Movies like The Mother Tree (1958)
The best movies like The Mother Tree (1958) are Tomie: Rebirth (2001), Onibaba (1964) and Samurai Reincarnation (1981). If The Mother Tree hooked you with its horror, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedOnibaba (1964)7.6/10 from 514 votes
- NewestMonkey’s Magic Merry Go Round (2026)Released 2026
- In JapaneseTomie: Rebirth (2001)Also in Japanese
Tomie: Rebirth (2001)
Young art student Hideo paints an unnerving portrait of Tomie, who whispers that she loves him. Inexplicably, he reacts by stabbing her to death with a painting trowel. Two friends, Takumi and Shunichi, arrive on the scene and help him dispose of the body. To cheer him up, the boys take the unwitting murderer to the nearest bar for a party... but a mysterious girl named Tomie shows up, bearing a few odd physical resemblances to the dead girl in the ground.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Worth the HypeMovies like thisOnibaba (1964)
While her son, Kichi, is away at war, a woman and her daughter-in-law survive by killing samurai who stray into their swamp, then selling whatever valuables they find. Both are devastated when they learn that Kichi has died, but his wife soon begins an affair with a neighbor who survived the war, Hachi. The mother disapproves and, when she can't steal Hachi for herself, tries to scare her daughter-in-law with a mysterious mask from a dead samurai.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Worth the HypeMovies like thisSamurai Reincarnation (1981)
After surviving the slaughter of many Christians 350 years ago, a samurai denounces God for ignoring the pleas of believers. He sells his soul to Satan and receives the power to resurrect the dead to join him in a murderous rampage.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
SnoozefestMovies like thisGhost Story of Yotsuya (1959)
This horror tale adapts the Japanese legend about a man who faces the consequences of betraying his wife in order to acquire wealth and power.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSaint Catherine (2024)
An orphaned girl is rescued from a satanic ritual and taken to Saint Catherine Institute for homeless youth. There she will learn new skills while facing demons that stalk her.
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 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 thisDemon City Shinjuku (1988)
Ten Years ago, Genichiro Izayoi died trying to stop the sorcerer Rebi Ra, and as a result Shinjuku became a playground for demons. And now, the day approaches when Rebi Ra will complete his decade-long ritual to plunge the rest of the world into chaos! As Genichiro's son, it falls to Kyoya to venture into the heart of Shinjuku and put an end to the sorcerer his father couldn't beat. Can Kyoya exceed his father's legacy, or will the demons of Shinjuku create Hell on Earth?
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAbigail Haunting (2020)
After escaping the clutches of an abusive relationship, Katie reluctantly returns to the foster home she grew up in. Little does she know, her foster mother Marge is harboring a sinister secret dating back a decade. Now, Katie finds herself caught up in a horrifying family drama while confronting an angry spirit named Abigail.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisReborn (2018)
A stillborn baby girl is abducted by a deranged morgue attendant and brought back to life by electro-kinetic power. On her sixteenth birthday, traumatized Tess escapes captivity and sets out to find her birth mother leaving a trail of horrifying violent destruction and chilling chaos behind her.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisImprint (2006)
An American journalist travels through 19th-century Japan to find the prostitute he fell in love with but instead learns of the physical and existential horror that befell her after he left.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDark Light (2019)
A woman returns to her family home and discovers it to be inhabited by monsters.
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 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 thisThe Deliverance (2024)
Ebony Jackson, a struggling single mother fighting her personal demons, moves her family into a new home for a fresh start. But when strange occurrences inside the home raise the suspicions of Child Protective Services and threaten to tear the family apart, Ebony soon finds herself locked in a battle for her life and the souls of her children.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Ghost Within (2023)
A young woman revisits her family home desperate to discover her sister Evie's murderer 20 years before. After a series of terrifying encounters with Evie's ghost at 09:09pm, Margot knows she must fight to learn the truth once and for all.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Dreadful (2026)
In medieval England, Anne and her domineering mother-in-law Morwen struggle to survive on the outskirts of society. But when a man from Anne's past returns from war, a curse begins to take shape through a mysterious knight and threatens to destroy them all.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
SnoozefestMovies like thisThe Evil (1978)
Shortly after moving into a dark, brooding mansion, a psychologist and his co-workers are terrorized by a horrible evil being.
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 thisRape Zombie: Lust of the Dead 4 (2014)
In a devastated, post-apocalyptic world, all men have turned into rape demons. The only hope for the future is to travel to the past and prevent the outbreak, the source of which still remains a mystery.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Temptress and the Monk (1957)
A Buddhist monk becomes ensnared by a seductive woman who, according to legend, transforms her lovers into beasts.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror
Dancing Mistress (1957)
Osen, a dance teacher who hates men, refuses to become the concubine of a rich merchant, but falls in love with the thief Sojiro, unaware that he is avenging the death of his brother. Jinzo, who wants to win over a rich merchant, pours boiling water on One's face...
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror
Weak-kneed from Fear of Ghost-Cat (1954)
Classic kaidan ghost story set in the Edo period
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror
The Passion of a Woman Teacher (1926)
The curse of a jealous woman destroys lovers on the run. Considered a lost film.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror
The Ghost Cat and the Mysterious Shamisen (1938)
Mitsue is a popular stage actress and the lover of a shamisen player named Seijuro. She jealously murders two other objects of his affection: Okiyo, a young woman from a samurai family, and Kuro, a cat. The spirits of Okiyo and Kuro then merge into a vengeful ghost.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror
Ghost Cat of Nabeshima (1949)
Tanuma Kandayuu is a high class samurai of the house of Nabeshima. He finds a lavish board of Go (a Chinese Board game) at Kinbei's store. He recommend Kinbei to offer it to his lord. Kinbei hesitates at first, since he knows the board has a mysterious legend surrounding it; it's believed that for every game played on the board, one death is required.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror
Ghost of Saga Mansion (1953)
A woman loses her son through an evil conspiracy and commits suicide. Shortly afterwards a ghost cat begins haunting the conspirators. This is Takako Irie's first bakeneko (ghost cat) movie; it started a Daiei cycle which was very popular at the time in Japan.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror
Ghost-Cat of Arima Palace (1953)
Okoyo, the mistress of Lord Arima, fears that she is being replaced by a younger woman named Otaki. In a fit of jealousy, she kills the younger girl. The dead woman's cat licks her blood and becomes a demon, seeking revenge on Okoyo
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror
A Samurai's Love (1954)
A film about the Ghost of Okiku that's based on the kabuki play Bancho Sarayashiki.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror
Terrible Ghost Cat of Okazaki (1954)
The Lord of Okazaki is killed by his brother-in-law. Although the Lord's widow bears a child, she is also killed. Then, a ghost cat begins stalking in the castle.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror
Like The Mother Tree and something else?
Blend two favourites and we’ll find the films in between.
Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like The Mother Tree?
The closest matches to The Mother Tree are Tomie: Rebirth (2001), Onibaba (1964) and Samurai Reincarnation (1981). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after The Mother Tree?
Start with Tomie: Rebirth (2001), the closest match to The Mother Tree.
What is the highest-rated movie like The Mother Tree?
Onibaba (1964), rated 7.6/10 by 514 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like The Mother Tree?
Monkey’s Magic Merry Go Round (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there Japanese movies like The Mother Tree?
Yes: Tomie: Rebirth (2001), Onibaba (1964) and Samurai Reincarnation (1981).
How are movies similar to The Mother Tree chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside The Mother Tree, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.