Movies Like The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1920)

The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari is a 1920 crime, drama, horror, thriller film from Robert Wiene with a MovieMagicScore of 7.9/10. Here are 20 similar films, ranked by real viewer ratings — starting with Metropolis and Nosferatu.

Crime Drama Horror Thriller

Metropolis

1927

In a futuristic city sharply divided between the rich and the poor, the son of the city's mastermind meets a prophet who predicts the coming of a savior to mediate their differences.

8.1

MagicScore

Nosferatu

1922

The mysterious Count Orlok summons a happily married real estate agent to his castle, located up in the Transylvanian mountains, to finalise a terrifying deal.

7.7

MagicScore

M

1931

In this classic German thriller, Hans Beckert, a serial killer who preys on children, becomes the focus of a massive Berlin police manhunt. Beckert's heinous crimes are so repellant and disruptive to city life that he is even targeted by others in the seedy underworld network. With both cops and criminals in pursuit, the murderer soon realizes that people are on his trail, sending him into a tense, panicked attempt to escape justice.

8.1

MagicScore

A Daughter Of Destiny

1928

Hanns Heinz Ewers' grim science-fiction novel Alraune has already been filmed twice when this version was assembled in 1928. In another of his "mad doctor" roles, Paul Wegener plays Professor Brinken, sociopathic scientist who combines the genes of an executed murderer with those of a prostitute. The result is a beautiful young woman named Alraune (Brigitte Helm), who is incapable of feeling any real emotions -- least of all guilt or regret. Upon attaining adulthood, Alraune sets about to seduce and destroy every male who crosses her path. Ultimately, Professor Brinken is hoist on his own petard when he falls hopelessly in love with Alraune himself. Alraune was remade in 1930, with Brigitte Helm repeating her role, and again in 1951, with Hildegarde Knef as the "heroine" and Erich von Stroheim as her misguided mentor.

6.2

MagicScore

Destiny

1921

As a young couple stops and rests in a small village inn, the man is abducted by Death and is sequestered behind a huge doorless, windowless wall. The woman finds a mystic entrance and is met by Death, who tells her three separate stories set in exotic locales, all involving circumstances similar to hers.

7.4

MagicScore

The Golem: How He Came Into the World

1920

In 16th-century Prague, a rabbi creates the Golem - a giant creature made of clay. Using sorcery, he brings the creature to life in order to protect the Jews of Prague from persecution.

7.0

MagicScore

Only the Night

2005

A video library clerk becomes obsessed with a sleepwalking woman and takes it upon himself to save her from catastrophe.

3.9

MagicScore

Warning Shadows

1923

During a dinner given by a wealthy baron and his wife, attended by four of her suitors in a 19th century German manor, a shadow-player rescues the marriage by giving all the guests a vision what might happen tonight if the baron stays jealous and the suitors do not reduce their advances towards his beautiful wife. Or was it a vision?

6.5

MagicScore

The Cat and the Canary

1927

Rich old Cyrus West's relatives are waiting for him to die so they can inherit. But he stipulates that his will be read 20 years after his death. On the appointed day his expectant heirs arrive at his brooding mansion. The will is read and it turns out that Annabelle West, the only heir with his name left, inherits, if she is deemed sane. If she isn't, the money and some diamonds go to someone else, whose name is in a sealed envelope. Before he can reveal the identity of her successor to Annabelle, Mr. Crosby, the lawyer, disappears. The first in a series of mysterious events, some of which point to Annabelle in fact being unstable.

6.9

MagicScore

#10

Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans

1927

A married farmer falls under the spell of a slatternly woman from the city, who tries to convince him to drown his wife.

7.8

MagicScore

#11

The Last Laugh

1924

An aging doorman, after being fired from his prestigious job at a luxurious hotel, is forced to face the scorn of his friends, neighbours and society.

7.8

MagicScore

#12

Waxworks

1924

A poet is hired by the owner of a wax museum in a circus to write tales about Harun al Raschid, Ivan the Terrible and Jack the Ripper. While writing, the poet and the daughter of the owner, Eva, fantasize the fantastic stories and fall in love for each other.

6.4

MagicScore

#13

From Morning to Midnight

1920

A cashier in a bank in a small German town is alerted to the power of money by the visit of a rich Italian lady. He embezzles 60,000 Marks and leaves for the capital city, where he attempts to find satisfaction in politics, sport, love and religion.

6.0

MagicScore

#14

Twelve Monkeys

1995

In the year 2035, convict James Cole reluctantly volunteers to be sent back in time to discover the origin of a deadly virus that wiped out nearly all of the earth's population and forced the survivors into underground communities. But when Cole is mistakenly sent to 1990 instead of 1996, he's arrested and locked up in a mental hospital. There he meets psychiatrist Dr. Kathryn Railly and the son of a famous virus expert who may hold the key to the Army of the 12 Monkeys; thought to be responsible for unleashing the killer disease.

7.6

MagicScore

#15

The Night of the Hunter

1955

In Depression-era West Virginia, a serial-killing preacher hunts two young children who know the whereabouts of a stash of money.

7.9

MagicScore

#16

Faust

1926

God and Satan war over earth; to settle things, they wager on the soul of Faust, a learned and prayerful alchemist.

7.9

MagicScore

#17

Dr. Mabuse, the Gambler

1922

Dr. Mabuse and his organization of criminals are in the process of completing their latest scheme, a theft of information that will allow Mabuse to make huge profits on the stock exchange. Afterwards, Mabuse disguises himself and attends the Folies Bergères show, where Cara Carozza, the main attraction of the show, passes him information on Mabuse's next intended victim, the young millionaire Edgar Hull. Mabuse then uses psychic manipulation to lure Hull into a card game where he loses heavily. When Police Commissioner von Wenk begins an investigation of this mysterious crime spree, he has little to go on, and he needs to find someone who can help him.

7.6

MagicScore

#18

The Hands of Orlac

1924

A world-famous pianist loses both hands in an accident. When new hands are grafted on, he is horrified to learn they once belonged to a murderer.

6.8

MagicScore

#19

The Free Fall

2022

Sara wakes from a coma to a life she doesn't remember; a fragile, slippery reality that spirals into a nightmare where nothing is as it seems.

5.3

MagicScore

#20

Dracula's Daughter

1936

A countess from Transylvania seeks a psychiatrist’s help to cure her vampiric cravings.

5.9

MagicScore

Frequently asked

What are the best movies like The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari?

The top films similar to The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari by MovieMagicScore are Metropolis (8.1), Nosferatu (7.7), M (8.1). Each shares crime/drama/horror/thriller themes and is ranked by real viewer ratings, not critics or studios.

Is The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari worth watching?

The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari holds a MovieMagicScore of 7.9/10 from 1,698 viewer ratings, putting it among the better-reviewed titles in its genre.

What kind of movie is The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari?

The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1920) is a crime, drama, horror, thriller film directed by Robert Wiene, starring Werner Krauss, Conrad Veidt, Friedrich Fehér.

Where can I find more recommendations like The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari?

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

Keep exploring

Movies like Metropolis Movies like Nosferatu Movies like M Movies like A Daughter Of Destiny Movies like Destiny Movies like The Golem: How He Came Into the World

About movies like The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari

This ranked list pairs The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1920), a crime and drama and horror and thriller film from Robert Wiene, with similar titles by genre, theme and cast overlap (fans of Werner Krauss 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.

← Back to The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari