Chilling Movies Like The Witch That Master Slow Burn Horror

Hereditary shares with The Witch a slow-burn descent into family trauma and occult horror, using atmosphere and dread over jump scares. Like The Witch, it focuses on isolation, inherited evil, and religious paranoia.

Following the death of the Leigh family matriarch, Annie and her children uncover disturbing secrets about their heritage. Their daily lives are not only impacted, but they also become entangled in a chilling fate from which they cannot escape, driving them to the brink of madness. Hereditary is a movie from United States of America in English, with a total 2h 8m runtime, released in 2018 with an average rating of 7.3 by 8,318 people. The movie made an estimated total of $87,796,204 in the box office.

Midsommar echoes The Witch through its folk-horror roots, ritualistic terror, and unsettling pagan mythology. Fans of The Witch will recognize the same sense of inevitability and cult-driven menace.

Several friends travel to Sweden to study as anthropologists a summer festival that is held every ninety years in the remote hometown of one of them. What begins as a dream vacation in a place where the sun never sets, gradually turns into a dark nightmare as the mysterious inhabitants invite them to participate in their disturbing festive activities. Midsommar is a movie from United States of America in English, with a total 2h 27m runtime, released in 2019 with an average rating of 7.2 by 7,833 people. The movie made an estimated total of $48,498,408 in the box office.

The Lighthouse pairs psychological unraveling with folklore and superstition, much like The Witch. Its oppressive setting and archaic tone mirror the existential horror found in The Witch.

Two lighthouse keepers try to maintain their sanity while living on a remote and mysterious New England island in the 1890s. The Lighthouse is a movie from United States of America in English, with a total 1h 49m runtime, released in 2019 with an average rating of 7.5 by 5,383 people. The movie made an estimated total of $18,262,464 in the box office.

Hagazussa is one of the closest spiritual companions to The Witch, depicting medieval isolation, misogyny, and pagan fear. It channels the same bleak folk-horror atmosphere that defines The Witch.

In the 15th century, a young goatherd living alone in a mountain hut feels a dark presence in the woods. Hagazussa is a movie from Austria in German, with a total 1h 42m runtime, released in 2018 with an average rating of 5.7 by 256 people.

Kill List blends realism with occult terror, gradually shifting into folk horror reminiscent of The Witch. Its shocking final act mirrors The Witch’s embrace of ritualistic evil.

Nearly a year after a botched job, a hitman takes a new assignment with the promise of a big payoff for three killings. What starts off as an easy task soon unravels, sending the killer into the heart of darkness. Kill List is a movie from United Kingdom in English, with a total 1h 35m runtime, released in 2011 with an average rating of 6.2 by 844 people. The movie made an estimated total of $450,275 in the box office.

Apostle shares The Witch’s themes of religious extremism, rural isolation, and pagan violence. Both films explore faith twisted into horror within closed communities.

In 1905, a man travels to a remote island in search of his missing sister who has been kidnapped by a mysterious religious cult. Apostle is a movie from United Kingdom in English, with a total 2h 9m runtime, released in 2018 with an average rating of 6.1 by 1,532 people.

The Ritual draws on ancient folklore and malevolent forest mythology, similar to The Witch. Its creeping dread and nature-based horror align strongly with The Witch’s tone.

A group of college friends reunite for a trip to the forest, but encounter a menacing presence in the woods that's stalking them. The Ritual is a movie from United Kingdom in English, with a total 1h 34m runtime, released in 2017 with an average rating of 6.3 by 3,314 people. The movie made an estimated total of $1,786,396 in the box office.

The Wicker Man is a foundational folk-horror film that heavily influenced The Witch. Both examine pagan rituals, belief systems, and the terror of cultural outsiders.

Police sergeant Neil Howie is called to an island village in search of a missing girl whom the locals claim never existed. The investigation is further complicated as Howie’s religious views clash with those of the island’s residents. The Wicker Man is a movie from United Kingdom in English, with a total 1h 33m runtime, released in 1973 with an average rating of 7.3 by 1,572 people. The movie made an estimated total of $885,371 in the box office.

The Babadook mirrors The Witch in using horror as a metaphor for psychological and familial collapse. Like The Witch, it relies on atmosphere and symbolism over explicit scares.

A single mother, plagued by the violent death of her husband, battles with her son's fear of a monster lurking in the house, but soon discovers a sinister presence all around her. The Babadook is a movie from Australia in English, with a total 1h 34m runtime, released in 2014 with an average rating of 6.5 by 6,291 people. The movie made an estimated total of $10,300,000 in the box office.

Gretel & Hansel is a direct fairy-tale folk horror that visually and thematically echoes The Witch. Its bleak forests, witchcraft themes, and slow pacing appeal to fans of The Witch.

A long time ago in a distant fairy tale countryside, a young girl leads her little brother into a dark wood in desperate search of food and work, only to stumble upon a nexus of terrifying evil. Gretel & Hansel is a movie from United States of America in English, with a total 1h 27m runtime, released in 2020 with an average rating of 6.0 by 1,522 people. The movie made an estimated total of $22,304,357 in the box office.

