Movies like Elf on the Shelf 3 (2025)
The best movies like Elf on the Shelf 3 (2025) are R.L. Stine's Monsterville: The Cabinet of Souls (2015), Night of the Demons 2 (1994) and Night of the Living Dead: Re-Animation (2012). If Elf on the Shelf 3 hooked you with its horror and comedy, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedThe Apartment (1960)8.2/10 from 2,846 votes
- NewestPortal to Hell (2025)Released 2025
R.L. Stine's Monsterville: The Cabinet of Souls (2015)
Teenage friends must resist the spell of an evil showman staging a house of horrors show in their small town.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisNight of the Demons 2 (1994)
Angela, the hostess from hell, summons her army of teen demons when teenagers from St. Rita's High School decide to party at the haunted Hull House on Halloween.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror & comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisNight of the Living Dead: Re-Animation (2012)
After inheriting the family mortuary, a pyrophobic mortician accidentally exposes hundreds of un-cremated bodies to toxic medical waste. As the corpses re-animate, the mortician's inheritance-seeking younger brother unexpectantly shows up, stumbling upon a full zombie outbreak!
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror & comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Mean One (2022)
In a sleepy mountain town, Cindy witnesses the murder of her parents by a blood-thirsty green figure in a red Santa suit. Twenty years later, the Christmas-hating monster begins to terrorize the town once more. Cindy finds new purpose in stopping the creature and saving the holiday.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror & comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisTrick 'r Treat (2007)
Four interwoven stories that occur on Halloween: an everyday high school principal has a secret life as a serial killer; a college virgin might have just met the one guy for her; a group of teenagers pull a mean prank, and a bitter old recluse receives an uninvited guest.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror & comedy
Worth the HypeMovies like thisAll About Evil (2010)
A mousy librarian inherits her father's beloved but failing old movie house. In order to save the family business, she discovers her inner serial killer — and a legion of rabid gore fans — when she starts turning out a series of grisly shorts. What her fans don't realize yet is that the murders in the movies are all too real…
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror & comedy
SnoozefestMovies like thisThe Fearless Vampire Killers (1967)
A noted professor and his dim-witted apprentice fall prey to their inquiring vampires, while on the trail of the ominous damsel in distress.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisPortal to Hell (2025)
After a debt-collector finds a portal to hell in a washing machine at his local laundromat, he’s propositioned into feeding it sinners to save his neighbor’s soul, maybe even at the expense of his own.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMostly Ghostly (2008)
Based on the successful book series by R.L. Stine, this spooky tale finds 11-year-old Max making a deal with the ghosts who haunt his home. If Max helps them find what was responsible for their parents' disappearance, they'll help him transform from a social nobody to the most popular kid in school.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror & comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisA Nasty Piece of Work (2019)
A mid-level corporate employee finds out he’s not getting the Christmas bonus he was expecting, but his boss invites him to earn a promotion by beating his professional rival in a violent competition.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDark Harvest (2023)
In a small Midwestern town, a deadly annual ritual unfolds when the mythical nightmare, Sawtooth Jack, rises from the cornfields and challenges the town’s teenage boys in a bloody battle of survival.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCandy Cane Lane (2023)
Determined to win the neighborhood's annual Christmas decorating contest, family man Chris makes a pact with an elf to help him out-do the competition. However, the elf casts a spell bringing the twelve days of Christmas to life, unleashing chaos on the small unsuspecting town.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Jester (2023)
A malevolent being known as The Jester terrorizes the inhabitants of a small town on Halloween night, including two estranged sisters who must come together to find a way to defeat this evil entity.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Evil (1978)
Shortly after moving into a dark, brooding mansion, a psychologist and his co-workers are terrorized by a horrible evil being.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
SnoozefestMovies like thisSilver Bullet (1985)
The small city of Tarker's Mills is startled by a series of sadistic murders. The population fears the work of a maniac, but sightings of a mysterious, hairy creature soon spread. People lock themselves up at night, but there's one boy who's still outside…
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDashing Through the Snow (2023)
