Movies like When Darkness Falls (2022)
The best movies like When Darkness Falls (2022) are The Infernal Machine (2022), Goodnight Mommy (2022) and No Exit (2022). If When Darkness Falls 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 ratedThe Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1920)7.9/10 from 1,851 votes
- NewestThe Dogs (2025)Released 2025
The Infernal Machine (2022)
Reclusive and controversial author Bruce Cogburn is drawn out of hiding by an obsessive fan, forcing the novelist to confront a past that he thought he could escape, and to account for events set in motion by his bestseller decades earlier. Cogburn's search for who is behind the manipulation and mental torment he encounters leads to an emotional roller-coaster ride full of fear and danger, where things are not always as clear as they seem to be, and where past deeds can have dire consequences.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller & mystery
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisGoodnight Mommy (2022)
When twin brothers arrive home to find their mother’s demeanor altered and face covered in surgical bandages, they begin to suspect the woman beneath the gauze might not be their mother.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller & mystery
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisNo Exit (2022)
Stranded at a rest stop in the mountains during a blizzard, a recovering addict discovers a kidnapped child hidden in a car belonging to one of the people inside the building which sets her on a terrifying struggle to identify who among them is the kidnapper.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller & mystery
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Substitute 2: School's Out (1998)
When teacher Randall Thomasson is killed during a carjacking, an unexpected visitor shows up at his funeral - his estranged brother, Karl Thomasson. An ex-Green Beret turned mercenary, Karl signs on as a new substitute teacher in order to investigate Randall's murder.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both mystery & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisFarewell, My Lovely (1975)
Private eye Philip Marlowe is hired by ex-con Moose Malloy to find his girlfriend, a former lounge dancer. While also investigating the murder of a client and the theft of a jade necklace, Marlowe becomes entangled with seductress Helen Grayle and discovers a web of dark secrets that are better left hidden.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both mystery & thriller
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 thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisIn the Blood (2014)
When her husband goes missing during their Caribbean vacation, a woman sets off on her own to take down the men she thinks are responsible.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
SnoozefestMovies like thisMurphy's Law (1986)
A tough police detective escapes from custody after being framed and arrested for the murder of his ex-wife, and must now find the real killer and prove his innocence.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies 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 thisAsylum (2005)
A woman becomes very curious about one of her psychiatrist husband's inmates, a man who was found guilty in the murder and disfigurement of his former wife.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies 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 thisUntil Death (2007)
Anthony Stowe is a dirty cop who is hooked on heroin—and everyone hates him. After a serious accident, he is placed into an induced coma, but emerges from it a better person who wants to put things right.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
SnoozefestMovies like thisShades of Desire (2023)
After her twin sister Aubrey goes missing, Jennifer uncovers the scandalous, secret double-life that Aubrey leads - and that has put both of them in danger.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Dogs (2025)
After fleeing his psychotic father, a young teen and his mom seek refuge in a remote farmhouse, only to face a pack of ferocious dogs and the sinister spirits that haunt the property.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both mystery
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisA Good Woman Is Hard to Find (2019)
The recently widowed mother of two, Sarah, is desperate to know who murdered her husband in front of her young son, rendering him mute. Coerced into helping a low-life drug dealer stash narcotics stolen from the local Mr. Big, she's forced into taking drastic action to protect her children, evolving from downtrodden submissive to take-charge vigilante.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisNight Train (2023)
Mother Holly McCord is driven to extremes to save the life of her young son. Even if it means hauling black market drugs in her souped-up truck, with the Feds in hot pursuit. With two bounties on her head and her son’s life on the line, Holly climbs behind the wheel of “Night Train,” ready to outrun, out gun, and outlast them all.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
SnoozefestMovies like thisCrush the Skull (2015)
A couple of master thieves find themselves trapped within a house they intended to rob, only to discover they've inadvertently wandered into the lair of a deranged serial killer.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisWalking Tall: Lone Justice (2007)
