Movies like Carnival of Souls (1962)
The best movies like Carnival of Souls (1962) are Red Riding Hood (2011), The Car (1977) and Something Wicked This Way Comes (1983). If Carnival of Souls hooked you with its horror and mystery, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedAlien (1979)8.2/10 from 17,121 votes
- Newestundertone (2026)Released 2026
Red Riding Hood (2011)
Valerie is in love with a brooding outsider, Peter, but her parents have arranged for her to marry another man. Unwilling to lose each other, Valerie and Peter plan to run away together when Valerie's older sister is killed by a werewolf that prowls the dark forest surrounding their village. Panic grips the town as Valerie discovers that she has a unique connection to the beast--one that inexorably draws them together, making her both suspect ... and bait.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both mystery & fantasy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Car (1977)
The Utah community of Santa Ynez is being terrorized by a mysterious black coupe that appears out of nowhere and begins running people down. After the car kills off the town sheriff, Captain Wade Parent is determined to stop the murderous driver.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror & mystery
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSomething Wicked This Way Comes (1983)
In a small American town, a diabolical circus arrives, granting wishes for the townsfolk, but twisted as only the esteemed Mr. Dark can make them. Can two young boys overcome the worst the devil himself can deal out?
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both fantasy & mystery
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisNight Watch (1973)
A woman recovering from a nervous breakdown tries to convince her husband and and the local London police that she has witnessed a murder in the abandoned house next door.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both mystery & 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 thisThe Asphyx (1972)
Hugo is a brilliant turn-of-the-century scientist, loved and respected by his family and friends, admired by his colleagues. But he is a man quickly becoming obsessed with a curious and frightening question...What is the mysterious apparition found in the photographs of his dying subjects?
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both fantasy & horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisVan Helsing: The London Assignment (2004)
It tells of the events before the film, in which monster hunter Gabriel Van Helsing travels to London to investigate a series of horrific, and decidedly supernatural murders, being committed by the mad scientist Dr. Jekyll, in the form of his evil alter-ego, Mr. Hyde.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both fantasy & horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAbigail (2019)
A young girl Abigail lives in a city whose borders were closed many years ago because of an epidemic of a mysterious disease. Abby's father was one of the sick - and he was taken when she was six years old. Going against the authorities to find his father, Abby learns that her city is actually full of magic. And she discovers in herself extraordinary magical abilities.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both fantasy & mystery
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDragonfly (2002)
A grieving doctor is being contacted by his late wife through his patient's near death experiences.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both fantasy & mystery
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisTwice-Told Tales (1963)
3 horror stories based on the writings of Nathaniel Hawthorne. In the 1st story titled "Dr. Heidegger's Experiment", Heidegger attempts to restore the youth of three elderly friends. In "Rappaccini's Daughter", a demented father is inoculating his daughter with poison so she may never leave her garden of poisonous plants. In the final story "The House of the Seven Gables", The Pyncheon family suffers from a hundred year old curse and while in the midst of arguing over inheritance, a stranger arrives.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror & fantasy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisTwilight Zone: The Movie (1983)
An anthology film presenting remakes of three episodes from the "Twilight Zone" TV series—"Kick the Can", "It's a Good Life" and "Nightmare at 20,000 Feet"—and one original story, "Time Out."
