Movies like Appointment with Fear (1985)
The best movies like Appointment with Fear (1985) are God Is a Bullet (2023), A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors (1987) and Strange Darling (2024). If Appointment with Fear hooked you with its horror and crime, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedSaw (2004)7.4/10 from 10,490 votes
- NewestPsycho Killer (2026)Released 2026
God Is a Bullet (2023)
Vice detective Bob Hightower finds his ex-wife murdered and daughter kidnapped by a cult. Frustrated by the botched official investigations, he quits the force and infiltrates the cult to hunt down the leader with the help of the cult’s only female victim escapee, Case Hardin.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisA Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors (1987)
A psychiatrist, familiar with the knife-wielding dream demon Freddy Krueger, helps teens at a mental hospital battle the killer who is invading their dreams.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror & fantasy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisStrange Darling (2024)
Nothing is what it seems when a twisted one-night stand spirals into a serial killer’s vicious murder spree.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisPsycho Killer (2026)
Following the brutal murder of her husband, a Kansas highway patrol officer sets out on a journey to track down the perpetrator. As the hunt progresses, she comes to realize the man responsible is a sadistic serial killer, and the depth of his mental depravity and his sinister agenda is more twisted than anyone could have imagined.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Jester 2 (2025)
When teen magician Max crosses paths with the sinister Jester on Halloween night, she must outsmart a supernatural killer whose magic is all too real and whose tricks always end up in blood.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSouthbound (2015)
On a desolate stretch of desert highway, weary travelers — two men on the run from their past, a band on their way to the next gig, a man struggling to get home, a brother in search of his long-lost sister and a family on vacation — are forced to confront their worst fears and darkest secrets in these interwoven tales of terror and remorse on the open road.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both fantasy & horror
SnoozefestMovies like thisSaw (2004)
Two men wake up to find themselves shackled in a grimy, abandoned bathroom. As they struggle to comprehend their predicament, they discover a disturbing tape left behind by the sadistic mastermind known as Jigsaw. With a chilling voice and cryptic instructions, Jigsaw informs them that they must partake in a gruesome game in order to secure their freedom.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror & crime
Worth the HypeMovies like thisMandy (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: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both fantasy & horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSaw III (2006)
Jigsaw has disappeared. Along with his new apprentice Amanda, the puppet-master behind the cruel, intricate games that have terrified a community and baffled police has once again eluded capture and vanished. While city detectives scramble to locate him, Doctor Lynn Denlon and Jeff Reinhart are unaware that they are about to become the latest pawns on his vicious chessboard.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisKill List (2011)
Nearly a year after a botched job, a hitman takes a new assignment with the promise of a big payoff for three killings. What starts off as an easy task soon unravels, sending the killer into the heart of darkness.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSaw 3D (2010)
As a deadly battle rages over Jigsaw's brutal legacy, a group of Jigsaw survivors gathers to seek the support of self-help guru and fellow survivor Bobby Dagen, a man whose own dark secrets unleash a new wave of terror.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisGinger Snaps (2000)
The story of two outcast sisters, Ginger and Brigitte, in the mindless suburban town of Bailey Downs. On the night of Ginger's first period, she is savagely attacked by a wild creature. Ginger's wounds miraculously heal but something is not quite right. Now Brigitte must save her sister and save herself.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror & fantasy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDagon (2001)
A boating accident off the coast of Spain sends Paul and his girlfriend Barbara to the decrepit fishing village of Imboca. As night falls, people start to disappear and things not quite human start to appear. Paul is pursued by the entire town. Running for his life, he uncovers Imboca's secret..they worship Dagon, a monstrous god of the sea...and Dagon's unholy offspring are on the loose...
