15 Horror Movies Like Barbarian To Watch Next

In 2022, former sketch comedian Zach Cregger — then only known by pretty niche audiences for his group "Whitest Kids U Know" — released his first horror feature, "Barbarian," with Georgina Campbell, Bill Skarsgård, and Justin Long at the helm. Immediately, horror fans and cinephiles alike realized Cregger is a genuinely talented writer and director, thanks to the way he uses misdirection, pacing, and a bunch of particularly well-placed jokes to make "Barbarian" one of the most surprising directorial debuts in recent memory, telling the story of a young woman (Campbell) who arrives at a short-term house rental only to find another guest (Skårsgard) already there. (Amazingly, that's just the setup; "Barbarian" takes some massive twists and turns throughout its 102 minute run time.) So if you've already watched "Barbarian," what should be next on your queue?

From low-budget indie horror to other entries in the "sketch comedian turned horror director" pipeline to some absolutely unhinged horror flicks with the craziest twists around, here's a perfect watchlist for you to check out after the credits roll on "Barbarian." 

In 2025, Zach Cregger returned for his sophomore effort with "Weapons," and handily proved that "Barbarian" was no fluke — and that, with a bigger budget and concept, Cregger can take his visions to new heights. In voiceover as the film begins, we learn that 17 children ran from their homes at 2:17 one random morning and nobody knows why, or where the kids went; parents like Archer Graff (Josh Brolin) are immediately suspicious of Justine Gandy (Julia Garner), the teacher whose class housed all 17 of those kids. The only kid left, Alex Lilly (outstanding newcomer Cary Christopher), doesn't seem to know why they're the only two left behind, and using point-of-view chapters like in Paul Thomas Anderson's "Magnolia," Cregger deftly weaves different stories together until we learn what exactly happens to those kids.

Anchored by Garner, Brolin, Christopher, and a barn-burning performance from industry veteran Amy Madigan — as well as stunning turns from Benedict Wong, Alden Ehrenreich, and Austin Abrams — "Weapons" is one of the very best movies of 2025 according to critics and audiences alike. Don't miss this if you loved "Barbarian."

Before Zach Cregger confirmed that sketch comedians make particularly good horror directors, Jordan Peele, another sketch legend (thanks to his series "Key & Peele" alongside Keegan Michael-Key), won a freakin' Oscar for his feature directorial debut "Get Out." The movie — which netted best original screenplay for Peele and also earned nominations for best picture and its star Daniel Kaluuya — introduces us to Chris Washington (Kaluuya), a guy who's a little apprehensive about going away with his girlfriend Rose Armitage (Allison Williams) to meet her parents Missy and Dean (Catherine Keener and Bradley Whitford). Instead of being weird about their daughter dating a Black man, Missy and Dean are almost too welcoming, and the longer Chris stays at the house, the more unnerved and suspicious he becomes regarding the Armitage family and their true motives.

If you've never seen "Get Out," we will not spoil it here — but suffice to say it's one of the best modern horror films around, and Peele's talents paved the way for Cregger. Watch "Get Out," and you'll immediately want to start it again to catch everything you missed.

Jordan Peele's second film "Us" is also great, but less funny than scary; thankfully, his third film "Nope" put the writer-director's wry sense of humor front and center and reunited him with Daniel Kaluuya. As Otis "OJ" Haywood Jr. (Kaluuya) and his sister Emerald (Keke Palmer) keep selling off horses trained for film and TV productions to keep their family ranch afloat, they make a startling discovery one night when something that sure looks like a UFO can be spotted near their house. Determined to get the "Oprah shot" and sell the video footage for a lot of money, Emerald concocts a plan to capture the unidentified flying object on camera ... only for OJ, Emerald, and nearby theme park owner and former child actor Ricky "Jupe" Park (Steven Yeun) to discover it's definitely not a UFO.

"Nope" is gross, funny, filled with bizarre twists and turns, and ultimately satisfying like "Barbarian" — and Palmer, in particular, delivers an astonishingly great performance. Follow up "Barbarian" and "Get Out" with "Nope."

Released the same year as "Barbarian" by mind-bending writer director Alex Garland, "Men" — another movie on this list with a name that's weirdly hard to Google — stars Jessie Buckley as Harper Marlowe, a woman who tragically lost her husband James (played in flashbacks by Paapa Essiedu) and decides to go on vacation to a remote English village to deal with her grief. We do learn that James was a difficult and even violent man and that Harper was planning to pursue a divorce, intensifying her conflicted feelings about his death; as she deals with her emotions, she's also unnerved by the owner of the cottage she's renting, Geoffrey (Rory Kinnear). To make matters weirder, she keeps seeing strange figures, especially men, "observing" her throughout the town.

By the time everyone starts resembling Geoffrey, you know you're in for a treat, but "Men" still has one deranged trick left up its sleeve. If you loved the absolutely bonkers reveal of "Barbarian," you'll absolutely adore the bizarre, audacious conclusion of "Men."

