Movies like The Painted Skin (1966)
The best movies like The Painted Skin (1966) are Medusa (2020), No Such Thing (2002) and The Transfiguration (2016). If The Painted Skin hooked you with its drama and horror, these 20 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedA Writer's Odyssey (2021)7.1/10 from 393 votes
- NewestResurrection (2025)Released 2025
- In ChineseResurrection (2025)Also in Chinese
Medusa (2020)
After being bitten by a lethal snake, a young woman experiences changes in her senses and appearance, as she sheds her old self and slowly turns into a deadly weapon.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisNo Such Thing (2002)
A young journalist journeys to Iceland to find her missing fiancé only to encounter a mythical creature who longs to die.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both fantasy & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Transfiguration (2016)
When troubled teen Milo, who has a fascination with vampire lore, meets the equally alienated Sophie, the two form a bond that begins to blur Milo's fantasy into reality.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Surrender (2025)
A fraught mother-daughter relationship is put to a terrifying test when the family patriarch dies, and the grieving mother hires a mysterious stranger to bring her husband back from the dead.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & horror
SnoozefestMovies like thisThe Shepherd (2023)
On Christmas Eve, a fighter pilot on his way home becomes lost while flying over water and needs a miracle to land safely.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & fantasy
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Unhealer (2021)
A botched faith healing bestows supernatural Shaman powers on a bullied teenager. When his lifelong tormentors pull a prank that kills someone he loves, he uses his powers for revenge and goes on a bloody rampage to settle the score.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both fantasy & horror
SnoozefestMovies like thisResurrection (2025)
In a world where humanity has lost the ability to dream in exchange for eternal life, one creature remains entranced by the fading illusions of the dreamworld. This monster, adrift in reverie, clings to visions no one else can see - until a woman appears. As she allows him to dream one final time, his life of different identities is replayed as they journey through his century of existence.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both fantasy & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisWerewolf: The Beast Among Us (2012)
Set in a 19th century village, a young man studying under a local doctor joins a team of hunters on the trail of a wolf-like creature.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & horror
SnoozefestMovies like thisPainted Skin: The Resurrection (2012)
According to demon lore, it takes hundreds of years to attain human form. Even then, lacking a human heart, a demon cannot experience the true pains and passions of existence. However, there is a legend that if a pure human heart is freely offered to a demon, it can become a mortal and experience true life. Sequel of Painted Skin (2008).
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & fantasy
SnoozefestMovies like thisNine Days (2021)
A bureaucrat interviews five souls to decide which of them will be given a life on Earth. But he soon faces an existential challenge of his own.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & fantasy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisRaging Grace (2023)
An undocumented Filipina immigrant lands a job as a careworker for a seemingly terminal old man, securing a better life for her and her daughter. But a dark discovery threatens to destroy everything she’s strived for and holds dear.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSuper Me (2021)
Sang Yu is so exhausted from trying to stay awake. Every time he closes his eyes, a demon chases and kills him in his dreams. One night Sang realizes he has a special power: he can bring treasures from his dreams into reality. Almost overnight, he becomes a rich man. But his wealth also attracts the attention of a ruthless gangster.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & fantasy
Worth the HypeMovies like thisNocebo (2022)
A fashion designer suffers from a mysterious illness that puzzles her doctors and frustrates her husband until help arrives in the form of a Filipino caregiver who uses traditional folk healing to reveal a horrifying truth.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror & fantasy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisLegend of the Mountain (1979)
A traveling scholar is intent on translating a Buddhist sutra that is said to have power over the creatures of the afterlife. He slowly finds himself entangled in a mysterious plot involving witchcraft, demons, and a battle to preserve his own soul from the attacks of the supernatural underworld.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror & fantasy
Worth the HypeMovies like thisA Writer's Odyssey (2021)
Lu Kongwen is the author of a fantasy novel series following a heroic teenager, also named Kongwen, on a quest to end the tyrannical rule of Lord Redmane, under the guidance of a Black Armor. But through a strange twist of fate, the fantasy world of the novel begins to impact life in the real world, leading Guan Ning to accept a mission from Tu Ling to kill the author.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both fantasy & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Tenants Downstairs (2016)
A loafer inherits an apartment block and lets out the place to a group of tenants, including a lusty gymnastics teacher, a geeky college student, a single father with his young daughter, a gay couple, a writer and a sexy female office worker. An incredible story is about to unfold as they start their lives in the same building.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHow Sarah Got Her Wings (2015)
Good Samaritan Sarah Fitzpatrick has a fatal accident just before Christmas, and finds herself in the lobby before the gates of Heaven. Certain that she will be let in, she is shocked to find that her name is not on the reservation list. However, she is granted the chance to return to Earth as an "angel in training" with the requirement to help a soul in need. Sarah has the 12 days before Christmas to secure her place on the list leaving her in the race for her after-life.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & fantasy
SnoozefestMovies like thisDonovan's Echo (2011)
A series of uncanny déjà vu events force a man to re-examine his tragic past, memory, instinct, and future.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both fantasy & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Banquet (2006)
Crown Prince Wu Luan is in love with Little Wan but left heartbroken when she marries his father, the emperor. The emperor's brother, Li, kills him and Wu Luan tries to avenge his father's death.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both fantasy & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHorns (2013)
In the aftermath of his girlfriend's mysterious death, a young man awakens to strange horns sprouting from his temples.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & fantasy
Popcorn FlickMovies like this
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like The Painted Skin?
The closest matches to The Painted Skin are Medusa (2020), No Such Thing (2002) and The Transfiguration (2016). Below are 17 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after The Painted Skin?
Start with Medusa (2020), the closest match to The Painted Skin.
What is the highest-rated movie like The Painted Skin?
A Writer's Odyssey (2021), rated 7.1/10 by 393 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like The Painted Skin?
Resurrection (2025) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there Chinese movies like The Painted Skin?
Yes: Resurrection (2025), Painted Skin: The Resurrection (2012) and Super Me (2021).
How are movies similar to The Painted Skin chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside The Painted Skin, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.