Best movies like A Holy Place
Last updated March 2024
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Plot Summary:
Sveto mesto (A Holy Place, 1990) is based on a literary classic, Nikolai Gogol's 1835 short story, 'Viy'. However, Kadijevic uses it only as a starting point for his own explorations into the dark side of eroticism. Gogol's story deals with Toma, a reluctant theology student who is forced to read the Psalms over an (un)dead girl for three nights in a row. All the while supernatural forces are trying to grab him from the Holy Circle drawn on the church floor. Kadijevic adapts and enriches 'Viy' by inventing a new backstory for the witch-girl and her father. The dead girl, Catherine (unwittingly killed in the prologue, while in the shape of a hag), is referred to as a 'saint' and her father is a harsh and unpleasant man. Kadijevic departs further from the original story, and introduces an excess of perversity and horror more reminiscent of the Anglo-American gothic than the milder Slavic attempts in a similar mode.
IMDB Rating: 7.1
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Drama, Horror
Country: Yugoslavia
Duration: 90 min
Plot tags: atmospheric, gothic, gothic horror, queer horror, creepy
Best tv shows and movies like A Holy Place (1990):
Similar in 78%
Sweet, Sweet Lonely Girl (2016)
Plot Summary:
Soon after moving in with her aging aunt Dora, Adele meets Beth, seductive and mysterious, who tests the limits of Adele's moral ground and sends her spiraling down a psychologically unstable and phantasmagoric path.
IMDB Rating: 5.4
IMDB Votes: 940
Genere: Drama, Horror, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 76 min
Plot tags: gothic, queer horror, scary, bleak, suspense, dark drama, gothic horror, queer cinema
Similar in 80%
Sex Rituals Of The Occult (1970)
Plot Summary:
Bizarre, unusual and horrifying, Sex Rituals Of The Occult will shock and delight you. Travel with us to this side of hell and learn the sensual secrets kept by the worshippers of Satan. Witness the modern masters of the dark arts as they undertake hideous violations of the flesh and soul.
IMDB Rating: 3.9
IMDB Votes: 77
Genere: Drama, Horror
Country: USA
Duration: 82 min
Plot tags: mockumentary, independent film, fake documentary
Similar in 86%
Huesera: The Bone Woman (2022)
Plot Summary:
Valeria's joy at becoming a first-time mother is quickly taken away when she's cursed by a sinister entity. As danger closes in, she's forced deeper into a chilling world of dark magic that threatens to consume her.
IMDB Rating: 6.1
IMDB Votes: 5000
Genere: Drama, Horror
Country: Mexico, Peru
Duration: 97 min
Plot tags: atmospheric, weird
Similar in 76%
Blue Blood (1974)
Plot Summary:
A debauched young aristocrat entrusts the running of his country house to Tom, the butler, on whom he depends absolutely. Before long the servant begins to dominate his master, to the alarm of the newly hired German nanny who senses sinister, demonic intent in Tom's control of the house.
IMDB Rating: 4.5
IMDB Votes: 678
Genere: Drama, Horror
Country: UK, Canada
Duration: 86 min
Plot tags: offbeat, independent film, weird
Similar in 81%
Aunt Alejandra (1980)
Plot Summary:
Old aunt Alejandra goes to live with a Mexican middle-class family; she's bitter and the children tease her and make her life miserable, but the old woman is truly a witch, and takes revenge.
IMDB Rating: 7.0
IMDB Votes: 439
Genere: Drama, Horror, Mystery
Country: Mexico
Duration: 98 min
Plot tags: gothic, gothic horror, psychological thriller
Similar in 84%
The Queen of Black Magic (1981)
Plot Summary:
A woman is seduced by and cast aside by a fickle lover. When the lover marries another woman who starts hallucinating during their wedding, she is accused of being a witch and thrown to her death over a cliff. A strange man rescues her, nurses her back to health, and is told that she must master black magic in order to exact vengeance on her tormentors. She casts a variety of spells over the populace--with the male population as her favorite target, and becomes the queen of black magic. But who, exactly, is the man, and does he have other plans?.
IMDB Rating: 6.2
IMDB Votes: 560
Genere: Drama, Horror
Country: Indonesia
Duration: 90 min
Plot tags: atmospheric, crying, psychotronic
Similar in 80%
Witchcraft VII: Judgement Hour (1995)
Plot Summary:
Will Spanner is at it again battling sex starved beautiful demon vampires in the seventh installment of this series. Will enlists the help of cops Lutz and Garner to bring down the evil vampire Martin and his beautiful erotic demonic slaves.
