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Movies like Dead of Winter: The Donner Party (2015)

The best movies like Dead of Winter: The Donner Party (2015) are Lovecraft: Fear of the Unknown (2008), Jonestown: The Life and Death of Peoples Temple (2006) and Unknown Dimension: The Story of Paranormal Activity (2021). If Dead of Winter: The Donner Party hooked you with its documentary and history, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.

Quick picks

  1. Lovecraft: Fear of the Unknown (2008)

    A chronicle of the life, work and mind that created the Cthulhu mythos.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary & horror

    Worth the HypeMovies like this
  2. Jonestown: The Life and Death of Peoples Temple (2006)

    Featuring never-before-seen footage, this documentary delivers a startling new look at the Peoples Temple, headed by preacher Jim Jones who, in 1978, led more than 900 members to Guyana, where he orchestrated a mass suicide via tainted punch.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary & history

    Worth the HypeMovies like this
  3. Unknown Dimension: The Story of Paranormal Activity (2021)

    A deep dive into the making of the Paranormal Activity films with first time ever interviews with cast and crew, never-before-seen footage from the movies, and a preview of the seventh installment in the franchise.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary & horror

    Popcorn FlickMovies like this
  4. Titanic: 20 Years Later with James Cameron (2017)

    For the 20th anniversary of "Titanic," James Cameron reopens the file on the disaster.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary & history

    Popcorn FlickMovies like this
  5. Red Army (2015)

    A documentary highlighting the Soviet Union's legendary and enigmatic hockey training culture and world-dominating team through the eyes of the team's Captain Slava Fetisov, following his shift from hockey star and celebrated national hero to political enemy.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary & history

    Worth the HypeMovies like this
  6. Making Waves: The Art of Cinematic Sound (2019)

    The history of cinematic sound, told by legendary sound designers and visionary filmmakers.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary & history

    Popcorn FlickMovies like this
  7. The Untold History Of The United States (2012)

    Oliver Stone charts the history of the United States from the Second World War to the present.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary & history

    Absolute CinemaMovies like this
  8. Ronaldo (2015)

    Filmed over 14 months with unprecedented access into the inner circle of the man and the sport, this is the first official and fully authorised film of one of the most celebrated figures in football. For the first time ever, the world gets vividly candid and un-paralleled, behind-closed-doors access to the footballer, father, family-man and friend in this moving & fascinating documentary. Through in-depth conversations, state of the art football footage and never before seen archival footage, the film gives an astonishing insight into the sporting and personal life of triple Ballon D'Or winner Cristiano Ronaldo at the peak of his career. From the makers of ‘Senna’ and ‘Amy’, Ronaldo takes audiences on an intimate and revealing journey of what it’s like to live as an iconic athlete in the eye of the storm.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary & history

    Worth the HypeMovies like this
  9. Alone in the Wilderness (2004)

    Dick Proenneke retired at age 50 in 1967 and decided to build his own cabin in the wilderness at the base of the Aleutian Peninsula, in what is now Lake Clark National Park. Using color footage he shot himself, Proenneke traces how he came to this remote area, selected a homestead site and built his log cabin completely by himself. The documentary covers his first year in-country, showing his day-to-day activities and the passing of the seasons as he sought to scratch out a living alone in the wilderness.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary & history

    Absolute CinemaMovies like this
  10. Going to Pieces: The Rise and Fall of the Slasher Film (2006)

    This historical and critical look at slasher films, which includes dozens of clips, begins with Halloween, Friday the 13th, and Prom Night. The films' directors, writers, producers, and special effects creators comment on the films' making and success. During the Reagan years, the films get gorier, budgets get smaller, and their appeal wanes. Then, Nightmare on Elm Street revives the genre. Jump to the late 90s, when Scream brings humor and TV stars into the mix.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary & horror

    Popcorn FlickMovies like this
  11. O.J.: Made in America (2016)

    A chronicle of the rise and fall of O.J. Simpson, whose high-profile murder trial exposed the extent of American racial tensions, revealing a fractured and divided nation.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary & history

    Absolute CinemaMovies like this
  12. Apollo: Missions to the Moon (2019)

    National Geographic's riveting effort recounts all 12 crewed missions using only archival footage, photos and audio.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary & history

    Worth the HypeMovies like this
  13. Trinity and Beyond: The Atomic Bomb Movie (1995)

    "Trinity and Beyond" is an unsettling yet visually fascinating documentary presenting the history of nuclear weapons development and testing between 1945-1963. Narrated by William Shatner and featuring an original score performed by the Moscow Symphony Orchestra, this award-winning documentary reveals previously unreleased and classified government footage from several countries.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary & history

    Worth the HypeMovies like this
  14. Capitalism: A Love Story (2009)

    Michael Moore comes home to the issue he's been examining throughout his career: the disastrous impact of corporate dominance on the everyday lives of Americans (and by default, the rest of the world).

