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Movies that feel like House of Wax (2005)

If you loved House of Wax, the closest films we have are The Hills Have Eyes (2006), The Grudge (2004) and Orphan (2009). All three share House of Wax's 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 Netflix, HBO Max and Amazon Prime Video and others, checked against today's data.

A group of unwitting teens are stranded near a strange wax museum and soon must fight to survive and keep from becoming the next exhibit.

πŸ… 27% Rotten Tomatoesβ˜… 5.5 IMDb β†—TMDB β†—dir. Jaume Collet-Serradreadunsettlingtensetwisty

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If House of Wax hit the spot, these will too

The Hills Have Eyes poster
The Hills Have Eyes
2006 Β· dir. Alexandre Aja
πŸ… 51%β˜… 6.4horror Β· thriller

Common ground in both: gore and slasher

The difference: None of the twists House of Wax is built on

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.

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The Grudge poster
The Grudge
2004 Β· dir. Takashi Shimizu
πŸ… 41%β˜… 5.9horror Β· mystery Β· thriller

Dread-soaked and unsettling in the same breath

An American nurse living and working in Tokyo is exposed to a mysterious supernatural curse, one that locks a person in a powerful rage before claiming their life and spreading to another victim.

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Orphan poster
Orphan
2009 Β· dir. Jaume Collet-Serra
πŸ… 59%β˜… 7horror Β· thriller

The same hand behind both of them: Jaume Collet-Serra

The difference: Reviewed even better

After losing their baby, a married couple adopt 9-year old Esther, who may not be as innocent as she seems.

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Goodnight Mommy poster
Goodnight Mommy
2015 Β· dir. Severin Fiala
πŸ… 85%β˜… 6.7horror Β· mystery Β· thriller

Common ground: twins

In the heat of the summer lays a lonesome house in the countryside where nine year old twin brothers await their mother’s return. When she comes home, bandaged after cosmetic surgery, nothing is like before and the children start to doubt whether this woman is actually who she says she is.

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Friday the 13th poster
Friday the 13th
2009 Β· dir. Marcus Nispel
πŸ… 26%β˜… 5.5horror Β· thriller

The same preoccupation in both: slasher

A group of young adults visit a boarded up campsite named Crystal Lake where they soon encounter the mysterious Jason Voorhees and his deadly intentions.

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Devil poster
Devil
2010 Β· dir. John Erick Dowdle
πŸ… 49%β˜… 6.3horror Β· mystery Β· thriller

Both keep coming back to the same thing: murder

A group of people are trapped in an elevator high above Philadelphia, and one of them is the Devil.

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Finders Keepers poster
Finders Keepers
2014 Β· dir. Alexander Yellen
πŸ… 98%β˜… 4.3mystery Β· thriller Β· horror

One thread runs through both: murder

A haunted doll teaches one little girl why children shouldn't play with undead things.

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Halloween Kills poster
Halloween Kills
2021 Β· dir. David Gordon Green
πŸ… 38%β˜… 5.5horror Β· thriller

Both are built on the same subject: killer

Michael manages to free himself from Laurie Strode's trap to resume his ritual bloodbath. As she fights for her life from injuries from their last encounter, she inspires her daughter Karen, her granddaughter Allyson, and all of Haddonfield to rise up against the unstoppable monster.

Feels alike?
The Nameless poster
The Nameless
1999 Β· dir. Jaume BalaguerΓ³
πŸ… 20%β˜… 5.8thriller Β· mystery Β· horror

Both land tension and twists at once

The difference: Leans harder into drama than House of Wax does

The mutilated body of a six year old girl is found in a water hole. The girl is identified as the missing daughter of Claudia. However, only two peices of evidence could be used to identify her; a bracelet with her name on it near the crime scene, and the fact that her right leg was three inches longer than her left. All other methods of identification were removed from her body. Five years later Claudia, now addicted to tranquilizers, receives a phone call from someone claiming to be her daughter, asking for her mother to come find her before 'they' kill her. Other mysterious clues show up, further indicating that Claudia's daughter is indeed still alive, and very much in danger. Claudia, a run-down ex-cop, and a parapsychology reporter put together the clues to discover Angela's whereabouts

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Noroi: The Curse poster
Noroi: The Curse
2005 Β· dir. Koji Shiraishi
β˜… 6.8horror Β· mystery Β· thriller

Horror built on dread, twice over

A documentary filmmaker explores seemingly unrelated paranormal incidents connected by the legend of an ancient demon.

Feels alike?
The Shallows poster
The Shallows
2016 Β· dir. Jaume Collet-Serra
πŸ… 78%β˜… 6.3horror Β· drama Β· thriller

Jaume Collet-Serra directing both, with the same fingerprints on each

While surfing on a secluded beach, Nancy finds herself in the feeding grounds of a great white shark. Though stranded only 200 yards from shore, survival proves to be the ultimate test of wills, requiring all of her ingenuity, resourcefulness, and fortitude.

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Marrowbone poster
Marrowbone
2017 Β· dir. Sergio G. SΓ‘nchez
πŸ… 49%β˜… 6.7thriller Β· horror Β· mystery

Thriller with a pulse of unease, in both cases

A young man and his three younger siblings are plagued by a sinister presence in the sprawling manor in which they live.

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In the mood for more dread?

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The best-reviewed films that share House of Wax’s defining feeling.