Best movies like Pulse
Last updated March 2024
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Plot Summary:
After one of their friends commits suicide, strange things begin happening to a group of young Tokyo residents. One of them sees visions of his dead friend in the shadows on the wall, while another's computer keeps showing strange, ghostly images. Is their friend trying to contact them from beyond the grave, or is there something much more sinister going on?.
IMDB Rating: 6.5
IMDB Votes: 25000
Genere: Horror, Mystery, Sci-Fi, Thriller
Country: Japan
Duration: 119 min
Plot tags: scary, psychological, suspenseful, dark, disturbing, atmospheric, frightening, philosophical, suspense, cerebral
Best tv shows and movies like Pulse (2001):
Similar in 75%
Silk (2006)
Plot Summary:
A scientist uses his invention - the "Menger Sponge" - to capture the energy of a dead child's spirit in an old building. In trying to determine why the energy of the ghost does not dissipate, the team discovers the identity and the dramatic story of the boy.
IMDB Rating: 6.4
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Horror, Mystery, Sci-Fi
Country: Taiwan
Duration: 108 min
Plot tags: psychological, atmospheric, suspenseful, scary, suspense, mystical, clever, surreal, disturbing, splatter
Similar in 78%
Pulse (2006)
Plot Summary:
When their computer hacker friend accidentally channels a mysterious wireless signal, a group of co-eds rally to stop a terrifying evil from taking over the world.
IMDB Rating: 4.7
IMDB Votes: 30000
Genere: Horror, Sci-Fi, Thriller
Country: USA, South Africa
Duration: 90 min
Plot tags: scary, suspense, psychological, atmospheric, serious, suspenseful, stylized, intense, apocalyptic, cyber
Similar in 86%
Retribution (2006)
Plot Summary:
A detective investigates a series of murders. A possible serial killer might be on a rampage, since they all are in the same vicinity and by the same method, but as the evidence points toward the detective as the prime suspect, a ghost in red follows him, and he begins to question his identity. His realization of what seems to have really happened results in something much more sinister and larger in scope, and it leaves his psyche scarred.
IMDB Rating: 6.3
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Horror, Mystery, Thriller
Country: Japan
Duration: 104 min
Plot tags: scary, psychological, atmospheric, suspenseful, suspense, slasher, disturbing, detective, crime drama, cult classic
Similar in 88%
Banshee Chapter (2013)
Plot Summary:
On the trail of a missing friend who had been experimenting with mind-altering drugs, a young journalist - aided by a rogue counter-culture writer, The Silence of The Lambs -- finds herself drawn into the dangerous world of top-secret government chemical research and the mystery of a disturbing radio signal of unknown origin. A fast-paced thriller blending fact and fiction, Banshee Chapter is based on real documents, actual test subject testimony, and uncovered secrets about covert programs run by the CIA.
IMDB Rating: 5.4
IMDB Votes: 11000
Genere: Horror, Mystery, Sci-Fi, Thriller
Country: USA, Germany
Duration: 87 min
Plot tags: scary, lovecraft, disturbing, psychological, spooky, suspense, surreal, satanic, splatter, psychological horror
Similar in 80%
Ju-on: The Grudge (2002)
Plot Summary:
A mysterious and vengeful spirit marks and pursues anybody who dares enter the house in which it resides.
IMDB Rating: 6.7
IMDB Votes: 47000
Genere: Horror
Country: Japan
Duration: 92 min
Plot tags: scary, atmospheric, psychological, disturbing, creepy, cult classic, suspenseful, suspense, surreal, splatter
Similar in 84%
301/302 (1995)
Plot Summary:
Two obsessive-compulsives, a chef and an anorexic writer, are neighbors in an apartment building. The chef (301) tries to entice her neighbor to eat with fabulous meals. The writer (302) refuses to eat, and this refusal begins a turbulent relationship that forces both women to delve into their pasts of torment.
IMDB Rating: 6.4
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Horror, Mystery, Thriller
Country: South Korea
Duration: 100 min
Plot tags: psychological, surreal, disturbing, neurotic, tense, offbeat, serious, realistic, suspenseful, perverse
Similar in 86%
Friend Request (2016)
Plot Summary:
Enjoying college life as a popular student, Laura shares everything with her more than 800 friends on Facebook. But one day, after accepting a friend request from a social outcast named Marina, Laura’s life is cursed.
