Movies Like Nightmare (1981)

Nightmare is a 1981 horror film from Romano Scavolini with a MovieMagicScore of 5.6/10. Here are 20 similar films, ranked by real viewer ratings — starting with The Slayer and A Bay of Blood.

Horror

The Slayer

1982

Siblings, Eric & his surreal artist sister Kay, her doctor husband David, her sister-in-law Brooke along with pilot Marsh become stranded on a rugged isle face off against a supernatural beast drawn to Kay who dreams of its killings.

5.3

MagicScore

A Bay of Blood

1971

An elderly heiress is killed by her husband who wants control of her fortunes. What ensues is an all-out murder spree as relatives and friends attempt to reduce the inheritance playing field, complicated by some teenagers who decide to camp out in a dilapidated building on the estate.

6.6

MagicScore

Unhinged

1982

College students Terry, Nancy, and Gloria, on their way to a rock concert, crash their car in a torrential rainstorm, badly injuring one of them. Seeking shelter and aid, they come across a house occupied by a man-hating mother and her daughter...and they soon wish they hadn't.

4.7

MagicScore

Don't Go Near the Park

1981

In the prehistory of man, 12,000 years ago, two members of a superhuman tribe abuse the treasured secret of eternal youth. They use the methods of ritual cannibalism on the children of their own tribe and when discovered by the 'Queen' of the tribe, they are cursed to an eternity of old age with no chance to ever die. Now, in present day Los Angeles, their only hope to recapture eternal youth is the ritualistic sacrifice of a 16-year-old female virgin. Their existence is discovered by an investigative reporter and a young runaway child and this leads to an unexplained and terrifying confrontation

4.0

MagicScore

The House by the Cemetery

1981

After a doctor kills his mistress and himself while researching the mysterious previous owner of his Boston home, his colleague, Dr. Norman Boyle, takes over his studies and moves his family into the Boston mansion. Soon after, Boyle's young son Bob becomes plagued by visions of a young girl, who warns him of the danger within the house.

6.3

MagicScore

Mardi Gras Massacre

1978

Police try to capture someone who is commiting ritual murders of women during Mardi Gras in New Orleans.

4.0

MagicScore

A Cat in the Brain

1990

The master of Italian horror, Lucio Fulci, stars as... Lucio Fulci, a filmmaker with a reputation for gruesome horror films. His body of work has started to plague his mental state, and he is haunted by the grotesque set-pieces his mind has conjured up during his career. His psychiatrist, Egon Schwarz, uses a hypnotised Fulci as an avatar to carry out his own disturbed fantasies, in hopes of ruining the master’s reputation once and for all.

5.7

MagicScore

Possession

1981

A young woman left her family for an unspecified reason. The husband determines to find out the truth and starts following his wife. At first, he suspects that a man is involved. But gradually, he finds out more and more strange behaviors and bizarre incidents that indicate something more than a possessed love affair.

7.3

MagicScore

The Burning

1981

A caretaker at a summer camp is burned when a prank goes tragically wrong. After several years of intensive treatment at hospital, he is released back into society, albeit missing some social skills. What follows is a bloody killing spree with the caretaker making his way back to his old stomping ground to confront one of the youths that accidentally burned him.

6.2

MagicScore

#10

Don't Go in the House

1979

As a child, Donald was tormented by his mother who used fire as a punishment. Now a deranged adult, Donald stalks women at clubs, then takes them home where he kills them with a flamethrower.

5.7

MagicScore

#11

The Toolbox Murders

1978

A serial killer, plagued by the memory of a fatal car accident, uses various tools to murder female tenants of a Los Angeles apartment complex, then abducts a teenaged girl who lives there with her family. When the police express doubt that the murders are connected to the girl's disappearance, her brother sets out to search for her on his own.

5.5

MagicScore

#12

Absurd

1981

A priest-doctor chasing a man with supernatural regenerative abilities, who has recently escaped from a medical lab, reaches a small town where the mutant goes on a killing spree.

5.5

MagicScore

#13

The Dorm That Dripped Blood

1982

A crazed killer stalks college students who gave up their vacation to clean a deserted dormitory.

5.2

MagicScore

#14

Bloody Moon

1981

After being released from a mental asylum, a disfigured man becomes obsessed with a student at his sister’s boarding school while grappling with his dark past.

4.9

MagicScore

#15

A Nightmare on Elm Street

1984

Teenagers in a small town are dropping like flies, apparently in the grip of mass hysteria causing their suicides. A cop's daughter, Nancy Thompson, traces the cause to child molester Fred Krueger, who was burned alive by angry parents many years before. Krueger has now come back in the dreams of his killers' children, claiming their lives as his revenge. Nancy and her boyfriend, Glen, must devise a plan to lure the monster out of the realm of nightmares and into the real world...

7.3

MagicScore

#16

A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors

1987

A psychiatrist, familiar with the knife-wielding dream demon Freddy Krueger, helps teens at a mental hospital battle the killer who is invading their dreams.

6.7

MagicScore

#17

New Nightmare

1994

A demonic force has chosen Freddy Krueger as its portal to the real world. Can Heather Langenkamp play the part of Nancy one last time and trap the evil trying to enter our world?

6.5

MagicScore

#18

A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master

1988

Freddy Krueger returns once again to terrorize the dreams of the remaining Dream Warriors, as well as those of a young woman who may be able to defeat him for good.

5.9

MagicScore

#19

The Initiation

1984

An amnesiac sorority member who has been plagued by a recurring nightmare is stalked alongside other coeds by a killer in a deserted department store where they are completing a hazing ritual.

5.4

MagicScore

#20

A Nightmare on Elm Street: The Dream Child

1989

The pregnant Alice finds Freddy Krueger striking through the sleeping mind of her unborn child, hoping to be reborn into the real world.

5.4

MagicScore

Frequently asked

What are the best movies like Nightmare?

The top films similar to Nightmare by MovieMagicScore are The Slayer (5.3), A Bay of Blood (6.6), Unhinged (4.7). Each shares horror themes and is ranked by real viewer ratings, not critics or studios.

Is Nightmare worth watching?

Nightmare holds a MovieMagicScore of 5.6/10 from 118 viewer ratings.

What kind of movie is Nightmare?

Nightmare (1981) is a horror film directed by Romano Scavolini, starring Baird Stafford, Sharon Smith, C.J. Cooke.

Where can I find more recommendations like Nightmare?

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 The Slayer Movies like A Bay of Blood Movies like Unhinged Movies like Don't Go Near the Park Movies like The House by the Cemetery Movies like Mardi Gras Massacre

About movies like Nightmare

This ranked list pairs Nightmare (1981), a horror film from Romano Scavolini, with similar titles by genre, theme and cast overlap (fans of Baird Stafford 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 Nightmare