Movies like Cruel Summer (2016)
The best movies like Cruel Summer (2016) are Don't Hang Up (2016), Intruders (2015) and Bound to Vengeance (2015). If Cruel Summer hooked you with its drama and horror, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedSavaged (2014)6.6/10 from 229 votes
- NewestNot Without Hope (2025)Released 2025
Don't Hang Up (2016)
An evening of drunken prank calls becomes a nightmare for a pair of teenagers when a mysterious stranger turns their own game against them.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both horror & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisIntruders (2015)
Anna suffers from agoraphobia so crippling that when a trio of criminals break into her house, she cannot bring herself to flee. But what the intruders don't realize is that agoraphobia is not her only psychosis.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & thriller
SnoozefestMovies like thisBound to Vengeance (2015)
A young woman, Eve, fights back and manages to escape a malicious abductor. However, after discovering she may not be the only victim, Eve unravels a darker truth and decides to turn the tables on her captor.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both thriller & horror
SnoozefestMovies like thisUnconditional (2012)
A psychological romantic drama about teenage twins Owen and Kristen who fall under the sway of a charismatic young loan shark who offers love to one of them but on one condition.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & thriller
Wake Wood (2011)
The parents of a girl who was killed by a savage dog are granted the opportunity to spend three days with their deceased daughter.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & horror
SnoozefestMovies like thisMalicious (2018)
A young college professor and his pregnant wife unwittingly release a malevolent entity with murderous intentions.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both thriller & horror
SnoozefestMovies like thisNevrland (2019)
17-year-old Jakob wants nothing more than to feel alive. Uncontrollable anxiety attacks prevent him from doing so and force him to escape into virtual worlds. One night, he meets 26-year-old Kristjan in a cam chat. Their encounter marks the beginning of a transpersonal journey to the wounds of their souls.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & thriller
The Neighbor (2016)
In the town of Cutter, most people keep to themselves. But when John comes home to find his girlfriend missing, he sneaks into his neighbor's house, finding his girlfriend and several other kidnapped people tied up in the basement. When the neighbor come home, John is forced to get out of the house alive and lead the group to safety.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both horror & thriller
SnoozefestMovies like thisHomecoming (2009)
A jilted ex-girlfriend plots revenge after her former beau comes back to their hometown with a new lover.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both horror & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Boy (2015)
An intimate portrait of a 9 year old sociopath as he discovers his taste for killing.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & horror
SnoozefestMovies like thisThe 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 thisAwaiting (2015)
After a car accident, Jake is rescued by Morris and brought to his remote farmhouse. As he recovers from his injuries, Jake soon begins to suspect that something is very wrong. Morris has sinister plans for his new houseguest.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & horror
Sun Choke (2015)
Janie’s just trying to get well. As she recovers from a violent psychotic break, she’s subjected each day to a bizarre holistic health and wellness regimen designed, and enforced, by her lifelong nanny and caretaker. But when she develops an obsession with a stranger, Janie's buried demons begin to surface.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & thriller
SnoozefestMovies like thisM.O.M. Mothers of Monsters (2020)
A distraught mother suspects her teenage son is a psychopath who may shoot up his high school, but when he outsmarts the mental healthcare system she is forced to take matters into her own hands.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both thriller & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisPet (2016)
A man bumps into an old crush and becomes obsessed. After several failed attempts at winning her over, he kidnaps her and holds her captive underneath the animal shelter where he works.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both horror & thriller
SnoozefestMovies like thisKristy (2014)
When a college girl who is alone on campus over the Thanksgiving break is targeted by a group of outcasts, she must conquer her deepest fears to outwit them and fight back.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both thriller & horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBad Match (2017)
An internet-dating playboy's life spirals out of control after meeting a woman online.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both horror & thriller
SnoozefestMovies like thisFamily Vanished (2018)
A happy family returns from a vacation to find their home invaded by a criminal family and must fight for survival.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both thriller
Static (2012)
A couple facing marital problems after losing their child finds their life together further complicated by a mysterious visitor.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & horror
SnoozefestMovies like thisBlack Rock (2012)
Three childhood friends set aside their personal issues and reunite for a girls’ weekend on a remote island off the coast of Maine. One wrong move turns their weekend getaway into a deadly fight for survival.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both thriller & horror
SnoozefestMovies like thisThe Cleaning Lady (2018)
In a bid to distract herself from an affair, a narcissistic woman befriends a cleaning lady with burn scars, but she soon discovers that the scars may be more than skin deep.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both horror & thriller
SnoozefestMovies like thisThe Unseen (2017)
After the tragic loss of their son, perfect couple Gemma and Will begin to experience strange auditory hallucinations and losses of vision, as they attempt to escape their worries while vacationing at an acquaintance's remote cottage in the Lake District.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & horror
He's Out There (2018)
On vacation at a remote lake house, a mother and her two young daughters must fight for survival after falling into a terrifying and bizarre nightmare conceived by a psychopath.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both horror & thriller
SnoozefestMovies like thisCaptive (2020)
A teenage runaway who’s trapped by a delusional man, pretends to be his daughter in order to escape.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both thriller & horror
Popcorn FlickMovies 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 thisCaged (2021)
An African American male is imprisoned and placed in solitary confinement after being found guilty of murdering his wife, as he's haunted by internal demons and his dead wife, and pushed to the breaking point by an abusive female guard.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller & horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSavaged (2014)
After thugs brutalize a deaf-mute woman, the spirit of an Apache warrior takes over her lifeless body and sets out on a bloodthirsty quest for revenge.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSAS: Red Notice (2021)
An off-duty SAS soldier, Tom Buckingham, must thwart a terror attack on a train running through the Channel Tunnel. As the action escalates on the train, events transpire in the corridors of power that may make the difference as to whether Buckingham and the civilian passengers make it out of the tunnel alive.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & thriller
SnoozefestMovies like thisNot Without Hope (2025)
A group of friends' fishing boat capsizes off the coast of Mexico and they're left alone stranded at sea and struggling for survival.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisLight It Up (1999)
On a winter day in a southside Queens high school, events collide and six students are suddenly in an armed standoff with the NYPD. At the school, classrooms freeze, teachers come and go, resources are scant.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like this
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Cruel Summer?
The closest matches to Cruel Summer are Don't Hang Up (2016), Intruders (2015) and Bound to Vengeance (2015). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Cruel Summer?
People who watched Cruel Summer most often go on to Don't Hang Up (2016), Intruders (2015) and Bound to Vengeance (2015).
What is the highest-rated movie like Cruel Summer?
Savaged (2014), rated 6.6/10 by 229 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Cruel Summer?
Not Without Hope (2025) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like Cruel Summer?
Yes: Don't Hang Up (2016), Intruders (2015) and Bound to Vengeance (2015).
How are movies similar to Cruel Summer chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Cruel Summer, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.