movielex
movie
L
ex

Movies like American Murder: The Family Next Door

Key Features:
True crime, Documentary, Family drama, Disappearance, Murder, Investigation, Tragedy, Psychological thriller, Violence-moderate
Tone:
serious, restrained
Target Audience:
True crime enthusiasts, Documentary viewers, Psychological thriller fans, Crime investigation
Emotional Arc:
Intrigue → Discomfort → Grief

American Murder: The Family Next Door

2020-09-29
American Murder: The Family Next Door Poster - Find Similar Movies

Using raw, firsthand footage, this documentary examines the disappearance of Shanann Watts and her children, and the terrible events that followed.

Genres
Documentary
Cast
Nickole Atkinson, Jim Benemann, Luke Epple, Mark Jamieson, Nichol Kessinger, Marcelo Kopcow, Karen Leigh, Theresa Marchetta, Tom Mustin, Michael Rourke
Crew
Jenny Popplewell
Rating
7.278(714 votes)
American Murder: The Family Next DoorAmerican Murder: The Family Next Door
Select exactly what you are looking for


Abducted in Plain Sight

A family falls prey to the manipulative charms of a neighbor, who abducts their adolescent daughter. Twice.



Dream House
6.2

Publisher Will Atenton quits a lucrative job in New York to relocate his wife, Libby, and their daughters to a quaint town in New England. However, as they settle into their home the Atentons discover that a woman and her children were murdered there, and the surviving husband is the town's prime suspect. With help from a neighbor who was close to the murdered family, Will pieces together a horrifying chain of events.



A Deadly American Marriage

Murder or self-defense? Told from both sides, this documentary explores the killing of Jason Corbett during a dispute with his wife and her father.



Hangman
Hangman(2015)
4.753

Returning from vacation, the Miller family find their home has been broken into. After cleaning up the mess they continue with their lives, shaking off the feeling of being violated. But little do they know the nightmare has just begun.



Sinister
Sinister(2012)
6.869

True-crime writer Ellison Oswald is in a slump; he hasn't had a best seller in more than 10 years and is becoming increasingly desperate for a hit. So, when he discovers the existence of a snuff film showing the deaths of a family, he vows to solve the mystery. He moves his own family into the victims' home and gets to work. However, when old film footage and other clues hint at the presence of a supernatural force, Ellison learns that living in the house may be fatal.



Paranormal Activity: Next of Kin

Margot is a documentary filmmaker looking to meet her long-lost mother and extended family in a secluded Amish community. She and her film crew soon realize the family that welcomes them into their home might be hiding a sinister secret.



Paranormal Entity
5.153

Thomas Finley has been arrested for the murder of his nineteen-year old sister, Samantha and fifty-two year old, Edgar Lauren, a Professor and paranormal investigator. Police were called to the scene by Thomas himself in the early hours of the morning, finding him inside with his sister's body cradled in his arms. In his statement given in police custody, Thomas claimed that the victims were attacked by a demonic entity of unknown origin. Days later, he committed suicide. It is the opinion of those closely related to the family that a video found at the scene be shown to the public as a final testament to what actually happened inside the Finley home in those final days.



Casting JonBenet
5.676

Twenty years after the modern world's most notorious child murder, the legacy of the crime and its impact are explored.



Caddo Lake
7.198

When an 8-year-old girl mysteriously vanishes on Caddo Lake, a series of past deaths and disappearances begin to link together, forever altering a broken family’s history.



Paranormal Activity 4
5.415

It has been five years since the disappearance of Katie and Hunter, and a suburban family witness strange events in their neighborhood when a woman and a mysterious child move in.



The Vanished
6.046

A family vacation takes a terrifying turn when parents Paul and Wendy discover their young daughter has vanished without a trace. Stopping at nothing to find her, the search for the truth leads to a shocking revelation.



Nanny Cam
Nanny Cam(2014)
5.6

Linda has a seemingly perfect marriage with her rugged and handsome husband Mark and an adorable 8 year old daughter, Chloe. But when Chloe is injured by an elderly babysitter who has slipped into dementia, Linda wants to ensure that her child is never hurt again. Initially, Heather, the new babysitter, seems like the ideal addition to this practically perfect family. But Heather is a schemer who exploits the cracks in Mark and Linda's relationship, and delights in the resulting chaos. As Linda later learns, to her horror, Heather's intentions go far beyond the mischievous.



