Movies like The Children of the Woods (2024)
The best movies like The Children of the Woods (2024) are Curse of the Blair Witch (1999), The Locals (2003) and The Night Strangler (1973). If The Children of the Woods hooked you with its horror and mystery, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedThe Innocents (1961)7.5/10 from 707 votes
- NewestBloodthirsty (2026)Released 2026
Curse 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 & mystery
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Locals (2003)
Two best friends, Grant and Paul, hita country road for a night of fun, but unfortunately take a short cut to their fate...where they meet the Locals.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror & mystery
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Night Strangler (1973)
After being run out of Las Vegas, reporter Carl Kolchak heads for Seattle and another reporting job with the local paper. It's not long before he’s on the trail of another string of bizarre murders. It seems that every 21 years, for the past century, a killer murders a certain number of people, drains them of their blood, and then disappears into the night. Kolchak is on his trail, but can he stop him?
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror & mystery
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Night Stalker (1972)
Wisecracking reporter Carl Kolchak investigates a string of murders in Las Vegas and suspects the culprit is a vampire. His editor thinks he's crazy and the police think he's a nuisance, so Kolchak takes matters into his own hands.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both mystery & horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisI Bury the Living (1958)
The new manager of a small-town cemetery becomes convinced that he triggered the untimely deaths of several plot owners by tampering with a certain map. When nobody believes him, he risks his sanity to play God once again and prove his point.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both mystery & horror
Popcorn FlickMovies 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 & mystery
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Innocents (1961)
In a mid-19th century Essex country house, a young governess for two children becomes convinced that the house and grounds are haunted by ghosts and that the children are being possessed.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror & mystery
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 mystery & horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMr. Sardonicus (1961)
In 1880, Sir Robert Cargrave, a London physician known for his experimental work in paralysis treatment, is summoned to Gorslava by the mysterious Baron Sardonicus—who is now married to Cargrave's former wife, Maude—to treat his disfigurement. When Cargrave arrives, he finds the masked baron is a cruel sadist who has threatened to harm Maude if he is not successfully cured.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror & mystery
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Dark Mirror (1946)
A sister and her disturbed twin are implicated in a murder and a police detective must figure out which one's the killer.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both mystery & 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 & mystery
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisGrip of the Strangler (1958)
A researcher investigating a notorious serial killer who was hanged 20 years earlier seemingly becomes possessed by the long dead strangler.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror & mystery
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Conspiracy (2012)
A documentary about conspiracy theories takes a horrific turn after the filmmakers uncover an ancient and dangerous secret society.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
SnoozefestMovies 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
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisUnseen (2023)
Sam receives a call from Emily, a near blind woman who is running from her murderous ex in the woods. Can she survive using Sam as her eyes via video call?
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisPyewacket (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
SnoozefestMovies like thisThe Watcher in the Woods (1980)
After an American family moves to an old country manor in rural England, one of the daughters is tormented by the spirit of the owner's long lost daughter, who mysteriously disappeared 30 years ago during a solar eclipse.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
SnoozefestMovies like thisNancy Drew and the Hidden Staircase (2019)
Nancy Drew, a smart high schooler with a penchant for keen observation and deduction, stumbles upon the haunting of a local home. A bit of an outsider struggling to fit into her new surroundings, Nancy and her pals set out to solve the mystery, make new friends, and establish their place in the community
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both mystery
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Mysterious Geographic Explorations of Jasper Morello (2005)
Set in a world of iron dirigibles and steam powered computers, this gothic horror mystery tells the story of Jasper Morello, a disgraced aerial navigator who flees his plague-ridden home on a desperate voyage to redeem himself.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both mystery
Worth the HypeMovies like thisAnnabelle Hooper and the Ghosts of Nantucket (2016)
Vacationing on historic Nantucket Island, a teenage mystery writer and her friends must outwit two scheming thieves to solve the secret behind a legendary ghost story.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both mystery
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Forbidden Door (2009)
A successful sculptor's life is turned upside down when he starts to receive mysterious messages from someone asking for his help. As he digs deeper, he discovers a boy is being abused and has to choose between saving the boy or losing everything.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror & mystery
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Poughkeepsie Tapes (2007)
When hundreds of videotapes showing torture, murder and dismemberment are found in an abandoned house, they reveal a serial killer's decade-long reign of terror and become the most disturbing collection of evidence homicide detectives have ever seen.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror & mystery
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSea of Trees (TBA)
Nearly two decades after the unexplained disappearance of a vlogger in England’s Epping Forest, a documentary crew ventures into the same woods to uncover the truth—only to find themselves drawn into a chilling mystery where folklore, grief, and the act of filming begin to blur the line between reality and something far more sinister.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror & mystery
Weapons (2025)
When all but one child from the same class mysteriously vanish on the same night at exactly the same time, a community is left questioning who or what is behind their disappearance.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror & mystery
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe John Perkins Tapes (2024)
This is the recovered footage of serial killer Johns Perkins, who filmed his victims, creating what he believed to be artistic videos.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror
Bloodthirsty (2026)
On the night of their anniversary, Sarah is unexpectedly called into work but when a sudden zombie outbreak traps her inside, Brian must fight through the chaos to reach her before it's too late.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror
Crybaby Bridge (2013)
Nick, Ryan, and Bill have a dream: to have their own hunting show on television. With the help of their camera man Craig and the funding of the National Gun Owners of America, they are given the chance at a trial run, a documentary about the hunting experience. But when they cross the bridge and into the woods beyond, the hunters find themselves in the midst of the legend of Elizabeth, a vengeful specter willing to do whatever it takes to be reunited with her lost child. As the documentary progresses, the strange events continue to escalate to a deadly climax. Can the hunters save themselves from becoming the hunted, or are they doomed to be become a permanent part of the legend of Crybaby Bridge?
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror
Furocious (2017)
A food delivery man delivers to a very...different customer.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror
De Profundis: Out of the Depths (2010)
A weekend getaway turns into a night of horror for a family on vacation at a remote cabin. A priest returns twenty years after "the incident" to stop an evil that haunts it. Can the priest exorcise the demon in time to save the girl's life and close the gates of hell?
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like The Children of the Woods?
The closest matches to The Children of the Woods are Curse of the Blair Witch (1999), The Locals (2003) and The Night Strangler (1973). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after The Children of the Woods?
Start with Curse of the Blair Witch (1999), the closest match to The Children of the Woods.
What is the highest-rated movie like The Children of the Woods?
The Innocents (1961), rated 7.5/10 by 707 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like The Children of the Woods?
Bloodthirsty (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like The Children of the Woods?
Yes: Curse of the Blair Witch (1999), The Locals (2003) and The Night Strangler (1973).
How are movies similar to The Children of the Woods chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside The Children of the Woods, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.