Movies like Pontianak (1975)
The best movies like Pontianak (1975) are The Dreadful (2026), Saint Catherine (2024) and Body Bags (1993). If Pontianak 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 279 votes
- NewestThe Dreadful (2026)Released 2026
The Dreadful (2026)
In medieval England, Anne and her domineering mother-in-law Morwen struggle to survive on the outskirts of society. But when a man from Anne's past returns from war, a curse begins to take shape through a mysterious knight and threatens to destroy them all.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
SnoozefestMovies 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 thisBody Bags (1993)
A horror anthology containing three stories: a female college student working a graveyard shift is terrorized by a serial killer; a hair transplant goes horribly wrong; and a baseball player loses an eye and gets a new one from a recently executed murderer.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies 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 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 thisTrick or Treat (1986)
Eddie Weinbauer, a metalhead teen who is bullied at school, looks to his heavy metal superstar idol, Sammi Curr, for guidance. When Curr is killed in a hotel fire, Eddie becomes the recipient of the only copy of his unreleased album, which, when played backwards, brings the rocker back to life. As Halloween approaches, Eddie begins to realize that this isn't only rock 'n roll...It's life and death.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Shed (2019)
The story of Stan, an orphaned teenager stuck living with his abusive grandfather and tasked with routinely protecting his best friend from high school bullies. When Stan discovers a murderous creature has taken refuge inside the tool shed in his backyard, he tries to secretly battle the demon alone until his bullied friend discovers the creature and has a far more sinister plan in mind.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies 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 thisThe Last Breath (2024)
A group of old college friends reunite on a Caribbean scuba diving trip exploring the wreckage of a WWII battleship and find themselves trapped inside the underwater labyrinth of rusted metal surrounded by great white sharks.
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 thisMikey (1992)
Mikey just needs a good stable home. He's bounced from foster home to foster home his whole life. He finally lands himself with a new loving family, but their perfect little child is not what he appears to be. His previous caretakers all died of mysterious "accidents" that weren't really accidents at all. Mikey is a cold blooded killer, and it doesn't take long for him to aim his sights on his new adoptive family and anyone else who stands in his way.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
SnoozefestMovies 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 horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Caller (1987)
One night, an unusual stranger in need asks a woman living alone in a house in the woods if he can use her phone. It soon becomes clear that they're playing a strange mind game and that there's something very wrong about the woods.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
SnoozefestMovies 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 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 thisLust for a Vampire (1971)
In 1830, the Karnstein heirs use the blood of an innocent to bring forth the evil that is the beautiful Mircalla - or as she was in 1710, Carmilla. The nearby Finishing School offers rich pickings not only in in the blood of nubile young ladies but also with the headmaster who is desperate to become Mircalla's disciple, and the equally besotted and even more foolish author Richard Lestrange.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
SnoozefestMovies 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 thisThe Inhabitant (2022)
Like any other teenage girl, Tara is just surviving high school — yet her father and mother seem strangely distant. Amidst a nearby spree of gruesome ax murders, Tara has sightings of terrifying entities, forcing her to question her own sanity and shocking ancestry.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
SnoozefestMovies like thisThe Curse of Buckout Road (2017)
A college class project on creation and destruction of modern myth, turns terrifying when a trio of young people come to realize the urban legends surrounding the famed Buckout Road may, in fact, be REAL.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisExtinction (2015)
And suddenly, overnight, the world came to a halt. Two men, two survivors, one kid, and hatred that separates them. A place forgotten by everyone, including the creatures that inhabit the Earth... until now.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both horror
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisPontianak (2023)
When Nakia gets impregnated by her abusive boyfriend, her attempt at summoning a demon to seek revenge over him goes awry.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror
Sumpah Pontianak (1958)
The original "Pontianak" was made in 1957 directed by B.N. Rao and starred Maria Menado.The film was such a hit that in quick succession, two sequels were made "Dendam Pontianak" aka "Revenge of Pontianak" later in the same year (1957) and "Sumpah Pontianak" aka "The Curse of Pontianak") in 1958,both with Maria Menado."Dendam Pontianak" started the trend of introducing more than one supernatural being into the story,the other character being an old witch Nenek Kebayan(The Old Woman of the Forest)and by the time "Sumpah Pontianak" was made that had increased to four-female vampire Pontianak,an Orang Hutan(Wild Forest Man),a kind of bird-lizard creature and a Hantu Raya or "King Ghost"."Sumpah Pontianak" is an entertaining Malay horror movie with cheap special effects.The main female character Comel is infected by been infected with sumpah pontianak,the curse of the vampire and the villagers begin to die!
