Best movies like The Call of Cthulhu
Last updated March 2024
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Plot Summary:
A dying professor leaves his great-nephew a collection of documents pertaining to the Cthulhu Cult. The nephew begins to learn why the study of the cult so fascinated his grandfather. Bit-by-bit he begins piecing together the dread implications of his grandfather's inquiries, and soon he takes on investigating the Cthulhu cult as a crusade of his own.
IMDB Rating: 7.1
IMDB Votes: 9000
Genere: Horror, Mystery
Country: USA
Duration: 47 min
Plot tags: scary, suspense, lovecraft, black and white, silent, stylized, suspenseful, surreal, visual, creepy
Best tv shows and movies like The Call of Cthulhu (2005):
Similar in 83%
Beyond the Wall of Sleep (2006)
Plot Summary:
Joe Slaader is a mysterious mountain man being held in the Ulster County Asylum after the brutal murder of his family. Edward Eischel, a young intern, sees something more than just an inbred monster in this new inmate, however. Instead, he sees him as the harbinger of some greater and much darker force. With bodies piling up, his job in jeopardy, and his sanity hanging in the balance he gives in to his obsession with tapping into Joe's hidden power, risking all that he has along the way.
IMDB Rating: 2.9
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Horror
Country: USA
Duration: 84 min
Plot tags: lovecraft, bleak, serious, suspenseful, non-linear, suspense, psychological
Similar in 80%
Revenge of the Dead (1983)
Plot Summary:
Stefano, a young journalist, buys a used typewriter and notices that some text is still readable on the ribbon. He manages to reconstruct the story of a scientist, Paolo Zeder, who, in the 1950s, discovered that some types of terrain have the power to revive the dead that are buried in them. Stefano's investigations bring him into contact with a group of renegade scientists who are still carrying out experiments in an effort to prove Zeder's theories.
IMDB Rating: 6.1
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Horror, Mystery
Country: Italy
Duration: 98 min
Plot tags: gothic, lovecraft, suspense, surreal, gothic horror, scary, psychological, tense, atmospheric, serious
Similar in 83%
The Dunwich Horror (1970)
Plot Summary:
A university student is pursued by a man with a demonic secret.
IMDB Rating: 5.4
IMDB Votes: 5000
Genere: Horror
Country: USA
Duration: 90 min
Plot tags: lovecraft, scary, surprise ending, satanic, atmospheric, gothic, demonic, horror comedy, creepy, cult classic
Similar in 87%
Shatterbrain (1991)
Plot Summary:
Charles Dexter Ward's wife enlists the help of a private detective to find out what her husband is up to in a remote cabin owned by his family for centuries. The husband is a chemical engineer, and the smells from his experiments (and the delivery of what appear to be human remains at all hours) are beginning to arouse the attention of neighbors and local law enforcement officials.
IMDB Rating: 6.2
IMDB Votes: 5000
Genere: Horror
Country: Canada
Duration: 108 min
Plot tags: lovecraft, detective, retro, creepy, gothic, suspense, slasher, splatter, psychological horror, cult horror
Similar in 84%
Castle Freak (2020)
Plot Summary:
After she’s permanently blinded in a tragic car accident, Rebecca receives some bizarre news: her long-lost mother has recently passed away, leaving her their family’s ancestral castle in rural Albania. Traveling to the estate with a group of friends, Rebecca hopes it will be an opportunity for her to reconnect with a past she never knew and a mother who seemingly left her behind. When mysterious events begin to occur and her friends begin to die, Rebecca must unravel the secrets of her family’s history before she too falls prey to the Castle Freak.
IMDB Rating: 4.2
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Horror, Mystery
Country: USA
Duration: 106 min
Plot tags: suspense, psychological, scary, brutal, psychotronic, lovecraft
Similar in 77%
Monster of Terror (1965)
Plot Summary:
A young man visits his fiancé's estate to discover that her wheelchair-bound scientist father has discovered a meteorite that emits mutating radiation rays that have turned the plants in his greenhouse to giants. When his own wife falls victim to this mysterious power, the old man takes it upon himself to destroy the glowing object with disastrous results.
