Movies Like Circus of Dread

If you liked Circus of Dread (2012), a drama and horror movie directed by Mark Savage, 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
Something Wicked This Way Comes (1983)
★ 6.5/10Also mystery and 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?
2
Castle Freak (1996)
★ 6.1/10Also drama and horror
John Reilly discovers that his family's newly inherited castle in Italy is haunted by a relentless, bloodthirsty creature.
3
The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It (2021)
★ 7.3/10Also horror and mystery
Paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren encounter what would become one of the most sensational cases from their files. The fight for the soul of a young boy takes them beyond anything they'd ever seen before…
4
Santa Sangre (1989)
★ 7.2/10Also horror and drama
A former circus artist escapes from a mental hospital to rejoin his armless, cult leader mother, and is forced to enact brutal murders in her name.
5
The Surrender (2025)
★ 5.9/10Also drama and horror
A fraught mother-daughter relationship is put to a terrifying test when the family patriarch dies, and the grieving mother hires a mysterious stranger to bring her husband back from the dead.
6
Frankenstein (2025)
★ 7.6/10Also drama and horror
Dr. Victor Frankenstein, a brilliant but egotistical scientist, brings a creature to life in a monstrous experiment that ultimately leads to the undoing of both the creator and his tragic creation.
7
Freaks (1932)
★ 7.8/10Also drama and horror
A circus' beautiful trapeze artist agrees to marry the leader of side-show performers, but his deformed friends discover she is only marrying him for his inheritance.
8
The Eyes of My Mother (2016)
★ 6.2/10Also drama and horror
A young, lonely woman is consumed by her deepest and darkest desires after tragedy strikes her quiet country life.
9
Clown in a Cornfield (2025)
★ 6.1/10Also horror and mystery
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…
10
An American Crime (2007)
★ 7.3/10Also drama and horror
The true story of suburban housewife Gertrude Baniszewski, who kept a teenage girl locked in the basement of her Indiana home during the 1960s.
11
Carnival of Souls (1962)
★ 7/10Also horror and mystery
Mary Henry ends up the sole survivor of a fatal car accident through mysterious circumstances. Trying to put the incident behind her, she moves to Utah and takes a job as a church organist. But her fresh start is…
12
The Deep End of the Ocean (1999)
★ 6.6/10Also drama and mystery
A three-year-old boy disappears during his mother's high school reunion. Nine years later, by chance, he turns up in the town in which the family has just relocated.
13
Let Me In (2010)
★ 6.8/10Also drama and horror
A bullied young boy befriends a young female vampire who lives in secrecy with her guardian. A remake of the movie “Let The Right One In” which was an adaptation of a book.
14
Paranormal Activity: Next of Kin (2021)
★ 6.1/10Also horror and mystery
Margot is a documentary filmmaker looking to meet her long-lost mother and extended family in a secluded Amish community. She and her film crew soon realize the family that welcomes them into their home might be hiding…
15
The New Kids (1985)
★ 6.3/10Also drama and horror
A brother and his young sister come to a small town to find out a local gang terrorizes the population.
16
It Chapter Two (2019)
★ 6.8/10Also horror and drama
27 years after overcoming the malevolent supernatural entity Pennywise, the former members of the Losers' Club, who have grown up and moved away from Derry, are brought back together by a devastating phone call.
17
Pinocchio: Unstrung (2026)
★ 6.5/10Also horror and mystery
Influenced by a sinister Cricket and created by Geppetto, Pinocchio launches a violent crusade to carve himself into a real boy like his brother James, one piece at a time.
18
The Serpent's Egg (1977)
★ 6.2/10Also mystery and drama
In 1923 Berlin, following the suicide of his brother, an American acrobat struggles to survive while facing unemployment, depression, alcoholism, and the social decay of Germany during the Weimar Republic.
19
Fear Street: 1994 (2021)
★ 6.7/10Also horror and mystery
After a series of brutal slayings, a teen and her friends take on an evil force that's plagued their notorious town for centuries.
20
Starve Acre (2024)
★ 6/10Also horror and drama
When their son starts acting strangely, a couple unwittingly allow dark and sinister forces into their home, awakening a long-dormant ancient evil rooted deep in the countryside.