Weapons
Weapons(2025)
7.328

When all but one child from the same class mysteriously vanish on the same night at exactly the same time, a community is left questioning who or what is behind their disappearance.



Why Did You Kill Me?

The line between justice and revenge blurs when a devastated family uses social media to track down the people who killed 24-year-old Crystal Theobald.



Blue-Eyed Butcher
5.731

A woman appeared to have a fairy-tale life, but six years into her marriage, the fairytale crumbles when her husband is found buried in the backyard of their home with numerous stab wounds.



Re-Cut
Re-Cut(2010)
6.6

When twin girls are found dead in their family’s barn, reality star turned TV-reporter Meredith Phillips and her de-facto camera crew are dispatched to rural Wisconsin to investigate the gruesome deaths. In their relentless drive to break the story, the reporters become entangled in a deadly mystery and uncover the small town’s shocking secret. Edited together from the crew’s multiple cameras, the film documents their struggle to survive the most terrifying night of their lives and becomes the only evidence of a crime too horrific to imagine.



The Glass House
6

When Ruby and Rhett's parents are killed in a car accident, their carefree teenage lives are suddenly shattered. Moving to an incredible house in Malibu with the Glasses', old friends of the family, seems to be the beginning of a new life for them.



Mom and Dad
5.402

In a suburban community, moms and dads, one after the other, mysteriously feel the irresistible impulse to attack and kill their own offspring.



The Ring
The Ring(2002)
6.69

Rachel Keller is a journalist investigating a videotape that may have killed four teenagers. There is an urban legend about this tape: the viewer will die seven days after watching it. Rachel tracks down the video... and watches it. Now she has just seven days to unravel the mystery of the Ring so she can save herself and her son.



The Evil Next Door
6.122

A dad moves into a new house with his son and girlfriend. When he's out of town working, the son makes a new "friend" next doors.



The Hamiltons
5

The Hamiltons seem to be the picture-perfect American family. They are hardworking community members; giving to their local charities, attending town hall meetings and always respectful of their neighbors...except for the fact that they usually end up killing them.



Girl in the Picture
7.13

A young mother’s mysterious death and her son’s subsequent kidnapping blow open a decades-long mystery about the woman’s true identity, and the murderous federal fugitive at the center of it all.



Insidious: The Red Door

To put their demons to rest once and for all, Josh Lambert and a college-aged Dalton Lambert must go deeper into The Further than ever before, facing their family's dark past and a host of new and more horrifying terrors that lurk behind the red door.



The Boys Next Door
6.2

Roy and Bo leave their small town the weekend after graduation for a short road trip to LA. Soon, they find themselves lashing out and leaving a trail of bodies behind them. The violence escalates throughout.



You're Next
6.6

When the Davison family comes under attack during their wedding anniversary getaway, the gang of mysterious killers soon learns that one of their victims harbors a secret talent for fighting back.



8213: Gacy House
3.4

A group of paranormal investigators enter the abandoned home of paedophile and serial killer John Gacy, hoping to find evidence of paranormal activity. Upon entering the house they set-up cameras throughout the abandoned house while going room to room with hand-held cameras, performing séance's and asking for John Gacy to come forward. As the evening progresses it seems the investigators are not prepared for the horror still within the house.



The Woman in the Yard

In the aftermath of her husband's death, widow Ramona's struggle to raise her two kids is hindered by the arrival of a mysterious woman with supernatural abilities.



This House Has People in It

AB Surveillance Solutions, a security company seems to be keeping logs and watching a family as they live a seemingly average life. However it seems that there is something darker going on under the facade.



Within
Within(2016)
5.4

A widower, his daughter, and his new wife move into a peaceful neighborhood. At first it appears to be a perfect neighborhood but the family quickly realize that something is not right about their new home.



Amityville: Dollhouse

Bill Martin has just finished construction on a picturesque new home for his family, but unknown to him, the previously barren property was once the site of the infamous Amityville murder house, which contains demonic entities with murderous sights on the family.



The Toolbox Murders

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.