IMDB Rating: 5.6
IMDB Votes: 4000
Genere: Mystery, Horror, Sci-Fi
Country: UK
Duration: 80 min
Plot tags: gothic, scary, suspenseful, lovecraft, suspense, grindhouse, gothic horror, classic horror, psychotronic, medical horror
Similar in 77%
The Valdemar Legacy II: The Forbidden Shadow (2010)
Plot Summary:
A group of friends discover an ancient book, the Necronomicon, the Book of the Deads. They discover that the book is a link between our world and the world of ancients creatures, older than our civilizations.
IMDB Rating: 4.6
IMDB Votes: 992
Genere: Horror, Mystery
Country: Spain
Duration: 92 min
Plot tags: gothic, lovecraft, atmospheric, scary, serious, suspenseful, suspense, dark fantasy, demonic, detective
Similar in 89%
Necronomicon: Book of Dead (1993)
Plot Summary:
H.P. Lovecraft anthology is divided into four segments: "The Library" which is the wraparound segment involving Lovecraft's research into the Book of The Dead and his unwitting release of a monster and his writing of the following horror segments "The Drowned", "The Cold", and "Whispers".
IMDB Rating: 5.8
IMDB Votes: 7000
Genere: Horror
Country: France, Japan, USA
Duration: 96 min
Plot tags: anthology, lovecraft, atmospheric, scary, psychological, gothic, suspense, dark, esoteric, creepy
Similar in 80%
The Whisperer in Darkness (2011)
Plot Summary:
Written in 1931, H.P. Lovecraft's iconic genre-bending tale of suspense and alien terrors is brought to life in the style of the classic horror films of the 1930s like Frankenstein, Dracula and King Kong. Using its Mythoscope™ process — a mix of vintage and modern techniques — the H.P. Lovecraft Historical Society expands on Lovecraft's original tale while still bringing you unparalleled authenticity. Horror and science fiction collide in the adventure of Albert Wilmarth, a folklore professor at Miskatonic University, as he investigates legends of strange creatures rumored to dwell in the most remote mountains of Vermont. Wilmarth’s investigation leads him to a discovery of horrors quite beyond anything he ever imagined, and ends in a desperate attempt to escape the remote New England hills with his life and sanity intact.
IMDB Rating: 6.5
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Mystery, Sci-Fi, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 103 min
Plot tags: lovecraft, atmospheric, scary, suspenseful, black and white, retro, suspense, creepy, serious, neo noir
Similar in 89%
Don't Be Afraid of the Dark (1973)
Plot Summary:
A young couple inherits an old mansion inhabited by small demon-like creatures who are determined to make the wife one of their own.
IMDB Rating: 6.5
IMDB Votes: 4000
Genere: Horror
Country: USA
Duration: 74 min
Plot tags: scary, atmospheric, serious, suspenseful, suspense, gothic, demonic, slasher, gothic horror, horror comedy
Similar in 79%
Dagon (2001)
Plot Summary:
A boating accident off the coast of Spain sends Paul and his girlfriend Barbara to the decrepit fishing village of Imboca. As night falls, people start to disappear and things not quite human start to appear. Paul is pursued by the entire town. Running for his life, he uncovers Imboca's secret..they worship Dagon, a monstrous god of the sea...and Dagon's unholy offspring are on the loose.
IMDB Rating: 6.2
IMDB Votes: 21000
Genere: Fantasy, Horror, Mystery
Country: Spain
Duration: 98 min
Plot tags: lovecraft, scary, atmospheric, suspense, surprise ending, suspenseful, satanic, tense, serious, dark
Similar in 88%
Dark Waters (1993)
Plot Summary:
A girl travels to an island, after the death of her father, to find out why the father funded a monestary on the island.
IMDB Rating: 6.0
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Drama, Horror, Mystery
Country: Russia, UK
Duration: 94 min
Plot tags: gothic, lovecraft, atmospheric, bleak, suspenseful, surreal, gothic horror, dark, satanic, creepy
Similar in 83%
Absentia (2011)
Plot Summary:
Tricia's husband Daniel 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.' 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. As she begins to link it to other mysterious disappearances, it becomes clear that Daniel's presumed death might be anything but 'natural.' The ancient force at work in the tunnel might have set its sights on Callie and Tricia... and Daniel might be suffering a fate far worse than death in its grasp.
