Movies like Summer of Demon (1981)
The best movies like Summer of Demon (1981) are The Surrender (2025), Medusa (2020) and The Transfiguration (2016). If Summer of Demon 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 Enforcer (2022)7.0/10 from 533 votes
- NewestThe Surrender (2025)Released 2025
- In JapaneseBest Wishes to All (2024)Also in Japanese
The Surrender (2025)
A fraught mother-daughter relationship is put to a terrifying test when the family patriarch dies, and the grieving mother hires a mysterious stranger to bring her husband back from the dead.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & horror
SnoozefestMovies like thisMedusa (2020)
After being bitten by a lethal snake, a young woman experiences changes in her senses and appearance, as she sheds her old self and slowly turns into a deadly weapon.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Transfiguration (2016)
When troubled teen Milo, who has a fascination with vampire lore, meets the equally alienated Sophie, the two form a bond that begins to blur Milo's fantasy into reality.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCaged (2021)
An African American male is imprisoned and placed in solitary confinement after being found guilty of murdering his wife, as he's haunted by internal demons and his dead wife, and pushed to the breaking point by an abusive female guard.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Eyes of My Mother (2016)
A young, lonely woman is consumed by her deepest and darkest desires after tragedy strikes her quiet country life.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSavaged (2014)
After thugs brutalize a deaf-mute woman, the spirit of an Apache warrior takes over her lifeless body and sets out on a bloodthirsty quest for revenge.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBest Wishes to All (2024)
A young woman's visit to her grandparents' home leads to the discovery of what's brought them happiness, a revelation that will lead her to question her choices, sanity and reality itself.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisWerewolf: The Beast Among Us (2012)
Set in a 19th century village, a young man studying under a local doctor joins a team of hunters on the trail of a wolf-like creature.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & horror
SnoozefestMovies like thisMagpie (2024)
A couple's lives are thrown into disarray when their daughter is cast opposite a controversial major star.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisTyler Perry's Duplicity (2025)
High-powered attorney Marley faces her most personal case yet when she is tasked with uncovering the truth behind the murder of her best friend Fela’s husband. With the help of her boyfriend – a former cop turned private investigator – Marley’s search for what really happened leads her down a treacherous maze of deception and betrayal.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisLittle Boy Blue (1998)
Living in rural Texas is a dysfunctional family: an abusive dad, a Vietnam vet with a war wound that's left him impotent; a compliant wife and a son of about 20, two small sons who look a lot like their brother. The dad harbors a secret, and he goes to murderous lengths to keep it hidden. The young man, Jimmy, who has suspicions, but little comes out until a Yankee woman comes to town.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Eel (1997)
A businessman kills his adulterous wife and is sent to prison. After his release, he opens a barbershop and meets new people, talking to almost no one except for an eel he befriended while in prison.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe House on Carroll Street (1988)
A reporter, fired after refusing to give names to a 1951 House Un-American Activities Committee, takes a part-time job as companion to an old lady. While working she overhears a noisy argument in the neighboring house, being conducted largely in German and involving her HUAC prosecutor. She begins to investigate, enlisting the help of the FBI Agent initially detailed to surveil her.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Truth About Emanuel (2013)
A troubled young woman becomes obsessed with her mysterious new neighbor, who bears a striking resemblance to the girl's dead mother.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisWinged Creatures (2009)
A psychotic man opens fire in a diner, murdering numerous people before killing himself. The survivors struggle in different ways following this horrendous event: a doctor doubts his own instincts and elects to use an experimental medical procedure on his wife, while a gambler believes he's on a lucky streak. A waitress begins engaging in promiscuous sex, and a young girl whose father is among the dead gains unexpected fame.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisThe Enforcer (2022)
A noir thriller set in Miami, the film follows an enforcer who discovers his femme fatale boss has branched out into cyber sex trafficking, putting a young runaway he’s befriended at risk. He sacrifices everything to save the young girl from the deadly organization he’s spent his life building.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisHello (2022)
