Movies Like Elf on the Shelf

If you liked Elf on the Shelf (2021), a horror movie directed by Christian Ruvalcaba, here are 20 movies with a similar feel, based on TMDB's recommendations. Each one links to its cast, trailer and where it's streaming.

1
Succubus (2024)
★ 8.3/10Also horror
A new father going through a marital separation joins a dating app and matches with a beautiful but mysterious young woman... whose powers of seduction and manipulation entangle him in a mystery more horrifying than he…
2
Vicious (2025)
★ 6/10Also horror
When Polly receives a mysterious box, it comes with one rule: place inside something she needs, something she hates, and something she loves. If she doesn’t obey, it will consume everything—and everyone—she’s ever known.
3
Whisper (2007)
★ 6.3/10Also horror
Sinister things begin happening to kidnappers who are holding a young boy for ransom in a remote cabin.
4
Bagman (2024)
★ 6.1/10Also horror
For centuries and across cultures, parents have warned their children of the legendary Bagman, who snatches innocent children and stuffs them into his vile, rotting bag—never to be seen again. Patrick McKee narrowly…
5
Home Sweet Home: Rebirth (2025)
★ 5.9/10Also horror
When a city is overrun with a demonically-possessed crowd, a cop must find the source of evil to save his family.
6
Dark Harvest (2023)
★ 6.1/10Also horror
In a small Midwestern town, a deadly annual ritual unfolds when the mythical nightmare, Sawtooth Jack, rises from the cornfields and challenges the town’s teenage boys in a bloody battle of survival.
7
Saint Catherine (2024)
★ 6.2/10Also horror
An orphaned girl is rescued from a satanic ritual and taken to Saint Catherine Institute for homeless youth. There she will learn new skills while facing demons that stalk her.
8
They Reach (2020)
★ 6.8/10Also horror
In 1979, a young girl stumbles upon a possessed tape player. She unknowingly unleashes a demonic entity that haunts her family while slowly dragging the small town of Clarkston to Hell.
9
Abduction (2019)
★ 6.1/10Also horror
A man steps out of a park fountain in Ho Chi Minh City with no recollection of who he is or where he came from. As he wanders through the city, piecing together clues to his past, he is relentlessly pursued by…
10
Uncanny Annie (2019)
★ 6/10Also horror
On Halloween night a group of college students get trapped in a mysterious board game that brings their darkest secrets and fears to life, where they must play to escape…and win to survive.
11
Play Dead (2025)
★ 6.3/10Also horror
A woman wakes up injured in a basement surrounded by corpses. To survive, she pretends to be dead while a grotesque ritual unfolds in the house above.
12
Play Dead (2022)
★ 6.1/10Also horror
Criminology student Chloe fakes her own death to break into a morgue, in order to retrieve a piece of evidence that ties her younger brother to a crime gone wrong. Once inside, she discovers that a sadistic coroner is…
13
The Car (1977)
★ 6.4/10Also horror
The Utah community of Santa Ynez is being terrorized by a mysterious black coupe that appears out of nowhere and begins running people down. After the car kills off the town sheriff, Captain Wade Parent is determined…
14
The Signal (2007)
★ 5.9/10Also horror
A horror film told in three parts, from three perspectives, in which a mysterious transmission that turns people into killers invades every cell phone, radio, and television.
15
Abigail Haunting (2020)
★ 6.7/10Also horror
After escaping the clutches of an abusive relationship, Katie reluctantly returns to the foster home she grew up in. Little does she know, her foster mother Marge is harboring a sinister secret dating back a decade…
16
The Boy Behind the Door (2020)
★ 6.2/10Also horror
Bobby tries to save himself and his best friend when they are kidnapped on their way home from school.
17
The Deliverance (2024)
★ 6/10Also horror
Ebony Jackson, a struggling single mother fighting her personal demons, moves her family into a new home for a fresh start. But when strange occurrences inside the home raise the suspicions of Child Protective Services…
18
Silver Bullet (1985)
★ 6.7/10Also horror
The small city of Tarker's Mills is startled by a series of sadistic murders. The population fears the work of a maniac, but sightings of a mysterious, hairy creature soon spread. People lock themselves up at night…
19
Curve (2016)
★ 6.9/10Also horror
Clinging to a smooth, curved surface high above a sentient abyss, a woman tries to cover the few feet back to safety without losing purchase and falling to her death.
20
Insidious (2011)
★ 7/10Also horror
A family discovers that dark spirits have invaded their home after their son inexplicably falls into an endless sleep. When they reach out to a professional for help, they learn things are a lot more personal than they…