Movies like Bad Dreams (1988)
The best movies like Bad Dreams (1988) are Race with the Devil (1975), The Shed (2019) and The Invitation (2016). If Bad Dreams 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 ratedVillage of the Damned (1960)7.2/10 from 536 votes
- NewestSilent Zone (2025)Released 2025
Race 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 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 & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Invitation (2016)
Will and his new girlfriend Kira are invited to a dinner with old friends at the house of Will’s ex Eden and her new partner David. Although the evening appears to be relaxed, Will soon gets a creeping suspicion that their charming host David is up to something.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller & horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisEradication (2022)
When an unknown disease wipes out most of the world’s population, a man with unique blood is isolated for study. Fearing for his wife’s safety, he breaks his quarantine – into a world overrun by monstrous Infected and a shadowy agency hunting them down.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisPyewacket (2017)
A frustrated, angry teenage girl awakens something in the woods when she naively performs an occult ritual to invoke a witch to kill her mother.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror & thriller
SnoozefestMovies like thisCircle (2015)
In a massive, mysterious chamber, fifty strangers awaken to find themselves trapped with no memory of how they got there. Organized in an inward-facing circle and unable to move, they quickly learn that every two minutes, one of them must die…executed by a strange device in the center of the room.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSilent Zone (2025)
In a zombie-ravaged world, a resourceful teen and her protector fight for survival, facing relentless dangers and testing the limits of hope and loyalty.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies 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 thisSiren (2016)
A bachelor party becomes a savage fight for survival when the groomsmen unwittingly unleash a fabled predator upon the festivities.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisTrap (2024)
A father and teen daughter attend a pop concert, where they realize they're at the center of a dark and sinister event.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller & horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe City of the Dead (1960)
In Whitewood, Massachusetts, a presumed witch places a curse on the town before she is burned at the stake. 300 years later, a college student arrives and checks into the mysterious Raven's Inn to research the town's history with witchcraft.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisVillage of the Damned (1960)
In a small English village everyone suddenly falls unconscious. When they awake every woman of child bearing age is pregnant. The resulting children have the same strange blond hair, eyes and a strong connection to each other.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Haunting (1963)
Dr. John Markway recruits three strangers for a sleep-disorder study at the eerie and isolated Hill House. It soon becomes clear his real interest lies in the mansion itself and its sinister history, as they are forced to confront the nature of its horror…
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Haunting Hour: Don't Think About It (2007)
Cassie, a 13 year old Gothic girl, is trying to fit in at her new school. To entertain herself, she plays a series of pranks on the popular kids and her younger brother, Max. When she goes to a Halloween store looking for new tricks, she finds a little book called "The Evil Thing"
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisLemora: A Child's Tale of the Supernatural (1974)
A notorious bank robber kills his wife and flees the police, only to be captured by a mysterious group of figures in an abandoned town. His beautiful daughter, Lila Lee, receives a letter stating that her father is near death and that he needs to see her. Sneaking away at night from her minister guardian, Lila embarks on a terrifying journey...
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisX: The Unknown (1956)
Army radiation experiments awaken a subterranean monster from a fissure that feeds on energy and proceeds to terrorise a remote Scottish village. An American research scientist at a nearby nuclear plant joins with a British investigator to discover why the victims were radioactively burned and why, shortly thereafter, a series of radiation-related incidents are occurring in an ever-growing straight line away from the fissure.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisTwice-Told Tales (1963)
3 horror stories based on the writings of Nathaniel Hawthorne. In the 1st story titled "Dr. Heidegger's Experiment", Heidegger attempts to restore the youth of three elderly friends. In "Rappaccini's Daughter", a demented father is inoculating his daughter with poison so she may never leave her garden of poisonous plants. In the final story "The House of the Seven Gables", The Pyncheon family suffers from a hundred year old curse and while in the midst of arguing over inheritance, a stranger arrives.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSilver Bullet (1985)
The small city of Tarker's Mills is startled by a series of sadistic murders. The population fears the work of a maniac, but sightings of a mysterious, hairy creature soon spread. People lock themselves up at night, but there's one boy who's still outside…
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAngels Fallen: Warriors of Peace (2024)
When an Iraq War veteran receives a calling from a higher power, he embarks on a mission to stop a fallen angel from raising an army of the dead to take over the world.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
SnoozefestMovies like thisThe Invisible (2007)
After an attack leaves him in limbo -- invisible to the living and also near death -- a teenager discovers the only person who might be able help him is his attacker.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCircus of Fear (1966)
A circus becomes the location for stolen loot and murder.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror & thriller
The Night Evelyn Came Out of the Grave (1971)
A rich, mentally-unstable man with a penchant for playing deadly S&M games with women who resemble his dead wife, sparks off a chain of bizarre events after getting remarried.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Mouth of God, Aaron Kinsella (2023)
Aaron Kinsella throws a party for his closest friends, but he has a special announcement he has to make.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller & horror
Nightmare Detective (2007)
When a number of suicide victims slash themselves in their sleep, detective Keiko Kirishima is called to investigate.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller & horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisLeatherface (2017)
A young nurse is kidnapped by a group of violent teens who escape from a mental hospital and take her on the road trip from hell. Pursued by an equally deranged lawman out for revenge, one of the teens is destined for tragedy and horrors that will destroy his mind, moulding him into a monster named Leatherface.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror & thriller
SnoozefestMovies like thisPoohniverse: Monsters Assemble (TBA)
When Peter Pan and Tinker Bell assemble an evil team with Mary Poppins, Winnie and his friends assemble a team to face them. Including Bambi, Piglet, Tigger, Owl, Pinocchio, Mary Poopins, The Little Mermaid and many others.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror & thriller
Mimic: Sentinel (2003)
A man enclosed in a plastic bubble, his sister, and their best friend must defend an apartment complex from the mutant Judas Breed insects.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror & thriller
SnoozefestMovies like thisEvery Breath She Takes (2023)
After suffering years of mental abuse from her husband, Jules thinks she's finally free when a physical struggle ends in a fire that takes his life. However, she's soon pushed to the edge as she starts to believe she's seeing him at every turn.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller
Clawface (2024)
A group of friends, a duo of quirky park rangers, a frisky couple and a pirate DJ unknowingly set off a series of bloody murders when they enter the woods of local legend, Clawface: a hulking madman who was left for dead after a bear attack in his youth. Inspired by slasher films of the 1980s.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror
Voodoo Swamp (1962)
Mary Ryan enlists the help of a detective, Jack Craig, to find her missing twin sister Vicky. They follow her trail to the New Orleans swamps where they encounter voodoo priestess Olivier and her zombie henchman.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror
Like Bad Dreams and something else?
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Bad Dreams?
The closest matches to Bad Dreams are Race with the Devil (1975), The Shed (2019) and The Invitation (2016). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Bad Dreams?
Start with Race with the Devil (1975), the closest match to Bad Dreams.
What is the highest-rated movie like Bad Dreams?
Village of the Damned (1960), rated 7.2/10 by 536 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Bad Dreams?
Silent Zone (2025) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like Bad Dreams?
Yes: Race with the Devil (1975), The Shed (2019) and The Invitation (2016).
How are movies similar to Bad Dreams chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Bad Dreams, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.