Movies like The Chelsea Murders (1981)
The best movies like The Chelsea Murders (1981) are When a Stranger Calls Back (1993), A Nasty Piece of Work (2019) and The Night Stalker (1972). If The Chelsea Murders hooked you with its thriller and horror, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedFreaks (1932)7.8/10 from 1,361 votes
- NewestThis Is Not a Test (2026)Released 2026
When a Stranger Calls Back (1993)
Jill Johnson, now a crisis center counselor, reunites with retired detective John Clifford to hunt a killer stalking a coed.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror & thriller
SnoozefestMovies like thisA Nasty Piece of Work (2019)
A mid-level corporate employee finds out he’s not getting the Christmas bonus he was expecting, but his boss invites him to earn a promotion by beating his professional rival in a violent competition.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Night Stalker (1972)
Wisecracking reporter Carl Kolchak investigates a string of murders in Las Vegas and suspects the culprit is a vampire. His editor thinks he's crazy and the police think he's a nuisance, so Kolchak takes matters into his own hands.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDreams in the Witch House (2005)
A college student renting an old room in a boarding house discovers a plot by sinister, otherworldly forces to sacrifice his neighbor's infant.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller & horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Woman in Black (1989)
A lawyer travels to a small seaside town to settle the estate of a recently deceased woman, but soon becomes ensnared in something much more sinister.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Town that Dreaded Sundown (2014)
A masked maniac terrorizes the same small community where a murderer known as the Phantom Killer struck decades earlier.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller & horror
SnoozefestMovies like thisNight of the Hunted (2023)
When an unsuspecting woman stops at a remote gas station in the dead of night, she's made the plaything of a sociopath sniper with a secret vendetta. To survive, she must not only dodge his bullets and fight for her life, but also figure out who wants her dead and why.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisWhat's the Matter with Helen? (1971)
Two middle-aged women move to Hollywood after their sons are convicted of a notorious murder and open a dance school for children eager to tap their way to stardom.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller & horror
SnoozefestMovies like thisTrick (2019)
A detective tries to track down a masked killer who reappears every Halloween to wreak bloody havoc.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror & thriller
SnoozefestMovies like thisThe Prowler (1981)
Thirty years after a murder on the night of Avalon Bay's graduation dance, the sleepy town's teens meet grisly ends at the hands of a prowler once thought to be a jilted soldier home from war.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror & thriller
SnoozefestMovies like thisStrange Darling (2024)
Nothing is what it seems when a twisted one-night stand spirals into a serial killer’s vicious murder spree.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller & horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAmerican Horror House (2012)
On Halloween night, a sorority house is overrun with ghosts, while a vengeful housemother goes on a killing spree.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
SnoozefestMovies like thisKept Woman (2015)
Jessica and her fiancé Evan have just moved from the city into their dream home on a quiet suburban street. Soon after, Jessica catches her seemingly friendly new neighbor, Simon, in a strange lie and can't let her suspicions rest. The danger escalates when Simon lures her inside his home and imprisons Jessica in his secret bunker, meticulously decorated in the idealized style of the 1950s.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Night Strangler (1973)
After being run out of Las Vegas, reporter Carl Kolchak heads for Seattle and another reporting job with the local paper. It's not long before he’s on the trail of another string of bizarre murders. It seems that every 21 years, for the past century, a killer murders a certain number of people, drains them of their blood, and then disappears into the night. Kolchak is on his trail, but can he stop him?
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 thriller & horror
Worth the HypeMovies like thisDesert Dawn (2025)
A newly appointed small-town sheriff and his begrudging deputy get tangled up in a web of lies and corruption involving shady businessmen and the cartel while investigating the murder of a mysterious woman.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisYour Boyfriend Is Mine (2022)
Over the objection of his girlfriend, Ben agrees to take a job as the “live in” man servant to a wealthy businesswoman, Amanda, but quickly realizes he has made a deal with the devil, and has put himself and his girlfriend in mortal jeopardy
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBloodline (2019)
Evan values family above all else, and anyone who gets between him, his wife, and newborn son learns that the hard way. But when it comes to violent tendencies, it seems the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror & thriller
SnoozefestMovies like thisThe Hound of the Baskervilles (1939)
When a nobleman is threatened by a family curse on his newly inherited estate, detective Sherlock Holmes is hired to investigate.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror & thriller
Worth the HypeMovies like thisInfidelity in Suburbia (2017)
With her husband away at work, and her son at school, Laura dreams of a home-renovation project to supplant her restless days. Elliott, her irresistibly hot private contractor, soon fulfills her more forbidden dreams.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThis Is Not a Test (2026)
Sloane and four classmates take cover in Cortege High to escape a world plagued by the infected. As danger relentlessly pounds on the doors, Sloane begins to see the world through the eyes of those who actually want to live and takes matters into her own hands.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller & horror
SnoozefestMovies like thisFreaks (1932)
A circus' beautiful trapeze artist agrees to marry the leader of side-show performers, but his deformed friends discover she is only marrying him for his inheritance.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror
Worth the HypeMovies like thisMurder Commited in a Sly and Cruel Manner and from Low Motives (1969)
An eminent Belgrade physician is found murdered. The investigation reveals dark side of his character - illegal abortions and abuse of his wife. The wife's lover becomes the prime suspect. The newspaper reporter, however, starts his own investigation. Besides being a crime story, this movie in quasi-documentary fashion presents alternative cultural scene of Belgrade in late sixties.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller
Nightmares (2004)
A nameless Serial Killer, invites you into his world of madness. To discover in his own words what started him on the ever darkening road of evil.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror
Charming Billy (1999)
Billy Starkman, just an average Midwestern every-man, wakes up one morning and decides to murder his family before taking up a sniper position on a water tower.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller
Ghost (1990)
After a young man is murdered, his spirit stays behind to warn his lover of impending danger, with the help of a reluctant psychic.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller
Worth the HypeMovies like thisLive and Let Die (1973)
James Bond must investigate a mysterious murder case of a British agent in New Orleans. Soon he finds himself up against a gangster boss named Mr. Big.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe 39 Steps (1935)
Richard Hanney has a rude awakening when a glamorous female spy falls into his bed - with a knife in her back. Having a bit of trouble explaining it all to Scotland Yard, he heads for the hills of Scotland to try to clear his name by locating the spy ring known as The 39 Steps.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Interpreter (2005)
After Silvia Broome, an interpreter at United Nations headquarters, overhears plans of an assassination, an American Secret Service agent is sent to investigate.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMinority Report (2002)
John Anderton is a top 'Precrime' cop in the late-21st century, when technology can predict crimes before they're committed. But Anderton becomes the quarry when another investigator targets him for a murder charge.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller
Worth the HypeMovies like this
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like The Chelsea Murders?
The closest matches to The Chelsea Murders are When a Stranger Calls Back (1993), A Nasty Piece of Work (2019) and The Night Stalker (1972). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after The Chelsea Murders?
Start with When a Stranger Calls Back (1993), the closest match to The Chelsea Murders.
What is the highest-rated movie like The Chelsea Murders?
Freaks (1932), rated 7.8/10 by 1,361 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like The Chelsea Murders?
This Is Not a Test (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like The Chelsea Murders?
Yes: When a Stranger Calls Back (1993), A Nasty Piece of Work (2019) and The Night Stalker (1972).
How are movies similar to The Chelsea Murders chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside The Chelsea Murders, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.