Movies like Nightmare Detective (2007)
The best movies like Nightmare Detective (2007) are Suicide Club (2001), Shutter (2004) and Pulse (2001). If Nightmare Detective hooked you with its thriller and horror, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedCure (1997)7.6/10 from 942 votes
- NewestThe World of Kanako (2014)Released 2014
- In JapaneseSuicide Club (2001)Also in Japanese
- Same seriesNightmare Detective 2 (2008)Nightmare Detective
Suicide Club (2001)
When the bizarre mass suicide of 54 high school girls throwing themselves in front of a subway train appears to instigate a string of suicides around the country, Detective Kuroda strives to find the answer, which isn't as simple as he had hoped.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both horror & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisShutter (2004)
When Jane and Tun run over a girl in a car accident, they speed away immediately from the crime scene. However, Tun, a photographer, soon discovers strange shadows in his photos, which unsettles them.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both horror & mystery
Worth the HypeMovies like thisPulse (2001)
In the immense city of Tokyo, the darkness of the afterlife lures some of its inhabitants desperately trying to escape the sadness and isolation of the modern world.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both horror & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCure (1997)
A frustrated detective deals with the case of several gruesome murders committed by people who have no recollection of what they've done.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both horror & mystery
Worth the HypeMovies like thisGozu (2003)
Minami mistakenly kills a gangster associate of his named Brother. Almost as soon as the murder takes place, the body of the deceased man is gone, prompting Minami to conduct a search. While looking, he finds a mysterious isolated hotel where he decides to take a rest. Not only are the front desk clerks a bit strange, but even the ambiance feels unusual. Minami soon realizes he may have gotten more than he bargained for.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both horror & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAngel Dust (1994)
Every Monday, a young woman is murdered in the subway, leading psychiatrist Setsuko Suma to investigate Dr. Rei Aku's deprogramming of former sect members.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both horror & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisRetribution (2007)
A detective investigates a series of murders. A possible serial killer might be on a rampage, since the crimes are in the same vicinity, by the same method. However, as evidence points towards the detective, a ghost in red follows him, and he begins questioning his identity. His realization of what seems to be reality results in something far larger and more sinister.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both thriller & horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMarebito (2004)
A fear-obsessed freelance cameraman investigates an urban legend involving mysterious spirits that haunt the subways of Tokyo.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHaze (2005)
A man awakes to find himself trapped in a dirty, confined crawlspace. He barely has enough room to move. He also has no memory of why he's there, or why he's bleeding from a stomach wound. Apparently drugged, he occasionally 'zones out' of his surroundings as he tries to edge towards his way to freedom. But the more he explores, the more pain he has to endure, and the more frightening his predicament becomes.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both horror & mystery
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisReincarnation (2005)
A Japanese actress begins having strange visions and experiences after landing a role in a horror film about a real-life murder spree that took place over forty years ago.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both horror & mystery
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDark Water (2002)
A woman in the midst of an unpleasant divorce moves to an eerie apartment building with her young daughter. The ceiling of their apartment has a dark and active leak.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both horror & mystery
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Eye 2 (2004)
Pregnant Joey teeters on the brink of madness after several fruitless suicide attempts. She's the unwilling recipient of an influx of shadowy images that haunt her pervasively. In an attempt to quell this disturbing phenomenon, she looks up with her secretive ex-lover Sam, who may be able to shed some light upon the mysterious twilight world descending upon Joey.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both thriller & horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisNoriko's Dinner Table (2005)
A teenager named Noriko Shimabara runs away from her family in Toyokawa, to meet Kumiko, the leader of an Internet BBS, Haikyo.com. She becomes involved with Kumiko's family circle, which grows darker after the mass suicide of 54 high school girls.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both thriller & horror
Worth the HypeMovies like thisRing 0 (2000)
Taking place thirty years before the events of Ringu, Ringu 0 provides the shocking background story of how the girl on the video became a deadly, vengeful spirit.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both horror & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCharisma (1999)
A seasoned detective is called in to rescue a politician held hostage by a lunatic. In a brief moment of uncertainty, he misses the chance for action. Leaving his job and family without explanation, he makes his way to a mountain forest, encountering a peculiar tree called Charisma.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both mystery & thriller
Worth the HypeMovies like thisStrange Circus (2005)
The erotic novelist Taeko is writing a morbid story of a family destroyed by incest, murder and abuse. Her assistant, Yuji, sets on a mission to uncover the reality of this story, but the reality might be too much to bear.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both mystery & horror
Worth the HypeMovies like thisLost Paradise: Riding Habit Harakiri (1990)
Directed by Masami Akita,who is also one of Japan's leading noise musicians under the name Merzbow. With a soundtrack by the director himself, this intense and ultra-gory seppuku film shows a young woman taking her own life by an act of ritual harakiri.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both horror
The World of Kanako (2014)
When Kanako, a model daughter and a brilliant student, disappears, her mother asks her ex-husband, a violent former policeman, to find her. As his investigation progresses, his idealized image of Kanako cracks: the girl hides a dark life that her father can not even imagine.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both mystery & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisGuilty of Romance (2011)
While police investigate a woman found dead in a derelict love hotel, a romance novelist's wife lives a life that seems simply a daily repetition without romance. To escape the loveless monotony, she follows her desires and becomes a nude model. Soon, she meets a mentor and begins selling her body to strangers, while at home, she hides behind the façade of the doting wife.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both thriller & horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisNightmare Detective 2 (2008)
A story of the unexplainable things that inflict sheer terror on human beings and how they leave victims psychologically devastated.
