Movies like The American Scream (1988)
The best movies like The American Scream (1988) are The Mean One (2022), Creepshow 2 (1987) and Better Watch Out (2017). If The American Scream hooked you with its horror and comedy, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedNight of the Living Dead (1990)6.9/10 from 1,045 votes
- NewestHold the Fort (2025)Released 2025
The Mean One (2022)
In a sleepy mountain town, Cindy witnesses the murder of her parents by a blood-thirsty green figure in a red Santa suit. Twenty years later, the Christmas-hating monster begins to terrorize the town once more. Cindy finds new purpose in stopping the creature and saving the holiday.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror & comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCreepshow 2 (1987)
Three macabre tales from the latest issue of a boy's favorite comic book, dealing with a vengeful wooden Native American, a monstrous blob in a lake, and an undying hitchhiker.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror & comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBetter Watch Out (2017)
On a quiet suburban street tucked within a 'safe neighborhood', a babysitter must defend a twelve-year-old boy from strangers breaking into the house, only to discover that this is far from a normal home invasion.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror & comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSundown: The Vampire in Retreat (1991)
Reclusive vampires lounge in a lonely American town. They wear sunscreen to protect themselves. A descendant of Van Helsing arrives with hilarious consequences.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHold the Fort (2025)
A HOA turns out to be more troublesome than usual in this wildly amusing, FX-heavy freak-out about newly minted suburbanites unexpectedly forced to take part in a struggle against monstrous forces.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisWerewolves Within (2021)
When a proposed pipeline creates hostilities between residents of a small town, a newly-arrived forest ranger must keep the peace after a snowstorm confines the townspeople to an old lodge. But when a mysterious creature begins terrorizing the group, their worst tendencies and prejudices rise to the surface, and it is up to the ranger to keep the residents alive, both from each other and the monster which plagues them.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror & comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisParents (1989)
Michael is a young boy living in a typical 1950s suburbanite home... except for his bizarre and horrific nightmares, and continued unease around his parents. Young Michael begins to suspect his parents are cooking more than just hamburgers on the grill outside, but has trouble explaining his fears to his new-found friend Sheila, or the school's social worker.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror & comedy
SnoozefestMovies like thisThe Children (2008)
A relaxing Christmas vacation turns into a terrifying fight for survival as the children begin to turn on their parents.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Town that Dreaded Sundown (2014)
A masked maniac terrorizes the same small community where a murderer known as the Phantom Killer struck decades earlier.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
SnoozefestMovies like thisJeepers Creepers (2001)
On a desolate country highway, two homeward-bound teens are nearly run off the road by a maniac in a beat-up truck, and later spot him shoving what appears to be a body down a sewer pipe.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies 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 thisNight of the Living Dead (1990)
A ragtag group barricade themselves in an old Pennsylvania farmhouse to remain safe from a horde of flesh-eating ghouls ravaging the Northeast.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Hunt (2020)
Twelve strangers wake up in a clearing. They don't know where they are—or how they got there. In the shadow of a dark internet conspiracy theory, ruthless elitists gather at a remote location to hunt humans for sport. But their master plan is about to be derailed when one of the hunted turns the tables on her pursuers.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Boogeyman (2023)
Still reeling from the tragic death of their mother, a teenage girl and her younger sister find themselves plagued by a sadistic presence in their house and struggle to get their grieving father to pay attention before it’s too late.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSilver Bullet (1985)
The small city of Tarker's Mills is startled by a series of sadistic murders. The population fears the work of a maniac, but sightings of a mysterious, hairy creature soon spread. People lock themselves up at night, but there's one boy who's still outside…
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisTrick (2019)
A detective tries to track down a masked killer who reappears every Halloween to wreak bloody havoc.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
SnoozefestMovies like thisBloodline (2019)
Evan values family above all else, and anyone who gets between him, his wife, and newborn son learns that the hard way. But when it comes to violent tendencies, it seems the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
SnoozefestMovies like thisA Nasty Piece of Work (2019)
A mid-level corporate employee finds out he’s not getting the Christmas bonus he was expecting, but his boss invites him to earn a promotion by beating his professional rival in a violent competition.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisF (2010)
