Movies like The Midnight Parasites (1972)
The best movies like The Midnight Parasites (1972) are The Grandmother (1970), Urotsukidōji III: Return of the Overfiend (1993) and Devilman - Volume 1: The Birth (1987). If The Midnight Parasites hooked you with its animation and horror, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedThe Book of Life (2014)7.5/10 from 3,063 votes
- NewestMonkey’s Magic Merry Go Round (2026)Released 2026
- In JapaneseUrotsukidōji III: Return of the Overfiend (1993)Also in Japanese
The Grandmother (1970)
To escape neglect and abuse from his parents, a young boy plants some strange seeds and they grow into a grandmother.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation & horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisUrotsukidōji III: Return of the Overfiend (1993)
As the Overfiend slumbers, the mad emperor Caesar rises to power, enslaving a new race of demon beasts. Into this cruel existence is born the Lord of Chaos, the Overfiend's nemesis. As the blood-thirsty beasts capture the tyrant's daughter in a brutal coup, the Overfiend must awaken to an apocalyptic battle of the Gods.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation & horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDevilman - Volume 1: The Birth (1987)
Akira Fudo is just a normal kid in Tokyo, until an old friend of his, Ryo, shows up and turns his world upside down. An upcoming war of demons on humanity is waiting in the wings, however, the only way for a human to fight a demon is with their power. To save the world, Akira and Ryo risk a dangerous ceremony in an attempt to create humanity's only hope: the powerful Devilman.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror & animation
Worth the HypeMovies like thisCranston Academy: Monster Zone (2020)
An intelligent 15-year-old high school student is unexpectedly transferred to a boarding school where he opens a portal of monsters from another dimension.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation & horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisEraserhead (1977)
First-time father Henry Spencer tries to survive his industrial environment, his angry girlfriend, and the unbearable screams of his newly born mutant child.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Worth the HypeMovies like thisHouse of 1000 Corpses (2003)
Two teenage couples traveling across the backwoods of Texas searching for urban legends of serial killers end up as prisoners of a bizarre and sadistic backwater family of serial killers.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisTomie: Rebirth (2001)
Young art student Hideo paints an unnerving portrait of Tomie, who whispers that she loves him. Inexplicably, he reacts by stabbing her to death with a painting trowel. Two friends, Takumi and Shunichi, arrive on the scene and help him dispose of the body. To cheer him up, the boys take the unwitting murderer to the nearest bar for a party... but a mysterious girl named Tomie shows up, bearing a few odd physical resemblances to the dead girl in the ground.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Worth the HypeMovies like thisSamurai Reincarnation (1981)
After surviving the slaughter of many Christians 350 years ago, a samurai denounces God for ignoring the pleas of believers. He sells his soul to Satan and receives the power to resurrect the dead to join him in a murderous rampage.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
SnoozefestMovies like thisAzrael (2024)
In a world where no one speaks, a devout female hunts down a young woman who has escaped her imprisonment. Recaptured by its ruthless leaders, Azrael is due to be sacrificed to pacify an ancient evil deep within the surrounding wilderness.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
SnoozefestMovies like thisRace with the Devil (1975)
Two couples vacationing together in an R.V. from Texas to Colorado are terrorized after they witness a murder during a Satanic ritual.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisJu-on: The Grudge (2002)
When a social worker is sent to check on a traumatized elderly woman whose family have moved in at the site of a notorious murder case, she unwittingly unleashes a cycle of terror that transmits via its victims.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCat Soup (2001)
The surreal black comedy follows Nyatta, an anthropomorphic kitten, on his travel to the land of the dead and back in an effort to save his sister's soul.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Resurrected (1991)
Charles Dexter Ward, a wealthy scientist, uses an ancient diary and human remains to begin a terrifying and bloody pursuit for immortality.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Devil Conspiracy (2023)
A powerful biotech company has breakthrough technology allowing them to clone history’s most influential people with just a few fragments of DNA. Behind this company is a cabal of Satanists that steals the shroud of Christ, putting them in possession of Jesus’ DNA. The clone will serve as the ultimate offering to the devil. The Archangel Michael comes to earth and will stop at nothing to end the devil’s conspiracy.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Book of Life (2014)
The journey of Manolo, a young man who is torn between fulfilling the expectations of his family and following his heart. Before choosing which path to follow, he embarks on an incredible adventure that spans fantastical worlds where he must face his greatest fears.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Boogeyman (2023)
