Movies like Cowboy (2008)
The best movies like Cowboy (2008) are The Dogs (2025), Paranormal Activity: Next of Kin (2021) and The Witch (2016). If Cowboy hooked you with its horror and mystery, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedPearl (2022)7.2/10 from 2,829 votes
- NewestRedwood Diaries (2026)Released 2026
- In GermanSennentuntschi: Curse of the Alps (2010)Also in German
The Dogs (2025)
After fleeing his psychotic father, a young teen and his mom seek refuge in a remote farmhouse, only to face a pack of ferocious dogs and the sinister spirits that haunt the property.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror & mystery
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisParanormal Activity: Next of Kin (2021)
Margot is a documentary filmmaker looking to meet her long-lost mother and extended family in a secluded Amish community. She and her film crew soon realize the family that welcomes them into their home might be hiding a sinister secret.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror & mystery
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 & mystery
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Night Visitor (1971)
An insane Swedish farmer escapes from an asylum to get revenge on his sister, her husband and others.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both mystery & horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSennentuntschi: Curse of the Alps (2010)
1975, Swiss Alps: In a remote mountain village, a beautiful and mysterious woman shows up. Only the village policeman takes care of the strange woman and tries to find out who she is. There are hints that she came from the Höhenalp Alp, where herdsmen do unthinkable things to get the company of women. Many dark truths are revealed that should better have remained hidden. A tragedy of lust, insanity and murder is brought to a seemlingly pure and perfect world. It is the beginning of a nightmare of religious insanity, hypocrisy, abuse and belief in demons, who destroys a young family and brings a whole village to destruction.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror & mystery
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Blair Witch Project (1999)
In October of 1994 three student filmmakers disappeared in the woods near Burkittsville, Maryland, while shooting a documentary. A year later their footage was found.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror & mystery
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisParanormal Activity (2009)
After a young, middle-class couple moves into what seems like a typical suburban house, they become increasingly disturbed by a presence that may or may not be demonic, but is certainly the most active in the middle of the night.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror & mystery
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Cabin in the Woods (2012)
Five friends set out for a weekend at a remote cabin in the woods, expecting nothing more than fun and relaxation. As night falls, they discover that something far more unsettling is at work and that nothing about their getaway is what it seems.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror & mystery
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: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror & mystery
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMen (2022)
In the aftermath of a personal tragedy, Harper retreats alone to the beautiful English countryside, hoping to find a place to heal. But someone — or something — from the surrounding woods appears to be stalking her, and what begins as simmering dread becomes a fully-formed nightmare, inhabited by her darkest memories and fears.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Dark and the Wicked (2020)
On a secluded farm in a nondescript rural town, a man is slowly dying. His family gathers to mourn, and soon a darkness grows, marked by waking nightmares and a growing sense that something evil is taking over the family.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSigns (2002)
A family living on a farm finds mysterious crop circles in their fields which suggests something more frightening to come.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like this825 Forest Road (2025)
After a family tragedy, Chuck Wilson hopes to start a new life in Ashland Falls with his wife Maria and little sister Elizabeth, but he quickly discovers that the town has a dark history of being haunted by a ghostly woman who drives residents to suicide.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
SnoozefestMovies like thisGrindhouse (2007)
Grindhouse combines Robert Rodriguez's Planet Terror, a horror comedy about a group of survivors who battle zombie-like creatures, and Quentin Tarantino's Death Proof, an action thriller about a murderous stuntman who kills young women with modified vehicles. It is presented as a double feature with fictitious exploitation trailers preceding each segment.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Watcher in the Woods (1980)
After an American family moves to an old country manor in rural England, one of the daughters is tormented by the spirit of the owner's long lost daughter, who mysteriously disappeared 30 years ago during a solar eclipse.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
SnoozefestMovies like thisThe Visit (2015)
A brother and sister are sent to their grandparents' remote Pennsylvania farm for a week, where they discover that the elderly couple is involved in something deeply disturbing.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisPearl (2022)
Trapped on her family’s isolated farm, Pearl must tend to her ailing father under the bitter and overbearing watch of her devout mother. Lusting for a glamorous life like she’s seen in the movies, Pearl’s ambitions, temptations, and repressions collide.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Worth the HypeMovies like thisPitfall (2025)
After a young man is separated from his friends in the woods, he falls into a ten-foot deep pit of spikes, impaling him through his leg and leaving him trapped. He quickly learns that his fall was not an accident.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisPlanet Terror (2007)
Two doctors find their graveyard shift inundated with townspeople ravaged by sores. Among the wounded is Cherry Darling, a dancer whose leg was ripped from her body. As the invalids quickly become enraged aggressors, Cherry and her ex-boyfriend El Wray lead a team of accidental warriors into the night.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies 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 thisMeurtre du tableau (2025)
An artist, surrounded by the mess in her studio, struggles with frustration as she tries to find inspiration for her new painting.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror & mystery
Redwood Diaries (2026)
When strange entries begin appearing in her diary written in handwriting that isn't hers, new student Evie Quinn is pulled into a chilling mystery as the messages reveal secrets, predict impossible events, and point toward a truth someone has desperately tried to bury.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror & mystery
One For The Road (2019)
After a long night at the bar, a small town bartender and her long-time customer are convinced to help a pleading mother. They embark on a mission to help her two children. In the process they confront their fears about the mysterious evil town of Salem's Lot.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror & mystery
The Woods That Wail (2025)
Three friends head into a notorious haunted forest for a camping trip, but things take a terrifying turn when one friend goes missing.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror & mystery
Crossroads (1942)
A French diplomat who's recovered from amnesia is blackmailed over crimes he can't remember.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both mystery
Grey Matter (2018)
The Advanced Film class at Rockridge is proud to present their latest feature film, a drama/thriller/comedy based on the short story Grey Matter by Stephen King. Originally published in 1973, Grey Matter is about the lengths one would go to for their family… with a dark twist.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror
Grey Matter (2016)
Three old men investigate the strange behavior of an alcoholic recluse when his son insists he's metamorphosing into a degenerate creature.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror
One For The Road (2013)
Two men help a desperate and stranded traveler rescue his wife and daughter from the evil that resides in ‘Salem’s Lot.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror
Hair Wolf (2018)
The staff of a black hair salon fend off a strange new monster: white women intent on sucking the lifeblood from black culture.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror
Bel Canto (2025)
After a boozy night, Anne wakes up, except everything around her has turned into music… What happened? Accompanied by Pierre, her boyfriend who mysteriously started to talk in Italian overnight, they will try to unravel the mystery.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both mystery
Like Cowboy and something else?
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Cowboy?
The closest matches to Cowboy are The Dogs (2025), Paranormal Activity: Next of Kin (2021) and The Witch (2016). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Cowboy?
Start with The Dogs (2025), the closest match to Cowboy.
What is the highest-rated movie like Cowboy?
Pearl (2022), rated 7.2/10 by 2,829 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Cowboy?
Redwood Diaries (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there German movies like Cowboy?
Yes: Sennentuntschi: Curse of the Alps (2010).
How are movies similar to Cowboy chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Cowboy, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.