IMDB Rating: 5.8
IMDB Votes: 20000
Genere: Drama, Horror, Mystery
Country: USA
Duration: 87 min
Plot tags: scary, psychological thriller, atmospheric, lovecraft, serious, suspenseful, disturbing, creepy, spooky, psychological horror
Similar in 86%
The Changeling (1980)
Plot Summary:
A man staying at a secluded historical mansion, finds his life being haunted by the presence of a spectre.
IMDB Rating: 7.2
IMDB Votes: 39000
Genere: Horror, Mystery
Country: Canada
Duration: 107 min
Plot tags: scary, atmospheric, suspense, gothic, suspenseful, creepy, spooky, disturbing, cerebral, cult classic
Similar in 84%
The Ring Two (2005)
Plot Summary:
Rachel Keller must prevent evil Samara from taking possession of her son's soul.
IMDB Rating: 5.4
IMDB Votes: 100000
Genere: Horror, Mystery
Country: USA
Duration: 110 min
Plot tags: scary, suspense, psychological, creepy, stylized, suspenseful, intense, psychological thriller, demonic, spooky
Similar in 76%
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 86%
The House of the Devil (2009)
Plot Summary:
In the 1980s, college student Samantha Hughes takes a strange babysitting job that coincides with a full lunar eclipse. She slowly realizes her clients harbor a terrifying secret.
IMDB Rating: 6.3
IMDB Votes: 50000
Genere: Horror, Mystery
Country: USA
Duration: 95 min
Plot tags: scary, suspense, atmospheric, suspenseful, psychological, satanic, disturbing, creepy, grindhouse, cult classic
Similar in 83%
Carnival of Souls (1962)
Plot Summary:
Mary Henry ends up the sole survivor of a fatal car accident through mysterious circumstances. Trying to put the incident behind her, she moves to Utah and takes a job as a church organist. But her fresh start is interrupted by visions of a fiendish man. As the visions begin to occur more frequently, Mary finds herself drawn to the deserted carnival on the outskirts of town. The strangely alluring carnival may hold the secret to her tragic past.
IMDB Rating: 7.0
IMDB Votes: 27000
Genere: Horror, Mystery
Country: USA
Duration: 78 min
Plot tags: scary, atmospheric, cult classic, gothic, surreal, independent film, black and white, dark, twist ending, psychological
Similar in 77%
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 75%
We Are Still Here (2015)
Plot Summary:
After the death of their college age son, Anne and Paul Sacchetti relocate to the snowswept New England hamlet of Aylesbury, a sleepy village where all is most certainly not as it seems. When strange sounds and eerie feelings convince Anne that her son's spirit is still with them, they invite an eccentric, New Age couple to help them get to the bottom of the mystery.
IMDB Rating: 5.7
IMDB Votes: 20000
Genere: Horror, Mystery
Country: USA
Duration: 84 min
Plot tags: dark, atmospheric, scary, suspense, slasher, suspenseful, demonic, romantic, retro, psychological
Similar in 83%
Lights Out (2016)
Plot Summary:
When Rebecca left home, she thought she left her childhood fears behind. Growing up, she was never really sure of what was and wasn’t real when the lights went out…and now her little brother, Martin, is experiencing the same unexplained and terrifying events that had once tested her sanity and threatened her safety. A frightening entity with a mysterious attachment to their mother, Sophie, has reemerged.
IMDB Rating: 6.3
IMDB Votes: 140000
Genere: Horror, Mystery
Country: USA
Duration: 81 min
Plot tags: dark, scary, creepy, psychological, suspenseful, atmospheric, spooky, surprise ending, psychotronic, suspense
Similar in 84%
The Grudge 3 (2009)
Plot Summary:
Jake, the sole survivor of The Grudge 2 massacre, is tortured by chilling visions of Kayako and Toshio that have led to his hospitalization. Jake's caretaker, Dr. Sullivan is determined to investigate his horrifying tales. She explores his Chicago home, finding another family on the brink of succumbing to the curse. It becomes clear that Jake's terrifying stories are true, and a mysterious Japanese woman may be the only hope of banishing the spirits forever...unless her plan destroys them all.
