Movies like The Theater Killer (1996)
The best movies like The Theater Killer (1996) are Monkey’s Magic Merry Go Round (2026), The Exorcist (2022) and Maniac (1963). If The Theater Killer hooked you with its horror, these 20 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedVirus: 32 (2022)6.8/10 from 314 votes
- NewestMonkey’s Magic Merry Go Round (2026)Released 2026
- In SpanishThe Exorcist (2022)Also in Spanish
Monkey’s Magic Merry Go Round (2026)
After a mysterious bout of amnesia, a beloved children’s television host struggles to piece together his fractured memories, only to find his once-cheerful puppet co-stars behaving with sinister intent. As reality unravels, the line between performance and nightmare begins to blur.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Exorcist (2022)
Ophelia, a young nun recently arriving in the town of San Ramon, is forced to perform an exorcism on a pregnant woman in danger of dying. Just when she thinks her possession has ended, she discovers that the evil presence hasn't disappeared yet. The director of the award-winning Here Comes the Devil and Late Phases adds a new twist to possession movies in one of this year's Latin American horror surprises.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
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
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Wailing (2024)
Andrea, in search of her biological family, feels stalked by an invisible threat. Other women before them have suffered the same fate. Twenty years earlier, on the other side of the world, Camille, fascinated by Marie, tries to warn her of a threat hanging over her.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
SnoozefestMovies like thisThe Whisper (2026)
Fleeing from their violent father, siblings Lucía and Adrián take refuge in a remote mansion. With the help of a hidden micro-camera on a cat, Lucía uncovers a terrifying secret: their neighbors are part of a criminal network that kidnaps teenage girls to make snuff films, and they intend to get rid of the siblings. As Lucía fights to protect her brother, she must face a dark family curse that follows them into their newfound sanctuary.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Worth the HypeMovies like thisTorment (2025)
An exhausted security guard is transferred to a morgue and, on their first night, discovers that the shadows and silences hide a torment from which there may be no return.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSaint Catherine (2024)
An orphaned girl is rescued from a satanic ritual and taken to Saint Catherine Institute for homeless youth. There she will learn new skills while facing demons that stalk her.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisNightmare Cinema (2018)
A series of down-on-their-luck individuals enter the decrepit and spine-chilling Rialto theater, only to have their deepest and darkest fears brought to life on the silver screen by The Projectionist – a mysterious, ghostly figure who holds the nightmarish futures of all who attend his screenings.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
SnoozefestMovies like thisPlay Dead (2025)
A woman wakes up injured in a basement surrounded by corpses. To survive, she pretends to be dead while a grotesque ritual unfolds in the house above.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisVirtual Reality (2021)
A film director makes a dark pact for his career to be a success. When he summons the crew and cast to his home for a first screening of the movie they just filmed, they will Fhave to survive a reality they never saw coming.
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 Devil Comes at Night (2023)
A washed up boxer searching for his inheritance must fight for his life when he is trapped in his deceased father's farmhouse by a local cannibal cult.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
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
SnoozefestMovies like thisNight of the Hunted (2023)
When an unsuspecting woman stops at a remote gas station in the dead of night, she's made the plaything of a sociopath sniper with a secret vendetta. To survive, she must not only dodge his bullets and fight for her life, but also figure out who wants her dead and why.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisVirus: 32 (2022)
A virus is unleashed and a chilling massacre runs through the streets of Montevideo.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe House of Snails (2021)
A writer secludes himself in the mountains and falls in lust with local Berta. After realizing the oddities of the rural community the author starts to question the lines between reality and fiction.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
SnoozefestMovies 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
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMikey (1992)
Mikey just needs a good stable home. He's bounced from foster home to foster home his whole life. He finally lands himself with a new loving family, but their perfect little child is not what he appears to be. His previous caretakers all died of mysterious "accidents" that weren't really accidents at all. Mikey is a cold blooded killer, and it doesn't take long for him to aim his sights on his new adoptive family and anyone else who stands in his way.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
SnoozefestMovies 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
SnoozefestMovies like thisDead of Winter (1987)
A fledgling actress is lured to a remote mansion for a screen-test, soon discovering she is actually a prisoner in the middle of a blackmail plot.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like this
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like The Theater Killer?
The closest matches to The Theater Killer are Monkey’s Magic Merry Go Round (2026), The Exorcist (2022) and Maniac (1963). Below are 17 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after The Theater Killer?
Start with Monkey’s Magic Merry Go Round (2026), the closest match to The Theater Killer.
What is the highest-rated movie like The Theater Killer?
Virus: 32 (2022), rated 6.8/10 by 314 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like The Theater Killer?
Monkey’s Magic Merry Go Round (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there Spanish movies like The Theater Killer?
Yes: The Exorcist (2022), The Wailing (2024) and The Whisper (2026).
How are movies similar to The Theater Killer chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside The Theater Killer, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.