The Dark and the Wicked channels the same oppressive dread and religious fatalism found in The Witch. Both films emphasize hopelessness, isolation, and demonic influence.

On a secluded farm in a nondescript rural town, a man is slowly dying. His family gathers to mourn, and soon a darkness grows, marked by waking nightmares and a growing sense that something evil is taking over the family. The Dark and the Wicked is a movie from United States of America in English, with a total 1h 35m runtime, released in 2020 with an average rating of 6.2 by 517 people. The movie made an estimated total of $736,153 in the box office.

The Blackcoat's Daughter shares The Witch’s wintry isolation, satanic undertones, and slow-building terror. It evokes the same cold, nihilistic atmosphere that defines The Witch.

Two young women at a prestigious prep school are assailed by an evil, invisible power when they're stranded over winter break. The Blackcoat's Daughter is a movie from Canada in English, with a total 1h 34m runtime, released in 2017 with an average rating of 5.9 by 751 people. The movie made an estimated total of $143,545 in the box office.

A Dark Song aligns with The Witch through its serious treatment of occult rituals and uncompromising tone. Both portray the spiritual cost of engaging with dark forces.

A determined young woman and a damaged occultist risk their lives and souls to perform a dangerous ritual that will grant them what they want. A Dark Song is a movie from Ireland in English, with a total 1h 40m runtime, released in 2016 with an average rating of 6.3 by 522 people.

It Comes at Night reflects The Witch’s paranoia-driven horror and fear of the unknown. Like The Witch, it blurs the line between external evil and internal collapse.

Secure within a desolate home as an unnatural threat terrorizes the world, a man has established a tenuous domestic order with his wife and son, but this will soon be put to test when a desperate young family arrives seeking refuge. It Comes at Night is a movie from United States of America in English, with a total 1h 31m runtime, released in 2017 with an average rating of 5.9 by 2,558 people. The movie made an estimated total of $19,280,931 in the box office.

Pyewacket explores adolescent vulnerability and witchcraft, making it a modern companion to The Witch. Its focus on rituals and consequences echoes The Witch’s themes.

A frustrated, angry teenage girl awakens something in the woods when she naively performs an occult ritual to invoke a witch to kill her mother. Pyewacket is a movie from Canada in English, with a total 1h 28m runtime, released in 2017 with an average rating of 5.9 by 334 people. The movie made an estimated total of $166,610 in the box office.

The Witch in the Window directly references folk-horror traditions similar to The Witch. It combines rural isolation, supernatural presence, and emotional restraint.

When Simon brings his twelve year-old son, Finn, to rural Vermont to help flip an old farmhouse, they encounter the malicious spirit of Lydia, a previous owner. And now with every repair they make – she's getting stronger. The Witch in the Window is a movie from United States of America in English, with a total 1h 16m runtime, released in 2018 with an average rating of 6.1 by 252 people.

The Devils examines religious hysteria and repression, themes central to The Witch. Both films critique how faith and fear can breed monstrous outcomes.

Father Urbain Grandier’s unorthodox views of sex and religion make him a polarizing figure in 17th-century France. His outspokenness has amassed a passionate following of nuns and a respected reputation for protecting the city of Loudon from corruption. Grandier’s influence is then undermined following a sexually repressed nun’s accusation of witchcraft. The Devils is a movie from United Kingdom in English, with a total 1h 54m runtime, released in 1971 with an average rating of 7.4 by 411 people. The movie made an estimated total of $11,000,000 in the box office.

The Wailing blends folklore, shamanism, and demonic possession, resonating with The Witch’s exploration of cultural belief and supernatural dread.

A stranger arrives in a little village and soon after a mysterious sickness starts spreading. A policeman is drawn into the incident and is forced to solve the mystery in order to save his daughter. The Wailing is a movie from South Korea in Korean, with a total 2h 36m runtime, released in 2016 with an average rating of 7.4 by 1,962 people. The movie made an estimated total of $49,851,770 in the box office.

The Blair Witch Project shares The Witch’s minimalist approach, rural folklore, and unseen evil. Both rely on suggestion and atmosphere to create terror.

In October of 1994 three student filmmakers disappeared in the woods near Burkittsville, Maryland, while shooting a documentary. A year later their footage was found. The Blair Witch Project is a movie from United States of America in English, with a total 1h 21m runtime, released in 1999 with an average rating of 6.4 by 5,274 people. The movie made an estimated total of $248,639,099 in the box office.

The Other Lamb closely mirrors The Witch in its portrayal of patriarchal cults, religious control, and female awakening. Fans of The Witch will recognize the same thematic DNA.

For her entire life, the cult she was born into has been all that teenage Selah has known. Along with a band of similarly cloistered young women she lives seemingly unstuck in time, cut off from modern society in a remote forest commune presided over by a man called Shepherd, a controlling, messiah-like figure with a frightening dark side. But when her insular world is rocked by a series of nightmarish visions and disturbing revelations, Selah begins to question everything about her existence—including her allegiance to the increasingly dangerous Shepherd. The Other Lamb is a movie from Ireland in English, with a total 1h 37m runtime, released in 2020 with an average rating of 5.7 by 225 people.