Movies like The Nightmare (2015)
The best movies like The Nightmare (2015) are The Mothman Prophecies (2002), Boys in the Trees (2016) and undertone (2026). If The Nightmare hooked you with its drama and mystery, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedK-PAX (2001)7.2/10 from 2,922 votes
- Newestundertone (2026)Released 2026
- In GermanThe Gamblers (2007)Also in German
The Mothman Prophecies (2002)
Reporter John Klein is plunged into a world of impossible terror when fate draws him to the sleepy West Virginia town of Point Pleasant, whose residents are being visited by a great winged shape that sows hideous nightmares and fevered visions.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBoys in the Trees (2016)
On Halloween 1997, two estranged teen skaters embark on a surreal journey through their memories, dreams and fears.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisundertone (2026)
The host of a popular paranormal podcast becomes haunted by terrifying recordings mysteriously sent her way.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror & mystery
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMr. K (2025)
Mr. K, a traveling magician, finds himself in a Kafkaesque nightmare when he can’t find the exit of his hotel. His attempts to get out only pull him deeper, entangling him further with the hotel and its curious inhabitants.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & mystery
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisTime Lapse (2014)
Three friends discover a mysterious machine that takes pictures 24 hours into the future and conspire to use it for personal gain, until disturbing and dangerous images begin to develop.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both mystery & horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Caveman's Valentine (2001)
Romulus, a misunderstood musician turned recluse hiding from personal demons in a New York City cave, finds the frozen body of a young drifter in a tree. The authorities, including his police officer daughter, claim the death is accidental. Romulus is convinced the man was murdered by a prominent art photographer but how can he prove he's right when everyone thinks he's insane?
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & mystery
SnoozefestMovies 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 thisMonster Summer (2024)
When a mysterious force begins to disrupt their big summer fun, Noah and his friends team up with a retired police detective to embark on a monstrous adventure to save their island.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both mystery & horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisExtraordinary Tales (2015)
Five tales by Edgar Allan Poe come to life thanks to a pictorical style animation, five tales that exude madness, pestilence, murder and torture.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror & mystery
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Eternal Daughter (2022)
An artist and her elderly mother confront long-buried secrets when they return to a former family home, now a hotel haunted by its mysterious past.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & mystery
SnoozefestMovies like thisMermaid Down (2019)
A mermaid is ripped from the ocean by a fishing crew only to be tortured and to have her tail cut off. A seemingly helpful stranger intervenes, but then locks her away in an institution for mentally disturbed young women, where no one believes she is a mermaid. With no way out, she is forced to count on her survival instincts, and fight for her life at all costs.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror & mystery
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Night Walker (1964)
A woman is haunted by recurring nightmares, which seem to be instigated by her late husband who supposedly was killed in a fire.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror & mystery
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisWe Go On (2016)
Paralyzed by his fear of dying, Miles Grissom takes out an advert offering $30,000 in reward money to the first person who can show him evidence of an angel, a demon, or prove that ghosts exist - anything to prove to him that we go on after our deaths. He narrows the responses down to three viable candidates - a scientist, a medium, and a worldly entrepreneur. Along with his protective mother, he embarks on an adventure through Los Angeles that will spiral into an unthinkable nightmare.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror & drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisK-PAX (2001)
Prot is a patient at a mental hospital who claims to be from a far away planet. His psychiatrist tries to help him, only to begin to doubt his own explanations.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & mystery
Worth the HypeMovies like thisDr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1941)
Dr. Jekyll believes good and evil exist in everyone and creates a potion that allows his evil side, Mr. Hyde, to come to the fore. He faces horrible consequences when he lets his dark side run amok.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHouse of Dark Shadows (1970)
Barnabas Collins searches for a cure for vampirism in order to marry a woman resembling his long-lost fiancée Josette.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBrand Upon the Brain! (2007)
