Movies like The Dark Stranger (2016)
The best movies like The Dark Stranger (2016) are The Swerve (2018), The Righteous (2021) and Desolation (2017). If The Dark Stranger hooked you with its drama and thriller, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedPossum (2018)6.2/10 from 362 votes
- NewestDark Nature (2023)Released 2023
The Swerve (2018)
The dark secrets of Holly's seemingly perfect life are exposed when an unwanted intruder spins her life out of control forever.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both thriller & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Righteous (2021)
A burdened man feels the wrath of a vengeful God after he and his wife are visited by a mysterious stranger.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & horror
Desolation (2017)
A mother takes her son on a trip into remote wilderness to scatter his father's ashes; they must confront their worst fears when a lone hiker begins following them.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both horror & drama
Son (2021)
When a young boy contracts a mysterious illness, his mother must decide how far she will go to protect him from terrifying forces in her past.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both horror & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisNever Here (2017)
An artist whose work involves capturing images of strangers begins to believe she herself is being observed.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & thriller
Replace (2017)
Kira's skin starts to age rapidly, dry out and crumble away. But then she discovers that she can replace her own skin with somebody else's.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both thriller & horror
SnoozefestMovies like thisBottom of the World (2017)
On their road trip through the southwestern desert, Alex and his girlfriend Scarlett arrive in a town in the middle of nowhere and take a room in a mysterious hotel so that Scarlett, who is feeling increasingly ill, can get some rest.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & thriller
SnoozefestMovies like thisThe Invitation (2003)
When an author invites his friends to his home on a private island, the guests realize they've been poisoned at dinner. The only way to receive the antidote from their twisted host will be to confess to all the lies they've ever told.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both horror & drama
Midnighters (2018)
Midnight, New Year’s Eve: when all the hopes of new beginnings come to life – except for Lindsey and Jeff Pittman, whose strained marriage faces the ultimate test after they cover up a terrible crime and find themselves entangled in a Hitchcockian web of deceit and madness.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both thriller & horror
SnoozefestMovies like thisHammer (2019)
A father faces a personal crisis when he discovers his estranged son fleeing a botched drug deal. The two men embark on a violent odyssey that grapples with themes of fatherhood, family and fate.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & thriller
My Heart Can't Beat Unless You Tell It To (2020)
Dwight and his sister Jessie reach a crossroads over what to do about their little brother Thomas, a sickly child with a mysterious affliction.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & horror
SnoozefestMovies like thisTrue Fiction (2019)
Avery Malone, a wannabe writer and lonely librarian, gets her big break when she's hand-selected to assist her hero, reclusive author, Caleb Conrad. Whisked away to Caleb's remote estate, Avery is given her one and only task; to participate in a controlled psychological experiment in fear that will serve as the basis for Caleb's next novel.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both horror & thriller
Haunt (2014)
An introverted teen sparks with his new neighbor, and together the couple begins to explore the haunted house that his family has unknowingly just purchased.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both horror
SnoozefestMovies like thisThe Corruption of Divine Providence (2020)
16-year-old Jeanne awakens in a pool of her own blood, her hands and feet marked with stigmata and her forehead bleeding as if from a thorny crown. This creates conflict, greed and of faith in a community sewn with horrifying secrets.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both horror & drama
The Heretics (2017)
A young girl is abducted by a man, who claims that a cult is hunting her. His goal is to protect her until sunrise but while restrained, the young girl falls deathly ill. While her friends and family search for her, the source of her illness becomes more and more apparent. She’s not sick…she’s changing.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both horror
SnoozefestMovies like thisThe Offering (2016)
When young and successful reporter Jamie finds out that her sister has died in mysterious circumstances, she travels to Singapore to uncover the truth. There, she discovers multiple deaths linked to her sister's and must join forces with her sister's husband in order to defeat a demonic entity that is using new technology to complete an ancient mission.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both thriller & horror
SnoozefestMovies like thisPossessing Piper Rose (2011)
A couple are desperate to adopt a child but, when their dream comes true, strange events begin to happen.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & horror
The Dead Center (2019)
When a mysterious "John Doe" wakes up in a morgue and wanders into a psychiatric ward, a devoted doctor and curious medical examiner must slowly uncover dark and sinister secrets about the man that reveal a more horrifying truth than they could have ever imagined.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both thriller & horror
SnoozefestMovies like thisPossum (2018)
A disgraced children's puppeteer returns to his childhood home and is forced to confront his wicked stepfather and the secrets that have tortured him his entire life.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Toll (2020)
A socially awkward driver and a weary passenger try to make it to their destination while being haunted by a supernatural threat.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both thriller & horror
SnoozefestMovies like thisAyla (2017)
A man haunted by the mysterious death of his 4-year-old sister brings her back to life thirty years later as an adult woman, with dire consequences.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both thriller & drama
Dark Summer (2015)
Follows the tale of a 17-year-old on house arrest for the summer. When his mother is away on business, a horrifying incident occurs, followed by an even more terrifying presence in the house.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both thriller & horror
SnoozefestMovies like thisDark Nature (2023)
While recovering from an abusive relationship, Joy joins her friend's therapy group on an isolated mountainous retreat. Led by a doctor with experimental methods, the group is soon forced to confront a monstrous entity.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both horror
SnoozefestMovies like thisCast No Shadow (2014)
One wild and tumultuous summer in the life of young Jude Traynor as he attempts to navigate his way through a life of delinquency and petty crime.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & thriller
Isabelle (2019)
A young couple's dream of starting a family shatters as they descend into the depths of paranoia and must struggle to survive an evil presence that wants nothing more than their very own lives.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both horror
SnoozefestMovies like thisLavender (2016)
A photographer struggling with memory loss discovers her pictures may indicate something sinister is hitting close to home.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & thriller
SnoozefestMovies like thisLaboratory Conditions (2018)
A physician investigating a missing body disrupts an unlawful experiment.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both horror & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisOur House (2018)
Ethan is suffering enormous guilt after his parents are killed in a car accident. He quits a promising future at MIT and work on a revolutionary experiment in order to care for his younger siblings.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both horror
SnoozefestMovies like thisAngelica (2017)
A couple living in Victorian London endure an unusual series of psychological and supernatural effects following the birth of their child.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & horror
Goblin (2010)
Every Halloween, a small hamlet in the deep woods is visited by a fierce goblin, intent on capturing infants and brutally murdering anyone in its path.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both horror
SnoozefestMovies like this
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like The Dark Stranger?
The closest matches to The Dark Stranger are The Swerve (2018), The Righteous (2021) and Desolation (2017). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after The Dark Stranger?
People who watched The Dark Stranger most often go on to The Swerve (2018), The Righteous (2021) and Desolation (2017).
What is the highest-rated movie like The Dark Stranger?
Possum (2018), rated 6.2/10 by 362 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like The Dark Stranger?
Dark Nature (2023) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like The Dark Stranger?
Yes: The Swerve (2018), The Righteous (2021) and Desolation (2017).
How are movies similar to The Dark Stranger chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside The Dark Stranger, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.