Movies like The Forbidden Play (2023)
The best movies like The Forbidden Play (2023) are Pyewacket (2017), The Shed (2019) and Race with the Devil (1975). If The Forbidden Play hooked you with its horror and thriller, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedVillage of the Damned (1960)7.2/10 from 537 votes
- NewestErica (2026)Released 2026
- In JapaneseSadako (2019)Also in Japanese
Pyewacket (2017)
A frustrated, angry teenage girl awakens something in the woods when she naively performs an occult ritual to invoke a witch to kill her mother.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror & thriller
SnoozefestMovies like thisThe Shed (2019)
The story of Stan, an orphaned teenager stuck living with his abusive grandfather and tasked with routinely protecting his best friend from high school bullies. When Stan discovers a murderous creature has taken refuge inside the tool shed in his backyard, he tries to secretly battle the demon alone until his bullied friend discovers the creature and has a far more sinister plan in mind.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisRace with the Devil (1975)
Two couples vacationing together in an R.V. from Texas to Colorado are terrorized after they witness a murder during a Satanic ritual.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Baby (1973)
A social worker who recently lost her husband investigates the strange Wadsworth family. The Wadsworths might not seem too unusual to hear about them at first - consisting of the mother, two grown daughters and the diaper-clad, bottle-sucking baby. The problem is, the baby is twenty-one years old.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror & thriller
SnoozefestMovies 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 thriller & horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Cellar (2022)
When Keira Woods' daughter mysteriously vanishes in the cellar of their new house in the country, she soon discovers there is an ancient and powerful entity controlling their home that she will have to face or risk losing her family's souls forever.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMartyrs Lane (2022)
Leah, 10, has terrible nightmares. Her mother seems distant somehow, lost in her thoughts. A small, nightly visitor brings Leah comfort, but soon Leah will realize that her little visitor offers knowledge that might be very, very dangerous.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisVillage of the Damned (1960)
In a small English village everyone suddenly falls unconscious. When they awake every woman of child bearing age is pregnant. The resulting children have the same strange blond hair, eyes and a strong connection to each other.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Worth the HypeMovies like thisSadako (2019)
A psychologist connects her missing brother to the strange case of a mysterious little girl believed to be Sadako reincarnated.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
SnoozefestMovies like thisThe Uninvited (1944)
A pair of siblings from London purchase a surprisingly affordable, lonely cliff-top house in Cornwall, only to discover that it actually carries a ghostly price—and soon they’re caught up in a bizarre romantic triangle from beyond the grave.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisundertone (2026)
The host of a popular paranormal podcast becomes haunted by terrifying recordings mysteriously sent her way.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDracula's Daughter (1936)
A countess from Transylvania seeks a psychiatrist’s help to cure her vampiric cravings.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDollhouse (2025)
After losing their child, a mother finds solace in a life-sized ancient doll she finds on the market. When a new daughter enters the family's life, strange things begin to happen and no matter how hard the family tries to get rid of it, the doll always finds its way back.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe City of the Dead (1960)
In Whitewood, Massachusetts, a presumed witch places a curse on the town before she is burned at the stake. 300 years later, a college student arrives and checks into the mysterious Raven's Inn to research the town's history with witchcraft.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisEvil of Dracula (1974)
Professor Shiraki arrives at an isolated girls' boarding school to take a new position. Upon arrival, he learns the principal's wife died in a car accident and is being kept in the cellar, according to local tradition. The principal startles Shiraki by asking him to become his successor, but Shiraki soon discovers that the principal has much darker motives.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBunny Lake Is Missing (1965)
A woman reports that her young daughter is missing, but there seems to be no evidence that she ever existed.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Haunting (1963)
Dr. John Markway recruits three strangers for a sleep-disorder study at the eerie and isolated Hill House. It soon becomes clear his real interest lies in the mansion itself and its sinister history, as they are forced to confront the nature of its horror…
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Worth the HypeMovies like thisGreenland 2: Migration (2026)
Having found the safety of the Greenland bunker after the comet Clarke decimated the Earth, the Garrity family must now risk everything to embark on a perilous journey across the wasteland of Europe to find a new home.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSomething Wicked This Way Comes (1983)
In a small American town, a diabolical circus arrives, granting wishes for the townsfolk, but twisted as only the esteemed Mr. Dark can make them. Can two young boys overcome the worst the devil himself can deal out?
