Movies like Mystery of the Wax Museum (1933)
The best movies like Mystery of the Wax Museum (1933) are X: The Unknown (1956), The City of the Dead (1960) and The Return of Doctor X (1939). If Mystery of the Wax Museum hooked you with its horror and mystery, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedSilver Bullet (1985)6.7/10 from 746 votes
- NewestMurder at the Embassy (2025)Released 2025
X: The Unknown (1956)
Army radiation experiments awaken a subterranean monster from a fissure that feeds on energy and proceeds to terrorise a remote Scottish village. An American research scientist at a nearby nuclear plant joins with a British investigator to discover why the victims were radioactively burned and why, shortly thereafter, a series of radiation-related incidents are occurring in an ever-growing straight line away from the fissure.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror & mystery
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe City of the Dead (1960)
In Whitewood, Massachusetts, a presumed witch places a curse on the town before she is burned at the stake. 300 years later, a college student arrives and checks into the mysterious Raven's Inn to research the town's history with witchcraft.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both mystery & horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Return of Doctor X (1939)
When news reporter Walter Garrett arrives at the hotel room of bombshell actress Angela Merrova to conduct an interview, he finds her dead from multiple stab wounds. He returns with the police to find the hotel empty and the body vanished. Garrett writes about the incident but is fired when Merrova, alive and well, goes to the paper to complain. Now his only chance to get his job back is to find the truth, which involves the grisly scheme of a madman.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror & mystery
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisNight Watch (1973)
A woman recovering from a nervous breakdown tries to convince her husband and and the local London police that she has witnessed a murder in the abandoned house next door.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both mystery & horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Hound of the Baskervilles (1983)
When a nobleman is threatened by a family curse on his newly inherited estate, detective Sherlock Holmes is hired to investigate.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror & mystery
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisTourist Trap (1979)
After their car breaks down, a group of young travelers find themselves stranded at a roadside museum run by the enigmatic Mr. Slausen and populated by his collection of life-like wax mannequins.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSilver Bullet (1985)
The small city of Tarker's Mills is startled by a series of sadistic murders. The population fears the work of a maniac, but sightings of a mysterious, hairy creature soon spread. People lock themselves up at night, but there's one boy who's still outside…
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisForce of Nature: The Dry 2 (2024)
When five women take part in a corporate hiking retreat and only four come out on the other side, Federal Agents Aaron Falk and Carmen Cooper head deep into the Victorian mountain ranges to investigate in the hopes of finding their whistle-blowing informant, Alice Russell, alive.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both mystery
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Pearl of Death (1944)
The famous Borgia Pearl, a valuable gem with a history of bringing murder and misfortune to its owner since the days of the Borgias, is brought to London, thanks in part to Sherlock Holmes. But before long the jewel is stolen, due to an error on Holmes' part, and shortly thereafter, a series of horrible murders begin, the murderer leaving his victims with their spines snapped and surrounded by a mass of smashed china.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both mystery
Worth the HypeMovies like thisLemora: A Child's Tale of the Supernatural (1974)
A notorious bank robber kills his wife and flees the police, only to be captured by a mysterious group of figures in an abandoned town. His beautiful daughter, Lila Lee, receives a letter stating that her father is near death and that he needs to see her. Sneaking away at night from her minister guardian, Lila embarks on a terrifying journey...
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 thisMurder at the Embassy (2025)
Murder at the Embassy is a 2025 American murder mystery film directed by Stephen Shimek and starring Mischa Barton, Mido Hamada, Kojo Attah, Nell Barlow, Raha Rahbari, Antonia Bernath, and Richard Dillane. It serves as the sequel to Invitation to a Murder (2023)
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both mystery
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAurora Teagarden Mysteries: Heist and Seek (2020)
When a priceless crown is stolen during a benefit gala held by the Lawrenceton library, Aurora and the Real Murders Club must investigate who would kill to get their hands on it.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both mystery
Worth the HypeMovies like thisSherlock Holmes in Washington (1943)
In World War II, a British secret agent carrying a vitally important document is kidnapped en route to Washington. The British government calls on Sherlock Holmes to recover it.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both mystery
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAurora Teagarden Mysteries: An Inheritance to Die For (2019)
A matriarch is poisoned during a family wedding reception and Aurora Teagarden vows to get to the bottom of the crime, especially when her mother, a friend of the dead woman, stands to inherit the bulk of the massive estate. 11th installment in Aurora Teagarden Mysteries.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both mystery
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Asphyx (1972)
Hugo is a brilliant turn-of-the-century scientist, loved and respected by his family and friends, admired by his colleagues. But he is a man quickly becoming obsessed with a curious and frightening question...What is the mysterious apparition found in the photographs of his dying subjects?
