Movies like The Rule of Violence (2016)
The best movies like The Rule of Violence (2016) are The Transfiguration (2016), The Vanishing (1993) and The New Kids (1985). If The Rule of Violence hooked you with its horror and drama, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedThe Closet (2020)7.1/10 from 214 votes
- NewestThe Whisper Man (2026)Released 2026
- In KoreanMonster (2014)Also in Korean
The 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 Vanishing (1993)
The boyfriend of an abducted woman never gives up the search as the abductor looks on.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe New Kids (1985)
A brother and his young sister come to a small town to find out a local gang terrorizes the population.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & horror
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: 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 horror & drama
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 thisThe Final (2010)
A group of high school outcasts get revenge on the students that torment them.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMonster (2014)
Bok-Soon runs a street stall, cares for her younger sister, and is feared by many because of her quick temper. When Tae-Soo murders her sister, rage consumes her completely as she stalks the killer.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisF (2010)
A group of teachers must defend themselves from a gang of murderous kids when their school comes under siege after hours.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Life Before Her Eyes (2008)
As the 15th anniversary of a fatal high school shooting approaches, former pupil Diana McFee is haunted by memories of the tragedy. After losing her best friend Maureen in the attack, Diana has been profoundly affected by the incident - her seemingly perfect life shaped by the events of that day.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Evil (1978)
Shortly after moving into a dark, brooding mansion, a psychologist and his co-workers are terrorized by a horrible evil being.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
SnoozefestMovies like thisBarron's Cove (2025)
When his young son is viciously murdered by a classmate, a grieving father with a history of violence kidnaps the child responsible, igniting a frenzied manhunt fueled by a powerful politician -- the father of the kidnapped boy.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisOne on One (2014)
On May 9th, a female high school student was brutally murdered. There are 7 suspects and 7 shadows that terrorize them. Who are they and which one of them is you?
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisShark: The Beginning (2021)
A bullied teenager who is locked up at a juvenile detention center due to an unexpected accident, meets a mixed martial arts champion to break through his own limits.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Tall Man (2012)
When her child goes missing, a mother looks to unravel the legend of the Tall Man, an entity who allegedly abducts children.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHan Gong-ju (2014)
After being involved in a traumatic incident, 17-year-old Gong-ju is forced to change schools. Uncared for by her parents, her previous teacher arranges for her to hide away at his mother's place. It takes time for her past to catch up with her, but when it does the revelation is devastating.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Closet (2020)
After moving into a new house, a young girl begins displaying strange and disturbing behavior until, one day, she disappears behind a closet. While the devastated father is left with no clue about his daughter's disappearance, an exorcist shows up to help.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Worth the HypeMovies like thisWhisper (2007)
Sinister things begin happening to kidnappers who are holding a young boy for ransom in a remote cabin.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisNoise (2025)
A young woman with a hearing impairment investigates her sister’s mysterious disappearance from her apartment, but as she searches for answers, strange sounds and an ominous presence begin to haunt her.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisExorcism Chronicles: The Beginning (2025)
When a demonic uprising threatens to end the world as they know it, a monk and an excommunicated priest join forces to protect a powerful young boy and the next generation of magic. As dark forces close in, the unlikely trio must confront their inner demons.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Worth the HypeMovies like thisKeane (2004)
William Keane is barely able to cope. It has been six months since his six-year-old daughter was abducted from New York City’s Port Authority Bus Terminal while traveling with him. Repeatedly drawn to the site of the abduction, Keane wanders the bus station, compulsively replaying the events of that fateful day, as if hoping to change the outcome.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisNot Forgotten (2009)
Set in a Tex-Mex border town, Not Forgotten is a classic psychological thriller about Jack and Amaya Bishop, a couple who must come to terms with their tortured pasts in order to save their kidnapped daughter. It is a tale taut with intrigue and steeped in Latino mysticism, where the line between what's real and what's imagined becomes hopelessly blurred.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror
SnoozefestMovies like thisMardaani (2014)
A Mumbai police officer's search for a missing teenage girl leads her to the depraved world of child trafficking. What follows is a cat-and-mouse game between the officer and a ruthless mafia kingpin.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Whisper Man (2026)
When his young son vanishes, a widower enlists help from his estranged father, a retired detective who put away the serial killer now linked to the case.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Chocolate War (1988)
Jerry, a new student at an elite Catholic prep school, must face the hazing practices handed down by the Vigils, a group of powerful students. When teacher Brother Leon pushes the students to sell chocolates for a fundraiser, the head of the Vigils, Archie, gets Jerry to reject selling for 10 days. However, Jerry decides to keep up the refusal past the original time frame, which pits him against the Vigils and the school staff.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHoneymoon (2016)
A psychotic doctor kidnaps his neighbor and locks her in a dungeon, where he uses twisted conditioning methods to make her submit to being his wife.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror
SnoozefestMovies like thisKilling Words (2004)
A mild-mannered psychopath plays mind-games with a woman he has tied to a chair in his basement.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMore American Graffiti (1979)
College graduates deal with Vietnam and other issues of the late '60s.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisBlue Spring (2001)
Soon after being named the new leader of his high school's gang system, Kujo grows bored with the violence and hatred that surround him. He wants desperately to abandon his post… but his once-enviable position of power has a strange way of making him feel powerless.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisVersus (2000)
A group of ruthless gangsters, an unknown woman and an escaped convict have met, in The Forest of Resurrection, the 444th portal to the other side. Their troubles start when those once killed and buried in the forest come back from the dead.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like this
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like The Rule of Violence?
The closest matches to The Rule of Violence are The Transfiguration (2016), The Vanishing (1993) and The New Kids (1985). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after The Rule of Violence?
Start with The Transfiguration (2016), the closest match to The Rule of Violence.
What is the highest-rated movie like The Rule of Violence?
The Closet (2020), rated 7.1/10 by 214 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like The Rule of Violence?
The Whisper Man (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there Korean movies like The Rule of Violence?
Yes: Monster (2014), One on One (2014) and Shark: The Beginning (2021).
How are movies similar to The Rule of Violence chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside The Rule of Violence, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.