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisWar of the Worlds (2005)
Ray Ferrier is a divorced dockworker and less-than-perfect father. Soon after his ex-wife and her new husband drop off his teenage son and young daughter for a rare weekend visit, a strange and powerful lightning storm touches down.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Grudge 3 (2009)
Jake Kimble, the sole survivor of the Chicago massacre, is killed while in solitary confinement. His doctor begins investigating the claims he made about a long-haired woman in white, as a mysterious Japanese woman arrives at his old apartment building to help them get rid of the curse.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror & thriller
SnoozefestMovies like thisInland Empire (2006)
When actress Nikki Grace gets the lead role in a cursed film, her world becomes more and more surreal, blending realities and ideas of infidelity, reincarnation, and supernatural forces.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror & thriller
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Grudge (2004)
An American nurse living and working in Tokyo is exposed to a mysterious supernatural curse, one that locks a person in a powerful rage before claiming their life and spreading to another victim.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror & thriller
SnoozefestMovies like thisThe Grudge 2 (2006)
A young woman encounters a malevolent supernatural force while searching for her missing sister in Tokyo, a mean high school prank goes horribly wrong, and strange things begin happening in a Chicago apartment building.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror & thriller
SnoozefestMovies like thisUnknown Company (TBA)
A small unit of American soldiers sent behind enemy lines to locate the wreckage of an unidentified object. The mission quickly becomes a psychological and moral reckoning, forcing the men to confront fear, loyalty, and the consequences of the unknown.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror & thriller
Hannibal Rising (2007)
The story of the early, murderous roots of the cannibalistic killer, Hannibal Lecter – from his hard-scrabble Lithuanian childhood, where he witnesses the repulsive lengths to which hungry soldiers will go to satiate themselves, through his sojourn in France, where as a medical student he hones his appetite for the kill and learnt sword skills from his Japanese girlfriend, who happened to have similar fate
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller & horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisPilgrim (2019)
In an attempt to remind her family of their privilege and help them bond, Ms. Anna Barker invites Pilgrim reenactors to stay with them over Thanksgiving. When the “actors” refuse to break character, the Barker family learns that there is such a thing as too much gratitude.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror & thriller
SnoozefestMovies like thisRing (1998)
A mysterious video has been linked to a number of deaths, and when an inquisitive journalist finds the tape and views it herself, she sets in motion a chain of events that puts her own life in danger.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror & thriller
Worth the HypeMovies like thisErica (2026)
Takumi, a man who is unpopular with women and hasn’t had a girlfriend for 23 years, happens to walk into a café one day and falls in love at first sight with Erica, a waitress. However, she is suffering from domestic violence from her boyfriend, Ryo. Takumi tries to help her, but their relationship becomes entangled with the presence of Takumi's sister, Yuka, a waitress at the café where he works part-time, and Ryo's brother, Toru.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror
The Witch. Revenge (2024)
The tale unfolds around an ancient witch from the Ukrainian town of Konotop, who long ago abandoned her extraordinary powers after falling in love with a mortal man. However, tragedy strikes when her beloved is brutally murdered by the russian soldiers as they occupy Konotop in February 2022. Fueled by grief and a thirst for revenge, she reclaims her supernatural abilities, embarking on a blood-soaked quest to mete out justice to her fiancé's killers.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like this
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like The Forbidden Play?
The closest matches to The Forbidden Play are Pyewacket (2017), The Shed (2019) and Race with the Devil (1975). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after The Forbidden Play?
Start with Pyewacket (2017), the closest match to The Forbidden Play.
What is the highest-rated movie like The Forbidden Play?
Village of the Damned (1960), rated 7.2/10 by 537 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like The Forbidden Play?
Erica (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there Japanese movies like The Forbidden Play?
Yes: Sadako (2019), Dollhouse (2025) and Evil of Dracula (1974).
How are movies similar to The Forbidden Play chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside The Forbidden Play, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.