Movies Like Ghost Story (1981)

Ghost Story is a 1981 drama, horror, thriller film from John Irvin with a MovieMagicScore of 6.0/10. Here are 20 similar films, ranked by real viewer ratings — starting with Dorm and The Haunted Palace.

Drama Horror Thriller

Dorm

2006

When 12-year-old Ton transfers to an all-boys boarding school, he's taunted by his peers and terrified by their tales about the ghosts that inhabit the school. Ton is utterly miserable until he befriends a mysterious fellow pupil.

6.5

MagicScore

The Haunted Palace

1963

A warlock burned at the stake comes back and takes over the body of his great grandson to take his revenge on the descendents of the villages that burned him.

6.6

MagicScore

The Ritual

2017

A group of college friends reunite for a trip to the forest, but encounter a menacing presence in the woods that's stalking them.

6.3

MagicScore

Night of Dark Shadows

1971

Recently married, Quentin and Tracy Collins have just moved into Collinwood, a New England estate that has long been in the Collins family and which Quentin has just inherited. They soon find themselves plagued by spirits of past residents.

6.6

MagicScore

The Devil's Backbone

2001

Spain, 1939. In the last days of the Spanish Civil War, the young Carlos arrives at the Santa Lucía orphanage, where he will make friends and enemies as he follows the quiet footsteps of a mysterious presence eager for revenge.

7.3

MagicScore

The Lighthouse

2019

Two lighthouse keepers try to maintain their sanity while living on a remote and mysterious New England island in the 1890s.

7.5

MagicScore

Midsummer

2003

It is the last day of school for Christian and his younger sister Sophie. They are heading to a party at his friend Trina. High school graduation is just around the corner and after the freedom and future. But behind the idyllic facade lurks tragedy and secrets. That evening Sophie commits suicide.

5.0

MagicScore

The Bermuda Depths

1978

Scientists pursuing the mysteries of the deep are threatened by a beautiful girl who seems to have returned from the dead and by a prehistoric sea creature that dwells in the deadly Bermuda Triangle.

5.3

MagicScore

King of the Ants

2004

A young drifter, struggling to makes ends meet, accepts a job to kill a prominent accountant. When he isn't paid for the hit, revenge is now his path.

5.9

MagicScore

#10

Brighton Rock

2010

Charts the headlong fall of Pinkie, a razor-wielding disadvantaged teenager with a religious death wish.

5.7

MagicScore

#11

Dressed to Kill

1980

After witnessing a mysterious woman brutally slay a homemaker, prostitute Liz Blake finds herself trapped in a dangerous situation. While the police thinks she is the murderer, the real killer is intent on silencing her only witness.

7.0

MagicScore

#12

Super Dark Times

2017

Teenagers Zach and Josh have been best friends their whole lives, but when a gruesome accident leads to a cover-up, the secret drives a wedge between them and propels them down a rabbit hole of escalating paranoia and violence.

6.5

MagicScore

#13

The I Inside

2004

When Simon awakens in the hospital after surviving a near-fatal accident, amnesia has erased the last two years from his memory. He learns that his brother was killed, he has married a woman he doesn't remember and he's haunted by strange visions of the woman he loved.

5.9

MagicScore

#14

Live by Night

2016

A group of Boston-bred gangsters set up shop in balmy Florida during the Prohibition era, facing off against the competition and the Ku Klux Klan.

6.3

MagicScore

#15

The Woman in Black

2012

The story follows a young lawyer, Arthur Kipps, who is ordered to travel to a remote village and sort out a recently deceased client’s papers. As he works alone in the client’s isolated house, Kipps begins to uncover tragic secrets, his unease growing when he glimpses a mysterious woman dressed only in black. Receiving only silence from the locals, Kipps is forced to uncover the true identity of the Woman in Black on his own, leading to a desperate race against time when he discovers her true identity.

6.1

MagicScore

#16

Double Walker

2021

A young woman's ghost investigates the mysterious events that led to her own murder.

5.9

MagicScore

#17

A Company Man

2012

A contract killer becomes disenchanted with his line of work and spares the lives of his two latest would-be-victims. But the assassination company he works for has no intentions of letting him quit.

6.8

MagicScore

#18

The 24th Day

2004

Tom and Dan's one-night stand turns into an intense power-play between captor and captive.

6.4

MagicScore

#19

Kwaidan

1965

Taking its title from an archaic Japanese word meaning "ghost story," this anthology adapts four folk tales. A penniless samurai marries for money with tragic results. A man stranded in a blizzard is saved by Yuki the Snow Maiden, but his rescue comes at a cost. Blind musician Hoichi is forced to perform for an audience of ghosts. An author relates the story of a samurai who sees another warrior's reflection in his teacup.

7.7

MagicScore

#20

Brooklyn's Finest

2010

Enforcing the law within the notoriously rough Brownsville section of the city and especially within the Van Dyke housing projects is the NYPD's sixty-fifth precinct. Three police officers struggle with the sometimes fine line between right and wrong.

6.3

MagicScore

Frequently asked

What are the best movies like Ghost Story?

The top films similar to Ghost Story by MovieMagicScore are Dorm (6.5), The Haunted Palace (6.6), The Ritual (6.3). Each shares drama/horror/thriller themes and is ranked by real viewer ratings, not critics or studios.

Is Ghost Story worth watching?

Ghost Story holds a MovieMagicScore of 6.0/10 from 163 viewer ratings.

What kind of movie is Ghost Story?

Ghost Story (1981) is a drama, horror, thriller film directed by John Irvin, starring Fred Astaire, Melvyn Douglas, Douglas Fairbanks Jr..

Where can I find more recommendations like Ghost Story?

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

Keep exploring

Movies like Dorm Movies like The Haunted Palace Movies like The Ritual Movies like Night of Dark Shadows Movies like The Devil's Backbone Movies like The Lighthouse

About movies like Ghost Story

This ranked list pairs Ghost Story (1981), a drama and horror and thriller film from John Irvin, with similar titles by genre, theme and cast overlap (fans of Fred Astaire 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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