Movies like Diary of a Madman (1963)
The best movies like Diary of a Madman (1963) are The Medusa Touch (1978), The Asphyx (1972) and The Shed (2019). If Diary of a Madman hooked you with its horror, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedHouse of Wax (1953)6.9/10 from 410 votes
- NewestVexanthrone (2024)Released 2024
The Medusa Touch (1978)
A French detective in London reconstructs the life of a man lying in hospital with severe injuries with the help of journals and a psychiatrist. He realises that the man had powerful telekinetic abilities.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Asphyx (1972)
Hugo is a brilliant turn-of-the-century scientist, loved and respected by his family and friends, admired by his colleagues. But he is a man quickly becoming obsessed with a curious and frightening question...What is the mysterious apparition found in the photographs of his dying subjects?
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Shed (2019)
The story of Stan, an orphaned teenager stuck living with his abusive grandfather and tasked with routinely protecting his best friend from high school bullies. When Stan discovers a murderous creature has taken refuge inside the tool shed in his backyard, he tries to secretly battle the demon alone until his bullied friend discovers the creature and has a far more sinister plan in mind.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSiren (2016)
A bachelor party becomes a savage fight for survival when the groomsmen unwittingly unleash a fabled predator upon the festivities.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisRace with the Devil (1975)
Two couples vacationing together in an R.V. from Texas to Colorado are terrorized after they witness a murder during a Satanic ritual.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisEradication (2022)
When an unknown disease wipes out most of the world’s population, a man with unique blood is isolated for study. Fearing for his wife’s safety, he breaks his quarantine – into a world overrun by monstrous Infected and a shadowy agency hunting them down.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Possessed (2021)
A man with the ability to exorcise demons fights to protect his loved ones after a sudden surge in demonic possessions. After discovering his nephew's girlfriend has the same supernatural gift, they join forces for the ultimate confrontation. Inspired by actual events.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisLemora: A Child's Tale of the Supernatural (1974)
A notorious bank robber kills his wife and flees the police, only to be captured by a mysterious group of figures in an abandoned town. His beautiful daughter, Lila Lee, receives a letter stating that her father is near death and that he needs to see her. Sneaking away at night from her minister guardian, Lila embarks on a terrifying journey...
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Unhealer (2021)
A botched faith healing bestows supernatural Shaman powers on a bullied teenager. When his lifelong tormentors pull a prank that kills someone he loves, he uses his powers for revenge and goes on a bloody rampage to settle the score.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
SnoozefestMovies like thisTourist Trap (1979)
After their car breaks down, a group of young travelers find themselves stranded at a roadside museum run by the enigmatic Mr. Slausen and populated by his collection of life-like wax mannequins.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisNight Watch (1973)
A woman recovering from a nervous breakdown tries to convince her husband and and the local London police that she has witnessed a murder in the abandoned house next door.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCaptain Kronos: Vampire Hunter (1973)
When several young girls are found dead, left hideously aged and void of blood, Dr. Marcus suspects vampirism. He enlists the help of the Vampire Hunter. Mysterious and powerful, Kronos has dedicated his life to destroying the evil pestilence. Once a victim of its diabolical depravity, he knows the vampire's strengths and weaknesses as well as the extreme dangers attached to confronting the potent forces of darkness.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisIsland of Terror (1966)
When a small island community becomes overrun with creeping, blobbish, tentacled monsters that liquefy and digest the bones from living creatures, the community struggles to fight back.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
SnoozefestMovies like thisSilver Bullet (1985)
The small city of Tarker's Mills is startled by a series of sadistic murders. The population fears the work of a maniac, but sightings of a mysterious, hairy creature soon spread. People lock themselves up at night, but there's one boy who's still outside…
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisRent-A-Pal (2020)
Set in 1990, a lonely bachelor named David searches for an escape from the day-to-day drudgery of caring for his aging mother. While seeking a partner through a video dating service, he discovers a strange VHS tape called Rent-A-Pal. Hosted by the charming and charismatic Andy, the tape offers him much-needed company, compassion, and friendship. But Andy's friendship comes at a cost, and David desperately struggles to afford the price of admission.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCircle (2015)
