Movies like Jess Is a Clown Now (2023)
The best movies like Jess Is a Clown Now (2023) are Once Bitten (1985), High Spirits (1988) and Dave Made a Maze (2017). If Jess Is a Clown Now 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 ratedFright Night (1985)7.1/10 from 1,660 votes
- NewestHold the Fort (2025)Released 2025
Once Bitten (1985)
Mark wants to lose his virginity, but his girlfriend wants to wait. Unfortunately for both of them, a 400-year-old vampire Countess needs to turn a virgin into a vampire before Halloween in order to preserve her own youthful appearance, and when she finds Mark, she turns his life upside-down.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & horror
SnoozefestMovies like thisHigh Spirits (1988)
When a hotelier attempts to fill the chronic vacancies at his castle by launching an advertising campaign that falsely portrays the property as haunted, two actual ghosts show up and end up falling for two guests.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both fantasy & comedy
SnoozefestMovies like thisDave Made a Maze (2017)
Dave, an artist who has yet to complete anything significant in his career, builds a fort in his living room out of pure frustration, only to wind up trapped by the fantastical pitfalls, booby traps, and critters of his own creation. Ignoring his warnings, Dave’s girlfriend Annie leads a band of oddball explorers on a rescue mission. Once inside, they find themselves trapped in an ever-changing supernatural world, threatened by booby traps and pursued by a bloodthirsty Minotaur.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDouble, Double, Toil and Trouble (1993)
On Halloween night, two precocious little girls try to save their parents from their nasty old capitalist aunt's greedy clutches. Magic abounds and they meet mysterious new friends along the way.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror & comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisR.L. Stine's Monsterville: The Cabinet of Souls (2015)
Teenage friends must resist the spell of an evil showman staging a house of horrors show in their small town.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisGags the Clown (2019)
It's been eight days since the clown first showed up in Green Bay, WI. Now, over the course of one night, four different groups of people cross paths with the clown everyone calls "Gags" and his true intentions are finally revealed.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror & comedy
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 thisPorno (2019)
When a group of naive teens working at a movie theater in a small Christian town discover a mysterious film hidden in its basement, they unleash an alluring succubus who gives them a sex education…written in blood.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & horror
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 thisA Babysitter's Guide to Monster Hunting (2020)
Recruited by a secret society of babysitters, a high schooler battles the Boogeyman and his monsters when they nab the boy she's watching on Halloween.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both fantasy & comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDC Showcase: The Phantom Stranger (2020)
Jess joins her friends at a party in a dilapidated mansion hosted by the mysterious Seth. When odd things begin to happen to Jess and her friends, the Phantom Stranger intervenes to save her from a dreary fate.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror & fantasy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMater and the Ghostlight (2006)
Mater, the rusty but trusty tow truck from Cars, spends a day in Radiator Springs playing scary pranks on his fellow townsfolk. That night at Flo's V8 Café, the Sheriff tells the story of the legend of the Ghostlight, and as everyone races home Mater is left alone primed for a good old-fashioned scare.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAnimal Crackers (2018)
A family must use a magical box of Animal Crackers to save a rundown circus from being taken over by their evil uncle Horatio P. Huntington.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & fantasy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMarvel One-Shot: All Hail the King (2014)
A documentary filmmaker interviews the now-famous Trevor Slattery from behind bars.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & fantasy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMy Best Friend Is a Vampire (1987)
Shortly after high school student Jeremy Capello goes on a hot date, he finds he can't stand garlic or see his reflection in mirrors.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror & comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAll About Evil (2010)
A mousy librarian inherits her father's beloved but failing old movie house. In order to save the family business, she discovers her inner serial killer — and a legion of rabid gore fans — when she starts turning out a series of grisly shorts. What her fans don't realize yet is that the murders in the movies are all too real…
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror & comedy
SnoozefestMovies like thisCitizen Toxie: The Toxic Avenger IV (2001)
