Movies like Start the Show (2026)
The best movies like Start the Show (2026) are Ghosts (1997), Michael Jackson's Thriller (1983) and Trick or Treat (1986). If Start the Show hooked you with its horror and music, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedSuccubus (2024)8.3/10 from 279 votes
- NewestWhistle (2026)Released 2026
Ghosts (1997)
In the town of Normal Valley, an eccentric magician named Maestro entertains the local children every day in his spooky mansion. One stormy night, the town's mayor leads a group of angry citizens to the mansion in an attempt to run Maestro out of town.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both music & horror
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisMichael Jackson's Thriller (1983)
A night at the movies turns terrifying when Michael and his date are attacked by zombies.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror & music
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisTrick or Treat (1986)
Eddie Weinbauer, a metalhead teen who is bullied at school, looks to his heavy metal superstar idol, Sammi Curr, for guidance. When Curr is killed in a hotel fire, Eddie becomes the recipient of the only copy of his unreleased album, which, when played backwards, brings the rocker back to life. As Halloween approaches, Eddie begins to realize that this isn't only rock 'n roll...It's life and death.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror & music
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Old Mill (1937)
Night in an old mill is dramatically depicted in this Oscar-winning short in which the frightened occupants, including birds, timid mice, owls, and other creatures try to stay safe and dry as a storm approaches. As the thunderstorm worsens, the mill wheel begins to turn and the whole mill threatens to blow apart until at last the storm subsides.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both music & horror
Worth the HypeMovies like thisPossibly in Michigan (1983)
A musical horror story about two young women who are stalked through a shopping mall by a cannibal. He follows them home, and here the victims become the aggressors.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror & music
Worth the HypeMovies like thisRepo! The Genetic Opera (2008)
By the year 2056, an epidemic of organ failures has devastated the planet. The megacorporation GeneCo provides organ transplants on a payment plan — and those unable to fulfill their plans have their organs repossessed. In the midst of this, a sickly teenager discovers a shocking secret about herself, her father, and their connection to GeneCo.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both music & 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 thisVicious (2025)
When Polly receives a mysterious box, it comes with one rule: place inside something she needs, something she hates, and something she loves. If she doesn’t obey, it will consume everything—and everyone—she’s ever known.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMickey's Grand Opera (1936)
Mickey is preparing to conduct an opera when he chases Pluto away. Pluto crashes into a magician's props backstage and spars with the hat, its rabbits, and its doves. The opera begins: Clarabelle plays flute, Clara and Donald are the leads in Romeo and Juliet. Pluto follows the magic hat onstage, to Mickey's growing annoyance. The hat falls into a tuba, and soon the animals are filling the stage.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both music
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSturgill Simpson Presents Sound & Fury (2019)
In this anime visual album, a mysterious driver heads deep into a postapocalyptic hellscape toward a ferocious showdown with two monstrous opponents.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both music
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Boogeyman (2023)
Still reeling from the tragic death of their mother, a teenage girl and her younger sister find themselves plagued by a sadistic presence in their house and struggle to get their grieving father to pay attention before it’s too late.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Other (2025)
Unable to conceive, a couple seeks to build a family with a young orphan, survivor of tragic childhood. But their act of love turns to horror when they realize the violence in their foster's past has returned to destroy the new family.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDangerous Game: The Legacy Murders (2022)
A family reunion at a remote mansion takes a lethal turn when they are trapped inside and forced to play a deadly survival game where only one will make it out alive.
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 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 thisSuccubus (2024)
A new father going through a marital separation joins a dating app and matches with a beautiful but mysterious young woman... whose powers of seduction and manipulation entangle him in a mystery more horrifying than he could have ever imagined.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisThe Shed (2019)
The story of Stan, an orphaned teenager stuck living with his abusive grandfather and tasked with routinely protecting his best friend from high school bullies. When Stan discovers a murderous creature has taken refuge inside the tool shed in his backyard, he tries to secretly battle the demon alone until his bullied friend discovers the creature and has a far more sinister plan in mind.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1912)
Dr. Henry Jekyll experiments with scientific means of revealing the hidden, dark side of man and releases a murderer from within himself.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
SnoozefestMovies like thisWhistle (2026)
When a misfit group of unwitting high school students stumbles upon a cursed Aztec Death Whistle, they discover that blowing it unleashes a terrifying sound that summons their future deaths to hunt them down.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisPlay Dead (2022)
Criminology student Chloe fakes her own death to break into a morgue, in order to retrieve a piece of evidence that ties her younger brother to a crime gone wrong. Once inside, she discovers that a sadistic coroner is using the corpses for his sick and twisted business, and when he realises that Chloe still has a pulse, a terrifying game of cat and mouse ensues.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSilence (2016)
After being discovered trying to escape, a woman must survive the night with her abusive girlfriend.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror & music
Thousand Year Sleep (2007)
Samantha, Lydia, Isabella, and Lisa. These four young women are about to learn that humanity is just an irrelevant flame burning nowhere in the vastness of space. Their dreams will be shattered and one man will marvel at the evil he has committed.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror
The Tell-Tale Heart (2010)
A computer-generated rendering of the classic Poe tale about a man's sanity being a point of contention as he confesses to murdering an elderly man, driven by the victim's pale blue 'vulture eye', culminating in guilt-induced auditory hallucinations of the victim's beating heart.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror
I Was a Teenage Werebear (2011)
A repressed gay teen transforms into a beast after being bitten by a hunky classmate.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror
Ouiji (2016)
Do you ever get that eerie feeling that someone is standing behind you. They say that if you can feel it, then it is definitely present. The next time you feel the creeps, please do not look back. You might see it.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror
The Return of the Näcken (2024)
The Return of the Näcken is a gothic horror tale about a lonely water demon and her quest for human souls focusing on the existential anguish of being an enchanted creature doomed to an immortal life filled with grief, isolation, and loss.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror
Vasvaas (2010)
On Ali’s birthday, his wife Suzy gifts him an unusual proposition: all her wealth and prosperity will belong to him if she remains his only wife, while he secretly maintains an affair with another woman, Laila. Simultaneously, an evil master, accompanied by his puppet Kudafoolhu, embarks on a mission to implant wicked suggestions in the minds of locals. Sheikhul Hayya, a saintly man, strives to thwart this malevolence. In a twisted game, Suzy meets her demise at the hands of the Master, leaving Ali in possession of her wealth. However, Laila becomes the target of horrifying incidents orchestrated by the Master. The truth unfolds: the Master seeks revenge on Ali for an incident involving a lunar night and a vengeful act. The final showdown pits Sheikh against the Master, culminating in a final battle.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror
Terror Of The Killer Carnivorous Coat (2011)
A group of friends struggle for survival as they are faced with the ancient, demonic evil of - the killer carnivorous coat.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror
Sleepers of the City (2009)
A young man contemplates jumping off a bridge when he meets a beautiful woman who could have been his salvation, had she not been dead for the past seventy-five years.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror
The Copy-Writer (2014)
A writer is haunted by strange monsters and visions, are they real or the beginning of a slow descent into insanity?
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Start the Show?
The closest matches to Start the Show are Ghosts (1997), Michael Jackson's Thriller (1983) and Trick or Treat (1986). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Start the Show?
Start with Ghosts (1997), the closest match to Start the Show.
What is the highest-rated movie like Start the Show?
Succubus (2024), rated 8.3/10 by 279 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Start the Show?
Whistle (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like Start the Show?
Yes: Ghosts (1997), Michael Jackson's Thriller (1983) and Trick or Treat (1986).
How are movies similar to Start the Show chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Start the Show, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.