Movies like Candyman (2021)
The best movies like Candyman (2021) are Halloween (2018), Halloween Ends (2022) and Damien - Omen II (1978). If Candyman 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 ratedThesis (1996)7.5/10 from 1,011 votes
- NewestAnaconda (2025)Released 2025
Halloween (2018)
Laurie Strode comes to her final confrontation with Michael Myers, the masked figure who has haunted her since she narrowly escaped his killing spree on Halloween night four decades ago.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHalloween Ends (2022)
Four years after the events of Halloween in 2018, Laurie has decided to liberate herself from fear and rage and embrace life. But when a young man is accused of killing a boy he was babysitting, it ignites a cascade of violence and terror that will force Laurie to finally confront the evil she can’t control, once and for all.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDamien - Omen II (1978)
Since the sudden and suspicious deaths of his parents, young Damien has been in the charge of his wealthy aunt and uncle and enrolled in a military school. Widely feared to be the Antichrist, he relentlessly plots to seize control of his uncle's business empire — and the world.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisPoltergeist II: The Other Side (1986)
The Freeling family move in with Diane's mother in an effort to escape the trauma and aftermath of Carol Anne's abduction by the Beast. But the Beast is not to be put off so easily and appears in a ghostly apparition as the Reverend Kane, a religious zealot responsible for the deaths of his many followers. His goal is simple - he wants the angelic Carol Anne.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisInsidious: The Red Door (2023)
To put their demons to rest once and for all, Josh Lambert and a college-aged Dalton Lambert must go deeper into The Further than ever before, facing their family's dark past and a host of new and more horrifying terrors that lurk behind the red door.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisA Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master (1988)
Freddy Krueger returns once again to terrorize the dreams of the remaining Dream Warriors, as well as those of a young woman who may be able to defeat him for good.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror & thriller
SnoozefestMovies like thisInsidious: Chapter 2 (2013)
The haunted Lambert family seeks to uncover the mysterious childhood secret that has left them dangerously connected to the spirit world.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisInsidious: Chapter 3 (2015)
A prequel set before the haunting of the Lambert family that reveals how gifted psychic Elise Rainier reluctantly agrees to use her ability to contact the dead in order to help a teenage girl who has been targeted by a dangerous supernatural entity.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisJason Lives - Friday the 13th Part VI (1986)
Tommy Jarvis, tormented by the fear that maybe Jason isn't really dead, unwittingly resurrects the mass murderer for another bloody rampage.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCurse of Chucky (2013)
After her mother's mysterious death, Nica begins to suspect that the talking, red-haired doll her visiting niece has been playing with may be the key to the mounting bloodshed and chaos.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHaunt (2019)
On Halloween, a group of friends encounter an extreme haunted house that promises to feed on their darkest fears. The night turns deadly as they come to the horrifying realisation that some nightmares are real.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisTrick (2019)
A detective tries to track down a masked killer who reappears every Halloween to wreak bloody havoc.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror & thriller
SnoozefestMovies like thisInsidious (2011)
A family discovers that dark spirits have invaded their home after their son inexplicably falls into an endless sleep. When they reach out to a professional for help, they learn things are a lot more personal than they thought.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror & thriller
Worth the HypeMovies like thisHalloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers (1988)
Ten years after his original massacre, the invalid Michael Myers awakens on Halloween Eve and returns to Haddonfield to kill his seven-year-old niece.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies 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 thisParanormal Activity 2 (2010)
Just as Daniel and Kristi welcome a newborn baby into their home, a demonic presence begins terrorizing them, tearing apart their perfect world and turning it into an inescapable nightmare.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
SnoozefestMovies like thisChild's Play (2019)
Karen, a single mother, gifts her son Andy a Buddi doll for his birthday, unaware of its more sinister nature. A contemporary re-imagining of the 1988 horror classic.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCult of Chucky (2017)
Confined to an asylum for the criminally insane for the past four years, Nica is wrongly convinced that she, not Chucky, murdered her entire family... until a string of grisly deaths occur after her psychiatrist introduces a new group therapy tool -- a "Good Guy" doll.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
SnoozefestMovies like thisChild's Play (1988)
After being shot in a toy store, a serial killer transfers his soul into a Good Guy doll. A mother then gifts it to her six-year-old son Andy, which unleashes terror upon the city.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisWes Craven's New Nightmare (1994)
A demonic force has chosen Freddy Krueger as its portal to the real world. Can Heather Langenkamp play the part of Nancy one last time and trap the evil trying to enter our world?
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: Similar story and style · both horror & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Good Son (1993)
A young boy stays with his aunt and uncle, and befriends his cousin who's the same age. But his cousin begins showing increasing signs of psychotic behavior.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller & horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMidnighters (2018)
Midnight, New Year’s Eve: when all the hopes of new beginnings come to life – except for Lindsey and Jeff Pittman, whose strained marriage faces the ultimate test after they cover up a terrible crime and find themselves entangled in a Hitchcockian web of deceit and madness.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller & horror
SnoozefestMovies like thisFelidae (1994)
A domestic house cat named Francis investigates the grisly feline murders taking place in his new neighborhood.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAll the Boys Love Mandy Lane (2006)
Beautiful Mandy Lane isn't a party girl but, when classmate Chloe invites the Texas high school student to a bash in the countryside, she reluctantly accepts. After hitching a ride with a vaguely scary older man, the teens arrive at their destination. Partying ensues, and Mandy's close pal, Emmet, keeps a watchful eye on the young males making a play for Mandy. Then two of the students are murdered.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror & thriller
SnoozefestMovies like thisThesis (1996)
While working on a thesis about audiovisual violence, film student Ángela finds a snuff video where a girl is tortured until death. Soon she discovers that she was a former student in her university, and that the authors of the video are not very far either.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror & thriller
Worth the HypeMovies like thisSicario (2015)
An idealistic FBI agent is enlisted by a government task force to aid in the escalating war against drugs at the border area between the U.S. and Mexico.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller
Worth the HypeMovies like thisAnaconda (2025)
A group of friends facing mid-life crises head to the rainforest with the intention of remaking their favorite movie from their youth, only to find themselves in a fight for their lives against natural disasters, giant snakes and violent criminals.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror
SnoozefestMovies like thisBlood Widow (2014)
Laurie and Hugh are a successful young couple who have just closed on a weekend home away from the city. Unbeknownst to them, the neighboring property contains the crumbling remains of a boarding school that was shuttered in the wake of an unspeakable massacre. The sole survivor of that massacre still resides in the ruins of the school, hiding from the world and wanting only to be left alone. When Laurie and Hugh's friends explore the property, they have no idea that they disturbed an emotionally-broken killing machine: The Blood Widow.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror
SnoozefestMovies like thisThe Craft (1996)
A Catholic school newcomer falls in with a clique of teen witches who wield their powers against all who dare to cross them -- be they teachers, rivals or meddlesome parents.
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 Candyman?
The closest matches to Candyman are Halloween (2018), Halloween Ends (2022) and Damien - Omen II (1978). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Candyman?
Start with Halloween (2018), the closest match to Candyman.
What is the highest-rated movie like Candyman?
Thesis (1996), rated 7.5/10 by 1,011 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Candyman?
Anaconda (2025) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like Candyman?
Yes: Halloween (2018), Halloween Ends (2022) and Damien - Omen II (1978).
How are movies similar to Candyman chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Candyman, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.