Movies like The Fright Before Christmas (2021)
The best movies like The Fright Before Christmas (2021) are A Nasty Piece of Work (2019), The Children (2008) and Silent Night, Deadly Night (2025). If The Fright Before Christmas hooked you with its thriller, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedThe Good Neighbor (2022)6.7/10 from 215 votes
- NewestA COLD SEASON (2026)Released 2026
A Nasty Piece of Work (2019)
A mid-level corporate employee finds out he’s not getting the Christmas bonus he was expecting, but his boss invites him to earn a promotion by beating his professional rival in a violent competition.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Children (2008)
A relaxing Christmas vacation turns into a terrifying fight for survival as the children begin to turn on their parents.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSilent Night, Deadly Night (2025)
After witnessing his parents' brutal murder on Christmas Eve, Billy transforms into a Killer Santa, delivering a yearly spree of calculated, chilling violence. This year, his blood-soaked mission collides with love, as a young woman challenges him to confront his darkness.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBloodline (2019)
Evan values family above all else, and anyone who gets between him, his wife, and newborn son learns that the hard way. But when it comes to violent tendencies, it seems the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
SnoozefestMovies like thisBetter Watch Out (2017)
On a quiet suburban street tucked within a 'safe neighborhood', a babysitter must defend a twelve-year-old boy from strangers breaking into the house, only to discover that this is far from a normal home invasion.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Evil (1978)
Shortly after moving into a dark, brooding mansion, a psychologist and his co-workers are terrorized by a horrible evil being.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
SnoozefestMovies like thisTrick (2019)
A detective tries to track down a masked killer who reappears every Halloween to wreak bloody havoc.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
SnoozefestMovies like thisWhisper (2007)
Sinister things begin happening to kidnappers who are holding a young boy for ransom in a remote cabin.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDaddy's Little Girl (2014)
After the police find Derek’s daughter brutally murdered on the beach, he vows to make the culprit suffer for his actions, even if that person is ‘part of the family.’ With careful research into the history of torture, Derek prepares himself and his basement for a week of brutal tactics that will make his daughter’s killer feel the pain that he has inflicted upon so many others. In a time when stranger danger is ever present, a single father learns that it’s the ones you trust most who have to be watched the closest.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSilent Night, Deadly Night (1984)
After a man dressed as Santa Claus brutally murders Billy Chapman's parents, little Billy then endures the cruelty of a sadistic nun at his orphanage. Years later, when adult Billy has to fill in for an absent in-store Santa, his childhood trauma brings him to the breaking point.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
SnoozefestMovies like thisThe Town that Dreaded Sundown (2014)
A masked maniac terrorizes the same small community where a murderer known as the Phantom Killer struck decades earlier.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
SnoozefestMovies like thisPooka! (2018)
A struggling actor gets a holiday season job as a Christmas character in a plush suit to promote the hottest toy of the year, Pooka; he slowly develops two personalities—one when he's in the suit and one that's outside it.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
SnoozefestMovies like thisBlackwood (2014)
Having recovered from a shattering emotional breakdown, college professor Ben Marshall relocates to the countryside with his wife and young son, hoping for a fresh start. He has a teaching job lined up and a new home to move into; things finally look to be going Ben's way. Until, that is, he starts to feel that something isn't quite right in the house. Finding himself plagued by spectral visions, Ben becomes obsessed with uncovering the truth behind a local mystery that appears to be putting the lives of his family in danger
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
SnoozefestMovies like thisHider in the House (1989)
A deranged man hides in the attic of a new house and becomes obsessed with the unsuspecting family that moves in.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Good Neighbor (2022)
A nightmarish evening unfolds for neighbors David and Robert when they accidentally hit a woman on her bike and flee the scene. While David is increasingly plagued by feelings of guilt, Robert shows no remorse and becomes overbearing and possessive.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Calling (2014)
Detective Hazel Micallef hasn't had much to worry about in the sleepy town of Port Dundas until a string of gruesome murders in the surrounding countryside brings her face to face with a serial killer driven by a higher calling.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
SnoozefestMovies like thisBloodline Killer (2024)
Moira Cole endeavors to rebuild her shattered life after her family's murder at the hands of her deranged and obsessed cousin.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
SnoozefestMovies like thisCheat (2023)
On the surface it's believed to be another urban legend - a supernatural being from the afterlife is violently killing anyone who cheats on their significant other in the small college town of Silvercreek, Pennsylvania. But the town's unusually high suicide rate is finally convincing both locals and college students that everything is not as it seems. When Maeve - a female college student - sleeps with Charlie, the married man of the host family she is staying with, both sense the deadly curse is closing in on them. Unable to get anyone to believe them, Maeve and Charlie seek out a local history student to help find answers and figure out a way to defend themselves. It all comes undone, however, as several people are horrifically killed by the savage being - one-by-one at a rapid pace. Eventually, Maeve, Charlie and the few survivors band together in an attempt to defeat the monster once and for all.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Worth the HypeMovies like thisSilent Night (2023)
A tormented father witnesses his young son die when caught in a gang's crossfire on Christmas Eve. While recovering from a wound that costs him his voice, he makes vengeance his life's mission and embarks on a punishing training regimen in order to avenge his son's death.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Other (2025)
Unable to conceive, a couple seeks to build a family with a young orphan, survivor of tragic childhood. But their act of love turns to horror when they realize the violence in their foster's past has returned to destroy the new family.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSanta's List (TBA)
The film is set in the small town of Deep Haven, known for its world-renowned Santa Claus festival that keeps the small town alive all year round. But beneath all the Christmas Spirit, tinsel and lights, there’s a darkness lurking. And this year, the 12 days of Christmas get turned upside down. After the murder of her best friend, big city detective, Eve, is lured back to her hometown to solve the crime. With each passing victim, the killer seems to be closer to home than ever. Will she solve what “my true love gave to me” before it’s too late or will Santa check the final name off his list?
