Movies like A Cruel Meal (2017)
The best movies like A Cruel Meal (2017) are Cheat (2023), The Possessed (2021) and Blackwood (2014). If A Cruel Meal 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 ratedSuccubus (2024)8.3/10 from 280 votes
- NewestIn Cold Light (2026)Released 2026
Cheat (2023)
On the surface it's believed to be another urban legend - a supernatural being from the afterlife is violently killing anyone who cheats on their significant other in the small college town of Silvercreek, Pennsylvania. But the town's unusually high suicide rate is finally convincing both locals and college students that everything is not as it seems. When Maeve - a female college student - sleeps with Charlie, the married man of the host family she is staying with, both sense the deadly curse is closing in on them. Unable to get anyone to believe them, Maeve and Charlie seek out a local history student to help find answers and figure out a way to defend themselves. It all comes undone, however, as several people are horrifically killed by the savage being - one-by-one at a rapid pace. Eventually, Maeve, Charlie and the few survivors band together in an attempt to defeat the monster once and for all.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller & horror
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Possessed (2021)
A man with the ability to exorcise demons fights to protect his loved ones after a sudden surge in demonic possessions. After discovering his nephew's girlfriend has the same supernatural gift, they join forces for the ultimate confrontation. Inspired by actual events.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBlackwood (2014)
Having recovered from a shattering emotional breakdown, college professor Ben Marshall relocates to the countryside with his wife and young son, hoping for a fresh start. He has a teaching job lined up and a new home to move into; things finally look to be going Ben's way. Until, that is, he starts to feel that something isn't quite right in the house. Finding himself plagued by spectral visions, Ben becomes obsessed with uncovering the truth behind a local mystery that appears to be putting the lives of his family in danger
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller & horror
SnoozefestMovies like thisFrank and Penelope (2022)
A tale of love and violence when a man on his emotional last legs finds a savior seductively dancing in a run-down strip club. And a life most certainly headed off a cliff suddenly becomes redirected - as everything is now worth dying for.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller & horror
Worth the HypeMovies like thisPlay Dead (2022)
Criminology student Chloe fakes her own death to break into a morgue, in order to retrieve a piece of evidence that ties her younger brother to a crime gone wrong. Once inside, she discovers that a sadistic coroner is using the corpses for his sick and twisted business, and when he realises that Chloe still has a pulse, a terrifying game of cat and mouse ensues.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisYou'll Never Find Me (2024)
Patrick, a strange and lonely resident, lives in a mobile home at the back of an isolated caravan park. After a violent thunderstorm erupts, a mysterious young woman appears at his door, seeking shelter from the weather. The longer the night wears on and the more the young woman discovers about Patrick, the more difficult she finds it to leave. Soon she begins to question Patrick’s intentions, while Patrick begins to question his own grip on reality...
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Evil (1978)
Shortly after moving into a dark, brooding mansion, a psychologist and his co-workers are terrorized by a horrible evil being.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller & horror
SnoozefestMovies like thisWhisper (2007)
Sinister things begin happening to kidnappers who are holding a young boy for ransom in a remote cabin.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDangerous Game: The Legacy Murders (2022)
A family reunion at a remote mansion takes a lethal turn when they are trapped inside and forced to play a deadly survival game where only one will make it out alive.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller & horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisShades of Desire (2023)
After her twin sister Aubrey goes missing, Jennifer uncovers the scandalous, secret double-life that Aubrey leads - and that has put both of them in danger.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSuccubus (2024)
A new father going through a marital separation joins a dating app and matches with a beautiful but mysterious young woman... whose powers of seduction and manipulation entangle him in a mystery more horrifying than he could have ever imagined.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror & thriller
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisThe Town that Dreaded Sundown (2014)
A masked maniac terrorizes the same small community where a murderer known as the Phantom Killer struck decades earlier.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller & horror
SnoozefestMovies like thisSuperhost (2021)
Two travel vloggers check into a vacation rental with a host that will do anything for a good review.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror & thriller
SnoozefestMovies like thisThe Stepfather (2009)
Michael Harding returns home from military school to find his mother happily in love and living with her new boyfriend, David. As the two men get to know each other, Michael becomes more and more suspicious of the man who is always there with a helpful hand. Is he really the man of her dreams or could David be hiding a dark side?
