Movies like Waking State (2025)
The best movies like Waking State (2025) are The Night Strangler (1973), Annabelle Hooper and the Ghosts of Nantucket (2016) and Last Scene Alive: An Aurora Teagarden Mystery (2018). If Waking State hooked you with its mystery, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedSherlock Jr. (1924)8.0/10 from 1,237 votes
- NewestDrop (2025)Released 2025
The Night Strangler (1973)
After being run out of Las Vegas, reporter Carl Kolchak heads for Seattle and another reporting job with the local paper. It's not long before he’s on the trail of another string of bizarre murders. It seems that every 21 years, for the past century, a killer murders a certain number of people, drains them of their blood, and then disappears into the night. Kolchak is on his trail, but can he stop him?
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both mystery
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAnnabelle Hooper and the Ghosts of Nantucket (2016)
Vacationing on historic Nantucket Island, a teenage mystery writer and her friends must outwit two scheming thieves to solve the secret behind a legendary ghost story.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both mystery
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisLast Scene Alive: An Aurora Teagarden Mystery (2018)
There is excitement in the air when a Hollywood crew comes to Lawrenceton to film a movie about the town’s sleuthy librarian, Aurora Teagarden. However, when the film’s leading lady is found murdered in her dressing room, Aurora enlists her Real Murders Club members to help gather clues. At the same time, she experiences mounting concern that Aida is becoming attracted to the film’s director who, like everyone else working on the set that day, is considered a suspect. And this time around Martin is especially worried about Aurora’s safety after learning that the film’s screenwriter, who has a romantic history with her, emerges as the prime suspect.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both mystery
Worth the HypeMovies like thisSherlock Jr. (1924)
A film projectionist longs to be a detective, and puts his meager skills to work when he is framed by a rival for stealing his girlfriend's father's pocketwatch.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both mystery
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisDead Over Heels: An Aurora Teagarden Mystery (2017)
Librarian and real crime buff Aurora “Roe” Teagarden never liked Detective Sergeant Jack Burns, but she also never wanted to see him dead. When his body is found outside of Aurora’s home, she then becomes the main suspect. Determined to find the killer and clear her name, Aurora can't help but to get involved once again.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both mystery
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Julius House: An Aurora Teagarden Mystery (2016)
Aurora Teagarden is a beautiful young librarian with a passion for solving murders. After an exhaustive search for the perfect home, Aurora finally purchases her dream house, unaware of its murky history. As she prepares to move in, Aurora discovers that the family who once lived there mysteriously disappeared without a trace.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both mystery
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCurse of the Blair Witch (1999)
A mockumentary exploring the legend of the Blair Witch and the case of the three missing student filmmakers.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both mystery
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisChronicle Mysteries: Vines that Bind (2019)
The latest edition of Alex McPherson’s true crime podcast leads her and most of the Chronicle staff to nearby Macklin, where they investigate the death of a vintner that was ruled an accident by the local police.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both mystery
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisScooby-Doo! in Where's My Mummy? (2005)
Scooby-Doo and the Mystery Inc. gang become involved in a supernatural mystery in Egypt.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both mystery
Worth the HypeMovies like thisGarage Sale Mystery: A Case Of Murder (2017)
Jenn buys an old reel-to-reel recorder at a garage sale only to find that it includes the sound of a man pleading for his life. When the former owner of the recorder, a retired therapist, is found murdered in a patient’s apartment, Jenn’s investigation leads to other patients whose love lives are more entangled than she was first led to believe.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both mystery
Worth the HypeMovies like thisSite Unseen: An Emma Fielding Mystery (2017)
Brilliant, dedicated, and driven, archaeologist Emma Fielding is trying to unearth evidence of a 17th century coastal Maine settlement that predates Jamestown, one of the most significant archaeological finds in years. But the dead body that accompanies it has embroiled Emma and her students in a different kind of exploration.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both mystery
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Assault (2014)
After a cheerleader is sexually assaulted by the high school football team, she must overcome her shame and use the evidence gathered from the subsequent social media firestorm to piece together the night that she can't remember in her fight for justice. Based on the true story of the Steubenville, Ohio rape case.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both mystery
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisPhantom of the Megaplex (2000)
Pete Riley is a 17-year-old who lands a part-time job at a multiplex in his neighbourhood. He and his friends are excited when it's announced that the theatre will play host to the premier of a major motion picture, with a number of Hollywood celebrities in attendance. However, when the big night comes, Pete has to contend with disappearing staff, malfunctioning equipment, and a broken popcorn machine.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both mystery
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBrand Upon the Brain! (2007)
After returning home to his long-estranged mother upon a request from her deathbed, a man raised by his parents in an orphanage has to confront the childhood memories that have long haunted him.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both mystery
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAloha Scooby-Doo! (2005)
The Mystery Gang goes to Hawaii for the Big Kahuna of Hanahuna Surfing Contest. However, the gang and the locals find the island invaded by the vengeful Wiki Tiki spirit and his demons.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both mystery
Worth the HypeMovies like thisBlack Angel (1946)
A falsely convicted man's wife, Catherine, and an alcoholic composer and pianist, Martin, team up in an attempt to clear her husband of the murder of a blonde singer, who is Martin's wife.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both mystery
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisFramed for Murder: A Fixer Upper Mystery (2017)
In the small resort town of Lighthouse Cove, everyone knows that the best man for the job is a woman. And that woman is Shannon Hughes, owner of a construction company and an expert in Victorian home restoration and renovation. Through her renovations she will find clues to uncover the house’s secret past and in turn become an unlikely sleuth to help crack these unsolved mysteries
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both mystery
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Mirror Crack'd (1980)
Jane Marple solves the mystery when a local woman is poisoned and a visiting movie star seems to have been the intended victim.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both mystery
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHailey Dean Mysteries: Murder, With Love (2016)
Former prosecutor-turned-therapist Hailey Dean is a powerhouse, Mensa bright, and acutely observant. During a tragic week, one of her patients loses her parents to separate fatal accidents along with millions of dollars that has seemingly vanished into thin air. When the police begin to question Hailey's patient, shes knows she is innocent. But who is the culprit?
