Movies like The Mysterious Stranger (1982)
The best movies like The Mysterious Stranger (1982) are Nancy Drew and the Hidden Staircase (2019), Annabelle Hooper and the Ghosts of Nantucket (2016) and Trick or Treat Scooby-Doo! (2022). If The Mysterious Stranger hooked you with its mystery and family, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedSpirited Away (2001)8.5/10 from 19,207 votes
- NewestTony, Shelly and the Magic Light (2023)Released 2023
Nancy Drew and the Hidden Staircase (2019)
Nancy Drew, a smart high schooler with a penchant for keen observation and deduction, stumbles upon the haunting of a local home. A bit of an outsider struggling to fit into her new surroundings, Nancy and her pals set out to solve the mystery, make new friends, and establish their place in the community
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both family & mystery
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAnnabelle Hooper and the Ghosts of Nantucket (2016)
Vacationing on historic Nantucket Island, a teenage mystery writer and her friends must outwit two scheming thieves to solve the secret behind a legendary ghost story.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both mystery & family
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisTrick or Treat Scooby-Doo! (2022)
Mystery Inc. has cracked the case to top all cases! They’ve tracked down Coco Diablo, the head of a notorious costume crime syndicate. With Coco and her kitty in prison, Mystery Inc. thinks that they can finally enjoy a break. Wrong! Suddenly, menacing doppelgänger ghosts of the Scooby crew and favorite classic foes show up in Coolsville to threaten Halloween. Now it’s up to the meddling kids to unmask the latest scoundrel and save Halloween!
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both mystery & family
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisChildren of the Damned (1964)
Six children are found spread through out the world that not only have enormous intelligence, but identical intelligence and have a strange bond to each other.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both mystery
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisRudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer: The Movie (1998)
Young Rudolph suffers a childhood accident that sees his nose turn from the publicly accepted norm of black to a glowing red colour. His parents worry about him getting teased, and indeed he does in the end. When he is beaten in the reindeer games by his rival for a doe he fancies, Rudolph runs away and moves into a cave with Slyly the Fox. However can he overcome his fear and reach his true potential?
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both family
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisFalling for Christmas (2022)
An engaged, spoiled hotel heiress finds herself in the care of a handsome, blue-collar lodge owner and his precocious daughter after getting amnesia in a skiing accident.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both family
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisWhite Fang 2: Myth of the White Wolf (1994)
A boy and his dog, White Fang, must try to save the noble Haida tribe from evil white men in turn-of-the-century Alaska.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both family
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Ritual Killer (2023)
Unable to process the death of his daughter, Detective Boyd embarks on a hunt for a serial killer who murders according to a brutal tribal ritual: Muti. The only person who can help Boyd is Professor Mackles, an anthropologist who hides an unspeakable secret. The line between sanity and madness thins as Boyd goes deeper into the killer’s world.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both mystery
SnoozefestMovies like thisLast Chance for Christmas (2015)
When Prancer injures his hoof Santa’s stable hand, John, must find a fill in to ensure Christmas deliveries go off without a hitch. His mission gets complicated when he discovers that Frankie, the perfect substitute reindeer, belongs to a precocious 8-year-old girl and her mother Annie. As he races to get Frankie up to the North Pole, he realizes that he’s actually falling in love with Annie and has to find a way to win her over and save Christmas at the same time.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both family
SnoozefestMovies like thisFull-Court Miracle (2003)
Inspired by the true story of University of Virginia basketball star Lamont Carr, the film centers on a group of young Jewish basketball players who search for a coach to help them out of a slump. The main character Alex Schlotsky is inspired by the true story of Alex Barbag and Chad Korpeck.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both family
SnoozefestMovies like thisMy Spy (2020)
A hardened CIA operative finds himself at the mercy of a precocious 9-year-old girl, having been sent undercover to surveil her family.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both family
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Care Bears Movie (1985)
The Care Bears team up with a troubled brother and sister who just moved to a new town to help a neglected young magician's apprentice whose evil spell book causes sinister things to happen.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both family
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Encounter (2010)
When five strangers with nothing in common come together at a remote roadside eatery, they place their orders with the diner's omniscient owner, who seems to know everything about them ... and is eerily reminiscent of Jesus Christ.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both family
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAngels in the Snow (2015)
The affluent, yet troubled Montgomery family hits the road for a special Christmas in the mountains.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both family
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisKristin's Christmas Past (2013)
Kristin, a cynical 34-year-old, drinks a mysterious champagne on Christmas Eve and wakes up seventeen years in the past, sharing a room with her 17-year-old self. Given the chance to change the worst Christmas of her life, she attempts to fix past mistakes, only to discover surprising truths about her family that may help her mend her present-day relationships.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both family
SnoozefestMovies like thisChristmas Cottage (2008)
Inspired by the picturesque paintings of Thomas Kinkade, The Christmas Cottage tells the semi-autobiographical tale of how a young boy is propelled to launch a career as an artist after he learns that his mother is in danger of losing the family home.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both family
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Canterville Ghost (1996)
When a teenaged girl moves to England, with her brothers and parents into the ancient Canterville Hall, she's not at all happy. Especially as there's a ghost and a mysterious re-appearing bloodstain on the hearth. She campaigns to go back home, and her dad, believing the ghost's pranks are Ginny's, is ready to send her back. But then Ginny actually meets the elusive 17th-century Sir Simon de Canterville (not to mention the cute teenaged duke next door), and she sets her hand to the task of freeing Sir Simon from his curse.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both family
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisChristmas with Holly (2012)
After being dumped at the altar on her wedding day, Maggie Conway moves to the island town of Friday Harbor in Washington State, where she meets Mark Nagle, the local coffee shop owner.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both family
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Incredible Journey (1963)
The story of three pets, a cat and two dogs, who lose their owners when they are all on vacation. Can they find their way home?
