Best movies like The Spiral Staircase
Last updated March 2024
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Plot Summary:
People are trapped in a house with a killer.
IMDB Rating: 5.0
IMDB Votes: 403
Genere: Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Country: Canada, USA
Duration: 88 min
Plot tags: enigmatic, psychological, suspense, suspenseful, psychotronic
Best tv shows and movies like The Spiral Staircase (2000):
Similar in 81%
Isle of Darkness (1997)
Plot Summary:
Julie is a young and newly qualified teacher from Copenhagen, Denmark. Fed up with her unfaithful boyfriend and big city life, she takes a job as a teacher on an idyllic island in southern Norway. Julie finds it difficult to be accepted in the closed-net community of the island. Slowly but surely, she discovers that the idyllic island hides many dark secrets.
IMDB Rating: 5.0
IMDB Votes: 511
Genere: Horror, Thriller, Mystery
Country: Norway, Denmark
Duration: 83 min
Plot tags: surprise ending
Similar in 81%
Dark Water (2001)
Plot Summary:
The story of a young man who, through a series of surreal visions, comes to believe that he is a serial killer targeting pedophiles.
IMDB Rating: 5.1
IMDB Votes: 202
Genere: Crime, Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Country: Canada
Duration: 92 min
Plot tags: surreal, psychological, suspense, suspenseful, bleak, independent film
Similar in 89%
Strange But True (2019)
Plot Summary:
A woman surprises the family of her deceased boyfriend by telling them she's pregnant with his child.
IMDB Rating: 5.9
IMDB Votes: 5000
Genere: Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Country: Canada
Duration: 96 min
Plot tags: suspense, enigmatic, captivating, suspenseful, disturbing, psychological, philosophical, dark
Similar in 80%
While the Children Sleep (2007)
Plot Summary:
A prosperous couple find the perfect live-in nanny but soon discover she intends to do her job to deadly perfection.
IMDB Rating: 4.9
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 90 min
Plot tags: psychological, suspense, serious, suspenseful, slasher, psychological thriller, sexy
Similar in 82%
Cold Moon (2016)
Plot Summary:
Cold Moon takes place in tiny Babylon, Fla., where the granddaughter of Clark’s character is murdered by a mysterious assailant, her body sunk into the black waters of the Styx River — the river where her parents disappeared from their boat a decade earlier. Suspicion falls on a duplicitous banker and his wealthy father, played by Stewart and Lloyd.
IMDB Rating: 4.6
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Horror, Mystery, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 87 min
Plot tags: dark, enigmatic, suspenseful, disturbing, atmospheric, road movie
Similar in 87%
Meeting Evil (2012)
Plot Summary:
Follows disillusioned young family man John as a mysterious stranger, Richie takes him on a murder-fueled ride that transforms the weak-willed John into a desperate hero willing to go to any length to protect his family.
IMDB Rating: 5.3
IMDB Votes: 13000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 89 min
Plot tags: suspenseful, serious, enigmatic, suspense, psychological thriller, neo noir, mystic, twisted, realistic, independent film
Similar in 85%
Grey Lady (2017)
Plot Summary:
A Boston police officer goes to Nantucket to investigate the murder of his partner, but he finds more than he bargained for.
IMDB Rating: 4.3
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 107 min
Plot tags: psychological, captivating, suspense, disturbing
Similar in 86%
The Lost Angel (2005)
Plot Summary:
Slight off-balance police inspector Palmer (Alison Eastwood) works with Father Brian (Judd Nelson) to solve for a religion-based killer, while she deals with her teen-aged goth sister.
IMDB Rating: 3.8
IMDB Votes: 440
Genere: Thriller
Country: Canada, USA
Duration: 99 min
Plot tags: suspense, scary, psychological, rough, serious, realistic, suspenseful
Similar in 77%
Memory (2006)
Plot Summary:
Dr. Taylor Biggs is haunted by a past that's not his own. A hallucinatory drug gives him the power to see visions of vicious crimes, visions made all that more disturbing when he discovers that the murderous memories may belong to the father he never knew . Biggs's mother, whose own failing memory makes her powerless to help him unravel his family history.
IMDB Rating: 5.2
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Drama, Horror, Mystery, Thriller
Country: Canada, USA
Duration: 98 min
Plot tags: psychological, serious, suspenseful, disturbing, exciting, psychological thriller, suspense
Similar in 87%
Sins of the Preacher (2013)
Plot Summary:
After the apparent suicide of her daughter, a woman tries to prove that her son-in-law killed her.
IMDB Rating: 5.4
IMDB Votes: 343
Genere: Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 87 min
Plot tags: disturbing, tense, enigmatic, captivating, suspense, rough, mind bending, serious, realistic, suspenseful
Similar in 89%
Eye of the Beholder (1999)
Plot Summary:
A reclusive surveillance expert is hired to spy on a mysterious blackmailer, who just may be a serial killer.