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror & thriller
SnoozefestMovies like thisDangerous (2021)
A reformed sociopath heads to a remote island after the death of his brother. Soon after his arrival, the island falls under siege from a deadly gang of mercenaries, and when he discovers their role in his brother’s demise, he sets out on a relentless quest for vengeance.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHounds of War (2024)
After a mission goes wrong, only one of a group of mercenaries is left alive to avenge his fallen brothers.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBorder Hunters (2025)
After his police officer brother is killed by a drug dealer who flees to the protection of his cartel-connected uncle in Mexico, an American man with a diverse law enforcement/military background goes south of the border to get revenge
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisKing of Killers (2023)
Garan is a part of a group of international hitmen who are contracted to take out the most dangerous killer in the world, only to find out that they're the ones being hunted.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Virtuoso (2021)
Danger, deception and murder descend upon a sleepy town when a professional assassin accepts a new assignment from his enigmatic boss.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
SnoozefestMovies like thisIn Cold Light (2026)
Fresh out of prison, Ava's attempt to reclaim her drug operation collapses when she witnesses a brutal crime, forcing her to flee into a nightmarish underworld where allies are scarce and enemies multiply by the minute.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
SnoozefestMovies like thisRestless Souls (1998)
Newlyweds spend the night at a haunted mansion, having had car trouble. When the wife disappears, the husband's rich father sends a team of parapsychologists to get the wife back. Except for the leader, each of the team has a special power... Dr. Donna Hemming is a telekinetic, Anthony Leeds can see things by touching objects, and Heather Siris is sexually irresistible to both the dead and the living. They soon discover a Civil War general has made a pact with the devil, if he can only find a virgin for the devil to procreate with.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror & thriller
Dead Time (2007)
A police and a journalist uncover series of murders that lead into one problem: A treasure many parties were fighting for and caused many casualties.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror & thriller
The Forbidden Door (2009)
A successful sculptor's life is turned upside down when he starts to receive mysterious messages from someone asking for his help. As he digs deeper, he discovers a boy is being abused and has to choose between saving the boy or losing everything.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisTales from the Crypt (1972)
When a tourist group become lost within ancient catacombs, they meet the sinister Crypt Keeper, who tells them each their fate. The enigmatic figure's macabre stories involve a wife dabbling in murder, a retired sanitation worker targeted by his suspicious neighbors, and an adulterer who may face a fitting demise if the yarns come true.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMen of War (1994)
Nick Gunar is a burnt-out, jaded and hard-up former mercenary who is having a difficult time adjusting to civilian life. At the end of his rope, he is hired by the Nitro Mine Corporation to strong-arm the natives of a South China Sea island into giving up their rights to its valuable mineral resources. Nick loathes the thought of another mission, but this seemingly easy job will earn him enough money to get back with his estranged family. He recruits some of his former mercenary buddies to help him with the job. The island people refuse to give up their land and Nick decides to help them fight the greedy corporation that hired him. As greed and treachery begin to unravel, Nick's band of mercenaries choose sides.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller
SnoozefestMovies like thisThe Straw Lady (2025)
Deep in the Appalachian Mountains, an isolated group worships the statue of the Straw Lady, a maternal figure that protects them.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror
Anaganaga Oka Roju (1997)
Two runaway lovers are wanted by the police and a bunch of crooks. Unknown to them they carry a powerful evidence that can expose a dirty political plot. The only person who can help them is a thief who himself is wanted by the police.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller
The Curious Dr. Humpp (1969)
A doctor—on orders from a sentient brain—kidnaps intimate couples and takes them to his mansion as prisoners. He injects his subjects with a substance to 'enhance' their sexual abilities. The curious doctor then forces his hostages to have sex. While they are making love, he drains a fluid from them, which he needs to prevent himself from transforming into a monster.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror
Kickboxer 3: The Art of War (1992)
Kick-box champion David Sloan arrives in Rio de Janeiro for an exhibition fight. He and mentor Xian take pity on Brazilian rascal Marcos Coasta, an urchin who offers guide services but routinely steals from tourists for himself and his older sister Isabella. David is shocked when he sees how his Argentinian opponent Marcelo needlessly abuses a courteous local sparing partner. That's the doing of his evil US manager, Lane. He has nasty plans to force David to cheat and runs a white slavery racket.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller
SnoozefestMovies like thisDead of Night (1974)
A young soldier who was thought to be killed in Vietnam returns home and exhibits disturbing behavior, much to the confusion of his family.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like this
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like A Cruel Meal?
The closest matches to A Cruel Meal are Cheat (2023), The Possessed (2021) and Blackwood (2014). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after A Cruel Meal?
Start with Cheat (2023), the closest match to A Cruel Meal.
What is the highest-rated movie like A Cruel Meal?
Succubus (2024), rated 8.3/10 by 280 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like A Cruel Meal?
In Cold Light (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like A Cruel Meal?
Yes: Cheat (2023), The Possessed (2021) and Blackwood (2014).
How are movies similar to A Cruel Meal chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside A Cruel Meal, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.