Movies like The Forgotten (2011)
The best movies like The Forgotten (2011) are The Ritual Killer (2023), Body Cam (2020) and The Infernal Machine (2022). If The Forgotten hooked you with its thriller and mystery, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
The Forgotten
Quick picks
- Highest ratedV for Vendetta (2006)7.9/10 from 16,163 votes
- NewestIt Ends (2026)Released 2026
The 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 & thriller
SnoozefestMovies like thisBody Cam (2020)
As a police officer investigates the gruesome murder of her colleague, she discovers that a mysterious supernatural force is behind it.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller & mystery
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Infernal Machine (2022)
Reclusive and controversial author Bruce Cogburn is drawn out of hiding by an obsessive fan, forcing the novelist to confront a past that he thought he could escape, and to account for events set in motion by his bestseller decades earlier. Cogburn's search for who is behind the manipulation and mental torment he encounters leads to an emotional roller-coaster ride full of fear and danger, where things are not always as clear as they seem to be, and where past deeds can have dire consequences.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller & mystery
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe X-Files: I Want to Believe (2008)
Mulder and Scully are called back to duty by the FBI when a former priest claims to be receiving psychic visions pertaining to a kidnapped agent.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both mystery & thriller
SnoozefestMovies like thisUrban Legend (1998)
A college campus is plagued by a vicious serial killer murdering students in ways that correspond to various urban legends.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both mystery & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Caller (1987)
One night, an unusual stranger in need asks a woman living alone in a house in the woods if he can use her phone. It soon becomes clear that they're playing a strange mind game and that there's something very wrong about the woods.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both mystery & thriller
SnoozefestMovies like this6 Souls (2010)
A female forensic psychiatrist discovers that all of one of her patient's multiple personalities are murder victims. She will have to find out what's happening before her time is finished.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both mystery & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisFlashback (2021)
Frederick Fitzell is living his best life—until he starts having horrific visions of Cindy, a girl who vanished in high school. After reaching out to old friends with whom he used to take a mystery drug called Mercury, Fredrick realizes the only way to stop the visions lies deep within his own memories, so he embarks on a terrifying mental odyssey to learn the truth.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller & mystery
SnoozefestMovies 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 thriller & mystery
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisPsycho Killer (2026)
Following the brutal murder of her husband, a Kansas highway patrol officer sets out on a journey to track down the perpetrator. As the hunt progresses, she comes to realize the man responsible is a sadistic serial killer, and the depth of his mental depravity and his sinister agenda is more twisted than anyone could have imagined.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both mystery
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisParallel (2024)
Grief-stricken after the loss of her child, Vanessa takes refuge at a lake house only to be met with an aberration of herself from a parallel universe and realizes the multiverse gates hold the key to releasing her grief or trapping her forever.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Dogs (2025)
After fleeing his psychotic father, a young teen and his mom seek refuge in a remote farmhouse, only to face a pack of ferocious dogs and the sinister spirits that haunt the property.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both mystery
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSmile (2022)
After witnessing a bizarre, traumatic incident involving a patient, Dr. Rose Cotter starts experiencing frightening occurrences that she can't explain.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both mystery
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHollow Man (2000)
Cocky researcher Sebastian Caine is working on a project to make living creatures invisible. Determined to achieve the ultimate breakthrough, Caine pushes his team to move to the next phase — using himself as the subject. The test is a success, but when the process can't be reversed and Caine seems doomed to future without flesh, he starts to turn increasingly dangerous.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisIt Ends (2026)
A group of recent grads head out on a late night drive for grub, hoping to enjoy one final hangout before their paths diverge. Instead, they accidentally turn onto a never-ending, two-lane hellscape surrounded by untold horrors and cosmic forces beyond their understanding. Cramped together inside a Jeep Cherokee and with the miles stretching infinitely ahead, they face a choice: embrace their new existence or fight to escape it.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both mystery
SnoozefestMovies like thisNight Teeth (2021)
A college student moonlighting as a chauffeur picks up two mysterious women for a night of party-hopping across LA. But when he uncovers their bloodthirsty intentions—and their dangerous, shadowy underworld—he must fight to stay alive.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCandyman (1992)
The Candyman, a murderous soul with a hook for a hand, is accidentally summoned to reality by a skeptic grad student researching the monster's myth.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisStrange Harvest (2025)
Detectives are thrust into a chilling hunt for a sadistic serial killer from the past whose return marks the beginning of a new wave of grotesque, otherworldly crimes tied to a cosmic force.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both mystery
