Movies like The Ritual (2009)
The best movies like The Ritual (2009) are The Thinning: New World Order (2018), Children of the Damned (1964) and Celia (1989). If The Ritual hooked you with its drama and horror, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedThe Old Dark House (1932)6.7/10 from 323 votes
- NewestEleanor the Great (2025)Released 2025
The Thinning: New World Order (2018)
Blake Redding is trapped in this dark room wanting to protect his love so the only thing he will do is escape like no failed student has done before.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & horror
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 drama & horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCelia (1989)
In 1950s Australia, young Celia is growing up with a sense of isolation and mistrust of the world that surrounds her. Her mother and father won't let her play with the kids next door because their parents are communists. Then her pet bunny is taken away because of rabbit overpopulation. And, more traumatizing yet, when her grandmother dies, she's the one to discover the corpse. To cope, she retreats into elaborate fantasies.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Old Dark House (1932)
In a remote region of Wales, five travelers beset by a relentless storm find shelter in an old mansion.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & 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 thisThe Quiller Memorandum (1966)
After two British Secret Intelligence Service agents are murdered at the hands of a cryptic neo-Nazi group known as Phoenix, the suave agent Quiller is sent to Berlin to investigate.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
SnoozefestMovies 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
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisWhile the City Sleeps (1956)
Newspaper men compete against each other to find a serial killer dubbed "The Lipstick Killer".
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Dark Mirror (1946)
A sister and her disturbed twin are implicated in a murder and a police detective must figure out which one's the killer.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Worth the HypeMovies like thisEach Dawn I Die (1939)
A corrupt D.A. with governatorial ambitions is annoyed by an investigative reporter's criticism of his criminal activities and decides to frame the reporter for manslaughter in order to silence him.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisManiac (1963)
When a stranger enters a quiet, country town and is seduced by a sensuous married woman he unwittingly finds himself at the centre of a storm of sexual guilt and murder.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHello Sister, Goodbye Life (2006)
A college student must take care of her 7-year-old half sister after the death of their parents.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDeadsight (2018)
A man with partial blindness and a young pregnant police officer must work together to escape a deadly virus that has spread across Grey County.
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 thisThe Locket (1946)
A dark personal secret drives a young woman to use every man she encounters.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
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 horror
SnoozefestMovies like thisZ (2019)
A family find themselves terrorized by their eight-year-old son's imaginary friend.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisEleanor the Great (2025)
94-year-old Eleanor Morgenstein tries to rebuild her life after the death of her best friend. As a result, she moves back to New York City after living in Florida for decades.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBrand Upon the Brain! (2007)
After returning home to his long-estranged mother upon a request from her deathbed, a man raised by his parents in an orphanage has to confront the childhood memories that have long haunted him.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
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 thisHonto ni Atta! Noroi No Video 78 (2018)
The top monopoly in the psychic horror documentary. A video was taken to post the railroad crossing rumored to be a ghost on a video site. Six other videos posted.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror
Cannes Man (1996)
Film producer Sy Lerner makes a bet with a fellow film executive that he can turn any nobody into a star at the Cannes Film Festival. A New York cab driver who is visiting the festival is chosen as the test subject to settle the bet and Sy uses his skills of hype and manipulation to try and turn the cab driver named Frank into the talk of the town. Many celebrities make cameos throughout the film.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Little Sister (1995)
After several years without contact, Martijn visits his sister Daantje, who just started to live on her own in Amsterdam. He tells her he is going to make a documentary from her life, and enters her home life with a video camera.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDiary of a Bad Lad (2010)
Frustrated filmmaker, Barry Lick, sets out to attempt to make a documentary about a local businessman who he believes is involved in property rackets, prostitution, pornography and the importation of large quantities of recreational drugs.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Honto Ni Atta! Noroi No Video 72 (2017)
72nd entry in the popular "Honto ni Atta. Noroi no Video" series.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror
Honto Ni Atta! Noroi No Video 74 (2017)
74th entry in the popular "Honto ni Atta. Noroi no Video" series.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror
Honto ni Atta! Noroi No Video 70 (2016)
Dominating the top spot among psychic horror documentaries. Can you face the truth reflected by the camera? A video of the Marionette poster's husband playing with the puppets he bought for his daughter. A bloody woman's face is reflected on the edge of the shelf behind her husband's puppet. Six other posted videos are included.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror
Honto Ni Atta! Noroi No Video 71 (2017)
71th entry in the popular "Honto ni Atta. Noroi no Video" series.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror
Near (2023)
Hollis suffers from an affliction; anyone who gets too close to him dies.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror
Fly on the Wall (2018)
A young man uses a bug camera to spy on his ex-girlfriend, then witnesses her abduction.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like The Ritual?
The closest matches to The Ritual are The Thinning: New World Order (2018), Children of the Damned (1964) and Celia (1989). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after The Ritual?
Start with The Thinning: New World Order (2018), the closest match to The Ritual.
What is the highest-rated movie like The Ritual?
The Old Dark House (1932), rated 6.7/10 by 323 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like The Ritual?
Eleanor the Great (2025) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like The Ritual?
Yes: The Thinning: New World Order (2018), Children of the Damned (1964) and Celia (1989).
How are movies similar to The Ritual chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside The Ritual, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.