loosely on the true story of Ed Gein.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
SnoozefestMovies like thisHellraiser (1987)
A hedonistic man finds a mysterious puzzle box that summons a group of gruesome beings known as the Cenobites. These otherworldly entities open the doors to a dominion where pain and pleasure are indivisible.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBuried Alive (1990)
A married woman and her lover plot to kill her husband to make off with the insurance money. However, their attempt to murder him using poisonous fish toxins backfires in surprising ways.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisClayface (2026)
Matt Hagen's meteoric rise from Gotham street kid to Hollywood leading man is tragically cut short when a local crime boss's actions leave him horribly disfigured. Abandoned by his team and with nothing left, Matt seeks out a cutting edge treatment that miraculously returns him to his former self… but also unexpectedly affects his grip on reality, spiraling him down a destructive path of all-consuming revenge.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Worth the HypeMovies like thisA Return to Salem's Lot (1987)
Anthropologist Joe Weber takes his son on a trip to the New England town of Salem's Lot, unaware of its vampire population. When the inhabitants reveal their secret, they seek Weber to write a bible for them.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisUnder Your Bed (2019)
Naoto was ignored by other people. During his school days, Chihiro was the first person who called his name. Naoto dreams of seeing her again and tries to find her. Finally, after 11 years, he locates her, but she is a totally different person now. Naoto becomes obsessed with her. Naoto sneaks into her house and stays under her bed.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror
Freaks (1932)
A circus' beautiful trapeze artist agrees to marry the leader of side-show performers, but his deformed friends discover she is only marrying him for his inheritance.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror
Worth the HypeMovies like thisDracula (1931)
A British estate agent travels to Transylvania to meet with the mysterious Count Dracula, who is interested in leasing a London castle. After Dracula enslaves and drives the agent to insanity, the pair return to London together, where Dracula, a secret bloodsucker, begins preying on socialites.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror
Worth the HypeMovies like thisSaw II (2005)
The chilling and relentless Jigsaw killer returns to terrorize the city once again. When a gruesome murder victim emerges with unmistakable traces of Jigsaw's sinister methods, Detective Eric Matthews is thrust into a high-stakes investigation. To his surprise, apprehending Jigsaw seems almost too easy, but what he doesn't realize is that being caught is merely another piece of Jigsaw's intricate puzzle.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisNightmares (2004)
A nameless Serial Killer, invites you into his world of madness. To discover in his own words what started him on the ever darkening road of evil.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror
The Kiss-Off (1968)
A low rent detective, his stripper girlfriend, a runaway wife (who's joined a whorehouse) and a rapist / obscene phone caller / serial killer all factor into this piece of Los Angeles sleaze.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror
Bradlee (2025)
The surreal, experimental story of an unseen serial killer.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror
Marrow (2026)
A Vodcast host declining in popularity receives the career opportunity of a lifetime when a mysterious stranger invites her into its dangerous world.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror
Hell House LLC Origins: The Carmichael Manor (2023)
A group of cold case investigators stay at the Carmichael Manor, site of the grisly and unsolved murders of the Carmichael family back in the eighties. After four nights, the group was never heard from again. What is discovered on their footage is even more disturbing than anything found on the Hell House tapes.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisStiletto (TBA)
A year after the grisly murder of a local exotic dancer, the victim’s sister, Lyric, searches for the serial killer responsible as he stalks and kills his favorite dancers on the night of the anniversary.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror
Like The Howling and something else?
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like The Howling?
The closest matches to The Howling are Never Let Go (2024), Sleepwalkers (1992) and Wolfen (1981). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after The Howling?
Start with Never Let Go (2024), the closest match to The Howling.
What is the highest-rated movie like The Howling?
Psycho (1960), rated 8.4/10 by 11,426 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like The Howling?
Clayface (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like The Howling?
Yes: Never Let Go (2024), Sleepwalkers (1992) and Wolfen (1981).
How are movies similar to The Howling chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside The Howling, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.