Movies like The Initiated: Written from the Shadows (2024)
The best movies like The Initiated: Written from the Shadows (2024) are The Infernal Machine (2022), The House of Snails (2021) and The Evil (1978). If The Initiated: Written from the Shadows hooked you with its thriller, these 20 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedSavaged (2014)6.6/10 from 229 votes
- Newest180 (2026)Released 2026
- In SpanishThe House of Snails (2021)Also in Spanish
The 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
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe House of Snails (2021)
A writer secludes himself in the mountains and falls in lust with local Berta. After realizing the oddities of the rural community the author starts to question the lines between reality and fiction.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
SnoozefestMovies 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 thriller
SnoozefestMovies like thisIn Cold Light (2026)
Fresh out of prison, Ava's attempt to reclaim her drug operation collapses when she witnesses a brutal crime, forcing her to flee into a nightmarish underworld where allies are scarce and enemies multiply by the minute.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
SnoozefestMovies 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
SnoozefestMovies like thisMexican Psycho (2026)
Follows an "ultra-violent and intelligent" psychopath who challenges the police by leaving a white paper rabbit at each crime scene, connecting them all.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Worth the HypeMovies like this180 (2026)
When an unexpected road rage incident puts his son in critical condition, an enraged father spirals down a dark path of emotional turmoil and vengeance.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
SnoozefestMovies like thisMK Ultra (2022)
Set during the true and unconscionable Central Intelligence Agency MK ULTRA drug experimentations in the early 1960s. The journey of Ford Strauss, a brilliant psychiatrist, whose moral and scientific boundaries are pushed to the limit as he is recruited to run a subsect of the program in a rural Mississippi Mental Hospital.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
SnoozefestMovies like thisThe Virtuoso (2021)
Danger, deception and murder descend upon a sleepy town when a professional assassin accepts a new assignment from his enigmatic boss.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
SnoozefestMovies like thisCheat (2023)
On the surface it's believed to be another urban legend - a supernatural being from the afterlife is violently killing anyone who cheats on their significant other in the small college town of Silvercreek, Pennsylvania. But the town's unusually high suicide rate is finally convincing both locals and college students that everything is not as it seems. When Maeve - a female college student - sleeps with Charlie, the married man of the host family she is staying with, both sense the deadly curse is closing in on them. Unable to get anyone to believe them, Maeve and Charlie seek out a local history student to help find answers and figure out a way to defend themselves. It all comes undone, however, as several people are horrifically killed by the savage being - one-by-one at a rapid pace. Eventually, Maeve, Charlie and the few survivors band together in an attempt to defeat the monster once and for all.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Worth the HypeMovies like thisBlackwood (2014)
Having recovered from a shattering emotional breakdown, college professor Ben Marshall relocates to the countryside with his wife and young son, hoping for a fresh start. He has a teaching job lined up and a new home to move into; things finally look to be going Ben's way. Until, that is, he starts to feel that something isn't quite right in the house. Finding himself plagued by spectral visions, Ben becomes obsessed with uncovering the truth behind a local mystery that appears to be putting the lives of his family in danger
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
SnoozefestMovies like thisThe Wrath of God (2022)
Convinced the tragic deaths of her loved ones were orchestrated by a famous novelist she worked for, Luciana turns to a journalist to expose her truth.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisUnit 234 (2024)
While working the night shift alone, Laurie Saltair discovers a comatose man, Clayton, in Unit 234 of her family’s storage facility. What transpires is a thrill ride of a cat-and-mouse game for Laurie and Clayton to survive the night.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSavaged (2014)
After thugs brutalize a deaf-mute woman, the spirit of an Apache warrior takes over her lifeless body and sets out on a bloodthirsty quest for revenge.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHider in the House (1989)
A deranged man hides in the attic of a new house and becomes obsessed with the unsuspecting family that moves in.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSuburbicon (2017)
In the quiet family town of Suburbicon during the 1950s, the best and worst of humanity is hilariously reflected through the deeds of seemingly ordinary people. When a home invasion turns deadly, a picture-perfect family turns to blackmail, revenge and murder.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
SnoozefestMovies like thisWatcher (2022)
As a serial killer stalks the city, Julia — a young actress who just moved to town with her husband — notices a mysterious stranger watching her from across the street.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisRogue Agent (2022)
Conman Robert Freegard poses as an undercover MI5 agent and kidnaps countless victims amidst a high-stakes manhunt, until the woman who fell for him brings him to justice.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Town that Dreaded Sundown (2014)
A masked maniac terrorizes the same small community where a murderer known as the Phantom Killer struck decades earlier.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
SnoozefestMovies like thisLazareth (2024)
Lee is an aunt whose life mission is to protect her orphaned nieces, Imogen and Maeve, from a self-destructing world, raising them in isolation until an outsider threatens their peaceful existence.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like this
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like The Initiated: Written from the Shadows?
The closest matches to The Initiated: Written from the Shadows are The Infernal Machine (2022), The House of Snails (2021) and The Evil (1978). Below are 17 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after The Initiated: Written from the Shadows?
Start with The Infernal Machine (2022), the closest match to The Initiated: Written from the Shadows.
What is the highest-rated movie like The Initiated: Written from the Shadows?
Savaged (2014), rated 6.6/10 by 229 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like The Initiated: Written from the Shadows?
180 (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there Spanish movies like The Initiated: Written from the Shadows?
Yes: The House of Snails (2021), Mexican Psycho (2026) and The Wrath of God (2022).
How are movies similar to The Initiated: Written from the Shadows chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside The Initiated: Written from the Shadows, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.