Movies like Cruel Hands (2025)
The best movies like Cruel Hands (2025) are The Watcher in the Woods (1980), Night Watch (1973) and What's the Matter with Helen? (1971). If Cruel Hands 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 ratedDiabolique (1955)7.9/10 from 1,156 votes
- Newestundertone (2026)Released 2026
The 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 & thriller
SnoozefestMovies like thisNight Watch (1973)
A woman recovering from a nervous breakdown tries to convince her husband and and the local London police that she has witnessed a murder in the abandoned house next door.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller & 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 thisThe Hound of the Baskervilles (1939)
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 horror & thriller
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Car (1977)
The Utah community of Santa Ynez is being terrorized by a mysterious black coupe that appears out of nowhere and begins running people down. After the car kills off the town sheriff, Captain Wade Parent is determined to stop the murderous driver.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror & thriller
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 & 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 Most Dangerous Game (1932)
When legendary hunter Bob Rainsford is shipwrecked on the perilous reefs surrounding a mysterious island, he finds himself the guest of the reclusive and eccentric Count Zaroff. While he is very gracious at first, Zaroff eventually forces Rainsford and two other shipwreck survivors, brother and sister Eve and Martin Towbridge, to participate in a sadistic game of cat and mouse in which they are the prey and he is the hunter.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller & horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Baby (1973)
A social worker who recently lost her husband investigates the strange Wadsworth family. The Wadsworths might not seem too unusual to hear about them at first - consisting of the mother, two grown daughters and the diaper-clad, bottle-sucking baby. The problem is, the baby is twenty-one years old.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror & thriller
SnoozefestMovies 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 thisThe Cellar (2022)
When Keira Woods' daughter mysteriously vanishes in the cellar of their new house in the country, she soon discovers there is an ancient and powerful entity controlling their home that she will have to face or risk losing her family's souls forever.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisGreenland 2: Migration (2026)
Having found the safety of the Greenland bunker after the comet Clarke decimated the Earth, the Garrity family must now risk everything to embark on a perilous journey across the wasteland of Europe to find a new home.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Haunting (1963)
Dr. John Markway recruits three strangers for a sleep-disorder study at the eerie and isolated Hill House. It soon becomes clear his real interest lies in the mansion itself and its sinister history, as they are forced to confront the nature of its horror…
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Worth the HypeMovies like thisKept Woman (2015)
Jessica and her fiancé Evan have just moved from the city into their dream home on a quiet suburban street. Soon after, Jessica catches her seemingly friendly new neighbor, Simon, in a strange lie and can't let her suspicions rest. The danger escalates when Simon lures her inside his home and imprisons Jessica in his secret bunker, meticulously decorated in the idealized style of the 1950s.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisGood Boy (2025)
A loyal dog moves to a rural family home with his owner Todd, only to discover supernatural forces lurking in the shadows. As dark entities threaten his human companion, the brave pup must fight to protect the one he loves most.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisNightbooks (2021)
Alex, a boy obsessed with scary stories, is trapped by a witch in her modern, magical New York City apartment. His original hair-raising tales are the only thing keeping him safe as he desperately tries to find a way out of this twisted place.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisWar of the Worlds (2005)
Ray Ferrier is a divorced dockworker and less-than-perfect father. Soon after his ex-wife and her new husband drop off his teenage son and young daughter for a rare weekend visit, a strange and powerful lightning storm touches down.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisNight of the Eagle (1962)
A college professor who discovers that his wife has been practicing black magic for years forces her to stop but soon learns the true power of the occult.
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 thisundertone (2026)
The host of a popular paranormal podcast becomes haunted by terrifying recordings mysteriously sent her way.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Others (2001)
Grace is a religious woman who lives in an old house kept dark because her two children, Anne and Nicholas, have a rare sensitivity to light. When the family begins to suspect the house is haunted, Grace fights to protect her children at any cost in the face of strange events and disturbing visions.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror & thriller
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Gift (2000)
Annie Wilson, young widow and mother of three, makes her living foretelling others' futures—though her own has become cloudier than even she can see. Threatened by a client's violent husband and plagued by visions of a missing local woman, Annie finds herself pulled into a thicket of lies and deception in which her extraordinary gift may ultimately get her killed.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Castle (2022)
On their wedding day, Michael and Catherine break down in the middle of nowhere. They walk for several kilometers when they discover an old castle. Against her better judgement, Catherine is convinced by Michael to spend the night. Once she enters the castle she feels like something is watching her. What she discovers in the castle will change her life forever. Will she leave this place alive?
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror & thriller
Dead Calm (1989)
An Australian couple takes a sailing trip in the Pacific to get over the recent loss of their son. While on the open sea, they come across a sinking ship with one survivor who is not at all what he seems.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller & horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisWolf Creek (2005)
Three backpackers stranded in the Australian outback are plunged inside a hellish nightmare of insufferable torture by a sadistic psychopathic local.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCut (2000)
A group of film students set out to finish filming a movie that was never completed after its director was murdered. After they begin filming, they realize they're in for a bit of trouble, not unlike the late director...
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror & thriller
SnoozefestMovies like thisGone (2006)
A contemporary psychological thriller in which a young British couple travelling through the Australian outback become involved with a mysterious and charismatic American whose motive for imposing his friendship upon them becomes increasingly suspect and sinister.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror & thriller
SnoozefestMovies like thisDiabolique (1996)
The wife and mistress of a cruel school master collaborate in a carefully planned and executed scheme to murder him. The plan goes well until the body, which has been strategically dumped, disappears. The psychological strain starts to weigh on the two women when a retired police investigator begins looking into the man's disappearance on a whim.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller & horror
SnoozefestMovies like thisDiabolique (1955)
The cruel and abusive headmaster of a boarding school, Michel Delassalle, is murdered by an unlikely duo -- his meek wife and the mistress he brazenly flaunts. The women become increasingly unhinged by a series of odd occurrences after Delassalle's corpse mysteriously disappears.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisEnough (2002)
Working-class waitress Slim thought she was entering a life of domestic bliss when she married Mitch, the man of her dreams. After the arrival of their first child, her picture perfect life is shattered when she discovers Mitch's hidden possessive dark side, a controlling and abusive alter ego that can turn trust, love and tranquility into terror. Terrified for her child's safety, Slim flees with her daughter. Relentless in his pursuit and enlisting the aid of lethal henchmen, Mitch continually stalks the prey that was once his family.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like this
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Cruel Hands?
The closest matches to Cruel Hands are The Watcher in the Woods (1980), Night Watch (1973) and What's the Matter with Helen? (1971). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Cruel Hands?
Start with The Watcher in the Woods (1980), the closest match to Cruel Hands.
What is the highest-rated movie like Cruel Hands?
Diabolique (1955), rated 7.9/10 by 1,156 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Cruel Hands?
undertone (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like Cruel Hands?
Yes: The Watcher in the Woods (1980), Night Watch (1973) and What's the Matter with Helen? (1971).
How are movies similar to Cruel Hands chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Cruel Hands, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.