The Cellar
6.5

When Keira Woods' daughter mysteriously vanishes in the cellar of their new house in the country, she soon discovers there is an ancient and powerful entity controlling their home that she will have to face or risk losing her family's souls forever.



Gone Mom: The Disappearance of Jennifer Dulos

Jennifer Dulos, the wealthy, Connecticut mother-of-five who mysteriously vanished.



The Unspoken
4.663

In 1997 the close-knit Anderson family vanished from their home without a trace. No bodies were ever found and no explanation satisfied curiosity. For 17 years the house has remained undisturbed...until now. This eerily expert frightener is further enlivened by terrific performances from ‘Suits’/’Arrow’ star Neal McDonough and SILENT HILL/THE TALL MAN/TIDELAND’s Jodelle Ferland.



Lost Girls
6.062

When Mari Gilbert's daughter disappears, police inaction drives her own investigation into the gated Long Island community where Shannan was last seen. Her search brings attention to over a dozen murdered prostitutes.



Next Door
Next Door(2005)
6.355

After Ingrid leaves John, he allows himself to be pulled into a mystical and scary world where it is impossible to separate truth from lies.



The Killing of America

A documentary of the decline of America. Featuring footage (most exclusive to this film) from race riots to serial killers and much, much more.



Treehouse
Treehouse(2015)
4.484

A teenage boy discovers the perpetrators of several brutal kidnappings in his home town.



Mikey
Mikey(1992)
5.845

Mikey just needs a good stable home. He's bounced from foster home to foster home his whole life. He finally lands himself with a new loving family, but their perfect little child is not what he appears to be. His previous caretakers all died of mysterious "accidents" that weren't really accidents at all. Mikey is a cold blooded killer, and it doesn't take long for him to aim his sights on his new adoptive family and anyone else who stands in his way.



Mommy Dead and Dearest

Child abuse, mental illness, and forbidden love converge in this mystery involving a mother and daughter who were thought to be living a fairy tale life that turned out to be a living nightmare.



Atrocious
Atrocious(2010)
5.575

Quintanilla family was found dead in their country side house. Police reported the existence of 37 hours of recorded evidence. The family traveled to their old farm house, where they investigated about the Legend of the Girl in the Garraf woods. They used to record whatever they did. Atrocious shows the last five days of this family, and the strange situations that they lived in those moments and which remain unexplained.



No Good Deed
5.936

Terri is a devoted wife and mother of two, living an ideal suburban life in Atlanta when Colin, a charming but dangerous escaped convict, shows up at her door claiming car trouble. Terri offers her phone to help him but soon learns that no good deed goes unpunished as she finds herself fighting for survival when he invades her home and terrorizes her family.



The Clovehitch Killer
6.406

A picture-perfect family is torn apart after Tyler finds a cache of disturbing images in his father's possession. He begins to suspect that the man he trusts most in the world may be responsible for the murder of 13 women ten years prior.



Burnt Offerings
6.5

A couple and their twelve-year-old son move into a giant house for the summer where things aren’t quite what they seem. Every time someone gets hurt on the grounds, the beat-up house seems to repair itself…



Before and After
5.907

Two parents deal with the effects when their son is accused of murdering his girlfriend.



Without a trace
6.2

When Lisa's younger sister suddenly disappears without a trace, she returns to her home village to search for the missing girl on her own. But before she can follow up a real lead, a dead girl is found by the river.



Ghosthunters
4.7

When one of their own loses his wife and daughter at the hands of a serial killer, a team of ghost hunters is determined to capture the spirits of the loved ones so their spirits can finally rest in peace. But as the team goes deeper into the house, the ghosts become more hostile, and the group discovers the true secrets of the house and its murderer.



Three Bedrooms, One Corpse: An Aurora Teagarden Mystery

While Aurora "Roe" Teagarden searches for her piece of the American dream, she decides to test the waters of the family business - real estate sales. Only thing is there's a dead body in the first house she shows. When a second body shows up in another home, Roe realizes there's more to real estate than she thought.



