Movies like Dear David (2023)
The best movies like Dear David (2023) are Insidious (2011), Lake Mungo (2009) and Sinister (2012). If Dear David 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 ratedSuccubus (2024)8.3/10 from 279 votes
- NewestVicious (2025)Released 2025
Insidious (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: Fans watch both · both horror & thriller
Worth the HypeMovies like thisLake Mungo (2009)
After 16-year-old Alice Palmer drowns at a local dam, her family experiences a series of strange, inexplicable events centered in and around their home. Unsettled, the Palmers seek the help of a psychic and parapsychologist, who discovers that Alice led a secret, double life. At Lake Mungo, Alice's secret past emerges.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both horror & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSinister (2012)
True-crime writer Ellison Oswalt is in a slump; he hasn't had a best seller in more than 10 years and is becoming increasingly desperate for a hit. So, when he discovers the existence of a snuff film showing the deaths of a family, he vows to solve the mystery. He moves his own family into the victims' home and gets to work. However, when old film footage and other clues hint at the presence of a supernatural force, Ellison learns that living in the house may be fatal.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both horror & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisOculus (2014)
A woman tries to exonerate her brother's murder conviction by proving that the crime was committed by a supernatural phenomenon.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHost (2020)
Six friends hire a medium to hold a séance via Zoom during lockdown — but they get far more than they bargained for as things quickly go wrong. When an evil spirit starts invading their homes, they begin to realise they might not survive the night.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisFollow Me (2020)
A social media personality travels with his friends to Moscow to capture new content for his successful vlog. Always pushing the limits and catering to a growing audience, they enter a cold world of mystery, excess, and danger. When the lines between real life and social media are blurred, the group must fight to escape, and survive.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both horror & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Conjuring (2013)
Paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren work to help a family terrorized by a dark presence in their farmhouse. Forced to confront a powerful entity, the Warrens find themselves caught in the most terrifying case of their lives.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both horror & thriller
Worth the HypeMovies like thisRing (1998)
A mysterious video has been linked to a number of deaths, and when an inquisitive journalist finds the tape and views it herself, she sets in motion a chain of events that puts her own life in danger.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both horror & thriller
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Taking of Deborah Logan (2014)
What starts as a poignant medical documentary about Deborah Logan's descent into Alzheimer's disease and her daughter's struggles as caregiver degenerates into a maddening portrayal of dementia at its most frightening, as hair-raising events begin to plague the family and crew and an unspeakable malevolence threatens to tear the very fabric of sanity from them all.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both horror & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Bye Bye Man (2017)
When three college students move into an old house off campus, they unwittingly unleash a supernatural entity known as The Bye Bye Man, who comes to prey upon them once they discover his name. The friends must try to save each other, all the while keeping The Bye Bye Man's existence a secret to save others from the same deadly fate.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both horror & thriller
SnoozefestMovies like thisJu-on: The Grudge 2 (2003)
When the cast and crew of a paranormal TV reality program decide to shoot in the house of the original Saeki hauntings, a series of strange events unfold at the location.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both horror & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisGrave Encounters (2011)
A crew from a paranormal reality television show lock themselves in a haunted psychiatric hospital. They search for evidence of paranormal activity as they shoot what ends up becoming their final episode.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both thriller & horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHereditary (2018)
When the matriarch of the Graham family passes away, her daughter begins to unravel cryptic and increasingly terrifying secrets about her ancestry.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both horror & thriller
Worth the HypeMovies like thisCountdown (2019)
A young nurse downloads an app that tells her she only has three days to live. With time ticking away and a mysterious figure haunting her, she must find a way to save her life before time runs out.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both horror & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisRings (2005)
Some time after the events of The Ring, a subculture of people voluntarily watch Samara Morgan's video and wait to see how close to the seven-day deadline they can get before showing it to the next person. They record everything they see and share their experiences on a secret website dedicated to the videotape. No one has ever recorded a day seven.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both horror & thriller
SnoozefestMovies like thisCreep (2014)
Looking for work, Aaron comes across a cryptic online ad: "$1,000 for the day. Filming service. Discretion is appreciated." Low on cash and full of naiveté, he decides to go for it. He drives to a cabin in a remote mountain town where he meets Josef, his cinematic subject for the day. Josef is sincere and the project seems heartfelt, so Aaron begins to film. But as the day goes on, it becomes clear that Josef is not who he says, and his intentions are not at all pure.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both horror & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Envelope (2017)
A strange envelope is delivered to an architect bureau by mistake. Igor, a driver, gets the task to bring it to the right address. From that moment his life becomes a string of paranormal events. The cursed letter invades Igor's life and leads him to a mysterious addressee.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both thriller & horror
The Endless (2017)
Two brothers return to the cult they fled from years ago to discover that the group's beliefs may be more sane than they once thought.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · 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: Fans watch both · both thriller & horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Babadook (2014)
A grieving single mother and her child fall into a deep well of paranoia when an eerie children's book manifests in their home.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMy Soul to Keep (2019)
Like many 9-year-old boys, Eli Braverman believes something menacing lives in his basement. When his older sister leaves him home alone one night, Eli discovers if this evil is real or all in his head. What Eli confronts may end up being far more terrifying than even his worst nightmare.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both horror & thriller
Mind Body Spirit (2023)
Anya, an aspiring yoga influencer, as she embarks on a ritual practice left behind by her estranged grandmother. What starts as a spiritual self-help guide quickly evolves into something much more sinister. As Anya becomes obsessed with the mysterious power of the practice, she unwittingly unleashes an otherworldly entity that begins to take control of her life -- and her videos. Now Anya must race to unlock the truth, before her descent into madness threatens to consume her mind, body and spirit.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both horror & thriller
Sound of Silence (2023)
After her father ends up in the hospital, Emma flies back from New York to her hometown in Italy and stays at her parents' home. All alone in the house, she faces an evil entity that is connected to a cursed radio. Emma will have to unveil the dark secret behind the radio to survive the night and protect the ones she loves.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both horror & thriller
Resolution (2013)
A man imprisons his estranged junkie friend in an isolated cabin in the boonies of San Diego to force him through a week of sobriety, but the events of that week are being mysteriously manipulated.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both horror & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Dead Room (2015)
When a terrified family flees a desolate southern New Zealand farmhouse, two cynical scientists and a young psychic are sent to investigate their claims of a haunting. There they encounter a powerful spirit that will protect the house's secrets at all costs.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both horror & thriller
SnoozefestMovies like thisVicious (2025)
When Polly receives a mysterious box, it comes with one rule: place inside something she needs, something she hates, and something she loves. If she doesn’t obey, it will consume everything—and everyone—she’s ever known.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies 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 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 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 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 this
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Dear David?
The closest matches to Dear David are Insidious (2011), Lake Mungo (2009) and Sinister (2012). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Dear David?
People who watched Dear David most often go on to Insidious (2011), Lake Mungo (2009) and Sinister (2012).
What is the highest-rated movie like Dear David?
Succubus (2024), rated 8.3/10 by 279 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Dear David?
Vicious (2025) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like Dear David?
Yes: Insidious (2011), Lake Mungo (2009) and Sinister (2012).
How are movies similar to Dear David chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Dear David, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.