Movies like Ju-on: The Grudge (2002)
The best movies like Ju-on: The Grudge (2002) are The Complex (2013), Dark Nuns (2025) and Ring (1998). If Ju-on: The Grudge hooked you with its horror, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedShutter (2004)7.3/10 from 1,484 votes
- NewestDark Nuns (2025)Released 2025
- In JapaneseThe Complex (2013)Also in Japanese
- Same seriesJu-on: The Grudge 2 (2003)Ju-on
The Complex (2013)
Nursing student Asuka has just moved into an apartment complex with her parents and younger brother. On the first night in her new room, she is awoken by a strange scratching sound coming from the apartment of her neighbor, a reclusive old man who has refused all attempts at communication. Concerned over his well being, Asuka enters his home only to find him dead from malnutrition. Worse, it looks as if he had been trying to claw his way into her room. Asuka learns that there have been a number of strange deaths in the complex over the years from Shinobu, the handyman cleaning up the old man’s apartment. Even the girls at school whisper rumors of it being haunted.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both horror
SnoozefestMovies like thisDark Nuns (2025)
Desperation drives two nuns to perform an exorcism no nun should attempt. With a possessed child at the mercy of evil and the opposition of the Catholic Church, they take on the dangerous forbidden rituals themselves, putting their immortal souls in grave danger. They must confront the terrifying cost of their sacrilegious actions, but one goal remains: the boy must be saved at all costs.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies 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: Fans watch both · both horror
Worth the HypeMovies like thisOne Missed Call 2 (2005)
A Japanese restaurant cook/owner dies after answering his daughter's cellphone. Other people are getting strange, same ringtone calls as well and dying painfully. It happened in Taiwan as well. Can the police stop it if it's a ghost?
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisOne Missed Call 3: Final (2006)
The timid, young Asuka is bullied by her classmates. When they embark on a class field trip to Korea, Asuka plans revenge by sending them a cursed phone message they can either pass on or die.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both horror
SnoozefestMovies like thisEko Eko Azarak II: Birth of the Wizard (1996)
In Meiji-era Japan, a village of witches and wizards is slaughtered. Years later, an archaeologist discovers a mummy from the village, which reanimates, murders, then possesses his assistant. This evil spirit is now searching for Misa, who is protected by a survivor of the original massacre, known only as Saiga.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both horror
Marebito (2004)
A fear-obsessed freelance cameraman investigates an urban legend involving mysterious spirits that haunt the subways of Tokyo.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDon't Look Up (1996)
A filmmaker and crew slowly go insane after being continually haunted by the ghost of a dead actress.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both horror
The Inerasable (2016)
A novelist receives a letter from a female university student named Kubo about strange sounds that emanate from a room in her apartment. They begin to investigate incidents involving former residents, and eventually discover the shocking truths lurking inside the building.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both horror
Howling Village (2020)
After her brother goes missing, a young psychologist visits an infamous haunted and cursed location known as ‘Howling Village’ to investigate his disappearance and uncover her family’s dark history.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both horror
SnoozefestMovies like thisDark Water (2002)
A woman in the midst of an unpleasant divorce moves to an eerie apartment building with her young daughter. The ceiling of their apartment has a dark and active leak.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Medium (2021)
A shaman's family learn that their goddess is supposedly controlling one of them. However, their lives take a frightening turn when they realise the goddess has nothing to do with the possession.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both horror
Worth the HypeMovies like thisIt Comes (2018)
To protect his family from a mysterious being, a man joins forces with a journalist and an exorcist - but they come to learn what they are dealing with is beyond their imagination.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisOne Missed Call (2003)
People mysteriously start receiving voicemail messages from their future selves, in the form of the sound of them reacting to their own violent deaths, along with the exact date and time of their future death, listed on the message log. The plot thickens as the surviving characters pursue the answers to this mystery which could save their lives.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisUnholy Women (2006)
Unholy Women (Kowai onna), is a composite of three unrelated half-hour horror movies. A compilation of 3 separate short horror films (Rattle Rattle, Hagane, The Inheritance) written and directed by Keita Amemiya, Takuji Suzuki, and Keisuke Toyoshima respectively. The first segment, “Rattle Rattle”, tells the story of a young woman who is pursued by an evil other-worldly being. The second movie, “Steel”, concerns a young man who agrees to take the sister of his boss out on a blind date, drawing him into a world more frightening than he ever dreamed possible. The third and final episode, “The Inheritance”, is a supernatural tale of a woman and her young son, scarred by abuse and psychological trauma.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both horror
The Eye (2002)
A blind concert violinist gets a cornea transplant allowing her to see again. However, she gets more than she bargained for when she realizes her new eye can see ghosts. She sets out to find the origins of the cornea and discover the fate of its former host.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisA Tale of Two Sisters (2003)
Two sisters return home after a stay in a mental institution, only to face disturbing events and a strained relationship with their stepmother. As eerie occurrences unfold, dark family secrets begin to surface, blurring the line between reality and nightmare.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both horror
Worth the HypeMovies like thisJu-on: The Grudge 2 (2003)
When the cast and crew of a paranormal TV reality program decide to shoot in the house of the original Saeki hauntings, a series of strange events unfold at the location.