IMDB Rating: 5.2
IMDB Votes: 28000
Genere: Horror, Mystery, Thriller
Country: Germany
Duration: 92 min
Plot tags: mysterious, scary, slasher, cyber, psychotronic, rough, surprise ending, bleak, psychological, spooky
Similar in 84%
The Eye (2002)
Plot Summary:
A blind girl gets a cornea transplant so that she would be able to see again. However, she got more than what she bargained for when she realised she could even see ghosts. And some of these ghosts are down right unfriendly. So she embarks on a journey to find the origins of her cornea and to reveal the history of the previous dead owner.
IMDB Rating: 6.6
IMDB Votes: 30000
Genere: Fantasy, Horror, Mystery, Thriller
Country: Hong Kong, Singapore, Thailand, UK
Duration: 99 min
Plot tags: scary, atmospheric, suspense, tense, psychological, disturbing, frightening, suspenseful, splatter, intense
Similar in 87%
Ring (1998)
Plot Summary:
A mysterious video has been linked to a number of deaths, and when an inquisitive journalist finds the tape and views it herself, she sets in motion a chain of events that puts her own life in danger.
IMDB Rating: 7.2
IMDB Votes: 76000
Genere: Horror, Mystery
Country: Japan
Duration: 96 min
Plot tags: suspenseful, scary, atmospheric, disturbing, splatter, creepy, suspense, psychological, twist ending, intense
Similar in 90%
Dark Water (2002)
Plot Summary:
A woman in the midst of an unpleasant divorce moves to an eerie apartment building with her young daughter. The ceiling of their apartment has a dark and active leak.
IMDB Rating: 6.7
IMDB Votes: 34000
Genere: Drama, Horror, Mystery, Thriller
Country: Japan
Duration: 101 min
Plot tags: scary, psychological, atmospheric, splatter, suspenseful, disturbing, suspense, intense, creepy, slasher
Similar in 75%
Ring 0: Birthday (2000)
Plot Summary:
Taking place thirty years before the events of Ringu, Ringu 0 provides the shocking background story of how the girl on the video became a deadly, vengeful spirit.
IMDB Rating: 6.0
IMDB Votes: 10000
Genere: Horror, Mystery, Thriller
Country: Japan
Duration: 99 min
Plot tags: suspense, scary, disturbing, psychological, suspenseful, atmospheric, splatter, art house, tense, serious
Similar in 76%
Noroi (2005)
Plot Summary:
A documentary filmmaker explores seemingly unrelated paranormal incidents connected by the legend of an ancient demon called the "kagutaba.".
IMDB Rating: 6.9
IMDB Votes: 15000
Genere: Horror, Mystery, Thriller
Country: Japan
Duration: 115 min
Plot tags: scary, disturbing, tense, serious, demonic, spooky, atmospheric, slasher, twisted, mockumentary
Similar in 80%
White Noise (2005)
Plot Summary:
An architect's desire to speak with his wife from beyond the grave using EVP (Electronic Voice Phenomenon), becomes an obsession with supernatural repercussions.
IMDB Rating: 5.5
IMDB Votes: 50000
Genere: Drama, Horror, Mystery, Thriller
Country: UK, Canada, USA
Duration: 101 min
Plot tags: twist ending, scary, psychological, suspenseful, creepy, suspense, atmospheric, psychological thriller, clever, mystical
Similar in 90%
Paranormal Activity 3 (2011)
Plot Summary:
In 1988, evil begins to terrorize young sisters Katie and Kristi for the first time when an invisible entity resides in their home.
IMDB Rating: 5.8
IMDB Votes: 99000
Genere: Horror, Mystery, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 83 min
Plot tags: scary, suspense, tense, suspenseful, mockumentary, creepy, psychological, disturbing, stylized, serious
Similar in 87%
The Forest (2016)
Plot Summary:
Set in the Aokigahara Forest, a real-life place in Japan where people go to end their lives. Against this backdrop, a young American woman comes in search of her twin sister, who has mysteriously disappeared.
