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Movies that feel like Carnival of Souls (1962)

If you loved Carnival of Souls, the closest films we have are The Sentinel (1977), The Uninvited (1944) and Pinocchio: Unstrung (2026). All three share Carnival of Souls's dread and unsettling feel, which is what we rank on before quality. 10 of the 12 picks below are included with a subscription right now on Darkroom, Netflix and Paramount Plus Premium and others, checked against today's data.

Mary Henry ends up the sole survivor of a fatal car accident through mysterious circumstances. Trying to put the incident behind her, she moves to Utah and takes a job as a church organist. But her fresh start is interrupted by visions of a fiendish man. As the visions begin to occur more frequently, Mary finds herself drawn to the deserted carnival on the outskirts of town. The strangely alluring carnival may hold the secret to her tragic past.

πŸ… 87% Rotten Tomatoesβ˜… 7 IMDb β†—TMDB β†—dir. Herk Harveydreadunsettlingtwistydreamlike

When is Carnival of Souls streaming? β†’

If Carnival of Souls hit the spot, these will too

The Sentinel poster
The Sentinel
1977 Β· dir. Michael Winner
πŸ… 45%β˜… 6.3horror Β· mystery Β· fantasy

Both land dread and unease at once

The difference: Reviewed a good deal more coolly

As a young girl, Alison Parker attempted suicide after being traumatized by her father's sexual exploits. Now an elite fashion model, she moves to a Brooklyn Heights apartment building where she encounters a number of bizarre, eccentric tenants and attempts to uncover the building's sinister secret.

Feels alike?
The Uninvited poster
The Uninvited
1944 Β· dir. Lewis Allen
πŸ… 95%β˜… 7.2mystery Β· horror Β· fantasy

The same mix in both: twists, then dream logic

The difference: Leans romance where Carnival of Souls does not

A pair of siblings from London purchase a surprisingly affordable, lonely cliff-top house in Cornwall, only to discover that it actually carries a ghostly priceβ€”and soon they’re caught up in a bizarre romantic triangle from beyond the grave.

Feels alike?
Pinocchio: Unstrung poster
Pinocchio: Unstrung
2026 Β· dir. Rhys Frake-Waterfield
β˜… 5.8horror Β· fantasy Β· mystery

Dread-soaked horror in both cases

The difference: A 2020s film, from a different era of filmmaking

Influenced by a sinister Cricket and created by Geppetto, Pinocchio launches a violent crusade to carve himself into a real boy like his brother James, one piece at a time.

Feels alike?
Scream poster
Scream
2022 Β· dir. Tyler Gillett
πŸ… 76%β˜… 6.3horror Β· mystery

Both trade on unease more than on being mystery

Twenty-five years after a streak of brutal murders shocked the quiet town of Woodsboro, a new killer has donned the Ghostface mask and begins targeting a group of teenagers to resurrect secrets from the town’s deadly past.

Feels alike?
A Dark Song poster
A Dark Song
2016 Β· dir. Liam Gavin
πŸ… 91%β˜… 6.2horror Β· fantasy Β· mystery

Fantasy with a pulse of twists, in both cases

A determined young woman and a damaged occultist risk their lives and souls to perform a dangerous ritual that will grant them what they want.

Feels alike?
Sleepy Hollow poster
Sleepy Hollow
1999 Β· dir. Tim Burton
πŸ… 71%β˜… 7.3fantasy Β· thriller Β· mystery

Horror built on dream logic, twice over

Skeptical young detective Ichabod Crane gets transferred to the hamlet of Sleepy Hollow, New York, where he is tasked with investigating the decapitations of three people – murders the townsfolk attribute to a legendary specter, The Headless Horseman.

Feels alike?
The Ring poster
The Ring
2002 Β· dir. Gore Verbinski
πŸ… 72%β˜… 7.1horror Β· mystery

Both keep circling back to a woman at the center

The difference: None of the dream logic that defines Carnival of Souls

Journalist Rachel Keller investigates a strange videotape that may be behind the untimely deaths of four teenagers. There is an urban legend about this tape: the viewer will die seven days after watching it. Rachel tracks down the video... and watches it. Now she has just seven days to unravel the mystery of the Ring in order to save herself and her son.

Feels alike?
It Follows poster
It Follows
2015 Β· dir. David Robert Mitchell
πŸ… 95%β˜… 6.8horror Β· mystery

Dread-soaked mystery, and it commits to that

A young woman is followed by an unknown supernatural force after a sexual encounter.

Feels alike?
The Blair Witch Project poster
The Blair Witch Project
1999 Β· dir. Daniel Myrick
πŸ… 86%β˜… 6.5horror Β· mystery

Unsettling fantasy, and it commits to that

In October of 1994 three student filmmakers disappeared in the woods near Burkittsville, Maryland, while shooting a documentary. A year later their footage was found.

Feels alike?
Scream 2 poster
Scream 2
1997 Β· dir. Wes Craven
πŸ… 83%β˜… 6.3horror Β· mystery

Both trade on twists more than on being horror

Two years after the Woodsboro murders, Sidney Prescott acclimates to college life while someone donning the Ghostface costume begins a new string of killings.

Feels alike?
Nosferatu poster
Nosferatu
2024 Β· dir. Robert Eggers
πŸ… 85%β˜… 7.1horror Β· fantasy

Dreamlike fantasy, and it commits to that

A gothic tale of obsession between a haunted young woman and the terrifying vampire infatuated with her, causing untold horror in its wake.

Feels alike?
The Autopsy of Jane Doe poster
The Autopsy of Jane Doe
2016 · dir. André Øvredal
πŸ… 86%β˜… 6.8horror Β· mystery

Both are horror through and through

Father and son coroners receive a mysterious unidentified corpse with no apparent cause of death. As they attempt to examine the "Jane Doe," they discover increasingly bizarre clues that hold the key to her terrifying secrets.

Feels alike?

In the mood for more dread?

all dread movies β†’

The best-reviewed films that share Carnival of Souls's defining feeling.