Movies like Santa Sangre (1989)
The best movies like Santa Sangre (1989) are The House That Jack Built (2018), Castle Freak (1996) and Caged (2021). If Santa Sangre hooked you with its horror and drama, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedSinners (2025)7.5/10 from 5,547 votes
- NewestThe Surrender (2025)Released 2025
The House That Jack Built (2018)
Failed architect, engineer and vicious murderer Jack narrates the details of some of his most elaborately orchestrated crimes, each of them a towering piece of art that defines his life's work as a serial killer for twelve years.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & horror
Worth the HypeMovies like thisCastle Freak (1996)
John Reilly discovers that his family's newly inherited castle in Italy is haunted by a relentless, bloodthirsty creature.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCaged (2021)
An African American male is imprisoned and placed in solitary confinement after being found guilty of murdering his wife, as he's haunted by internal demons and his dead wife, and pushed to the breaking point by an abusive female guard.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller & horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisRed White & Blue (2010)
A woman attracts the attention of a psychotic former Army interrogator and an emotionally fragile young man caring for his ailing mother.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Woman (2011)
A lawyer puts his family in jeopardy when he captures the last member of a violent clan and tries to forcibly tame her.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSaw X (2023)
Between the events of 'Saw' and 'Saw II', a sick and desperate John Kramer travels to Mexico for a risky and experimental medical procedure in hopes of a miracle cure for his cancer, only to discover the entire operation is a scam to defraud the most vulnerable. Armed with a newfound purpose, the infamous serial killer returns to his work, turning the tables on the con artists in his signature visceral way through devious, deranged, and ingenious traps.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror & thriller
Worth the HypeMovies like thisJigsaw (2017)
Law enforcement finds itself chasing the ghost of a man dead for over a decade, embroiled in a diabolical new game that's only just begun.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisGrindhouse (2007)
Grindhouse combines Robert Rodriguez's Planet Terror, a horror comedy about a group of survivors who battle zombie-like creatures, and Quentin Tarantino's Death Proof, an action thriller about a murderous stuntman who kills young women with modified vehicles. It is presented as a double feature with fictitious exploitation trailers preceding each segment.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller & horror
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Believers (1987)
Mourning the accidental death of his wife and having just moved to New York with his young son, laconic police psychologist Cal Jamison is reluctantly drawn into a series of grisly, ritualistic murders involving the immolation of two youths.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror & thriller
SnoozefestMovies like thisMidsommar (2019)
Several friends travel to Sweden to study as anthropologists a summer festival that is held every ninety years in the remote hometown of one of them. What begins as a dream vacation in a place where the sun never sets, gradually turns into a dark nightmare as the mysterious inhabitants invite them to participate in their disturbing festive activities.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Eyes of My Mother (2016)
A young, lonely woman is consumed by her deepest and darkest desires after tragedy strikes her quiet country life.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Resurrected (1991)
Charles Dexter Ward, a wealthy scientist, uses an ancient diary and human remains to begin a terrifying and bloody pursuit for immortality.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Surrender (2025)
A fraught mother-daughter relationship is put to a terrifying test when the family patriarch dies, and the grieving mother hires a mysterious stranger to bring her husband back from the dead.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & horror
SnoozefestMovies like thisManiac (2012)
As he helps a young artist with her upcoming exhibition, the owner of a mannequin shop's deadly, suppressed desires come to the surface.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Hitcher (2007)
While driving through the New Mexico Desert during a rainy night, college students Jim Halsey and his girlfriend Grace Andrews give a ride to a hitchhiker. While in their car, the stranger proves to be a psychopath threatening the young couple with a knife, but Jim successfully throws him out of the car. This sets off a chain of events that will change all of their lives forever.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror & thriller
SnoozefestMovies like thisBarbarian (2022)
In town for a job interview, a young woman arrives at her Airbnb late at night only to find that it has been mistakenly double-booked and a strange man is already staying there. Against her better judgement, she decides to stay the night anyway.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMother's Day (2010)
Crazed members of a sadistic family return to their childhood home to terrorize the new owners.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDoctor X (1932)
