Movies like Shadow of Chinatown (1936)
The best movies like Shadow of Chinatown (1936) are The Medusa Touch (1978), The Damned (1962) and Marshmallow (2025). If Shadow of Chinatown hooked you with its horror and science fiction, these 27 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedDr. Mabuse, the Gambler (1922)7.7/10 from 221 votes
- NewestMarshmallow (2025)Released 2025
The Medusa Touch (1978)
A French detective in London reconstructs the life of a man lying in hospital with severe injuries with the help of journals and a psychiatrist. He realises that the man had powerful telekinetic abilities.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror & science fiction
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Damned (1962)
An American tourist and a troubled young woman are chased by her gang leader brother to a top secret British government facility that conducts experiments on children.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror & science fiction
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMarshmallow (2025)
At a secluded summer camp, timid and introverted 12-year-old Morgan is thrust into a waking nightmare when a once-fabled campfire tale becomes real. As a mysterious figure descends upon the camp, Morgan and his newfound friends must embark on a treacherous journey and uncover a sinister reality buried beneath the surface.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror & science fiction
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSon of Frankenstein (1939)
One of the sons of late Dr. Henry Frankenstein finds his father's ghoulish creation in a coma and revives him, only to find out the monster is controlled by Ygor who is bent on revenge.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror & science fiction
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThem! (1954)
As a result of nuclear testing, gigantic, ferocious mutant ants appear in the American desert southwest, and a father-daughter team of entomologists join forces with the state police officer who first discovers their existence, an FBI agent and, eventually, the US Army to eradicate the menace, before it spreads across the continent — and the world.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both science fiction & horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Day of the Triffids (1963)
After an unusual meteor shower leaves most of the human population blind, a merchant navy officer must find a way to conquer tall, aggressive plants which are feeding on people and animals.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both science fiction & horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisQuatermass and the Pit (1967)
A mysterious artifact unearthed below a London Underground station proves to have powerful psychic effects on the people around.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both science fiction & horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMysterious Doctor Satan (1940)
A mad scientist named Dr. Satan plots to steal key pieces of technology to enable him to build an army of robots based on his prototype to conquer America. The only one standing in his way is Bob Wayne, who fights Satan as the enigmatic Copperhead. Mysterious Doctor Satan is a 1940 film serial named after its chief villain. Doctor Satan's main opponent is the masked mystery man, "The Copperhead", whose secret identity is Bob Wayne, a man searching for justice and revenge on Satan for the death of his step-father. The serial charts the conflict between the two as Bob Wayne pursues Doctor Satan, while the latter completes his plans for world domination.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both crime & science fiction
The Replacement Killers (1998)
Hired assassin John Lee is asked by Chinatown crime boss Terence Wei to murder the young son of policeman Stan Zedkov. Lee has the boy in his sights, but his conscience gets the better of him, and he spares the child's life. Afraid that Wei will take revenge on his family in China, Lee seeks out expert forger Meg Coburn to obtain the passport he needs to get out of the country, but a band of replacement killers is soon on his trail.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisA Crime (2006)
Vincent's life is on hold until he finds his wife's killer. Alice, his neighbor, is convinced she can make him happy. She decides to invent a culprit, so that Vincent can find revenge and leave the past behind. But there is no ideal culprit and no perfect crime.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both crime
SnoozefestMovies like thisDr. Mabuse, the Gambler (1922)
Dr. Mabuse and his organization of criminals are in the process of completing their latest scheme, a theft of information that will allow Mabuse to make huge profits on the stock exchange. Afterwards, Mabuse disguises himself and attends the Folies Bergères show, where Cara Carozza, the main attraction of the show, passes him information on Mabuse's next intended victim, the young millionaire Edgar Hull. Mabuse then uses psychic manipulation to lure Hull into a card game where he loses heavily. When Police Commissioner von Wenk begins an investigation of this mysterious crime spree, he has little to go on, and he needs to find someone who can help him.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both crime
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Lightning Raider (1919)
A beautiful young woman is a daring master thief. She meets the young millionaire Thomas Babbington Norton, while fleeing from the scene of her latest theft.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both crime