IMDB Rating: 5.0
IMDB Votes: 16000
Genere: Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Country: Canada, UK, Australia, USA
Duration: 109 min
Plot tags: psychological, sexy, enigmatic, melancholic, suspenseful, erotic, surreal, neo noir, psychotronic, action drama
Similar in 84%
Borkmann's Point (2005)
Plot Summary:
Van Veeteren finds retiring from the police force is easier said than done when two decapitated bodies are found in quick succession. The matching MO in the two grisly murders brings the investigation teams of Maardam and Kaalbringen together - a collaboration that is not without its problems.
IMDB Rating: 5.8
IMDB Votes: 447
Genere: Crime, Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Country: Sweden
Duration: 87 min
Plot tags: serious, suspenseful, bleak, suspense, realistic
Similar in 89%
Swallow, Cat, Rose, Death (2006)
Plot Summary:
What's in a name but murder? Münster comes across the strangled body of a young woman in her home and surprises the murderer who is still on the premises. Though the murderer escapes, a rare book is found at the scene with a dedication by the killer. When another victim is uncovered, Van Veeteren's literary expertise is put to the test as it becomes clear they are dealing with a serial murderer who kills using names taken from 19th century crime novels. Which name will he use for his next victim?.
IMDB Rating: 5.9
IMDB Votes: 428
Genere: Crime, Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Country: Sweden
Duration: 86 min
Plot tags: tense, captivating, suspense, psychological, rough, serious, realistic, suspenseful
Similar in 82%
Hide (2011)
Plot Summary:
A Boston detective investigates the mummified remains of six women, based on a novel by Lisa Gardner.
IMDB Rating: 5.3
IMDB Votes: 752
Genere: Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 88 min
Plot tags: serious, realistic, suspenseful, enigmatic
Similar in 86%
See No Evil (1971)
Plot Summary:
In the English countryside, Sarah Rexton (Mia Farrow), recently blinded in a horse riding accident, moves in with her uncle's family and gallantly adjusts to her new condition, unaware that a killer stalks them.
IMDB Rating: 6.6
IMDB Votes: 4000
Genere: Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Country: UK
Duration: 88 min
Plot tags: slasher, suspense, scary, psychological, suspenseful, pastoral, serious, realistic, psychotronic, exciting
Similar in 89%
Cyberstalker (2012)
Plot Summary:
After spending several years in seclusion, a woman encounters the stalker who murdered her parents over a decade ago, and fears she may be his latest victim when he starts to cyber-stalk her.
IMDB Rating: 4.0
IMDB Votes: 777
Genere: Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Country: Canada
Duration: 92 min
Plot tags: psychological, serious, suspenseful, tense, captivating, suspense, realistic
Similar in 75%
The River King (2005)
Plot Summary:
Abel Grey is sent to investigate the death of a boy from an exclusive local school, who is found floating in the river. Fearing scandal, the school insists it was suicide. But after discovering from the boy's girlfriend, Carlin, that he was being badly bullied, Abel suspects that a dangerous schoolboy initiation has gone horribly wrong and he secretly solicits the help of a sympathetic teacher, Betsy. He is warned off the investigation by his boss, as the school is a generous benefactor to the Police benevolent fund. Abel, however, cannot let the case go, not only because his own brother committed suicide years before, but also it seems that the spirit of the dead boy is leaving them clues as to what really happened that night.
IMDB Rating: 5.7
IMDB Votes: 4000
Genere: Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Country: Canada, UK
Duration: 99 min
Plot tags: serious, suspenseful, enigmatic, suspense, disturbing, psychological thriller, creepy
Similar in 82%
I Dream of Murder (2006)
Plot Summary:
Johanna is a therapist on the verge of a midlife crisis. When one of her patients is found brutally murdered, she takes it upon herself to solve the mystery. But why is this stressed-out shrink willing to risk her marriage, her career and her entire life to solve the crime? As the case unravels, so do the dark inner demons that Johanna has been trying to hide for the past 20 years!.
IMDB Rating: 4.7
IMDB Votes: 151
Genere: Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Country: USA, Canada
Duration: 95 min
Plot tags: psychological, tense, suspense, captivating, serious, realistic, suspenseful, detective
Similar in 81%
Haven't We Met Before? (2002)
Plot Summary:
Based on the novel by Mary Higgins Clark. Under hypnosis, a mental patient admits to several recent murders. He also offers a strange defense when he claims that he is the reincarnation of a 19th century man who was wrongly executed.
IMDB Rating: 5.3
IMDB Votes: 309
Genere: Crime, Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Country: Canada, USA
Duration: 90 min
Plot tags: tense, serious, suspenseful, detective, realistic
Similar in 80%
Brigham City (2001)
Plot Summary:
Wes Clayton is a lawman and a bishop in a Mormon community called Brigham. The town is shaken when a woman from California is found murdered. Clayton and his young deputy work with an FBI agent sent to investigate. As a civil and spiritual leader in the frightened town, Clayton must uncover the town's deepest secrets, find the murderer and keep Brigham from ripping itself apart.
