Movies like Dark Water (1980)
The best movies like Dark Water (1980) are Shades of Desire (2023), Bloodline Killer (2024) and The Town that Dreaded Sundown (2014). If Dark Water hooked you with its horror, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedSuccubus (2024)8.3/10 from 279 votes
- NewestDust Bunny (2025)Released 2025
Shades of Desire (2023)
After her twin sister Aubrey goes missing, Jennifer uncovers the scandalous, secret double-life that Aubrey leads - and that has put both of them in danger.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBloodline Killer (2024)
Moira Cole endeavors to rebuild her shattered life after her family's murder at the hands of her deranged and obsessed cousin.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
SnoozefestMovies like thisThe Town that Dreaded Sundown (2014)
A masked maniac terrorizes the same small community where a murderer known as the Phantom Killer struck decades earlier.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
SnoozefestMovies like thisSuccubus (2024)
A new father going through a marital separation joins a dating app and matches with a beautiful but mysterious young woman... whose powers of seduction and manipulation entangle him in a mystery more horrifying than he could have ever imagined.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisFrank and Penelope (2022)
A tale of love and violence when a man on his emotional last legs finds a savior seductively dancing in a run-down strip club. And a life most certainly headed off a cliff suddenly becomes redirected - as everything is now worth dying for.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Worth the HypeMovies like thisPlay Dead (2022)
Criminology student Chloe fakes her own death to break into a morgue, in order to retrieve a piece of evidence that ties her younger brother to a crime gone wrong. Once inside, she discovers that a sadistic coroner is using the corpses for his sick and twisted business, and when he realises that Chloe still has a pulse, a terrifying game of cat and mouse ensues.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDust Bunny (2025)
Ten-year-old Aurora asks her hitman neighbor to kill the monster under her bed that she claims ate her family. To protect her, he must battle an onslaught of assassins while accepting that some monsters are real.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisStrange Darling (2024)
Nothing is what it seems when a twisted one-night stand spirals into a serial killer’s vicious murder spree.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
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 thisNight of the Hunted (2023)
When an unsuspecting woman stops at a remote gas station in the dead of night, she's made the plaything of a sociopath sniper with a secret vendetta. To survive, she must not only dodge his bullets and fight for her life, but also figure out who wants her dead and why.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMonstrous (2022)
Laura, traumatized by an abusive relationship, runs away from her former husband with her seven-year-old son Cody. But in their new, idyllic and remote sanctuary, they find they have another, bigger and more terrifying monster to deal with…
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
SnoozefestMovies like thisBone Lake (2025)
A couple’s romantic vacation at a secluded lakeside estate is upended when they are forced to share the mansion with a mysterious and attractive couple. In this darkly hilarious and seductive horror story, a dream getaway spirals into a nightmarish maze of sex, lies, and manipulation, bringing terrifying secrets to light and triggering a bloody battle for survival.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
SnoozefestMovies 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 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 thisBloodline (2019)
Evan values family above all else, and anyone who gets between him, his wife, and newborn son learns that the hard way. But when it comes to violent tendencies, it seems the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
SnoozefestMovies like thisPlay Dead (2025)
A woman wakes up injured in a basement surrounded by corpses. To survive, she pretends to be dead while a grotesque ritual unfolds in the house above.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Last Breath (2024)
A group of old college friends reunite on a Caribbean scuba diving trip exploring the wreckage of a WWII battleship and find themselves trapped inside the underwater labyrinth of rusted metal surrounded by great white sharks.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisWhisper (2007)
Sinister things begin happening to kidnappers who are holding a young boy for ransom in a remote cabin.
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 thisNightbreed (1990)
A troubled young man is drawn to a mythical place called Midian where a variety of friendly monsters are hiding from humanity. Meanwhile, a sadistic serial killer is looking for a patsy.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Dead Man 2: Return of the Dead Man (1994)
The Dead Man returns, but it's too late to save us. We are already dead.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror
Timmy's Wish (2002)
After he's sent to his room for refusing to eat his vegetables, angry little Timmy prays to God to deliver him from his cruel parents. What unfolds next is an irreverent black comedy.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror
Yankee Gal (2008)
An American pilot in the war falls asleep in his plane. His dream mixes up with reality.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
Goat & Aaron (2011)
The story picks up after an unexplained disagreement between two brothers, Goat and Aaron. To work out their differences, they take a hike together. The beauty of nature brings them back together, but the violence in Goat's heart can't be controlled and it pulls him under.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
Beer & Nuts (2012)
Over the course of five minutes, two friends in a desolate cabin discuss everything from the origins of everyday sayings to their favorite movie villains. But all is not as it seems...
Why it matches: Similar story and style
Janus (2011)
Simon appears to be everyone's best friend, while in reality he is a jealous, manipulative schemer. He coldly focuses on destroying the only meaningful relationship his best friend Ken has ever had, with a girl called Heather. Will he succeed and what will he gain out of tearing them apart? Let the games begin...
Why it matches: Similar story and style
Landfill Harvest (2013)
Mandaue Landfill, The Philippines: the 50 families who call this home are the bottom of their society; the lowest of the low. But material wealth is not the only kind of riches, and where there is hope and resourcefulness there is always the chance of a better life.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
Dead End (2014)
The Internet is haunted at Morningwood Road, they must appease the ghost before she makes a meme of them all.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
Our New Electrical Morals (2013)
Douglas and Business Cat find a baby that ruins their business.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
Like Dark Water and something else?
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Dark Water?
The closest matches to Dark Water are Shades of Desire (2023), Bloodline Killer (2024) and The Town that Dreaded Sundown (2014). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Dark Water?
Start with Shades of Desire (2023), the closest match to Dark Water.
What is the highest-rated movie like Dark Water?
Succubus (2024), rated 8.3/10 by 279 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Dark Water?
Dust Bunny (2025) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like Dark Water?
Yes: Shades of Desire (2023), Bloodline Killer (2024) and The Town that Dreaded Sundown (2014).
How are movies similar to Dark Water chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Dark Water, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.