IMDB Rating: 4.8
IMDB Votes: 45000
Genere: Horror, Mystery, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 93 min
Plot tags: scary, enigmatic, suspenseful, atmospheric, dark, psychological, suspense, serious, spooky, psychological thriller
Similar in 78%
Paranormal Activity (2007)
Plot Summary:
After a young, middle class couple moves into a suburban 'starter' tract house, they become increasingly disturbed by a presence that may or may not be somehow demonic but is certainly most active in the middle of the night. Especially when they sleep. Or try to.
IMDB Rating: 6.3
IMDB Votes: 253000
Genere: Horror, Mystery
Country: USA
Duration: 86 min
Plot tags: scary, suspense, suspenseful, dark, atmospheric, disturbing, creepy, psychological, demonic, splatter
Similar in 78%
Grave Encounters (2011)
Plot Summary:
A crew from a paranormal reality television show lock themselves in a haunted psychiatric hospital. They search for evidence of paranormal activity as they shoot what ends up becoming their final episode.
IMDB Rating: 6.1
IMDB Votes: 63000
Genere: Horror, Mystery
Country: Canada
Duration: 92 min
Plot tags: scary, suspenseful, frightening, suspense, demonic, intense, psychological, disturbing, dark, tense
Similar in 75%
Sinister (2012)
Plot Summary:
Found footage helps a true-crime novelist realize how and why a family was murdered in his new home, though his discoveries put his entire family in the path of a supernatural entity.
IMDB Rating: 6.8
IMDB Votes: 274000
Genere: Horror, Mystery, Thriller
Country: USA, UK, Canada
Duration: 110 min
Plot tags: scary, suspense, suspenseful, tense, disturbing, twist ending, rough, dark, creepy, sinister
Similar in 90%
1408 (2007)
Plot Summary:
A man who specializes in debunking paranormal occurrences checks into the fabled room 1408 in the Dolphin Hotel. Soon after settling in, he confronts genuine terror.
IMDB Rating: 6.8
IMDB Votes: 289000
Genere: Fantasy, Horror, Mystery
Country: USA
Duration: 104 min
Plot tags: scary, suspense, psychological, suspenseful, twist ending, surprise ending, dark, confusing, creepy, atmospheric
Similar in 77%
Tetsuo, the Iron Man (1989)
Plot Summary:
Tetsuo: The Iron Man is a 1989 Japanese cyberpunk film by cult-film director Shinya Tsukamoto produced by Japan Home Video. This, his third film, is an extremely graphic but also strikingly-filmed fantasy shot in the same low-budget, underground-production style as his first two films. Revolving around the transformation of people into grotesque hybrids of flesh and metal, Tetsuo is above all an overwhelming audiovisual experience, set to a brain-pounding score by Chu Ishikawa and complemented by suitably exaggerated sound effects.
IMDB Rating: 6.9
IMDB Votes: 25000
Genere: Horror, Sci-Fi
Country: Japan
Duration: 67 min
Plot tags: psychedelic, psychotronic, surreal, disturbing, black and white, experimental, splatter, independent film, art house, atmospheric
Similar in 75%
The Cure (1997)
Plot Summary:
A wave of gruesome murders is sweeping Tokyo. The only connection is a bloody X carved into the neck of each of the victims. In each case, the murderer is found near the victim and remembers nothing of the crime. Detective Takabe and psychologist Sakuma are called in to figure out the connection, but their investigation goes nowhere.
IMDB Rating: 7.5
IMDB Votes: 21000
Genere: Crime, Horror, Mystery, Thriller
Country: Japan
Duration: 111 min
Plot tags: psychological, atmospheric, scary, tense, enigmatic, suspenseful, disturbing, neo noir, surreal, detective
Similar in 84%
The Ward (2010)
Plot Summary:
A thriller centered on an institutionalized young woman who becomes terrorized by a ghost.
IMDB Rating: 5.5
IMDB Votes: 44000
Genere: Horror, Mystery, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 89 min
Plot tags: scary, twist ending, psychological, surprise ending, tense, suspenseful, suspense, twisted, atmospheric, mind twisting
Similar in 86%
The Grudge (2004)
Plot Summary:
American nurse, Karen Davis moves to Tokyo and encounters a vengeful supernatural spirit known as The Grudge that often possesses its victims. When a series of horrifying and mysterious deaths occur – with the spirit passing its curse onto each victim - Karen must find away to break the spell before she becomes the spirit's next victim.
