Movies like Telefon (1995)
The best movies like Telefon (1995) are Z (2019), Whisper (2007) and Dead of Winter (1987). If Telefon 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 ratedSuccubus (2024)8.3/10 from 279 votes
- NewestThe Moddey Dhoo (2025)Released 2025
- In GermanThe Calendar Killer (2024)Also in German
Z (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 thisWhisper (2007)
Sinister things begin happening to kidnappers who are holding a young boy for ransom in a remote cabin.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDead of Winter (1987)
A fledgling actress is lured to a remote mansion for a screen-test, soon discovering she is actually a prisoner in the middle of a blackmail plot.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisYou'll Never Find Me (2024)
Patrick, a strange and lonely resident, lives in a mobile home at the back of an isolated caravan park. After a violent thunderstorm erupts, a mysterious young woman appears at his door, seeking shelter from the weather. The longer the night wears on and the more the young woman discovers about Patrick, the more difficult she finds it to leave. Soon she begins to question Patrick’s intentions, while Patrick begins to question his own grip on reality...
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisEradication (2022)
When an unknown disease wipes out most of the world’s population, a man with unique blood is isolated for study. Fearing for his wife’s safety, he breaks his quarantine – into a world overrun by monstrous Infected and a shadowy agency hunting them down.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisWhen a Stranger Calls (1979)
A student babysitter has her evening disturbed when the phone rings. So begins a series of increasingly terrifying and threatening calls that lead to a shocking revelation.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies 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 thisPlay Dead (2022)
Criminology student Chloe fakes her own death to break into a morgue, in order to retrieve a piece of evidence that ties her younger brother to a crime gone wrong. Once inside, she discovers that a sadistic coroner is using the corpses for his sick and twisted business, and when he realises that Chloe still has a pulse, a terrifying game of cat and mouse ensues.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDon't Hang Up (2016)
An evening of drunken prank calls becomes a nightmare for a pair of teenagers when a mysterious stranger turns their own game against them.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCurve (2016)
Clinging to a smooth, curved surface high above a sentient abyss, a woman tries to cover the few feet back to safety without losing purchase and falling to her death.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller & horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSaw (2003)
David, an orderly at a hospital, tells his horrific story of being kidnapped and forced to play a vile game of survival.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror & thriller
Worth the HypeMovies like thisOther Side of the Box (2018)
A couple receives a mysterious package from an old friend.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisShades of Desire (2023)
After her twin sister Aubrey goes missing, Jennifer uncovers the scandalous, secret double-life that Aubrey leads - and that has put both of them in danger.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDaddy's Little Girl (2014)
After the police find Derek’s daughter brutally murdered on the beach, he vows to make the culprit suffer for his actions, even if that person is ‘part of the family.’ With careful research into the history of torture, Derek prepares himself and his basement for a week of brutal tactics that will make his daughter’s killer feel the pain that he has inflicted upon so many others. In a time when stranger danger is ever present, a single father learns that it’s the ones you trust most who have to be watched the closest.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSuccubus (2024)
A new father going through a marital separation joins a dating app and matches with a beautiful but mysterious young woman... whose powers of seduction and manipulation entangle him in a mystery more horrifying than he could have ever imagined.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror & thriller
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisVicious (2025)
When Polly receives a mysterious box, it comes with one rule: place inside something she needs, something she hates, and something she loves. If she doesn’t obey, it will consume everything—and everyone—she’s ever known.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMidnight Lace (1960)
Kit Preston begins to unravel when she receives threatening telephone calls informing her she's soon to be murdered.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Calendar Killer (2024)
Klara is going to die today unless she kills her husband instead. The Calendar Killer has given her that impossible choice. When Jules starts his night shift at a telephone safety helpline for lonely women on their way home, Klara's call reaches him. He soon becomes her last hope for survival and races against time to save her.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Call (2013)
Jordan Turner is an experienced 911 operator but when she makes an error in judgment and a call ends badly, Jordan is rattled and unsure if she can continue. But when teenager Casey Welson is abducted in the back of a man's car and calls 911, Jordan is the one called upon to use all of her experience, insights and quick thinking to help Casey escape, and not just to save her, but to make sure the man is brought to justice.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisTrapped (2002)
Held hostage in different cities after their daughter is kidnapped by a master extortionist, a desperate couple must find a way to outsmart a seemingly foolproof plot.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Milkman (2024)
Based on the short story by Stephen King, follow the morning delivery routine of the neighborhood's favorite milkman.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller & horror
Dirty Airforces (2024)
A short film about two best friend's day out and what they accomplish in a day. This short film was inspired by a poem created by the writer (Khalid Rashid) wrote.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller
Infection (2022)
A group of friends decide to stay overnight in an abandoned theatre... only to find it overrun with zombies!
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror
The Moddey Dhoo (2025)
Past and present collide when a mythical beast is reawakened by a couple exploring a historic castle on the Isle of Man.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror
Message from Jerusalem (2011)
Made exclusively for the Hail to the King Tribute Show at Finder Creepers in Des Moines, Iowa. A surreal and non linear adaptation of the short story "Jerusalem's Lot". It was shown for exactly one month from January 22nd, 2011 to February 22nd, 2011.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror
Lost Mind (TBA)
Lost Mind is an experimental short film, written and directed by Lucas Donnat, that explores the perception of time and memory through the staging of a man's death. The film questions the boundary between reality and imagination. Here, time is no longer linear: the past becomes the memory of a future, and the future becomes the altered continuation of a past already rewritten. Currently in production.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller
The Cult of Kiros (2025)
After being abruptly evicted from his apartment, Mateo returns to his hometown, seeking refuge in a local house-sitting job. But as the house’s silence settles in, he begins to sense a presence lurking beneath—something that has chosen Mateo for something much bigger than himself.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror
Refused (1980)
Frieda Liappa in this short film casts an alternative gaze on the notion of historicity. Loukia is a teenager currently staying at her cousin’s house in Athens. Unlike her cousin she is timid and quite stressed for the school exam. She studies history. Between the lines of her book the historical events sprung up in a multidimensional way. Liappa transverses the dimensions of the real the imaginary and the symbolic. She invites the viewer to consider the construction of the filmic as well as the historical text. She succeeds in making a film with an open end and to leave room for our own contingent constructions.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror
The Traveler's Longing to Pray (2017)
A year has passed since the death of my mother and two of my sisters.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror
Jaret's 2022 Halloween Special (2022)
In October of 2022, two student filmmakers and a viral YouTube and Tik Tok sensation disappeared in the woods near Harrisville RI. This footage was found at the scene.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror
Like Telefon and something else?
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Telefon?
The closest matches to Telefon are Z (2019), Whisper (2007) and Dead of Winter (1987). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Telefon?
Start with Z (2019), the closest match to Telefon.
What is the highest-rated movie like Telefon?
Succubus (2024), rated 8.3/10 by 279 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Telefon?
The Moddey Dhoo (2025) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there German movies like Telefon?
Yes: The Calendar Killer (2024).
How are movies similar to Telefon chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Telefon, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.