Movies like Sadako's Grudge (2023)
The best movies like Sadako's Grudge (2023) are Saint Catherine (2024), Mikey (1992) and Lesson of the Evil (2012). If Sadako's Grudge hooked you with its horror, these 20 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedJu-on: The Grudge (2002)6.8/10 from 1,028 votes
- NewestMonkey’s Magic Merry Go Round (2026)Released 2026
- In JapaneseLesson of the Evil (2012)Also in Japanese
Saint Catherine (2024)
An orphaned girl is rescued from a satanic ritual and taken to Saint Catherine Institute for homeless youth. There she will learn new skills while facing demons that stalk her.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMikey (1992)
Mikey just needs a good stable home. He's bounced from foster home to foster home his whole life. He finally lands himself with a new loving family, but their perfect little child is not what he appears to be. His previous caretakers all died of mysterious "accidents" that weren't really accidents at all. Mikey is a cold blooded killer, and it doesn't take long for him to aim his sights on his new adoptive family and anyone else who stands in his way.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
SnoozefestMovies like thisLesson of the Evil (2012)
Seiji Hasumi is a popular English teacher in a private high school. He is also a violent and sociopathic killer who concocts an extreme plan to deal with the rise of bullying and bad behavior among the student body.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisEvil of Dracula (1974)
Professor Shiraki arrives at an isolated girls' boarding school to take a new position. Upon arrival, he learns the principal's wife died in a car accident and is being kept in the cellar, according to local tradition. The principal startles Shiraki by asking him to become his successor, but Shiraki soon discovers that the principal has much darker motives.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAnother (2012)
After a chain of deaths at a junior high school, new transfer student Koichi Sakakibara turns to a mysterious girl who holds the key to the dark mystery.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
SnoozefestMovies like thisF (2010)
A group of teachers must defend themselves from a gang of murderous kids when their school comes under siege after hours.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMonkey’s Magic Merry Go Round (2026)
After a mysterious bout of amnesia, a beloved children’s television host struggles to piece together his fractured memories, only to find his once-cheerful puppet co-stars behaving with sinister intent. As reality unravels, the line between performance and nightmare begins to blur.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Angry Black Girl and Her Monster (2023)
Vicaria is a brilliant teenager who believes death is a disease that can be cured. After the brutal and sudden murder of her brother, she embarks on a dangerous journey to bring him back to life.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisRe/Member (2022)
Six high schoolers stuck in a murderous time loop must find the scattered remains of an unknown victim to break the curse and finally see another day.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Wailer (2006)
On their way to Mexico, six students are stranded in a small town where years before a tragedy took place.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Ghost Within (2023)
A young woman revisits her family home desperate to discover her sister Evie's murderer 20 years before. After a series of terrifying encounters with Evie's ghost at 09:09pm, Margot knows she must fight to learn the truth once and for all.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
SnoozefestMovies 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
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
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Boy Behind the Door (2020)
Bobby tries to save himself and his best friend when they are kidnapped on their way home from school.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisTomie: Rebirth (2001)
Young art student Hideo paints an unnerving portrait of Tomie, who whispers that she loves him. Inexplicably, he reacts by stabbing her to death with a painting trowel. Two friends, Takumi and Shunichi, arrive on the scene and help him dispose of the body. To cheer him up, the boys take the unwitting murderer to the nearest bar for a party... but a mysterious girl named Tomie shows up, bearing a few odd physical resemblances to the dead girl in the ground.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Worth the HypeMovies like thisX-Cross (2007)
Recovering from a failed love affair Shiyori heads to the country, in the company of best friend and bad girl Aiko. Having taken a long soak in the hot spring they retire to their respective cabins. They soon discover that the tranquil village is the home of a cult with a fetish for cutting off female legs. Trying to escape they are split up and keep in touch via their mobile phones. Multiple points of view and time frames keeps the viewer on their toes trying to discern the grisly fate of these "lost" girls.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisJu-on: The Grudge (2002)
When a social worker is sent to check on a traumatized elderly woman whose family have moved in at the site of a notorious murder case, she unwittingly unleashes a cycle of terror that transmits via its victims.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Evil (1978)
Shortly after moving into a dark, brooding mansion, a psychologist and his co-workers are terrorized by a horrible evil being.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
SnoozefestMovies like thisNever Let Go (2024)
As an evil takes over the world beyond their front doorstep, the only protection for a mother and her twin sons is their house and their family’s protective bond.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisA Nun's Curse (2020)
A group of travelers are forced to seek shelter inside an abandoned jail where a notorious nun named Sister Monday had once been assigned and was suspected of murdering prisoners.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like this
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Sadako's Grudge?
The closest matches to Sadako's Grudge are Saint Catherine (2024), Mikey (1992) and Lesson of the Evil (2012). Below are 17 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Sadako's Grudge?
Start with Saint Catherine (2024), the closest match to Sadako's Grudge.
What is the highest-rated movie like Sadako's Grudge?
Ju-on: The Grudge (2002), rated 6.8/10 by 1,028 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Sadako's Grudge?
Monkey’s Magic Merry Go Round (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there Japanese movies like Sadako's Grudge?
Yes: Lesson of the Evil (2012), Evil of Dracula (1974) and Another (2012).
How are movies similar to Sadako's Grudge chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Sadako's Grudge, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.