Movies like He Who Once Was (2025)
The best movies like He Who Once Was (2025) are Vampyres (1974), Blood Punch (2014) and Shades of Desire (2023). If He Who Once Was hooked you with its horror, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedNosferatu (1922)7.6/10 from 2,587 votes
- NewestShadowlands (2025)Released 2025
Vampyres (1974)
A duo of bisexual female vampires prey on passing motorists, whom they seduce and murder in the English countryside.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBlood Punch (2014)
Milton, a college dropout, was only supposed to cook meth for one day. Broken out of rehab by a brash young woman and her trigger-happy ("ex") boyfriend and driven to a remote cabin the woods, Milton finds himself drawn into a dangerous love triangle gone haywire. The couple's deadpan half-truths spin around Milton like a song on repeat. They seem to read him like an open book, until a mysterious message opens his eyes to his cursed existence. With unlimited ammunition, any hunting tool they could desire, and an ever-growing body count, for what did Milton really sign up?
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisShades of Desire (2023)
After her twin sister Aubrey goes missing, Jennifer uncovers the scandalous, secret double-life that Aubrey leads - and that has put both of them in danger.
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 this30 Days of Night (2007)
This is the story of an isolated Alaskan town that is plunged into darkness for a month each year when the sun sinks below the horizon. As the last rays of light fade, the town is attacked by a bloodthirsty gang of vampires bent on an uninterrupted orgy of destruction. Only the small town's husband-and-wife Sheriff team stand between the survivors and certain destruction.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCheat (2023)
On the surface it's believed to be another urban legend - a supernatural being from the afterlife is violently killing anyone who cheats on their significant other in the small college town of Silvercreek, Pennsylvania. But the town's unusually high suicide rate is finally convincing both locals and college students that everything is not as it seems. When Maeve - a female college student - sleeps with Charlie, the married man of the host family she is staying with, both sense the deadly curse is closing in on them. Unable to get anyone to believe them, Maeve and Charlie seek out a local history student to help find answers and figure out a way to defend themselves. It all comes undone, however, as several people are horrifically killed by the savage being - one-by-one at a rapid pace. Eventually, Maeve, Charlie and the few survivors band together in an attempt to defeat the monster once and for all.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Worth the HypeMovies like thisBooks of Blood (2020)
A journey into uncharted and forbidden territory through three tales tangled in space and time.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisStrange Darling (2024)
Nothing is what it seems when a twisted one-night stand spirals into a serial killer’s vicious murder spree.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDaylight's End (2016)
Years after a mysterious plague has devastated the planet and turned most of humanity into blood-hungry creatures, a rogue drifter on a vengeful hunt stumbles across a band of survivors in an abandoned police station and reluctantly agrees to try to help them defend themselves and escape to the sanctuary they so desperately need.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
SnoozefestMovies like thisThe Legend of the 7 Golden Vampires (1974)
Professor Van Helsing had been asked to help against the tyranny of skeletal creatures that are responsible for terror and death amongst the peasants in rural China. He is the only person qualified to deal with the cause of these phenomena, for the undead are controlled by the most diabolical force of all.... Count Dracula. But he is not alone- to aid him comes a mystical brotherhood of seven martial arts warriors.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
SnoozefestMovies like thisThe Curse of Buckout Road (2017)
A college class project on creation and destruction of modern myth, turns terrifying when a trio of young people come to realize the urban legends surrounding the famed Buckout Road may, in fact, be REAL.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Final (2010)
A group of high school outcasts get revenge on the students that torment them.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHellraiser (2022)
A young woman struggling with addiction comes into possession of an ancient puzzle box, unaware that its purpose is to summon the Cenobites, a group of sadistic supernatural beings from another dimension.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisGinger Snaps (2000)
The story of two outcast sisters, Ginger and Brigitte, in the mindless suburban town of Bailey Downs. On the night of Ginger's first period, she is savagely attacked by a wild creature. Ginger's wounds miraculously heal but something is not quite right. Now Brigitte must save her sister and save herself.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Stakelander (2016)
