Movies like The Pit and the Pendulum (1991)
The best movies like The Pit and the Pendulum (1991) are The Exorcist (1973), Saint Catherine (2024) and The Believers (1987). If The Pit and the Pendulum hooked you with its horror, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedThe Exorcist (1973)7.8/10 from 9,026 votes
- NewestThe Witch of Endor (2026)Released 2026
The Exorcist (1973)
When a mysterious entity possesses a young girl, her mother seeks the help of two Catholic priests to save her life.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Worth the HypeMovies like thisSaint Catherine (2024)
An orphaned girl is rescued from a satanic ritual and taken to Saint Catherine Institute for homeless youth. There she will learn new skills while facing demons that stalk her.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Believers (1987)
Mourning the accidental death of his wife and having just moved to New York with his young son, laconic police psychologist Cal Jamison is reluctantly drawn into a series of grisly, ritualistic murders involving the immolation of two youths.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
SnoozefestMovies like thisTwo Witches (2023)
A matriarchal witch passes on her sinister inheritance to her grand-daughter, triggering the most horrific curses.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisGhostland (2018)
A mother of two inherits a home from her aunt. On the first night in the new home she is confronted with murderous intruders and fights for her daughters’ lives. Sixteen years later the daughters reunite at the house, and that is when things get strange...
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Worth the HypeMovies like thisGod Is a Bullet (2023)
Vice detective Bob Hightower finds his ex-wife murdered and daughter kidnapped by a cult. Frustrated by the botched official investigations, he quits the force and infiltrates the cult to hunt down the leader with the help of the cult’s only female victim escapee, Case Hardin.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both 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 thisPsycho Killer (2026)
Following the brutal murder of her husband, a Kansas highway patrol officer sets out on a journey to track down the perpetrator. As the hunt progresses, she comes to realize the man responsible is a sadistic serial killer, and the depth of his mental depravity and his sinister agenda is more twisted than anyone could have imagined.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHellbound: Hellraiser II (1988)
Now confined to a mental hospital, young Kirsty insists her supposedly dead father is actually stuck in Hell following his wife’s betrayal. Few believe the young woman’s lurid stories aside from the thrill-seeking Dr. Channard. Kirsty is undeterred and, with the help of a fellow patient, heads to Hell for a rescue.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisA Nightmare on Elm Street (1984)
Teenagers in a small town are dropping like flies, apparently in the grip of mass hysteria causing their suicides. A cop's daughter, Nancy Thompson, traces the cause to child molester Fred Krueger, who was burned alive by angry parents many years before. Krueger has now come back in the dreams of his killers' children, claiming their lives as his revenge. Nancy and her boyfriend, Glen, must devise a plan to lure the monster out of the realm of nightmares and into the real world...
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Worth the HypeMovies like thisPlay Dead (2025)
A woman wakes up injured in a basement surrounded by corpses. To survive, she pretends to be dead while a grotesque ritual unfolds in the house above.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisVampires (1998)
The church enlists a team of vampire-hunters to hunt down and destroy a group of vampires searching for an ancient relic that will allow them to exist in sunlight.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisOrphan (2009)
After losing their baby, a married couple adopt 9-year old Esther, who may not be as innocent as she seems.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Worth the HypeMovies like thisA Field in England (2013)
During the Civil War in 17th-Century England, a small group of deserters flee from a raging battle through an overgrown field. They are captured by an alchemist, who forces the group to aid him in his search to find a hidden treasure that he believes is buried in the field. Crossing a vast mushroom circle, which provides their first meal, the group quickly descend into a chaos of arguments, fighting and paranoia, and, as it becomes clear that the treasure might be something other than gold, they slowly become victim to the terrifying energies trapped inside the field.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisPuppetmaster (1989)
After being contacted by their mysterious former colleague, four psychics arrive at a secluded hotel where they are stalked by a group of murderous puppets.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
SnoozefestMovies like thisThe Resurrected (1991)
Charles Dexter Ward, a wealthy scientist, uses an ancient diary and human remains to begin a terrifying and bloody pursuit for immortality.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSaw V (2008)
Following Jigsaw's grisly demise, Detective Mark Hoffman is commended as a hero, but Agent Strahm is suspicious, and delves into Hoffman's past. Meanwhile, another group of people are put through a series of gruesome tests.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBooks of Blood (2020)
A journey into uncharted and forbidden territory through three tales tangled in space and time.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHalloween (1978)
Fifteen years after murdering his sister on Halloween Night 1963, Michael Myers escapes from a mental hospital and returns to the small town of Haddonfield, Illinois to kill again.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Worth the HypeMovies like thisHostel: Part II (2007)
Three American college students studying abroad are lured to a Slovakian hostel, and discover the grim reality behind it.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
SnoozefestMovies like thisThe Skull (1965)
Esoterica collector Dr Maitland buys an unusual skull from his ordinary source; the artifact is what remains of the Marquis De Sade. Much too soon, Maitland discovers that the skull is turning him into a frenzied killer.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisGrey Matter (2018)
The Advanced Film class at Rockridge is proud to present their latest feature film, a drama/thriller/comedy based on the short story Grey Matter by Stephen King. Originally published in 1973, Grey Matter is about the lengths one would go to for their family… with a dark twist.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror
Grey Matter (2016)
Three old men investigate the strange behavior of an alcoholic recluse when his son insists he's metamorphosing into a degenerate creature.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror
One For The Road (2019)
After a long night at the bar, a small town bartender and her long-time customer are convinced to help a pleading mother. They embark on a mission to help her two children. In the process they confront their fears about the mysterious evil town of Salem's Lot.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror
One For The Road (2013)
Two men help a desperate and stranded traveler rescue his wife and daughter from the evil that resides in ‘Salem’s Lot.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror
The Witch of Endor (2026)
King Saul makes a desperate attempt to save his life by enlisting the Witch of Endor to call up the spirit of the Prophet Samuel for guidance.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror
The Witch's Mirror (1962)
A husband murders his wife, and years later her ghost emerges from a witch's mirror to take her revenge.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisGrey Matter (2021)
An aging, small-town liquor store owner and his two friends, confront a local man who has been transformed into a cat eating, mold-monster.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror
The Starfish (1952)
Three children, holidaying in a small Cornish fishing village, become intrigued by the locals' tales of an elusive witch.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like The Pit and the Pendulum?
The closest matches to The Pit and the Pendulum are The Exorcist (1973), Saint Catherine (2024) and The Believers (1987). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after The Pit and the Pendulum?
Start with The Exorcist (1973), the closest match to The Pit and the Pendulum.
What is the highest-rated movie like The Pit and the Pendulum?
The Exorcist (1973), rated 7.8/10 by 9,026 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like The Pit and the Pendulum?
The Witch of Endor (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like The Pit and the Pendulum?
Yes: The Exorcist (1973), Saint Catherine (2024) and The Believers (1987).
How are movies similar to The Pit and the Pendulum chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside The Pit and the Pendulum, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.