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror & fantasy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus (2009)
After a carnival troupe saves his life, a man agrees to help its immortal leader collect five souls and win a bet with the devil.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both fantasy & mystery
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHouse on Haunted Hill (1959)
Frederick Loren invites five strangers to the party of a lifetime and offers each of them $10,000 if they can stay the night in the reportedly haunted house. Armed with a gun for protection, each guest arrives in a hearse and will either leave in it much richer…Or dead.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror & mystery
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 & fantasy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisundertone (2026)
The host of a popular paranormal podcast becomes haunted by terrifying recordings mysteriously sent her way.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror & mystery
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMostly Ghostly 3: One Night in Doom House (2016)
Just one enchanted jewel stands between earth and an army of evil spirits led by the devious ghoul, Phears. With the help of his new girlfriend and ghost pals, Max Doyle races to find the crystal and save the world.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both fantasy & horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Cellar (2022)
When Keira Woods' daughter mysteriously vanishes in the cellar of their new house in the country, she soon discovers there is an ancient and powerful entity controlling their home that she will have to face or risk losing her family's souls forever.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror & mystery
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisTime Lapse (2014)
Three friends discover a mysterious machine that takes pictures 24 hours into the future and conspire to use it for personal gain, until disturbing and dangerous images begin to develop.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both mystery & horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisNext of Kin (1982)
After Linda inherits a retirement home, she witnesses a series of strange events which seem connected to a dark and unspeakable evil.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror & mystery
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCranston Academy: Monster Zone (2020)
An intelligent 15-year-old high school student is unexpectedly transferred to a boarding school where he opens a portal of monsters from another dimension.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both fantasy & horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Thing (1982)
A research team in Antarctica is hunted by a shape-shifting alien that assumes the appearance of its victims.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror & mystery
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisTwin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me (1992)
In the questionable town of Deer Meadow, Washington, FBI Agent Desmond inexplicably disappears while hunting for the man who murdered a teen girl. The killer is never apprehended, and, after experiencing dark visions and supernatural encounters, Agent Dale Cooper chillingly predicts that the culprit will claim another life. Meanwhile, in the more cozy town of Twin Peaks, hedonistic beauty Laura Palmer hangs with lowlifes and seems destined for a grisly fate.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both mystery & horror
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Others (2001)
Grace is a religious woman who lives in an old house kept dark because her two children, Anne and Nicholas, have a rare sensitivity to light. When the family begins to suspect the house is haunted, Grace fights to protect her children at any cost in the face of strange events and disturbing visions.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror & mystery
Worth the HypeMovies like thisCold Prey II (2008)
After surviving the events in the Jotunheimen mountains in which four of her friends were murdered, the badly injured Jannicke is brought to the local hospital. But when she wakes up, the building is dark and deserted... and she soon realizes that her nightmare isn’t over yet.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror & mystery
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCatwoman (2004)
Liquidated after discovering a corporate conspiracy, mild-mannered graphic artist Patience Phillips washes up on an island, where she's resurrected and endowed with the prowess of a cat — and she's eager to use her new skills... as a vigilante. Before you can say "cat and mouse", handsome gumshoe Tom Lone is on her tail, fascinated by both of her personas.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both fantasy
SnoozefestMovies like thisAlien (1979)
During its return to the earth, commercial spaceship Nostromo intercepts a distress signal from a distant planet. When a three-member team of the crew discovers a chamber containing thousands of eggs on the planet, a creature inside one of the eggs attacks an explorer. The entire crew is unaware of the impending nightmare set to descend upon them when the alien parasite planted inside its unfortunate host is birthed.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisBruce Almighty (2003)
Bruce Nolan toils as a "human interest" television reporter in Buffalo, NY, but despite his high ratings and the love of his beautiful girlfriend, Bruce remains unfulfilled. At the end of the worst day in his life, he angrily ridicules God — and the Almighty responds, endowing Bruce with all of His divine powers.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both fantasy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisEyes Wide Shut (1999)
After Dr. Bill Harford's wife, Alice, admits to having sexual fantasies about a man she met, Bill becomes obsessed with having a sexual encounter. He discovers an underground sexual group and attends one of their meetings -- and quickly discovers that he is in over his head.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both mystery
Worth the HypeMovies like thisEraserhead (1977)
First-time father Henry Spencer tries to survive his industrial environment, his angry girlfriend, and the unbearable screams of his newly born mutant child.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror
Worth the HypeMovies like thisDarna (1991)
A girl is granted a magical stone by an angel to become the superheroine Darna to combat evil and would later battle Valentina, her future nemesis.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Carnival of Souls?
The closest matches to Carnival of Souls are Red Riding Hood (2011), The Car (1977) and Something Wicked This Way Comes (1983). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Carnival of Souls?
Start with Red Riding Hood (2011), the closest match to Carnival of Souls.
What is the highest-rated movie like Carnival of Souls?
Alien (1979), rated 8.2/10 by 17,121 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Carnival of Souls?
undertone (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like Carnival of Souls?
Yes: Red Riding Hood (2011), The Car (1977) and Something Wicked This Way Comes (1983).
How are movies similar to Carnival of Souls chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Carnival of Souls, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.