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Movies that feel like Freaks (1932)

If you loved Freaks, the closest films we have are Dracula (1931), White Zombie (1932) and The Black Cat (1934). All three share Freaks' dread and unsettling feel, which is what we rank on before quality. 9 of the 12 picks below are included with a subscription right now on Amazon Prime Video, Paramount Plus Premium and Peacock Premium and others, checked against today's data.

A circus' beautiful trapeze artist agrees to marry the leader of side-show performers, but his deformed friends discover she is only marrying him for his inheritance.

πŸ… 95% Rotten Tomatoesβ˜… 7.8 IMDb β†—TMDB β†—dir. Tod Browningcontemplativedreadunsettlingrelentless
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If Freaks hit the spot, these will too

Dracula poster
Dracula
1931 Β· dir. Tod Browning
πŸ… 96%β˜… 7.3horror

Tod Browning working the same nerve twice

The difference: Not nearly as contemplative as Freaks

A British estate agent travels to Transylvania to meet the mysterious Count Dracula, who is interested in leasing a London castle. After Dracula enslaves the agent and drives him to insanity, the pair return to London together, where Dracula, a secret bloodsucker, begins preying on socialites.

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White Zombie poster
White Zombie
1932 Β· dir. Victor Halperin
πŸ… 77%β˜… 6.2horror

The same two preoccupations: black and white, and newlywed

A wealthy landowner living in Haiti convinces a sorcerer to lure the woman he has fallen for away from her fiancΓ©. The madman later betrays their agreement by keeping the woman for himself…as a zombie.

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The Black Cat poster
The Black Cat
1934 Β· dir. Edgar G. Ulmer
πŸ… 89%β˜… 6.9horror Β· thriller

One thread runs through both: pre-code

The difference: Leans harder into thriller than Freaks does

After a road accident in Hungary, the American honeymooners Joan and Peter and the enigmatic Dr. Werdegast find refuge in the house of the famed architect Hjalmar Poelzig, who shares a dark past with the doctor.

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Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde poster
Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
1931 Β· dir. Rouben Mamoulian
πŸ… 91%β˜… 7.6horror Β· science fiction Β· drama

Both keep coming back to the same thing: black and white

The difference: Sits closer to science fiction than Freaks does

Dr. Henry Jekyll believes that there are two distinct sides to men: one that is good and one that is evil. He believes that by separating the two, man can become liberated. He succeeds in his experiments with chemicals to accomplish this and transforms into Hyde to commit horrendous crimes. When he discontinues use of the drug, it is already too late.

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Frankenstein poster
Frankenstein
1931 Β· dir. James Whale
πŸ… 94%β˜… 7.7drama Β· horror Β· science fiction

Common ground: pre-code

Henry Frankenstein pieces together body parts in the hope of bringing a human-like creature to life. The mad scientist’s dreams are shattered by his monstrous creation awakening with rage to a world that hates and fears him.

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The Wolf Man poster
The Wolf Man
1941 Β· dir. George Waggner
πŸ… 91%β˜… 7.2horror Β· drama

Contemplative where it counts, dread-soaked underneath

After his brother's death, Larry Talbot returns home to his father and the family estate. Events soon take a turn for the worse when Larry is bitten by a werewolf.

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Carrie poster
Carrie
2013 Β· dir. Kimberly Peirce
πŸ… 51%β˜… 5.8drama Β· horror

Two things both keep coming back to: revenge and murder

The difference: Reviewed a good deal more coolly

An awkward, telekinetic teenage girl is the object of relentless bullying at school and an oppressively religious mother at home.

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The Phantom of the Opera poster
The Phantom of the Opera
1925 Β· dir. Rupert Julian
πŸ… 90%β˜… 7.5horror

Horror built on unease, twice over

The deformed Phantom who haunts the Paris Opera House causes murder and mayhem in an attempt to make the woman he loves a star.

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Friday the 13th poster
Friday the 13th
1980 Β· dir. Sean S. Cunningham
πŸ… 70%β˜… 6.4horror

Both are built on the same subject: revenge

The difference: 48 years apart, and the 1980s show

Camp counselors are stalked and murdered by an unknown assailant while trying to reopen a summer camp that was the site of a child's drowning.

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Faust poster
Faust
1926 Β· dir. F. W. Murnau
πŸ… 91%β˜… 8.1fantasy Β· drama Β· horror

The same preoccupation in both: romance

God and Satan wager on the soul of a learned and prayerful alchemist as part of their eternal war over Earth.

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The Invisible Man poster
The Invisible Man
1933 Β· dir. James Whale
πŸ… 95%β˜… 7.6horror Β· science fiction

The same preoccupation in both: murder

After experimenting on himself and becoming invisible, scientist Jack Griffin, now aggressive due to the drug's effects, seeks a way to reverse the experiment at any cost.

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Martyrs poster
Martyrs
2008 Β· dir. Pascal Laugier
πŸ… 66%β˜… 7horror Β· drama Β· thriller

Relentless drama, and it commits to that

A young woman’s quest for revenge against the people who kidnapped and tortured her as a child leads her and her best friend, also a victim of child abuse, on a terrifying journey into a living hell of depravity.

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In the mood for more contemplative?

all contemplative movies β†’

The best-reviewed films that share Freaks’ defining feeling.