Movies like Octopus (2026)
The best movies like Octopus (2026) are Quicksand (2023), Maniac (1963) and Time Without Pity (1957). If Octopus hooked you with its mystery and thriller, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedThe Naked City (1948)7.2/10 from 298 votes
- NewestBox of Frogs (2026)Released 2026
Quicksand (2023)
A married couple on the brink of divorce becomes trapped in quicksand while hiking through a Colombian rainforest. It’s a struggle for survival as they battle the elements of the jungle and must work together in order to escape.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller & 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 mystery & horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisTime Without Pity (1957)
Alec Graham is sentenced to death for the murder of his girlfriend Jennie, with whom he spent a weekend at the English country home of the parents of his friend Brian Stanford. Alec’s father, David Graham, a not-so-successful writer and alcoholic who has neglected his son in the past, flies in from Canada to visit his son on death row. David then goes on a quest to try and clear his son’s name while battling “the bottle.”
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller & mystery
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Naked City (1948)
After a former model is drowned in her bathtub, Detective James Halloran and Lieutenant Dan Muldoon attempt to piece together her murder.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & mystery
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Thinning: New World Order (2018)
Blake Redding is trapped in this dark room wanting to protect his love so the only thing he will do is escape like no failed student has done before.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Dark Mirror (1946)
A sister and her disturbed twin are implicated in a murder and a police detective must figure out which one's the killer.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller & mystery
Worth the HypeMovies like thisChildren of the Damned (1964)
Six children are found spread through out the world that not only have enormous intelligence, but identical intelligence and have a strange bond to each other.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Glass Key (1942)
A crooked politician finds himself being accused of murder by a gangster from whom he refused help during a re-election campaign.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both mystery & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Mirror Crack'd (1980)
Jane Marple solves the mystery when a local woman is poisoned and a visiting movie star seems to have been the intended victim.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both mystery & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisEach Dawn I Die (1939)
A corrupt D.A. with governatorial ambitions is annoyed by an investigative reporter's criticism of his criminal activities and decides to frame the reporter for manslaughter in order to silence him.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Quiller Memorandum (1966)
After two British Secret Intelligence Service agents are murdered at the hands of a cryptic neo-Nazi group known as Phoenix, the suave agent Quiller is sent to Berlin to investigate.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller & drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisA Bundle of Trouble: An Aurora Teagarden Mystery (2017)
Aurora Teagarden and her boyfriend Martin are thrilled when they get an unexpected visit from his niece and her new baby. Their excitement is short lived when his niece disappears and the baby is left behind. Once again, Aurora finds herself drawn into a deadly investigation as she risks it all to help Martin reunite with his family.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both mystery & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Truth About Emanuel (2013)
A troubled young woman becomes obsessed with her mysterious new neighbor, who bears a striking resemblance to the girl's dead mother.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & thriller
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 & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Lady Vanishes (2013)
Young socialite Iris Carr befriends an older woman while traveling solo by train. When Iris wakes from a nap, the woman is gone and other passengers claim she never existed.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller & mystery
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMurder in Three Acts (1986)
In Acapulco, Hercule Poirot attends a dinner party in which one of the guests clutches his throat and suddenly dies. The causes seem to be natural until another party with most of the same guests produces another corpse.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & mystery
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMan in the Shadow (1957)
In a modern cow town, the powerful ranch owner’s henchmen kill a ranch hand, prompting the sheriff to investigate despite facing strong opposition. He finds an unlikely ally in the rancher's overprotected daughter, but their quest for justice puts them both in danger.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Young Savages (1961)
A district attorney investigates the racially charged case of three teenagers accused of the murder of a blind Puerto Rican boy.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisLady in the Lake (1946)
Private eye Phillip Marlowe wants to get out of the detective racket and into crime writing. But when he's called to the office of editor Adrienne Fromsett, it's not to talk about his story ideas — she wants him to locate the missing wife of her boss, Mr. Kingsby. The assignment quickly becomes complicated when bodies start turning up.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both mystery & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBlack Angel (1946)
A falsely convicted man's wife, Catherine, and an alcoholic composer and pianist, Martin, team up in an attempt to clear her husband of the murder of a blonde singer, who is Martin's wife.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both mystery & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisLucy (2025)
Plagued by OCD and agoraphobia, Lucy hasn't left her apartment in years. But as therapy shows promise, a dark, hostile force emerges from her subconscious into reality.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror & thriller
Am I a Psycho? (2024)
The short film surrounds Cassie and her struggle, confusion, and eventual discovery of her OCD. We take a glimpse into her interactions with her friends and family, often paired with flashbacks (intrusive thoughts) of supposed violence towards herself and others. Unknowing of her condition, she is distraught at each thought, and as a result reluctant to share with her loved ones what she is going through.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller & drama
Color of Night (1994)
A color-blind psychiatrist is stalked by an unknown killer after taking over his murdered friend's therapy group and becomes embroiled in an intense affair with a mysterious woman who may be connected to the crime.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both mystery & thriller
SnoozefestMovies like thisOito Horas (2021)
Bruno, a young obsessed, unemployed and lonely man, falls in love with his female neighbor, who arrives at her apartment always at the same time. Bruno, who wants to know her better, goes down the stairs just to interact with her in the short elevator trip back.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & thriller
Matchstick Men (2003)
A phobic con artist and his protege are on the verge of pulling off a lucrative swindle when the con artist's teenage daughter arrives unexpectedly.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & thriller
Worth the HypeMovies like thisFixation (2025)
A struggling musician becomes horrifyingly fixated on a bell while practicing a song.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror & thriller
Hold me tighter than anyone else (2025)
Tsukina and Ryouki have been dating since their teenage years. Unfortunately Ryouki has developed a obsession with cleanliness that has left him unable to even touch Tsukina. Eventually agreeing to start therapy for his condition, Ryouki meets Chiharu, a young woman suffering from the same issue as himself, and begins to form a connection. At the same time Tsukina meets a handsome Korean man who shows an interest in her.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
coping. (2026)
Three individuals describe their unique ways of coping with everyday stress, anxiety, and mental health. A narrative short film presented as documentary-style interviews, exploring the honest, messy reality of coping mechanisms and neurodivergent life.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Box of Frogs (2026)
Rob's lived with obsessive-compulsive disorder since he was a kid, and it's worn him down to the bone. He turns to a support group to reach out to others in similar situations.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Eight (2015)
Sarah Prentice has lived in her house for the past two years. Her fear of going outside has crippled her ability to interact with the outside world. She struggles through the everyday processes of life as she has an uncontrollable Obsessive, Compulsive Disorder (OCD). Her life is focused on the simple process of getting ready for work. For the everyday person it is as simple as getting up and getting dressed for Sarah it’s a marathon of emotions.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Like Octopus and something else?
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Octopus?
The closest matches to Octopus are Quicksand (2023), Maniac (1963) and Time Without Pity (1957). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Octopus?
Start with Quicksand (2023), the closest match to Octopus.
What is the highest-rated movie like Octopus?
The Naked City (1948), rated 7.2/10 by 298 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Octopus?
Box of Frogs (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like Octopus?
Yes: Quicksand (2023), Maniac (1963) and Time Without Pity (1957).
How are movies similar to Octopus chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Octopus, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.