Eddie Garrick is a good-hearted man who has lost his belief in the wonder of Christmas. While spending time with his nine-year-old daughter Charlotte on Christmas Eve, he befriends a mysterious man in a red suit named Nick.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisA Knight's War (2025)
A fearless knight braves a deadly realm to save the Chosen One’s soul. Facing witches, demons, and brutal foes, he discovers her return could ignite chaos and doom humanity.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBeethoven's Christmas Adventure (2011)
A Christmas elf accidentally takes off in Santa's sleigh, crash lands in a small town, and loses the magic toy bag. Beethoven must rescue the elf, recover the bag from greedy crooks, and return the sleigh to Santa in time to save Christmas.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Children (2008)
A relaxing Christmas vacation turns into a terrifying fight for survival as the children begin to turn on their parents.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Haunting Hour: Don't Think About It (2007)
Cassie, a 13 year old Gothic girl, is trying to fit in at her new school. To entertain herself, she plays a series of pranks on the popular kids and her younger brother, Max. When she goes to a Halloween store looking for new tricks, she finds a little book called "The Evil Thing"
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Demon Of Serling (2023)
Reagan Rossi discovers his neighbor-Mr. Yarley-is a local serial killer dubbed 'The Demon of Serling', and the two men embark on a night of enlightenment leading to bleak and darkly funny consequences.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror & comedy
Noelle (2019)
Kris Kringle's daughter, Noelle, sets off on a mission to find and bring back her brother, after he gets cold feet when it's his turn to take over as Santa.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisChristmas Telethon (2024)
Local TV channel news anchors Nick Roberts and Kelly Snow host the absolute worst holiday telethon to save the network from bankruptcy. The worst talent, the worst acts, a doofus crew, a narcissist weatherman, and its over-the-top station owner, Jon Sampson, create a perfect holiday storm in this Christmas Eve cavalcade comedy.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy
The Apartment (1960)
Bud Baxter is a minor clerk in a huge New York insurance company, until he discovers a quick way to climb the corporate ladder. He lends out his apartment to the executives as a place to take their mistresses. Although he often has to deal with the aftermath of their visits, one night he's left with a major problem to solve.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisLove Actually (2003)
Eight very different couples deal with their love lives in various loosely interrelated tales all set during a frantic month before Christmas in London.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy
Worth the HypeMovies like this8 Women (2002)
Eight women gather to celebrate Christmas in a snowbound cottage, only to find the family patriarch dead with a knife in his back. Trapped in the house, every woman becomes a suspect, each having her own motive and secret.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHalloween (2007)
The early years of young Michael Myers and the events leading up to his fateful Halloween night murder rampage in the quiet town of Haddonfield, Illinois.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisWhile You Were Sleeping (1995)
A transit worker pulls commuter Peter off railway tracks after he's mugged, but—while he's in a coma—his family mistakenly thinks she's Peter's fiancée, and she doesn't correct them. Things get more complicated when she falls for his brother, who's not quite sure that she's who she claims to be.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy
Worth the HypeMovies like thisDelivery by Christmas (2022)
When a spiteful coworker sabotages her deliveries, a courier and a helpful customer must race to return Christmas presents to their intended recipients.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy
SnoozefestMovies like thisMickey's Once Upon a Christmas (1999)
Mickey, Minnie, and their famous friends Goofy, Donald, Daisy and Pluto gather together to reminisce about the love, magic and surprises in three wonder-filled stories of Christmas past.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy
Worth the HypeMovies like this
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Elf on the Shelf 3?
The closest matches to Elf on the Shelf 3 are R.L. Stine's Monsterville: The Cabinet of Souls (2015), Night of the Demons 2 (1994) and Night of the Living Dead: Re-Animation (2012). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Elf on the Shelf 3?
Start with R.L. Stine's Monsterville: The Cabinet of Souls (2015), the closest match to Elf on the Shelf 3.
What is the highest-rated movie like Elf on the Shelf 3?
The Apartment (1960), rated 8.2/10 by 2,846 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Elf on the Shelf 3?
Portal to Hell (2025) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like Elf on the Shelf 3?
Yes: R.L. Stine's Monsterville: The Cabinet of Souls (2015), Night of the Demons 2 (1994) and Night of the Living Dead: Re-Animation (2012).
How are movies similar to Elf on the Shelf 3 chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Elf on the Shelf 3, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.