Stephen King is one of the most heavily adapted authors of all-time, and the broad range of his works means that not all of those adaptations necessarily need to be movies like The Shining.
Lauded as one of the greatest horror movies ever made, the legendary Stanley Kubrick directs an iconic Jack Nicholson performance as a family man slowly goes off the rails at the Overlook Hotel.
Chilling, suspenseful, and psychologically troubling, our countdown of similar titles features more than a few Stephen King stories, but plenty of other creepy horrors as well.
10 Creepy Horror Movies Like The Shining
1. Doctor Sleep (2019)
Starting a list of movies like The Shining with the sequel seems like the obvious choice, and Mike Flanagan does a solid job of attempting to emulate Kubrick’s classic chiller.
Young Danny Torrance is all grown up now, and has spent his life battling the demons brought on by his traumatic childhood before his life turns upside down again after encountering a girl with similar gifts.
Very few movies could hope to match the quality of The Shining, but Doctor Sleep does a sterling job of delivering suspenseful and atmospheric scares, bolstered by a string of impressive performances.
2. 1408 (2007)
John Cusack plays a successful author who specializes in debunking the supernatural, only to get a lot more than he bargained for when he checks into the sinister Dolphin Hotel.
After ignoring the warnings of Samuel L. Jackson’s hotel manager, a series of bizarre and eerie events swiftly begin when the cocky skeptic agrees to stay in a supposedly haunted room.
One of the more underrated King adaptations, 1408 can comfortably rank as one of the better movies like The Shining, as both rely more on psychological horrors rather than physical ones.
3. Misery (1990)
Kathy Bates deservedly won an Oscar for her terrifying portrayal of Annie Wilkes, a nurse who rescues her favorite other from a car accident and is very reluctant to let him leave.
Rob Reiner directs one of the best Stephen King adaptations ever made, which sits comfortably among movies like The Shining when it comes to ranking the best spins on the author’s work.
Contained yet suspenseful, Bates is a force of nature as the superfan with sinister intentions, including one infamous scene that still makes viewers wince 30 years later.
4. Jacob’s Ladder (1990)
A Vietnam veteran struggles to maintain his sanity in Adrian Lyn’s haunting and disorienting tale of one man’s descent into madness.
The first title on our list of movies like The Shining that isn’t a Stephen King adaptation, Jacob’s Ladder still boasts all of the mental, psychological, and surrealist horror’s of Kubrick’s classic.
5. Secret Window (2004)
The final Stephen King adaptation is Secret Window, which is one of the very best as it provides amazing suspense and intrigue for those looking for something similar.
Johnny Depp stars as a recently divorced author who relocates to a remote cabin to get his creative juices flowing, but is discovered by a man who claims that his work had been plagiarized.
There’s no shortage of twists and turns in the story, many of which stretch the limits of plausibility to breaking point, but Depp’s solid lead performance is more than enough to paper over the cracks.
6. The Silence of the Lambs (1991)
Not many cannibals have managed to become pop culture phenomenons, but from the second Anthony Hopkins appeared as Hannibal Lecter, it was clear a cinematic icon had arrived.
Jodie Foster’s Clarice Starling must forge an unlikely alliance with the serial killer to help her track down the murderous Buffalo Bill, but Lecter clearly has ulterior motives for their alliance.
One of the greatest horror-tinged thrillers ever made, The Silence of the Lambs is a monumental achievement in cinema that easily ranks as one of the very best movies like The Shining.
7. The Gift (2000)
Sam Raimi had made his name in the horror genre, but he veered into supernatural territory with the story of a clairvoyant becoming wrapped up in a small-town murder investigation.
Cate Blanchett, Keanu Reeves, Hilary Swank, Greg Kinnear, and Katie Holmes lead a stacked ensemble in a mystery thriller laced with a heavy dose of psychological horror.
The Gift doesn’t quite manage to stick the landing, but it shares enough narrative and thematic common ground to warrant inclusion on our rundown of movies like The Shining.
8. Pet Sematary (2019)
The second attempt at bringing Stephen King’s Pet Sematary to the big screen served up a chilling atmosphere that slowly builds tension during the entire film.
A couple discovers an Indian burial ground under their home, and after tragedy strikes, the father will do anything necessary to try and repair the damage done, no matter the cost.
Movies like The Shining don’t always have to be character-driven stories, and Pet Sematary is one that opts for jump-scares and familiar tropes, but still ends up being a worthwhile watch!
9. A Tale of Two Sisters (2003)
Kim Jee-Woon’s Korean modern classic reunites two teen sisters after one leaves a mental hospital, but the siblings struggle to return to normal life as a series of revelations unfurl.
Diving any further into the plot would be heading into spoiler territory, but it would be fair to say that A Tale of Two Sisters has multiple twists that you’ll never see coming.
More of an overt horror than other movies like The Shining, A Tale of Two Sisters is terrifyingly restrained, which makes the moments of genuine shock and terror hit that little bit harder.
10. Take Shelter (2011)
Jeff Nichols’ breakthrough feature is dominated by two powerhouse performances from Michael Shannon and Jessica Chastain, as a married couple stretched to breaking point.
Movies like The Shining don’t always have to be about marriages being fractured by the husband’s descent into madness, but Take Shelter grabs the central conceit and runs with it.
Plagued by apocalyptic visions, Shannon’s family man is adamant that the world is ending, and his family and friends can only look on as his behavior continues to get more erratic.