The most interesting topic of all time is horror and ghosts. The ghost or horror movies are the one that excites the viewers the most. The majority of horror movies are interesting enough to amuse the audience in all ways. So, Here are the best movies like Hereditary.
But how can we make a difference between a good or not so interesting enough horror movie, So, a good horror film is the one that keeps you up at night. But such movies are really rare nowadays and the longing for a good one can never grow old. Everyone is looking to find more movies to binge-watch.
One such supernatural horror film is Hereditary. The storyline, the realistic effects, the jump scares, and especially Toni Collette’s work in it, all add up beautifully to make it one movie to take your wits out of you. Till now it is considered to be one of the best scary movies.
Although it has become quite difficult to come across movies of the like in recent years if you are a horror fan, here is a list of 20 other horror movies similar to Heredity which are definitely a must-watch. So, to know the movies like hereditary, keep reading the article till the end.
25. The Killing Of A Sacred Deer
Nicole Kidman and Colin Farrell play a couple in the movie The Killing of a Sacred Deer. When a strange teenager named Martin starts to ingratiate himself into their lives, their world is turned upside down.
You’ll realize the ruthless psychological terror to be found once his agenda against Farrell’s character, a renowned cardiovascular surgeon, is made clear.
24. Goodnight Mommy
Hereditary’s central theme is Annie’s growing inability to understand her own identity. When she starts to sense Charlie’s presence around the house, she starts having violent nightmares about killing her own children and feels more and more cut off from her family.
Similar themes are explored in Goodnight Mommy, where two twin boys are troubled to discover their mother acting differently after having facial reconstruction surgery.
The idea of a mother torn between multiple identities is similar to that presented in that film. The film’s use of prolonged periods of total silence as well as its artistic direction were both praised by critics.
23. The Omen
The eerie young child trope, which was introduced in films like The Bad Seed and Village of the Damned, was perfected in The Omen.
Harvey Spencer Stephens portrays Damien, a young child who, unbeknownst to his wife, was substituted at birth by his father after their biological child passed away soon after birth.
22. The Others
Sometimes our parents try so hard to keep us safe that they unintentionally become the source of the threat. Alejandro Amenabar’s The Others explores the horrors and fears passed down from our ancestors, much like Hereditary, but with a more spectral bent.
An ardently religious mother who relocates her family to the English coast during World War II is portrayed in the movie by the stunning Nicole Kidman.
The Others, one of the most stylish horror films in recent memory, features a shocking twist that will leave you in disbelief and make you want to watch the movie again and again, much like Hereditary did.
21. Saint Maud
The movie is about a nurse who, after failing to save a patient’s life, develops a tremendous amount of piety. But as she becomes fixated on saving Amanda’s soul, a recovering patient under her care, her faith grows frightful.
Jump scares and body horror are expertly woven into Saint Maud’s philosophical reflections on religion, belief, trauma, and death. One of the greatest religious horror films ever made.
20. Annabelle (2014)
- Director: John R. Leonetti
- Writer: Gary Dauberman
- Cast: Annabelle Wallis, Patrick Wilson, Ward Horton, Joseph Bishara
- IMDB Ratings: 5.4/10
- Rotten Tomatoes: 29%
- Streaming Platform: Netflix
Life changes for the worse for John Form and his pregnant wife after he gifts her the Annabelle doll. A couple belonging to a cult stain Mia’s doll with blood which in turn, converts it into a conduit for all evil.
What makes Annabelle a great horror movie, just like Hereditary, is the fact that a real Annabelle doll exists and has a supernatural history associated with it. There are two other movies from the movie series but they are rather predictable and unalarming.
19. Paranormal Activity 3 (2011)
- Directors: Ariel Schulman, Henry Joost
- Writers: Oren Peli, Christopher Landon
- Cast: Katie Featherston, Chloe Csengery, Jessica Tyler Brown, Lauren Bittner
- IMDB Ratings: 5.8/10
- Rotten Tomatoes: 66%
- Streaming Platform: Netflix
A normal family of four living a pretty normal life, until unnatural things start happening around the house. The father, a wedding videographer, sets his cameras throughout the house to record unnatural occurrences.
After several unexpected experiences and their younger daughter had an imaginary friend, they are not even nearly aware of what is waiting for them. Paranormal Activity 3 is one of the better horror movies from the movie series.
Unlike Hereditary, this movie has been shot more in a documentary type mode which adds to its creepy effects.
It is scary, has jump scares and you will not see that ending coming. It’s what makes the movie so interesting and equally terrifying.
18. The Blackcoat’s Daughter (2015)
- Director: Oz Perkins
- Writers: Oz Perkins
- Cast: Emma Roberts, Kiernan Shipka, Lucy Boynton, Lauren Holly, James Remar
- IMDB Ratings: 5.9/10
- Rotten Tomatoes: 74%
- Streaming Platform: Amazon Prime Video
The next film which is a great hit on the box office as well as on the silver screen is The Blackcoat’s daughter. If you watch it, then you’ll for sure re watch it.