Why it matches: Same series: Nightmare Detective · both thriller & horror
Arcana (2013)
Detective Murakami meets a girl who suffers from memory loss. The girl has special abilities including the ability to talk with the dead. Detective Murakami names her Maki. Detective Murakami and Maki work together to solves a massive murder case involving a mad bomber. Maki's identity is revealed during their investigation.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both horror & thriller
Tomie (1998)
Following some trauma in her past that has since been repressed, a young woman is trying to recover her memories with the help of a psychiatrist. During her hypnosis sessions, she repeats the name "Tomie" but is unable to recall where she knows it from. Meanwhile, a police detective is investigating a string of brutal murders, where he also runs across the name "Tomie." How are the two connected?
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both horror & mystery
SnoozefestMovies like thisExte: Hair Extensions (2007)
An aspiring hairdresser becomes the infatuation of a tricophilic man who sells hair extensions to nearby salons. The source is the corpse of a girl whose corpse continues to grow beautiful, voluminous, black hair that comes alive, either driving the extension user insane or killing them.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both horror & mystery
SnoozefestMovies like thisConfessions (2010)
Devastated at the death of her four-year-old daughter, a grieving middle school teacher is horrified to discover that her students aren't as innocent as she thinks.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both thriller & mystery
Worth the HypeMovies like thisA Snake of June (2003)
Rinko, a woman in a sexless marriage, is blackmailed by a stalker with intimate photos, forcing her into a series of erotic acts that disrupt her mundane life.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisRampo Noir (2005)
An anthology film consisting of four segments based on literary works by Edogawa Ranpo.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both horror & thriller
Audition (2000)
Seven years after the death of his wife, widower Shigeharu seeks advice on how to find a new wife from a colleague. Taking advantage of their position as a film company, they stage an audition. Interviewing a series of women, Shigeharu is enchanted by the quiet Asami. But soon things take a twisted turn as Asami isn’t what she seems to be.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both horror
Worth the HypeMovies like thisHypnosis (1999)
Three apparently unrelated suicides occur on the same day in Tokyo. One involves a young athlete, one a groom at his wedding reception, and the third an elderly man celebrating his wife's birthday. A middle aged detective investigating one of the cases begins to suspect a connection between the three when he discovers that each person mentioned a "green monkey" before they died. With the help of a young psychiatrist he formulates the theory that hypnosis is somehow involved. In the mean time other bizarre "suicides" are reported and the mystery intensifies. Who will be next? What is the truth? Can more deaths be prevented?
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both horror & thriller
Bullet Ballet (1998)
After his girlfriend commits suicide, a man becomes embroiled in gang warfare attempting to obtain a gun in hopes to kill himself.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both thriller & crime
Worth the HypeMovies like thisSéance (2004)
A psychic housewife and her husband accidentally find a kidnapped girl. Instead of informing the police, they hatch a scheme to get famous by working with the police as a psychic consultant to 'find' the girl. Just when it all seems to go right, everything goes horribly wrong.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both horror
Worth the HypeMovies like this
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Nightmare Detective?
The closest matches to Nightmare Detective are Suicide Club (2001), Shutter (2004) and Pulse (2001). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Nightmare Detective?
People who watched Nightmare Detective most often go on to Suicide Club (2001), Shutter (2004) and Pulse (2001).
What is the highest-rated movie like Nightmare Detective?
Cure (1997), rated 7.6/10 by 942 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Nightmare Detective?
The World of Kanako (2014) is the most recent release on this list.
Is Nightmare Detective part of a series?
Yes. It belongs to Nightmare Detective, which includes Nightmare Detective 2 (2008).
Are there Japanese movies like Nightmare Detective?
Yes: Suicide Club (2001), Pulse (2001) and Cure (1997).
How are movies similar to Nightmare Detective chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Nightmare Detective, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.