In a massive, mysterious chamber, fifty strangers awaken to find themselves trapped with no memory of how they got there. Organized in an inward-facing circle and unable to move, they quickly learn that every two minutes, one of them must die…executed by a strange device in the center of the room.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisPhase IV (1974)
Arizona ants mock the food chain on their way to a desert lab to get two scientists and a woman.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHouse on Haunted Hill (1959)
Frederick Loren invites five strangers to the party of a lifetime and offers each of them $10,000 if they can stay the night in the reportedly haunted house. Armed with a gun for protection, each guest arrives in a hearse and will either leave in it much richer…Or dead.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Raven (1935)
A brilliant but deranged neurosurgeon becomes obsessively fixated on a judge's daughter. With the help of an escaped criminal whose face he has surgically deformed, the mad man lures her, her father, and her fiancé to his isolated, castle-like home.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Evil of Frankenstein (1964)
Once hounded from his castle by outraged villagers for creating a monstrous living being, Baron Frankenstein returns to Karlstaad. High in the mountains they stumble on the body of the creature, perfectly preserved in the ice. He is brought back to life with the help of the hypnotist Zoltan who now controls the creature. Can Frankenstein break Zoltan's hypnotic spell that incites the monster to commit these horrific murders or will Zoltan induce the creature to destroy its creator?
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisVexanthrone (2024)
A loner artist, exiled from the art community for creating a sculpture deemed too offensive, embarks on a bizarre odyssey of art, flesh, decomposition, and spiritual ascension. Vexanthrone details the mental and physical difficulties of the creative process in an experimental and surreal fashion that mixes arthouse sensibilities with gross-out body horror.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror
Mill of the Stone Women (1960)
Hans von Arnam travels to a Flemish village to study a strange carousel located in an old windmill that displays famous murderesses and other notorious women from history. Professor Gregorius Wahl, owner of the windmill, warns Hans to stay away from his mysterious daughter Elfi, in order to keep Hans from discovering the horrible secret shared by the Professor and Elfi's Doctor.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHouse of Wax (1953)
A sculptor opens a wax museum to showcase the likenesses of famous historical figures, but quickly runs into trouble when his business partner demands the exhibits become more extreme in order to increase profits.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCameron's Closet (1988)
A father who experiments with his son's psychokinetic powers is unaware that these experiments have released a demon from hell which lives in his son's closet, preparing to take over the young boy's soul.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror
Cauldron of Blood (1968)
A blind sculptor works on his magnum opus unaware that the skeletons he has been using for armatures are the remains of the victims of his evil wife and that he is the next target.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror
Child of Darkness (1997)
Adela is a young woman who seemed to be cursed from birth. Now a teenager, she begins to show signs of strange abilities which grow stronger as she is bullied.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror
The Snow Woman (1968)
Two sculptors spend the night in a mountain lodge after being caught in a snowstorm. A female spirit appears and takes the life of one of the men. She spares the other man's life on the condition that he never tell anyone what happened that night.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror
House of Horrors (1946)
An unsuccessful sculptor saves a madman named "The Creeper" from drowning. Seeing an opportunity for revenge, he tricks the psycho into murdering his critics.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Mind's Eye (2015)
Zack Connors and Rachel Meadows were born with incredible psychokinetic capabilities. When word of their supernatural talents gets out, they find themselves the prisoners of Michael Slovak, a deranged doctor intent on harvesting their powers.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror
SnoozefestMovies like thisUra Horror (2008)
A found footage anthology horror film by Kôji Shiraishi.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Diary of a Madman?
The closest matches to Diary of a Madman are The Medusa Touch (1978), The Asphyx (1972) and The Shed (2019). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Diary of a Madman?
Start with The Medusa Touch (1978), the closest match to Diary of a Madman.
What is the highest-rated movie like Diary of a Madman?
House of Wax (1953), rated 6.9/10 by 410 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Diary of a Madman?
Vexanthrone (2024) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like Diary of a Madman?
Yes: The Medusa Touch (1978), The Asphyx (1972) and The Shed (2019).
How are movies similar to Diary of a Madman chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Diary of a Madman, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.