Movies like Apology (1986)
The best movies like Apology (1986) are When a Stranger Calls Back (1993), The Bad Seed Returns (2022) and The Bad Seed (2018). If Apology hooked you with its horror and thriller, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedBlack Sabbath (1963)7.2/10 from 507 votes
- NewestLocked (2025)Released 2025
When a Stranger Calls Back (1993)
Jill Johnson, now a crisis center counselor, reunites with retired detective John Clifford to hunt a killer stalking a coed.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror & thriller
SnoozefestMovies like thisThe Bad Seed Returns (2022)
Several years after the murderous events of the first movie left her father dead, Emma is now living with her aunt Angela and navigating high school. Angela’s husband begins to suspect that Emma may not be as innocent as she appears and suggests sending her off to boarding school. Meanwhile, a new girl at school seems to know Emma’s secrets, leaving Emma no choice but to slip back to her old ways and take care of her enemies by any means necessary.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror & thriller
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Bad Seed (2018)
A widower suspects that his seemingly perfect adolescent daughter is a heartless killer.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror & thriller
Worth the HypeMovies like thisDown (2019)
A pair of coworkers gets trapped in an elevator over a long weekend, but what at first promises to be a romantic connection turns nefarious as each party begins to reveal who they truly are.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisA Nasty Piece of Work (2019)
A mid-level corporate employee finds out he’s not getting the Christmas bonus he was expecting, but his boss invites him to earn a promotion by beating his professional rival in a violent competition.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisStalked by My Doctor (2015)
When a teenage girl is miraculously saved by a heart surgeon, the doctor begins to flirt with her. Her father doesn’t believe her and unbeknownst to all, the doctor is obsessed with the girl.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like this47 Hours to Live (2019)
Two socially awkward teenage girls, are bored one night and turn to the internet for scary stories. They find a game on a creepy website that claims you can use your phone to summon the supernatural...and if you lose the game...you lose your life.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller & horror
SnoozefestMovies like thisInfidelity in Suburbia (2017)
With her husband away at work, and her son at school, Laura dreams of a home-renovation project to supplant her restless days. Elliott, her irresistibly hot private contractor, soon fulfills her more forbidden dreams.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBad Sister (2015)
As a top student at St. Adeline's Catholic Boarding School, Zoe senses that something is not quite right about the school's new nun-- a sense proven to be true when it is revealed the "good' nun is an imposter with a fatal attraction to Zoe's brother.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Signal (2007)
A horror film told in three parts, from three perspectives, in which a mysterious transmission that turns people into killers invades every cell phone, radio, and television.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror & thriller
SnoozefestMovies like thisDead of Winter (1987)
A fledgling actress is lured to a remote mansion for a screen-test, soon discovering she is actually a prisoner in the middle of a blackmail plot.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBlack Rainbow (1989)
Martha Travis is a medium who makes contact with spirits "on the other side" and connects them with their loved ones still alive, in public performances. Trouble begins when she gives a message to Mary Kuron from her husband, Tom. But Tom isn't dead... yet. And Martha not only knows he will die, she also knows who killed him. And the murderer knows she knows...
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller & horror
SnoozefestMovies like thisRoadkill (2011)
Six young friends on a road trip in Ireland run afoul of gypsies who curse them for accidentally running down an old woman. The curse takes the form of a terrifying flying beast that tries killing them all.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
SnoozefestMovies like thisDon't Let Go (2019)
A detective suffering from a personal loss receives a call from his recently deceased niece. Being able to communicate across time, the two work together to try and stop the crime before it occurs.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisYour Boyfriend Is Mine (2022)
Over the objection of his girlfriend, Ben agrees to take a job as the “live in” man servant to a wealthy businesswoman, Amanda, but quickly realizes he has made a deal with the devil, and has put himself and his girlfriend in mortal jeopardy
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMegaboa (2021)
On a trip to Colombia, a group of college students encounter a fifty-foot boa constrictor, hungry for blood.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisLocked (2025)
When Eddie breaks into a luxury SUV, he steps into a deadly trap set by William, a self-proclaimed vigilante delivering his own brand of twisted justice. With no means of escape, Eddie must fight to survive in a ride where escape is an illusion, survival is a nightmare, and justice shifts into high gear.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisGrindhouse (2007)
Grindhouse combines Robert Rodriguez's Planet Terror, a horror comedy about a group of survivors who battle zombie-like creatures, and Quentin Tarantino's Death Proof, an action thriller about a murderous stuntman who kills young women with modified vehicles. It is presented as a double feature with fictitious exploitation trailers preceding each segment.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller & horror
Worth the HypeMovies 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 & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Caller (2011)
Troubled divorcee Mary Kee is tormented by a series of sinister phone calls from a mysterious woman. When the stranger reveals she's calling from the past, Mary tries to break off contact. But the caller doesn't like being ignored, and looks for revenge in a unique and terrifying way...
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisJigsaw (2017)
Law enforcement finds itself chasing the ghost of a man dead for over a decade, embroiled in a diabolical new game that's only just begun.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisLiar Game: The Final Stage (2010)
In Liar game: Final Stage, Players are encouraged to trust each other to win the tournament. However, a mysterious player named X is secretly plotting to sabotage everyone of their chances to win the LGT.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller
Worth the HypeMovies like thisSaw III (2006)
Jigsaw has disappeared. Along with his new apprentice Amanda, the puppet-master behind the cruel, intricate games that have terrified a community and baffled police has once again eluded capture and vanished. While city detectives scramble to locate him, Doctor Lynn Denlon and Jeff Reinhart are unaware that they are about to become the latest pawns on his vicious chessboard.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisLe réfrigérateur (2019)
Two different but strangely complementary young women living together are pictured in a fragmented and non-linear narrative about incommunicability and alienation.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (2003)
After picking up a traumatized young hitchhiker, five friends find themselves stalked and hunted by a chainsaw-wielding killer and his family of equally psychopathic killers.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDial: Help (1988)
A psychic finds herself tapping into the "energy" of a deceased phone operator. She also finds that her friends soon begin dying mysteriously. An investigator determines to track down the cause.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror
Over the Wire (1996)
Bruce is a telephone lineman who accidentally overhears a murder plot. When 911 informs him that there is nothing that they can do about it, he takes matters into his own hands, and gets entangled in a world of sex and mystery.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller
La nuit je m'ennuie (2015)
Ambroise gets bored every night. To kill time, he makes random calls. Sometimes Ambroise finds a lonely woman on the other side of the received.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller
Sorry, Wrong Number (1948)
Leona Stevenson is confined to bed and uses her telephone to keep in contact with the outside world. One day she overhears a murder plot on the telephone and is desperate to find out who is the intended victim.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBlack Sabbath (1963)
Three tales of supernatural horror include a woman plagued by threatening phone calls, a family targeted by vampiric monsters, and a deceased medium who wreaks havoc upon the living.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror
Worth the HypeMovies like this
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Apology?
The closest matches to Apology are When a Stranger Calls Back (1993), The Bad Seed Returns (2022) and The Bad Seed (2018). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Apology?
Start with When a Stranger Calls Back (1993), the closest match to Apology.
What is the highest-rated movie like Apology?
Black Sabbath (1963), rated 7.2/10 by 507 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Apology?
Locked (2025) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like Apology?
Yes: When a Stranger Calls Back (1993), The Bad Seed Returns (2022) and The Bad Seed (2018).
How are movies similar to Apology chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Apology, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.