Movies like Poltergeist (2015)
The best movies like Poltergeist (2015) are Insidious (2011), Ouija: Origin of Evil (2016) and Halloween (2007). If Poltergeist hooked you with its horror, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedInsidious (2011)7.0/10 from 7,754 votes
- NewestTeenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma (2026)Released 2026
Insidious (2011)
A family discovers that dark spirits have invaded their home after their son inexplicably falls into an endless sleep. When they reach out to a professional for help, they learn things are a lot more personal than they thought.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Worth the HypeMovies like thisOuija: Origin of Evil (2016)
In 1967 Los Angeles, a widowed mother and her two daughters add a new stunt to bolster their séance scam business and unwittingly invite authentic evil into their home. When the youngest daughter is overtaken by the merciless spirit, this small family confronts unthinkable fears to save her and send her possessor back to the other side.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHalloween (2007)
The early years of young Michael Myers and the events leading up to his fateful Halloween night murder rampage in the quiet town of Haddonfield, Illinois.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisParanormal Activity 2 (2010)
Just as Daniel and Kristi welcome a newborn baby into their home, a demonic presence begins terrorizing them, tearing apart their perfect world and turning it into an inescapable nightmare.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
SnoozefestMovies like thisAnnabelle: Creation (2017)
Several years after the tragic death of their little girl, a doll maker and his wife welcome a nun and several girls from a shuttered orphanage into their home, soon becoming the target of the doll maker's possessed creation—Annabelle.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies 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
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisNever Let Go (2024)
As an evil takes over the world beyond their front doorstep, the only protection for a mother and her twin sons is their house and their family’s protective bond.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Amityville Horror (2005)
George Lutz, his wife Kathy, and their three children have just moved into a beautiful, and improbably cheap, Dutch colonial mansion nestled in the sleepy coastal town of Amityville, Long Island. However, their dream home is concealing a horrific past and soon each member of the Lutz family is plagued with increasingly strange and violent visions and impulses.
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 this825 Forest Road (2025)
After a family tragedy, Chuck Wilson hopes to start a new life in Ashland Falls with his wife Maria and little sister Elizabeth, but he quickly discovers that the town has a dark history of being haunted by a ghostly woman who drives residents to suicide.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
SnoozefestMovies like thisKnock at the Cabin (2023)
While vacationing at a remote cabin, a young girl and her two fathers are taken hostage by four armed strangers who demand that the family make an unthinkable choice to avert the apocalypse. With limited access to the outside world, the family must decide what they believe before all is lost.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisInsidious: Chapter 2 (2013)
The haunted Lambert family seeks to uncover the mysterious childhood secret that has left them dangerously connected to the spirit world.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisYou're Not Alone (2020)
After the premature death of her estranged husband, Emma (Winter) regains custody of their young daughter Isla (Jones) and hopes to rebuild their relationship after many years apart. But when an evil entity begins to torment them, mother and daughter are forced to face the inexplicable presence that inhabits the walls of their new home.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
SnoozefestMovies like thisEvil Dead (2013)
Mia, a drug addict, is determined to kick the habit. To that end, she asks her brother, David, his girlfriend, Natalie and their friends Olivia and Eric to accompany her to their family's remote forest cabin to help her through withdrawal. Eric finds a mysterious Book of the Dead at the cabin and reads aloud from it, awakening an ancient demon. All hell breaks loose when the malevolent entity possesses Mia.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisPoltergeist II: The Other Side (1986)
The Freeling family move in with Diane's mother in an effort to escape the trauma and aftermath of Carol Anne's abduction by the Beast. But the Beast is not to be put off so easily and appears in a ghostly apparition as the Reverend Kane, a religious zealot responsible for the deaths of his many followers. His goal is simple - he wants the angelic Carol Anne.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBagman (2024)
For centuries and across cultures, parents have warned their children of the legendary Bagman, who snatches innocent children and stuffs them into his vile, rotting bag—never to be seen again. Patrick McKee narrowly escaped such an encounter as a boy, which left him with lasting scars throughout his adulthood. Now, Patrick’s childhood tormentor has returned, threatening the safety of his wife Karina and son Jake.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisTrick or Treat (1986)
