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Sinister poster

Movies that feel likeSinister (2012)

True-crime writer Ellison Oswalt is in a slump; he hasn't had a best seller in more than 10 years and is becoming increasingly desperate for a hit. So, when he discovers the existence of a snuff film showing the deaths of a family, he vows to solve the mystery. He moves his own family into the victims' home and gets to work. However, when old film footage and other clues hint at the presence of a supernatural force, Ellison learns that living in the house may be fatal.

If you loved Sinister, the closest films we have are Resolution (2013), Goodnight Mommy (2015) and Noroi: The Curse (2005). All three share Sinister'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 Finders Keepers (2014).

🍅 64% Rotten Tomatoes★ 6.8 IMDb ↗TMDB ↗dir. Scott Derricksondreadunsettlingtensetwisty
12 of 12 streaming nowHBO Max · Amazon Prime Video · Hulu

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If Sinister hit the spot, these will too

Looking for the series itself? Also in this series: Sinister 2 (2015)

Resolution poster
Resolution
2013 · dir. Justin Benson
🍅 81%★ 6.4horror · thriller · mysteryRent or buy

The same mix in both: dread, then unease

A man imprisons his estranged junkie friend in an isolated cabin in the boonies of San Diego to force him through a week of sobriety, but the events of that week are being mysteriously manipulated.

Goodnight Mommy poster
Goodnight Mommy
2015 · dir. Severin Fiala
🍅 85%★ 6.7horror · mystery · thriller

Both land tension and twists at once

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.

Noroi: The Curse poster
Noroi: The Curse
2005 · dir. Koji Shiraishi
★ 6.8horror · mystery · thrillerRent or buy

Horror built on dread, twice over

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

The Empty Man poster
The Empty Man
2020 · dir. David Prior
🍅 73%★ 6.2horror · mystery · thrillerHulu

Both lean on unease more than on thriller

On the trail of a missing girl, an ex-cop comes across a secretive group attempting to summon a terrifying supernatural entity.

Finders Keepers poster
Finders Keepers
2014 · dir. Alexander Yellen
🍅 98%★ 4.3mystery · thriller · horrorPrime VideoPeacock

Both keep coming back to the same thing: murder

The difference: Critics rated this one higher still

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

Exhuma poster
Exhuma
2024 · dir. Jang Jae-hyun
🍅 93%★ 6.9mystery · horror · thrillerPrime Video

Tense mystery in both cases

After tracing the origin of a disturbing supernatural affliction to a wealthy family's ancestral gravesite, a team of paranormal experts relocates the remains—and soon discovers what happens to those who dare to mess with the wrong grave.

Devil poster
Devil
2010 · dir. John Erick Dowdle
🍅 49%★ 6.3horror · mystery · thrillerPrime Video

The same preoccupation in both: murder

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

Marrowbone poster
Marrowbone
2017 · dir. Sergio G. Sánchez
🍅 49%★ 6.7thriller · horror · mystery

Twisty horror, and it commits to that

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

Escape Room poster
Escape Room
2019 · dir. Adam Robitel
🍅 51%★ 6.4horror · mystery · thrillerRent or buy

Thriller with a pulse of dread, in both cases

Six strangers find themselves in circumstances beyond their control, and must use their wits to survive.

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

Unsettling mystery, and it commits to that

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.

The Grudge poster
The Grudge
2004 · dir. Takashi Shimizu
🍅 41%★ 5.9horror · mystery · thrillerPeacock

Both lean on tension more than on horror

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.

The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It poster
The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It
2021 · dir. Michael Chaves
🍅 56%★ 6.2horror · mystery · thrillerMax

Thriller with a pulse of twists, in both cases

Paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren encounter what would become one of the most sensational cases from their files. The fight for the soul of a young boy takes them beyond anything they'd ever seen before, to mark the first time in U.S. history that a murder suspect would claim demonic possession as a defense.

In the mood for more dread?

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