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Return (2006)
Joanna Mills has a successful career but feels her personal life is spinning out of control. She has few friends, an estranged father, and a crazy ex-boyfriend who is stalking her. Joanna begins having terrifying visions of a woman's murder, and it seems that she is the killer's next target. Determined to solve the mystery and escape her apparent fate, Joanna follows her visions to the victim's hometown and finds that some secrets just do not stay buried.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Experiment (2010)
20 men are chosen to participate in the roles of guards and prisoners in a psychological study that ultimately spirals out of control.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDemon House (2019)
Mass hysteria breaks-out over an alleged demonic possession in an Indiana home. Zak Bagans then buys the house, sight unseen, over the phone. He and his crew soon become the next victims of the most documented case of demonic possession in US history.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller & mystery
SnoozefestMovies like thisAathma (1993)
Raghu, an atheist archaeologist, and his father goes to an isolated village for research, his father disappears mysteriously and Raghu finds out a strange prophecy : God will come to earth on Purnima day at the Nagakali Amman temple and the people who will submerge completely under the waterfall near the temple will be cured of any disease. His colleague Pathma informs her blind Journalist friend Divya and the news reaches the public. Pathma is in love with Naveen, in the final stages of cancer. Soon, an atheist terrorist group, led by Saravanan, try to destroy the temple. Saravanan's sister and brother-in-law were brutally killed by the temple's donor. Police officer Hari, Divya's brother, is charged with eradicating the terrorist group. Pathma believes in this prophecy, gets married to Naveen and takes him to the temple. Divya compels Hari to come with him to restore her sight and he agrees. A race against the clock starts.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both mystery & thriller
Scream 2 (1997)
Two years after the Woodsboro murders, Sidney Prescott acclimates to college life while someone donning the Ghostface costume begins a new string of killings.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both mystery
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisV for Vendetta (2006)
In a world in which Great Britain has become a fascist state, a masked vigilante known only as “V” conducts guerrilla warfare against the oppressive British government. When V rescues a young woman from the secret police, he finds in her an ally with whom he can continue his fight to free the people of Britain.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisShimmer (2021)
Dr. Thea Kait is a forensic scientist with the Seneca Police Department. She is called to the scene of a crime by her friend, Detective Kurt Blas. There’s been a murder… or has there? The body isn’t like anything either of them have seen, and the widow of the deceased issues a warning: “It’s in the light.” Soon, the bodies start racking up – and the remains are just as baffling. With mounting pressure from Captain Rose, Thea and her forensics team must work quickly to find the culprit… if there is one. The more evidence they find, the less it seems like a human killer. But what could be behind these deaths? How can they stop it? And what, if anything, is in the light?
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller
8118 (2026)
A geography teacher who is assigned from a rural district to Baku moves into a rented apartment with the help of a close friend. After a murder that takes place in the house, spirits begin to communicate with the teacher. Paranormal events occurring in the apartment, unexpected visitors, and a small child encountered on the street all convey hidden messages to the protagonist. But who is responsible for these murders, and why are the spirits unable to leave the house?
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller
American Psycho II: All American Girl (2002)
Rachel is a criminology student hoping to land a position as a teacher's assistant for professor Robert Starkman. She's sure this position will pave the way to an FBI career, and she's willing to do anything to obtain it -- including killing her classmates. The school psychiatrist, Dr. Daniels, becomes aware that Rachel is insane, but Rachel is skilled at her dangerous game of death and identity theft.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller
SnoozefestMovies like thisPolytechnique (2009)
A dramatization of the École Polytechnique massacre in Montreal, on December 9, 1989, where 14 female engineering students were murdered (and 13 were wounded) by a 25 year old psychotic misogynist armed with a semi-automatic weapon.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller
Worth the HypeMovies like thisProof (2005)
Catherine is a woman in her late twenties who is strongly devoted to her father, Robert, a brilliant and well-known mathematician whose grip on reality is beginning to slip away. As Robert descends into madness, Catherine begins to wonder if she may have inherited her father's mental illness along with his mathematical genius.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both mystery
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisKishkindhapuri (2025)
A ghost walking tour group visits an abandoned radio station, inadvertently awakening a vengeful spirit.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like The Forgotten?
The closest matches to The Forgotten are The Ritual Killer (2023), Body Cam (2020) and The Infernal Machine (2022). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after The Forgotten?
Start with The Ritual Killer (2023), the closest match to The Forgotten.
What is the highest-rated movie like The Forgotten?
V for Vendetta (2006), rated 7.9/10 by 16,163 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like The Forgotten?
It Ends (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there German movies like The Forgotten?
The closest matches are in other languages.
How are movies similar to The Forgotten chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside The Forgotten, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.