Movies like The Cat and the Canary (1939)
The best movies like The Cat and the Canary (1939) are The Private Eyes (1980), The Old Dark House (1963) and Tales of Terror (1962). If The Cat and the Canary hooked you with its comedy and horror, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedKnives Out (2019)7.8/10 from 14,794 votes
- NewestThe Thursday Murder Club (2025)Released 2025
The Private Eyes (1980)
The lord and lady of a capacious manor are killed, and the lord's ghost seems to have returned to knock off the staff one by one, causing Inspector Winship and Dr. Tart to investigate the wacky house and its inhabitants.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & mystery
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Old Dark House (1963)
An American car salesman in London becomes mixed up in a series of fatal occurrences at a secluded mansion.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & horror
SnoozefestMovies like thisTales of Terror (1962)
Three stories adapted from the work of Edgar Allen Poe: 1) A man and his daughter are reunited, but the blame for the death of his wife hangs over them, unresolved. 2) A derelict challenges the local wine-tasting champion to a competition, but finds the man's attention to his wife worthy of more dramatic action. 3) A man dying and in great pain agrees to be hypnotized at the moment of death, with unexpected consequences.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror & comedy
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 thisFletch Lives (1989)
Fletch is a fish out of water in small-town Louisiana, where he's checking out a tumbledown mansion he's inherited. When a woman he flirts with turns up dead, he becomes a suspect and must find the killer and clear his name.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & mystery
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe 'Burbs (1989)
When secretive new neighbors move in next door, suburbanite Ray Peterson and his friends let their paranoia get the best of them as they start to suspect the newcomers of evildoings and commence an investigation. But it's hardly how Ray, who much prefers drinking beer, reading his newspaper and watching a ball game on the tube expected to spend his vacation.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisFoul Play (1978)
A shy San Francisco librarian and a bumbling cop fall in love as they solve a crime involving albinos, dwarves, and the Catholic Church.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & mystery
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisR.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 thisKnives Out (2019)
When renowned crime novelist Harlan Thrombey is found dead at his estate just after his 85th birthday, the inquisitive and debonair Detective Benoit Blanc is mysteriously enlisted to investigate. From Harlan's dysfunctional family to his devoted staff, Blanc sifts through a web of red herrings and self-serving lies to uncover the truth behind Harlan's untimely death.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & mystery
Worth the HypeMovies like thisShadow of the Thin Man (1941)
While attending a major horse race with their young son, Nick Jr., Nick and Nora Charles witnesse a shocking murder from the crowded grandstand. What first appears to be an isolated killing soon leads to a maze of corruption, blackmail, gambling scandals, and criminal intrigue. As Nick investigates, he encounters suspicious bookmakers, dishonest officials, rival gangsters, and a mysterious killer determined to stay ahead of the law. Nora, as always, is never far from the action, bringing her quick wit and fearless curiosity to the case.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & mystery
Worth the HypeMovies like thisExtraordinary Tales (2015)
Five tales by Edgar Allan Poe come to life thanks to a pictorical style animation, five tales that exude madness, pestilence, murder and torture.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror & mystery
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMurder by Death (1976)
Lionel Twain invites the world's five greatest detectives to a 'dinner and murder'. Included are a blind butler, a deaf-mute maid, screams, spinning rooms, secret passages, false identities and more plot turns and twists than are decently allowed.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & mystery
Worth the HypeMovies like thisManhattan Murder Mystery (1993)
A middle-aged couple suspects foul play when their neighbor's wife suddenly drops dead.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & mystery
Worth the HypeMovies like thisBurnt Offerings (1976)
A family moves into a large old mansion in the countryside which seems to have a mysterious and sinister power over its new residents.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror & mystery
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Thursday Murder Club (2025)
A group of senior sleuths passionate about solving cold cases get plunged into a real-life murder mystery in this comic crime caper.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & mystery
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 thisWe Have a Ghost (2023)
After Kevin finds a ghost named Ernest haunting his new home, he becomes an overnight social media sensation. But when Kevin and Ernest go rogue to investigate the mystery of the latter's past, they become targets of the CIA.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror & comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies 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 thisScared Stiff (1953)
A nightclub singer and his partner escape mobsters by fleeing to Cuba with a beautiful heiress, who has inherited a haunted castle on an isolated island. The trio hunt for a hidden treasure and encounter a ghost, a zombie, and a mysterious killer...