A wisecracking reporter investigates the cannibalistic 'Moon Killer' murders tied to a medical academy, culminating in a chilling reenactment experiment.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDay of the Woman (1978)
A young, beautiful career woman rents a backwoods cabin to write her first novel. Attacked by a group of local lowlifes and left for dead, she devises a horrific plan to inflict revenge.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Cell (2000)
A psychotherapist journeys inside the mind of a comatose serial killer in the hopes of saving his latest victim.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBattle Royale (2000)
In the future, the Japanese government captures a class of ninth-grade students and forces them to kill each other under the revolutionary "Battle Royale" act.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & thriller
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Gifts of My Cousin Maria (1969)
Following the death of his female cousin Marija, Moma sets out to her house where only her aunt lives. The old woman remembers Marija's awkward temper that left her unmarried and even led to a suicide of one of her courters. Based on a novel written by Momčilo Nastasijević.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & horror
Sinners (2025)
Trying to leave their troubled lives behind, twin brothers return to their hometown to start again, only to discover that an even greater evil is waiting to welcome them back.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror & thriller
Worth the HypeMovies like this15 Minutes (2001)
When Eastern European criminals Oleg and Emil come to New York City to pick up their share of a heist score, Oleg steals a video camera and starts filming their activities, both legal and illegal. When they learn how the American media circus can make a remorseless killer look like the victim and make them rich, they target media-savvy NYPD Homicide Detective Eddie Flemming and media-naive FDNY Fire Marshal Jordy Warsaw, the cops investigating their murder and torching of their former criminal partner, filming everything to sell to the local tabloid TV show "Top Story."
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller
SnoozefestMovies like thisThe Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert (1994)
Two drag performers and a transgender woman travel across the desert to perform their unique style of cabaret.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Gateway Meat (2008)
The Gateway Meat is a disturbing and sadistic film, that strays far from the normal conventions of the horror genre. It is about a group of Satanists, living in a quaint, coastal fishing town. As the film progresses we get to know the character played by DeCaro himself, Markus. The film is mainly about how Markus struggles as he tries to deal with the great expectations that are placed on him after his fathers death. Markus' father, who was a Satanist, was trying to open up a portal into hell. Now that he is gone, Markus must take the reigns, and gain the power that his father wanted. With the help of his family and a couple of friends, Markus murders his way to power, as his young, preschool aged daughter watches.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror
Walk a Crooked Path (1969)
Set in an exclusive boy's school, about a man who plans to kill off his wealthy teacher wife by encouraging her to drink and pushing her into suicide. To assist him he recruits a young student who will claim that he was sexually assaulted by her. (from: http://ftvdb.bfi.org.uk/sift/title/390627)
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
42nd Street (1933)
Broadway director Julian Marsh needs just one more hit show so he can retire and recover his health. It looks like he just may pull it off until temperamental star Dorthy Brock breaks her ankle on the eve of the show's premiere and has to be replaced by her understudy Peggy.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisWelcome to Squallitch (2024)
A short film about the serene and dream-like town of Squallitch, Greater London. Introduced by British filmmaker, Alan Brown; scrutinised by Guardian columnist, Randolph Lloyd Kopecky; later rebutted by Alan Brown and even later surrebutted by Randolph Lloyd Kopecky.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror
Attacked (2006)
"Attacked" is a gory double-feature of short zombie short films by Krankomatik X & Rapid Masters. In "Attack," police sirens wail as a bank robber makes his escape without a hitch. But soon, he encounters a far greater threat than the police... "In "Next Attack," two guys arrive at a prearranged meeting place. The third person who was supposed to be there doesn't show up, and as they search for him, they encounter something terrifying!
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Santa Sangre?
The closest matches to Santa Sangre are The House That Jack Built (2018), Castle Freak (1996) and Caged (2021). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Santa Sangre?
Start with The House That Jack Built (2018), the closest match to Santa Sangre.
What is the highest-rated movie like Santa Sangre?
Sinners (2025), rated 7.5/10 by 5,547 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Santa Sangre?
The Surrender (2025) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like Santa Sangre?
Yes: The House That Jack Built (2018), Castle Freak (1996) and Caged (2021).
How are movies similar to Santa Sangre chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Santa Sangre, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.