Written and directed by Osgood Perkins — son of "Psycho's" Anthony Perkins and veteran of "Legally Blonde," strangely enough — "Longlegs" isn't just a great vehicle for late-state Nicolas Cage, but a genuinely wild and horrifying thrill ride. In the mid-1990s, FBI agent Lee Harker (Maika Monroe) is asked to investigate brutal deaths in Oregon wherein fathers killed their families before dying by suicide, all of whom left behind notes signed "Longlegs" in unfamiliar handwriting. As Lee delves into the case alongside her superior William Carter (Blair Underwood), she discovers that every family affected by this had a daughter born on the 14th of any given month who was 9-years-old at the time of her death, and also discovers an unexpected personal connection to the murders.

With Cage as the titular Longlegs — a serial killer who worships Satan — delivering a deliciously messed-up performance and all of the ghosts Perkins hides in the corners of shots, "Longlegs" is a blast. Add it to your watchlist after "Barbarian."

A remake of the Dutch movie of the same name released in 2022, director James Watkins' 2024 take on "Speak No Evil" assembles an all-star cast to tell this troubling tale. As American family Louise, Ben, and Agnes Dalton (Mackenzie Davis, Scoot McNairy, and Alix West Lefler) enjoy a European vacation, they meet another couple, Paddy and Ciara (James McAvoy and Aisling Franciosi) and their son Ant (Dan Hough). After accepting an invitation to stay with Paddy, Ciara, and Ant, Louise, Ben and Agnes grow increasingly concerned, especially as Paddy's behavior gets stranger and stranger ... and start to wonder why Ant can't speak.

McAvoy is particularly unsettling as the movie's main antagonist Paddy, and even if you've seen the Dutch movie, it's still definitely worth it to check out "Speak No Evil." Plus, if you liked the "AirBnB arrangement gone wrong" aspect of "Barbarian," this will be right up your alley.

James Wan is one of the most well-known names in horror these days, and that's thanks in large part to bold, terrifying projects like "Malignant." Decades after a patient named Gabriel kills multiple people at a hospital, we catch up with a young woman named Madison Mitchell (Annabelle Wallis), who's suffered multiple pregnancy losses and struggles with a cruel husband named Derek (Jake Abel). When Derek is found dead, Madison is questioned and ultimately let go due to lack of evidence, but when other people start dying, Madison, who was adopted at 8-years-old and has zero memory of life before that, is forced to ask some uncomfortable questions ... and discovers some truly horrifying information about the circumstances of her birth. Specifically, Madison learns she was born a twin, but if you think you know what that means just from that piece of information, you're sorely mistaken.

To call the twist in "Malignant" absolutely insane is an understatement, but if you already loved "Barbarian," you'll be blown away by this one too. Just be warned: this one is significantly more gross, visually, than "Barbarian."

A horror film from scary movie master and "Spider-Man" director Sam Raimi, "Drag Me to Hell" centers around Alison Lohman's Christine Brown, a bank loan officer who's angling for a promotion and, in the process, denies a loan to a downtrodden woman named Sylvia Ganush (Lorna Raver). In retaliation, Sylvia, a woman of mysterious Eastern European descent who appears to possess sinister powers, puts a curse on Chrstine. Though Christine is understandably skeptical at first, increasingly horrifying things start happening to her ... and when Christine learns that Sylvia has died, she has no idea how to reverse this curse known as the "Lamia," or the Black Goat curse, which tortures its victims with hallucinations and visions before living up to the movie's title and dragging them directly to hell.

Yes, "Drag Me to Hell" is the movie where Lohman's character famously barfs up a bunch of maggots, but it's also a truly scary, surprising, and wild horror movie that definitely helped inspire works like "Barbarian." Oh, and here's some connective tissue: Justin Long appears in both movies.

If you've ever considered spelunking or cave-diving — or you were intrigued by the underground tunnels discovered in "Barbarian" — give "The Descent" a try, although you'll almost definitely decide against that aforementioned cave-diving. Written and directed by Neil Marshall, "The Descent" centers around six women who decide to spelunk in mountains in the Applachian Mountain Range in North Carolina, although early in their journey, one of their number, Juno (Natalie Mendoza), reveals that she's actually brought them to an entirely uncharted section of the caves. This doesn't seem like a good omen, and it's not; before long, the women start facing mortal danger and racking up injuries, knowing full well that rescue crews won't find them.

"The Descent" is a famously creepy, horrifying movie with an absolute knockout of an ending and a heart-pounding race to the finish as the women try to escape the violent "crawlers" they encounter in these abandoned caves. If "Barbarian" wasn't dark enough for you, try "The Descent."

Damian McCarthy's Irish horror film "Oddity" made a splash when it released in 2024, and for good reason: this innovative, super-scary horror movie is truly one-of-a-kind. After Dani Odello-Timmis (Carolyn Bracken), wife of a psychiatrist named Ted Timmis (Gwilym Lee), is found dead in her home — and is assumed to have been killed by one of Ted's violent patients, who's also found dead in the aftermath — Dani's twin sister Darcy (also Bracken), a blind medium and curiosity shop owner, is surprised when Ted visits her at her store in Cork. After Ted gives Darcy a glass eye that belonged to that violent patient (which she requested for a reading), Ted thinks the matter is over and done with ... until Darcy shows up at his house while he's spending time with his new girlfriend Yana (Caroline Menton). To say Darcy acts strangely at Ted's house is a huge understatement, and things only devolve from there.

