Movies like The Puppet Man (2016)
The best movies like The Puppet Man (2016) are The Truth About Emanuel (2013), Night of the Hunted (2023) and Black Widow (1987). If The Puppet Man hooked you with its thriller, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedSuccubus (2024)8.3/10 from 279 votes
- NewestFound Alive (2026)Released 2026
The Truth About Emanuel (2013)
A troubled young woman becomes obsessed with her mysterious new neighbor, who bears a striking resemblance to the girl's dead mother.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisNight of the Hunted (2023)
When an unsuspecting woman stops at a remote gas station in the dead of night, she's made the plaything of a sociopath sniper with a secret vendetta. To survive, she must not only dodge his bullets and fight for her life, but also figure out who wants her dead and why.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBlack Widow (1987)
Federal agent Alexandra Barnes believes that Catherine Petersen is a serial killer who marries rich men and then murders them for their money. But since Catherine is seemingly a master of disguise and has multiple identities, Alexandra can't prove anything with conventional detective work. With no other option, she goes undercover, pursuing the same man as Catherine, and hoping that Catherine will slip up and reveal her true identity.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBlood Punch (2014)
Milton, a college dropout, was only supposed to cook meth for one day. Broken out of rehab by a brash young woman and her trigger-happy ("ex") boyfriend and driven to a remote cabin the woods, Milton finds himself drawn into a dangerous love triangle gone haywire. The couple's deadpan half-truths spin around Milton like a song on repeat. They seem to read him like an open book, until a mysterious message opens his eyes to his cursed existence. With unlimited ammunition, any hunting tool they could desire, and an ever-growing body count, for what did Milton really sign up?
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisWardriver (2026)
He’s a Wardriver: a hacker who steals from banks, not people—until he’s noticed. Now the money turns violent, and the woman caught in it could save him or kill them both.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Town that Dreaded Sundown (2014)
A masked maniac terrorizes the same small community where a murderer known as the Phantom Killer struck decades earlier.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
SnoozefestMovies like thisPetals on the Wind (2014)
This sequel to Flowers in the Attic picks up 10 years after Cathy, Chris and Carrie managed to escape Foxworth Hall.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisFrank and Penelope (2022)
A tale of love and violence when a man on his emotional last legs finds a savior seductively dancing in a run-down strip club. And a life most certainly headed off a cliff suddenly becomes redirected - as everything is now worth dying for.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Worth the HypeMovies like thisSlash/Back (2022)
In a remote Arctic community, a group of Inuit girls fight off an alien invasion, all while trying to make it to the coolest party in town.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSuccubus (2024)
A new father going through a marital separation joins a dating app and matches with a beautiful but mysterious young woman... whose powers of seduction and manipulation entangle him in a mystery more horrifying than he could have ever imagined.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisThe Calling (2014)
Detective Hazel Micallef hasn't had much to worry about in the sleepy town of Port Dundas until a string of gruesome murders in the surrounding countryside brings her face to face with a serial killer driven by a higher calling.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
SnoozefestMovies like thisShadow Dancer (2012)
In 1990s Belfast, a woman is forced to betray all she believes in for the sake of her son.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisRogue Agent (2022)
Conman Robert Freegard poses as an undercover MI5 agent and kidnaps countless victims amidst a high-stakes manhunt, until the woman who fell for him brings him to justice.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Good Neighbor (2022)
A nightmarish evening unfolds for neighbors David and Robert when they accidentally hit a woman on her bike and flee the scene. While David is increasingly plagued by feelings of guilt, Robert shows no remorse and becomes overbearing and possessive.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCurve (2016)
Clinging to a smooth, curved surface high above a sentient abyss, a woman tries to cover the few feet back to safety without losing purchase and falling to her death.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisGod Is a Bullet (2023)
Vice detective Bob Hightower finds his ex-wife murdered and daughter kidnapped by a cult. Frustrated by the botched official investigations, he quits the force and infiltrates the cult to hunt down the leader with the help of the cult’s only female victim escapee, Case Hardin.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisStrange but True (2019)
A woman surprises the family of her deceased boyfriend by telling them she's pregnant with his child.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisA Dry White Season (1989)
During the 1976 Soweto uprising, a white school teacher's life and values are threatened when he asks questions about the death of a young black boy who died in police custody.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisStrange Darling (2024)
Nothing is what it seems when a twisted one-night stand spirals into a serial killer’s vicious murder spree.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisKing of Killers (2023)
Garan is a part of a group of international hitmen who are contracted to take out the most dangerous killer in the world, only to find out that they're the ones being hunted.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisShort Lease (2010)
A ghost story with a twist: Maura Jameson visits a deserted country house to perform a structural survey for the new estate agent. Upon finding a man hanging by his necktie in the foyer, she calls the police; during the fifteen-minute wait for their arrival, she experiences in nail-biting detail the events that led to the man's death.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller
D.O.A. (1988)
Dexter Cornell, an English Professor becomes embroiled in a series of murders involving people around him. Dexter has good reason to want to find the murderer but hasn't much time. He finds help and comfort from one of his student, Sydney Fuller.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisRuby Blue (2007)
An elderly man's innocent friendship with an eight year old girl is tarnished by the assumptions of a community when the little girl goes missing.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller
The Ghost (2008)
A novelist struggling with writer's block enlists the aid of an assassin for some inspiration -- fully unaware that he is being set up to take the blame for a murder.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller
Found Alive (2026)
Reeve LeClaire is still haunted by when she was held captive as a teenager by a sadistic man, but when her psychiatrist asks her to mentor a newly rescued survivor, she’s pulled into a chilling game of cat-and-mouse—one that threatens to drag her back into the nightmare she barely escaped.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller
Frank McKlusky, C.I. (2002)
As a child, Frank McKlusky watched his daredevil father "Madman" McKlusky become comatose in an ill-fated motorcycle stunt. Now as a risk-avoiding adult, he lives with his parents and always wears protective gear. When he suspiciously loses his partner on the job, Frank must become a master of disguise, take a sexy new partner and grab evidence to bust up the biggest insurance scam going!
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller
Run (2021)
A woman's morning jog takes a dark turn.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller
Descent (2007)
Following a brutal assault, a college co-ed's life spirals until she encounters her assailant while working as a dancer. The predator has become the prey, and the prey has set her sights on revenge.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller
SnoozefestMovies like thisThe Matrix Reloaded (2003)
The Resistance builds in numbers as humans are freed from the Matrix and brought to the city of Zion. Neo discovers his superpowers, including the ability to see the code inside the Matrix. With machine sentinels digging to Zion in 72 hours, Neo, Morpheus and Trinity must find the Keymaker to ultimately reach the Source.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Matrix Revolutions (2003)
The human city of Zion defends itself against the massive invasion of the machines as Neo fights to end the war at another front while also opposing the rogue Agent Smith.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like this
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like The Puppet Man?
The closest matches to The Puppet Man are The Truth About Emanuel (2013), Night of the Hunted (2023) and Black Widow (1987). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after The Puppet Man?
Start with The Truth About Emanuel (2013), the closest match to The Puppet Man.
What is the highest-rated movie like The Puppet Man?
Succubus (2024), rated 8.3/10 by 279 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like The Puppet Man?
Found Alive (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like The Puppet Man?
Yes: The Truth About Emanuel (2013), Night of the Hunted (2023) and Black Widow (1987).
How are movies similar to The Puppet Man chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside The Puppet Man, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.