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both family
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Luck of the Irish (2001)
A teenager must battle for a gold charm to keep his family from being controlled by an evil leprechaun.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both family
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSpirited Away (2001)
A young girl, Chihiro, becomes trapped in a strange new world of spirits. When her parents undergo a mysterious transformation, she must call upon the courage she never knew she had to free her family.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both family
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisUrban Legends: Bloody Mary (2005)
On a prom-night dare, a trio of high school friends chant an incantation, unleashing an evil spirit from the past with deadly consequences.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both mystery
SnoozefestMovies like thisShutter (2008)
A newly married couple discovers disturbing, ghostly images in photographs they develop after a tragic accident. Fearing the manifestations may be connected, they investigate and learn that some mysteries are better left unsolved.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both mystery
SnoozefestMovies like thisScooby-Doo! The Mystery Begins (2009)
Unjustly accused of staging a spooky practical joke complete with ghosts, Daphne, Velma, Fred and Shaggy are suspended from Coolsville High. To clear their names, they team up to solve the supernatural mystery…and head straight into nonstop laughs and adventure.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both mystery
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisTony, Shelly and the Magic Light (2023)
Tony has been glowing since the day he was born and it causes him a lot of trouble. Just before the Christmas, a new odd girl with thick glasses moves into Tony’s house. Shelly has a strange way of expressing herself. Tony is fascinated by her but he is also being cautious at first. Together with Shelly’s flashlight, they explore their house and they are slowly getting to know each other. The kids have to join all their efforts to figure out who’s behind the circuit of dark cracks that sucks out all the light bulbs, even the daylight. It must be because of the “Spirit of the house”. A film about being different, about friendship, and first loves… But above all about light and darkness.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both family
Personal Shopper (2016)
Maureen, mid-20s, is a personal shopper for a media celebrity. The job pays for her stay in Paris, a city she refuses to leave until she makes contact with her twin brother who previously died there. Her life becomes more complicated when a mysterious person contacts her via text message.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both mystery
SnoozefestMovies like thisThe Halfway House (1944)
A group of travellers, each with a hidden personal issue, arrive at a mysterious Welsh country inn. There's a certain strangeness in the air as they're greeted by the innkeeper and his daughter. Why are all the newspapers a year old? And why doesn't Gwyneth seem to cast a shadow?
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both mystery
Soucouyant (2015)
In the small Caribbean island of St. Lucia lives an ancient spirit. Soucouyant, as she is known, cannot be contained, captured or killed. The people in the town of Gros Islet have come face to face with this reality. Soucouyant has taken 8 lives already when she prepares for her latest victim. As she passes through the town her spirit begins the task of finding a replacement for her tortured skin.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both mystery
Children Who Chase Lost Voices (2011)
The film centers on Asuna, a young girl who spends her solitary days listening to the mysterious music emanating from the crystal radio she received from her late father as a memento. One day while walking home she is attacked by a fearsome monster and saved by a mysterious boy named Shun. However, Shun disappears and Asuna embarks on a journey of adventure to the land of Agartha with her teacher Mr. Morisaki to meet a Shun again. Through her journey she comes to know the cruelty and beauty of the world, as well as loss.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both family
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Oracle (1985)
A murder victim reaches out from beyond the grave in an attempt to possess the body of a young woman who has moved into his old apartment.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both mystery
Like The Mysterious Stranger and something else?
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like The Mysterious Stranger?
The closest matches to The Mysterious Stranger are Nancy Drew and the Hidden Staircase (2019), Annabelle Hooper and the Ghosts of Nantucket (2016) and Trick or Treat Scooby-Doo! (2022). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after The Mysterious Stranger?
Start with Nancy Drew and the Hidden Staircase (2019), the closest match to The Mysterious Stranger.
What is the highest-rated movie like The Mysterious Stranger?
Spirited Away (2001), rated 8.5/10 by 19,207 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like The Mysterious Stranger?
Tony, Shelly and the Magic Light (2023) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like The Mysterious Stranger?
Yes: Nancy Drew and the Hidden Staircase (2019), Annabelle Hooper and the Ghosts of Nantucket (2016) and Trick or Treat Scooby-Doo! (2022).
How are movies similar to The Mysterious Stranger chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside The Mysterious Stranger, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.