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Movies like The Children

Key Features:
Holiday horror, Family in peril, Survival, Isolation, Contagion, Psychological horror, Parental anxiety, Winter setting, Remote location, Violence-moderate, Small cast
Tone:
serious, suspense-driven, gritty
Target Audience:
Horror enthusiasts, Suspense fans, Thrill-seekers, Fans of dark themes
Emotional Arc:
Intrigue → Dread → Terror

The Children

2008-12-05
The Children Poster - Find Similar Movies

A relaxing Christmas vacation turns into a terrifying fight for survival as the children begin to turn on their parents.

Genres
Horror, Mystery, Thriller
Cast
Eva Birthistle, Hannah Tointon, Stephen Campbell Moore, Rachel Shelley, Jeremy Sheffield, Rafiella Brooks, Jake Hathaway, William Howes, Eva Sayer
Crew
Tom Shankland, Tom Shankland
Rating
6.04(405 votes)
The ChildrenThe Children
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The Lodge
The Lodge(2020)
6.113

When a father is forced to abruptly depart for work, he leaves his children, Aidan and Mia, at their holiday home in the care of his new girlfriend, Grace. Isolated and alone, a blizzard traps them inside the lodge as terrifying events summon specters from Grace's dark past.



Get Away
Get Away(2024)
5.259

A family's vacation to a remote getaway takes an unexpected turn when they discover the island they're on is inhabited by a serial killer.



There's Something Wrong with the Children

Margaret and Ben take a weekend trip with longtime friends Ellie and Thomas and their two young children. Eventually, Ben begins to suspect something supernatural is occurring when the kids behave strangely after disappearing into the woods overnight.



Unaccompanied Minors

Five disparate kids snowed in at the airport on Christmas Eve learn some lessons about friendship when they launch a bid to get back to their families and outsmart a disgruntled airport official who wants to keep them grounded.



Krampus
Krampus(2015)
6.2

When his dysfunctional family clashes over the holidays, young Max is disillusioned and turns his back on Christmas. Little does he know, this lack of festive spirit has unleashed the wrath of Krampus: a demonic force of ancient evil intent on punishing non-believers.



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.



Hypothermia
3.911

Two families' idyllic ice-fishing vacation turns deadly when they awaken a creature beneath the frozen lake, forcing them to rely on each other if they want to make it safely back to land.



Vacation of Terror
7.1

After inheriting a new summer home from a deceased relative, Fernando brings his family along for a vacation. They quickly discover strange happenings on the property, but when young daughter Gaby falls into a well and returns with an old doll, things take a turn for the horrific.



Red Christmas
4.262

A mother must protect her family on Christmas Day from a demented stranger who is hell bent on tearing them apart.



The Plague
4.815

Ten years have passed since the world's children fell into a coma. Tonight they're waking up and all hell is breaking loose. An unholy battle between the generations is being waged, and time is not on the side of adults.



Hex
Hex(2018)
4.009

A couple's holiday romance is thrown into chaos as they are afflicted by a malicious force.



Hosts
Hosts(2020)
5

On Christmas Eve, an innocent couple become hosts to a malicious entity. Throughout the night they terrorise a family of five in unimaginably violent and disturbing ways.



The Children
5.079

A nuclear-plant leak turns a bus-load of children into murderous atomic zombies with black fingernails.



Shut In
Shut In(2016)
5.3

A widowed child psychologist lives in an isolated existence in rural New England. When caught in a deadly winter storm, she must find a way to rescue a young boy before he disappears forever.



11/11/11
11/11/11(2011)
3.8

Jack and Melissa are frightened by their son's bizarre and violent behavior; they soon learn that he is the gateway to the Apocalypse, and it will happen on his birthday, 11-11-11.



The Impossible
7.368

In December 2004, close-knit family Maria, Henry and their three sons begin their winter vacation in Thailand. But the day after Christmas, the idyllic holiday turns into an incomprehensible nightmare when a terrifying roar rises from the depths of the sea, followed by a wall of black water that devours everything in its path. Though Maria and her family face their darkest hour, unexpected displays of kindness and courage ameliorate their terror.



Edge of Winter
5.851

When two brothers are stranded by a brutal winter storm with an unpredictable father they barely know, the boys begin to suspect their supposed protector may be their biggest threat.



Come Out and Play
5.029

A couple take a vacation to a remote island - their last holiday together before they become parents. Soon after their arrival, they notice that no adults seem to be present - an observation that quickly presents a nightmarish reality.



Angels in the Snow
6.5

In Angels in the Snow, the affluent, yet troubled Montgomery family hits the road for a special Christmas in the mountains.



Home Alone: The Holiday Heist

10-year-old Finn is terrified to learn his family is relocating from sunny California to Maine in the scariest house he has ever seen! Convinced that his new house is haunted, Finn sets up a series of elaborate traps to catch the “ghost” in action. Left home alone with his sister while their parents are stranded across town, Finn’s traps catch a new target – a group of thieves who have targeted Finn’s house.



The Innocents
6.9

Four children become friends during the summer holidays, and out of sight of the adults they discover they have hidden powers. While exploring their newfound abilities in the nearby forests and playgrounds, their innocent play takes a dark turn and strange things begin to happen.



