Movies like Shelves (2016)
The best movies like Shelves (2016) are Begotten (1991), Mandy (2018) and Thinner (1996). If Shelves hooked you with its fantasy and horror, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedObsession (2026)8.2/10 from 6,549 votes
- NewestObsession (2026)Released 2026
Begotten (1991)
Begotten is the creation myth brought to life, the story of no less than the violent death of God and the (re)birth of nature on a barren earth.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both fantasy & horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMandy (2018)
The Shadow Mountains, 1983. Red and Mandy lead a loving and peaceful existence; but when their pine-scented haven is savagely destroyed, Red is catapulted into a phantasmagoric journey filled with bloody vengeance and laced with fire.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both fantasy & horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThinner (1996)
An obese lawyer finds himself growing "Thinner" when an old Romani man places a hex on him. Now the lawyer must call upon his friends in organized crime to help him persuade the old man to lift the curse. Time is running out for the desperate lawyer as he draws closer to his own death, and grows ever thinner.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both fantasy & horror
SnoozefestMovies like thisDolls (1987)
A precocious girl, her nasty parents, two punk-rock losers and a weak-kneed salesman inadvertently become the guests of two ghoulish senior citizens in their dark, haunted mansion.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both fantasy & horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Unhealer (2021)
A botched faith healing bestows supernatural Shaman powers on a bullied teenager. When his lifelong tormentors pull a prank that kills someone he loves, he uses his powers for revenge and goes on a bloody rampage to settle the score.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both fantasy & horror
SnoozefestMovies like thisCurve (2016)
Clinging to a smooth, curved surface high above a sentient abyss, a woman tries to cover the few feet back to safety without losing purchase and falling to her death.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCrimes of the Future (2022)
With his partner Caprice, celebrity performance artist Saul Tenser publicly showcases the metamorphosis of his organs in avant-garde performances. An investigator from the National Organ Registry obsessively tracks their movements, which is when a mysterious group is revealed... Their mission — to use Tenser's notoriety to shed light on the next phase of human evolution.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSaint Catherine (2024)
An orphaned girl is rescued from a satanic ritual and taken to Saint Catherine Institute for homeless youth. There she will learn new skills while facing demons that stalk her.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisTerrifier (2011)
After witnessing a brutal murder on Halloween night, a young woman becomes the next target of a maniacal entity.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisObsession (2026)
After breaking the mysterious "One Wish Willow" to win his crush's heart, a hopeless romantic finds himself getting exactly what he asked for but soon discovers that some desires come at a dark, sinister price.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisAmerican Mary (2013)
A young medical student struggling to pay tuition is drawn into the shady world of underground body-modification.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Entity (1982)
A single mom is raped by an invisible force. Her psychiatrist believes the experience stems from childhood trauma, while she knows something supernatural is at play.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSaw (2003)
David, an orderly at a hospital, tells his horrific story of being kidnapped and forced to play a vile game of survival.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Worth the HypeMovies 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 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 Grandmother (1970)
To escape neglect and abuse from his parents, a young boy plants some strange seeds and they grow into a grandmother.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisZygote (2017)
The two remaining crew members of a mining operation in the Arctic Circle fight to survive against an alien creature.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Worth the HypeMovies like thisAltered States (1980)
A research scientist explores the boundaries and frontiers of human consciousness. Using sensory deprivation and hallucinogenic mixtures from Native American shamans, he explores these altered states of cognizance and finds that memory, time, and reality itself are states of mind.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAlien: Alone (2019)
An abandoned crew member aboard a derelict chemical hauler is trying to keep her ship and herself alive. After discovering hidden cargo, she risks it all to power up the broken ship in search of human life.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisGhostland (2018)
A mother of two inherits a home from her aunt. On the first night in the new home she is confronted with murderous intruders and fights for her daughters’ lives. Sixteen years later the daughters reunite at the house, and that is when things get strange...
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Worth the HypeMovies like thisLapse (2025)
The creator of an artificial intelligence that helps people with relationships begins to believe that he is possessed by the AI itself. In the same time, a user of the same AI also begins to go crazy, causing the two to fall into a kind of insanity, unable to tell the difference between reality and fantasy.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror & fantasy
The Infernal Cauldron (1903)
A green-skinned demon places a woman and two courtiers into a flaming cauldron.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both fantasy & horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisEerie Tales (1919)
A demon, a reaper, and the ghost of a prostitute read gothic short stories and act them out.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both fantasy & horror
Above the Lake (1995)
Avant-garde homage to pre-revolution Russian silent movies, and to the poet Aleksandr Blok.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both fantasy
Satyricon (1969)
After his young lover, Gitone, leaves him for another man, Encolpio decides to kill himself, but a sudden earthquake destroys his home before he has a chance to do so. Now wandering around Rome in the time of Nero, Encolpio encounters one bizarre and surreal scene after another.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both fantasy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDark Romance (2015)
A mysterious man with a cup full of money stands in a dark alley. After a woman throws money into the cup, the two kiss. The woman has thus been cursed.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror
Make Me Psychic (1978)
Anita the duck buys a psychic device at a novelty store in an alternate universe and creates mayhem at a crazy party.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both fantasy
The Clay Cup or The Clown (2026)
A girl trapped in a dream revisiting her past.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both fantasy
The Mistletoe Bough (1904)
During a game of hide and seek, a new bride hides in a chest and remains undiscovered until a strange visitation thirty years later.
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
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Shelves?
The closest matches to Shelves are Begotten (1991), Mandy (2018) and Thinner (1996). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Shelves?
Start with Begotten (1991), the closest match to Shelves.
What is the highest-rated movie like Shelves?
Obsession (2026), rated 8.2/10 by 6,549 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Shelves?
Obsession (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like Shelves?
Yes: Begotten (1991), Mandy (2018) and Thinner (1996).
How are movies similar to Shelves chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Shelves, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.