The story of the film follows the lives of two students. During the winter break, the two students found themselves stranded and alone in a very prestigious and renowned Catholic boarding school.
After some time they find out that in order to keep themselves alive and to survive they will have to fight and overcome a sinister presence and an evil force.
17. The Lodge
- Director: Veronika Franz, Severin Fiala
- Writer: Severin Fiala
- Cast: Riley Keough, Jaeden Martell, Lia McHugh, Alicia Silverstone, Richard Armitage.
- IMDb Rating: 6/10
- Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 74%
- Platforms Available: Netflix
The next movie in the list of movies like hereditary, we have The Lodge. The film is a scary cocktail which follows religious cult as well.
The story of the movie involves the lives of Aidan, Mia and their father. Aidan and Mia are two young kids whose mother dies by suicide. Six months after her suicide, their father takes them to a lodge which belongs to his girlfriend.
But all the things go upside down when all of them start to experience an events of strange things one by one.
16. Mama (2013)
- Director: Andrés Muschietti
- Writers: Andrés Muschietti, Barbara Muschietti, Neil Cross
- Cast: Jessica Chastain, Megan Charpentier, Javier Botet, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau
- IMDB Ratings: 6.2/10
- Rotten Tomatoes: 64%
- Streaming Platform: Amazon Prime Video
Lily and Victoria vanish into the woods the same day their parents die. However, quite mysterious, they are found alive after five years in a decaying cabin and are taken in by their uncle Lucas and his girlfriend, Annabel.
As Annabel tries to suit themself in their lives, she finds that they do not need another mother in their lives as something is taking care of them already. With a very heart-breaking ending, Mama is a great horror film to watch while you are alone.
15. Veronica (2017)
- Director: Paco Plaza
- Writer: Paco Plaza, Fernando Navarro
- Cast: Sandra Escacena, Claudia Placer, Ivan Chavero, Bruna Gonzalez
- IMDB Ratings: 6.2/10
- Rotten Tomatoes: 90%
- Streaming Platform: Netflix
Veronica and her friends plan on summoning her dead father’s spirit using an Ouija board during a solar eclipse. However, whilst the session, Veronica loses consciousness.
Soon they start understanding that instead of her father’s spirit, other evil entities might just have entered their house. Veronica is similar to Hereditary in terms of the sinister acts that follow after the dark spirits take hold of their lives and happiness.
14. Creep (2015)
- Director: Patrick Brice
- Writer: Patrick Brice
- Cast: Mark Duplass, Patrick Brice
- IMDb Rating: 6.4/10
- Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 90%
- Platforms Available: Netflix
Creep is an American psychological horror movie that is presented in the form of a found footage. With this movie the director, Patrick Brice made his debut as a director. The movie was released on June 23, 2015. The movie was a great success and after the success of the movie, a second part of the same was also released after some time. It is still one of the most famous horror movies of all time.
Talking about the plot, the movie is about Aaron who after answering an online ad enters a stranger’s house to shoot him for one day. But as soon as he enters the house, the man who is supposed to shoot makes his requests more bizarre as the day goes on.
13. The Babadook (2014)
- Director: Jennifer Kent
- Writer: Jennifer Kent
- Cast: Essie Davis, Haley McElhinney, Noah Wiseman, Daniel Henshall
- IMDB Ratings: 6.8/10
- Rotten Tomatoes: 98%
- Streaming Platform: Amazon Prime
Traumatized by the brutal death of her husband, a single mother struggles to get her child over his fear of a monster roaming in the house. But there are some sinister events going on in the house.
Will she discover it before all hell breaks loose? The Babadook is one of the better horror films of the 2000s not just because of the psychologically twisted elements in the film, but also because of the beautiful portrayal of a mother-son relationship.
Just like Hereditary, the movie has bits of family drama thrown at you as it majorly features the issues revolving inside a particular household.
12. Sinister (2012)
- Director: Scott Derrickson
- Writer: Scott Derrickson, C. Robert Cargill
- Cast: Ethan Hawke, Fred Dalton Thompson, James Ransone, Tavis Smiley
- IMDB Ratings: 6.8/10
- Rotten Tomatoes: 63%
- Streaming Platform: Netflix
When a real-life crime author spends years without a bestseller, he gets frustrated and desperate. For his latest project, he makes his family start living in a house that used to be a crime scene.
He starts investigating in and around the house and soon uncovers a set of mysterious evidence tapes. Soon he realizes, that being too ambitious might have just pushed him and his family into a lot of danger.
Sinister is a lot like Hereditary as this movie too has a series of brutal and evil-driven crimes. If you are a fan of dark murderous theories, Sinister is just the movie for you.
