Movies like The Cat and the Canary (1927)
The best movies like The Cat and the Canary (1927) are The Cat and the Canary (1939), The Old Dark House (1963) and The Private Eyes (1980). If The Cat and the Canary hooked you with its comedy and horror, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedSome Like It Hot (1959)8.1/10 from 4,062 votes
- NewestBeetlejuice Beetlejuice (2024)Released 2024
The Cat and the Canary (1939)
A group of potential heirs gather in a forbidding old house to learn which of them will inherit a fortune. Later, they learn that a flesh-rending maniac is loose.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Old Dark House (1963)
An American car salesman in London becomes mixed up in a series of fatal occurrences at a secluded mansion.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & horror
SnoozefestMovies like thisThe Private Eyes (1980)
The lord and lady of a capacious manor are killed, and the lord's ghost seems to have returned to knock off the staff one by one, causing Inspector Winship and Dr. Tart to investigate the wacky house and its inhabitants.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & mystery
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe House with a Clock in Its Walls (2018)
When ten-year-old Lewis is suddenly orphaned, he is sent to live with his Uncle Jonathan in a creaky (and creepy) old mansion with a mysterious ticking noise that emanates from the walls. Upon discovering that his uncle is a warlock, Lewis begins learning magic, but when he rebelliously resurrects an evil warlock he must find the secret of the house and save the world from destruction.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisR.L. Stine's Monsterville: The Cabinet of Souls (2015)
Teenage friends must resist the spell of an evil showman staging a house of horrors show in their small town.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBeetlejuice Beetlejuice (2024)
After a family tragedy, three generations of the Deetz family return home to Winter River. Still haunted by Betelgeuse, Lydia's life is turned upside down when her teenage daughter, Astrid, accidentally opens the portal to the Afterlife.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMostly Ghostly (2008)
Based on the successful book series by R.L. Stine, this spooky tale finds 11-year-old Max making a deal with the ghosts who haunt his home. If Max helps them find what was responsible for their parents' disappearance, they'll help him transform from a social nobody to the most popular kid in school.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror & comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMy Best Friend Is a Vampire (1987)
Shortly after high school student Jeremy Capello goes on a hot date, he finds he can't stand garlic or see his reflection in mirrors.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror & comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHouse on Haunted Hill (1959)
Frederick Loren invites five strangers to the party of a lifetime and offers each of them $10,000 if they can stay the night in the reportedly haunted house. Armed with a gun for protection, each guest arrives in a hearse and will either leave in it much richer…Or dead.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror & mystery
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Curse of Bridge Hollow (2022)
A Halloween-hating dad reluctantly teams up with his teenage daughter when an evil spirit wreaks havoc by making their town's decorations come to life.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHalloween with the New Addams Family (1977)
The original TV Addams Family members prepare for Halloween.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisScooby-Doo! and the Witch's Ghost (1999)
Scooby-Doo and the Mystery Gang visit Oakhaven, Massachusetts to seek strange goings on involving a famous horror novelist and his ancestor who is rumored to have been a witch.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & mystery
Worth the HypeMovies like thisNight Watch (1973)
A woman recovering from a nervous breakdown tries to convince her husband and and the local London police that she has witnessed a murder in the abandoned house next door.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both mystery & horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisTower of Terror (1997)
A disgraced reporter investigates an abandoned luxury hotel where five people mysteriously disappeared sixty years earlier.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisGhostwatch (1992)
On Halloween 1992, the BBC broadcasts an investigation into the supernatural, hosted by TV chat-show legend Michael Parkinson. Parky (assisted by Mike Smith, Sarah Greene and Craig Charles) and a camera crew attempt to discover the truth behind the most haunted house in Britain. This groundbreaking live television experiment does not go as planned, however.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror & mystery
Worth the HypeMovies like thisTopper Returns (1941)
Topper is once again tormented by a fun-loving spirit. This time, it's Gail Richards, accidentally murdered while vacationing at the home of her wealthy friend, Ann Carrington, the intended victim. With Topper's help, Gail sets out to find her killer with the expected zany results.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & mystery
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Honey Pot (1967)
In Venice, a millionaire hires an actor to help him prank three greedy exes into thinking he's dying and leaving his fortune to one of them.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & mystery
