Movies like The Documentary (2017)
The best movies like The Documentary (2017) are Creep 2 (2017), The Taking of Deborah Logan (2014) and The Poughkeepsie Tapes (2007). If The Documentary hooked you with its horror and thriller, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedPeeping Tom (1960)7.4/10 from 950 votes
- NewestStrange Harvest (2025)Released 2025
Creep 2 (2017)
After finding an ad online for “video work,” Sara, a video artist whose primary focus is creating intimacy with lonely men, thinks she may have found the subject of her dreams. She drives to a remote house in the forest and meets a man claiming to be a serial killer. Unable to resist the chance to create a truly shocking piece of art, she agrees to spend the day with him. However, as the day goes on, she discovers she may have dug herself into a hole from which she can’t escape.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Taking of Deborah Logan (2014)
What starts as a poignant medical documentary about Deborah Logan's descent into Alzheimer's disease and her daughter's struggles as caregiver degenerates into a maddening portrayal of dementia at its most frightening, as hair-raising events begin to plague the family and crew and an unspeakable malevolence threatens to tear the very fabric of sanity from them all.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Poughkeepsie Tapes (2007)
When hundreds of videotapes showing torture, murder and dismemberment are found in an abandoned house, they reveal a serial killer's decade-long reign of terror and become the most disturbing collection of evidence homicide detectives have ever seen.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAfflicted (2014)
Two friends' tour of Europe takes a dark turn when one of them contracts a mysterious illness. They race to find out what it is and how to cure it before the sickness consumes him completely.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisV/H/S (2012)
When a group of misfits is hired by an unknown third party to burglarize a desolate house and acquire one rare VHS tape, they discover more found footage than they had bargained for.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller & horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisGrave Encounters (2011)
A crew from a paranormal reality television show lock themselves in a haunted psychiatric hospital. They search for evidence of paranormal activity as they shoot what ends up becoming their final episode.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller & horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSomeone's Watching Me! (1978)
A young woman moves to a high-rise apartment building and soon begins to be tormented by an unknown stalker who seems to know her every move.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller & horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Den (2013)
A young woman studying the habits of webcam chat users from the apparent safety of her apartment witnesses a brutal murder online and is quickly immersed in a nightmare in which she and her loved ones are targeted for the same grisly fate as the first victim.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Conspiracy (2012)
A documentary about conspiracy theories takes a horrific turn after the filmmakers uncover an ancient and dangerous secret society.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller & horror
SnoozefestMovies like thisV/H/S/2 (2013)
Inside a darkened house looms a column of TVs littered with VHS tapes, a pagan shrine to forgotten analog gods. The screens crackle and pop endlessly with monochrome vistas of static white noise permeating the brain and fogging concentration. But you must fight the urge to relax: this is no mere movie night. Those obsolete spools contain more than just magnetic tape. They are imprinted with the very soul of evil.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisV/H/S/99 (2022)
A thirsty teenager's home video leads to a series of horrifying revelations, harkening back to the final punk rock analog days of VHS, while taking one giant leap forward into the hellish new millennium.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror & thriller
SnoozefestMovies like thisZ (2019)
A family find themselves terrorized by their eight-year-old son's imaginary friend.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisPeeping Tom (1960)
Loner Mark Lewis works at a film studio during the day and, at night, takes racy photographs of women. Also he's making a documentary on fear, which involves recording the reactions of victims as he murders them. He befriends Helen, the daughter of the family living in the apartment below his, and he tells her vaguely about the movie he is making.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller & horror
Worth the HypeMovies like thisV/H/S/94 (2021)
After the discovery of a mysterious VHS tape, a brutish police SWAT team launches a high-intensity raid on a remote warehouse, only to discover a sinister cult compound whose collection of pre-recorded material uncovers a nightmarish conspiracy.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCurse of the Blair Witch (1999)
A mockumentary exploring the legend of the Blair Witch and the case of the three missing student filmmakers.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisParanormal Activity (2009)
