Movies like The Cat and the Canary (1978)
The best movies like The Cat and the Canary (1978) are The Cat and the Canary (1939), The Private Eyes (1980) and The Old Dark House (1963). If The Cat and the Canary hooked you with its horror and comedy, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedThe Thing (1982)8.1/10 from 8,445 votes
- NewestThe Thursday Murder Club (2025)Released 2025
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 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 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 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 thisShadow of the Thin Man (1941)
While attending a major horse race with their young son, Nick Jr., Nick and Nora Charles witnesse a shocking murder from the crowded grandstand. What first appears to be an isolated killing soon leads to a maze of corruption, blackmail, gambling scandals, and criminal intrigue. As Nick investigates, he encounters suspicious bookmakers, dishonest officials, rival gangsters, and a mysterious killer determined to stay ahead of the law. Nora, as always, is never far from the action, bringing her quick wit and fearless curiosity to the case.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & mystery
Worth the HypeMovies 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 thisThe Thursday Murder Club (2025)
A group of senior sleuths passionate about solving cold cases get plunged into a real-life murder mystery in this comic crime caper.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & mystery
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Fearless Vampire Killers (1967)
A noted professor and his dim-witted apprentice fall prey to their inquiring vampires, while on the trail of the ominous damsel in distress.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisScared Stiff (1953)
A nightclub singer and his partner escape mobsters by fleeing to Cuba with a beautiful heiress, who has inherited a haunted castle on an isolated island. The trio hunt for a hidden treasure and encounter a ghost, a zombie, and a mysterious killer...
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe 'Burbs (1989)
When secretive new neighbors move in next door, suburbanite Ray Peterson and his friends let their paranoia get the best of them as they start to suspect the newcomers of evildoings and commence an investigation. But it's hardly how Ray, who much prefers drinking beer, reading his newspaper and watching a ball game on the tube expected to spend his vacation.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Cheap Detective (1978)
A spoof of the entire 1940s detective genre. San Francisco private detective, Lou Pekinpaugh is accused of murdering his partner at the instigation of his mistress—his partner's wife.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & mystery
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisEddie: The Sleepwalking Cannibal (2012)
A once-famous painter rediscovers inspiration when he befriends a sleepwalking cannibal.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror & comedy
SnoozefestMovies 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 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 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 thisExtraordinary Tales (2015)
Five tales by Edgar Allan Poe come to life thanks to a pictorical style animation, five tales that exude madness, pestilence, murder and torture.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror & mystery
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDracula: Dead and Loving It (1995)
When a lawyer shows up at the vampire's doorstep, he falls prey to his charms and joins him in his search for fresh blood. Enter Professor Van Helsing, who may be the only one able to vanquish the Count.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisFoul Play (1978)
A shy San Francisco librarian and a bumbling cop fall in love as they solve a crime involving albinos, dwarves, and the Catholic Church.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & mystery
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisPsych 3: This Is Gus (2021)
In preparation for a shotgun wedding before the birth of Baby Guster, Shawn and Gus go rogue in an attempt to track down Selene’s estranged husband, as Lassiter grapples with the future of his career.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & mystery
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBurnt Offerings (1976)
A family moves into a large old mansion in the countryside which seems to have a mysterious and sinister power over its new residents.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror & mystery
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Omen (2006)
A diplomatic couple adopts the son of the devil without knowing it. A remake of the classic horror film of the same name from 1976.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror & mystery
SnoozefestMovies like thisThe Thing (1982)
A research team in Antarctica is hunted by a shape-shifting alien that assumes the appearance of its victims.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror & mystery
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisThe Grudge (2004)
An American nurse living and working in Tokyo is exposed to a mysterious supernatural curse, one that locks a person in a powerful rage before claiming their life and spreading to another victim.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror & mystery
SnoozefestMovies like thisMambo Italiano (2003)
When an Italian man comes out of the closet, it affects both his life and his crazy family.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisYolo (2024)
After an argument with her younger sister, Le Ying moves out on her own. She meets a boxing trainer and starts boxing.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Big Sleep (1978)
Private eye Philip Marlowe investigates a case of blackmail involving the two wild daughters of a rich general, a pornographer and a gangster.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both mystery
SnoozefestMovies like thisHis Majesty's Adjutant (1933)
Lieutenant Patera, who unfortunately became involved in a scandalous affair in the highest circles of the Habsburg monarchy, is transferred from his sentence to the backwater garrison in Munich.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy
I‘ll Marry Off My Wife (1941)
The film is about a slightly crazy botany professor Ducánek, who is so busy with his scientific experiments that he has completely forgotten that he is married. Neither his housekeeper Veronika nor his friend Potužník knew about the existence of his capricious wife, the operetta diva Lucy. However, when his wife returns home after seven years in remorse, Ducánek takes a complicated action to elegantly get rid of his wife...
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy
The Street is Singing (1939)
A pair of circus clowns, played by Vlasta Burian and Jaroslav Marvan, take in an abandoned child and care for them even when they have to make a living as street musicians. The grateful foundling loves his adoptive parents even in adulthood, when he struggles with both love and stolen loot that accidentally falls into their laps. However, the result is only a crudely sentimental comedy that is considered one of the weakest works of the king of comedians, although he also participated in the direction.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy
Vanilla Sky (2001)
David Aames has it all: wealth, good looks and gorgeous women on his arm. But just as he begins falling for the warmhearted Sofia, his face is horribly disfigured in a car accident. That's just the beginning of his troubles as the lines between illusion and reality, between life and death, are blurred.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both mystery
Popcorn FlickMovies 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 Private Eyes (1980) and The Old Dark House (1963). 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?
The Thing (1982), rated 8.1/10 by 8,445 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like The Cat and the Canary?
The Thursday Murder Club (2025) 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 Private Eyes (1980) and The Old Dark House (1963).
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.