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDeath Becomes Her (1992)
Madeline is married to Ernest, who was once her arch-rival Helen's fiancé. After recovering from a mental breakdown, Helen vows to kill Madeline and steal back Ernest. Unfortunately for everyone, the introduction of a magic potion causes things to be a great deal more complicated than a mere murder plot.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Innocents (1961)
In a mid-19th century Essex country house, a young governess for two children becomes convinced that the house and grounds are haunted by ghosts and that the children are being possessed.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror & mystery
Worth the HypeMovies like thisNext of Kin (1982)
After Linda inherits a retirement home, she witnesses a series of strange events which seem connected to a dark and unspeakable evil.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror & mystery
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisFreaks (1932)
A circus' beautiful trapeze artist agrees to marry the leader of side-show performers, but his deformed friends discover she is only marrying him for his inheritance.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror
Worth the HypeMovies like thisAnatomy of a Murder (1959)
Semi-retired Michigan lawyer Paul Biegler takes the case of Army Lt. Manion, who murdered a local innkeeper after his wife claimed that he raped her. Over the course of an extensive trial, Biegler parries with District Attorney Lodwick and out-of-town prosecutor Claude Dancer to set his client free, but his case rests on the victim's mysterious business partner, who's hiding a dark secret.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both mystery
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Magic Glass (1914)
A boy uses a professor's liquid to make objects transparent.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy
Some Like It Hot (1959)
In Prohibition-era Chicago, musicians Joe and Jerry witness a mob hit, and flee the state in an all-female band disguised as Josephine and Daphne, but further complications set in.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisKing Kong (1933)
Adventurous filmmaker Carl Denham sets out to produce a motion picture unlike anything the world has seen before. Alongside his leading lady Ann Darrow and his first mate Jack Driscoll, they arrive on an island and discover a legendary creature said to be neither beast nor man. Denham captures the monster to be displayed on Broadway as King Kong, the eighth wonder of the world.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe 39 Steps (1935)
Richard Hanney has a rude awakening when a glamorous female spy falls into his bed - with a knife in her back. Having a bit of trouble explaining it all to Scotland Yard, he heads for the hills of Scotland to try to clear his name by locating the spy ring known as The 39 Steps.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both mystery
Worth the HypeMovies like thisA Very Jealous Wife (1969)
Fatima grows jealous because her husband Hassan is a lawyer whose work conditions compel him to deal with many women, including the dancer Souad, whose relationship with Hassan makes matters worse between him and his wife.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy
The Good German (2006)
An American journalist arrives in Berlin just after the end of World War Two. He becomes involved in a murder mystery surrounding a dead GI who washes up at a lakeside mansion during the Potsdam negotiations between the Allied powers. Soon his investigation connects with his search for his married pre-war German lover.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both mystery
SnoozefestMovies like thisTrouble in Paradise (1932)
Thief Gaston Monescu and pickpocket Lily are partners in crime and love. Working for perfume company executive Mariette Colet, the two crooks decide to combine their criminal talents to rob their employer. Under the alias of Monsieur Laval, Gaston uses his position as Mariette's personal secretary to become closer to her. However, he takes things too far when he actually falls in love with Mariette, and has to choose between her and Lily.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy
Worth the HypeMovies like thisTo Be or Not to Be (1942)
During the Nazi occupation of Poland, an acting troupe becomes embroiled in a Polish soldier's efforts to track down a German spy.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy
Worth the HypeMovies like this
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like The Cat and the Canary?
The closest matches to The Cat and the Canary are The Cat and the Canary (1939), The Old Dark House (1963) and The Private Eyes (1980). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after The Cat and the Canary?
Start with The Cat and the Canary (1939), the closest match to The Cat and the Canary.
What is the highest-rated movie like The Cat and the Canary?
Some Like It Hot (1959), rated 8.1/10 by 4,062 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like The Cat and the Canary?
Beetlejuice Beetlejuice (2024) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like The Cat and the Canary?
Yes: The Cat and the Canary (1939), The Old Dark House (1963) and The Private Eyes (1980).
How are movies similar to The Cat and the Canary chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside The Cat and the Canary, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.