11. Insidious (2010)
- Director: James Wan
- Writer: Leigh Whannell
- Cast: Lin Shaye, Leigh Whannell, Patrick Wilson, Rose Byrne
- IMDB Ratings: 6.8/10
- Rotten Tomatoes: 66%
- Streaming Platform: Disney+ Hotstar
Josh and Renai panic when one of their children goes into a coma and eventually gets possessed by a spiteful spirit. Meanwhile, they also come to terms with the fact that they are living in a haunted house.
In sheer chaos and hustle, they take drastic measures to cure their son and keep the supernatural entities at bay.
Unlike the exclusive and unique story of Hereditary, Insidious does not have the best script. However, the jump scares in the movie has almost been perfectly executed and makes the movie worth watching.
There have been sequels to the movie and even though they put decent attempts to inter-connect the stories, the horror effects just completely faltered making them rather lame to the people watching them.
10. The Witch (2015)
- Director: Robert Eggers
- Writer: Robert Eggers
- Cast: Anya Taylor-Joy, Kate Dickie, Ralph Ineson, Harvey Scrimshaw
- IMDB Ratings: 6.9/10
- Rotten Tomatoes: 90%
- Streaming Platform: YouTube
The Witch is a movie based in New England in the early 17th century. A farmer and his family face turmoil as soon as their youngest son vanishes out of nowhere. Thomasin, their oldest daughter was looking after him at the time of his disappearance.
Naturally, family members start blaming her. With the growing panic and intuition, the twins of the family suspect her of black magic. The Witch is one of the best A24 movies with an unconventional storyline, much like Hereditary itself.
This type of horror movie brings into the picture the age-old traditions of witchcraft and people’s subjugation to it.
9. Midsommar (2019)
- Director: Ari Aster
- Writer: Ari Aster
- Cast: Florence Pugh, Jack Reynor, Will Poulter, Isabelle Grill
- IMDB Ratings: 7.1/10
- Rotten Tomatoes: 83%
- Streaming Platform: Amazon Prime
Another masterpiece by Toni Collette after Hereditary, Midsommar is one of the most underrated horror films as not many people have heard about it.
However, it does have one of the most unique plots with accurate horror elements to entertain and terrify you throughout the movie. It is a great A24 horror film to watch when alone.
Just like Hereditary, it has an unconventional approach towards creating an eerie atmosphere giving you chills with its unpredictability every now and then.
Dani and Christian take a trip to Sweden in order to visit their friend’s hometown at the festival of midsummer. however, what seemed like a joyous event to be a part of, soon turns into a murderous and violent experience as a Pagan cult gets involved.
8. IT (2017)
- Director: Andrés Muschietti
- Writers: Cary Joji Fukunaga, Gary Dauberman, Chase Palmer
- Cast: Finn Wolfhard, Jaeden Martell, Bill Skarsgard, Sophia Lillis
- IMDB Ratings: 7.3/10
- Rotten Tomatoes: 86%
- Streaming Platform: Amazon Prime
Doom awaits seven outcasts as a shape-shifting demon-like creature is waiting to prey on the things that each one fears the most. As they depend on each other to overcome them, Pennywise, a sadistic and murderous clown, tortures young children before feeding on them.
They must battle the evils around them. Will they be engulfed in the mess or will they make it out alive? The mysterious plot in IT will remind you about Hereditary as the film too had its fair share of family drama and mystery which made it such an entertaining watch.
If you want to experience a similar thriller and horror content, this movie would be a good start.
7. Suspiria (1997)
- Director: Dario Argento
- Writer: Dario Argento
- Cast: Stefania Casini, Flavio Bucci, Miguel Bose, Jessica Harper, Udo Kier, Joan Bennett
- IMDb Rating: 7.3/10
- Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 93%
- Platforms Available: Netflix, Amazon Prime Video
This movie which is full of horrific things involved, is an adaptation from a book named Suspiria de Profundis which is written by Thomas De Quincy. Apart from being a mysterious horror film, it follows a series of gruesome murders as well.
The story follows Suzy, a young girl who goes all the way to Germany to take admission in a renowned dance school which teaches ballet. One day when she is late and reaches late on a stormy night, no one allows her to enter. That night she sees Pat, another students from the school escaping from their. When Pat reaches her home, someone murders her.
The next day, Suzi takes admission in another ballet school but as soon as she is admitted there, she is not able to adjust. She hears some strange evil noises and often gets ill. After the death of Pat, a series of murders take place and Suzy sets on a mission to uncover the terrifying secret history of the place.
It is scary, has jump scares and you will not see that ending coming. It’s what makes the movie so interesting and equally terrifying.
