Movies like The Stay Awake (1987)
The best movies like The Stay Awake (1987) are The Nun II (2023), Hello Mary Lou: Prom Night II (1987) and Saint Catherine (2024). If The Stay Awake hooked you with its horror, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedPsycho (1960)8.4/10 from 11,440 votes
- NewestTerrifier 3 (2024)Released 2024
The Nun II (2023)
In 1956 France, a priest is violently murdered, and Sister Irene begins to investigate. She once again comes face-to-face with a powerful evil.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHello Mary Lou: Prom Night II (1987)
Mary Lou Maloney, Hamilton High's Prom Queen of 1957, is killed during her coronation ceremony due to a prank gone wrong by her jilted boyfriend, Billy Nordham. Thirty years later, teen Vicki Carpenter is in the running for Prom Queen, but accidentally unleashes the vengeful spirit of Mary Lou, who will stop at nothing to be rightfully crowned, even if it means taking Vicki's poor body for a cruise!
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 thisThe Blackcoat's Daughter (2017)
Two young women at a prestigious prep school are assailed by an evil, invisible power when they're stranded over winter break.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
SnoozefestMovies like thisCarrie (1976)
Withdrawn and sensitive teenager Carrie White faces bullying from her classmates and abuse from her fanatically pious mother. When she begins to suspect that she has supernatural powers, things take a dark and violent turn.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Worth the HypeMovies like thisPrey for the Devil (2022)
In response to a global rise in demonic possessions, the Catholic Church reopens exorcism schools to train priests in the Rite of Exorcism. On this spiritual battlefield, an unlikely warrior rises: a young nun, Sister Ann. Thrust onto the spiritual frontline with fellow student Father Dante, Sister Ann finds herself in a battle for the soul of a young girl and soon realizes the Devil has her right where he wants her.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe First Omen (2024)
When a young American woman is sent to Rome to begin a life of service to the church, she encounters a darkness that causes her to question her own faith and uncovers a terrifying conspiracy that hopes to bring about the birth of evil incarnate.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisF (2010)
A group of teachers must defend themselves from a gang of murderous kids when their school comes under siege after hours.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisTerrifier 3 (2024)
Five years after surviving Art the Clown's Halloween massacre, Sienna and Jonathan are still struggling to rebuild their shattered lives. As the holiday season approaches, they try to embrace the Christmas spirit and leave the horrors of the past behind. But just when they think they're safe, Art returns, determined to turn their holiday cheer into a new nightmare. The festive season quickly unravels as Art unleashes his twisted brand of terror, proving that no holiday is safe.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisScream (1996)
A year after the murder of her mother, a teenage girl is terrorized by a masked killer who targets her and her friends by using scary movies as part of a deadly game.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Exorcist III (1990)
On the fifteenth anniversary of the exorcism that claimed Father Damien Karras' life, Police Lieutenant Kinderman's world is once again shattered when a boy is found decapitated and savagely crucified.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisStigmata (1999)
A young woman with no strong religious beliefs, Frankie Paige begins having strange and violent experiences, showing signs of the wounds that Jesus received when crucified. When the Vatican gets word of Frankie's situation, a high-ranking cardinal requests that the Rev. Andrew Kiernan investigate her case. Soon Kiernan realizes that very sinister forces are at work, and tries to rescue Frankie from the entity that is plaguing her.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Sentinel (1977)
As a young girl, Alison Parker attempted suicide after being traumatized by her father's sexual exploits. Now an elite fashion model, she moves to a Brooklyn Heights apartment building where she encounters a number of bizarre, eccentric tenants and attempts to uncover the building's sinister secret.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Exorcist (1973)
When a mysterious entity possesses a young girl, her mother seeks the help of two Catholic priests to save her life.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Worth the HypeMovies like thisA Nun's Curse (2020)
A group of travelers are forced to seek shelter inside an abandoned jail where a notorious nun named Sister Monday had once been assigned and was suspected of murdering prisoners.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisPrince of Darkness (1987)
A priest discovers an ancient canister containing a strange liquid in an abandoned church. When a group of graduate students and scientists are tasked with studying it, they unknowingly unleash an evil force waiting to destroy all of humanity.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCobweb (2023)
Eight year old Peter is plagued by a mysterious, constant tapping from inside his bedroom wall—one that his parents insist is all in his imagination. As Peter's fear intensifies, he believes that his parents could be hiding a terrible, dangerous secret and questions their trustworthiness.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisIt Follows (2015)
A young woman is followed by an unknown supernatural force after a sexual encounter.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisTwins of Evil (1971)
While dabbling in Satanism, Count Karstein resurrects Mircalla Karnstein who initiates him into vampirism. As a rash of deaths afflicts the village, Gustav the head of Puritan group leads his men to seek out and destroy the pestilence. One of his twin nieces has become inflicted with the witchcraft but Gustav's zeal and venom has trapped the innocent Maria, threatening her with a tortuous execution, whilst Frieda remains free to continue her orgy of evil.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Final (2010)
A group of high school outcasts get revenge on the students that torment them.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisTerror in Times Square: A Guide To Nightmare's Grindhouse Kingdom (2015)
2015 featurette documentary behind the experience of Nightmare and grindhouse cinema.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror
Grave Sight (2019)
Grave-robbing Tanya, with her precious hubby Preston in tow, unearths a cursed ring and unleashes a powerful demon hellbent to get it back by any means necessary. Everything's fun and games until someone loses an eye.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror
Cut Wide Open (2010)
On the last day of the holidays, the small village of Woodcreek is homed by a nightmare, everyone who enter the forest of Woodcreek is hunted and met by an unknown killer, among them is also jane, a single mother, and her baby. Will the both of them success in escaping the reign of the murderous psychopath or will the day end in terror and death for them too. The hunt begins. In a disconnected children's hospital a bloody showdown begins... Who will survive this nightmare and what will be left of them?
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror
The Obsessed (2019)
A body horror freak-out based on the manic descent of Bjork’s stalker.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror
Sorority Row 2 (TBA)
Sequel to Sorority Row (2009).
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror
M-Agent (2013)
A group of drunk students kills a person in road accident and disposes the body. The ghost of deceased starts to get revenge.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror
The Pencil (2023)
Sara, a struggling artist, discovers a unique pencil that can solve all her problems. But her dreams turn into a nightmare when a malevolent demonic creature from Kazakh legends gets unleashed.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror
Psycho (1960)
When larcenous real estate clerk Marion Crane goes on the lam with a wad of cash and hopes of starting a new life, she ends up at the notorious Bates Motel, where manager Norman Bates cares for his housebound mother.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisConstantine (2005)
John Constantine has literally been to Hell and back. When he teams up with a policewoman to solve the mysterious suicide of her twin sister, their investigation takes them through the world of demons and angels that exists beneath the landscape of contemporary Los Angeles.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror
Worth the HypeMovies like thisNext Door (2005)
After Ingrid leaves John, he allows himself to be pulled into a mystical and scary world where it is impossible to separate truth from lies.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like this
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like The Stay Awake?
The closest matches to The Stay Awake are The Nun II (2023), Hello Mary Lou: Prom Night II (1987) and Saint Catherine (2024). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after The Stay Awake?
Start with The Nun II (2023), the closest match to The Stay Awake.
What is the highest-rated movie like The Stay Awake?
Psycho (1960), rated 8.4/10 by 11,440 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like The Stay Awake?
Terrifier 3 (2024) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like The Stay Awake?
Yes: The Nun II (2023), Hello Mary Lou: Prom Night II (1987) and Saint Catherine (2024).
How are movies similar to The Stay Awake chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside The Stay Awake, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.