When his home of New Eden is destroyed by a revitalized Brotherhood and its new Vamp leader, Martin finds himself alone in the badlands of America with only the distant memory of his mentor and legendary vampire hunter, Mister, to guide him.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
SnoozefestMovies 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 horror
Worth the HypeMovies like thisSouthbound (2015)
On a desolate stretch of desert highway, weary travelers — two men on the run from their past, a band on their way to the next gig, a man struggling to get home, a brother in search of his long-lost sister and a family on vacation — are forced to confront their worst fears and darkest secrets in these interwoven tales of terror and remorse on the open road.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
SnoozefestMovies like thisFrank and Penelope (2022)
A tale of love and violence when a man on his emotional last legs finds a savior seductively dancing in a run-down strip club. And a life most certainly headed off a cliff suddenly becomes redirected - as everything is now worth dying for.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Worth the HypeMovies like thisBloodline (2019)
Evan values family above all else, and anyone who gets between him, his wife, and newborn son learns that the hard way. But when it comes to violent tendencies, it seems the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
SnoozefestMovies like thisHellraiser (1987)
A hedonistic man finds a mysterious puzzle box that summons a group of gruesome beings known as the Cenobites. These otherworldly entities open the doors to a dominion where pain and pleasure are indivisible.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHi, Inspector 2 - Vampires Are Among Us (1989)
In the first sequel of "Hi Inspector", the cops Boki and Pajko get bored in their quite little town until the arrival of foreign visitors. These people reside at the local hotel where international conference on organ transplantation takes place. At the same time, the fresh corpses of deceased people begin to disappear, while the rumors about the vampires at the graveyard start spreading. The cops try to solve the riddle.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror
Dracula (1931)
A British estate agent travels to Transylvania to meet with the mysterious Count Dracula, who is interested in leasing a London castle. After Dracula enslaves and drives the agent to insanity, the pair return to London together, where Dracula, a secret bloodsucker, begins preying on socialites.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Vampire Assassin (2007)
After centuries of living the life of a free spirited, spoiled rich vampire, terrorizing the Eastern European countryside, Veronica arrives in the United States for new prey. But when her actions start attracting the attention of humans she is brought before her clan elders and ordered to reign in her "bloodlust" or be ostracized by the rest of the clan, a fate worse than death. In order to get back into the good graces of the elders, Veronica must become an assassin and kill vampires who themselves are attracting the humans' attention.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror
I Don't Understand You (2024)
Stranded in rural Italy without transportation or language skills, an American couple on the verge of adopting tries to reconnect during a disastrous vacation, as their fears and relationship problems threaten to boil over.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror
SnoozefestMovies like thisNosferatu (1922)
The mysterious Count Orlok summons a happily married real estate agent to his castle, located up in the Transylvanian mountains, to finalise a terrifying deal.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror
Worth the HypeMovies like thisShadowlands (2025)
Shadowlands is an anthology series that explores love in three distinct stories: a couple renegotiating a relationship, a narcissist seeking to understand it, and star-crossed lovers mourning its loss.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror
Heartstopper (1989)
A physician who was hanged during the American Revolution for being a vampire is resurrected. He confesses his crimes to a priest, but starts to kill again. His modern descendant turns out to be a serial killer who also wants to be a vampire.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror
POSSUM (2024)
When the leader of an artist residency kills the possum that’s been eating their cauliflower, the residents come to a shocking consensus.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror
Interview with the Vampire (1994)
A vampire relates his epic life story of love, betrayal, loneliness, and dark hunger to an over-curious reporter.
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 He Who Once Was?
The closest matches to He Who Once Was are Vampyres (1974), Blood Punch (2014) and Shades of Desire (2023). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after He Who Once Was?
Start with Vampyres (1974), the closest match to He Who Once Was.
What is the highest-rated movie like He Who Once Was?
Nosferatu (1922), rated 7.6/10 by 2,587 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like He Who Once Was?
Shadowlands (2025) is the most recent release on this list.
How are movies similar to He Who Once Was chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside He Who Once Was, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.