IMDB Rating: 2.9
IMDB Votes: 323
Genere: Horror
Country: USA
Duration: 90 min
Plot tags: psychotronic, independent film
Similar in 89%
The Wolf (1983)
Plot Summary:
In nineteenth century Poland Kacper is cursed by his wife Maryna on her deathbed. Her evil spirit then haunts him in the form of a she-wolf.
IMDB Rating: 5.9
IMDB Votes: 652
Genere: Drama, Horror
Country: Poland
Duration: 103 min
Plot tags: gothic horror, gothic, atmospheric
Similar in 86%
Night of the Werewolf (1981)
Plot Summary:
An evil witch brings back to life the infamous Elizabeth Bathory, who was executed several hundred years previously for murdering young woman and bathing in their blood.
IMDB Rating: 5.8
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Horror
Country: Spain
Duration: 92 min
Plot tags: gothic, gothic horror, suspense, classic horror, psychotronic, cult film
Similar in 85%
The She-Butterfly (1973)
Plot Summary:
Story follows young man Strahinja who is in love with a local beauty Radojka, but their relationship has an obstacle - her father Zivan, who considers Strahinja as nothing but a loser. To prove that he's able to take care of himself and his future bride, Strahinja agrees to take vacancy in village mill... But, mill is known as a place where no one meets the dawn alive.
IMDB Rating: 6.8
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Drama, Horror
Country: Yugoslavia
Duration: 63 min
Plot tags: gothic horror, gothic, splatter, spooky, phantasmagoric, surprise ending, weird, cult film
Similar in 80%
Evil Heritage (1976)
Plot Summary:
A young girl is caught up in a devil cult run by her evil uncle and cousin. She can trust no one and even people she thought were dead comes back to haunt her.
IMDB Rating: 5.2
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Drama, Horror
Country: UK
Duration: 86 min
Plot tags: grindhouse, satanic, demonic, independent film, scary, atmospheric, offbeat, serious, suspenseful, psychotronic
Similar in 86%
Lesbian Vampires (1971)
Plot Summary:
An erotic horror tale about a vixen vampiress seducing and killing women to appease her insatiable thirst for female blood.
IMDB Rating: 5.4
IMDB Votes: 5000
Genere: Drama, Horror
Country: West Germany, Spain
Duration: 89 min
Plot tags: erotic, gothic, grindhouse, atmospheric, surreal, disturbing, stylized, psychological, serious, sexy
Similar in 78%
Count Dracula (1970)
Plot Summary:
Jess Franco's version of the Bram Stoker classic has Count Dracula as an old man who grows younger whenever he dines on the blood of young maidens.
IMDB Rating: 5.6
IMDB Votes: 4000
Genere: Drama, Horror
Country: Spain, West Germany, Italy, Liechtenstein, UK
Duration: 98 min
Plot tags: gothic horror, gothic, grindhouse, cult classic, classic horror, suspense, perverse, twisted, scary, atmospheric
Similar in 86%
Witchhammer (1970)
Plot Summary:
A ruthless inquisitor spins the superstitions of local peasants into religious heresy, finding cause to accuse dozens of innocent men and women of witchcraft. The inquisitor targets nobles and merchants, whose property and goods are then confiscated. After suffering an array of medieval tortures, most of the accused confess–only to be burned alive at the stake as helpless villagers watch. With its bold and striking cinematography, the film captures scenes of both daring nudity and brutal torture.
IMDB Rating: 7.8
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Drama, History, Horror
Country: Czechoslovakia
Duration: 107 min
Plot tags: atmospheric, gothic, gothic horror, satanic, tense, thought provoking, bleak, serious, realistic, suspenseful
Similar in 87%
The Conqueror Worm (1968)
Plot Summary:
England is torn in civil strife as the Royalists battle the Parliamentary Party for control. This conflict distracts people from rational thought and allows unscrupulous men to gain local power by exploiting village superstitions. One of these men is Matthew Hopkins, who tours the land offering his services as a persecutor of witches.
