Movies like Vanam (2021)
The best movies like Vanam (2021) are Night Watch (1973), Fear in the Night (1972) and Time Lapse (2014). If Vanam hooked you with its thriller and mystery, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedInvasion of the Body Snatchers (1956)7.5/10 from 1,264 votes
- NewestDeep Water (2026)Released 2026
- In TamilRatsasan (2018)Also in Tamil
Night 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 & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisFear in the Night (1972)
It took Peggy Heller a long time to recover from the trauma of a brutal physical assault, suffered in her youth. When she married Robert, he provided her with the love and reassurance she craved for and the two settled down in a pretty house in the grounds of the public school where Robert was a master. But the headmaster of the school is not what he seems and Peggy is convinced he means to harm her - is her fear a figment of her tortured imagination or are there forces at work that intend to manipulate her anxieties with fatal consequences?
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both mystery & thriller
SnoozefestMovies like thisTime Lapse (2014)
Three friends discover a mysterious machine that takes pictures 24 hours into the future and conspire to use it for personal gain, until disturbing and dangerous images begin to develop.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller & 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 & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Medusa Touch (1978)
A French detective in London reconstructs the life of a man lying in hospital with severe injuries with the help of journals and a psychiatrist. He realises that the man had powerful telekinetic abilities.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Car (1977)
The Utah community of Santa Ynez is being terrorized by a mysterious black coupe that appears out of nowhere and begins running people down. After the car kills off the town sheriff, Captain Wade Parent is determined to stop the murderous driver.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisEradication (2022)
When an unknown disease wipes out most of the world’s population, a man with unique blood is isolated for study. Fearing for his wife’s safety, he breaks his quarantine – into a world overrun by monstrous Infected and a shadowy agency hunting them down.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Glass Key (1942)
A crooked politician finds himself being accused of murder by a gangster from whom he refused help during a re-election campaign.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both mystery & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Seven-Ups (1973)
A tough detective who is part of an elite New York City unit is trying to find out who killed his partner, but uncovers a plot to kidnap mobsters for money.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller & mystery
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDeep Water (2026)
A group of international passengers on a flight from Los Angeles to Shanghai is forced to make an emergency landing in shark-infested waters. The terrified group is forced to work together and overcome their differences if they hope to escape their sinking plane and the frenzy of sharks drawn to the wreckage.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror & thriller
Worth the HypeMovies like thisOverdrive (2017)
Master car thieves square off against French gangsters in the South of France with money, women and lives all on the line.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller & mystery
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Mirror Crack'd (1980)
Jane Marple solves the mystery when a local woman is poisoned and a visiting movie star seems to have been the intended victim.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both mystery & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Invisible (2007)
After an attack leaves him in limbo -- invisible to the living and also near death -- a teenager discovers the only person who might be able help him is his attacker.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller & mystery
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Dead Zone (1983)
Johnny Smith is a schoolteacher with his whole life ahead of him but, after leaving his fiancee's home one night, is involved in a car crash which leaves him in a coma for 5 years. When he wakes, he discovers he has an ability to see into the past, present and future life of anyone with whom he comes into physical contact.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller & horror
Worth the HypeMovies like thisDeception (2008)
As a corporate auditor who works in a number of different offices, Jonathan McQuarry wanders without an anchor among New York's power brokers. A chance meeting with charismatic lawyer Wyatt Bose leads to Jonathan's introduction to The List, an underground sex club. Jonathan begins an affair with a woman known only as S, who introduces Jonathan to a world of treachery and murder.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller & mystery
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisRatsasan (2018)
A serial killer is murdering school girls, and a newbie cop has to track him down before the victim count increases.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller & mystery
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Return of Doctor X (1939)