Why it matches: Same series: Ju-on · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisJu-on: The Curse (2000)
When elementary school teacher Kobayashi investigates the absence of one of his young pupils from the classroom, he finds himself at the doorstep of an anonymous suburban house that harbours a horrible secret, and into which all who enter are doomed.
Why it matches: Same series: Ju-on · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisPremonition (2004)
While stopped at a roadside phone booth for transmitting his work through the Internet to the university, Professor Hideki Satomi finds a scrap of newspaper with the picture of his five-year-old daughter Nana in the obituary section.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSadako vs. Kayako (2016)
A girl, Yūri Kurahashi, after watching a cursed videotape together with her friend in a haunted house, becomes trapped in a conflict between the two murderous ghosts: Sadako Yamamura and Kayako Saeki.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both horror
SnoozefestMovies like thisShikoku (1999)
Years after moving to Tokyo with her parents, Hinako returns to her hometown in rural Shikoku. She soon learns that her childhood friend, Sayori, died several years ago and that Sayori's mother, who used to perform seances and exorcisms, has gone almost insane with grief. After seeing Sayori's ghost several times during the night, Hinako consults with some local experts on the paranormal and discovers that Sayori's mother has something planned for her daughter...
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both horror
Pulse (2001)
In the immense city of Tokyo, the darkness of the afterlife lures some of its inhabitants desperately trying to escape the sadness and isolation of the modern world.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisNoroi: The Curse (2005)
A documentary filmmaker explores seemingly unrelated paranormal incidents connected by the legend of an ancient demon.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisReincarnation (2005)
A Japanese actress begins having strange visions and experiences after landing a role in a horror film about a real-life murder spree that took place over forty years ago.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCarved: The Slit-Mouthed Woman (2007)
Legend holds that 30 years ago, a suburban town was terrorized by the spirit of a woman whose horrid face had been grotesquely disfigured. Roaming the streets wearing a long coat and carrying large scissors, the spirit would approach her young victims and, while removing the mask, ask if she was pretty. The victim’s response would almost always lead to their violent death.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisOccult (2009)
Koji Shiraishi interviews the survivors of an indiscriminate attack at a sightseeing resort and starts investigating the strange events that have been happening to them.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisShutter (2004)
When Jane and Tun run over a girl in a car accident, they speed away immediately from the crime scene. However, Tun, a photographer, soon discovers strange shadows in his photos, which unsettles them.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both horror
Worth the HypeMovies like thisIncantation (2022)
Six years ago, Li Ronan was cursed after breaking a religious taboo. Now, she must protect her daughter from the consequences of her actions.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSuicide Forest Village (2021)
One day a mysterious box arrived and a curse began to spread all over. The source of the box is 'Jukai Village'. The village is hidden in Jukai Forest, a suicide spot that once you enter it, you can never come out.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like this
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Ju-on: The Grudge?
The closest matches to Ju-on: The Grudge are The Complex (2013), Dark Nuns (2025) and Ring (1998). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Ju-on: The Grudge?
People who watched Ju-on: The Grudge most often go on to The Complex (2013), Dark Nuns (2025) and Ring (1998).
What is the highest-rated movie like Ju-on: The Grudge?
Shutter (2004), rated 7.3/10 by 1,484 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Ju-on: The Grudge?
Dark Nuns (2025) is the most recent release on this list.
Is Ju-on: The Grudge part of a series?
Yes. It belongs to Ju-on, which includes Ju-on: The Grudge 2 (2003) and Ju-on: The Curse (2000).
Are there Japanese movies like Ju-on: The Grudge?
Yes: The Complex (2013), Ring (1998) and One Missed Call 2 (2005).
How are movies similar to Ju-on: The Grudge chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Ju-on: The Grudge, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.