Movies Like Phantom of the Big Tent

If you liked Phantom of the Big Tent (1954), a horror and crime movie directed by Paul May, 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
Circus of Horrors (1960)
★ 5.9/10Also horror and crime
A plastic surgeon and his nurse join a bizarre circus to escape from the police. Here he befriends deformed women and transforms them for his "Temple of Beauty". However, when they threaten to leave, they meet with…
2
Murders in the Zoo (1933)
★ 5.9/10Also crime and horror
Dr. Gorman is a millionaire adventurer, traveling the world in search of dangerous game. His bored, beautiful, much younger wife entertains herself in the arms of other men. In turn, Gorman uses his animals to kill…
3
Clown (2014)
★ 5.8/10Also horror
A loving father finds a clown suit for his son's birthday party, only to realize the suit is part of an evil curse that turns its wearer into a killer.
4
Frank and Penelope (2022)
★ 7.3/10Also horror and crime
A tale of love and violence when a man on his emotional last legs finds a savior seductively dancing in a run-down strip club. And a life most certainly headed off a cliff suddenly becomes redirected - as everything is…
5
The Jack in the Box Rises (2024)
★ 6.6/10Also horror
When a creepy Jack-in-the-Box is discovered and opened on the grounds of an exclusive girls' school, six brave students soon enter a fight to the finish against the unleashed demon.
6
Sudden Impact (1983)
★ 6.6/10Also crime
When a young rape victim takes justice into her own hands and becomes a serial killer, it's up to Dirty Harry Callahan, on suspension from the SFPD, to bring her to justice.
7
Clown in a Cornfield (2025)
★ 6.1/10Also horror
Quinn and her father have just moved to the quiet town of Kettle Springs hoping for a fresh start. Instead, she discovers a fractured community that has fallen on hard times after the treasured Baypen Corn Syrup…
8
Grindhouse (2007)
★ 7/10Also horror
Grindhouse combines Robert Rodriguez's Planet Terror, a horror comedy about a group of survivors who battle zombie-like creatures, and Quentin Tarantino's Death Proof, an action thriller about a murderous stuntman who…
9
Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers (1988)
★ 6.2/10Also horror
Ten years after his original massacre, the invalid Michael Myers awakens on Halloween Eve and returns to Haddonfield to kill his seven-year-old niece.
10
Terrifier (2018)
★ 6.3/10Also horror
A mute maniac named Art the Clown terrorizes two friends on Halloween and everyone else who gets in his way.
11
The Jester 2 (2025)
★ 6.8/10Also horror and crime
When teen magician Max crosses paths with the sinister Jester on Halloween night, she must outsmart a supernatural killer whose magic is all too real and whose tricks always end up in blood.
12
Pet (2016)
★ 5.9/10Also horror
A man bumps into an old crush and becomes obsessed. After several failed attempts at winning her over, he kidnaps her and holds her captive underneath the animal shelter where he works.
13
The Hitcher (2007)
★ 5.9/10Also crime and horror
While driving through the New Mexico Desert during a rainy night, college students Jim Halsey and his girlfriend Grace Andrews give a ride to a hitchhiker. While in their car, the stranger proves to be a psychopath…
14
Nick of Time (1995)
★ 6.2/10Also crime
An ordinary man is suddenly forced into a plot to kill a politician in exchange for his kidnapped daughter's freedom.
15
The Hand (1981)
★ 5.8/10Also horror
Jon Lansdale is a comic book artist who loses his right hand in a car accident. The hand was not found at the scene of the accident, but it soon returns by itself to follow Jon around, and murder those who anger him.
16
Something Wicked This Way Comes (1983)
★ 6.5/10Also horror
In a small American town, a diabolical circus arrives, granting wishes for the townsfolk, but twisted as only the esteemed Mr. Dark can make them. Can two young boys overcome the worst the devil himself can deal out?
17
Stitches (2012)
★ 6.2/10Also horror
The clumsy and unfunny clown Richard "Stitches" Grindle entertains at the 10th birthday party of little Tom, but the boy and his friends play a prank with Stitches, tying his shoelaces. Stitches slips, falls and dies…
18
Night of the Living Dead (1990)
★ 6.9/10Also horror
A ragtag group barricade themselves in an old Pennsylvania farmhouse to remain safe from a horde of flesh-eating ghouls ravaging the Northeast.
19
Wire Room (2022)
★ 6/10Also crime
New recruit Justin Rosa must monitor arms-smuggling cartel member Eddie Flynn — and keep him alive at all costs. When a SWAT team descends on Flynn’s home, Rosa breaks protocol and contacts the gangster directly to…
20
The Calendar Killer (2024)
★ 6.2/10Also crime
Klara is going to die today unless she kills her husband instead. The Calendar Killer has given her that impossible choice. When Jules starts his night shift at a telephone safety helpline for lonely women on their way…