Movies like Gap Year (2025)
The best movies like Gap Year (2025) are V/H/S/2 (2013), V/H/S/94 (2021) and V/H/S/99 (2022). If Gap Year hooked you with its horror, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedThe Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974)7.3/10 from 4,068 votes
- NewestBackrooms (2026)Released 2026
V/H/S/2 (2013)
Inside a darkened house looms a column of TVs littered with VHS tapes, a pagan shrine to forgotten analog gods. The screens crackle and pop endlessly with monochrome vistas of static white noise permeating the brain and fogging concentration. But you must fight the urge to relax: this is no mere movie night. Those obsolete spools contain more than just magnetic tape. They are imprinted with the very soul of evil.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisV/H/S/94 (2021)
After the discovery of a mysterious VHS tape, a brutish police SWAT team launches a high-intensity raid on a remote warehouse, only to discover a sinister cult compound whose collection of pre-recorded material uncovers a nightmarish conspiracy.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisV/H/S/99 (2022)
A thirsty teenager's home video leads to a series of horrifying revelations, harkening back to the final punk rock analog days of VHS, while taking one giant leap forward into the hellish new millennium.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
SnoozefestMovies like thisV/H/S (2012)
When a group of misfits is hired by an unknown third party to burglarize a desolate house and acquire one rare VHS tape, they discover more found footage than they had bargained for.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBackrooms (2026)
A strange doorway appears in the basement of a furniture showroom.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Boogeyman (2023)
Still reeling from the tragic death of their mother, a teenage girl and her younger sister find themselves plagued by a sadistic presence in their house and struggle to get their grieving father to pay attention before it’s too late.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisX (2022)
In 1979, a group of young filmmakers set out to make an adult film in rural Texas, but when their reclusive, elderly hosts catch them in the act, the cast find themselves fighting for their lives.
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 thisV/H/S/Halloween (2025)
A collection of Halloween-themed videotapes unleashes a series of twisted, blood-soaked tales, turning trick-or-treat into a struggle for survival.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisNightmare Cinema (2018)
A series of down-on-their-luck individuals enter the decrepit and spine-chilling Rialto theater, only to have their deepest and darkest fears brought to life on the silver screen by The Projectionist – a mysterious, ghostly figure who holds the nightmarish futures of all who attend his screenings.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
SnoozefestMovies like thisVideodrome (1983)
As the president of a trashy TV channel, Max Renn is desperate for new programming to attract viewers. When he happens upon "Videodrome," a TV show dedicated to gratuitous torture and punishment, Max sees a potential hit and broadcasts the show on his channel. However, after his girlfriend auditions for the show and never returns, Max investigates the truth behind Videodrome and discovers that the graphic violence may not be as fake as he thought.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Worth the HypeMovies like thisPlay Dead (2025)
A woman wakes up injured in a basement surrounded by corpses. To survive, she pretends to be dead while a grotesque ritual unfolds in the house above.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Inhabitant (2022)
Like any other teenage girl, Tara is just surviving high school — yet her father and mother seem strangely distant. Amidst a nearby spree of gruesome ax murders, Tara has sightings of terrifying entities, forcing her to question her own sanity and shocking ancestry.
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 thisBody Bags (1993)
A horror anthology containing three stories: a female college student working a graveyard shift is terrorized by a serial killer; a hair transplant goes horribly wrong; and a baseball player loses an eye and gets a new one from a recently executed murderer.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisLady in White (1988)
Locked in a school closet during Halloween 1962, young Frank witnesses the ghost of a young girl and the man who murdered her years ago.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Hills Have Eyes (2006)
Based on Wes Craven's 1977 suspenseful cult classic, The Hills Have Eyes is the story of a family road trip that goes terrifyingly awry when the travelers become stranded in a government atomic zone. Miles from nowhere, the Carter family soon realizes the seemingly uninhabited wasteland is actually the breeding ground of a blood-thirsty mutant family...and they are the prey.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Strangers (2008)
After a 4 a.m. knock at the door and haunting voices, Kristen McKay and James Hoyt’s remote getaway becomes a psychological night of terror as three masked strangers invade. Now they must go far beyond what they thought themselves capable of if they hope to survive.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisPolaroid (2019)
High school loner Bird Fitcher has no idea what dark secrets are tied to the mysterious Polaroid vintage camera she stumbles upon, but it doesn't take long to discover that those who have their picture taken meet a tragic end. Bird and her friends must survive one more night as they race to solve the mystery of the haunted Polaroid before it kills them all.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974)
Five friends head out to rural Texas to visit the grave of a grandfather. On the way, they stumble across what appears to be a deserted house, only to discover something sinister within. Something armed with a chainsaw.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Worth the HypeMovies like thisImmaculate (2024)
An American nun embarks on a new journey when she joins a remote convent in the Italian countryside. However, her warm welcome quickly turns into a living nightmare when she discovers her new home harbours a sinister secret and unspeakable horrors.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisVCR Willie: Tape 1 (2025)
The camera only existed in Alex’s dreams—until he found it on his kitchen table. Now, it only exists to record nightmares.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror
Proyecciones del Limbo (2025)
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror
I Saw the TV Glow (2024)
In late-'90s suburbia, lonely teenager Owen meets Maddy, who introduces him to a mysterious late-night TV show — a vision of a supernatural world pulsing beneath their own. As time goes on, questions begin to arise about why the show sometimes seems more real than their own lives, as their view of reality begins to crack.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAGFA Mystery Mixtape #3: Sequelitis (2020)
Unleashed from the video vaults of the American Genre Film Archive (AGFA), AGFA MYSTERY MIXTAPE #3: SEQUELITIS is a brand new compilation of the most electrifying found footage mayhem that you’ll see this week. For our third tape, we’re diving into the most controversial, hotly debated topic of all time: HORROR SEQUELS! Thank you for your generous support during these difficult times. And remember: “This makes Guns N’ Roses look like THE BRADY BUNCH.”
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror
What the Cat Dragged (2025)
A man visits someone who seems to be an old acquaintance, but happens to be more of an entity...
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror
Peripheral Visions (2025)
A student struggling on his essay mistakenly stumbles across an otherworldly phenomenon that threatens his very concept of reality, sending him spiralling down an existential rabbit hole from which there may be no return.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror
Rent-A-Pal (2020)
Set in 1990, a lonely bachelor named David searches for an escape from the day-to-day drudgery of caring for his aging mother. While seeking a partner through a video dating service, he discovers a strange VHS tape called Rent-A-Pal. Hosted by the charming and charismatic Andy, the tape offers him much-needed company, compassion, and friendship. But Andy's friendship comes at a cost, and David desperately struggles to afford the price of admission.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAconitum (2024)
A 19 year old girl named Ashley Cotton finds a set of tapes that lead her down a path of horror and supernatural mysteries, as she embarks on a journey to find the root cause of the government branch only known as the AERD
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Gap Year?
The closest matches to Gap Year are V/H/S/2 (2013), V/H/S/94 (2021) and V/H/S/99 (2022). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Gap Year?
Start with V/H/S/2 (2013), the closest match to Gap Year.
What is the highest-rated movie like Gap Year?
The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974), rated 7.3/10 by 4,068 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Gap Year?
Backrooms (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like Gap Year?
Yes: V/H/S/2 (2013), V/H/S/94 (2021) and V/H/S/99 (2022).
How are movies similar to Gap Year chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Gap Year, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.