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Movies that feel like Return (1985)

If you loved Return, the closest films we have are Poison for the Fairies (1986), The Mummy (1932) and The Witches (1990). All three share Return'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 HBO Max, Amazon Prime Video and Peacock Premium and others, checked against today's data.

After reading an article about hypnotic regression, a woman whose maternal grandfather died when she was only three years old contacts the hypnotic subject named in the article believing that he is the reincarnation of her grandfather, and hoping that she can learn the truth about how he died.

4.9 IMDb ↗TMDB ↗dir. Andrew Silverdreadunsettlingdreamlike

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If Return hit the spot, these will too

Poison for the Fairies poster
Poison for the Fairies
1986 · dir. Carlos Enrique Taboada
7.2fantasy · horror

Both land dread and unease at once

In 1965 Mexico City, Flavia, a wealthy yet lonely schoolgirl, befriends Veronica, a young orphan girl who has a fascination with witchcraft. Veronica convinces Flavia that she is a real witch and forces her to be her assistant. The children's games gradually become more serious and Veronica demands more from Flavia.

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

One thread runs through both: reincarnation

The difference: 53 years apart, and the 1930s show

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.

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The Witches poster
The Witches
1990 · dir. Nicolas Roeg
🍅 94%6.8fantasy · family · horror

Both lean on dream logic more than on horror

The difference: Leans harder into family than Return does

While staying at a hotel in England with his grandmother, Helga, a young boy named Luke inadvertently spies on a convention of witches. The Grand High Witch reveals a plan to turn all children into mice via a magical formula. When they discover the eavesdropper, the witches test the formula on him. Now, with the help of Helga and hotel manager Mr Stringer, Luke the mouse must fight back against the witches.

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Freddy vs. Jason poster
Freddy vs. Jason
2003 · dir. Ronny Yu
🍅 42%5.8horror

Dread-soaked fantasy in both cases

Freddy Krueger and Jason Voorhees return to terrorize the teenagers of Elm Street. Only this time, they're out to get each other, too.

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A Nightmare on Elm Street poster
A Nightmare on Elm Street
1984 · dir. Wes Craven
🍅 94%7.4horror

Romance built on unease, twice over

Teenagers in a small town are dropping like flies, apparently in the grip of mass hysteria causing their suicides. A cop's daughter, Nancy Thompson, traces the cause to child molester Fred Krueger, who was burned alive by angry parents many years before. Krueger has now come back in the dreams of his killers' children, claiming their lives as his revenge. Nancy and her boyfriend, Glen, must devise a plan to lure the monster out of the realm of nightmares and into the real world...

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Tale of Tales poster
Tale of Tales
2015 · dir. Matteo Garrone
🍅 84%6.4romance · fantasy · horror

Dreamlike horror, and it commits to that

The Queen of Selvascura risks everything to be a mother; the King of Roccaforte falls in love with the voice of a mysterious girl; the King of Altomonte becomes obsessed with a flea and neglects his daughter.

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Tigers Are Not Afraid poster
Tigers Are Not Afraid
2017 · dir. Issa López
🍅 97%6.9fantasy · horror

Fantasy with a pulse of dread, in both cases

When her mother suddenly disappears with no one to care for her, young Estrella ends up on the street and joins a gang of children, triggering a dangerous and tragic chain of events.

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Viy poster
Viy
1967 · dir. Georgi Kropachyov
🍅 88%7.2drama · fantasy · horror

Unsettling romance in both cases

A seminary student on monastery holiday kills an old witch in a remote village. The hag then transforms into a beautiful young woman whose dying wish is for him to watch over her wake for three nights. With terrors occurring and his faith waning, he reads prayers on the overnight watch and tries to survive the supernatural encounters.

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Cannibal Holocaust poster
Cannibal Holocaust
1980 · dir. Ruggero Deodato
🍅 65%5.8horror

Horror in the same key

The difference: Missing the dream logic of Return

A New York University professor returns from a rescue mission to the Amazon rainforest with the footage shot by a lost team of documentarians who were making a film about the area's local cannibal tribes.

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Next of Kin poster
Next of Kin
1982 · dir. Tony Williams
🍅 100%6.2horror · mystery

Both lean on dream logic more than on fantasy

After Linda inherits a retirement home, she witnesses a series of strange events which seem connected to a dark and unspeakable evil.

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Oculus poster
Oculus
2014 · dir. Mike Flanagan
🍅 75%6.6horror

The same horror instincts

A woman tries to exonerate her brother's murder conviction by proving that the crime was committed by a supernatural phenomenon.

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Gremlins 2: The New Batch poster
Gremlins 2: The New Batch
1990 · dir. Joe Dante
🍅 71%6.5comedy · horror · fantasy

The fantasy is handled with the same confidence

Young sweethearts Billy and Kate move to the Big Apple, land jobs in a high-tech office park and soon reunite with the friendly and lovable Gizmo. But a series of accidents creates a whole new generation of Gremlins. The situation worsens when the devilish green creatures invade a top-secret laboratory and develop genetically altered powers, making them even harder to destroy!

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In the mood for more dread?

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