Movies like Sanctuary of Fear (1979)
The best movies like Sanctuary of Fear (1979) are Crossword Mysteries: A Puzzle to Die For (2019), The Hound of the Baskervilles (2002) and Locke & Key (2011). If Sanctuary of Fear hooked you with its tv movie and thriller, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedBurning (2018)7.4/10 from 1,928 votes
- NewestAlfie: All That You Love Will Be Carried Away (2026)Released 2026
Crossword Mysteries: A Puzzle to Die For (2019)
A crossword puzzle editor finds her life completely disrupted when several of the clues in her recent puzzles are linked to unsolved crimes, and she is pulled into the police investigation.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both mystery & thriller
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Hound of the Baskervilles (2002)
Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson are called in to unravel a mysterious curse that has plagued the Baskerville family for generations. When Sir Charles Baskerville is found dead, his heir, Sir Henry, begs Holmes to save him from the terrifying supernatural hound that has brought fear and death to his household.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller & mystery
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisLocke & Key (2011)
Three children become the caretakers of a New England mansion that is home to a bevy of secrets and magic.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisStalked by My Doctor (2015)
When a teenage girl is miraculously saved by a heart surgeon, the doctor begins to flirt with her. Her father doesn’t believe her and unbeknownst to all, the doctor is obsessed with the girl.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMiss Marple: A Caribbean Mystery (1989)
While on vacation at a resort hotel in the West Indies, Miss Marple correctly suspects that the apparently natural death of a retired British major is actually the work of a murderer planning yet another killing.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both mystery
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Assault (2014)
After a cheerleader is sexually assaulted by the high school football team, she must overcome her shame and use the evidence gathered from the subsequent social media firestorm to piece together the night that she can't remember in her fight for justice. Based on the true story of the Steubenville, Ohio rape case.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both mystery
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAurora Teagarden Mysteries: Haunted By Murder (2022)
A murder investigation is reignited in a house that is considered haunted by the Lawrenceton locals and where years ago Aurora and Sally, as teenagers, discovered a body.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both mystery
Worth the HypeMovies like thisFlower Shop Mystery: Dearly Depotted (2016)
Abby Knight, ex-lawyer and crime buff, and the owner of Bloomers Flower Shop, is having a week to be reckoned with. A reluctant bridesmaid at her drama queen cousin’s wedding, Abby ends up not just doing the flowers...but having to find out who murdered a wedding crasher. Stars Brooke Shields, Brennan Elliott and Beau Bridges.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both mystery
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMiss Marple: The Murder at the Vicarage (1986)
Faced with two false confessions and numerous suspects after a despised civil magistrate is found shot in the local vicarage, Detective Inspector Slack reluctantly accepts help from Miss Marple.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both mystery
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSherlock: Case of Evil (2002)
Early in his crime-solving career, Sherlock Holmes attempts to prevent Moriarty from cornering the heroin market.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both mystery
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisPsych: The Movie (2017)
The ambitious friends come together during the holidays after a mystery assailant targets one of their own. A comedic thrill-ride follows, as the wild and unpredictable Psych team pursues the bad guys, justice … and, of course, food!
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both mystery
Worth the HypeMovies like thisMiss Marple: They Do It with Mirrors (1992)
At the insistence of Ruth Van Rydock, an old schoolfriend who is convinced that there is something wrong, Miss Marple agrees to visit 'Stonygates', the country house of Ruth's sister.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both mystery
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSuburbicon (2017)
In the quiet family town of Suburbicon during the 1950s, the best and worst of humanity is hilariously reflected through the deeds of seemingly ordinary people. When a home invasion turns deadly, a picture-perfect family turns to blackmail, revenge and murder.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller & mystery
SnoozefestMovies like thisThe Woman in Black (1989)
A lawyer travels to a small seaside town to settle the estate of a recently deceased woman, but soon becomes ensnared in something much more sinister.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both mystery
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCa$h (2010)
A stroke of good luck turns lethal for Sam Phelan and his wife Leslie when they are faced with a life-changing decision that brings strange and sinister Pyke Kubic to their doorstep. As Pyke leads Sam and Leslie on a tumultuous adventure through the streets of Chicago, each are pulled deeper and deeper into a desperate spiral of deception and violence – all in the name of money.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller & mystery
SnoozefestMovies like thisThe Black Book (2023)
After his son is wrongly accused of kidnapping, a deacon who has just lost his wife takes matters into his own hands and fights a crooked police gang to clear him.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both mystery & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBad Sister (2015)
