Movies like illusions (2025)
The best movies like illusions (2025) are Carnival of Souls (1962), Unseen (2023) and Don't Go to Sleep (1982). If illusions 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 Incredible Shrinking Man (1957)7.5/10 from 598 votes
- NewestMonkey’s Magic Merry Go Round (2026)Released 2026
Carnival of Souls (1962)
Mary Henry ends up the sole survivor of a fatal car accident through mysterious circumstances. Trying to put the incident behind her, she moves to Utah and takes a job as a church organist. But her fresh start is interrupted by visions of a fiendish man. As the visions begin to occur more frequently, Mary finds herself drawn to the deserted carnival on the outskirts of town. The strangely alluring carnival may hold the secret to her tragic past.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Worth the HypeMovies like thisUnseen (2023)
Sam receives a call from Emily, a near blind woman who is running from her murderous ex in the woods. Can she survive using Sam as her eyes via video call?
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDon't Go to Sleep (1982)
One year after a young girl dies in a car accident, her sister begins seeing visions of her, while the family home is plagued by strange happenings.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisPeeping Tom (1960)
Loner Mark Lewis works at a film studio during the day and, at night, takes racy photographs of women. Also he's making a documentary on fear, which involves recording the reactions of victims as he murders them. He befriends Helen, the daughter of the family living in the apartment below his, and he tells her vaguely about the movie he is making.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Worth the HypeMovies like thisDead of Night (1945)
An architect, visiting an English country house, realizes the other guests are familiar from his recurring nightmare. When they share their tales of the supernatural, he is filled with a growing dread.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Watcher in the Woods (1980)
After an American family moves to an old country manor in rural England, one of the daughters is tormented by the spirit of the owner's long lost daughter, who mysteriously disappeared 30 years ago during a solar eclipse.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
SnoozefestMovies like thisThe Invitation (2016)
Will and his new girlfriend Kira are invited to a dinner with old friends at the house of Will’s ex Eden and her new partner David. Although the evening appears to be relaxed, Will soon gets a creeping suspicion that their charming host David is up to something.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
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
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
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
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisNight of the Demon (1957)
American professor John Holden arrives in London for a conference on parapsychology only to discover that the colleague he was supposed to meet was killed in a freak accident the day before. It turns out that the deceased had been investigating a cult lead by Dr. Julian Karswell. Though a skeptic, Holden is suspicious of the devil-worshiping Karswell. Following a trail of mysterious manuscripts, Holden enters a world that makes him question his faith in science.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Worth the HypeMovies 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 thisHorrors of the Black Museum (1959)
A writer of murder mysteries finds himself caught up in a string of murders in London.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
SnoozefestMovies like thisD-Railed (2018)
Passengers on a murder mystery train that crashes into a river must decide whether to risk waiting for help in the wreckage or take their chances in the murky depths below.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
SnoozefestMovies like thisThe Jester (2016)
The Jester is the titular main antagonist of the horror/thriller analogy short films of the same name. He is an enigmatic and malevolent being who enjoys inducing suffering to individuals he comes across who don't appreciate his own tricks or break the rules of Halloween.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Worth the HypeMovies 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
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMermaid Down (2019)
A mermaid is ripped from the ocean by a fishing crew only to be tortured and to have her tail cut off. A seemingly helpful stranger intervenes, but then locks her away in an institution for mentally disturbed young women, where no one believes she is a mermaid. With no way out, she is forced to count on her survival instincts, and fight for her life at all costs.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCreature from the Black Lagoon (1954)
When scientists exploring the Amazon River stumble on a “missing link” connecting humans and fish, they plan to capture it for later study. But the Creature has plans of his own, and has set his sights on the lead scientist's beautiful fiancée, Kay.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like this20 Million Miles to Earth (1957)
When the first manned flight to Venus returns to Earth, the rocket crash-lands in the Mediterranean near a small Italian fishing village. The locals manage to save Colonel Robert Calder, the mission commander. A young boy also recovers what turns out to be a specimen of an alien creature. Growing at a fantastic rate, it manages to escape and eventually threatens the city of Rome.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Incredible Shrinking Man (1957)
A dangerous combination of radiation and insecticide causes the unfortunate Scott Carey to shrink, slowly but surely, until he is only a few inches tall. His home becomes a wilderness where he must survive everything from spiders living in the cellar to his beloved cat.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Worth the HypeMovies like thisSolita (2022)
Alone at night, a woman lays in bed as she reveals a traumatizing nightmare to her beloved cat.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror
Echoes Of Ivory (2024)
Deep in the frigid valleys of northern rural Canada, two survivors atop a desolate peak run thin on supplies and hope. The only remaining from their group, they wait naively for help to come. Fighting long days of paranoia and an unidentifiable entity lurking in the darkness of night, their situation grows bleaker by the minute. What follows are the last 24 hours spent on their mountaintop campsite.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror
Xtro (1982)
Tony's father Sam, abducted by aliens three years earlier, returns to earth and seeks out his wife and son, but Rachel has since been living with Joe and the reunion is awkward. Joe doesn't trust Sam, and Rachel can't quite decide what her feelings are for her two men. Sam is not the same as when he left, and he begins affecting Tony in frightening ways.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror
SnoozefestMovies like thisBlip (2023)
A man takes a mysterious pill that gives him the ability to teleport into different times and different places, but with serious consequences.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror
Home Is Where I Lay (2022)
The night before Lily and Joe make the move into their new home, Lily has a premonition of her death. Can she stop it, or will the house take her?
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror
Mind, Body & Soul (1992)
When a young woman's wicked boyfriend brings her to a Satanic ritual, she refuses to join the cult, so they deem her a traitor and seek brutal revenge.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror
Patricidium: A Modern Tragedy (TBA)
A disturbed twenty something grapples with the weight of his past through a series of visits from an all knowing "psychologist".
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror
The Brain That Wouldn't Die (1962)
Dr. Bill Cortner and his fiancée, Jan Compton, are driving to his lab when they get into a horrible car accident. Compton is decapitated. But Cortner is not fazed by this seemingly insurmountable hurdle. His expertise is in transplants, and he is excited to perform the first head transplant. Keeping Compton's head alive in his lab, Cortner plans the groundbreaking yet unorthodox surgery. First, however, he needs a body.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror
SnoozefestMovies like thisMeggamorphosis (1993)
A 3D animated journey through the life of an egg
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror
Kuolema käy kuusi beessä (1993)
Grandmother returns from the grave to haunt her family.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror
Like illusions and something else?
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like illusions?
The closest matches to illusions are Carnival of Souls (1962), Unseen (2023) and Don't Go to Sleep (1982). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after illusions?
Start with Carnival of Souls (1962), the closest match to illusions.
What is the highest-rated movie like illusions?
The Incredible Shrinking Man (1957), rated 7.5/10 by 598 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like illusions?
Monkey’s Magic Merry Go Round (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like illusions?
Yes: Carnival of Souls (1962), Unseen (2023) and Don't Go to Sleep (1982).
How are movies similar to illusions chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside illusions, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.