"Oddity" was one of the most pleasant horror surprises of 2024, and if you loved how creative "Barbarian" was, you'll love this one too. Just be ready for an incredibly wild — and genuinely scary — ride.

In writer-director Trey Edward Shults's 2017 horror film "It Comes at Night," we're shown a world ravaged by disease where Paul, Sarah, and their son Travis (Joel Edgerton, Carmen Ejogo, and Kelvin Harrison Jr.) live in isolation to try to avoid contracting it. After Sarah's father does get this unnamed disease and die, Paul discovers an intruder, whose name is Will (Christopher Abbott), on the family's property; when Will claims that he's just trying to find clean water for his wife Kim (Riley Keough) and son Andrew (Griffin Robert Faulkner), Paul, Sarah, and Travis reluctantly allow the newcomers to stay in their house to avoid the apparently extremely contagious spread of disease.

We'll warn you, very quickly, that this movie depicts violence against a dog, so we do understand if you loved "Barbarian" and want to skip this one. Still, "It Comes at Night" is a gripping, totally original, claustrophobic horror movie that would pair perfectly with something like "Barbarian."

One of the scariest homegrown horror movies in recent memory, Kyle Edward Ball's 2022 directorial feature debut "Skinamarink" was shot in a quiet Canadian home for a shoestring budget of around $15,000 and became one of the most unlikely successes that year in horror after making a whopping $2 million at the box office. So what is "Skinamarink?" It's hard to describe, actually, but perhaps the best way to go about it is "every child's nightmare." After 4-year-old Kevin (Lucas Paul) returns home from the hospital after an injury, strange things start happening, observed by both Kevin and his sister Kaylee (Dali Rose Tetreault). Doors move onto the ceiling, the TV is playing eerie cartoons, a toilet in a bathroom vanishes, and Kevin and Kaylee's mother and father (Jaime Hill and Ross Paul) are behaving very strangely, to say the least. As Kevin tries to navigate his house at night, the horrors only intensify.

"Skinamarink" is not for the faint of heart, but it's an astounding effort made smartly on a tiny budget. Watch it if you dare ... and you'll never look at a Fisher-Price phone the same way again.

In 2024, "A Quiet Place" writers Scott Beck and Bryan Woods gave us the horror-thriller "Heretic," led by a wonderfully creepy Hugh Grant as a man who welcomes two Mormon missionaries, Sister Barnes ("Yellowjackets" alum Sophie Thatcher) and Sister Paxton (Chloe East) into his home. Though they hesitate at first at the idea of being alone with a man, Grant's Mr. Reed insists that his wife is just inside putting the finishing touches on a blueberry pie and they shouldn't worry; assauged by that, the Sisters go inside.

Much like in "Barbarian," you'll be shocked and horrified when you learn what exactly lurks underneath the house at the center of "Heretic," and Grant's performance as the secretly sinister but seemingly sweet Mr. Reed is one of the best he's delivered in years (besides his turn in "Paddington 2"). "Heretic" is baffling, funny, dabbles in the supernatural, and will shock you — just like "Barbarian."

Sure, M. Night Shyamalan's body of work is the very definition of "hit or miss," but his 2015 film "The Visit" is genuinely fun ... and it'll definitely remind you of "Barbarian" when it comes to two specific things (creepy old people and cases of mistaken identity). Despite the fact that Loretta Jamison (the always wonderful Kathryn Hahn) hasn't spoken to her parents in years, she sends her kids Becca and Tyler (Olivia DeJonge and Ed Oxenbould) to stay with them for a few days; when Becca and Tyler get there and "reunite" with Nana and Pop-Pop (Deanna Dunagan and Peter McRobbie), they notice the two are acting really weird. Turns out, those people are not Loretta's parents, and Becca and Tyler are in serious danger.

"The Visit" is an absolutely unhinged movie that provides plenty of scares, twists, and turns but also, like "Barbarian," features a main character (two, really) who's resourceful enough to escape the clear and present danger. Pair "Barbarian" with "The Visit" for a pretty perfect double feature.

The second film on this list to star scream queen Maika Monroe, David Robert Mitchell's 2014 movie "It Follows" is one of the more unconventional horror movies ever made, casting Monroe as a college student named Jay Height enjoying a night out with her boyfriend Hugh (Jake Weary). After the two share an intimate experience, Hugh reveals something genuinely horrifying: he's passed a supernatural curse to Jay through sex, and she needs to sleep with another person in order to pass on the curse and avoid being killed. (Think of the cursed video in "The Ring," but dirtier.)

Monroe is absolutely excellent as Jay, who now needs to seek out a sexual partner that she knows she'll kill unless they keep passing this curse on to other people, and even though "It Follows" is plenty scary, it's also wryly funny and even cheeky at times, which makes sense when you consider this movie's absolutely bonkers plot. "Barbarian" will have you on the edge of your seat by the end, and so will "It Follows."