After a young, middle-class couple moves into what seems like a typical suburban house, they become increasingly disturbed by a presence that may or may not be demonic, but is certainly the most active in the middle of the night.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisPhoenix Forgotten (2017)
Twenty years after three teenagers disappeared in the wake of mysterious lights appearing above Phoenix, Arizona, unseen footage from that night has been discovered, chronicling the final hours of their fateful expedition.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisStrange Harvest (2025)
Detectives are thrust into a chilling hunt for a sadistic serial killer from the past whose return marks the beginning of a new wave of grotesque, otherworldly crimes tied to a cosmic force.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHell House LLC (2015)
Five years after an unexplained malfunction causes the death of 15 tour-goers and staff on the opening night of a Halloween haunted house tour, a documentary crew travels back to the scene of the tragedy to find out what really happened.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Blair Witch Project (1999)
In October of 1994 three student filmmakers disappeared in the woods near Burkittsville, Maryland, while shooting a documentary. A year later their footage was found.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisReady or Not (2012)
A new reality television show chooses six contestants to travel to a secluded mansion to compete for one million dollars. The game is Hide-and-Seek. But the rules change when one contestant is found murdered by the very cameraman who was sent to record their every move. The players realize that this is no game. It's a real life horror film and they are the stars. What began as a contest for quick fame and easy fortune becomes a battle for survival.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller & horror
Reel 2 (2020)
After being convinced his first movie REEL wasn't a blockbuster success because it starred a man, director SlasherVictim666 makes it his personal mission to find the perfect woman to star in REEL 2.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror & thriller
Through Your Door (2013)
An unseen Intruder stalks and terrorizes an innocent family, recording every move on a head-mounted camera. A terrifying cat and mouse game ensues as the Intruder removes the father and daughter from the house, leaving the mother to fend for herself.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror & thriller
Behind the Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon (2006)
The next great psycho horror slasher has given a documentary crew exclusive access to his life as he plans his reign of terror over the sleepy town of Glen Echo, all the while deconstructing the conventions and archetypes of the horror genre for them.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisScaler, Dark Spirit (2016)
A Paranormal researcher has been handed video footage from a ghost hunter, which reveals clues to a bad and old soul.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller & horror
Reel (2015)
One of the sickest bloodbaths in horror movie history occurs after a deranged stalker becomes obsessed with real life horror film critic Todd Smith.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror & thriller
It's with You Now (2023)
A horror podcaster and social media enthusiast gets more than he bargained for when investigating strange claims in a nearby forest. Things become strange as something is with him now and his life may never recover.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror
Rewind (2017)
A mysterious natural phenomenon sets an end to the party night of a group of young adults. The morning after begins with far more than just a hangover.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller
It Exists (2014)
"Ia Wujud" follows a a group of teenagers who breaks into an abandoned theme park. Set at a time before the flurry of horror stories from the Highland Tower case, the group believes that ghosts do not exist. So they challenge each other to a 'spirit of the coin' game in the abandoned park, but they soon find that ultimately what they are looking for actually exists.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror
America's Most Haunted (2013)
The crew of a popular ghost hunting show gets more than they bargained for when they come across a location that's actually haunted.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror
Like The Documentary and something else?
Blend two favourites and we’ll find the films in between.
Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like The Documentary?
The closest matches to The Documentary are Creep 2 (2017), The Taking of Deborah Logan (2014) and The Poughkeepsie Tapes (2007). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after The Documentary?
Start with Creep 2 (2017), the closest match to The Documentary.
What is the highest-rated movie like The Documentary?
Peeping Tom (1960), rated 7.4/10 by 950 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like The Documentary?
Strange Harvest (2025) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like The Documentary?
Yes: Creep 2 (2017), The Taking of Deborah Logan (2014) and The Poughkeepsie Tapes (2007).
How are movies similar to The Documentary chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside The Documentary, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.