Movies Like Maniac (1934)

Maniac is a 1934 horror film from Dwain Esper with a MovieMagicScore of 3.8/10. Here are 20 similar films, ranked by real viewer ratings — starting with Island of Lost Souls and The Man with Nine Lives.

Horror

Island of Lost Souls

1932

An obsessed scientist conducts profane experiments in evolution, eventually establishing himself as the self-styled demigod to a race of mutated, half-human abominations.

6.9

MagicScore

The Man with Nine Lives

1940

Dr. Leon Kravaal develops a potential cure for cancer, which involves freezing the patient. But an experiment goes awry when authorities believe Kravaal has killed a patient. Kravaal freezes the officials, along with himself. Years later, they are discovered and revived in hopes that Kravaal can indeed complete his cure. But human greed and weakness compound to disrupt the project.

6.2

MagicScore

Beyond the Black Rainbow

2010

Deep within the mysterious Arboria Institute, a disturbed and beautiful girl is held captive by a doctor in search of inner peace. Her mind controlled by a sinister technology. Silently, she waits for her next session with deranged therapist Dr. Barry Nyle. If she hopes to escape, she must journey through the darkest reaches of The Institute, but Nyle wonʼt easily part with his most gifted and dangerous creation.

5.7

MagicScore

The Mad Ghoul

1943

A university chemistry professor experiments with an ancient Mayan gas on a medical student, turning the would-be surgeon into a murdering ghoul as part of a plan to steal his lover.

5.9

MagicScore

House of Dracula

1945

A scientist working on cures for rare afflictions, such as a bone softening agent made from molds to allow him to correct the spinal deformity of his nurse, finds the physical causes of lycanthropy in wolf-man Larry Talbot and of vampirism in Count Dracula, but himself becomes afflicted with homicidal madness while exchanging blood with Dracula.

5.5

MagicScore

The Devil's Rejects

2005

The murderous, backwoods Firefly family take to the road to escape the vengeful Sheriff Wydell, who is not afraid of being as ruthless as his target.

6.8

MagicScore

The Head

1959

A scientist invents a serum that keeps a dog's head alive after its body dies. When the scientist dies of a heart attack, his crazed assistant cuts off his head and, using the serum, keeps the doctor's head alive and forces it to help him on an experiment to give his hunchbacked nurse assistant a new body.

4.9

MagicScore

The Ape

1940

Dr. Bernard Adrian is a kindly scientist who seeks to cure a young woman's polio. He needs human spinal fluid to complete the formula for his experimental serum. Meanwhile, a vicious circus ape has broken out of its cage, and is terrorizing the townspeople. Can there be a connection?

4.8

MagicScore

Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde

2008

Dr. Henry Jekyll is a well-regarded physician whose evenings are spent researching a rare and sacred Amazonian flower so potent it's said to literally separate the soul, giving life to man's Dark Self. The obsessive experiments to isolate its psychotropic properties happen to coincide with a series of brutal murders gripping the city with fear. Jekyll knows it's no coincidence. While his nights are lost to him, he awakens with bloody mementos and violent memories of the screams of his victims.

4.6

MagicScore

#10

Mad Doctor of Blood Island

1969

A man who loves to travel, travels to an island where a mad doctor is creating zombies.

4.0

MagicScore

#11

Frankenstein

1931

Henry Frankenstein pieces together body parts in the hope of bringing a human-like creature to life. The mad scientist’s dreams are shattered by his monstrous creation awakening with rage to a world that hates and fears him.

7.5

MagicScore

#12

The Black Cat

1934

After a road accident in Hungary, the American honeymooners Joan and Peter and the enigmatic Dr. Werdegast find refuge in the house of the famed architect Hjalmar Poelzig, who shares a dark past with the doctor.

6.7

MagicScore

#13

Dr. Otto and the Riddle of the Gloom Beam

1985

Evil baddie Dr. Otto Von-Schnick-ick-ick tries to take over the planet by first destroying all of our financial systems, collapsing the world's economy and sending populations across the globe into mass panic! Only one goody-goody can stop him.. or can he? The oblivious Lance Sterling is on the case! With the aid of his underappreciated assistant Doris, will Lance manage to save the day and defeat Doctor Otto before the mad scientist's megalomaniacal plan is fulfilled? Or will the villain succeed in distracting them to their doom with his many convincing costumes, courtesy of his own convenient Changing Coffin? Tune in to find out!

5.0

MagicScore

#14

Tell Your Children

1938

High-school principal Dr. Alfred Carroll relates to an audience of parents that marijuana can have devastating effects on teens: a drug supplier entices several restless teens, Mary and Jimmy Lane, sister and brother, and Bill, Mary's boyfriend, into frequenting a reefer house. Gradually, Bill and Jimmy are drawn into smoking dope, which affects their family lives.

4.3

MagicScore

#15

Frontier(s)

2007

A gang of young thieves flee Paris during the violent aftermath of a political election, only to hole up at an Inn run by neo-Nazis.

6.2

MagicScore

#16

The Mutations

1974

A mad scientist crosses plants with people, and the results wind up in a sideshow.

5.0

MagicScore

#17

Night of the Bloody Apes

1969

A surgeon transplants the heart of an ape into his ailing son with horrific results.

5.4

MagicScore

#18

The Invisible Man

1933

After experimenting on himself and becoming invisible, scientist Jack Griffin, now aggressive due to the drug's effects, seeks a way to reverse the experiment at any cost.

7.5

MagicScore

#19

Doctor X

1932

A wisecracking New York reporter intrudes on a research scientist's quest to unmask The Moon Killer.

6.0

MagicScore

#20

Monstrosity

1963

A rich but unscrupulous old woman plots with a scientist to have her brain implanted in the skull of a sexy young woman.

3.4

MagicScore

Frequently asked

What are the best movies like Maniac?

The top films similar to Maniac by MovieMagicScore are Island of Lost Souls (6.9), The Man with Nine Lives (6.2), Beyond the Black Rainbow (5.7). Each shares horror themes and is ranked by real viewer ratings, not critics or studios.

Is Maniac worth watching?

Maniac holds a MovieMagicScore of 3.8/10 from 57 viewer ratings.

What kind of movie is Maniac?

Maniac (1934) is a horror film directed by Dwain Esper, starring Bill Woods, Horace B. Carpenter, Ted Edwards.

Where can I find more recommendations like Maniac?

Browse the full ranked list above, or explore more horror recommendations on MovieMagicScore, where every list is ordered by genuine viewer ratings.

Keep exploring

Movies like Island of Lost Souls Movies like The Man with Nine Lives Movies like Beyond the Black Rainbow Movies like The Mad Ghoul Movies like House of Dracula Movies like The Devil's Rejects

About movies like Maniac

This ranked list pairs Maniac (1934), a horror film from Dwain Esper, with similar titles by genre, theme and cast overlap (fans of Bill Woods take note). Unlike critic-driven sites, every position here is ordered by MovieMagicScore — a rating built only from real viewers, with no studio marketing or paid placement. Scores update as more people rate, so the list stays current.

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