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both fantasy & horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisVampires (1998)
The church enlists a team of vampire-hunters to hunt down and destroy a group of vampires searching for an ancient relic that will allow them to exist in sunlight.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both fantasy & horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Midnight Meat Train (2008)
A photographer's obsessive pursuit of dark subject matter leads him into the path of a serial killer who stalks late night commuters, ultimately butchering them in the most gruesome ways.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror & fantasy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSaw V (2008)
Following Jigsaw's grisly demise, Detective Mark Hoffman is commended as a hero, but Agent Strahm is suspicious, and delves into Hoffman's past. Meanwhile, another group of people are put through a series of gruesome tests.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisWishmaster (1997)
The Djinn, having been released from his ancient prison, seeks to capture the soul of the woman who discovered him, thereby opening a portal and freeing his fellow Djinn to take over the earth.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror & fantasy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Spine of Night (2021)
When ancient dark magic falls into sinister hands and unleashes ages of suffering onto mankind, a group of heroes from different eras and cultures must band together in order to defeat it at all costs.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both fantasy & horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMother's Day (2010)
Crazed members of a sadistic family return to their childhood home to terrorize the new owners.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisI Spit on Your Grave 2 (2013)
Broke, and in desperate need to update her portfolio, New York City model Katie calls a number from a tear-off flyer offering free photos. But this innocent attempt quickly turns into an unthinkable kidnapping nightmare where she's ripped away from everyone and everything she knows.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThousand Year Sleep (2007)
Samantha, Lydia, Isabella, and Lisa. These four young women are about to learn that humanity is just an irrelevant flame burning nowhere in the vastness of space. Their dreams will be shattered and one man will marvel at the evil he has committed.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both crime & horror
American Gigolo (1980)
Julian makes a lucrative living as an escort to older women in the Los Angeles area. He begins a relationship with Michelle, a local politician's wife, without expecting any pay. One of his clients is murdered and Detective Sunday begins pumping him for details on his different clients, something he is reluctant to do considering the nature of his work. Julian begins to suspect he's being framed. Meanwhile Michelle begins to fall in love with him.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBeauty Betrayed (2002)
A gun fires and supermodel Lily Sampson is dead. Two cops, Clark and his new partner Allie, are on the case. Their only clues are a revealing videotape of the victim in a searing game of bondage with a famous fashion photographer, and Lily's high school yearbook which reveals a mysterious twin sister and clues to a lifelong rivalry with another model.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both crime
The Tell-Tale Heart (2010)
A computer-generated rendering of the classic Poe tale about a man's sanity being a point of contention as he confesses to murdering an elderly man, driven by the victim's pale blue 'vulture eye', culminating in guilt-induced auditory hallucinations of the victim's beating heart.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror
The Two Faces of Dr. Jekyll (1960)
After a series of scientific experiments directed towards freeing the inner man and controlling human personalities, the kindly, generous Dr Henry Jekyll succeeds in freeing his own alter ego, Edward Hyde, a sadistic, evil creature whose pleasure is murder.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisLEASH (2021)
A man looks for his missing dog in the middle of a strange night.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror
The Evil of Frankenstein (1964)
Once hounded from his castle by outraged villagers for creating a monstrous living being, Baron Frankenstein returns to Karlstaad. High in the mountains they stumble on the body of the creature, perfectly preserved in the ice. He is brought back to life with the help of the hypnotist Zoltan who now controls the creature. Can Frankenstein break Zoltan's hypnotic spell that incites the monster to commit these horrific murders or will Zoltan induce the creature to destroy its creator?
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Horrible Sexy Vampire (1971)
Some kind of sadist, but not human, is murdering people. A doctor is convinced that the killings are the evil workings of a reclusive odd baron who died many years ago.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror
Dracula, Prisoner of Frankenstein (1972)
Dracula kills another innocent victim and Dr. Seward decides it's time to wipe him off the face of the earth. Armed with a hammer and a wooden stake, he arrives at Castle Dracula and duly dispatches the vampire Count. Next day, however, Dr. Frankenstein arrives with his assistant, Morpho, and a large crate containing the monster. Using the blood of a pub singer who has been abducted by his creation, the doctor brings Dracula back to life and uses him for his own ends. The Count and a female vampire continue to terrorise the town, so Dr Seward once again sets out for Castle Dracula. Unfortunately, he is attacked by the Frankenstein monster and left for dead. Amira, a gypsy, rescues him and summons up a werewolf to do battle with the forces of evil...
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror
I Was a Teenage Frankenstein (1957)
Professor Frankenstein creates a teenager from an accident victim, who gets angry when he learns he is going to be taken apart.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Appointment with Fear?
The closest matches to Appointment with Fear are God Is a Bullet (2023), A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors (1987) and Strange Darling (2024). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Appointment with Fear?
Start with God Is a Bullet (2023), the closest match to Appointment with Fear.
What is the highest-rated movie like Appointment with Fear?
Saw (2004), rated 7.4/10 by 10,490 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Appointment with Fear?
Psycho Killer (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like Appointment with Fear?
Yes: God Is a Bullet (2023), A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors (1987) and Strange Darling (2024).
How are movies similar to Appointment with Fear chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Appointment with Fear, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.