Movies like Dawning (2009)
The best movies like Dawning (2009) are Whisper (2007), Cheat (2023) and Mercy Falls (2023). If Dawning hooked you with its thriller and horror, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedFargo (1996)7.8/10 from 9,575 votes
- NewestGetAway (2026)Released 2026
Whisper (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 thisCheat (2023)
On the surface it's believed to be another urban legend - a supernatural being from the afterlife is violently killing anyone who cheats on their significant other in the small college town of Silvercreek, Pennsylvania. But the town's unusually high suicide rate is finally convincing both locals and college students that everything is not as it seems. When Maeve - a female college student - sleeps with Charlie, the married man of the host family she is staying with, both sense the deadly curse is closing in on them. Unable to get anyone to believe them, Maeve and Charlie seek out a local history student to help find answers and figure out a way to defend themselves. It all comes undone, however, as several people are horrifically killed by the savage being - one-by-one at a rapid pace. Eventually, Maeve, Charlie and the few survivors band together in an attempt to defeat the monster once and for all.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller & horror
Worth the HypeMovies like thisMercy Falls (2023)
A group of friends set off into the Scottish Highlands in search of a long lost cabin. Once far from civilization, an unforeseen tragedy befalls the group and one bad decision leads to suspicion, betrayal and murder.
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 thisStranger in the Woods (2024)
Olivia and her friends go on a vacation. After Olivia nearly drowns with a slit wrist in her bathtub after her fiancé's funeral, her friends suspect that she tried to kill herself, but she believes someone attacked her.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror & thriller
SnoozefestMovies like thisThe Car (1977)
The Utah community of Santa Ynez is being terrorized by a mysterious black coupe that appears out of nowhere and begins running people down. After the car kills off the town sheriff, Captain Wade Parent is determined to stop the murderous driver.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDangerous Game: The Legacy Murders (2022)
A family reunion at a remote mansion takes a lethal turn when they are trapped inside and forced to play a deadly survival game where only one will make it out alive.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller & horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBlackwood (2014)
Having recovered from a shattering emotional breakdown, college professor Ben Marshall relocates to the countryside with his wife and young son, hoping for a fresh start. He has a teaching job lined up and a new home to move into; things finally look to be going Ben's way. Until, that is, he starts to feel that something isn't quite right in the house. Finding himself plagued by spectral visions, Ben becomes obsessed with uncovering the truth behind a local mystery that appears to be putting the lives of his family in danger
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller & horror
SnoozefestMovies 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 thriller & horror
SnoozefestMovies like thisContainment (2015)
Neighbors in a block wake one morning to find they have been sealed inside their apartments. Can they work together to find out why? Or will they destroy each other in their fight to escape?
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller & horror
SnoozefestMovies like thisZ (2019)
A family find themselves terrorized by their eight-year-old son's imaginary friend.
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 thisMen (2022)
In the aftermath of a personal tragedy, Harper retreats alone to the beautiful English countryside, hoping to find a place to heal. But someone — or something — from the surrounding woods appears to be stalking her, and what begins as simmering dread becomes a fully-formed nightmare, inhabited by her darkest memories and fears.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisYou'll Never Find Me (2024)
Patrick, a strange and lonely resident, lives in a mobile home at the back of an isolated caravan park. After a violent thunderstorm erupts, a mysterious young woman appears at his door, seeking shelter from the weather. The longer the night wears on and the more the young woman discovers about Patrick, the more difficult she finds it to leave. Soon she begins to question Patrick’s intentions, while Patrick begins to question his own grip on reality...
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies 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 thisDaddy's Little Girl (2014)
After the police find Derek’s daughter brutally murdered on the beach, he vows to make the culprit suffer for his actions, even if that person is ‘part of the family.’ With careful research into the history of torture, Derek prepares himself and his basement for a week of brutal tactics that will make his daughter’s killer feel the pain that he has inflicted upon so many others. In a time when stranger danger is ever present, a single father learns that it’s the ones you trust most who have to be watched the closest.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies 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 & thriller
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 Warrior's Way (2010)
A warrior-assassin is forced to hide in a small town in the American Badlands after refusing a mission.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisEnter Nowhere (2015)
Three strangers arrive one by one to a mysterious cabin in the middle of nowhere after enduring separate life-altering predicaments. Searching for a way out of the woods, frustrated, hungry and battling to stay warm they discover their mysterious connection and realize what they have to do in order to get out of the woods alive.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDeer Camp '86 (2024)
In the fall of 1986, six knuckleheads from Detroit travel north to partake in the annual tradition of deer hunting. But something horrific has been awakened and the hunters become the hunted.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror & thriller
BreadCrumbs (2011)
Once upon a time ... Angie, an aging star reluctantly goes on one last shoot for a seedy Producer, on location, in an enchanting old cabin deep in the shadowy forest. While on the shoot the cast and crew encounter Henry, and his little sweet sister Patti, two strange and mysterious children who seem to live in the woods. A violent attack on the second evening of shooting sends Angie and the rest of the crew into a frighten frenzy. They lock themselves into their secluded cabin and find themselves trapped and surrounded by an unknown assailant. Could these two children be responsible for these vicious attacks?
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror & thriller
The Nanny (2018)
Young Noa and Michael are put in the care of their new nanny, Leonor, who Noa suspects is a malicious supernatural being. Dismissed by those around her, Noa works to uncover Leonor's true identity, but soon finds herself with far more than she bargained for.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller & horror
SnoozefestMovies like thisThe Harbinger (2022)
A family moves their troubled daughter to a small town, where people suspect she is responsible for a series of mysterious deaths. Fearing something evil followed them, the tormented parents must do whatever it takes to save their daughter.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller & horror
SnoozefestMovies like thisFour Boxes (2009)
While working together in their eBay auction business, Trevor, Amber and Rob grow increasingly obsessed with the Web site fourboxes.tv, which follows the bizarre and potentially dangerous behavior of a creepy character they nickname "Havoc." As Havoc builds bombs and prepares to unleash disasters, the friends debate over whether they should try stopping him or just enjoy the show.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror & thriller
GetAway (2026)
A neo-mumblecore horror feature. A couple spend the weekend at a cabin in the woods, but they're not alone. Can they trust each other to survive?
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller & horror
Mandy (2018)
The Shadow Mountains, 1983. Red and Mandy lead a loving and peaceful existence; but when their pine-scented haven is savagely destroyed, Red is catapulted into a phantasmagoric journey filled with bloody vengeance and laced with fire.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBraven (2018)
A logger defends his family from a group of dangerous drug runners.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisFargo (1996)
Jerry Lundegaard is a small-town Minnesota car salesman deeply in debt and willing to do almost anything to get out. Police chief Marge Gunderson discovers a string of violent crimes as Jerry's schemes spiral out of control.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller
Worth the HypeMovies like thisDead of Winter (2025)
A widowed fisherwoman, travelling alone through snowbound northern Minnesota, interrupts the kidnapping of a teenage girl. Hours from the nearest town and with no phone service, she realizes that she is the young girl's only hope.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like this
Like Dawning and something else?
Blend two favourites and we’ll find the films in between.
Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Dawning?
The closest matches to Dawning are Whisper (2007), Cheat (2023) and Mercy Falls (2023). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Dawning?
Start with Whisper (2007), the closest match to Dawning.
What is the highest-rated movie like Dawning?
Fargo (1996), rated 7.8/10 by 9,575 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Dawning?
GetAway (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like Dawning?
Yes: Whisper (2007), Cheat (2023) and Mercy Falls (2023).
How are movies similar to Dawning chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Dawning, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.