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Orphan poster

Movies that feel likeOrphan (2009)

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

If you loved Orphan, the closest films we have are The Shallows (2016), Drag Me to Hell (2009) and [REC]² (2009). All three share Orphan's dread and unsettling feel, which is what we rank on before quality.

Seen the big three already? The under-the-radar pick below is Lake Mungo (2009).

🍅 59% Rotten Tomatoes★ 7 IMDb ↗TMDB ↗dir. Jaume Collet-Serradreadunsettlingtense
11 of 12 streaming nowNetflix · HBO Max · Amazon Prime Video

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If Orphan hit the spot, these will too

The Shallows poster
The Shallows
2016 · dir. Jaume Collet-Serra
🍅 78%★ 6.3horror · drama · thrillerNetflix

Jaume Collet-Serra working the same nerve twice

The difference: Sits closer to drama than Orphan does

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.

Drag Me to Hell poster
Drag Me to Hell
2009 · dir. Sam Raimi
🍅 92%★ 6.6horror · thrillerParamount+Peacock

Both land dread and unease at once

The difference: Reviewed even better

After denying a woman the extension she needs to keep her home, loan officer Christine Brown sees her once-promising life take a startling turn for the worse. Christine is convinced she's been cursed by a Gypsy, but her boyfriend is skeptical. Her only hope seems to lie in a psychic who claims he can help her lift the curse and keep her soul from being dragged straight to hell.

[REC]² poster
[REC]²
2009 · dir. Jaume Balagueró
🍅 67%★ 6.5thriller · horror

Horror built on tension, twice over

The action continues from [REC], with the medical officer and a SWAT team outfitted with video cameras are sent into the sealed off apartment to control the situation.

Insidious poster
Insidious
2011 · dir. James Wan
🍅 66%★ 6.8horror · thriller

Dread-soaked thriller, and it commits to that

A family discovers that dark spirits have invaded their home after their son inexplicably falls into an endless sleep. When they reach out to a professional for help, they learn things are a lot more personal than they thought.

Lake Mungo poster
Lake Mungo
2009 · dir. Joel Anderson
🍅 92%★ 6.2horror · thriller

Horror with a pulse of unease, in both cases

After 16-year-old Alice Palmer drowns at a local dam, her family experiences a series of strange, inexplicable events centered in and around their home. Unsettled, the Palmers seek the help of a psychic and parapsychologist, who discovers that Alice led a secret, double life. At Lake Mungo, Alice's secret past emerges.

Creep poster
Creep
2014 · dir. Patrick Brice
🍅 91%★ 6.3horror · thrillerNetflixPrime Video

Both lean on tension more than on thriller

Looking for work, Aaron comes across a cryptic online ad: "$1,000 for the day. Filming service. Discretion is appreciated." Low on cash and full of naiveté, he decides to go for it. He drives to a cabin in a remote mountain town where he meets Josef, his cinematic subject for the day. Josef is sincere and the project seems heartfelt, so Aaron begins to film. But as the day goes on, it becomes clear that Josef is not who he says, and his intentions are not at all pure.

House of Wax poster
House of Wax
2005 · dir. Jaume Collet-Serra
🍅 27%★ 5.5horror · thriller · mysteryMax

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

The difference: Leans harder into mystery than Orphan does

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.

30 Days of Night poster
30 Days of Night
2007 · dir. David Slade
🍅 51%★ 6.6horror · thriller

Dread-soaked horror in both cases

This is the story of an isolated Alaskan town that is plunged into darkness for a month each year when the sun sinks below the horizon. As the last rays of light fade, the town is attacked by a bloodthirsty gang of vampires bent on an uninterrupted orgy of destruction. Only the small town's husband-and-wife Sheriff team stand between the survivors and certain destruction.

Saw VI poster
Saw VI
2009 · dir. Kevin Greutert
🍅 39%★ 6.1horror · thriller

Both lean on unease more than on thriller

Special Agent Strahm is dead, and Detective Hoffman has emerged as the unchallenged successor to Jigsaw's legacy. However, when the FBI draws closer to Hoffman, he is forced to set a game into motion, and Jigsaw's grand scheme is finally understood.

Five Nights at Freddy's poster
Five Nights at Freddy's
2023 · dir. Emma Tammi
🍅 33%★ 5.4horror · thrillerPeacock

Both keep coming back to the same thing: evil child

Recently fired and desperate for work, a troubled young man named Mike agrees to take a position as a night security guard at an abandoned theme restaurant: Freddy Fazbear's Pizzeria. But he soon discovers that nothing at Freddy's is what it seems.

Friday the 13th poster
Friday the 13th
2009 · dir. Marcus Nispel
🍅 26%★ 5.5horror · thrillerMax

Both sit in the same tense register

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.

The Visit poster
The Visit
2015 · dir. M. Night Shyamalan
🍅 68%★ 6.3horror · thrillerPrime Video

Horror approached the same way

A brother and sister are sent to their grandparents' remote Pennsylvania farm for a week, where they discover that the elderly couple is involved in something deeply disturbing.

In the mood for more dread?

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