Movies like File 253 (2015)
The best movies like File 253 (2015) are Grave Encounters (2011), Smile (2022) and Phoenix Forgotten (2017). If File 253 hooked you with its horror, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedBackrooms (2026)7.0/10 from 4,066 votes
- NewestBackrooms (2026)Released 2026
- In SpanishDo Not Enter (2024)Also in Spanish
Grave Encounters (2011)
A crew from a paranormal reality television show lock themselves in a haunted psychiatric hospital. They search for evidence of paranormal activity as they shoot what ends up becoming their final episode.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSmile (2022)
After witnessing a bizarre, traumatic incident involving a patient, Dr. Rose Cotter starts experiencing frightening occurrences that she can't explain.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisPhoenix Forgotten (2017)
Twenty years after three teenagers disappeared in the wake of mysterious lights appearing above Phoenix, Arizona, unseen footage from that night has been discovered, chronicling the final hours of their fateful expedition.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisParanormal Activity (2009)
After a young, middle-class couple moves into what seems like a typical suburban house, they become increasingly disturbed by a presence that may or may not be demonic, but is certainly the most active in the middle of the night.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisStrange Harvest (2025)
Detectives are thrust into a chilling hunt for a sadistic serial killer from the past whose return marks the beginning of a new wave of grotesque, otherworldly crimes tied to a cosmic force.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Legend of Hell House (1973)
A team consisting of a physicist, his wife, a young female psychic, and the only survivor of the previous visit are sent to the notorious Hell House to prove or disprove survival after death. Previous visitors have either been killed or gone mad, and it is up to the team to survive a full week in isolation, and solve the mystery of the Hell House.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBackrooms (2026)
A strange doorway appears in the basement of a furniture showroom.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Worth the HypeMovies like thisHell House LLC Origins: The Carmichael Manor (2023)
A group of cold case investigators stay at the Carmichael Manor, site of the grisly and unsolved murders of the Carmichael family back in the eighties. After four nights, the group was never heard from again. What is discovered on their footage is even more disturbing than anything found on the Hell House tapes.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHell House LLC (2015)
Five years after an unexplained malfunction causes the death of 15 tour-goers and staff on the opening night of a Halloween haunted house tour, a documentary crew travels back to the scene of the tragedy to find out what really happened.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCreep (2014)
Looking for work, Aaron comes across a cryptic online ad: "$1,000 for the day. Filming service. Discretion is appreciated." Low on cash and full of naiveté, he decides to go for it. He drives to a cabin in a remote mountain town where he meets Josef, his cinematic subject for the day. Josef is sincere and the project seems heartfelt, so Aaron begins to film. But as the day goes on, it becomes clear that Josef is not who he says, and his intentions are not at all pure.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Haunting in Connecticut (2009)
When the Campbell family moves to upstate Connecticut, they soon learn that their charming Victorian home has a disturbing history: not only was the house a transformed funeral parlor where inconceivable acts occurred, but the owner's clairvoyant son Jonah served as a demonic messenger, providing a gateway for spiritual entities to crossover.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisStonehearst Asylum (2014)
An Oxford Medical School graduate takes a position at a mental institution and soon becomes obsessed with a female mental patient, but he has no idea of a recent and horrifying staffing change.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBarbarian (2022)
In town for a job interview, a young woman arrives at her Airbnb late at night only to find that it has been mistakenly double-booked and a strange man is already staying there. Against her better judgement, she decides to stay the night anyway.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAlive (2018)
A severely injured man and woman awake in an abandoned sanitarium only to discover that a sadistic caretaker holds the keys to their freedom and the horrific answers as to their true identity.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDo Not Enter (2024)
Two working class youtubers ‘in the making’ enter an abandoned mansion to get their basketball back, and get lost inside while pranking each other. They record their ‘quick adventure’ with their phones for their audience, and tweak it with a fake phantom appearance to attract more followers to their YouTube channel. When uploaded the video goes viral, so they start a challenge: if the video reaches a certain number of views, they will enter the house again, at night, alone, totally unprotected. As fans react positively, they will do as promised, not only to discover and unveil the true nature of the place and their inhabitants, but to realize they might not be among the living anymore. Which opens a question - how far would you go to be famous?