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisRevenge of the Pink Panther (1978)
Chief Inspector Jacques Clouseau is dead. At least that is what the world—and Charles Dreyfus—believe when a dead body is discovered in Clouseau's car after being shot off the road. Naturally, Clouseau knows differently and, taking advantage of not being alive, sets out to discover why an attempt was made on his life.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & mystery
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHatchet (2006)
When a group of tourists on a New Orleans haunted swamp tour find themselves stranded in the wilderness, their evening of fun and spooks turns into a horrific nightmare.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy & horror
SnoozefestMovies like thisPlayboy of Paris (1930)
Yvonne, daughter of Philibert, a Paris cafe owner, is in love with dreamy, blundering Albert, a waiter, though he pays little attention to her. Philibert plans to marry his daughter to a wealthy Parisian, but upon learning that Albert is to come into a large inheritance, he conspires to place him under a longterm contract, confident that he willingly will pay a forfeit to break it.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy
Murder on the Orient Express (1974)
In 1935, when his train is stopped by deep snow, detective Hercule Poirot is called on to solve a murder that occurred in his car the night before.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both mystery
Worth the HypeMovies like thisDeath on the Nile (1978)
As Hercule Poirot enjoys a luxurious cruise down the Nile, a newlywed heiress is found murdered on board and every elegant passenger becomes a prime suspect.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both mystery
Worth the HypeMovies like thisEvil Under the Sun (1982)
An opulent beach resort provides a scenic background to this amusing whodunit as Poirot attempts to uncover the nefarious evildoer behind the strangling of a notorious stage star.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both mystery
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisLa Cage aux Folles (1978)
Two gay men living in St. Tropez have their lives turned upside down when the son of one of the men announces he is getting married. They try to conceal their lifestyle and their ownership of the drag club downstairs when the fiancée and her parents come for dinner.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAn American Tail (1986)
A young mouse named Fievel and his family decide to migrate to America, a "land without cats," at the turn of the 20th century. But somehow, Fievel ends up in the New World alone and must fend off not only the felines he never thought he'd have to deal with again but also the loneliness of being away from home.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisGuys and Dolls (1955)
In New York, a gambler is challenged to take a Salvation Army missionary to Havana, and unexpectedly they fall for each other. And the bet has a hidden motive ... classic song and dance ensues!
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisTen Little Indians (1965)
Ten strangers are invited as weekend guests to a remote mountain mansion. When the host doesn't show up, the guests start dying, one by one.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both mystery
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAnd Then There Were None (1945)
Ten strangers are summoned to a remote island and while they are waiting for the mysterious host to appear, a recording levels serious accusations at each of the guests. Soon they start being murdered, one by one. As the survivors try to keep their wits, they reach a disturbing conclusion: one of them must be the killer.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both mystery
Worth the HypeMovies like this
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like The Cat and the Canary?
The closest matches to The Cat and the Canary are The Private Eyes (1980), The Old Dark House (1963) and Tales of Terror (1962). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after The Cat and the Canary?
Start with The Private Eyes (1980), the closest match to The Cat and the Canary.
What is the highest-rated movie like The Cat and the Canary?
Knives Out (2019), rated 7.8/10 by 14,794 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like The Cat and the Canary?
The Thursday Murder Club (2025) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like The Cat and the Canary?
Yes: The Private Eyes (1980), The Old Dark House (1963) and Tales of Terror (1962).
How are movies similar to The Cat and the Canary chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside The Cat and the Canary, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.