IMDB Rating: 6.7
IMDB Votes: 12000
Genere: Drama, Horror
Country: UK
Duration: 86 min
Plot tags: suspenseful, bleak, disturbing, gothic, rough, atmospheric, suspense, satanic, controversial, stylized
Similar in 88%
Hungry Wives (1972)
Plot Summary:
A bored, unhappy suburban housewife gets mixed up in witchcraft and murder.
IMDB Rating: 5.6
IMDB Votes: 4000
Genere: Drama, Horror
Country: USA
Duration: 130 min
Plot tags: slasher, satanic, demonic, psychotronic, cult classic, classic horror, phantasmagoric, independent film, scary, psychological
Similar in 84%
Eyes of Fire (1983)
Plot Summary:
A preacher is accused of adultery and he and his followers are chased out of town and become stranded in an isolated forest which is haunted by the spirits of long dead Native Americans.
IMDB Rating: 6.3
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Drama, Horror, Western
Country: USA
Duration: 90 min
Plot tags: dark, slasher, anthology, indie film, independent film, tense, bleak, serious, emotional, suspenseful
Similar in 75%
Wild Flowers (2000)
Plot Summary:
Seven seemingly unconnected fairy tales - glued together only by folklore, mood, color and light - make up this Czech collection of visual poetry. The original piece of literature, written by Karel Jaromír Erben in 1853, contained twelve tales.
IMDB Rating: 7.1
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Drama, Fantasy, Horror, Mystery, Romance
Country: Czech Republic
Duration: 81 min
Plot tags: serious, dark, fairy tale, atmospheric, gothic, gothic horror, anthology, psychotronic, allegory, post modern
Similar in 85%
The Demon (1963)
Plot Summary:
Purif, a young peasant from South Italy, is suspected of being a witch possessed by a demon. All of the village is hostile to her sorcerous activity. The girl will be preserved from the community, meeting with a tragic and violent death.
IMDB Rating: 7.2
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Drama, Horror
Country: Italy, France
Duration: 98 min
Plot tags: gothic, suspense, psychological thriller, atmospheric, slasher, gothic horror, religious horror, classic horror, psychosexual thriller
Similar in 90%
Hagazussa (2017)
Plot Summary:
The dark legend of the young woman Albrun and her struggle to preserve her own sanity, and tries to explore the fine line between ancient magic, faith and madness at a time when pagan beliefs in witches and nature spirits spread fear and terror in the minds of the rural population.
IMDB Rating: 5.8
IMDB Votes: 7000
Genere: Drama, Horror
Country: Austria, Germany
Duration: 102 min
Plot tags: bleak, art house, rough, phantasmagoric, psychological thriller, atmospheric, scenic, creepy, psychological, gothic
Similar in 82%
Nazareno Cruz and the Wolf (1975)
Plot Summary:
Nazareno Cruz is the seventh son of a couple living in a high mountain village. According to a myth, a seventh son will become a wolf on nights of the full moon. Everyone in the village is relieved when this doesn't happen. The boy grows up and falls in love with a beautiful girl, Griselda. When he's 20 years old, he is visited by the Devil, who offers him the wealth of the world if he will turn his back on his love for Griselda, and if he fails to do this, he will become a wolf.
IMDB Rating: 6.9
IMDB Votes: 710
Genere: Drama, Horror, Fantasy
Country: Argentina
Duration: 92 min
Plot tags: gothic, gothic horror, psychotronic
Similar in 87%
Haunted (1995)
Plot Summary:
Professor David Ash exposes false spiritulists and mediums. He is invited to Edbrook to resolve the fears and torments within its secretive family. Soon after arriving Ash begins to doubt his own senses, and watching the strange behaviour of its residents does not make his task any easier. In time, he finds there's more to Edbrook than even he can debunk.
IMDB Rating: 6.2
IMDB Votes: 7000
Genere: Drama, Horror
Country: UK, USA
Duration: 108 min
Plot tags: gothic, scary, psychological, atmospheric, suspenseful, suspense, disturbing, surprise ending, serious, spiritual
Similar in 84%
Nosferatu the Vampyre (1979)
Plot Summary:
Ghoulish Count Dracula lures a naive estate agent, Jonathan Harker, to his decaying Transylvanian castle with the promise of easy money. But when he spies a portrait of the man's beautiful young wife Lucy, the vampire becomes obsessed and sets in motion their destruction.
