Movies like Once Upon a Midnight Scary (1979)
The best movies like Once Upon a Midnight Scary (1979) are Dead of Night (1977), Mr. Boogedy (1986) and The Night Stalker (1972). If Once Upon a Midnight Scary hooked you with its tv movie and horror, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedThe Thing (1982)8.1/10 from 8,439 votes
- NewestMonkey’s Magic Merry Go Round (2026)Released 2026
Dead of Night (1977)
This anthology tells three stories: a man buys a car that takes him back and forth through time; a tale of vampires; and a distraught mother asks for her drowned son to come back to life and gets more than she bargained for.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMr. Boogedy (1986)
A novelty-salesman moves his family into a new house. Initially dismissing incidents as more of their father's practical jokes, the family soon learns that the house is haunted by people who lived in the house 300 years previously.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies 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 thisBasilisk: The Serpent King (2006)
Two millennia ago, a Lybian king has a basilisk (snake-shaped dragon), which petrifies people, subjected to the same fate with a golden scepter during a solar eclipse. Both these and several victims are dug up by modern archaeologist Harrison 'Harry' McColl's expedition. Despite a cryptic warning from tribal locals, everything goes to his Colorado university's museum. It's all exhibited during another eclipse, which leads to the monster reviving. Harry and some of his friends must try to petrify the monster again.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
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 thisMostly Ghostly 3: One Night in Doom House (2016)
Just one enchanted jewel stands between earth and an army of evil spirits led by the devious ghoul, Phears. With the help of his new girlfriend and ghost pals, Max Doyle races to find the crystal and save the world.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisExtraordinary Tales (2015)
Five tales by Edgar Allan Poe come to life thanks to a pictorical style animation, five tales that exude madness, pestilence, murder and torture.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisNightbooks (2021)
Alex, a boy obsessed with scary stories, is trapped by a witch in her modern, magical New York City apartment. His original hair-raising tales are the only thing keeping him safe as he desperately tries to find a way out of this twisted place.
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 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 thisMickey's Tale of Two Witches (2021)
On Halloween, Mickey tells a tale of two witches-in-training, Minnie and Daisy, who must pass four tests to graduate from the With Academy in Happy Haunt Hills.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad (1949)
A concise adaptation of Kenneth Grahame's "The Wind in the Willows" about Mr. Toad's motor mania, followed by a short retelling of Washington Irving's "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" concerning schoolmaster Ichabod Crane.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMonkey’s Magic Merry Go Round (2026)
After a mysterious bout of amnesia, a beloved children’s television host struggles to piece together his fractured memories, only to find his once-cheerful puppet co-stars behaving with sinister intent. As reality unravels, the line between performance and nightmare begins to blur.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Worth the HypeMovies like thisDead of Night (1945)
An architect, visiting an English country house, realizes the other guests are familiar from his recurring nightmare. When they share their tales of the supernatural, he is filled with a growing dread.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Worth the HypeMovies 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 thisThe Wailer (2006)
On their way to Mexico, six students are stranded in a small town where years before a tragedy took place.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
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 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 Witches (1990)
While staying at a hotel in England with his grandmother, Helga, a young boy named Luke inadvertently spies on a convention of witches. The Grand High Witch reveals a plan to turn all children into mice via a magical formula. When they discover the eavesdropper, the witches test the formula on him. Now, with the help of Helga and hotel manager Mr Stringer, Luke the mouse must fight back against the witches.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Watcher in the Woods (1980)
After an American family moves to an old country manor in rural England, one of the daughters is tormented by the spirit of the owner's long lost daughter, who mysteriously disappeared 30 years ago during a solar eclipse.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
SnoozefestMovies like thisThe Flintstones' New Neighbors (1980)
Fred is annoyed when an eerie new house is built next door, inhabited by the Frankenstone family.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror
Dawn of the Dead (1978)
During an ever-growing epidemic of zombies that have risen from the dead, two Philadelphia SWAT team members, a traffic reporter, and his television-executive girlfriend seek refuge in a secluded shopping mall.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror
Worth the HypeMovies like thisGremlins (1984)
After receiving an exotic small animal as a Christmas gift, a young man inadvertently breaks three important rules concerning his new pet, which unleashes a horde of malevolently mischievous creatures on a small town.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror
Worth the HypeMovies like thisGremlins 2: The New Batch (1990)
Young sweethearts Billy and Kate move to the Big Apple, land jobs in a high-tech office park and soon reunite with the friendly and lovable Gizmo. But a series of accidents creates a whole new generation of Gremlins. The situation worsens when the devilish green creatures invade a top-secret laboratory and develop genetically altered powers, making them even harder to destroy!
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Conjuring: Last Rites (2025)
Paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren take on one last terrifying case involving mysterious entities they must confront.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Thing (1982)
A research team in Antarctica is hunted by a shape-shifting alien that assumes the appearance of its victims.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror
Absolute CinemaMovies 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: Similar story and style · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Canterville Ghost (2023)
An American family moves in to the Canterville Chase, a London mansion that has been haunted by ghost Sir Simon De Canterville for 300 years.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMad Sad Bad (2014)
Ryoo Seungwan, Han Jiseung, Kim Taeyong got together to make a 3D omnibus film. It's a 3D vision of terrible realities never far from popular culture today. The stages of its episodes are different with one another. Tragedies and fantasies unfold in the city, the woods, and the future. The 3D technique is used in scenes where the characters have fancies to get over suffering in reality. It's interesting to watch 3D scenes directed by representative directors of Korea, and it's noteworthy in terms of industry that this try displays the possibilities and realities of 3D film in Korea, as well. It's the new vision of KAFA's project, KAFA+
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror
Friday 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 this
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Once Upon a Midnight Scary?
The closest matches to Once Upon a Midnight Scary are Dead of Night (1977), Mr. Boogedy (1986) and The Night Stalker (1972). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Once Upon a Midnight Scary?
Start with Dead of Night (1977), the closest match to Once Upon a Midnight Scary.
What is the highest-rated movie like Once Upon a Midnight Scary?
The Thing (1982), rated 8.1/10 by 8,439 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Once Upon a Midnight Scary?
Monkey’s Magic Merry Go Round (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like Once Upon a Midnight Scary?
Yes: Dead of Night (1977), Mr. Boogedy (1986) and The Night Stalker (1972).
How are movies similar to Once Upon a Midnight Scary chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Once Upon a Midnight Scary, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.