Movies like Sex Files: Ancient Desires (2000)
The best movies like Sex Files: Ancient Desires (2000) are Day of the Dead (1985), Fear Street: 1994 (2021) and For the Sake of Vicious (2021). If Sex Files: Ancient Desires hooked you with its mystery, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedLost Highway (1997)7.6/10 from 3,130 votes
- NewestPinocchio: Unstrung (2026)Released 2026
Day of the Dead (1985)
As the world is overrun by zombies, scientists and military personnel in an underground Florida bunker must decide on how they should deal with the undead.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both mystery
Worth the HypeMovies like thisFear Street: 1994 (2021)
After a series of brutal slayings, a teen and her friends take on an evil force that's plagued their notorious town for centuries.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both mystery
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisFor the Sake of Vicious (2021)
An overworked nurse returns home to find a maniac hiding out with a bruised and beaten hostage. When an unexpected wave of violent intruders descend upon her home, it becomes a fight for survival.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both mystery
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSpiral: From the Book of Saw (2021)
Working in the shadow of an esteemed police veteran, brash Detective Ezekiel “Zeke” Banks and his rookie partner take charge of a grisly investigation into murders that are eerily reminiscent of the city’s gruesome past. Unwittingly entrapped in a deepening mystery, Zeke finds himself at the center of the killer’s morbid game.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both mystery
SnoozefestMovies like thisJigsaw (2017)
Law enforcement finds itself chasing the ghost of a man dead for over a decade, embroiled in a diabolical new game that's only just begun.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both mystery
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisOldboy (2013)
A man has only three and a half days and limited resources to discover why he was imprisoned in a nondescript room for 20 years without any explanation.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both mystery
SnoozefestMovies like thisParanormal Activity: Next of Kin (2021)
Margot is a documentary filmmaker looking to meet her long-lost mother and extended family in a secluded Amish community. She and her film crew soon realize the family that welcomes them into their home might be hiding a sinister secret.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both mystery
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Infernal Machine (2022)
Reclusive and controversial author Bruce Cogburn is drawn out of hiding by an obsessive fan, forcing the novelist to confront a past that he thought he could escape, and to account for events set in motion by his bestseller decades earlier. Cogburn's search for who is behind the manipulation and mental torment he encounters leads to an emotional roller-coaster ride full of fear and danger, where things are not always as clear as they seem to be, and where past deeds can have dire consequences.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both mystery
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSaw (2004)
Two men wake up to find themselves shackled in a grimy, abandoned bathroom. As they struggle to comprehend their predicament, they discover a disturbing tape left behind by the sadistic mastermind known as Jigsaw. With a chilling voice and cryptic instructions, Jigsaw informs them that they must partake in a gruesome game in order to secure their freedom.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both mystery
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Echo (2008)
An ex-prisoner moves to an old apartment, where one gets to see in the middle of a domestic problem between a police officer, his wife and his daughter. When he tries to intervene, he will be caught in a mysterious curse.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both mystery
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisFear Street: 1978 (2021)
In 1978, two rival groups at Camp Nightwing must band together to solve a terrifying mystery when horrors from their towns' history come alive.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both mystery
Worth the HypeMovies like thisCensor (2021)
A screener at the British Board of Film Classification (BBFC), who has earned an unsavory reputation for being the strictest censor of violent films, begins to spiral out of control after viewing a low-budget horror with similarities to the disappearance of her sister.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both mystery
SnoozefestMovies like thisHush... Hush, Sweet Charlotte (1964)
An aging, reclusive Southern belle plagued by a horrifying family secret descends into madness after the arrival of a lost relative.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both mystery
Worth the HypeMovies like thisEyes Wide Shut (1999)
After Dr. Bill Harford's wife, Alice, admits to having sexual fantasies about a man she met, Bill becomes obsessed with having a sexual encounter. He discovers an underground sexual group and attends one of their meetings -- and quickly discovers that he is in over his head.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both mystery
Worth the HypeMovies like thisMirrors (2008)
An ex-cop and his family are the target of an evil force that is using mirrors as a gateway into their home.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both mystery
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMalignant (2021)
Madison is paralyzed by shocking visions of grisly murders, and her torment worsens as she discovers that these waking dreams are in fact terrifying realities with a mysterious tie to her past.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both mystery
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisPinocchio: Unstrung (2026)
Influenced by a sinister Cricket and created by Geppetto, Pinocchio launches a violent crusade to carve himself into a real boy like his brother James, one piece at a time.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both mystery
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Night Flier (1997)