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both mystery
Worth the HypeMovies like thisDead Men Don't Wear Plaid (1982)
Juliet Forrest is convinced that the reported death of her father in a mountain car crash was no accident. Her father was a prominent cheese scientist working on a secret recipe. To prove it was murder, she enlists the services of private eye Rigby Reardon. He finds a slip of paper containing a list of people who are 'The Friends and Enemies of Carlotta'.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both mystery
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisRing 2 (1999)
While investigating the horrifying death of her boyfriend, Mai Takano learns about a videotape haunted by the spirit of a disturbing girl named Sadako, which kills anyone who watches it exactly one week later. When her boyfriend’s son, Yoichi, starts to develop the same psychic abilities as Sadako, Takano must find a way to keep the boy and herself from becoming the next victims.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both mystery
SnoozefestMovies like thisScarlet Winter (2022)
After Mark wakes up to find his girlfriend murdered in bed, he must try to cover up her death and piece together the events of the previous night to find her killer.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both mystery
Hunting the Legend (2014)
In 2008, a deer hunter was taken by something in the Alabama woods. Only his rifle, blood and a 16" footprint were left behind... Five years later, his son seeks revenge.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both mystery
Doctor Sleep (2002)
While treating a policewoman for smoking, hypnotherapist Michael Strother has a telepathic vision of a young girl floating beneath the surface of a stream. The escaped victim of a ritualistic serial killer, the girl has become mute, and Michael is called upon by Scotland Yard to unlock the secrets she holds in order to catch a man who believes he has discovered the key to immortality.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both mystery
SnoozefestMovies like thisAfter She Died (2022)
A young woman is horrified to discover that her father's new girlfriend looks identical to her dead mother.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both mystery
Drop (2025)
Violet, a widowed mother on her first date in years, arrives at an upscale restaurant where she is relieved that her date, Henry, is more charming and handsome than she expected. But their chemistry begins to curdle as Violet begins being irritated and then terrorized by a series of anonymous drops to her phone.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both mystery
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDetective Conan: Captured in Her Eyes (2000)
Police officers around Tokyo are being murdered by an unknown assailant. When Ran witnesses an attempt on the life of one of her friends in the police, she loses her memory. Now, Conan and Inspector Megure must find the murderer while Ran attempts to regain her lost memories.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both mystery
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe 5th Kind (2017)
Three best friends try to get 'internet famous' by filming their own survival show out in the woods. A weekend trip to accomplish this project turns deadly when a mysterious and very foreign visitor ends up in their neck of the woods.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both mystery
DCW: THE MOVIE (2021)
In this epic remake of the 2016 film, based on the childhood card game of DCW, the characters of Donovan, Jash and Season Square go on a journey, exploring the crazy world of DCW but Jacky Joe Hunter is here to end the fun with a mysterious magical gem...
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both mystery
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Waking State?
The closest matches to Waking State are The Night Strangler (1973), Annabelle Hooper and the Ghosts of Nantucket (2016) and Last Scene Alive: An Aurora Teagarden Mystery (2018). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Waking State?
Start with The Night Strangler (1973), the closest match to Waking State.
What is the highest-rated movie like Waking State?
Sherlock Jr. (1924), rated 8.0/10 by 1,237 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Waking State?
Drop (2025) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like Waking State?
Yes: The Night Strangler (1973), Annabelle Hooper and the Ghosts of Nantucket (2016) and Last Scene Alive: An Aurora Teagarden Mystery (2018).
How are movies similar to Waking State chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Waking State, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.