Movies like Children Shouldn't Play with Dead Things (1972)
The best movies like Children Shouldn't Play with Dead Things (1972) are Return of the Living Dead Part II (1988), Night of the Demons (1988) and The Return of the Living Dead (1985). If Children Shouldn't Play with Dead Things hooked you with its horror and comedy, 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
- NewestDie Alone (2024)Released 2024
Return of the Living Dead Part II (1988)
A group of kids discover one of the drums containing a rotting corpse and release the 2-4-5 Trioxin gas into the air, causing the dead to once again rise from the grave and seek out brains.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror & comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisNight of the Demons (1988)
When partygoers at a deserted funeral home decide to have a séance on Halloween night, they awaken something evil with a thirst for blood.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror & comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Return of the Living Dead (1985)
Two employees at a medical supply warehouse accidentally release a toxic gas from a misplaced top-secret U.S. Army shipment, causing the dead to rise from a nearby cemetery with an insatiable hunger for human brains.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & horror
Worth the HypeMovies like thisWyrmwood: Road of the Dead (2014)
Barry is a talented mechanic and family man whose life is torn apart on the eve of a zombie apocalypse. His sister, Brooke, is kidnapped by a sinister team of gas-mask wearing soldiers and experimented on by a psychotic doctor. While Brooke plans her escape Barry goes out on the road to find her and teams up with Benny, a fellow survivor – together they must arm themselves and prepare to battle their way through hordes of flesh-eating monsters in a harsh Australian bushland.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror & comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisFreaks of Nature (2015)
In the town of Dillford, humans, vampires and zombies were all living in peace - until the alien apocalypse arrived. Now three teenagers-one human, one vampire, and one zombie-have to team up to figure out how to get rid of the visitors.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCreepshow (1982)
Five grisly tales from a 1950s-style comic, including a murdered father rising from beyond, a bizarre meteor, a vengeful husband, a mysterious crate's occupant, and a plague of cockroaches.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror & comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisLittle Monsters (2019)
A washed-up musician teams up with a teacher and a kids show personality to protect young children from a sudden outbreak of zombies.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror & comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisNight of the Creeps (1986)
In 1959, an alien experiment crashes to earth and infects a fraternity member. They freeze the body, but in the modern day, two geeks pledging a fraternity accidentally thaw the corpse, which proceeds to infect the campus with parasites that transform their hosts into killer zombies.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror & comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSundown: The Vampire in Retreat (1991)
Reclusive vampires lounge in a lonely American town. They wear sunscreen to protect themselves. A descendant of Van Helsing arrives with hilarious consequences.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisWhat We Do in the Shadows (2014)
Vampire housemates try to cope with the complexities of modern life and show a newly turned hipster some of the perks of being undead.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & horror
Worth the HypeMovies like thisMessiah of Evil (1975)
A young woman searching for her missing artist father finds herself in the strange seaside town of Point Dune, which seems to be under the influence of a mysterious undead cult.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisPatients of a Saint (2020)
There's a zombie outbreak after a medical trial in an international detention and medical facility on an isolated island. An ex US Special Forces/bodyguard woman inmate and a guard form a team.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisNight of the Living Dead (1990)
A ragtag group barricade themselves in an old Pennsylvania farmhouse to remain safe from a horde of flesh-eating ghouls ravaging the Northeast.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDead & Buried (1981)
After a series of gory murders commited by mobs of townspeople against visiting tourists, the corpses appear to be coming back to life and living normally as locals in the small town.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisShivers (1975)
The residents of a suburban high-rise apartment building are infected by parasites that turn them into mindless nymphomaniac fiends.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
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 horror
Worth the HypeMovies like thisDie Alone (2024)
Lost in a world reclaimed by nature and overrun by mysterious creatures, Ethan, a young man with amnesia navigates the dangerous landscape in search of his lost love Emma. His journey takes an unexpected turn when he encounters Mae, a hardened and eccentric survivor. Together, Ethan and Mae face threats both human and otherwise before a fateful encounter with Kai unravels a secret that lies just beyond Ethan's fractured memory.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisLand of the Dead (2005)
The living dead have taken over the world, and the remaining humans live in a walled city to protect themselves as they cope with the situation.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Bay (2012)
Chaos breaks out in a small Maryland town after an ecological disaster occurs.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
SnoozefestMovies like thisThe Driver (2019)
After a plague of the undead decimates human life on Earth, a former hit man (Mark Dacascos), his wife, and daughter live quietly in a survivalist compound. But when their base is attacked, a massive explosion summons a swarm of the undead. They escape and must seek out the Haven, a rumored sanctuary up north, while the father teaches his daughter to shoot, drive, and survive before time runs out.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDeadspiel (2008)
Ghoulishly funny. this short follows a curling match between humans and zombies who must choose between sportsmanship and bloodsport.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror & comedy
Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill! (1965)
A trio of thrill-seeking go-go dancers kidnap a young girl and attempt to seduce an old rancher and his two sons out of their small fortune, but their scheme doesn't play out as intended.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies 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 thisZombillénium (2017)
Zombillenium, the Halloween theme park, happens to be the one place on earth where real monsters can hide in plain sight. When Hector, a human, threatens to disclose the true identity of his employees, the Vampire Park Manager has no other choice but to hire him. To see his daughter, Hector must escape from his zombie and werewolf co-workers.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy
Worth the HypeMovies like thisAbout the Looking for and the Finding of Love (2005)
Director helmut Dietls and Patric Susskinds illustrate a legendary story of two lovers who cant keep themselves away from death.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy
Harold and Maude (1971)
A deadpan young man obsessed with death meets an eccentric septuagenarian who teaches him to live life to the fullest.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Skin of Your Teeth (2009)
Four survivors of the zombie apocalypse hide out in a farm. They try to find a way to escape and survive. Things don't work out as planned. Will any of them make it?
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror
Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964)
After the insane General Jack D. Ripper initiates a nuclear strike on the Soviet Union, a war room full of politicians, generals and a Russian diplomat all frantically try to stop it.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisMadagascar (2005)
Four animal friends get a taste of the wild life when they break out of captivity at the Central Park Zoo and wash ashore on the island of Madagascar.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies 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 this
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Children Shouldn't Play with Dead Things?
The closest matches to Children Shouldn't Play with Dead Things are Return of the Living Dead Part II (1988), Night of the Demons (1988) and The Return of the Living Dead (1985). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Children Shouldn't Play with Dead Things?
Start with Return of the Living Dead Part II (1988), the closest match to Children Shouldn't Play with Dead Things.
What is the highest-rated movie like Children Shouldn't Play with Dead Things?
Alien (1979), rated 8.2/10 by 17,121 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Children Shouldn't Play with Dead Things?
Die Alone (2024) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like Children Shouldn't Play with Dead Things?
Yes: Return of the Living Dead Part II (1988), Night of the Demons (1988) and The Return of the Living Dead (1985).
How are movies similar to Children Shouldn't Play with Dead Things chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Children Shouldn't Play with Dead Things, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.