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Death Note poster

Movies that feel likeDeath Note (2017)

Light Turner finds a supernatural notebook and uses it to mete out death, attracting the attention of a detective, a demon and a girl in his class.

If you loved Death Note, the closest films we have are The Black Phone (2022), The House That Jack Built (2018) and Green Room (2016). All three share Death Note's gritty and dread feel, which is what we rank on before quality.

Seen the big three already? The under-the-radar pick below is Kill List (2011).

🍅 36% Rotten Tomatoes★ 4.5 IMDb ↗TMDB ↗dir. Adam Wingardgrittydreamlikedreadunsettlingtense
12 of 12 streaming nowNetflix · HBO Max · Amazon Prime Video

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If Death Note hit the spot, these will too

The Black Phone poster
The Black Phone
2022 · dir. Scott Derrickson
🍅 81%★ 6.9horror · thrillerNetflix

The same preoccupation in both: supernatural

The difference: Reviewed even better

Finney Blake, a shy but clever 13-year-old boy, is abducted by a sadistic killer and trapped in a soundproof basement where screaming is of little use. When a disconnected phone on the wall begins to ring, Finney discovers that he can hear the voices of the killer’s previous victims. And they are dead set on making sure that what happened to them doesn’t happen to Finney.

The House That Jack Built poster
The House That Jack Built
2018 · dir. Lars von Trier
🍅 59%★ 6.8drama · horror · crimeRent or buy

Common ground: serial killer

The difference: Easier on the dream logic than Death Note

Failed architect, engineer and vicious murderer Jack narrates the details of some of his most elaborately orchestrated crimes, each of them a towering piece of art that defines his life's work as a serial killer for twelve years.

Green Room poster
Green Room
2016 · dir. Jeremy Saulnier
🍅 90%★ 7horror · crime · thrillerNetflix

Gritty where it counts, dread-soaked underneath

The difference: Trades the dream logic of Death Note for an angle of its own

Members of a punk rock band and a tough young woman are forced to fight for survival after witnessing an act of violence at a skinhead bar.

Kill List poster
Kill List
2011 · dir. Ben Wheatley
🍅 79%★ 6.3horror · thriller · crimeRent or buy

The same mix in both: unease, then tension

Nearly a year after a botched job, a hitman takes a new assignment with the promise of a big payoff for three killings. What starts off as an easy task soon unravels, sending the killer into the heart of darkness.

1922 poster
1922
2017 · dir. Zak Hilditch
🍅 92%★ 6.2horror · crime · dramaNetflix

Dreamlike crime in both cases

The difference: Leans harder into drama than Death Note does

A simple yet proud rancher conspires to murder his wife for financial gain, convincing his teenage son to participate.

The Sadness poster
The Sadness
2021 · dir. Rob Jabbaz
🍅 88%★ 6.5horror · thrillerRent or buy

Gritty horror, and it commits to that

A young couple is pushed to the limits of sanity as they attempt to be reunited amid the chaos of a pandemic outbreak. The streets erupt into violence and depravity, as those infected are driven to enact the most cruel and ghastly things imaginable.

Knock Knock poster
Knock Knock
2015 · dir. Eli Roth
🍅 37%★ 4.9horror · thriller · crimeMax

Thriller built on dread, twice over

When a devoted husband and father is left home alone for the weekend, two stranded young women unexpectedly knock on his door for help. What starts out as a kind gesture results in a dangerous seduction and a deadly game of cat and mouse.

Truth or Dare poster
Truth or Dare
2018 · dir. Jeff Wadlow
🍅 16%★ 5.3thriller · horrorMax

Both lean on dream logic more than on fantasy

A harmless game of "Truth or Dare" among friends turns deadly when someone—or something—begins to punish those who tell a lie—or refuse the dare.

Rings poster
Rings
2017 · dir. F. Javier Gutiérrez
🍅 7%★ 4.5horrorPrime Video

One thread runs through both: death

Julia becomes worried about her boyfriend Holt when he explores the dark urban legend of a mysterious videotape said to kill the watcher seven days after viewing. She sacrifices herself to save her boyfriend and in doing so makes a horrifying discovery: there is a "movie within the movie" that no one has ever seen before.

The Hills Have Eyes poster
The Hills Have Eyes
2006 · dir. Alexandre Aja
🍅 51%★ 6.4horror · thrillerPrime Video

Both are built on the same subject: serial killer

Based on Wes Craven's 1977 suspenseful cult classic, The Hills Have Eyes is the story of a family road trip that goes terrifyingly awry when the travelers become stranded in a government atomic zone. Miles from nowhere, the Carter family soon realizes the seemingly uninhabited wasteland is actually the breeding ground of a blood-thirsty mutant family...and they are the prey.

Saw IV poster
Saw IV
2007 · dir. Darren Lynn Bousman
🍅 19%★ 5.9horror · thriller · crime

Crime with a pulse of unease, in both cases

Despite Jigsaw's death, and in order to save the lives of two of his colleagues, Lieutenant Rigg is forced to take part in a new game, which promises to test him to the limit.

Red Dragon poster
Red Dragon
2002 · dir. Brett Ratner
🍅 68%★ 7.2crime · thriller · horrorNetflixPeacock

Tense horror, and it commits to that

Former FBI Agent Will Graham, who was once almost killed by the savage Hannibal 'The Cannibal' Lecter, now has no choice but to face him again, as it seems Lecter is the only one who can help Graham track down a new serial killer.

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The best-reviewed films that share Death Note’s defining feeling.