Movies like Deus ex Machina (2017)
The best movies like Deus ex Machina (2017) are Nocebo (2022), The Car (1977) and Nightbreed (1990). If Deus ex Machina hooked you with its fantasy and horror, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedFear Street: 1666 (2021)7.1/10 from 2,113 votes
- NewestDust Bunny (2025)Released 2025
Nocebo (2022)
A fashion designer suffers from a mysterious illness that puzzles her doctors and frustrates her husband until help arrives in the form of a Filipino caregiver who uses traditional folk healing to reveal a horrifying truth.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both mystery & horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Car (1977)
The Utah community of Santa Ynez is being terrorized by a mysterious black coupe that appears out of nowhere and begins running people down. After the car kills off the town sheriff, Captain Wade Parent is determined to stop the murderous driver.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror & mystery
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisNightbreed (1990)
A troubled young man is drawn to a mythical place called Midian where a variety of friendly monsters are hiding from humanity. Meanwhile, a sadistic serial killer is looking for a patsy.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror & fantasy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Unhealer (2021)
A botched faith healing bestows supernatural Shaman powers on a bullied teenager. When his lifelong tormentors pull a prank that kills someone he loves, he uses his powers for revenge and goes on a bloody rampage to settle the score.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both fantasy & horror
SnoozefestMovies like thisDust Bunny (2025)
Ten-year-old Aurora asks her hitman neighbor to kill the monster under her bed that she claims ate her family. To protect her, he must battle an onslaught of assassins while accepting that some monsters are real.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both fantasy & horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Jester (2016)
The Jester is the titular main antagonist of the horror/thriller analogy short films of the same name. He is an enigmatic and malevolent being who enjoys inducing suffering to individuals he comes across who don't appreciate his own tricks or break the rules of Halloween.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both mystery & horror
Worth the HypeMovies like thisCranston Academy: Monster Zone (2020)
An intelligent 15-year-old high school student is unexpectedly transferred to a boarding school where he opens a portal of monsters from another dimension.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both fantasy & horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDark Harvest (2023)
In a small Midwestern town, a deadly annual ritual unfolds when the mythical nightmare, Sawtooth Jack, rises from the cornfields and challenges the town’s teenage boys in a bloody battle of survival.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror & fantasy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Inhabitant (2022)
Like any other teenage girl, Tara is just surviving high school — yet her father and mother seem strangely distant. Amidst a nearby spree of gruesome ax murders, Tara has sightings of terrifying entities, forcing her to question her own sanity and shocking ancestry.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror & mystery
SnoozefestMovies like thisA Knight's War (2025)
A fearless knight braves a deadly realm to save the Chosen One’s soul. Facing witches, demons, and brutal foes, he discovers her return could ignite chaos and doom humanity.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror & fantasy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCome Play (2020)
Oliver, a lonely autistic boy, seeks solace and refuge in his ever-present cell phone and tablet. When a mysterious creature uses the boy's devices against him, his parents must fight to save their son from the monster beyond the screen.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror & mystery
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBrooklyn 45 (2023)
Five military veterans, best friends since childhood, gather together in a Brooklyn brownstone several months after the end of World War II, and the metaphoric ghosts of their past become all-too-literal.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror & history
SnoozefestMovies like thisWitch Hunt (2021)
In a modern America where witches are real and witchcraft is illegal, a sheltered teenager must face her own demons and prejudices as she helps two young witches avoid law enforcement and cross the southern border to asylum in Mexico.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror & fantasy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisNightbooks (2021)
Alex, a boy obsessed with scary stories, is trapped by a witch in her modern, magical New York City apartment. His original hair-raising tales are the only thing keeping him safe as he desperately tries to find a way out of this twisted place.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both fantasy & horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisFear Street: 1666 (2021)
In 1666, a colonial town is gripped by a hysterical witch-hunt that has deadly consequences for centuries to come, and it's up to teenagers in 1994 to finally put an end to their town's curse, before it's too late.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both mystery & horror
Worth the HypeMovies like thisMostly Ghostly 3: One Night in Doom House (2016)