IMDB Rating: 7.4
IMDB Votes: 40000
Genere: Drama, Horror
Country: West Germany, France
Duration: 107 min
Plot tags: gothic, atmospheric, bleak, enigmatic, dark, cult classic, scary, stylized, surreal, scenic
Similar in 81%
Byleth (1972)
Plot Summary:
A young man becomes obsessed with Byleth, the demon of incest, and it leads to an unhealthy infatuation with his sister.
IMDB Rating: 4.8
IMDB Votes: 459
Genere: Drama, Horror
Country: Italy
Duration: 80 min
Plot tags: suspense, naughty
Similar in 83%
Pit and the Pendulum (1961)
Plot Summary:
Francis Barnard goes to Spain, when he hears his sister Elizabeth has died. Her husband Nicholas Medina, the son of the most brutal torturer of the Spanish Inquisition, tells him she has died of a blood disease, but Francis finds this hard to believe. After some investigating he finds out that it was extreme fear that was fatal to his sister and that she may have been buried alive!.
IMDB Rating: 7.0
IMDB Votes: 16000
Genere: Drama, Horror, Mystery
Country: USA
Duration: 80 min
Plot tags: gothic horror, gothic, twist ending, scary, atmospheric, psychological, suspense, suspenseful, dark, disturbing
Similar in 82%
Viy (1967)
Plot Summary:
A young priest is ordered to preside over the wake of a witch in the church of a remote village. This means spending three nights alone with the corpse with only his faith to protect him.
IMDB Rating: 7.2
IMDB Votes: 9000
Genere: Drama, Fantasy, Horror
Country: Soviet Union
Duration: 77 min
Plot tags: suspenseful, scary, dark fantasy, serious, stylized, gothic, bleak, suspense, surreal, gothic horror
Similar in 79%
The Witch (2015)
Plot Summary:
In 1630s New England, William and Katherine lead a devout Christian life with five children, homesteading on the edge of an impassable wilderness, exiled from their settlement when William defies the local church. When their newborn son vanishes and crops mysteriously fail, the family turns on one another.
IMDB Rating: 7.0
IMDB Votes: 291000
Genere: Drama, Fantasy, Horror, Mystery, Thriller
Country: USA, Canada, UK
Duration: 92 min
Plot tags: disturbing, atmospheric, dark, suspenseful, scary, gothic, psychological, suspense, satanic, enigmatic
Similar in 75%
The Masque of the Red Death (1964)
Plot Summary:
Satan-worshiper Prince Prospero invites the local nobility to his castle for protection against an oncoming plague, the Red Death. He orders his guests to attend a masked ball and, amidst an atmosphere of debauchery and depravity, notices the entry of a hooded stranger dressed all in red. Believing the figure to be his master, Satan, Prospero is horrified at the revelation of his true identity.
IMDB Rating: 6.9
IMDB Votes: 16000
Genere: Drama, Horror
Country: USA, UK
Duration: 89 min
Plot tags: gothic, atmospheric, suspense, surreal, suspenseful, scary, grindhouse, cult classic, gothic horror, serious
Similar in 85%
Mother of Tears (2007)
Plot Summary:
An ancient urn is found in a cemetery outside Rome. Once opened, it triggers a series of violent incidents: robberies, rapes and murders increase dramatically, while several mysterious, evil-looking young women coming from all over the world are gathering in the city. All these events are caused by the return of Mater Lacrimarum, the last of three powerful witches who have been spreading terror and death for centuries. Alone against an army of psychos and demons, Sarah Mandy, an art student who seems to have supernatural abilities of her own, is the only person left to prevent the Mother of Tears from destroying Rome.
IMDB Rating: 5.0
IMDB Votes: 11000
Genere: Drama, Horror, Thriller
Country: Italy, USA
Duration: 102 min
Plot tags: suspenseful, rough, serious, stylized, suspense, psychological, satanic, gothic, dark, creepy
Similar in 79%
The Hunger (1983)
Plot Summary:
Miriam and John are an elegant couple with a dark secret: they are vampires. Feeding on human blood, Miriam has lived for over 2000 years. She gave her lover the gift of eternal life and together they hunt. But John begins aging rapidly, he seeks the help of Dr. Sarah Roberts. Miriam is immediately drawn to Sarah, desiring her as her next immortal companion.
IMDB Rating: 6.6
IMDB Votes: 29000
Genere: Drama, Horror
Country: UK
Duration: 97 min
Plot tags: gothic, dark, erotic, scary, cult classic, atmospheric, visually stunning, queer horror, visually appealing, visual