Movies Like Spine-Chilling Short Stories Kowabana

If you liked Spine-Chilling Short Stories Kowabana (2011), a horror movie directed by Yuko Aramaki and Yokoyama Kazuhiro, 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
Tomie: Rebirth (2001)
★ 7.2/10Also horror
Young art student Hideo paints an unnerving portrait of Tomie, who whispers that she loves him. Inexplicably, he reacts by stabbing her to death with a painting trowel. Two friends, Takumi and Shunichi, arrive on the…
2
The Entity (1982)
★ 6.9/10Also horror
A single mom is raped by an invisible force. Her psychiatrist believes the experience stems from childhood trauma, while she knows something supernatural is at play.
3
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.
4
Imprint (2006)
★ 6.8/10Also horror
An American journalist travels through 19th-century Japan to find the prostitute he fell in love with but instead learns of the physical and existential horror that befell her after he left.
5
Terrifier (2011)
★ 6/10Also horror
After witnessing a brutal murder on Halloween night, a young woman becomes the next target of a maniacal entity.
6
Insidious: Chapter 2 (2013)
★ 6.7/10Also horror
The haunted Lambert family seeks to uncover the mysterious childhood secret that has left them dangerously connected to the spirit world.
7
Lights Out (2016)
★ 6.4/10Also horror
Rebecca must unlock the terror behind her little brother's experiences that once tested her sanity, bringing her face to face with a supernatural spirit attached to their mother.
8
Ju-on: The Grudge (2002)
★ 6.8/10Also horror
When a social worker is sent to check on a traumatized elderly woman whose family have moved in at the site of a notorious murder case, she unwittingly unleashes a cycle of terror that transmits via its victims.
9
Ring 2 (1999)
★ 5.8/10Also horror
While investigating the horrifying death of her boyfriend, Mai Takano learns about a videotape haunted by the spirit of a disturbing girl named Sadako, which kills anyone who watches it exactly one week later. When her…
10
Never Let Go (2024)
★ 6.1/10Also horror
As an evil takes over the world beyond their front doorstep, the only protection for a mother and her twin sons is their house and their family’s protective bond.
11
Paranormal Activity (2009)
★ 6.1/10Also horror
After a young, middle-class couple moves into what seems like a typical suburban house, they become increasingly disturbed by a presence that may or may not be demonic, but is certainly the most active in the middle of…
12
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.
13
Ghostland (2018)
★ 7.4/10Also horror
A mother of two inherits a home from her aunt. On the first night in the new home she is confronted with murderous intruders and fights for her daughters’ lives. Sixteen years later the daughters reunite at the house…
14
Ichi the Killer (2001)
★ 7/10Also horror
As sadomasochistic yakuza enforcer Kakihara searches for his missing boss he comes across Ichi, a repressed and psychotic killer who may be able to inflict levels of pain that Kakihara has only dreamed of.
15
Dust Bunny (2025)
★ 6.7/10Also horror
Ten-year-old Aurora asks her hitman neighbor to kill the monster under her bed that she claims ate her family. To protect her, he must battle an onslaught of assassins while accepting that some monsters are real.
16
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.
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
Ju-on: The Curse (2000)
★ 6.8/10Also horror
When elementary school teacher Kobayashi investigates the absence of one of his young pupils from the classroom, he finds himself at the doorstep of an anonymous suburban house that harbours a horrible secret, and into…
19
Other Mommy (2026)
★ 5.8/10Also horror
Young Bela forms a relationship with a sinister entity in her home that looks uncannily like her own mother, drawing her into a terrifying and increasingly dark world.
20
Talk to Me (2023)
★ 7.1/10Also horror
When a group of friends discover how to conjure spirits using an embalmed hand, they become hooked on the new thrill, until one of them goes too far and unleashes terrifying supernatural forces.