IMDB Rating: 5.9
IMDB Votes: 150000
Genere: Horror, Mystery, Thriller
Country: USA, Japan
Duration: 91 min
Plot tags: scary, suspenseful, psychological, creepy, atmospheric, suspense, gothic, terrifying, slasher, stylized
Similar in 76%
Shutter (2004)
Plot Summary:
A young photographer and his girlfriend discover mysterious shadows in their photographs after a tragic accident. They soon learn that you can not escape your past.
IMDB Rating: 7.0
IMDB Votes: 48000
Genere: Horror, Mystery, Thriller
Country: Thailand
Duration: 97 min
Plot tags: scary, twist ending, dark, atmospheric, suspense, surprise ending, disturbing, suspenseful, creepy, psychological
Similar in 86%
Case 39 (2009)
Plot Summary:
In her many years as a social worker, Emily Jenkins believes she has seen it all, until she meets 10-year-old Lilith and the girl's cruel parents. Emily's worst fears are confirmed when the parents try to harm the child, and so Emily assumes custody of Lilith while she looks for a foster family. However, Emily soon finds that dark forces surround the seemingly innocent girl, and the more she tries to protect Lilith, the more horrors she encounters.
IMDB Rating: 6.2
IMDB Votes: 92000
Genere: Horror, Mystery, Thriller
Country: Canada, USA
Duration: 109 min
Plot tags: scary, suspenseful, psychological, gloomy, atmospheric, serious, suspense, disturbing, psychological thriller, intense
Similar in 90%
The Orphanage (2007)
Plot Summary:
A woman brings her family back to her childhood home, which used to be an orphanage, intent on reopening it. Before long, her son starts to communicate with a new invisible friend.
IMDB Rating: 7.4
IMDB Votes: 162000
Genere: Drama, Horror, Mystery, Thriller
Country: Spain, France, Belgium
Duration: 105 min
Plot tags: scary, twist ending, psychological, surprise ending, gothic horror, atmospheric, disturbing, serious, suspense, dark
Similar in 77%
The Platform (2019)
Plot Summary:
Two people per level. An unknown number of levels. A platform with food for all of them. Are you one of those who think too much when they are up? Or of those who have no guts when they are down? If you discover it too late, you will not live out of the hole.
IMDB Rating: 7.0
IMDB Votes: 261000
Genere: Horror, Sci-Fi, Thriller
Country: Spain
Duration: 94 min
Plot tags: suspense, disturbing, psychological thriller, suspenseful, futuristic, ambiguous ending, psychological, philosophical, thought provoking, mind bending
Similar in 87%
The Others (2001)
Plot Summary:
Grace is a religious woman who lives in an old house kept dark because her two children, Anne and Nicholas, have a rare sensitivity to light. When the family begins to suspect the house is haunted, Grace fights to protect her children at any cost in the face of strange events and disturbing visions.
IMDB Rating: 7.6
IMDB Votes: 387000
Genere: Horror, Mystery, Thriller
Country: Spain, USA, France, Italy
Duration: 101 min
Plot tags: twist ending, surprise ending, scary, suspense, atmospheric, psychological, gothic, dark, enigmatic, psychological thriller
Similar in 82%
As the Gods Will (2014)
Plot Summary:
Takahata Shun's day at high school begins just as boring as ever, but it doesn't end that way. He and his classmates find themselves forced to play children's games with deadly stakes. With no idea who is behind, the only thing Shun and other students can do is keep trying to win.
IMDB Rating: 6.3
IMDB Votes: 8000
Genere: Adventure, Horror, Sci-Fi, Thriller
Country: Japan
Duration: 117 min
Plot tags: surreal, slasher, suspenseful, suspense, psychological, manga, touching, visual, cult classic, aesthetic
Similar in 87%
It Follows (2014)
Plot Summary:
For 19-year-old Jay, fall should be about school, boys and weekends out at the lake. But a seemingly innocent physical encounter turns sour and gives her the inescapable sense that someone, or something, is following her. Faced with this burden, Jay and her teenage friends must find a way to escape the horror that seems to be only a few steps behind.
IMDB Rating: 6.8
IMDB Votes: 263000
Genere: Horror, Mystery, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 100 min
Plot tags: suspenseful, psychological, scary, suspense, disturbing, atmospheric, dark, psychological horror, independent film, creepy