An Amish Murder
5.8

The Amish farming community of Painter’s Mill, Ohio, is shattered when a series of brutal murders leaves the town with a sense of frailty and loss of innocence. Among the most affected by the tragedy was Kate Burkholder, a young girl who survived the terror and, as a result, left the Amish life behind. Fifteen years later, Kate returns to Painter’s Mill as its Chief of Police. Certain she’s come to terms with her past, Kate’s renewed life in her hometown is shattered when a murder investigation triggers deep-seated emotions from her childhood and exposes a dark secret that could destroy her.



Hollow in the Land
5.4

With their father in prison for murder, siblings Alison and Brandon are instantly considered suspects when a string of killings plagues their town, and they must fight to clear their names.



Home Movie
4.875

Reverend David Poe and his psychiatrist wife trade hectic New York life for an idyllic rural farmhouse; the perfect place for 10 year old twins Jack & Emily to run, play and imagine. Documenting this lifestyle change, David decides to film every holiday and special family event. To the Poe's horror their home movies reveal an increasing malice and evil within their children.



The Atoning
5.541

Vera, Ray, and Sam, a seemingly normal family, are haunted by more than mere ghosts. The lingering horror of their past threatens their ability to function as a loving family until they become enlightened by a mystical encounter. From that moment on, they're thrust into a horror worse than anything they've ever experienced. Personal demons manifest and tear the family apart from the inside out as they come to terms with their past.



Research in the Interest of Families

A policeman takes his family on a holiday, and after almost hitting a wild hog, the car won't start. They get hike with a guy scrutinizing his pretty wife. Shortly after, she disappears.



American Gothic
5.9

When six friends fly off on a weekend getaway and are suddenly plagued by engine trouble, they're forced to land on a remote island. Looking for shelter, they're grateful to encounter Ma and Pa and their children - an eccentric family living in the island's backwoods. But what begins as simple hospitality turns into a terrifying race for survival as the friends start disappearing one by one ... and turning up dead.



The Next Skin
5.7

A teenager who went missing and was presumed dead returns home after eight years to find a family deeply affected by his disappearance. Gradually, doubts arise about whether he really is the missing boy or an impostor.



The Bell Witch Haunting

The Robertson County Sheriff's Department has released footage found on the bodies of the Sawyer family's cell phones and video cameras. What was first thought to be a murder-suicide is now believed to be the return of a centuries-old demon responsible for America's most famous paranormal event.



An American Crime
7.3

The true story of suburban housewife Gertrude Baniszewski, who kept a teenage girl locked in the basement of her Indiana home during the 1960s.



The Den
The Den(2013)
6.04

A young woman studying the habits of webcam chat users from the apparent safety of her apartment witnesses a brutal murder online and is quickly immersed in a nightmare in which she and her loved ones are targeted for the same grisly fate as the first victim.



If There Be Thorns
5.8

Christopher and Cathy Dollanganger live together as man and wife with Cathy's two sons who are unaware of the incestuous nature of their parents' relationship. But when a mysterious woman moves in next door and befriends the younger boy, Bart, he begins a strange transformation and displays accusatory behavior towards Cathy and Christopher. When Christopher discovers their mysterious neighbor is, in fact, his mother Corrine Dollanganger, all of the family's long-hidden secrets are revealed in a tragic climax.



Scream
Scream(2022)
6.688

Twenty-five years after a streak of brutal murders shocked the quiet town of Woodsboro, a new killer has donned the Ghostface mask and begins targeting a group of teenagers to resurrect secrets from the town’s deadly past.



Choose
Choose(2011)
4.5

Fiona Wagner, a journalism student, tracks a cold-blooded killer with the help of her detective father and a therapist.



Karen
Karen(2021)
4

A racist woman makes it her personal mission to displace the new black family that has just moved in next door to her, but they won't back down without a fight.



Paranormal Activity 2

Just as Daniel and Kristi welcome a newborn baby into their home, a demonic presence begins terrorizing them, tearing apart their perfect world and turning it into an inescapable nightmare.



The Front Room
5.066

Everything goes to hell for newly-pregnant Belinda after her mother-in-law moves in. As the diabolical guest tries to get her claws on the child, Belinda must draw the line somewhere.



Reap What You Sew: An Aurora Teagarden Mystery

Internet sensation and old family friend of Aurora Teagarden, Poppy Wilson, has returned to Lawrenceton to start her new embroidery business. But not everyone is happy with Poppy's success when she turns up dead. To find the killer, Roe must follow the unsettling truths that lead her—into the path of the killer.