Eddie Weinbauer, a metalhead teen who is bullied at school, looks to his heavy metal superstar idol, Sammi Curr, for guidance. When Curr is killed in a hotel fire, Eddie becomes the recipient of the only copy of his unreleased album, which, when played backwards, brings the rocker back to life. As Halloween approaches, Eddie begins to realize that this isn't only rock 'n roll...It's life and death.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDon't Be Afraid of the Dark (2010)
A young girl sent to live with her father and his new girlfriend discovers creatures in her new home who want to claim her as one of their own.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
SnoozefestMovies like thisFive Nights at Freddy's 2 (2025)
One year since the supernatural nightmare at Freddy Fazbear's Pizza, the stories about what transpired there have been twisted into a campy local legend, inspiring the town's first ever Fazfest. With the truth kept from her, Abby sneaks out to reconnect with Freddy, Bonnie, Chica, and Foxy, setting into motion a terrifying series of events that will reveal dark secrets about the real origin of Freddy's, and unleash a decades-hidden horror.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAbigail Haunting (2020)
After escaping the clutches of an abusive relationship, Katie reluctantly returns to the foster home she grew up in. Little does she know, her foster mother Marge is harboring a sinister secret dating back a decade. Now, Katie finds herself caught up in a horrifying family drama while confronting an angry spirit named Abigail.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Houses October Built 2 (2017)
Recovering from the trauma of being kidnapped last Halloween by the Blue Skeleton - a group who take "extreme haunt" to another level - five friends decide they must face their fears in order to move on. Heading back out on the road to visit more haunted house attractions, signs of the Blue Skeleton start appearing again and a new terror begins.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror
SnoozefestMovies like thisTeenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma (2026)
An ambitious director sets out to revive a faded slasher franchise, but her meeting with the film’s reclusive original star spirals into a terrifying maze of obsession, fear, and blood-soaked delusion.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisFriday the 13th (2009)
A group of young adults visit a boarded up campsite named Crystal Lake where they soon encounter the mysterious Jason Voorhees and his deadly intentions.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror
SnoozefestMovies like thisDominion: Prequel to The Exorcist (2005)
Father Merrin takes a sabbatical from the Church to devote himself to history and archaeology as he struggles with his shattered faith.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror
SnoozefestMovies like thisMirrors (2008)
An ex-cop and his family are the target of an evil force that is using mirrors as a gateway into their home.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Legend of Viper's Hill (2006)
A woman is raped by a transient and later commits suicide, cursing the then with her last breath. Years later, the victim's granddaughter returns to town to debunk the story and sell the house, but the ghosts have different ideas.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror
Return to House on Haunted Hill (2007)
Eight years have passed since Sara Wolfe and Eddie Baker escaped the House on Haunted Hill. Now the kidnapped Ariel, Sara's sister, goes inside the house with a group of treasure hunters to find the statue of Baphomet, worth millions and believed to be the cause of the House's evil.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror
SnoozefestMovies like thisQuarantine (2008)
A television reporter and her cameraman are trapped inside a building quarantined by the CDC after the outbreak of a mysterious virus which turns humans into bloodthirsty killers.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror
SnoozefestMovies like thisNight of the Living Dead 3D (2006)
Barricaded in a farmhouse, a woman and a collegian must contend with flesh-eating zombies and a malevolent mortician.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror
SnoozefestMovies like thisAnaconda (2024)
A struggling circus crew gets deceived by its former partner, as it embarks on a tour in Thailand. During the journey through a Southeast Asian rainforest, they encounter attacks by a giant python. They meet a mysterious man named Jeff who offers to help, but they soon realize he's a poacher. As they search for Jeff's boat, they face life-and-death struggles with the python and Jeff himself.
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 Poltergeist?
The closest matches to Poltergeist are Insidious (2011), Ouija: Origin of Evil (2016) and Halloween (2007). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Poltergeist?
Start with Insidious (2011), the closest match to Poltergeist.
What is the highest-rated movie like Poltergeist?
Insidious (2011), rated 7.0/10 by 7,754 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Poltergeist?
Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like Poltergeist?
Yes: Insidious (2011), Ouija: Origin of Evil (2016) and Halloween (2007).
How are movies similar to Poltergeist chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Poltergeist, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.