Movies like VIRAL (2023)
The best movies like VIRAL (2023) are The Girl Who Got Away (2021), Nocebo (2022) and Older Gods (2023). If VIRAL hooked you with its thriller and horror, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedAwake (2007)6.6/10 from 1,654 votes
- NewestThe Catcher (2026)Released 2026
The Girl Who Got Away (2021)
A female serial killer who killed four young girls is sent away to prison, but a fifth victim escaped with her life. Twenty years later, the killer escapes and begins hunting for the one who got away.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisNocebo (2022)
A fashion designer suffers from a mysterious illness that puzzles her doctors and frustrates her husband until help arrives in the form of a Filipino caregiver who uses traditional folk healing to reveal a horrifying truth.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both mystery & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisOlder Gods (2023)
After the disappearance of his troubled friend, American Chris Rivers travels to the remote Welsh countryside to investigate what happened – leading him to a dark apocalyptic cult.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror & mystery
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisNight of the Hunted (2023)
When an unsuspecting woman stops at a remote gas station in the dead of night, she's made the plaything of a sociopath sniper with a secret vendetta. To survive, she must not only dodge his bullets and fight for her life, but also figure out who wants her dead and why.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror & mystery
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 mystery & horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisGod Told Me To (1976)
A New York detective investigates a series of murders committed by random citizens who claim that 'God told them to'.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller & horror
SnoozefestMovies like thisLike Minds (2006)
A forensic psychologist must determine if a minor should be charged with murder.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller & mystery
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAll the Devils Are Here (2025)
After a heist, four criminals lay low in a remote safehouse, waiting for orders. As paranoia builds, one thing becomes clear — the real threat may not be outside, but among them.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both mystery & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisFrank and Penelope (2022)
A tale of love and violence when a man on his emotional last legs finds a savior seductively dancing in a run-down strip club. And a life most certainly headed off a cliff suddenly becomes redirected - as everything is now worth dying for.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller & horror
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Seven-Ups (1973)
A tough detective who is part of an elite New York City unit is trying to find out who killed his partner, but uncovers a plot to kidnap mobsters for money.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller & mystery
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMindcage (2022)
Detectives Jake Doyle and Mary Kelly seek the help of an incarcerated serial killer named The Artist when a copycat killer strikes. While Mary searches for clues in The Artist's brilliant but twisted psyche, she and Jake are lured into a diabolical game of cat and mouse, racing against time to stay one step ahead of The Artist and his copycat.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both mystery & thriller
SnoozefestMovies like thisCleaner (2007)
Single father and former cop Tom Cutler has an unusual occupation: he cleans up death scenes. But when he's called in to sterilize a wealthy suburban residence after a brutal shooting, Cutler is shocked to learn he may have unknowingly erased crucial evidence, entangling himself in a dirty criminal cover-up.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller & mystery
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisOverdrive (2017)
Master car thieves square off against French gangsters in the South of France with money, women and lives all on the line.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller & mystery
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Glass Key (1942)
A crooked politician finds himself being accused of murder by a gangster from whom he refused help during a re-election campaign.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both mystery & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisContainment (2015)
Neighbors in a block wake one morning to find they have been sealed inside their apartments. Can they work together to find out why? Or will they destroy each other in their fight to escape?
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller & horror
SnoozefestMovies like thisThe Black Book (2023)
After his son is wrongly accused of kidnapping, a deacon who has just lost his wife takes matters into his own hands and fights a crooked police gang to clear him.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both mystery & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Infernal Machine (2022)
Reclusive and controversial author Bruce Cogburn is drawn out of hiding by an obsessive fan, forcing the novelist to confront a past that he thought he could escape, and to account for events set in motion by his bestseller decades earlier. Cogburn's search for who is behind the manipulation and mental torment he encounters leads to an emotional roller-coaster ride full of fear and danger, where things are not always as clear as they seem to be, and where past deeds can have dire consequences.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller & mystery
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAwake (2007)
While undergoing heart surgery, a man experiences a phenomenon called ‘anesthetic awareness’, which leaves him awake but paralyzed throughout the operation. As various obstacles present themselves, his wife must make life-altering decisions while wrestling with her own personal drama.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller & mystery
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe International (2009)
An interpol agent and an attorney are determined to bring one of the world's most powerful banks to justice. Uncovering money laundering, arms trading, and conspiracy to destabilize world governments, their investigation takes them from Berlin, Milan, New York and Istanbul. Finding themselves in a chase across the globe, their relentless tenacity puts their own lives at risk.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller & mystery
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBloodline (2019)
Evan values family above all else, and anyone who gets between him, his wife, and newborn son learns that the hard way. But when it comes to violent tendencies, it seems the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror & thriller
SnoozefestMovies like thisMeurtre du tableau (2025)
An artist, surrounded by the mess in her studio, struggles with frustration as she tries to find inspiration for her new painting.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror & thriller
Specter (2014)
The town of Midground is threatened by a tsunami caused by a massive earthquake in the North Pacific Ocean. After other unexplainable events transpire, Chase Lombardi and friends are forced to discover whether they are experiencing a natural phenomenon or something else all together.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller & horror
To Be a Starfish (2025)
A young prizefighter has finally found his purpose in the world, but is increasingly terrified of becoming lazy and useless like D'Artagnan, his pet starfish.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror & thriller
Voices Carry (2024)
Henry checks into his BNB for his first wedding photography gig but gets much more than he bargained for.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller & horror
Blood Tulip (2019)
A woman travels to Holland in search of her missing sister who may have been forced into prostitution in the infamous Red Light District of Amsterdam. Ever wondered what would happen if John Waters went to the Netherlands to make a giallo? Wonder no more!
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror & thriller
The Catcher (2026)
Robin, a lonely young man, works for the government as a catcher of invisible birds. One day he defies his orders and makes one dangerous choice.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller & mystery
Abduct (2025)
A woman's peaceful mountain getaway takes a bizarre turn when her boyfriend disappears, and a random naked man shows up claiming to be him.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror & thriller
Dead Mail (2024)
An ominous help note finds its way to a 1980s post office, connecting a dead letter investigator to a kidnapped keyboard technician.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror & thriller
SnoozefestMovies like thisSweet Cherries Ahead (2026)
While hitchhiking through the countryside two girls, Dove and Helen, are drawn into a mysterious and unsettling underground world. What begins as a search for freedom spirals into a nightmare descent where trust fractures, reality blurs, and survival demands hard choices.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror & thriller
The Secret (1974)
A stranger enters into and forever alters the life of a couple. He claims to be pursued by certain authorities who intend to prevent him from disclosing a secret that only he holds, whence the title. Is he lying, or insane - or is he telling the truth? Who, if anyone, is after him? And what *is* - the secret?
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller & mystery
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like VIRAL?
The closest matches to VIRAL are The Girl Who Got Away (2021), Nocebo (2022) and Older Gods (2023). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after VIRAL?
Start with The Girl Who Got Away (2021), the closest match to VIRAL.
What is the highest-rated movie like VIRAL?
Awake (2007), rated 6.6/10 by 1,654 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like VIRAL?
The Catcher (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like VIRAL?
Yes: The Girl Who Got Away (2021), Nocebo (2022) and Older Gods (2023).
How are movies similar to VIRAL chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside VIRAL, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.