IMDB Rating: 6.8
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Mystery
Country: USA
Duration: 119 min
Plot tags: suspenseful, tense, enigmatic, suspense, serious, independent film, mind bending, suspense thriller, realistic, light
Similar in 85%
Clue (1985)
Plot Summary:
Clue finds six colorful dinner guests gathered at the mansion of their host, Mr. Boddy -- who turns up dead after his secret is exposed: He was blackmailing all of them. With the killer among them, the guests and Boddy's chatty butler must suss out the culprit before the body count rises.
IMDB Rating: 7.2
IMDB Votes: 107000
Genere: Comedy, Crime, Mystery, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 94 min
Plot tags: surprise ending, humorous, parody, funny, black comedy, witty, hilarious, captivating, suspense, mind bending
Similar in 79%
The Mourning (2015)
Plot Summary:
20 years after going MIA in Desert Storm, Aaron returns home under mysterious conditions, not having aged since his disappearance, and must reestablish relationships with loved ones before an imminent return to an ambiguous other-worldly existence.
IMDB Rating: 3.7
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 106 min
Plot tags: mystical, psychological, tense, enigmatic, captivating, suspense, disturbing, mysterious
Similar in 76%
Rampage (1987)
Plot Summary:
Rampage delves into the subject of legal insanity, so often the default defense in modern-time gruesome crime trials. Alex McArthur plays an outwardly normal guy who goes on incredible killing and mutilating sprees until (and even after, when he escapes for a short time) he's captured. When he comes to trial, the liberal DA (Michael Biehn) is torn between his own leftist leanings and the reality of the heinous crimes for which the accused is being tried. He must argue for the death penalty.
IMDB Rating: 6.2
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 97 min
Plot tags: christmas horror, cult classic, action thriller, independent film, psychological, rough, bleak, serious, realistic, suspenseful
Similar in 87%
The Night Stalker (2016)
Plot Summary:
An account of serial killer Richard Ramírez and his rampage in California during the mid-1980s.
IMDB Rating: 5.8
IMDB Votes: 897
Genere: Crime, Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 89 min
Plot tags: psychological, tense, rough, suspense, slasher, suspenseful, psychological horror, psychotronic
Similar in 78%
Twin Peaks: The Missing Pieces (2014)
Plot Summary:
The long-awaited missing pieces from the original version of the film – nearly an hour-and-a-half of deleted/alternate scenes from Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me – often referred to as the “holy grail” of Twin Peaks fandom.
IMDB Rating: 7.6
IMDB Votes: 12000
Genere: Drama, Horror, Mystery, Thriller
Country: France, USA
Duration: 91 min
Plot tags: enigmatic, psychological, disturbing, scary, mysterious, detective, cult classic, independent film, post modern
Similar in 79%
Thorne: Sleepyhead (2010)
Plot Summary:
Thorne Sleepyhead: follows DI Tom Thornes investigation into a mysterious serial killer. His first three victims ended up dead. His fourth was not so fortunate. Alison Willetts is unlucky to be alive. She has survived a stroke, deliberately induced by manipulation of pressure points on the head and neck. She can see, hear and feel, she is aware of everything going on around her, but she is unable to move or communicate. In leaving Alison alive, the police believe the killer's made his first mistake.
IMDB Rating: 6.7
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Country: UK, Australia, Canada, USA
Duration: 44 min
Plot tags: tense, serious, suspenseful, psychological, captivating, suspense, dark, detective, scary, realistic
Similar in 75%
A Near Death Experience (2008)
Plot Summary:
Ellie suffers a strong shock to discover that, after suffering a near-death experience, can hear voices from beyond. He soon realizes that it is a gift with which you can help others.
IMDB Rating: 5.1
IMDB Votes: 394
Genere: Drama, Horror, Mystery, Thriller
Country: Canada, USA
Duration: 89 min
Plot tags: tense, captivating, psychological, suspense, scary, rough, mind bending, serious, realistic, suspenseful
Similar in 87%
Awakened (2013)
Plot Summary:
Samantha believes that her father murdered her mother. In her exhausting search for the truth about her young mother's untimely death 14 years earlier, Samantha receives help from beyond the grave.
IMDB Rating: 3.4
IMDB Votes: 480
Genere: Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 111 min
Plot tags: tense, serious, suspenseful, suspense, psychological, captivating, independent film, psychotronic
Similar in 76%
Gone but Not Forgotten (2005)
Plot Summary:
An Oregon woman vanishes. In her wake remains a single black rose & a note reading gone but not forgotten. Now a man stands accused: a private eye has gone missing: a detective knows more than she lets on: & a tough female attorney has entered a web of duplicity revenge & multiple murder.
IMDB Rating: 6.1
IMDB Votes: 705
Genere: Crime, Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 150 min
Plot tags: tense, realistic, psychological, serious, suspenseful
Similar in 90%
The Woman in the Window (2021)
Plot Summary:
An agoraphobic woman living alone in New York begins spying on her new neighbors only to witness a disturbing act of violence.
IMDB Rating: 5.7
IMDB Votes: 81000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 100 min
Plot tags: psychological, suspense, suspenseful, captivating, dark, disturbing, thrilling, enigmatic, unusual plot structure, confusing