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Poughkeepsie Tapes (2007)
When hundreds of videotapes showing torture, murder and dismemberment are found in an abandoned house, they reveal a serial killer's decade-long reign of terror and become the most disturbing collection of evidence homicide detectives have ever seen.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Possession of Michael King (2014)
Michael King asks occultists to summon all evil spirits to prove his point that they do not exist. But something goes wrong and he becomes a danger to everyone.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisTerrified (2018)
Police commissioner Funes and three researchers of supernatural phenomena investigate inexplicable events that are occurring in the suburbs of Buenos Aires.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisGothika (2003)
After a car crash, criminal psychologist Dr. Miranda Grey regains consciousness only to find that she's a patient in the same mental institution that currently employs her. She's been accused of murdering her husband Dr. Douglas Grey — but she has no memory of committing the crime. As she tries to regain her memory and convince her co-worker, Dr. Pete Graham, of her innocence, a vengeful spirit uses her as an earthly pawn, which further convinces everyone of her guilt.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCreep 2 (2017)
After finding an ad online for “video work,” Sara, a video artist whose primary focus is creating intimacy with lonely men, thinks she may have found the subject of her dreams. She drives to a remote house in the forest and meets a man claiming to be a serial killer. Unable to resist the chance to create a truly shocking piece of art, she agrees to spend the day with him. However, as the day goes on, she discovers she may have dug herself into a hole from which she can’t escape.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDark Web: Unsearchable Horror Darkness Videos (2019)
A dark world that cannot be searched with a browser - that is the "dark web". The Internet that has become indispensable in modern society. However, did you know that there is a dark world that ordinary people cannot search or view? In this work, we will monitor the "dark web" and gather information, and deliver the "dark web" that cannot be seen by the world to the viewers.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror
The Moddey Dhoo (2025)
Past and present collide when a mythical beast is reawakened by a couple exploring a historic castle on the Isle of Man.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror
The Houses October Built 2 (2017)
Recovering from the trauma of being kidnapped last Halloween by the Blue Skeleton - a group who take "extreme haunt" to another level - five friends decide they must face their fears in order to move on. Heading back out on the road to visit more haunted house attractions, signs of the Blue Skeleton start appearing again and a new terror begins.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror
SnoozefestMovies like thisCCTV (2026)
On November 2nd, 2019, a young woman vanished from a small Italian town, leaving no trace behind. These are the last moments captured by surveillance cameras.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror
The Cult of Kiros (2025)
After being abruptly evicted from his apartment, Mateo returns to his hometown, seeking refuge in a local house-sitting job. But as the house’s silence settles in, he begins to sense a presence lurking beneath—something that has chosen Mateo for something much bigger than himself.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror
Legends of Burkittsville: 3 Days Before Heather Left (2021)
Lonnie is a video store clerk desperately trying to make his way into the film business. His former collaborator, Heather Donahue, is Hell-bent on making her documentary about a local witch that haunts the Black Hills of Maryland. But before she heads out to film, she enlists Lonnie's help in tracking down the elusive map that details those very woods, promising him a future. What happens next is a spine-tingling addition to the Blair Witch saga.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror
The Traveler's Longing to Pray (2017)
A year has passed since the death of my mother and two of my sisters.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror
A Haunting on Brockway Street (2019)
In 2007, the Braley Family decided to rescue an abandoned and dilapidated Civil War Era home in historic Saginaw, Michigan. Despite the overwhelming need for repair, the Braley's saw nothing but potential; a 6,000 square foot blank canvas to which the large family could pain a future of their own. Sparing no expense, contractors were deployed to the stately and iconic manor, with the mission to preserve its original 19th century colonial architecture. Almost immediately, strange occurrences began taking place within the home; tools coming up missing, disembodied voices and footsteps, and the shocking appearance of a semitranslucent apparition of a young child. Following several weeks of escalating activity, the bewildered family took it upon themselves to find out who or what was haunting their home. That is when they made the unfortunate mistake of turning to a spirit board for answers...
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror
Jaret's 2022 Halloween Special (2022)
In October of 2022, two student filmmakers and a viral YouTube and Tik Tok sensation disappeared in the woods near Harrisville RI. This footage was found at the scene.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror
Alone in the Dark (2005)
Edward Carnby is a private investigator specializing in unexplainable supernatural phenomena. His cases delve into the dark corners of the world, searching for truth in the occult remnants of ancient civilizations. Now, the greatest mystery of his past is about to become the most dangerous case he has ever faced.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like File 253?
The closest matches to File 253 are Grave Encounters (2011), Smile (2022) and Phoenix Forgotten (2017). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after File 253?
Start with Grave Encounters (2011), the closest match to File 253.
What is the highest-rated movie like File 253?
Backrooms (2026), rated 7.0/10 by 4,066 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like File 253?
Backrooms (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there Spanish movies like File 253?
Yes: Do Not Enter (2024) and Terrified (2018).
How are movies similar to File 253 chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside File 253, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.