Still reeling from the tragic death of their mother, a teenage girl and her younger sister find themselves plagued by a sadistic presence in their house and struggle to get their grieving father to pay attention before it’s too late.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDaddy's Head (2024)
A boy and his stepmother fear for their safety after an eerie creature resembling the boy's recently deceased father visits them.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
SnoozefestMovies like thisMonkey’s Magic Merry Go Round (2026)
After a mysterious bout of amnesia, a beloved children’s television host struggles to piece together his fractured memories, only to find his once-cheerful puppet co-stars behaving with sinister intent. As reality unravels, the line between performance and nightmare begins to blur.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Worth the HypeMovies like thisHells (2008)
Amagane Rinne has a fatal accident while hurrying to her first day of school. She suddenly arrives at an awkward school... in Hell, filled with demons. While she struggles and wishes to go back to the world from whence she came, Rinne befriends her demon schoolmates and develops an uncommon bond.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisGod 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 horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDimensions of Dialogue (1983)
Three surreal depictions of failures of communication that occur on all levels of human society.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both animation & horror
Worth the HypeMovies like thisVirile Games (1988)
A man sits down to watch a football match, which seems to consist of the players being violently mutilated in various inventive ways. The players then leave the football pitch and invade the spectator's flat.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both animation & horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Flat (1968)
A man is trapped in a sinister flat, where nothing seems to obey the laws of nature.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both animation & horror
Worth the HypeMovies like thisAlma (2009)
Amidst the chilly white winter, bright-eyed Alma, wanders through Barcelona’s cobblestone streets. Suddenly, she spots an unassuming toy shop. Her gaze is drawn to a nearly identical figure staring back at her from the storefront window. As if by magic, the shop’s door swings open. But to her bewilderment, her elusive twin is nowhere to be found.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both animation & horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Light That Shines (2021)
What happens when you are left alone with nothing to be remembered for? A man tries to keep his sanity in tact by writing a letter to get help, but keeps getting memories of his fears and what was lost, will he manage to get out alive or he is left to rot with what remains inside with him?
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both animation & horror
Quem Salva (2023)
Sidnei is a young recruit of the fire department fighting forest fires in the Amazon. During his first mission, he will be separated from the group and will have to undertake a perilous mission, guided by his mentor, Joao. Sidnei will be confronted with a choice: follow the orders of the hierarchy or save a thousand-year-old tree at the risk of his life.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both animation
How the Telephone Talks (1919)
"All sounds travel in waves much the same as ripples in water." Educational film produced by Bray Studios New York, which was the dominant animation studio based in the United States in the years surrounding World War I.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both animation
A One/Two/Many/World (1970)
This short surrealistic film portrays a growing boy and the bizarre world of imposed conditions and contradictions he evolves in. Made by students of Queen's University, A One/Two/Many/World is social commentary expressed in symbolic language.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both animation
Barkley Dubis' Danse Macabre (2023)
A boy is thrown into the middle of an increasingly bizarre local disturbance.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror
Solita (2022)
Alone at night, a woman lays in bed as she reveals a traumatizing nightmare to her beloved cat.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like The Midnight Parasites?
The closest matches to The Midnight Parasites are The Grandmother (1970), Urotsukidōji III: Return of the Overfiend (1993) and Devilman - Volume 1: The Birth (1987). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after The Midnight Parasites?
Start with The Grandmother (1970), the closest match to The Midnight Parasites.
What is the highest-rated movie like The Midnight Parasites?
The Book of Life (2014), rated 7.5/10 by 3,063 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like The Midnight Parasites?
Monkey’s Magic Merry Go Round (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there Japanese movies like The Midnight Parasites?
Yes: Urotsukidōji III: Return of the Overfiend (1993), Devilman - Volume 1: The Birth (1987) and Tomie: Rebirth (2001).
How are movies similar to The Midnight Parasites chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside The Midnight Parasites, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.