Movies like The Writer (2019)
The best movies like The Writer (2019) are Come Play (2020), The Dogs (2025) and The Inhabitant (2022). If The Writer hooked you with its horror and mystery, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedCome Play (2020)6.4/10 from 784 votes
- NewestVoodoo Party (2026)Released 2026
Come Play (2020)
Oliver, a lonely autistic boy, seeks solace and refuge in his ever-present cell phone and tablet. When a mysterious creature uses the boy's devices against him, his parents must fight to save their son from the monster beyond the screen.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror & mystery
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Dogs (2025)
After fleeing his psychotic father, a young teen and his mom seek refuge in a remote farmhouse, only to face a pack of ferocious dogs and the sinister spirits that haunt the property.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror & mystery
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Inhabitant (2022)
Like any other teenage girl, Tara is just surviving high school — yet her father and mother seem strangely distant. Amidst a nearby spree of gruesome ax murders, Tara has sightings of terrifying entities, forcing her to question her own sanity and shocking ancestry.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror & mystery
SnoozefestMovies like thisThe Jester (2016)
The Jester is the titular main antagonist of the horror/thriller analogy short films of the same name. He is an enigmatic and malevolent being who enjoys inducing suffering to individuals he comes across who don't appreciate his own tricks or break the rules of Halloween.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both mystery & horror
Worth the HypeMovies like thisWhistle (2026)
When a misfit group of unwitting high school students stumbles upon a cursed Aztec Death Whistle, they discover that blowing it unleashes a terrifying sound that summons their future deaths to hunt them down.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror & mystery
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisTerrifier (2011)
After witnessing a brutal murder on Halloween night, a young woman becomes the next target of a maniacal entity.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCurve (2016)
Clinging to a smooth, curved surface high above a sentient abyss, a woman tries to cover the few feet back to safety without losing purchase and falling to her death.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Deliverance (2024)
Ebony Jackson, a struggling single mother fighting her personal demons, moves her family into a new home for a fresh start. But when strange occurrences inside the home raise the suspicions of Child Protective Services and threaten to tear the family apart, Ebony soon finds herself locked in a battle for her life and the souls of her children.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Shed (2019)
The story of Stan, an orphaned teenager stuck living with his abusive grandfather and tasked with routinely protecting his best friend from high school bullies. When Stan discovers a murderous creature has taken refuge inside the tool shed in his backyard, he tries to secretly battle the demon alone until his bullied friend discovers the creature and has a far more sinister plan in mind.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Unhealer (2021)
A botched faith healing bestows supernatural Shaman powers on a bullied teenager. When his lifelong tormentors pull a prank that kills someone he loves, he uses his powers for revenge and goes on a bloody rampage to settle the score.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
SnoozefestMovies like thisDon't Kill It (2016)
Demon hunter Jebediah Huntley teams up with an FBI agent to battle a supernatural force in the southern state of Mississippi.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
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
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisNever Let Go (2024)
As an evil takes over the world beyond their front doorstep, the only protection for a mother and her twin sons is their house and their family’s protective bond.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Rule of Jenny Pen (2025)
Confined to a secluded rest home and trapped within his stroke-ridden body, a former Judge must stop an elderly psychopath who employs a child's puppet to abuse the home's residents with deadly consequences.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHorrors of the Black Museum (1959)
A writer of murder mysteries finds himself caught up in a string of murders in London.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
SnoozefestMovies like thisNightbreed (1990)
A troubled young man is drawn to a mythical place called Midian where a variety of friendly monsters are hiding from humanity. Meanwhile, a sadistic serial killer is looking for a patsy.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
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 horror
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
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMonster (2005)
A mother battles with her son's fear of a monster lurking in the closet, but soon discovers a sinister presence all around her.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCobweb (2023)
Eight year old Peter is plagued by a mysterious, constant tapping from inside his bedroom wall—one that his parents insist is all in his imagination. As Peter's fear intensifies, he believes that his parents could be hiding a terrible, dangerous secret and questions their trustworthiness.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Moddey Dhoo (2025)
Past and present collide when a mythical beast is reawakened by a couple exploring a historic castle on the Isle of Man.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror & mystery
Voodoo Party (2026)
A group of friends play an extreme game of dare where they curse themselves to a voodoo doll and hand over free rein to a friend. What could possibly go wrong?!
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror & mystery
Khawarij (TBA)
A man and his wife attempt to escape from an extremist Islamic cult known as the Khawarij, led by his own father, the village chief. They are haunted by demons conjured by black magic practitioners among the villagers.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror
Infection (2022)
A group of friends decide to stay overnight in an abandoned theatre... only to find it overrun with zombies!
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror
Message from Jerusalem (2011)
Made exclusively for the Hail to the King Tribute Show at Finder Creepers in Des Moines, Iowa. A surreal and non linear adaptation of the short story "Jerusalem's Lot". It was shown for exactly one month from January 22nd, 2011 to February 22nd, 2011.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror
Third Floor (2019)
A fantasy-suspense that asks us if we live a routine or an eternal déjà-vu?
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both mystery
The Cult of Kiros (2025)
After being abruptly evicted from his apartment, Mateo returns to his hometown, seeking refuge in a local house-sitting job. But as the house’s silence settles in, he begins to sense a presence lurking beneath—something that has chosen Mateo for something much bigger than himself.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror
Zombie Apocalypse Now: A Zombie Hunter (2008)
In a city crowded with zombies, a sexual deviant is recognized as the most important hunter of the undead. Hired by the Catholic Church to kill zombies, Toro uses his earnings to fulfill his sexual desires in this extreme zombie film from the underground.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror
Refused (1980)
Frieda Liappa in this short film casts an alternative gaze on the notion of historicity. Loukia is a teenager currently staying at her cousin’s house in Athens. Unlike her cousin she is timid and quite stressed for the school exam. She studies history. Between the lines of her book the historical events sprung up in a multidimensional way. Liappa transverses the dimensions of the real the imaginary and the symbolic. She invites the viewer to consider the construction of the filmic as well as the historical text. She succeeds in making a film with an open end and to leave room for our own contingent constructions.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror
The Traveler's Longing to Pray (2017)
A year has passed since the death of my mother and two of my sisters.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like The Writer?
The closest matches to The Writer are Come Play (2020), The Dogs (2025) and The Inhabitant (2022). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after The Writer?
Start with Come Play (2020), the closest match to The Writer.
What is the highest-rated movie like The Writer?
Come Play (2020), rated 6.4/10 by 784 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like The Writer?
Voodoo Party (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like The Writer?
Yes: Come Play (2020), The Dogs (2025) and The Inhabitant (2022).
How are movies similar to The Writer chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside The Writer, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.