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies 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 thisThe Verdict (1946)
After an innocent man is executed in a case he was responsible for, a Scotland Yard superintendent finds himself investigating the murder of his key witness.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both mystery
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisKept Woman (2015)
Jessica and her fiancé Evan have just moved from the city into their dream home on a quiet suburban street. Soon after, Jessica catches her seemingly friendly new neighbor, Simon, in a strange lie and can't let her suspicions rest. The danger escalates when Simon lures her inside his home and imprisons Jessica in his secret bunker, meticulously decorated in the idealized style of the 1950s.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both mystery
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMystery 101: Playing Dead (2019)
The local theater is producing a mystery that crime fiction expert Amy unearthed. When one of the actress' life is threatened, Amy & Travis must uncover which character is playing for keeps.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both mystery
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Bat Whispers (1930)
Infamous burglar "The Bat" commits a daring jewelry theft despite heavy police presence. Soon after, a bank theft occurs, which may be the work of the criminal as well. Meanwhile, Cornelia Van Gorder has various people arrive at her old mansion, including her niece, Dale, a bank employee, and police detective Anderson. When guests start turning up dead, Cornelia begins to suspect that The Bat may be lurking around the estate.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both mystery & horror
Waxhouse Rock (2017)
A film crew enters a wax museum at night to secretly film a porn parody of House of Wax. By disturbing the displays at night Wax Elvis and Bettie Page come to live to terrorise Manchester and murder innocent citizens.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both mystery & horror
A Shriek in the Night (1933)
Rival newspaper reporters Pat Morgan and Ted Rand find themselves unraveling the mystery behind the death of a millionaire philanthropist who fell from his penthouse balcony. When it is discovered that the plunge was not an accident, the building's residents come under suspicion. Soon, the body count begins to mount as three more murders occur by strangulation.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both mystery & horror
The Outing (1987)
A group of high schoolers decide to stay in a natural museum after closing hours, but a newly acquired and mysterious lamp hiding a deadly force will turn the fun into horror.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror
SnoozefestMovies like thisWhite Zombie (1932)
A wealthy landowner living in Haiti convinces a sorcerer to lure the woman he has fallen for away from her fiancé. The madman later betrays their agreement by keeping the woman for himself…as a zombie.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisWaxworks (1924)
A poet is hired by the owner of a wax museum in a circus to write tales about Harun al Raschid, Ivan the Terrible and Jack the Ripper. While writing, the poet and the daughter of the owner, Eva, fantasize the fantastic stories and fall in love for each other.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisNightmare in Wax (1969)
The disfigured curator of a wax museum murders his enemies and then uses their bodies as exhibits in his museum.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror
The Mummy (1932)
An ancient Egyptian priest named Imhotep is revived when a British archaeological expedition finds his mummy and one of the researchers accidentally reads an ancient life-giving spell. Imhotep escapes from the field site and searches for the reincarnation of the soul of his lover.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisManiac (1934)
An ex-vaudeville actor is working as the assistant to a doctor who has Frankenstein aspirations. The ex-vaudeville actor kills the doctor and decides to assume the identity of the dead physician.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror
SnoozefestMovies like thisMidnight Manhunt (1945)
Two reporters search for a missing body in a wax museum.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both mystery
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Mystery of the Wax Museum?
The closest matches to Mystery of the Wax Museum are X: The Unknown (1956), The City of the Dead (1960) and The Return of Doctor X (1939). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Mystery of the Wax Museum?
Start with X: The Unknown (1956), the closest match to Mystery of the Wax Museum.
What is the highest-rated movie like Mystery of the Wax Museum?
Silver Bullet (1985), rated 6.7/10 by 746 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Mystery of the Wax Museum?
Murder at the Embassy (2025) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like Mystery of the Wax Museum?
Yes: X: The Unknown (1956), The City of the Dead (1960) and The Return of Doctor X (1939).
How are movies similar to Mystery of the Wax Museum chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Mystery of the Wax Museum, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.