An emotionally unavailable flight attendant meets a potential love interest and later finds out that her "perfect guy" has ulterior motives. As the clock ticks down on New Year's Eve, she must fight to keep her murdered ex-boyfriend's secrets or find herself dead.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBarron's Cove (2025)
When his young son is viciously murdered by a classmate, a grieving father with a history of violence kidnaps the child responsible, igniting a frenzied manhunt fueled by a powerful politician -- the father of the kidnapped boy.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies 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 thisThe Hummingbird Project (2019)
A pair of high-frequency traders go up against their old boss in an effort to make millions in a fiber-optic cable deal.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisTravels of Lord Mito: The Phantom Cat (1956)
In Numada, Jyoshu, Seijun's mistress dies a horrible death at the hands of a gang of vicious vassals plotting to embezzle the Kuroda family, and her beloved cat takes revenge by becoming an incarnation of the cat.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror & drama
The 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 & drama
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 & drama
Appeal on the Cross (1956)
Kusuo Abe stars in this kaidan.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror & drama
White Snake Woman (1958)
While transporting a bride-to-be in a closed carriage (kago) while during a thunderstorm, a group of servants and onlookers suddenly come upon an apparition of a ghostly white-draped female figure floating down to the ground. As she turns to face the crowd, the woman reveals the disfigured right side of her face. As the procession stands in utter horror, the ghost then takes flight again and down a side street. After the shock wears off, the bride is checked on and everyone is safe in the group. Once the wedding party finally arrives at the groom's home, they apologize for the delay... and proceed to open the kago, only to realize that the bride-to-be is now missing... and all that's left in the carriage is a single white snake slithering about.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror & drama
The Ghosts of Kagami Pond (1959)
A store manager named Kinbei becomes enraged when the owners of the store decide to hand it down to an adopted son instead of him. He hatches a plot to murder them all, but as it turns out he has done this sort of thing before. As bodies pile up in the nearby Kagami Pond, a ghostly vengeance is about to be unleashed.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror & drama
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
Ghost Story: Passion in Fukagawa (1952)
A ghost story about a woman who dies a violent death and appears to the man she loves as a vengeful spirit. This film marked the turning point in Daiei's shift in emphasis from thrillers to ghost stories.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror
J-Horror Anthology: Legends (2003)
The video is a compilation of six short stories based on Japanese folklore legends. Each story is approximately 15 minutes long and are briefly introduced by a host. "Peony Lamp" is a story of love, death and ghosts. "She Bear" tells the story of a monster lady who terrorizes passers of a city tunnel. "Yamamba" is a spirit living in the depths of the forests waiting to feed on anyone who ventures there. "Nurarihyon" tells us of a playful spirit visiting a family's restaurant. "Heartbroken trip", a young woman visits a spa not knowing what awaits her. "Lost Souls" a stop during a long car ride turns into a nightmare.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror
Returning Spirit (1955)
A tryst between the young warrior Hagiwara Shinzaburo and beautiful Otsuyu is discovered, and the shamed Otsuyu commits suicide with her maid. Their ghosts subsequently appear to Shinzaburo. He obtains a door-protecting charm and a statue of the goddess Kannon from a priest to keep the spirits from his home. A conniving servant removes the protective devices so that Otsuyu can reach her lover and cart him away to the land of the dead.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror
Like Summer of Demon and something else?
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Summer of Demon?
The closest matches to Summer of Demon are The Surrender (2025), Medusa (2020) and The Transfiguration (2016). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Summer of Demon?
Start with The Surrender (2025), the closest match to Summer of Demon.
What is the highest-rated movie like Summer of Demon?
The Enforcer (2022), rated 7.0/10 by 533 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Summer of Demon?
The Surrender (2025) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there Japanese movies like Summer of Demon?
Yes: Best Wishes to All (2024), The Eel (1997) and Travels of Lord Mito: The Phantom Cat (1956).
How are movies similar to Summer of Demon chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Summer of Demon, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.