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Smile poster

Movies that feel likeSmile (2022)

After witnessing a bizarre, traumatic incident involving a patient, Dr. Rose Cotter starts experiencing frightening occurrences that she can't explain.

If you loved Smile, the closest films we have are Midsommar (2019), Lights Out (2016) and The Lodge (2020). All three share Smile'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 They Look Like People (2016).

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If Smile hit the spot, these will too

Looking for the series itself? Also in this series: Smile 2 (2024)

Midsommar poster
Midsommar
2019 Β· dir. Ari Aster
πŸ… 83%β˜… 7.1horror Β· drama Β· mysteryPrime VideoMax

Both keep coming back to the same thing: paranoia

The difference: Sits closer to drama than Smile does

Several friends travel to Sweden to study as anthropologists a summer festival that is held every ninety years in the remote hometown of one of them. What begins as a dream vacation in a place where the sun never sets, gradually turns into a dark nightmare as the mysterious inhabitants invite them to participate in their disturbing festive activities.

Lights Out poster
Lights Out
2016 Β· dir. David F. Sandberg
πŸ… 74%β˜… 6.3horror Β· mystery

Both are working the same pair: suicide, mental illness

The difference: Takes it somewhere less paranoid than Smile does

Rebecca must unlock the terror behind her little brother's experiences that once tested her sanity, bringing her face to face with a supernatural spirit attached to their mother.

The Lodge poster
The Lodge
2020 Β· dir. Severin Fiala
πŸ… 75%β˜… 6horror Β· mystery

Both are built on the same subject: suicide

When a father is forced to abruptly depart for work, he leaves his children, Aidan and Mia, at their holiday home in the care of his new girlfriend, Grace. Isolated and alone, a blizzard traps them inside the lodge as terrifying events summon specters from Grace's dark past.

The Invitation poster
The Invitation
2016 Β· dir. Karyn Kusama
πŸ… 90%β˜… 6.6thriller Β· horrorPeacock

Common ground: paranoia

The difference: Leans harder into thriller than Smile does

Will and his new girlfriend Kira are invited to a dinner with old friends at the house of Will’s ex Eden and her new partner David. Although the evening appears to be relaxed, Will soon gets a creeping suspicion that their charming host David is up to something.

The Ritual poster
The Ritual
2017 Β· dir. David Bruckner
πŸ… 74%β˜… 6.4horror Β· mysteryNetflix

Both land dread and unease at once

A group of college friends reunite for a trip to the forest, but encounter a menacing presence in the woods that's stalking them.

They Look Like People poster
They Look Like People
2016 Β· dir. Perry Blackshear
πŸ… 92%β˜… 5.8drama Β· horror Β· mystery

The same preoccupation in both: mental illness

Suspecting that people are transforming into malevolent shape-shifters, Wyatt flees to New York City to seek out his estranged childhood friend Christian.

Jigsaw poster
Jigsaw
2017 Β· dir. Michael Spierig
πŸ… 32%β˜… 5.7horror Β· mystery

The same mix in both: twists, then melancholy

The difference: The scrappier of the two with critics

Law enforcement finds itself chasing the ghost of a man dead for over a decade, embroiled in a diabolical new game that's only just begun.

Barbarian poster
Barbarian
2022 Β· dir. Zach Cregger
πŸ… 92%β˜… 7horror Β· mystery Β· thrillerHulu

Paranoid horror in both cases

In town for a job interview, a young woman arrives at her Airbnb late at night only to find that it has been mistakenly double-booked and a strange man is already staying there. Against her better judgement, she decides to stay the night anyway.

Absentia poster
Absentia
2011 Β· dir. Mike Flanagan
πŸ… 87%β˜… 5.8horror Β· mystery

Dread-soaked mystery, and it commits to that

Tricia's husband has been missing for seven years. Her younger sister Callie comes to live with her as the pressure mounts to finally declare him 'dead in absentia'. Tricia is reluctant, always holding out hope, but Callie is practical and wants her to move on. As Tricia sifts through the wreckage and tries to move on with her life, Callie finds herself drawn to an ominous tunnel near the house.

The Thing poster
The Thing
2011 Β· dir. Matthijs van Heijningen Jr.
πŸ… 34%β˜… 6.2horror Β· science fiction Β· mysteryPeacock

Horror built on unease, twice over

When paleontologist Kate Lloyd travels to an isolated outpost in Antarctica for the expedition of a lifetime, she joins an international team that unearths a remarkable discovery. Their elation quickly turns to fear as they realize that their experiment has freed a mysterious being from its frozen prison. Paranoia spreads like an epidemic as a creature that can mimic anything it touches will pit human against human as it tries to survive and flourish in this spine-tingling thriller.

The Boy poster
The Boy
2016 Β· dir. William Brent Bell
πŸ… 31%β˜… 6horror Β· mystery Β· thriller

Mystery with a pulse of twists, in both cases

A young American woman takes a job as a nanny in a remote English village, soon discovering that the family's eight-year-old son is a life-sized doll that comes with a list of strict rules.

It Comes at Night poster
It Comes at Night
2017 Β· dir. Trey Edward Shults
πŸ… 88%β˜… 6.1drama Β· horror Β· mysteryMax

Both lean on paranoia more than on horror

Secure within a desolate home as an unnatural threat terrorizes the world, a man has established a tenuous domestic order with his wife and son, but this will soon be put to test when a desperate young family arrives seeking refuge.

In the mood for more dread?

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