When news reporter Walter Garrett arrives at the hotel room of bombshell actress Angela Merrova to conduct an interview, he finds her dead from multiple stab wounds. He returns with the police to find the hotel empty and the body vanished. Garrett writes about the incident but is fired when Merrova, alive and well, goes to the paper to complain. Now his only chance to get his job back is to find the truth, which involves the grisly scheme of a madman.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror & mystery
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisInvasion of the Body Snatchers (1956)
A small-town doctor learns that the population of his community is being replaced by emotionless alien duplicates.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror & thriller
Worth the HypeMovies like thisTen Little Indians (1965)
Ten strangers are invited as weekend guests to a remote mountain mansion. When the host doesn't show up, the guests start dying, one by one.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both mystery & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCarnival of Souls (1962)
Mary Henry ends up the sole survivor of a fatal car accident through mysterious circumstances. Trying to put the incident behind her, she moves to Utah and takes a job as a church organist. But her fresh start is interrupted by visions of a fiendish man. As the visions begin to occur more frequently, Mary finds herself drawn to the deserted carnival on the outskirts of town. The strangely alluring carnival may hold the secret to her tragic past.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror & mystery
Worth the HypeMovies like thisAlone in a Valley (2017)
A creative director of an Advertising Agency, going through an experience that he has never encountered before, where time has stopped.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both mystery & thriller
The Phantom Speaks (1945)
The spirit of an executed murderer enters the body of a physician, and forces him to do its bidding--namely, murder.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both mystery & horror
Wake Wood (2011)
The parents of a girl who was killed by a savage dog are granted the opportunity to spend three days with their deceased daughter.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror & thriller
SnoozefestMovies like this24 Hours to Live (2017)
An assassin seeks redemption after being given a second chance at life.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller & mystery
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDon't Bring the Dead Back to Life (1987)
Robertito falls in love with Helen. Gabriel is jealous of his brother being the favorite son of their mother so he makes Helen fall in love to him. Robertito is heartbroken. Aurora asks Julie, who is in love with Robertito, to bring comfort and love to Robertito. When Robertito learns about the arrangement, he speed off, meet an accident and dies. Aurora refuses to accept that his favorite son has died so she made a great pact with Lucio to bring Robertito back to life.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror & thriller
Audrey Rose (1977)
A man is convinced that 11-year old girl, Ivy, is the reincarnation of his own daughter Audrey Rose, who died in a fiery car accident, along with his wife, two minutes before Ivy was born.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror & thriller
SnoozefestMovies like thisNightmare at the End of the Hall (2008)
Courtney Snow, an author with writer's block, still haunted by the suicide of her best friend while they were in prep school, finds herself teaching at the very same school while trying to get back on her feet. She encounters a young student, Laurel, who seems in every way to be the reincarnation of her best friend from years ago. Laurel seems to know things about Courtney that only dead friend would have known. Is she losing her mind or is it all a cruel hoax?
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller & horror
The Mummy (1932)
An ancient Egyptian priest named Imhotep is revived when a British archaeological expedition finds his mummy and one of the researchers accidentally reads an ancient life-giving spell. Imhotep escapes from the field site and searches for the reincarnation of the soul of his lover.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBlack Magic Rites (1973)
Isabel is a dead vampire and witch whose body is hanging in a basement while the owner tries to kidnap virgins for a sacrifice that could mean Isabel’s resurrection. But doing this won’t be easy as the women aren’t gonna give in very easily.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror
Poor Boy (TBA)
After a near fatal accident on his seventh birthday, a boy awakens from his coma, only to claim to be the reincarnation of a man who died seven years ago. As the boy’s parents and the deceased's family wrestle with suspicion and grief, they're faced with two impossible alternatives – are they dealing with a genuine rebirth or a vengeful ghost?
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller
Like Vanam and something else?
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Vanam?
The closest matches to Vanam are Night Watch (1973), Fear in the Night (1972) and Time Lapse (2014). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Vanam?
Start with Night Watch (1973), the closest match to Vanam.
What is the highest-rated movie like Vanam?
Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956), rated 7.5/10 by 1,264 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Vanam?
Deep Water (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there Tamil movies like Vanam?
Yes: Ratsasan (2018).
How are movies similar to Vanam chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Vanam, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.