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror
100KG Vampire (2023)
Tells the story of Melati (Aya Amiruddin), a beautiful girl who likes to eat. Melati was found dead in a state where she was starving because her mother had eaten her favorite food, which was Telur Ikang Parang. Jasmine turns into a vampire who disturbs the villagers by eating the food they have. What's surprising, Melati became a 100KG vampire! Although various efforts were made by the villagers led by Mr. Bayang (Kazar Saisi) to solve this issue, nothing worked and the vampires are still roaming and rampant in the village.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror
Ms. Pontianak (2022)
A beloved horror actress questions the triviality of her career starring in Pontianak films, all the while being filmed by a group of documentary filmmakers.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror
Dendam Pontianak (1957)
After the success of Pontianak, Balakrishna Narayana Rao (B. N. Rao) directed and released a sequel to his horror film – Dendam Pontianak. It came out in the same year as Pontianak, and Menado reprised her role in this sequel.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror
The Pontianak Returns (1963)
Sequel to Anak Pontianak. A Malay Shaw Brothers production.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror
Pontianak Vs Orang Minyak (2012)
Also known as "Ponti Vs Omi", Afdlin Shauki's latest comedy tells the story of a rivalry between two supernatural beings, a Pontianak (Vampire) and a Orang Minyak (Oil Man) who have just been inducted into the otherworld, however, in order for newbies to be accepted by the others, they have to be tested on their skills to scare the villagers of Kampung Puaka, which also consist of five Malay shamans. Ponti is a male vampire who is hated by the other vampires because most of them are women while Omi is a soft-hearted orang minyak who drives his kind crazy because of his naivety. To make things worse, the villagers of Kampung Puaka are not afraid of supernatural beings, as they descend from lineages of shamans or are supernatural beings who have repented. What will happen to Ponti and Omi?
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror
Misteri Bisikan Pontianak (2013)
A movie about Geena who is always bullied by the villagers because of his character, which is soft and feminine. His grandmother is the only person who understand him and encourage him to overcome the difficulties that he facing. Unfortunately Geena was burnt to death and no one knows who did that to Geena. At the same time, Hakim, who stays at the same village starts to see ghosts. Curious about what is actually happening, Hakim’s sister decides to investigate the connection between Geena and her brother.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror
Paku Pontianak (2013)
After the incident when ADAM hit a girl named Melati with his car, Adam and his family decided to take care of her. Melati wakes up the day after but she cannot remember a thing except her name. Seri feels threatened by Melati’s presence because Seri been dreaming to make Adam her husband.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror
Pontianak Menjerit (2005)
Datuk Pengiran Abdul Rahman has asked his lawyer to find the people to inherit his fortune worth RM30 million. Besides his two sons, Azlee, a businessman and Mazlan, a fashion designer, there are still two more people on the list. One of them is Saiful, an orphan and a mechanic who do not see that he will be inheriting his dad's million-dollar fortune, because he has never seen his dad before. The other is Ratnapuri, a Siamese woman. Azlee, Datuk's eldest son, cannot accept the presence of Saiful and also Ratnapuri when his father's will is read at Datuk's residence.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both horror
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Pontianak?
The closest matches to Pontianak are The Dreadful (2026), Saint Catherine (2024) and Body Bags (1993). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Pontianak?
Start with The Dreadful (2026), the closest match to Pontianak.
What is the highest-rated movie like Pontianak?
Succubus (2024), rated 8.3/10 by 279 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Pontianak?
The Dreadful (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
How are movies similar to Pontianak chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Pontianak, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.