As a top student at St. Adeline's Catholic Boarding School, Zoe senses that something is not quite right about the school's new nun-- a sense proven to be true when it is revealed the "good' nun is an imposter with a fatal attraction to Zoe's brother.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like this5lbs of Pressure (2024)
Fresh out of prison after serving time for murder, Adam returns to his old stomping grounds to seek out a son who doesn't know him. Eli, the brother of the man he killed is looking for revenge. Mike, is trying to escape a life of crime living under the thumb of his gangster Uncle.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisPsych 3: This Is Gus (2021)
In preparation for a shotgun wedding before the birth of Baby Guster, Shawn and Gus go rogue in an attempt to track down Selene’s estranged husband, as Lassiter grapples with the future of his career.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both mystery
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisFlower Shop Mystery: Mum's the Word (2016)
Abby Knight, a former lawyer turned proud flower shop owner is starting over after the death of her husband with the support from her father, a new business and her daughter off to college. Life is good in the peaceful town of New Chapel but when a black SUV rams her prized vintage car, she’s determined to track down the driver. She begrudgingly accepts the help of a new neighbor, the handsome and charming ex-Marine Marco Salvare who just bought the bar down the street.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both mystery
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBurning (2018)
Deliveryman Jong-su is out on a job when he runs into Hae-mi, a girl who once lived in his neighborhood. She asks if he'd mind looking after her cat while she's away on a trip to Africa. On her return, she introduces to Jong-su an enigmatic young man named Ben, who she met during her trip. One day Ben tells Jong-su about his most unusual hobby.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both mystery & thriller
Worth the HypeMovies like thisDeath and the Compass (1992)
In a totalitarian future, in a nightmare metropolis, inhabited only by criminals and police, Erik Lonnrot, a gifted detective, investigates a series of strange murders and disappearances that seem to implicate a insane crime lord. (Re-released in 1996 as a feature film, 86 minutes.)
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller
The Thanksgiving Visitor (1968)
In this sequel to Truman Capote's "A Christmas Memory," a boy recalls his life with an elderly cousin in rural Alabama in the 1930s and the lesson she taught him one Thanksgiving Day about dealing with a bully from school.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
The Strange Door (1951)
The wicked Alain plots an elaborate revenge against his younger brother Edmund, leading to a deadly confrontation in his dungeon deathtrap.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller
Mute (2022)
William, a middle-aged traveling salesman, confesses his life story to a deaf and mute hitchhiker.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both mystery
Guilt (1990)
The film is set in the 1840s. A charming village girl, Rozina, falls in love with a farmhand, Martin. However, a local madwoman, who secretly loves Martin, reveals the location of their meetings to Rozina's father, who banishes Martin and marries Rozina to the son of a rich farmer against her will. Disappointed, Martin joins a gang of smugglers. The fates of all the characters inevitably lead to tragedy...
Why it matches: Similar story and style
Alfie: All That You Love Will Be Carried Away (2026)
In despair, traveling salesman Alfie Zimmer, on the brink of suicide, finds hope documenting graffiti in his notebook. As he grapples with embracing his passion or surrendering to a mundane existence, his journey of self-discovery unfolds.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller
Mute (2016)
While on the road, Monette picked up a hitchhiker, carrying a sign proclaiming him to be both deaf and mute. Since Monette believes that the man cannot hear him, he decides to vent his problems to him.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller
Mute (2016)
Mute is a film about an on the road book salesman, Monette. He has spent countless days and nights on the road alone. His wife has found comfort and attention in the arms of Cowboy Bob. Monette struggles to understand what happened and about the fate of his daughter. He soon finds out that pouring your heart out can lead down a dangerous path. Monette hastily comes up with a plan to secure his and his daughter's future.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller
Mute (2011)
When a young man on his way home from a business trip picks up a deaf/mute hitchhiker for company, he has no idea what he's gotten himself into and it may cost him his life.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both mystery
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Sanctuary of Fear?
The closest matches to Sanctuary of Fear are Crossword Mysteries: A Puzzle to Die For (2019), The Hound of the Baskervilles (2002) and Locke & Key (2011). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Sanctuary of Fear?
Start with Crossword Mysteries: A Puzzle to Die For (2019), the closest match to Sanctuary of Fear.
What is the highest-rated movie like Sanctuary of Fear?
Burning (2018), rated 7.4/10 by 1,928 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Sanctuary of Fear?
Alfie: All That You Love Will Be Carried Away (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like Sanctuary of Fear?
Yes: Crossword Mysteries: A Puzzle to Die For (2019), The Hound of the Baskervilles (2002) and Locke & Key (2011).
How are movies similar to Sanctuary of Fear chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Sanctuary of Fear, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.