Next of Kin
6.227

After Linda inherits a retirement home, she witnesses a series of strange events which seem connected to a dark and unspeakable evil.



Missing: The Lucie Blackman Case

July 1, 2000. British 21-year-old Lucie Blackman goes missing in Tokyo, sparking an international investigation — and an unyielding quest for justice.



Adulthood
Adulthood(2025)
6.017

The lives of two siblings are completely upended when they discover a dead body, long buried in their parent’s basement, sending them down a rabbit hole of crime and murder.



Hell House LLC Origins: The Carmichael Manor

A group of cold case investigators stay at the Carmichael Manor, site of the grisly and unsolved murders of the Carmichael family back in the eighties. After four nights, the group was never heard from again. What is discovered on their footage is even more disturbing than anything found on the Hell House tapes.



Insidious
Insidious(2011)
6.9

A family discovers that dark spirits have invaded their home after their son inexplicably falls into an endless sleep. When they reach out to a professional for help, they learn things are a lot more personal than they thought.



Toolbox Murders
5.6

A historic Hollywood hotel houses a supernatural evil. It's been subdued for decades, but when renovations start, a series of murders take place.



House at the End of the Street

A mother and daughter move to a new town and find themselves living next door to a house where a young girl murdered her parents. When the daughter befriends the surviving son, she learns the story is far from over.



Gone Girl
Gone Girl(2014)
7.9

With his wife's disappearance having become the focus of an intense media circus, a man sees the spotlight turned on him when it's suspected that he may not be innocent.



Murder by Numbers
6.2

Tenacious homicide detective Cassie Mayweather and her still-green partner are working a murder case, attempting to profile two malevolently brilliant young men: cold, calculating killers whose dark secrets might explain their crimes.



A Life Too Short: The Isabella Nardoni Case

When a 5-year-old girl falls from her father's apartment, her mother embarks on a quest for justice — and is put under the national spotlight.



Orphan: First Kill
6.613

After escaping from an Estonian psychiatric facility, Leena Klammer travels to America by impersonating Esther, the missing daughter of a wealthy family. But when her mask starts to slip, she is put against a mother who will protect her family from the murderous “child” at any cost.



Strangerland
5.3

Newly arrived to a remote desert town, Catherine and Matthew are tormented by a suspicion when their two teenage children mysteriously vanish.



Scream 4
Scream 4(2011)
6.5

Ten years after the original Woodsboro murders, one of the survivors returns home to promote their new book about surviving trauma, only for a new Ghostface killer to emerge, targeting a new group of teens.



Mercy
Mercy(2016)
4.285

Brought together at their childhood home over their dying mother, an estranged family is thrust into a deadly fight for their own survival.



Wicked
Wicked(1998)
5.12

A cul-de-sac in an oppressive suburb becomes a literal dead end for wife and mother Karen Christianson when she is brutally murdered in her own home. In the wake of the event, Karen's teenage daughter Ellie begins to exhibit bizarre behaviors as she slowly acquires her mother's demeanor and mannerisms. Meanwhile, Karen's husband Ben nurtures a less-than-innocent interest in the family's sultry live-in nanny, Lena.



Blood
Blood(2023)
6.413

Jess, a newly separated mother and nurse, moves into her old family farmhouse with Tyler, her teenage daughter, and Owen, her eight-year-old son. One night, the family dog senses something in the woods and runs off to find it. He returns a couple of days later and attacks Owen, savagely biting him before Jess is able to intervene. Owen is rushed to the hospital. His condition worsens, and no one can figure out why... until Jess discovers a disturbing cure...



Cellar Door
5.862

Looking for a fresh start after a miscarriage, a couple find themselves being gifted the house of their dreams with one caveat - they can never open the cellar door. Whether they can live without knowing triggers shocking consequences.



VANish
VANish(2015)
4.589

Three thugs kidnap Emma, the daughter of a drug kingpin, and have no idea that murderous blood that runs through her veins. As time passes, the unlucky threesome finds themselves in danger from the police, gangsters and their captive.