A group of teachers must defend themselves from a gang of murderous kids when their school comes under siege after hours.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDie Alone (2024)
Lost in a world reclaimed by nature and overrun by mysterious creatures, Ethan, a young man with amnesia navigates the dangerous landscape in search of his lost love Emma. His journey takes an unexpected turn when he encounters Mae, a hardened and eccentric survivor. Together, Ethan and Mae face threats both human and otherwise before a fateful encounter with Kai unravels a secret that lies just beyond Ethan's fractured memory.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSanta's Slay (2005)
Santa Claus is actually a demon who lost a bet with an angel, so he became the giver of toys and happiness. But this year the bet is off, and Santa is about to return to his evil ways.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy & horror
SnoozefestMovies like thisFrostbitten (2006)
After Annika, a medical doctor, gets work at the local hospital, she and her 17-year old daughter Saga move to a small town in northern Sweden. Annika is keen to work with her idol, geneticist Professor Gerhard Beckert. However Beckert's sinister past in the Waffen-SS soon catches up with him when a couple of pill-popping interns mistake an experimental vaccine for party drugs. Mayhem ensues as the town's teenagers succumb one by one to the mysterious virus.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror & comedy
SnoozefestMovies like thisSnap (2012)
Shot on location in Austria, an improvised short comedy-drama about cabin fever and the dangers of drinking too much Schnapps...
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror & comedy
Never Have I Ever (TBA)
Alex has invited a group of friends whom he hasn't seen in ages to spend the weekend at his parent's summer home. As the alcohol begins pouring the group's tightly knit history begins to unravel. An ill-advised game of Never Have I Ever seems to bring the festivities to a screeching halt. As the group separates to deal with their various emotional drama, an intruder crashes the party to silence them all for good. In one night, a years old secret will come to the surface and fighting is the only means of survival. The truth hurts, but a knife hurts deeper.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror
The Wicked One (2017)
A group of traveling friends who are hoping for a fun filled weekend getaway, find themselves in the cross hairs of one of the most dangerous and prolific serial killers in history.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror
Made Me Do It (2017)
College student Ali Hooper and her little brother are attacked by a masked maniac, and the key to them surviving the night lies in unlocking a secret from the killer's past.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror
Amsterdamned (1988)
A mysterious diver hiding in Amsterdam's canal system embarks on a rampage of gruesome murders, terrifying city officials and leaving few clues for the city's best detective, who doesn't suspect that both his new girlfriend and twelve-year-old daughter may be closer than he is to finding the killer.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisUntil Dawn (2025)
One year after her sister Melanie mysteriously disappeared, Clover and her friends head into the remote valley where she vanished in search of answers. Exploring an abandoned visitor center, they find themselves stalked by a masked killer and horrifically murdered one by one...only to wake up and find themselves back at the beginning of the same evening.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisTropical-Rouge! Precure: The Snow Princess and the Miraculous Ring! (2021)
One day, the Tropical-Rouge Pretty Cure receive an amazing invitation from the Land of Snow, Shantia. They're holding a ceremony to celebrate Sharon becoming the new queen. They all depart to the sparkling world of snow. Laura, who wants to be the queen of the Mermaid Kingdom, befriends Sharon who gives her a beautiful ring. But just as they decide to keep a promise, a mysterious monster suddenly appears and locks everyone inside of the kingdom. When it seems like all hope is lost, the Heartcatch Pretty Cure team rush in and give them all a boost of motivation. And when their feelings become one, the ring transforms into the Snow Heartful Ring...
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy
Cherry Falls (2000)
When students in the small town of Cherry Falls learn a serial killer is targeting virgins, they realize their only chance of survival is to throw a “Pop Your Cherry” party.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror
SnoozefestMovies like this
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like The American Scream?
The closest matches to The American Scream are The Mean One (2022), Creepshow 2 (1987) and Better Watch Out (2017). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after The American Scream?
Start with The Mean One (2022), the closest match to The American Scream.
What is the highest-rated movie like The American Scream?
Night of the Living Dead (1990), rated 6.9/10 by 1,045 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like The American Scream?
Hold the Fort (2025) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like The American Scream?
Yes: The Mean One (2022), Creepshow 2 (1987) and Better Watch Out (2017).
How are movies similar to The American Scream chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside The American Scream, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.