Movies like Thanga Pappa (1993)
The best movies like Thanga Pappa (1993) are Mostly Ghostly 3: One Night in Doom House (2016), Nightbooks (2021) and Twitches Too (2007). If Thanga Pappa hooked you with its family and horror, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Thanga Pappa
Quick picks
- Highest ratedIt's a Wonderful Life (1946)8.3/10 from 5,158 votes
- NewestKishkindhapuri (2025)Released 2025
- In TamilMeiyazhagan (2024)Also in Tamil
Mostly 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 family & horror
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 horror & family
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisTwitches Too (2007)
Reunited witch twins Camryn and Alex adjust to their new life as supernatural beings while at the same time trying to maintain a normal existence in this sequel to the magical Disney Channel original movie Twitches. But they soon find themselves going head to head with the forces of darkness that threaten to destroy their world. Luckily, their birth mother, the powerful Miranda, is on hand to help out.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & family
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMeiyazhagan (2024)
Twenty-two years after losing his home, Arulmozhi Varman returns to his native Thanjavur to attend his cousin's wedding. Amidst the celebrations, Arul is reintroduced to an upbeat man whom he cannot recall. With the help of the unknown man, Arul reconnects with his past.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both family & drama
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisThe Canterville Ghost (1996)
When a teenaged girl moves to England, with her brothers and parents into the ancient Canterville Hall, she's not at all happy. Especially as there's a ghost and a mysterious re-appearing bloodstain on the hearth. She campaigns to go back home, and her dad, believing the ghost's pranks are Ginny's, is ready to send her back. But then Ginny actually meets the elusive 17th-century Sir Simon de Canterville (not to mention the cute teenaged duke next door), and she sets her hand to the task of freeing Sir Simon from his curse.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & family
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisWhere the Red Fern Grows (2003)
Set in the Ozark Mountains during the Great Depression, Billy Coleman works hard and saves his earnings for 2 years to achieve his dream of buying two coonhound pups. He develops a new trust in God as he faces overwhelming challenges in adventure and tragedy roaming the river bottoms of Cherokee country with "Old Dan" and "Little Ann."
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & family
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Witches (1990)
While staying at a hotel in England with his grandmother, Helga, a young boy named Luke inadvertently spies on a convention of witches. The Grand High Witch reveals a plan to turn all children into mice via a magical formula. When they discover the eavesdropper, the witches test the formula on him. Now, with the help of Helga and hotel manager Mr Stringer, Luke the mouse must fight back against the witches.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both family & horror
Worth the HypeMovies like thisHouse of Anubis: The Touchstone of Ra (2013)
The students of Anubis House are on the eve of their graduation when they encounter a new group of underclassmen and a mysterious stone that leads them on a quest to save the world from evil.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & family
Worth the HypeMovies like thisCelia (1989)
In 1950s Australia, young Celia is growing up with a sense of isolation and mistrust of the world that surrounds her. Her mother and father won't let her play with the kids next door because their parents are communists. Then her pet bunny is taken away because of rabbit overpopulation. And, more traumatizing yet, when her grandmother dies, she's the one to discover the corpse. To cope, she retreats into elaborate fantasies.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAnne of Green Gables (2016)
Anne Shirley, an orphan, is fostered by farmer Matthew Cuthbert and his sister Marilla, who were expecting a boy to be sent them to help with their farm work. They accept Anne, who quickly endears herself to them and to the local villagers.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & family
Worth the HypeMovies like thisChildren of the Damned (1964)
Six children are found spread through out the world that not only have enormous intelligence, but identical intelligence and have a strange bond to each other.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Bad Seed (1956)
Air Force Colonel Kenneth Penmark and his wife, Christine, adore their daughter Rhoda, despite her secret tendency for selfishness. Christine keeps her knowledge of her daughter's darker side to herself, but when a schoolmate of Rhoda's dies mysteriously, her self-deception unravels.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & horror
Worth the HypeMovies like thisSkater Girl (2021)
Prerna, a teenager growing up in rural India, comes of age when she’s introduced to the sport of skateboarding. As a result, she has to fight the odds to follow her dreams and compete in the national championship.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & family
Worth the HypeMovies like thisLittle Lord Fauntleroy (1980)
Young Cedric Errol and his widowed mother live in genteel poverty in 1880s Brooklyn after the death of his father. Cedric's grandfather, the Earl of Dorincourt, has long ago disowned his son for marrying an American. But after the death of the Earl's remaining son, he decides to accept Cedric as his heir.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both family & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisHeidi (2005)
Swiss girl Adelheid 'Heidi' is orphaned young. Aunt Detie brings her to grandpa Alp and his wife, who live isolated in the Alps since his murder charge. Heidi soon takes to the wild country, especially accompanying young goatherd Peter. Grandpa refuses to send her to school in the city, but aunt Detie returns and forces him to give in. She's sent to a posh lady in Frankfurt, where she'll be a companion for crippled daughter Clara after school hours.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & family
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Forge (2024)
19 year old Isaiah Wright lives for basketball and video games. A year out of high school, he has no job, no plans, and no idea how to be a man. At odds with his single mother Cynthia, Isaiah is given an ultimatum – to step up or move out. Feeling the pull from his friends and the push from his mom, Isaiah is hired by Moore Fitness, unaware of how the owner will personally impact his life. With the prayers of his mother and unexpected guidance from his new mentor, Isaiah is forced to deal with his past, sacrifice his selfishness and discover how God might have a greater purpose for his life.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & family
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisThe Girl Who Believes in Miracles (2021)
When Sara hears a preacher say faith can move mountains, she starts praying. Suddenly people in her town are mysteriously healed! But fame soon takes its toll – can Sara’s family save her before it’s too late?
