Movies like Cry for the Strangers (1982)
The best movies like Cry for the Strangers (1982) are The Night Stalker (1972), Dead of Night (1977) and Basilisk: The Serpent King (2006). If Cry for the Strangers 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 ratedDoctor Who: Planet of the Dead (2009)7.5/10 from 229 votes
- NewestSilent Zone (2025)Released 2025
The 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 horror & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDead of Night (1977)
This anthology tells three stories: a man buys a car that takes him back and forth through time; a tale of vampires; and a distraught mother asks for her drowned son to come back to life and gets more than she bargained for.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBasilisk: The Serpent King (2006)
Two millennia ago, a Lybian king has a basilisk (snake-shaped dragon), which petrifies people, subjected to the same fate with a golden scepter during a solar eclipse. Both these and several victims are dug up by modern archaeologist Harrison 'Harry' McColl's expedition. Despite a cryptic warning from tribal locals, everything goes to his Colorado university's museum. It's all exhibited during another eclipse, which leads to the monster reviving. Harry and some of his friends must try to petrify the monster again.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies 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 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
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 thisDoctor Who: Planet of the Dead (2009)
A meeting in a London bus with jewel thief Lady Christina takes a turn for the worse for the Doctor when the bus takes a detour to a desert-like planet, where the deadly Swarm awaits.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Worth the HypeMovies 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 thisManiac (1963)
When a stranger enters a quiet, country town and is seduced by a sensuous married woman he unwittingly finds himself at the centre of a storm of sexual guilt and murder.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSilent Zone (2025)
In a zombie-ravaged world, a resourceful teen and her protector fight for survival, facing relentless dangers and testing the limits of hope and loyalty.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror & thriller
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 thriller & horror
Worth the HypeMovies like thisInvasion of the Body Snatchers (1956)
A small-town doctor learns that the population of his community is being replaced by emotionless alien duplicates.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror & thriller
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Hound of the Baskervilles (1959)
When a nobleman is threatened by a family curse on his newly inherited estate, detective Sherlock Holmes is hired to investigate.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller & horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Invitation (2016)
Will and his new girlfriend Kira are invited to a dinner with old friends at the house of Will’s ex Eden and her new partner David. Although the evening appears to be relaxed, Will soon gets a creeping suspicion that their charming host David is up to something.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller & horror
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 thisMagma: Volcanic Disaster (2006)
When a volcano expert becomes convinced that a cataclysmic natural disaster is about to unfold, a volcanologist Professor John Shepherd and his graduate students believes that recent unexplainable volcanic activity as all of the volcanoes in the world are going to erupt and kill every living thing on the planet! They try to convince the government that their theory is true not a joke while also trying to figure out how to stop it before time runs out!
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDon't Go to Sleep (1982)
One year after a young girl dies in a car accident, her sister begins seeing visions of her, while the family home is plagued by strange happenings.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisWhat's the Matter with Helen? (1971)
Two middle-aged women move to Hollywood after their sons are convicted of a notorious murder and open a dance school for children eager to tap their way to stardom.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller & horror
SnoozefestMovies 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 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 thisThe Relic (1997)
A homicide detective teams up with an evolutionary biologist to hunt a giant creature that is killing people in a Chicago museum.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThittivasal (2017)
A collector, a cop and a minister want to displace a community of tribal people from their mountain homes for their personal gains.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller
Brother (2000)
A Japanese Yakuza gangster's deadly existence in his homeland gets him exiled to Los Angeles, where he is taken in by his little brother and his brother's gang.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller
Worth the HypeMovies like thisEyes Wide Shut (1999)
After Dr. Bill Harford's wife, Alice, admits to having sexual fantasies about a man she met, Bill becomes obsessed with having a sexual encounter. He discovers an underground sexual group and attends one of their meetings -- and quickly discovers that he is in over his head.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Karamazovs (2024)
Fyodor Karamazov is ill and holed up in his oceanfront home with his loyal caretaker Liz, when his three estranged children return home to settle a financial dispute. Despite carving out new lives for themselves—Aly has found refuge in religion, Viv is a queer artist, and Dmitri is a charismatic schemer—each is in the midst of their crisis. Their attempts at reconciliation are complicated further when Fyodor is murdered and they must finally face the truth about their dark past. Part murder mystery, part spiritual quest, The Karamazovs follows Liz, who pieces together memories of that eventful week.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller
Flickering Fears (2024)
she just wants to go home.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror
Shark Beach with Chris Hemsworth (2021)
Chris Hemsworth has a real passion for sharks. The Hollywood star talks to experts to find out more about the apex predators of the oceans.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
21 Grams (2003)
Paul Rivers, an ailing mathematician lovelessly married to an English émigré; Christina Peck, an upper-middle-class suburban housewife and mother of two girls; and Jack Jordan, a born-again ex-con, are brought together by a terrible accident that changes their lives.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller
Worth the HypeMovies like thisPi (1998)
A mathematical genius discovers a link between numbers and reality, and thus believes he can predict the future.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller
Worth the HypeMovies like thisHomeland Nation: Mescalero Apache (2011)
In the Sacramento Mountains of Southern New Mexico In the shadow of Sierra Blanca Peak Live the proud people of the Mescalero Apache With a history of peace, and unimaginable struggle The Mescalero live to honor their ancestors While fighting to survive in a modern world This is their story, in their words, from their Homeland Nation.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
Like Cry for the Strangers and something else?
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Cry for the Strangers?
The closest matches to Cry for the Strangers are The Night Stalker (1972), Dead of Night (1977) and Basilisk: The Serpent King (2006). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Cry for the Strangers?
Start with The Night Stalker (1972), the closest match to Cry for the Strangers.
What is the highest-rated movie like Cry for the Strangers?
Doctor Who: Planet of the Dead (2009), rated 7.5/10 by 229 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Cry for the Strangers?
Silent Zone (2025) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like Cry for the Strangers?
Yes: The Night Stalker (1972), Dead of Night (1977) and Basilisk: The Serpent King (2006).
How are movies similar to Cry for the Strangers chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Cry for the Strangers, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.