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Movies that feel like Silent Night, Deadly Night (1984)

If you loved Silent Night, Deadly Night, the closest films we have are Thesis (1996), Nightwatch (1994) and The Hills Have Eyes (2006). All three share Silent Night, Deadly Night's tense and dread feel, which is what we rank on before quality. 10 of the 12 picks below are included with a subscription right now on Netflix, Amazon Prime Video and Peacock Premium and others, checked against today's data.

After a man dressed as Santa Claus brutally murders Billy Chapman's parents, little Billy then endures the cruelty of a sadistic nun at his orphanage. Years later, when adult Billy has to fill in for an absent in-store Santa, his childhood trauma brings him to the breaking point.

πŸ… 55% Rotten Tomatoesβ˜… 5.8 IMDb β†—TMDB β†—dir. Charles E. Sellier Jr.tensedreadunsettling
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If Silent Night, Deadly Night hit the spot, these will too

Thesis poster
Thesis
1996 Β· dir. Alejandro AmenΓ‘bar
πŸ… 86%β˜… 7.4horror Β· thriller

Common ground in both: murder and serial killer

The difference: Critics rated this one higher still

While working on a thesis about audiovisual violence, film student Ángela finds a snuff video where a girl is tortured until death. Soon she discovers that she was a former student in her university, and that the authors of the video are not very far either.

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Nightwatch poster
Nightwatch
1994 Β· dir. Ole Bornedal
πŸ… 63%β˜… 7.2horror Β· thriller

Tense where it counts, dread-soaked underneath

Martin, a law student, takes up a job as a nightwatchman at a mortuary to fund his studies. But the mortuary harbours a dark secret, and he has to find the truth before he is implicated in a serial murder case.

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

Two things both keep coming back to: gore and slasher

The difference: 22 years apart, and the 2000s show

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 Omen poster
The Omen
1976 Β· dir. Richard Donner
πŸ… 76%β˜… 7.5horror Β· thriller

Both keep coming back to the same thing: decapitation

Immediately after their miscarriage, the US diplomat Robert Thorn adopts the newborn Damien without the knowledge of his wife. Yet what he doesn’t know is that their new son is the son of the devil.

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What We Become poster
What We Become
2015 Β· dir. Bo Mikkelsen
β˜… 5.5horror Β· thriller

Unsettling thriller, and it commits to that

A family of four is quarantined in their home as a virulent strand of the flu spreads into town and they are forced to the extreme to escape alive.

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Better Watch Out poster
Better Watch Out
2017 Β· dir. Chris Peckover
πŸ… 89%β˜… 6.5horror Β· thriller Β· comedy

Both are working the same pair: holiday, christmas horror

The difference: Played as comedy first

On a quiet suburban street tucked within a 'safe neighborhood', a babysitter must defend a twelve-year-old boy from strangers breaking into the house, only to discover that this is far from a normal home invasion.

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Julia's Eyes poster
Julia's Eyes
2010 Β· dir. Guillem Morales
πŸ… 90%β˜… 6.7horror Β· thriller

Common ground: murder

Julia, a woman suffering from a degenerative sight disease, finds her blind sister Sara hung in a basement. Despite all signs pointing to suicide, Julia decides to investigate what she intuitively feels is a murder case.

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Jaws 2 poster
Jaws 2
1978 Β· dir. Jeannot Szwarc
πŸ… 56%β˜… 5.8horror Β· thriller

Tense horror in both cases

Police chief Brody must protect the citizens of Amity after a second monstrous shark begins terrorizing the waters.

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Lake Mungo poster
Lake Mungo
2009 Β· dir. Joel Anderson
πŸ… 92%β˜… 6.2horror Β· thriller

Thriller built on dread, twice over

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.

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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: serial 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.

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Creep poster
Creep
2014 Β· dir. Patrick Brice
πŸ… 91%β˜… 6.3horror Β· thriller

Horror with a pulse of unease, in both cases

Looking for work, Aaron comes across a cryptic online ad: β€œ$1,000 for the day. Filming service. Discretion is appreciated.” Low on cash and full of naivetΓ©, 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.

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The Pool poster
The Pool
2018 Β· dir. Ping Lumpraploeng
πŸ… 96%β˜… 5.3thriller Β· horror

Both lean on tension more than on thriller

Left alone to clean up a 6-meter-deep deserted pool, Day falls asleep on an inflatable raft. When he wakes, the water level has sunk so low that he can't climb out on his own. Stuck in the pool, Day screams for help, but the only thing that hears him is a creature from a nearby crocodile farm.

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The best-reviewed films that share Silent Night, Deadly Night’s defining feeling.