For cynical tabloid journo Richard Dees, facts are always stranger than fiction. Every headline is a dead-line. Serial killers, UFO abductions, tales of molestation, mayhem and murder. To some the tales are mere sleazy fantasy – but his faithful readers believe. And now there's a new story: The Night Flier. What is it that travels by night in a dark-winged Cessna, lands at secluded airfields and murders local residents? Dees begins to track the unknown killer in a Cessna of his own, uncovering clues that reveal a pilot more terrifying than he could have ever imagined.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both mystery
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Overnight (2015)
Alex, Emily, and their son, RJ, are new to Los Angeles. A chance meeting at the park introduces them to the mysterious Kurt, Charlotte, and Max. A family “playdate” becomes increasingly interesting as the night goes on.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both mystery
SnoozefestMovies like thisLost Highway (1997)
A tormented jazz musician finds himself lost in an enigmatic story involving murder, surveillance, gangsters, doppelgängers, and an impossible transformation inside a prison cell.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both mystery
Worth the HypeMovies like thisScooby-Doo and the Ghoul School (1988)
Scooby, Shaggy and Scrappy are on their way to Miss Grimwood's Finishing School for Girls, where they've been hired as gym teachers. Once there, however, they find that not only is it actually an all-girl school of famous monsters' daughters but there's a villainess out to enslave the girls.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both mystery
Worth the HypeMovies like thisNational Treasure (2004)
Modern treasure hunters, led by archaeologist Ben Gates, search for a chest of riches rumored to have been stashed away by George Washington, Thomas Jefferson and Benjamin Franklin during the Revolutionary War. The chest's whereabouts may lie in secret clues embedded in the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence, and Gates is in a race to find the gold before his enemies do.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both mystery
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMidnight Tease (1994)
Between the realms of fantasy and reality lies Club Fugazi, a strip bar where the girls are being brutally murdered. The lead dancer dreams about killing the strippers each night before the murders take place. She's uncertain of her innocence, but her psychiatrist assures her she's not the killer. Now, it's up to him to convince the cops.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both mystery
Black Mountain Side (2016)
A group of archaeologists working in Northern Canada uncover a strange structure dating over ten thousand years before the present. The team soon finds themselves isolated when their communication systems fail and they begin to feel the effects of solitude.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both mystery
SnoozefestMovies like thisTutankhamun: The Truth Uncovered (2014)
What killed King Tutankhamun? Ever since his spectacular tomb was discovered, the boy king has been the most famous pharaoh of all ancient Egypt. But his mysterious death, at just 19 years old, has never been explained. In this BBC One special, presenter Dallas Campbell reveals new scientific research and carries out unique experiments to get to the truth. For the first time, a virtual autopsy of Tut's mummified body reveals astonishing secrets about the pharaoh. Using CT scan data, the programme creates the first ever full size, scientifically accurate image of the real Tutankhamun. Brand new DNA analysis uncovers a shocking secret about Tut's family background, and the genetic trail of clues leads to a radical and revolutionary new theory to explain Tut's sudden and unexpected death. This is an epic detective story that uncovers the extraordinary truth of the boy behind the golden mask.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both mystery
The Enjoyment of the Avacalho (2006)
Sinners of a rural community having his flesh melted as an atonement for his Christian offenses. A revolutionary army of two people feuding with hordes of rotting zombies, and a mad scientist philosopher that builds a mummy of Christ to control the world.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both mystery
La Révélation des Pyramides 2 : l'Équateur penché, l'enquête continue... (2020)
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both mystery
Naked Poison II (2002)
During the murder of her boyfriend, Ann is hit and loses her ability to remember more than the previous 15 minutes at any given time. But she swears to find the murderer and recall her past with the aid of her tattooes, which provide her with vital information. Starting with a blank canvas, she must make sense of the people around her--a cop, a business woman, a divorcee, and a transsexual--in order to make put the pieces together
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both mystery
Curse of the Mummy (1970)
An archaeologist unearths the mummy of an Egyptian queen. He doesn't realize that his daughter has a strong resemblance to the dead queen, and soon the mummy awakens. Complications ensue.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both mystery
Mature Young Wife: The Swapping (1990)
Detective Nozawa persuades his wife, Akiko, to go to a swinger club. There, he meets Saeki and Etsuko, who live in the same apartment building, but shortly after, Etsuko's murdered body is discovered...
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both mystery
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Sex Files: Ancient Desires?
The closest matches to Sex Files: Ancient Desires are Day of the Dead (1985), Fear Street: 1994 (2021) and For the Sake of Vicious (2021). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Sex Files: Ancient Desires?
Start with Day of the Dead (1985), the closest match to Sex Files: Ancient Desires.
What is the highest-rated movie like Sex Files: Ancient Desires?
Lost Highway (1997), rated 7.6/10 by 3,130 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Sex Files: Ancient Desires?
Pinocchio: Unstrung (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like Sex Files: Ancient Desires?
Yes: Day of the Dead (1985), Fear Street: 1994 (2021) and For the Sake of Vicious (2021).
How are movies similar to Sex Files: Ancient Desires chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Sex Files: Ancient Desires, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.