Movies like Dead Waves (2005)
The best movies like Dead Waves (2005) are Play Dead (2025), The Deliverance (2024) and Paranormal Activity (2009). If Dead Waves hooked you with its horror, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedSuccubus (2024)8.3/10 from 278 votes
- NewestMonkey’s Magic Merry Go Round (2026)Released 2026
Play Dead (2025)
A woman wakes up injured in a basement surrounded by corpses. To survive, she pretends to be dead while a grotesque ritual unfolds in the house above.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Deliverance (2024)
Ebony Jackson, a struggling single mother fighting her personal demons, moves her family into a new home for a fresh start. But when strange occurrences inside the home raise the suspicions of Child Protective Services and threaten to tear the family apart, Ebony soon finds herself locked in a battle for her life and the souls of her children.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisParanormal Activity (2009)
After a young, middle-class couple moves into what seems like a typical suburban house, they become increasingly disturbed by a presence that may or may not be demonic, but is certainly the most active in the middle of the night.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisGrindhouse (2007)
Grindhouse combines Robert Rodriguez's Planet Terror, a horror comedy about a group of survivors who battle zombie-like creatures, and Quentin Tarantino's Death Proof, an action thriller about a murderous stuntman who kills young women with modified vehicles. It is presented as a double feature with fictitious exploitation trailers preceding each segment.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
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 thisDangerous Game: The Legacy Murders (2022)
A family reunion at a remote mansion takes a lethal turn when they are trapped inside and forced to play a deadly survival game where only one will make it out alive.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisVicious (2025)
When Polly receives a mysterious box, it comes with one rule: place inside something she needs, something she hates, and something she loves. If she doesn’t obey, it will consume everything—and everyone—she’s ever known.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisGhostland (2018)
A mother of two inherits a home from her aunt. On the first night in the new home she is confronted with murderous intruders and fights for her daughters’ lives. Sixteen years later the daughters reunite at the house, and that is when things get strange...
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Worth the HypeMovies like thisNever Let Go (2024)
As an evil takes over the world beyond their front doorstep, the only protection for a mother and her twin sons is their house and their family’s protective bond.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSuccubus (2024)
A new father going through a marital separation joins a dating app and matches with a beautiful but mysterious young woman... whose powers of seduction and manipulation entangle him in a mystery more horrifying than he could have ever imagined.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Absolute CinemaMovies 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 thisDead Sea (2024)
Stranded in the open sea after a fatal accident, a young woman and her two friends are rescued by a fishing vessel's captain, unaware that the ship harbors a chilling secret.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBarbarian (2022)
In town for a job interview, a young woman arrives at her Airbnb late at night only to find that it has been mistakenly double-booked and a strange man is already staying there. Against her better judgement, she decides to stay the night anyway.
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 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
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 horror
SnoozefestMovies like thisStrange Darling (2024)
Nothing is what it seems when a twisted one-night stand spirals into a serial killer’s vicious murder spree.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHorrors of the Black Museum (1959)
A writer of murder mysteries finds himself caught up in a string of murders in London.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
SnoozefestMovies like thisEyes of Laura Mars (1978)
A famous fashion photographer develops a disturbing ability to see through the eyes of a serial killer.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
SnoozefestMovies like thisHereditary (2018)
When the matriarch of the Graham family passes away, her daughter begins to unravel cryptic and increasingly terrifying secrets about her ancestry.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Worth the HypeMovies like thisLa trajinera del terror (2005)
Seven teenagers travel by a trajinera over Xochimilco waters. Two of them use a witchboard and become possessed. The teenagers soon are arrive on an island, where one by one are murdered by their possessed friends.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror
Amityverse: Infinity (2026)
Horror anthology sequel to Amityverse, featuring 10 more Amityville-themed segments.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror
Ghosts of Goldfield (2007)
A group of five led by Julie set up their filming equipment in the hotel of the derelict town of Goldfield, hoping to capture footage of the ghost of Elisabeth Walker, a maid tortured and killed in room 109. Troubled by visions, Julie discovers that a necklace, handed down to her from her grandmother, is somehow connecting her to this tragedy.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror
Inner Devils (2022)
The battle for Ryan's soul is fought by Father Luca, a newly ordained priest with a dark past.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror
The Convent (2000)
A group of college students break into an abandoned convent and become possessed by demonic spirits.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror
SnoozefestMovies like thisCandyman: Day of the Dead (1999)
As the Day of the Dead celebration approaches the barrio of East Los Angeles, Caroline is challenged to control the horrifying legend of her ancestor, the "Candyman".
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror
SnoozefestMovies like thisDominion: Prequel to The Exorcist (2005)
Father Merrin takes a sabbatical from the Church to devote himself to history and archaeology as he struggles with his shattered faith.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror
SnoozefestMovies like thisDark Fables (2015)
A group of kids embarks in a macabre adventure, full of characters from the Brazilian popular imaginary - the werewolf, a witch, a ghost, monsters and The Saci.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror
Nightwalkers (TBA)
Nightwalkers tells the story of a couple lost in South Texas who discover something that should have been left alone. Met coldly by the unwelcoming locals, they soon find themselves facing danger in an abandoned town.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror
Soft Teeth (2022)
A man with throbbing mouth pain suffers the consequences of ignoring the world around him.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Dead Waves?
The closest matches to Dead Waves are Play Dead (2025), The Deliverance (2024) and Paranormal Activity (2009). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Dead Waves?
Start with Play Dead (2025), the closest match to Dead Waves.
What is the highest-rated movie like Dead Waves?
Succubus (2024), rated 8.3/10 by 278 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Dead Waves?
Monkey’s Magic Merry Go Round (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there Japanese movies like Dead Waves?
The closest matches are in other languages.
How are movies similar to Dead Waves chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Dead Waves, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.