Films like The Shining
15 picks with a similar feel
What defines The Shining, going by its Boxlist taste profile: Otherworldly and dark: a serious horror film, fresh rather than familiar. Best if you like edge over warmth. Its strongest markers on Boxlist are themes of self-destruction, troubled leads and social commentary, plus tags such as caretaker, delusion and montana.
Here are 15 films with a similar feel, ranked by how closely they match that profile. Treat them as picks to try, not a definitive list.
Based on The Shining (1980).
- 1
The Lighthouse (2019)
Film7.5
Why it's like The Shining: Also weighty and dark, with themes of self-destruction and troubled leads. Common ground: psychological horror, isolation.
- 2
Black Swan (2010)
Film7.6
Why it's like The Shining: Also weighty and inventive, with themes of self-destruction and troubled leads. Common ground: psychological horror, psychological thriller.
- 3
mother! (2017)
Film7.0
Why it's like The Shining: Also weighty and dark, with themes of troubled leads and mysteries that are not what they seem. Common ground: psychological horror, writer.
- 4
Us (2019)
Film7.0
Why it's like The Shining: Also heightened and dark, with themes of troubled leads and mysteries that are not what they seem. Common ground: psychological horror, psychological thriller.
- 5
Midsommar (2019)
Film7.1
Why it's like The Shining: Also heightened and weighty, with themes of self-destruction and troubled leads. Common ground: psychological horror.
- 6
Jacob's Ladder (1990)
Film7.4
Why it's like The Shining: Also weighty and dark, with themes of self-destruction and troubled leads. Common ground: psychological horror.
- 7
Suspiria (1977)
Film7.6
Why it's like The Shining: Also heightened and weighty, with themes of troubled leads and mysteries that are not what they seem. Common ground: psychological horror.
- 8
Hereditary (2018)
Film7.2
Why it's like The Shining: Also heightened and dark, with themes of troubled leads and mysteries that are not what they seem. Common ground: psychological horror.
- 9
In the Mouth of Madness (1995)
Film7.2
Why it's like The Shining: Also heightened and weighty, with themes of self-destruction and troubled leads.
- 10
Enemy (2013)
Film6.9
Why it's like The Shining: Also heightened and weighty, with themes of self-destruction and troubled leads. Common ground: delusion.
- 11
Film7.3
Why it's like The Shining: Also heightened and weighty, with themes of self-destruction and troubled leads. Common ground: psychological horror.
- 12
Deep Red (1975)
Film7.8
Why it's like The Shining: Also heightened and weighty, with themes of troubled leads and mysteries that are not what they seem. Common ground: psychological horror.
- 13
Antichrist (2009)
Film6.7
Why it's like The Shining: Also heightened and dark, with themes of troubled leads and mysteries that are not what they seem. Common ground: psychological thriller.
- 14
Get Out (2017)
Film7.6Lighter option
Why it's like The Shining: Also heightened and dark, with themes of troubled leads and social commentary. Common ground: psychological horror, psychological thriller.
- 15
The Silence of the Lambs (1991)
Film8.3
Why it's like The Shining: Also dark and weighty, with themes of troubled leads and mysteries that are not what they seem. Common ground: psychological thriller.
Boxlist compares The Shining with every film in its catalogue on ten taste scores (pace, tone, weight, realism and more), story themes, genres and TMDB keywords, and ranks the closest. Every pick has a TMDB rating of 6.7 or more from at least 1,000 votes, new releases wait until their ratings settle, and only one title per franchise makes the list. It is an approximation of feel, so treat it as a starting point. Ratings are TMDB audience scores out of 10.
Which of these suit you?
Take the taste test and every pick shows how well it matches you.
Take the taste testQuestions
- What should I watch if I like The Shining?
- Picks with a similar feel include The Lighthouse, Black Swan, mother! and Us. Each shares part of The Shining's taste profile, themes or tags; the full list has 15 films.
- How are these films like The Shining chosen?
- Boxlist compares The Shining with every film in its catalogue on ten taste scores (pace, tone, weight, realism and more), story themes, genres and TMDB keywords, and ranks the closest. Every pick has a TMDB rating of 6.7 or more from at least 1,000 votes, new releases wait until their ratings settle, and only one title per franchise makes the list. It is an approximation of feel, so treat it as a starting point.
- Is there a lighter film like The Shining?
- Get Out has a similar feel but scores lighter on Boxlist's weightiness scale.