After returning home to his long-estranged mother upon a request from her deathbed, a man raised by his parents in an orphanage has to confront the childhood memories that have long haunted him.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & mystery
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisTake Shelter (2011)
Plagued by a series of apocalyptic visions, a young husband and father questions whether to shelter his family from a coming storm, or from himself.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & horror
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Cellar (2022)
When Keira Woods' daughter mysteriously vanishes in the cellar of their new house in the country, she soon discovers there is an ancient and powerful entity controlling their home that she will have to face or risk losing her family's souls forever.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror & mystery
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Car (1977)
The Utah community of Santa Ynez is being terrorized by a mysterious black coupe that appears out of nowhere and begins running people down. After the car kills off the town sheriff, Captain Wade Parent is determined to stop the murderous driver.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror & mystery
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisNarda or The Summer (1970)
Two friends on a summer getaway find and fall for a mysterious woman who will change their lives forever.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both mystery & drama
The Film Lost To Time (2024)
A film buff's obsession with an elusive, possibly nonexistent film spirals into a dangerous descent, blurring the line between reality and madness.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & mystery
The Kings of the World (2022)
Rá, Culebro, Sere, Winny and Nano. Five boys who live on the streets of Medellín. Five kings with no kingdom, no law, no family, set out on a journey in search of the promised land. A subversive tale told through a wild and endearing clan, somewhere between reality and delirium. A journey to nowhere, where everything happens.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisA Night in the Fields (2020)
In a working-class town, Anthony and Dylan, two inseparable 14-year-old teenagers decide to go on a walk for a retro house party in a nightclub called the Komplex. While one wants to join Océane, a young girl with whom he is in love, the other wants to escape from Joe, his brother's dealer, from whom he stole money and part of his stock.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
The Gamblers (2007)
General arrives in Baden-Baden with his stepdaughter Polina and his mother, seeking social standing and respite. Secretly, they chase casino fortunes alongside a French businessman and beauty. Alexej, Polina’s tutor, struggles with his own gambling past while falling for her. When the wealthy “Babushka” dies, the family’s financial woes vanish, freeing Alexej to court Polina. Yet he loses everything in a sudden winning streak that upends loyalties and reveals the world’s true stakes: love, money, and chance.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Soft Side (2025)
Angry and brooding school drop-out, Hunter Hall, spends his nights driving and picking fights when an estranged family member suddenly causes him to question his lifestyle.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Deltopia (2023)
Every spring break, tens of thousands of college kids descend upon Isla Vista, California, for Deltopia - the ultimate street party with no rules and no boundaries. A group of recent high school grads join the party, looking to celebrate their newfound freedom. But nothing can prepare these friends for Deltopia's volatile mix of sex, drugs, and rebellion, as they unite for a life-changing adventure that brings exhilaration, heartbreak, and, ultimately, hope.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Don't Say a Word (2001)
When the daughter of a psychiatrist is kidnapped, he is horrified to discover that the abductors' demand is that he break through to a young woman, suffering from PTSD, who knows a secret six digit code number.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both mystery
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisWhite Fang (1991)
Jack London's classic adventure story about the friendship developed between a Yukon gold hunter and the mixed dog-wolf he rescues from the hands of a man who mistreats him.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisOne of the Boys (2022)
On a hot summer day in the countryside, Ines, a young teenager, gets involved in a friendly ball game between boys her age, and among them Malik, the one she has a crush on.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Like The Nightmare and something else?
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like The Nightmare?
The closest matches to The Nightmare are The Mothman Prophecies (2002), Boys in the Trees (2016) and undertone (2026). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after The Nightmare?
Start with The Mothman Prophecies (2002), the closest match to The Nightmare.
What is the highest-rated movie like The Nightmare?
K-PAX (2001), rated 7.2/10 by 2,922 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like The Nightmare?
undertone (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there German movies like The Nightmare?
Yes: The Gamblers (2007).
How are movies similar to The Nightmare chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside The Nightmare, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.