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller
Christmas Evil (1980)
Garbed in his red suit, Harry, a toy factory worker, decides that the only thing he can do to save the spirit of Christmas is to become Santa Claus himself and make all of the naughty townspeople pay... in blood!
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller
SnoozefestMovies like thisSilent Tokyo (2020)
On Christmas Eve, a TV broadcasting station receives a phone call. The caller warns "I have set up a bomb at Ebisu in Tokyo." A contract worker for the TV broadcasting station and a housewife are accused by the Ebisu police as being the culprits. During this chaotic situation, a mysterious man silently watches as everything unfolds. A video clip is then uploaded to an online video website. The video contains a demand to talk with the Prime Minister during a live broadcast or a bomb will be detonated at 6 pm in Shibuya, Tokyo. Who is behind the bombings and who will stop them?
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller
Don't Open Till Christmas (1984)
It's just days before Christmas in London, but not everyone is full of good cheer - as a maniac with a pathological hatred of Santa Claus stalks the streets, butchering any man that’s unlucky enough to be wandering around dressed as Old Saint Nick.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller
SnoozefestMovies like thisMother Knows Best (TBA)
After surviving a near fatal encounter in the Pacific, Talia gives birth to a premature daughter whose existence appears tied to an ancient prophecy. Talia travels to the remote New Zealand estate of her partner's powerful and secretive family, but what begins as an uneasy Christmas reunion quickly reveals itself to be something far more disturbing. As she digs deeper, she uncovers a terrifying connection between her daughter, a forgotten Pacific mythology and a sinister order that will stop at nothing to reclaim what they believe belongs to them. She must fight to protect her child before the family closes in and the truth behind the prophecy is finally revealed.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller
I, Madman (1989)
A bookshop clerk starts seeing the disfigured killer from her favorite 1950s pulp novels come to life and start killing people around her.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller
SnoozefestMovies like thisChristmas Blood (2017)
Christmas Blood is a thriller-slasher about a feared serial killer, called Nissen, who has struck Norway's countryside every Christmas Eve for over 13 years. Investigators Rasch and Hansen are trying to solve the riddle before he returns. This time it appears that it is northern Norway that will face Nissen's bloodbath.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller
A COLD SEASON (2026)
A lonely man's quiet winter routine hides a string of killings that spiral out of control when his dark double urges him toward madness.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller
A Christmas Culler (2024)
In December of 1987, the small Northern Ontarian town of Calf's Crossing finds itself in the looming shadow of a killer known as "The Culler". One day after school, local teenager Norma Jane returns home with a secret that places her next on this slasher's Christmas list.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller
Red Christmas (2016)
A mother must protect her family on Christmas Day from a demented stranger who is hell bent on tearing them apart.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller
SnoozefestMovies like this
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like The Fright Before Christmas?
The closest matches to The Fright Before Christmas are A Nasty Piece of Work (2019), The Children (2008) and Silent Night, Deadly Night (2025). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after The Fright Before Christmas?
Start with A Nasty Piece of Work (2019), the closest match to The Fright Before Christmas.
What is the highest-rated movie like The Fright Before Christmas?
The Good Neighbor (2022), rated 6.7/10 by 215 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like The Fright Before Christmas?
A COLD SEASON (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like The Fright Before Christmas?
Yes: A Nasty Piece of Work (2019), The Children (2008) and Silent Night, Deadly Night (2025).
How are movies similar to The Fright Before Christmas chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside The Fright Before Christmas, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.