Just one enchanted jewel stands between earth and an army of evil spirits led by the devious ghoul, Phears. With the help of his new girlfriend and ghost pals, Max Doyle races to find the crystal and save the world.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both fantasy & horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Devil Conspiracy (2023)
A powerful biotech company has breakthrough technology allowing them to clone history’s most influential people with just a few fragments of DNA. Behind this company is a cabal of Satanists that steals the shroud of Christ, putting them in possession of Jesus’ DNA. The clone will serve as the ultimate offering to the devil. The Archangel Michael comes to earth and will stop at nothing to end the devil’s conspiracy.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror & fantasy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisRipper's Revenge (2023)
One year on from the notorious Ripper murders, London is terrorised once again by a series of brutal killings. When gruesome letters from the Ripper begin landing on his desk, an innocent reporter finds himself drawn into a deadly mystery, threatening the lives of everyone around him.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror & history
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCinderella's Curse (2024)
Desperate Cinderella summons her fairy godmother from an ancient flesh-bound book, seeking revenge on her evil stepmother and stepsisters who abuse and torment her daily.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror & fantasy
SnoozefestMovies like thisFrankenstein (1910)
Frankenstein, a young medical student, trying to create the perfect human being, instead creates a misshapen monster. Made ill by what he has done, Frankenstein is comforted by his fiancée; but on his wedding night he is visited by the monster.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror & fantasy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisFrancis (2013)
Francis is a short story written by american novelist Dave Eggers. This is the story of a young boy growing up in the suburbs of chicago. He spent his vacations in Quetico Provincial Park, up on the border of Minnesota and Canada. But he won't be going back any day soon, not after what happened to a girl called Francis Brandywine.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both mystery & horror
Santa / Claws (1997)
A little boy's desire to meet Santa Claus takes a dark turn.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror & fantasy
The Return of the Näcken (2024)
The Return of the Näcken is a gothic horror tale about a lonely water demon and her quest for human souls focusing on the existential anguish of being an enchanted creature doomed to an immortal life filled with grief, isolation, and loss.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both fantasy & horror
Monsieur l'assassin X (2013)
Linda is a little girl rejected by other children and by her family. She lives in a small town where a serial killer is prowling. But one day, she sees a strange character on the street carrying a bag with an arm hanging out of it.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror
Rainer's Ungodly Camera (2024)
While creating SHE IS CONANN, Bertrand Mandico also filmed two short films simultaneously to create an entire "Barbarian Cycle" that brings you deeper into the world that Mandico has created. Presented in this program are: Rainer, A Vicious Dog in a Skull Valley (26min); Apocalypse After (35min); and We Barbarians (27min).
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both fantasy
Umbrella (2023)
With divorce on the horizon, a couple find out that a lunch meeting with the wife’s attorney is about to get very gruesome. Based on the story "Lunch at the Gotham Café" by Stephen King.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror
Mr. Tricker's Treat (2011)
Every October, Mr. Tricker has the best Halloween decorations in town. While setting up his annual display, a quirky neighbor gets too close to figuring out why his decor is so lifelike.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror
Tokyo Rain (2021)
Heavy rain has been hitting the facades of Tokyo. Masahiro is alone in his office. He calls his wife, who doesn’t seem to be excited about her husband’s overtime. He falls asleep on the computer during his monotonous paperwork. He has a nightmare. When he wakes up, nothing seems the way it used to be.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both fantasy
Paid Troi Nol (2018)
Rebeca is keeping quiet about her feelings towards Zac, a boy in the same year as her at school. Rebeca is also hiding a secret about her adoptive parents - they are zombies.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror
The Vampire of Soho (2018)
A short film prequel to the feature film, The Vampires Of Soho. Set in 1982, the film tells the story of Mel, an idealistic young girl who falls in with a bad crowd - vampires.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror
Like Deus ex Machina and something else?
Blend two favourites and we’ll find the films in between.
Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Deus ex Machina?
The closest matches to Deus ex Machina are Nocebo (2022), The Car (1977) and Nightbreed (1990). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Deus ex Machina?
Start with Nocebo (2022), the closest match to Deus ex Machina.
What is the highest-rated movie like Deus ex Machina?
Fear Street: 1666 (2021), rated 7.1/10 by 2,113 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Deus ex Machina?
Dust Bunny (2025) is the most recent release on this list.
How are movies similar to Deus ex Machina chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Deus ex Machina, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.