Movies like Serial (2005)
The best movies like Serial (2005) are The 'Burbs (1989), Tales of Terror (1962) and LaRoy, Texas (2024). If Serial hooked you with its comedy and horror, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedThe Fearless Vampire Killers (1967)6.9/10 from 867 votes
- NewestBunker Heights (2026)Released 2026
The 'Burbs (1989)
When secretive new neighbors move in next door, suburbanite Ray Peterson and his friends let their paranoia get the best of them as they start to suspect the newcomers of evildoings and commence an investigation. But it's hardly how Ray, who much prefers drinking beer, reading his newspaper and watching a ball game on the tube expected to spend his vacation.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisTales of Terror (1962)
Three stories adapted from the work of Edgar Allen Poe: 1) A man and his daughter are reunited, but the blame for the death of his wife hangs over them, unresolved. 2) A derelict challenges the local wine-tasting champion to a competition, but finds the man's attention to his wife worthy of more dramatic action. 3) A man dying and in great pain agrees to be hypnotized at the moment of death, with unexpected consequences.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror & comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisLaRoy, Texas (2024)
Broke and depressed, Ray is mistaken for a dangerous hitman and given an envelope of cash. Along with his P.I. friend Skip, he must escape the actual hitman to make it out of LaRoy alive.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & thriller
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 thisDeathtrap (1982)
A Broadway playwright puts murder in his plan to take credit for a student's script.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller & comedy
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 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 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 thisDave Made a Maze (2017)
Dave, an artist who has yet to complete anything significant in his career, builds a fort in his living room out of pure frustration, only to wind up trapped by the fantastical pitfalls, booby traps, and critters of his own creation. Ignoring his warnings, Dave’s girlfriend Annie leads a band of oddball explorers on a rescue mission. Once inside, they find themselves trapped in an ever-changing supernatural world, threatened by booby traps and pursued by a bloodthirsty Minotaur.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe 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 thisThe Fearless Vampire Killers (1967)
A noted professor and his dim-witted apprentice fall prey to their inquiring vampires, while on the trail of the ominous damsel in distress.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & horror
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 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 thisReturn to... Return to Nuke 'Em High aka Vol. 2 (2017)
Following the events of Volume 1, the mutated glee club continue their violent rampage in Tromaville. Chrissy and Lauren, two innocent lesbian lovers, must fight not only the Cretins, mutants, and monsters but also the evil Tromorganic Foodstuffs Conglomerate. Can they, and Kevin the Wonder Duck, save Tromaville High School and the world?
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisScared Stiff (1953)
A nightclub singer and his partner escape mobsters by fleeing to Cuba with a beautiful heiress, who has inherited a haunted castle on an isolated island. The trio hunt for a hidden treasure and encounter a ghost, a zombie, and a mysterious killer...
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisFrankenweenie (1984)
When young Victor's pet dog Sparky (who stars in Victor's homemade monster movies) is hit by a car, Victor decides to bring him back to life the only way he knows how. But when the bolt-necked "monster" wreaks havoc and terror in the hearts of Victor's neighbors, he has to convince them (and his parents) that despite his appearance, Sparky's still the good loyal friend he's always been.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror & comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAbbott and Costello Meet Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1953)
As American policemen in London, Bud and Lou meet up with Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDouble, Double, Toil and Trouble (1993)
On Halloween night, two precocious little girls try to save their parents from their nasty old capitalist aunt's greedy clutches. Magic abounds and they meet mysterious new friends along the way.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror & comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisGrip of the Strangler (1958)
A researcher investigating a notorious serial killer who was hanged 20 years earlier seemingly becomes possessed by the long dead strangler.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSiew Lup (2017)
Mia, an ex-prostitute, is trapped in a loveless marriage with the abusive Quan (Sunny Pang, who also stars in Headshot in this year’s Festival lineup), a butcher who runs a roast meat shop. When she meets sensitive funeral director Wu, their passion for one another escalates into an affair. But the path to true love is fraught with jealousy, forcing someone to make a deadly move.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror & thriller
Bunker Heights (2026)
Citizens of a troubled city must navigate through an unforeseen crisis that threatens every walk of life.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror & comedy
Pyewacket (2017)
A frustrated, angry teenage girl awakens something in the woods when she naively performs an occult ritual to invoke a witch to kill her mother.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror & thriller
SnoozefestMovies like thisBe Afraid (2017)
Not long after John Chambers and his family arrive at their new home in a small country town of Pennsylvania, John begins to experience sleep paralysis. Lying there paralyzed, trapped within his own nightmare, other-worldly beings visit John. They are entities which exist in the darkest shadows of the night and can only be seen out of the corner of one's eye. These encounters begin to haunt John, transforming to complete terror as he discovers the entities' sole purpose... the abduction of his seven year old son. In the end, John will uncover the town's horrific secret, a portal on his land, and make one last attempt to save his son before the shadow people permanently take him away to their world.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCarnifex (2016)
Several years after an infamous serial killer was active, the town of Heemskerk is shocked by a horrible murder in the mensroom of a local club. A smashed skull in the urinal, blood on the tiles. And this is only the beginning... Their days of partying, drinking and getting stoned are over. One by one the friends die an insane and gruesome death. Hunted by the psychopath, Bram tries to find the killer. What happened that Christmas night two years ago? Why isn't the police helping? How are those Mexicans involved?
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror & comedy
Warriors of Horseshoe 3: Redemption (TBA)
After the death of his brother at the hands of the Master of Shaolin Horseshoes, an enraged hunter seeks a path of vengeance.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy & thriller
The Intermediate Step (2019)
Yolanda is a young girl who practices athletics, it's her passion. But she's not training the way she wants, there is something wrong on her life and it's about to explode.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror & thriller
Marlina the Murderer in Four Acts (2017)
After encountering a group of bandits with plans to rape and steal from her, a young widow ventures into the wilderness in search of justice.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Wrong Babysitter (2017)
A recent kidnapping has single mom Susan worried about leaving her daughter Christy at home for an out-of-town trip - until neighbor Teri offers to "babysit," looking in on Christy and spending the night. But Susan rushes home when Christy goes missing, under circumstances reminiscent of her police detective husband's death. Susan will have to open the past wound of her husband's death in order to rescue the only family she has left.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller
Siege of Terror (1972)
Finding himself unwittingly involved in a love triangle with his unfaithful wife and her lover sends a man over the edge.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Serial?
The closest matches to Serial are The 'Burbs (1989), Tales of Terror (1962) and LaRoy, Texas (2024). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Serial?
Start with The 'Burbs (1989), the closest match to Serial.
What is the highest-rated movie like Serial?
The Fearless Vampire Killers (1967), rated 6.9/10 by 867 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Serial?
Bunker Heights (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like Serial?
Yes: The 'Burbs (1989), Tales of Terror (1962) and LaRoy, Texas (2024).
How are movies similar to Serial chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Serial, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.