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both family & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Queen of Spades (1949)
A czarist captain stops at nothing to learn the secrets of a countess rumored to have sold her soul to the devil in order to always win at cards.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisIt's a Wonderful Life (1946)
George Bailey has spent his entire life giving to the people of Bedford Falls. All that prevents rich skinflint Mr. Potter from taking over the entire town is George's modest building and loan company. But on Christmas Eve the business's $8,000 is lost and George's troubles begin.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & family
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisThe Good Witch's Gift (2010)
Almost as soon as Jake and Cassie decide to get married on Christmas Eve, complications arise.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & family
Worth the HypeMovies like thisKishkindhapuri (2025)
A ghost walking tour group visits an abandoned radio station, inadvertently awakening a vengeful spirit.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror & drama
Mystery of Balete Drive (1954)
Based of real life events, it shows the unexpected passing of a young woman whose story transcended the real and the ghostly. Beautifully acted by a wonderful cast led by Rosita Noble, her character was of a young woman who was raped by a man (Oscar Moreno) after which her body was thrown in the street (Balete Drive), only to be ran over by a passenger bus. She wasn't ready to die and her soul wanted vengeance. She would manifest herself to several people in her ghostly form, even enticing several male extras until she found the man who raped her. Throughout the movie, she haunts him and appears everywhere he goes.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & horror
Caipora (2025)
Douglas, a police detective investigating the murders of two young men in the forest, finds himself facing a great mystery that may involve spiritual entities from Brazilian indigenous folklore.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror
Bloody Mary (2007)
When a group of psychiatric hospital nurses invoke the spirit of Bloody Mary -- a supposed urban myth -- the slaughter begins. The legend is real, her vengeance is fatal, and to free her, all you have to do is say her name.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror
Cursed (2004)
Employees at a convenience store must get to the bottom of supernatural goings-on occurring within their workplace.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror
Avunu 2 (2015)
The lustful spirit of Captain Raju stalks Mohini till the end in this continuation of the first part. A true part 2 in the sense that the second part picks up from exactly the same shot from where the first part ended.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror
Haunted Villa (1981)
Dr Han rapes his lab assistant one night. Rather than go to the police, the victim keeps quiet only bringing up the subject months later to inform the doctor that she is pregnant. Her attempts to blackmail him lead to her accidentally falling off a cliff. However, her ghost will not allow Han to forget his crimes.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror
Bubba Ho-tep (2002)
The "true" story of what really became of Elvis Presley. We find Elvis as an elderly resident in an East Texas rest home, who switched identities with an Elvis impersonator years before his "death," then missed his chance to switch back. He must team up with JFK and fight an ancient Egyptian mummy for the souls of their fellow residents.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBhool Bhulaiyaa 3 (2024)
Rooh Baba ventures into a haunted mansion in the kingdom of Raktaghat in West Bengal, where he confronts two vengeful spirits, both asserting to be Manjulika.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror
SnoozefestMovies like thisDora (2017)
A father and a daughter buy a used car which is possessed by an unknown spirit which yearns for revenge, and gives sleepless nights to a cop and a bunch of criminals.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Thanga Pappa?
The closest matches to Thanga Pappa are Mostly Ghostly 3: One Night in Doom House (2016), Nightbooks (2021) and Twitches Too (2007). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Thanga Pappa?
Start with Mostly Ghostly 3: One Night in Doom House (2016), the closest match to Thanga Pappa.
What is the highest-rated movie like Thanga Pappa?
It's a Wonderful Life (1946), rated 8.3/10 by 5,158 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Thanga Pappa?
Kishkindhapuri (2025) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there Tamil movies like Thanga Pappa?
Yes: Meiyazhagan (2024) and Dora (2017).
How are movies similar to Thanga Pappa chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Thanga Pappa, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.