Movies like The Cold Dark (2018)
The best movies like The Cold Dark (2018) are Containment (2015), Dark Light (2019) and The Signal (2007). If The Cold Dark 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 ratedSpectral (2016)6.6/10 from 2,161 votes
- NewestFriends Like Us (2026)Released 2026
Containment (2015)
Neighbors in a block wake one morning to find they have been sealed inside their apartments. Can they work together to find out why? Or will they destroy each other in their fight to escape?
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller & horror
SnoozefestMovies like thisDark Light (2019)
A woman returns to her family home and discovers it to be inhabited by monsters.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror & science fiction
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Signal (2007)
A horror film told in three parts, from three perspectives, in which a mysterious transmission that turns people into killers invades every cell phone, radio, and television.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror & science fiction
SnoozefestMovies like thisDouble Blind (2024)
After an experimental drug trial goes awry, the test subjects face a terrifying side effect: if you fall asleep you die. Trapped in an isolated facility, panic ensues as they try to escape and somehow stay awake.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror & science fiction
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSlash/Back (2022)
In a remote Arctic community, a group of Inuit girls fight off an alien invasion, all while trying to make it to the coolest party in town.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both science fiction & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDie Alone (2024)
Lost in a world reclaimed by nature and overrun by mysterious creatures, Ethan, a young man with amnesia navigates the dangerous landscape in search of his lost love Emma. His journey takes an unexpected turn when he encounters Mae, a hardened and eccentric survivor. Together, Ethan and Mae face threats both human and otherwise before a fateful encounter with Kai unravels a secret that lies just beyond Ethan's fractured memory.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisJekyll & Hyde (1990)
Henry Jekyll is a troubled man. His wife died of pneumonia. He wants his sister-in-law, but her father forbids any contact. And his experiments into the dual nature of man have yielded a personality-splitting drug that he has tested on himself, changing him into an uninhibited brute who seeks violent and undignified pleasures. Jekyll quickly becomes addicted to the sordid freedom induced by the drug. He can commit the most enjoyably revolting deeds, then return to his laboratory and use an antidote to change back to his original form, so that his lofty persona remains untarnished.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror & thriller
SnoozefestMovies like thisThe Caller (1987)
One night, an unusual stranger in need asks a woman living alone in a house in the woods if he can use her phone. It soon becomes clear that they're playing a strange mind game and that there's something very wrong about the woods.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both science fiction & thriller
SnoozefestMovies like thisSouthbound (2015)
On a desolate stretch of desert highway, weary travelers — two men on the run from their past, a band on their way to the next gig, a man struggling to get home, a brother in search of his long-lost sister and a family on vacation — are forced to confront their worst fears and darkest secrets in these interwoven tales of terror and remorse on the open road.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller & 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 & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisGhost Recon: Alpha (2012)
Ghost Recon: Alpha sees a team led by Ghost Leader infiltrate a trade at a Russian depot between a general and a mysterious other figure.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both science fiction & thriller
Worth the HypeMovies 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 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 & science fiction
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisManiac (1963)
When a stranger enters a quiet, country town and is seduced by a sensuous married woman he unwittingly finds himself at the centre of a storm of sexual guilt and murder.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisProdigy (2017)
Jimmy is a committed child psychologist who uses his own playbook, but when he is brought in to work with Ellie, he is completely unprepared for his subject—a 9-year-old psychopathic genius with nothing to lose. As he begins to understand the extent of her capabilities and the fate that has been planned for her, he struggles to overcome her defenses before it is too late for them both.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller & science fiction
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisOther Side of the Box (2018)
A couple receives a mysterious package from an old friend.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror & thriller
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 thisSpectral (2016)
A special-ops team is dispatched to fight supernatural beings that have taken over a European city.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both science fiction & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBloodline Killer (2024)
Moira Cole endeavors to rebuild her shattered life after her family's murder at the hands of her deranged and obsessed cousin.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror & thriller
SnoozefestMovies like thisRace with the Devil (1975)
Two couples vacationing together in an R.V. from Texas to Colorado are terrorized after they witness a murder during a Satanic ritual.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAlguien mató algo (1999)
In this silent style short, filmed in black and white with intertitles instead of spoken dialog, a precocious little girl surrounded by Tv violence and bloody church images of Catholicism, yearns to stay alive forever, as a vampire.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror & thriller
Francis (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 thriller & horror
Agonist (2024)
A grieving young man falls into the final act of a cult leader's ritual.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller & horror
Friends Like Us (2026)
A dark comedic thriller where two sitcom actors have to reenact a new version of their show’s series finale after a crazed fan keeps them hostage.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller
Atér (2021)
Sahar tirelessly travels the forgotten plains and cliffs of his native island to prospect for a rare mineral. Suddenly, a voice upsets his search, his relationship with the world, and our Milky Way.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both science fiction
Slippery When Wet (2025)
A group of friends must work together to survive after a blessing spoils their dinner. A short film that was made for the Pittsburgh 48 Hour Film Horror Project.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror
Marooned? (2009)
A middle-aged science fiction nerd role-plays as his favorite space hero out in the desert when he hits his head and becomes convinced he is a space hero for real. When he starts to suspect his role-playing buddy of being an enemy alien, what started as a ridiculous fantasy game becomes a matter of life and death.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both science fiction
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
Harvey's Dream (2016)
A typical Saturday morning for an unhappily married couple decades into their lives together becomes anything but typical when the husband's neurological decline and uncertain memory may or may not reveal unthinkable tragedy.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller
Rest Stop (2019)
John Dykstra is a college professor that writes urban thrillers under the name of Rick Harden. After a writers event, he stops at a rest stop in the middle of the night and stumbles onto a disturbing case of domestic violence coming from the ladies room. He has to decide to help or walk away.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller
Like The Cold Dark and something else?
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like The Cold Dark?
The closest matches to The Cold Dark are Containment (2015), Dark Light (2019) and The Signal (2007). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after The Cold Dark?
Start with Containment (2015), the closest match to The Cold Dark.
What is the highest-rated movie like The Cold Dark?
Spectral (2016), rated 6.6/10 by 2,161 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like The Cold Dark?
Friends Like Us (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like The Cold Dark?
Yes: Containment (2015), Dark Light (2019) and The Signal (2007).
How are movies similar to The Cold Dark chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside The Cold Dark, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.