Chinatown Cowboy (TBA)
A Cantonese Neo-noir western set in New York City's Chinatown.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both crime
King of the Wild (1931)
Richard Grant, imprisoned in India for a crime he did not commit, escapes and makes his way to Africa.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror
The Phantom Foe (1920)
Janet Dale feels that there is a danger looming over her home but cannot put her finger on what it is. Days later her father disappears at her 18th birthday party; dematerializing into thin air before her eyes. She sets out to find him and grapples wit mobsters, psychics, murder, and family secrets.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror
The Black Widow (1947)
The Daily Clarion hires detective story writer Steve Colt to investigate the deaths of a group of scientists working on an atomic rocket development project. Behind the killings is fortune teller Sombra, a spy from an Asian country intent on world domination, who is determined to pilfer the atomic rocket by luring workers from the project to her parlor and killing them with black widow spider venom when they refuse to cooperate.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both science fiction
The Black Box (1915)
Science fiction serial, presumed lost.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both science fiction
Holt of the Secret Service (1941)
A murderous gang of counterfeiters has kidnapped the government's best engraver and is forcing him to print virtually undetectable phony money. The Secret Service's toughest agent, Jack Holt, and a female reporter go after the gang.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both crime
The Crimson Stain Mystery (1916)
In attempting to develop a chemical which would make a person super-intelligent, Dr. Montrose fails and the subjects of his experiments metamorphose into hideous monsters who band together and prey on humans. With the police stymied, a young detective attempts to track down the leader of the group of killers, known only to have a small crimson stain in one eye.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror
The Eleventh Hour (1923)
An evil prince plans to use a super-explosive to take over the world.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both science fiction
The Chinese Ring (1947)
Soon after a Chinese princess comes to the US to buy planes for her people, she is murdered by a poison dart fired by an air rifle.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both crime
Sharad of Atlantis (1936)
Crash Corrigan, a recent graduate of Annapolis, and Diana, a go-getting reporter, join Professor Norton for a search for the source of a string of earthquakes, Atlantis. They ride Prof. Norton's rocket submarine searching the sea and little Billy Norton, the professor's son stows away, of course. When they find Atlantis they are caught in a war between peaceful Atlanteans, note their white capes, and war-monging Atlanteans, note their black capes. After many harrowing moments for Crash, Diana, Prof. Norton and Billy, they barely get away with their lives when they escape a tower of Atlantis raised to the surface for the sole purpose of dominating or destroying the Earth (Which one depends on the compliance of the upper world dwellers.)
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both science fiction
The Ace of Scotland Yard (1929)
From the Universal synopsis: Retired Inspector Blake of Scotland Yard learns that Lord Blanton has acquired the sacred "Love Ring"---a cursed jewel that has brought grief to its previous owners. Prince Darius seeks to obtain the ring, and the mummy of a princess of an ancient country to return them to his homeland.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both crime
Flash Gordon Conquers the Universe (1940)
A mysterious plague, the Purple Death, ravages the earth. Dr. Zarkov, investigating in his spaceship, finds a ship from planet Mongo seeding the atmosphere with dust. Sure enough, Ming the Merciless is up to his old tricks. So it's back to Mongo for Flash, Dale, and Zarkov.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both science fiction
White Slaves of Chinatown (1964)
The beautiful, brutal Olga procures prostitutes and pushes heroin for the syndicate, confining and torturing her pretty victims in a private dungeon located in New York City's sinister Chinatown.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both crime
Daughter of Shanghai (1937)
A Chinese-American woman tries to expose an illegal alien smuggling ring.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both crime
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Shadow of Chinatown?
The closest matches to Shadow of Chinatown are The Medusa Touch (1978), The Damned (1962) and Marshmallow (2025). Below are 24 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Shadow of Chinatown?
Start with The Medusa Touch (1978), the closest match to Shadow of Chinatown.
What is the highest-rated movie like Shadow of Chinatown?
Dr. Mabuse, the Gambler (1922), rated 7.7/10 by 221 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Shadow of Chinatown?
Marshmallow (2025) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like Shadow of Chinatown?
Yes: The Medusa Touch (1978), The Damned (1962) and Marshmallow (2025).
How are movies similar to Shadow of Chinatown chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Shadow of Chinatown, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.