12 Movies Like When Evil Lurks You Need to Watch

Craving movies like When Evil Lurks? Explore 12 eerie horror, thriller, drama, and mystery picks, including Starve Acre, The Nun II, and more.

12 Movies Like When Evil Lurks You Need to Watch

If you want movies like When Evil Lurks, the best picks mix dread, grief, and the sense that something rotten is spreading just out of sight. This list brings together recent horror, drama, thriller, and mystery titles that lean into that same uneasy atmosphere, from the folk-horror ache of Starve Acre and the supernatural panic of It Lives Inside to the grim religious terror of The Nun II. You’ll also find sharper, more mischievous scares in The Jester and Killer Book Club, plus the unsettling intimacy of Violett and Bark. Each one offers a different angle on fear, but they all keep the tension close and the consequences personal.

  1. 01

    Violett

    ★ 4.82023Movie

    horror

    In a rural Australian town, a sick Mother fears unspeakable evil will soon snatch her 11 year old daughter, Violett. As bizarre visions and disturbing characters from the neighborhood emerge, Sonya is about to discover more than just one grisly truth.

    Directed by Steven J. MihaljevichCast Georgia Eyers, Angela Punch McGregor, Sam Dudley, Valentina Blagojevic, Simon Lockwood
    Amazon Prime Video
  2. 02

    Starve Acre

    ★ 5.42023Movie

    drama · horror

    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.

    Directed by Daniel KokotajloCast Matt Smith, Morfydd Clark, Arthur Shaw, Erin Richards, Robert Emms
    AMC+
  3. 03

    It Lives Inside

    ★ 5.22023Movie

    drama · horror · thriller

    Desperate to fit in at school, Sam rejects her Indian culture and family to be like everyone else. However, when a mythological demonic spirit latches onto her former best friend, she must come to terms with her heritage to defeat it.

    Directed by Bishal DuttaCast Megan Suri, Neeru Bajwa, Mohana Krishnan, Betty Gabriel, Vik Sahay
    Hulu
  4. 04

    The Nun II

    ★ 5.62023Movie

    horror · mystery · thriller

    In 1956 France, a priest is violently murdered, and Sister Irene begins to investigate. She once again comes face-to-face with a powerful evil.

    Directed by Michael ChavesCast Taissa Farmiga, Jonas Bloquet, Storm Reid, Anna Popplewell, Bonnie Aarons
    Max
  5. 05

    Bark

    ★ 5.32023Movie

    horror · thriller

    Charismatic Nolan Bentley wakes up in the middle of a remote forest, tied to a tree with no recollection of how he got there. With his time relentlessly running out, a mysterious stranger appears and he must finally reckon with the demons of his past and fight to survive to find a way out of his nightmare.

    Directed by Marc SchölermannCast Michael Weston, A.J. Buckley, Crazy Horse, Lennon Sickels, Ricky Watson
    Amazon Prime Video
  6. 06

    Killer Book Club

    ★ 4.62023Movie

    horror · thriller

    Eight horror-loving friends fight for their lives when a killer clown who seems to know the grim secret they share begins to pick them off, one by one.

    Directed by Carlos Alonso OjeaCast Veki Velilla, Álvaro Mel, Priscilla Delgado, Iván Pellicer, Hamza Zaidi
    Netflix
  7. 07

    The Jester

    ★ 3.92023Movie

    horror · mystery · thriller

    A malevolent being known as The Jester terrorizes the inhabitants of a small town on Halloween night, including two estranged sisters who must come together to find a way to defeat this evil entity.

    Directed by Colin KrawchukCast Michael Sheffield, Lelia Symington, Delaney White, Matt Servitto, Lena Janes
    AMC+
  8. 08

    Satanic Hispanics

    ★ 5.82022Movie

    horror

    When police raid a house in El Paso, they find it full of dead Latinos, and only one survivor. He’s known as The Traveler, and when they take him to the station for questioning, he tells them those lands are full of magic and talks about the horrors he’s encountered in his long time on this earth, about portals to other worlds, mythical creatures, demons and the undead. Stories about Latin American legends.

    Directed by Alejandro Brugués, Mike Mendez, Gigi Saul Guerrero, Eduardo Sánchez, Demián RugnaCast Efren Ramirez, Greg Grunberg, Sonya Eddy, Lombardo Boyar, Mark Steger
    AMC+
  9. 09

    Frewaka

    ★ 6.12024Movie

    horror

    Care worker Shoo, who is haunted by a personal tragedy, is sent to a remote village to care for an agoraphobic woman, who fears both her neighbours and the Na Sídhe – sinister folkloric entities she believes abducted her decades before.

    Directed by Aislinn ClarkeCast Bríd Ní Neachtain, Clare Monnelly, Aleksandra Bystrzhitskaya, Olga Wehrly, Grace Collender
    AMC+
  10. 10

    Night Shift

    ★ 5.52023Movie

    horror · thriller

    A young woman working her first night shift at a remote motel begins to suspect that she is being followed by a dangerous character from her past. As the night progresses and increasingly supernatural events occur, she quickly finds out that nothing is what it appears to be.

    Directed by Benjamin China, Paul ChinaCast Phoebe Tonkin, Madison Hu, Lamorne Morris, Christopher Denham, Patrick Fischler
    Hulu
  11. 11

    Suitable Flesh

    ★ 5.32023Movie

    drama · horror · thriller

    A once-esteemed psychiatrist helplessly watches her life spiral into a nightmarish maelstrom of supernatural hysteria and gruesome deaths, all linked to a seemingly unstoppable ancient curse.

    Directed by Joe LynchCast Heather Graham, Judah Lewis, Bruce Davison, Johnathon Schaech, Barbara Crampton
    AMC+
  12. 12

    The Severed Sun

    ★ 5.12024Movie

    horror

    Magpie lives in an isolated church community ruled over by her father, The Pastor. When a man is murdered, paranoia sets in and people start to whisper about a strange 'Beast' that lives in the forest.

    Directed by Dean PuckettCast Toby Stephens, Emma Appleton, Barney Harris, Lewis Gribben, Oliver Maltman
    Amazon Prime VideoAMC+

Wrapping Up

Whether you came for demonic chaos, slow-burn tension, or a story that leaves you thinking after the credits, these picks give you plenty to explore beyond When Evil Lurks. The mix of horror, drama, thriller, and mystery here makes it easy to match your mood, whether you want something bleak, supernatural, or just deeply unsettling. Bookmark this page and come back when you need another strong recommendation. We update it regularly so the lineup stays fresh as new titles arrive.

Frequently Asked Questions

What makes these movies similar to When Evil Lurks?

These picks were matched by tone, themes, and story style using a similarity model trained on plot synopses, genres, and cast — not just shared genre tags — so the connection runs deeper than a simple category match.

Last updated: September 9, 2026