In Dallas, witnesses against a drug-lord are murdered in a safe-house.The testimony of FBI agents becomes the only chance to keep him in prison. They are lodged in another safe-house, but the place is invaded and the agents are executed. However, Kate is only wounded, and her boyfriend Nick believes there is a traitor in the agency and takes her to his ranch to protect her life.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
SnoozefestMovies like thisDark Light (2019)
A woman returns to her family home and discovers it to be inhabited by monsters.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisRise of the Footsoldier (2007)
Carlton Leach rises from one of the most feared generals of the football terraces to becoming a member of a notorious gang of criminals who rampaged their way through London and Essex in the late '80s and early '90s.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Household (2025)
A documentary about two amateur filmmakers investigating a series of mysterious murders. They become entangled with a secret organization hiding a terrifying secret.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both mystery & thriller
Cube (1998)
A group of strangers find themselves trapped in a maze-like prison. It soon becomes clear that each of them possesses the peculiar skills necessary to escape, if they don't wind up dead first.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller & mystery
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSearching (2018)
After David Kim's 16-year-old daughter goes missing, a local investigation is opened and a detective is assigned to the case. But 37 hours later and without a single lead, David decides to search the one place no one has looked yet, where all secrets are kept today: his daughter's laptop.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both mystery & thriller
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Thirteenth Floor (1999)
In Los Angeles, a wealthy man, known as Mr. Fuller, discovers a shocking secret about the world he lives in. Fearing for his life, he leaves a desperate message for a friend of his in the most unexpected place.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller & mystery
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Renata Road (2022)
Looking for peace, solitude and an escape from the outside world a mysterious stranger checks into a remote hotel. Reluctantly drawn into the lives and activities of the hotel's guests it soon becomes terrifyingly clear that all is not as calm and serene as the management would have him believe. A chance encounter with the hotel maid sets in motion a chain of events that will take the Stranger to the very edge of sanity, and threatens to destroy the lives of everyone present.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both mystery & thriller
Eerie (2025)
A gripping psychological crime thriller that keeps you questioning every word and every silence. Watch till the end-because the truth has a way of coming out.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller & mystery
Roseville (2013)
In the early autumn of 1985 the police are seeing the consequences of a shocking and mysterious incident that took place in an isolated mountain hut in the Balkan Mountains. The film "Roseville " is artistic interpretations inspired by eyewitness accounts and clues found within the cabin.Vasil ( Kalin Vratchanski ) and Nadia ( Lydia Indjova ) are a young couple who arrive on holiday in "Roseville". There they meet the keeper George ( Plamen Manassiev ) and his best friend Dora ( Elena Petrova ). Later joining the gang is Stephen Court ( David Chokachi ) - an old associate of George. The presence of Vasil unlocked " storm " of unexplained events that will test the sanity of all. Everyone faces the the horror of their own fears and the invisible force that wants to control them, lurking in the dark and quietly knocks on the door to their minds.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both mystery & thriller
The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1920)
Francis, a young man, recalls in his memory the horrible experiences he and his fiancée Jane recently went through. Francis and his friend Alan visit The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, an exhibit where the mysterious doctor shows the somnambulist Cesare, and awakens him for some moments from his death-like sleep.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisDonnie Darko (2001)
After narrowly escaping a bizarre accident, a troubled teenager is plagued by visions of a large bunny rabbit that manipulates him to commit a series of crimes.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both mystery
Worth the HypeMovies like thisLaura (1944)
A police detective falls in love with the woman whose murder he's investigating.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both mystery
Worth the HypeMovies like this
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like When Darkness Falls?
The closest matches to When Darkness Falls are The Infernal Machine (2022), Goodnight Mommy (2022) and No Exit (2022). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after When Darkness Falls?
Start with The Infernal Machine (2022), the closest match to When Darkness Falls.
What is the highest-rated movie like When Darkness Falls?
The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1920), rated 7.9/10 by 1,851 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like When Darkness Falls?
The Dogs (2025) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like When Darkness Falls?
Yes: The Infernal Machine (2022), Goodnight Mommy (2022) and No Exit (2022).
How are movies similar to When Darkness Falls chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside When Darkness Falls, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.