A horrific explosion creates a dimensional portal between Tromaville and its dimensional mirror image, Amortville. While the Toxie is trapped in the mirror dimension, Tromaville comes under the control of his evil doppelganger, the Noxious Offender.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisFright Night (1985)
Charley Brewster, a high school student, accidentally discovers the true and creepy nature of Jerry Dandrige, his dashing and enigmatic new neighbor; but no one seems willing to believe him.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & horror
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Haunting Hour: Don't Think About It (2007)
Cassie, a 13 year old Gothic girl, is trying to fit in at her new school. To entertain herself, she plays a series of pranks on the popular kids and her younger brother, Max. When she goes to a Halloween store looking for new tricks, she finds a little book called "The Evil Thing"
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror & fantasy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCasper Meets Wendy (1998)
When a warlock threatens Wendy the Good Little Witch, she and her aunts hide out at a resort where Casper the Ghost is vacationing with his uncles. Although Casper and Wendy are told ghosts and witches don't get along, the two are kindred spirits! This spooky family-friendly adventure finds Casper and Wendy bridging the ghost-witch divide to battle the warlock who is intent on destroying Wendy.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both fantasy & comedy
SnoozefestMovies like thisSecret Agent Dingledorf and His Trusty Dog Splat (2021)
Overcoming bullies and his own loser mentality, 10-year-old Bernie Dingledorf must destroy Dr. Chuckles’s diabolical Laugh Generator before it sends the world into uncontrollable fits of laughter.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy & fantasy
Killer Klowns from Outer Space (1988)
Aliens disguised as clowns crash land on Earth in a rural town to capture unsuspecting victims in cotton candy cocoons for later consumption.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy & horror
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: Similar story and style · both fantasy & horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisInvisible Man (1954)
When an invisible man is run down by a car it’s up to an eager young reporter and a strange clown to bring a dangerous gang to justice.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror
If the Father and the Son (1955)
After Clown Teddy lost his son, he lost his gift for laughter. He opened a joke shop and lives above the shop. His landlady has had a foster son since birth, and Teddy decides to raise the child, who always believed that Teddy was his father. When the mother suddenly appears five years later and wants her son, Teddy decides to run away with the child and goes back onstage with his son. Will the family catch up with them, or will the mother never get her son back?
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy
Tricicle: Manicomic (1987)
Tricicle brings together in a single theatrical show their best gags, created during their first three years of life.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy
Behind The Sightings (2021)
Behind the Sightings follows Todd and Jessica Smith, two filmmakers from Raleigh in North Carolina, who set out to produce a documentary exploring the highly publicized, creepy clown sighting epidemic, which was investigated by local law enforcement. As the young married couple venture into Peachtree Way, Nash County, in search of clowns, what they found was far from funny.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror
Meet Bitsy (TBA)
After inheriting a mysterious old clown doll from her late grandmother, a drifting twenty-something conducts a late-night ritual with friends and discovers that one of them is not who they seem.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror
Terrifier 2 (2022)
Resurrected by a sinister entity, Art the Clown returns to Miles County to terrorize a teenage girl and her younger brother on Halloween night.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like this31 (2016)
Five carnival workers are kidnapped and held hostage in an abandoned, Hell-like compound where they are forced to participate in a violent game, the goal of which is to survive twelve hours against a gang of sadistic clowns.
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 Jess Is a Clown Now?
The closest matches to Jess Is a Clown Now are Once Bitten (1985), High Spirits (1988) and Dave Made a Maze (2017). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Jess Is a Clown Now?
Start with Once Bitten (1985), the closest match to Jess Is a Clown Now.
What is the highest-rated movie like Jess Is a Clown Now?
Fright Night (1985), rated 7.1/10 by 1,660 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Jess Is a Clown Now?
Hold the Fort (2025) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like Jess Is a Clown Now?
Yes: Once Bitten (1985), High Spirits (1988) and Dave Made a Maze (2017).
How are movies similar to Jess Is a Clown Now chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Jess Is a Clown Now, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.