IMDB Rating: 4.6
IMDB Votes: 19000
Genere: Horror, Mystery, Thriller
Country: USA, Japan
Duration: 90 min
Plot tags: scary, slasher, suspense, suspenseful, intense, surreal, stylized, psychological, serious, creepy
Similar in 82%
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 80%
The Woman in Black (1989)
Plot Summary:
When a friendless old widow dies in the seaside town of Crythin, a young solicitor is sent by his firm to settle the estate. The lawyer finds the townspeople reluctant to talk about or go near the woman's dreary home and no one will explain or even acknowledge the menacing woman in black he keeps seeing.
IMDB Rating: 7.1
IMDB Votes: 6000
Genere: Horror, Mystery
Country: UK
Duration: 102 min
Plot tags: gothic, gothic horror, atmospheric, scary, psychological, suspenseful, creepy, terrifying, dark, slasher
Similar in 89%
The Blair Witch Project (1999)
Plot Summary:
In October of 1994 three student filmmakers disappeared in the woods near Burkittsville, Maryland, while shooting a documentary. A year later their footage was found.
IMDB Rating: 6.5
IMDB Votes: 280000
Genere: Horror, Mystery
Country: USA
Duration: 81 min
Plot tags: suspense, scary, dark, independent film, mockumentary, suspenseful, atmospheric, bleak, psychological, disturbing
Similar in 79%
In the Mouth of Madness (1994)
Plot Summary:
With the disappearance of hack horror writer Sutter Cane, all Hell is breaking loose...literally! Author Cane, it seems, has a knack for description that really brings his evil creepy-crawlies to life. Insurance investigator John Trent is sent to investigate Cane's mysterious vanishing act and ends up in the sleepy little East Coast town of Hobb's End.
IMDB Rating: 7.1
IMDB Votes: 78000
Genere: Drama, Fantasy, Horror, Mystery, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 95 min
Plot tags: psychological, surreal, atmospheric, gothic, neo noir, suspense, lovecraft, scary, suspenseful, dark
Similar in 83%
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 85%
Silent Hill (2006)
Plot Summary:
The eerie and deserted ghost town of Silent Hill draws a young mother desperate to find a cure for her only child's illness. Unable to accept the doctor's diagnosis that her daughter should be permanently institutionalized for psychiatric care, Rose flees with her child, heading for the abandoned town in search of answers – and ignoring the protests of her husband. It's soon clear this place is unlike anywhere she's ever been. It's smothered by fog, inhabited by a variety of strange beings and periodically overcome by a living 'darkness' that literally transforms everything it touches. As Rose searches for her little girl, she begins to learn the history of the strange town and realizes that her daughter is just a pawn in a larger game.
IMDB Rating: 6.5
IMDB Votes: 241000
Genere: Horror, Mystery
Country: Canada, France
Duration: 125 min
Plot tags: scary, dark, surreal, psychological, suspenseful, gothic, creepy, disturbing, gothic horror, suspense
Similar in 85%
The Ring (2002)
Plot Summary:
It sounded like just another urban legend: A videotape filled with nightmarish images, leading to a phone call foretelling the viewer's death in exactly seven days. As a newspaper reporter, Rachel Keller was naturally skeptical of the story, until four teenagers all met with mysterious deaths exactly one week after watching just such a tape. Allowing her investigative curiosity to get the better of her, Rachel tracks down the video... and watches it. Now she has just seven days to unravel the mystery of the Ring.
IMDB Rating: 7.1
IMDB Votes: 369000
Genere: Horror, Mystery
Country: USA, Japan
Duration: 115 min
Plot tags: scary, atmospheric, suspense, suspenseful, gloomy, dark, frightening, twist ending, psychological, disturbing
Similar in 83%
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