Movies like The Puppeteer (2023)
The best movies like The Puppeteer (2023) are The Shed (2019), Z (2019) and Dead of Night (1945). If The Puppeteer 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 ratedAbraham Lincoln Vampire Hunter: The Great Calamity (2012)8.1/10 from 223 votes
- NewestlooksMAXXING (2026)Released 2026
The 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 thisZ (2019)
A family find themselves terrorized by their eight-year-old son's imaginary friend.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDead of Night (1945)
An architect, visiting an English country house, realizes the other guests are familiar from his recurring nightmare. When they share their tales of the supernatural, he is filled with a growing dread.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror & thriller
Worth the HypeMovies 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 Night Walker (1964)
A woman is haunted by recurring nightmares, which seem to be instigated by her late husband who supposedly was killed in a fire.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller & horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSiren (2016)
A bachelor party becomes a savage fight for survival when the groomsmen unwittingly unleash a fabled predator upon the festivities.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMonster (2005)
A mother battles with her son's fear of a monster lurking in the closet, but soon discovers a sinister presence all around her.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisRent-A-Pal (2020)
Set in 1990, a lonely bachelor named David searches for an escape from the day-to-day drudgery of caring for his aging mother. While seeking a partner through a video dating service, he discovers a strange VHS tape called Rent-A-Pal. Hosted by the charming and charismatic Andy, the tape offers him much-needed company, compassion, and friendship. But Andy's friendship comes at a cost, and David desperately struggles to afford the price of admission.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisPeeping Tom (1960)
Loner Mark Lewis works at a film studio during the day and, at night, takes racy photographs of women. Also he's making a documentary on fear, which involves recording the reactions of victims as he murders them. He befriends Helen, the daughter of the family living in the apartment below his, and he tells her vaguely about the movie he is making.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller & horror
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Cabinet of Caligari (1962)
A delirious young woman feels trapped in a remote mansion at the mercy of a madman.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMonkey’s Magic Merry Go Round (2026)
After a mysterious bout of amnesia, a beloved children’s television host struggles to piece together his fractured memories, only to find his once-cheerful puppet co-stars behaving with sinister intent. As reality unravels, the line between performance and nightmare begins to blur.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Worth the HypeMovies like thisExtraordinary Tales (2015)
Five tales by Edgar Allan Poe come to life thanks to a pictorical style animation, five tales that exude madness, pestilence, murder and torture.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMr. Boogedy (1986)
A novelty-salesman moves his family into a new house. Initially dismissing incidents as more of their father's practical jokes, the family soon learns that the house is haunted by people who lived in the house 300 years previously.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMostly Ghostly 3: One Night in Doom House (2016)
Just one enchanted jewel stands between earth and an army of evil spirits led by the devious ghoul, Phears. With the help of his new girlfriend and ghost pals, Max Doyle races to find the crystal and save the world.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCranston Academy: Monster Zone (2020)
An intelligent 15-year-old high school student is unexpectedly transferred to a boarding school where he opens a portal of monsters from another dimension.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Jester (2016)
The Jester is the titular main antagonist of the horror/thriller analogy short films of the same name. He is an enigmatic and malevolent being who enjoys inducing suffering to individuals he comes across who don't appreciate his own tricks or break the rules of Halloween.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Worth the HypeMovies like thisNight of the Demon (1957)
American professor John Holden arrives in London for a conference on parapsychology only to discover that the colleague he was supposed to meet was killed in a freak accident the day before. It turns out that the deceased had been investigating a cult lead by Dr. Julian Karswell. Though a skeptic, Holden is suspicious of the devil-worshiping Karswell. Following a trail of mysterious manuscripts, Holden enters a world that makes him question his faith in science.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Worth the HypeMovies like thisCurse of the Blair Witch (1999)
A mockumentary exploring the legend of the Blair Witch and the case of the three missing student filmmakers.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAbraham Lincoln Vampire Hunter: The Great Calamity (2012)
A motion comic follow-up to a chapter from Abraham Lincoln Vampire Hunter novel where Abe's friend, Edgar Allan Poe, tells him the tale of historical Hungarian countess Elizabeth Bathory, often tied to vampire legends due to her brutality.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisThe Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad (1949)
A concise adaptation of Kenneth Grahame's "The Wind in the Willows" about Mr. Toad's motor mania, followed by a short retelling of Washington Irving's "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" concerning schoolmaster Ichabod Crane.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisStutter (2024)
After the tragic death of his wife, Jon immediately starts an affair with the enigmatic Red. The closer he gets to her, the more is his life dominated by an ominous digital signal - the stutter.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller & horror
Dreams Of My Father (2021)
En route to an audition, aspiring actress Leila stops at a motel and hooks up with one of the locals. After swallowing a weed edible, she is flooded with paranoia and insecurity about her physical appearance as a transwoman. To make matters worse, everywhere she turns she sees the apparition of her biggest tormentor. Will she summon the courage to vanquish the demons of her past once and for all?
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller & horror
The Entity (1982)
A single mom is raped by an invisible force. Her psychiatrist believes the experience stems from childhood trauma, while she knows something supernatural is at play.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisInfinity Pool (2023)
While staying at an isolated island resort, James and Em are enjoying a perfect vacation of pristine beaches, exceptional staff, and soaking up the sun. But guided by the seductive and mysterious Gabi, they venture outside the resort grounds and find themselves in a culture filled with violence, hedonism, and untold horror. A tragic accident leaves them facing a zero tolerance policy for crime: either you'll be executed, or, if you’re rich enough to afford it, you can watch yourself die instead.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisNine Miles Down (2009)
In the Sahara desert, a sandstorm batters a deserted drilling station. A security patrolman battles through the high winds to investigate why all contact with the station has been lost. Originally built for gas exploration, and then abandoned, the site had recently been taken over by a multi-national research team intent on drilling deeper into the earth’s crust than ever before.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror & thriller
SnoozefestMovies like thisThe Night Caller (1998)
For 11 years, Beth's life is limited to working nights in a convenience store while her daytime hours are spent caring for her bed-ridden, bitter and abusive mother. All that keeps her going is a voice on the radio of a psychologist, Dr Roland. Her obsession grows to the point where nothing, not even murder, will stop her from getting to the woman she desires!
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror & thriller
The Expedition (2008)
A Documentary crew entered an asylum to shoot a documentary on the place on Halloween night 2004. Several mysterious things occurred throughout the night leading up to a missing crew member the following morning.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror & thriller
Lost Highway (1997)
A tormented jazz musician finds himself lost in an enigmatic story involving murder, surveillance, gangsters, doppelgängers, and an impossible transformation inside a prison cell.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller
Worth the HypeMovies like thislooksMAXXING (2026)
When a dopamine-depleted young man joins an online forum promising a better life through physical perfection, he descends on a destructive path.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror
Poltergeist (1982)
The Freelings' suburban home becomes the center of paranormal activity that opens a portal to the 'other side'. With help, they must cross over to get their daughter back.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror
Worth the HypeMovies like this
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like The Puppeteer?
The closest matches to The Puppeteer are The Shed (2019), Z (2019) and Dead of Night (1945). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after The Puppeteer?
Start with The Shed (2019), the closest match to The Puppeteer.
What is the highest-rated movie like The Puppeteer?
Abraham Lincoln Vampire Hunter: The Great Calamity (2012), rated 8.1/10 by 223 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like The Puppeteer?
looksMAXXING (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like The Puppeteer?
Yes: The Shed (2019), Z (2019) and Dead of Night (1945).
How are movies similar to The Puppeteer chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside The Puppeteer, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.