feelsalike.com

Movies that feel like King Kong (1933)

If you loved King Kong, the closest films we have are The Mummy (1932), Häxan (1922) and White Zombie (1932). All three share King Kong's dread and unsettling feel, which is what we rank on before quality. 11 of the 12 picks below are included with a subscription right now on HBO Max, Amazon Prime Video and Peacock Premium and others, checked against today's data.

Adventurous filmmaker Carl Denham sets out to produce a motion picture unlike anything the world has seen before. Alongside his leading lady Ann Darrow and his first mate Jack Driscoll, they arrive on an island and discover a legendary creature said to be neither beast nor man. Denham captures the monster to be displayed on Broadway as King Kong, the eighth wonder of the world.

🍅 97% Rotten Tomatoes7.9 IMDb ↗TMDB ↗dir. Merian C. Cooperepicdreamlikedreadunsettling

Not on subscription streaming right now. Rent or buy below.

See it on the map

When is King Kong streaming? →

If King Kong hit the spot, these will too

The Mummy poster
The Mummy
1932 · dir. Karl Freund
🍅 90%6.9horror · fantasy

Dreamlike where it counts, dread-soaked underneath

The difference: None of the scale King Kong is built on

An ancient Egyptian priest named Imhotep is revived when a British archaeological expedition finds his mummy and one of the researchers accidentally reads an ancient life-giving spell. Imhotep escapes from the field site and searches for the reincarnation of the soul of his lover.

Feels alike?
Häxan poster
Häxan
1922 · dir. Benjamin Christensen
🍅 93%7.6documentary · horror · history

Common ground: black and white

The difference: Sits closer to documentary than King Kong does

Grave robbing, torture, possessed nuns, and a satanic Sabbath: Benjamin Christensen's legendary film uses a series of dramatic vignettes to explore the scientific hypothesis that the witches of the Middle Ages suffered the same hysteria as turn-of-the-century psychiatric patients. But the film itself is far from serious-- instead it's a witches' brew of the scary, gross, and darkly humorous.

Feels alike?
White Zombie poster
White Zombie
1932 · dir. Victor Halperin
🍅 77%6.2horror

Both keep coming back to the same thing: pre-code

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

Feels alike?
Creature from the Black Lagoon poster
Creature from the Black Lagoon
1954 · dir. Jack Arnold
🍅 81%6.9adventure · horror · science fiction

Two things both keep coming back to: ship and monster

The difference: Leans harder into science fiction than King Kong does

When scientists exploring the Amazon River stumble on a “missing link” connecting humans and fish, they plan to capture it for later study. But the Creature has plans of his own, and has set his sights on the lead scientist's beautiful fiancée, Kay.

Feels alike?
The Most Dangerous Game poster
The Most Dangerous Game
1932 · dir. Irving Pichel
🍅 100%7.1thriller · adventure · horror

The same preoccupation in both: black and white

When legendary hunter Bob Rainsford is shipwrecked on the perilous reefs surrounding a mysterious island, he finds himself the guest of the reclusive and eccentric Count Zaroff. While he is very gracious at first, Zaroff eventually forces Rainsford and two other shipwreck survivors, brother and sister Eve and Martin Towbridge, to participate in a sadistic game of cat and mouse in which they are the prey and he is the hunter.

Feels alike?
Faust poster
Faust
1926 · dir. F. W. Murnau
🍅 91%8.1fantasy · drama · horror

Both lean on unease more than on fantasy

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

Feels alike?
The Incredible Shrinking Man poster
The Incredible Shrinking Man
1957 · dir. Jack Arnold
🍅 83%7.6science fiction · adventure · horror

Epic adventure, and it commits to that

The difference: 24 years apart, and the 1950s show

A dangerous combination of radiation and insecticide causes the unfortunate Scott Carey to shrink, slowly but surely, until he is only a few inches tall. His home becomes a wilderness where he must survive everything from spiders living in the cellar to his beloved cat.

Feels alike?
Vampyr poster
Vampyr
1932 · dir. Carl Theodor Dreyer
🍅 98%7.4horror · fantasy · mystery

Dreamlike horror in both cases

Allan Gray, a young man fascinated by the supernatural, goes to a small village where he feels a sinister force descending upon him. There, Allan meets an old man who asks him to protect his two daughters, for one of them has been bitten by a vampire.

Feels alike?
Dracula poster
Dracula
1931 · dir. Tod Browning
🍅 96%7.3horror

Both are built on the same subject: monster

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.

Feels alike?
Un Chien Andalou poster
Un Chien Andalou
1929 · dir. Luis Buñuel
🍅 100%7.6fantasy · horror · thriller

Fantasy with a pulse of dread, in both cases

Un Chien Andalou is an European avant-garde surrealist film, a collaboration between director Luis Buñuel and Salvador Dali.

Feels alike?
The Phantom Carriage poster
The Phantom Carriage
1921 · dir. Victor Sjöström
🍅 100%8drama · fantasy · horror

Horror built on unease, twice over

An alcoholic, abusive ne'er-do-well is shown the error of his ways through a legend that dooms the last person to die on New Year's Eve before the clock strikes twelve to take the reins of Death's chariot and work tirelessly collecting fresh souls for the next year.

Feels alike?
The Picture of Dorian Gray poster
The Picture of Dorian Gray
1945 · dir. Albert Lewin
🍅 94%7.5drama · horror · fantasy

Adventure built on dream logic, twice over

A corrupt young man somehow keeps his youthful beauty, but a special painting gradually reveals his inner ugliness to all.

Feels alike?

In the mood for more epic?

all epic movies →

The best-reviewed films that share King Kong’s defining feeling.