6. A Quiet Place
- Director: John Krasinski
- Writer: Bryan Woods
- Cast: Emily Blunt, John Krasinski
- IMDb Rating: 7.5/10
- Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 96%
- Platforms Available: Amazon Prime Video
A Quiet Place is an American post apocalyptic horror movie which was released in 2018. The tagline of the movie says, If they hear you, They hunt you. The movie tops the list of scary movies ever made and of course due to this success of the movie, the movie was renewed for a second season.
Now coming onto the plot, as the tagline suggests, a family is stuck in a trap of some evil creatures who hunt by hearing sounds.
A trap where even if the slightest of the sound is made, they will be killed. They all should remain quiet in order to survive. And here quiet means absolute pin drop silence. Evelyn and Lee, the couple are trying their best to protect their children and find a way out of this weird and haunted situation.
5. The Conjuring (2013)
- Director: James Wan
- Writers: Chad Hayes, Carey W. Hayes
- Cast: Patrick Wilson, Vera Farmiga, Lili Taylor, Sterling Jerins
- IMDB Ratings: 7.5/10
- Rotten Tomatoes: 86%
- Streaming Platform: Amazon Prime Video
Starting the list with one of the best released horror film till now and which is a lot like hereditary. This film was a great success of the box office. The movie is a perfect movie for all the horror lovers out there. It follows the adventures of paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine warren.
In the late ’90s, a young couple worked together as paranormal investigators, or “demonologists” as they liked to call themselves, looked into matters of possession or the horror aficionados. The film is more of a psychological horror film. It is also based on a true story.
They are invited over by the Perrons once they start noticing unusual behavior around their new house. What follows is an interesting and terrifying chain of events with a really heartfelt ending. The Conjuring is a lot like Hereditary. It is one of the best horror movies available online to watch from the horror genre.
4. Get Out (2017)
- Director: Jordan Peele
- Writer: Jordan Peele
- Cast: Daniel Kaluuya, Bradley Whitford, Allison Williams, Lakeith Stanfield
- IMDB Ratings: 7.7/10
- Rotten Tomatoes: 98%
- Streaming Platform: Netflix and Disney+
Rose and Chris are deeply in happily in love. When they get away for the weekend to Rose’s parents’, they seem extremely obliging, considering Chris was meeting them for the first time.
Although he was dubious about their reaction to their interracial relationship, he gradually realizes that there is more to the family he should be worrying about. Films like Get Out deserve more appreciation and recognition from the people.
Jordan Peele has done an excellent job in putting forward unconventional concepts and creating horror films out of them.
3. Rosemary’s Baby (1968)
- Director: Roman Polański
- Writer: Roman Polański
- Cast: Mia Farrow, John Cassavettes, Sidney Blackmer, Ruth Gordon
- IMDB Ratings: 8/10
- Rotten Tomatoes: 96%
- Streaming Platform: Amazon Prime
Waifish Rosemary Woodhouse suspects that her expected child is other-worldly. She and her husband move to New York City and live in an apartment with a baleful reputation and equally ominous neighbors.
Only after the birth of her child, she comes to terms with the infernal truth of her child. Again, the family turmoil in Rosemary’s Baby is much like Hereditay’s as Hereditary too covers a lot of interior family issues.
If you are a fan of family drama merged with the horror genre, you should definitely go for this movie.
2. The Exorcist (1973)
- Director: William Friedkin
- Writers: William Friedkin
- Cast: Ellen Burstyn, Max von Sydow, Lee J. Cobb, Kitty Winn, Jack MacGowran
- IMDB Ratings: 8.1/10
- Rotten Tomatoes: 84%
- Streaming Platform: Amazon Prime Video, Netflix
Another amazing movie in the list of movies like hereditary is The Exorcist. The main feature film is Linda Blair.
The film is based on a novel of the same name which was written by William Peter Blatty. Taking into view the immense love the film received, it consists of three sequels in total.
Talking the story, the story is about a young girl named Regan who becomes a possessed girl soon after she plays with an Ouija board. When she plays with an Ouija board, a board that is known to attract evil spirits, her behavior becomes bizarre and a series of strange things follows then after.
Tensed, her mother Chris who is an actress by profession consults two priests who tell her that some dem0nic entity has taken Regan over in its control.
1. The Shining (1980)
- Director: Stanley Kubrick
- Writer: Stanley Kubrick
- Cast: Jack Nicholson, Shelley Duvall, Scatman Crothers, Danny Lloyd
- IMDb Rating: 8.4/10
- Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 85%
- Platforms Available: Amazon Prime Video
The Shining is an American film which is a psychological thriller. The film has Jack Nicholson in the lead role and is distributed by Warner Bros. The film is based on a novel of the same name written by Stephen King in 1977. The film has a very shocking ending which leaves its viewers awestruck.
The film is a family dynamics and in the film, Jack has a disturbing past and as a result, he moves in an isolated hotel with his family. But due to the isolation, he starts losing his mental peace which eventually affects his family relations.