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary & history

    Worth the HypeMovies like this
  15. Valley Uprising (2014)

    In the shady campgrounds of Yosemite valley, climbers carved out a counterculture lifestyle of dumpster-diving and wild parties that clashed with the conservative values of the National Park Service. And up on the walls, generation after generation has pushed the limits of climbing, vying amongst each other for supremacy on Yosemite's cliffs. "Valley Uprising" is the riveting, unforgettable tale of this bold rock climbing tradition in Yosemite National Park: half a century of struggle against the laws of gravity -- and the laws of the land.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary & history

    Worth the HypeMovies like this
  16. Cropsey (2010)

    Realizing the urban legend of their youth has actually come true, two filmmakers delve into the mystery surrounding five missing children and the real-life boogeyman linked to their disappearances.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary & horror

    Popcorn FlickMovies like this
  17. The Endurance (2000)

    Documentary on the Shackleton Antartic expedition. A retelling of Sir Ernest Shackleton's ill-fated expedition to Antarctica in and the crew of his vessel 'The Endurance', which was trapped in the ice floes and frigid open ocean of the Antarctic in 1914. Shackleton decided, with many of his crew injured and weak from exposure and starvation, to take a team of his fittest men and attempt to find help. Setting out in appalling conditions with hopelessly inadequate equipment, they endured all weather and terrain and finally reached safety. Persuading a local team of his confidence that the abandoned team would still be alive, he set out again to find them. After almost 2 years trapped on the ice, all members of the crew were finally rescued.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary & history

    Worth the HypeMovies like this
  18. The Black Power Mixtape 1967-1975 (2011)

    Examines the evolution of the Black Power Movement in US society from 1967 to 1975. It features footage of the movement shot by Swedish journalists in the United States during that period and includes the appearances of Angela Davis, Bobby Seale, Huey P. Newton, Eldridge Cleaver, and other activists, artists, and leaders central to the movement.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary & history

    Worth the HypeMovies like this
  19. How to Survive a Plague (2012)

    A story of two coalitions – ACT UP and TAG (Treatment Action Group) – whose activism and innovation turned AIDS from a death sentence into a manageable condition. Despite having no scientific training, these self-made activists infiltrated the pharmaceutical industry and helped identify promising new drugs, moving them from experimental trials to patients in record time.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary & history

    Popcorn FlickMovies like this
  20. Be Natural: The Untold Story of Alice Guy-Blaché (2018)

    The epic life story of Alice Guy-Blaché (1873–1968), a French screenwriter, director and producer, true pioneer of cinema, the first person who made a narrative fiction film; author of hundreds of movies, but banished from history books. Ignored and forgotten. At last remembered.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary & history

    Worth the HypeMovies like this
  21. Hard Ride to Hell (2010)

    A group of family and friends on a camping trip through the Texas badlands are taken on a on-way ride to Hell after they inadvertently witness a ritual sacrifice at a deserted campsite. Pursued by the devil worshiping biker gang responsible, they hole up in an abandoned church near the border, only to discover that they are pawns in a decades-old battle between good and evil.

    Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror

  22. Frontier(s) (2007)

    A gang of young thieves flee Paris during the violent aftermath of a political election, only to hole up at an Inn run by neo-Nazis.

    Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror

    Popcorn FlickMovies like this
  23. The People Under the Stairs (1991)

    Trapped inside a fortified home owned by a mysterious couple, a young boy quickly learns the true nature of the homicidal inhabitants, and secret creatures hidden deep within the walls.

    Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror

    Popcorn FlickMovies like this
  24. Tooth and Nail (2007)

    In a post-apocalyptic world, a small group of survivors, who call themselves Foragers, plan to rebuild civilization from their headquarters in an empty hospital based in what is left of Philadelphia. But they're soon forced into a face-off war with the Rovers, another gang of survivors whom are a brutal gang of cannibals.

    Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror

  25. Savage Creatures (2020)

    Two bloodthirsty vampires begin to realize that their food source is in jeopardy now that alien creatures have landed on Earth.

    Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror

  26. Van Diemen's Land (2009)

    The true story of Australia’s most notorious convict, Alexander Pearce and his infamous journey into the beautiful yet brutal Tasmanian wilderness. A point of no return for convicts banished from their homeland, Van Diemen’s Land was a feared and dreaded penal settlement at the end of the earth.

    Why it matches: Similar story and style · both history

  27. Embodiment of Evil (2008)

    Released from the Mental Health Wing of São Paulo State Penitentiary after forty years, the sadistic undertaker Zé do Caixão is back on the streets, haunted by ghostly visions and spirits of past victims but still set upon the goal that sent him to prison in the first place: finding a woman who can give him the perfect child.

    Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror

  28. Wrong Turn 3: Left for Dead (2009)

    A group of people find themselves trapped in the backwoods of West Virginia, fighting for their lives against a group of vicious and horribly disfigured inbred cannibals.

    Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror

  29. White Skin (2004)

    Two roommates discover that the family of one of their girlfriends is populated with vampires.

    Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror

  30. C.H.U.D. (1984)

    A rash of bizarre murders in New York City seems to point to a group of grotesquely deformed vagrants living in the sewers. A courageous policeman, a photojournalist and his girlfriend, and a nutty bum, who seems to know a lot about the creatures, band together to try and determine what the creatures are and how to stop them.

    Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror

Like Dead of Winter: The Donner Party and something else?

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Frequently asked questions

What are the best movies like Dead of Winter: The Donner Party?

The closest matches to Dead of Winter: The Donner Party are Lovecraft: Fear of the Unknown (2008), Jonestown: The Life and Death of Peoples Temple (2006) and Unknown Dimension: The Story of Paranormal Activity (2021). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.

What should I watch after Dead of Winter: The Donner Party?

Start with Lovecraft: Fear of the Unknown (2008), the closest match to Dead of Winter: The Donner Party.

What is the highest-rated movie like Dead of Winter: The Donner Party?

O.J.: Made in America (2016), rated 8.4/10 by 271 TMDB users.

What is the newest movie like Dead of Winter: The Donner Party?

Unknown Dimension: The Story of Paranormal Activity (2021) is the most recent release on this list.

Are there English movies like Dead of Winter: The Donner Party?

Yes: Lovecraft: Fear of the Unknown (2008), Jonestown: The Life and Death of Peoples Temple (2006) and Unknown Dimension: The Story of Paranormal Activity (2021).

How are movies similar to Dead of Winter: The Donner Party chosen?

First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Dead of Winter: The Donner Party, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.

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