House Hunting
5.111

Two families go to an open house and can't leave



Aurora Teagarden Mysteries: The Disappearing Game

Crime-solving librarian Aurora Teagarden leaps headfirst into Lawrenceton’s latest murder investigation when her nephew Phillip and his college roommate go missing after the roommate’s girlfriend is found dead. Enlisting the help of her Real Murders pals, and the handsome college professor Nick Miller who just moved in across the street from her, Roe uncovers a kidnapping plot gone awry.



In Cold Blood
7.5

After a botched robbery results in the brutal murder of a rural family, two drifters elude police, in the end coming to terms with their own mortality and the repercussions of their vile atrocity.



The Amityville Murders

On the night of November 13th, 1974, Ronald DeFeo Jr. took a high powered rifle and murdered his entire family as they slept. At his trial, DeFeo claimed that 'voices' in the house commanded him to kill. This is their story.



True Crime
5.661

Mary Giordano is a bright, intelligent student who goes to a catholic school. She also has an addiction to mystery novels and detective magazines, which inspire her to do her own detective work. When she starts snooping around on the case of a murderer of teenage girls, it gets her in hot water with her mentor Detective Jerry Gunn. But it also starts a team up with police cadet Tony Campbell. The two work together to find the murderer. But the closer Mary gets to solving the murder, the more danger she puts herself in of being the next victim.



The Neighbor
4.908

A middle-aged man in a stagnant marriage, finds his life upended when an attractive young woman and her seemingly abusive husband move in next door.



Breaking In
5.971

Shaun Russell takes her son and daughter on a weekend getaway to her late father's secluded, high-tech vacation home in the countryside. The family soon gets an unwelcome surprise when four men break into the house to find hidden money. After managing to escape, Shaun must now figure out a way to turn the tables on the desperate thieves and save her captive children.



Silent House
5.398

Sarah returns with her father and uncle to fix up the family's longtime summerhouse after it was violated by squatters in the off-season. As they work in the dark, Sarah begins to hear sounds from within the walls of the boarded-up building. Although she barely remembers the place, Sarah senses the past may still haunt the home.



American Woman
6.3

A young grandmother in a small Pennsylvania town raises her daughter's child after the girl disappears. All the while, a desperate search for her continues.



Secret in Their Eyes

A tight-knit team of FBI investigators, along with their District Attorney supervisor, is suddenly torn apart when they discover that one of their own teenage daughters has been brutally murdered.



Estranged
Estranged(2015)
5.3

Due to a near-fatal accident that has left her incapacitated and depleted of her long-term memory, a temporarily wheelchair-bound woman returns home after being abroad for six years accompanied by her bohemian boyfriend, the apparent cause of the accident. Unable to remember her family or her own childhood, she sets out, with the help of her boyfriend, to find the reason for her leaving all those years ago and quickly discovers her relatives may not be as loving as she’d thought



Stranger in Our House

A country family of five take in charming cousin Julie, whose parents recently died in a car crash, though teenaged daughter Rachel grows suspect that she has an alternative agenda; one that possibly includes witchcraft.



The Murdered House
6.598

After World War I, a young ex-soldier, Sébastien Monge, returns to his home village. Ignorant of his past, he learns that, 24 years before, his entire family was slain in their home one stormy night. Only Sébastien, then a four-month old baby, was spared. Whilst Sébastien is being seduced by Charmaine, Dupin is killed by someone else. Sébastien’s next victim, the miller Didon Pujol, is also murdered before he has a chance to take his revenge. Sébastien realises that someone is watching his every move and is going to extraordinary lengths to protect him. But who, and why..?



Dead End
Dead End(2003)
6.359

Christmas Eve. On his way to his in-laws with his family, Frank Harrington decides to try a shortcut, for the first time in 20 years. It turns out to be the biggest mistake of his life.



Paradise Lost: The Child Murders at Robin Hood Hills

A horrific triple child murder leads to an indictment and trial of three nonconformist boys based on questionable evidence.



The Kindred
6.4

After her father’s suicide, a young mother investigates what led to his death. But when she is haunted by spirits and unearths an unsolved mystery from 30 years ago, she discovers a dark family history that could prove deadly for her child.

AboutPrivacy PolicyTerms of ServiceContact Us