Rare Exports: A Christmas Tale

Young Pietari lives with his reindeer-herding father in arctic Finland. On the eve of Christmas, a nearby excavation makes a frightening discovery and an evil Santa Claus is unleashed…



The Holiday
7.089

Two women, one American and one British, swap homes at Christmastime following bad breakups. Each woman finds romance with a local man but realizes that the imminent return home may end the relationship.



Christmas Twister
5.008

During the holiday season, Ethan, a meteorologist, and his wife Addison, a TV news reporter, must put aside their differences and band together to help save others and rescue their missing children from a massive F6 twister that has unexpectedly descended upon their small Texas town.



Boogeyman
Boogeyman(2005)
5

Every culture has one – the horrible monster fueling young children's nightmares. But for Tim, the Boogeyman still lives in his memories as a creature that devoured his father 16 years ago. Is the Boogeyman real, or did Tim make it up to explain why his father abandoned his family?



The Christmas Chronicles

Siblings Kate and Teddy try to prove Santa Claus is real, but when they accidentally cause his sleigh to crash, they have to save Christmas.



Emelie
Emelie(2016)
5.256

After their regular babysitter cancels, the Thompson family turns to her friend, Anna to supervise their children while the parents go out to celebrate their anniversary. At first Anna seems like a dream come true to the kids, allowing them to eat extra cookies and play with things that are usually off-limits, but as her behaviour becomes increasingly odd, the kids soon find out that her intentions are dark and twisted—and she is not who she seems to be.



Four Christmases
5.8

Brad and Kate have made something of an art form out of avoiding their families during the holidays, but this year their foolproof plan is about go bust -- big time. Stuck at the city airport after all departing flights are canceled, the couple is embarrassed to see their ruse exposed to the world by an overzealous television reporter. Now, Brad and Kate are left with precious little choice other than to swallow their pride and suffer the rounds.



Children of the Damned

Six children are found spread through out the world that not only have enormous intelligence, but identical intelligence and have a strange bond to each other.



The Snow Sister
6.75

A young boy whose grieving family has forgotten about Christmas forms an unexpected, healing bond with a bubbly girl full of holiday spirit.



Silent Night
5.9

Nell, Simon, and their boy Art are ready to welcome friends and family for what promises to be a perfect Christmas gathering. Perfect except for one thing: everyone is going to die.



Wind Chill
5.8

Two college students share a ride home for the holidays. When they break down on a deserted stretch of road, they're preyed upon by the ghosts of people who have died there.



Alien Abduction
5.9

A vacationing family encounters an alien threat in this pulse-pounding thriller based on the real-life Brown Mountain Lights phenomenon in North Carolina.



Z
Z(2019)
6.6

A family find themselves terrorized by their eight-year-old son's imaginary friend.



The Beachnickers
6.893

Things go from bad to worse when four co-workers decide to enjoy the extended holiday at a beach house with their families.



The Visit
The Visit(2015)
6.324

A brother and sister are sent to their grandparents' remote Pennsylvania farm for a week, where they discover that the elderly couple is involved in something deeply disturbing.



Children of the Corn: Genesis

Tim and Allie seek shelter in a remote desert compound after becoming lost and stranded. A strange Manson-like character, Preacher, reluctantly allows them inside with strict orders to be gone by morning and not wander "where you are not invited."



Christmas Break-In
5.731

Izzy is an energetic 9-year-old. Overscheduled and running late, Izzy's parents can't pick her up on-time the last day of school before Christmas break. A blizzard complicates the matter, but not as much as a pair of bad guys who are freezing in an ice cream truck. The school's janitor is kidnapped by the intruders, and it's up to Izzy to save the day.



Christmas at Holly Lodge

Sophie Bennett begins a new holiday tradition of spending every holiday at the Evergreen Inn and Ski Lodge, which she inherited from her parents. Evergreen Inn is a special place filled with people who cannot make it home for the holidays or who have had such wonderful experiences that it has become their home-away-from-holiday-home. This Christmas, Sophie will meet an unforgettable family, and her own life will be forever changed.



Parents
Parents(1989)
5.88

Michael is a young boy living in a typical 1950s suburbanite home... except for his bizarre and horrific nightmares, and continued unease around his parents. Young Michael begins to suspect his parents are cooking more than just hamburgers on the grill outside, but has trouble explaining his fears to his new-found friend Sheila, or the school's social worker.



The Winter Guest
6.4

It's winter in a small Scottish village near the sea, and multiple lives intersect in a day. Frances has just lost her husband to an early death, so her mother, Elspeth, travels to Frances' house to reconnect with her daughter and grandson, Alex. Meanwhile, old women Chloe and Lily go to a funeral, youngsters Sam and Tom cut class, and Alex gets a crush on tomboy Nita.



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 Lost Daughter
6.477

A woman's seaside vacation takes a dark turn when her obsession with a young mother forces her to confront secrets from her past.



They
They(2002)
5

A psychology student who experienced night terrors as a child must face the chilling realization that her nightmares were not all in her head.



Christmas Vacation '90

Several characters coincide during the Christmas holidays in the winter season of Saint Moritz.



Fright
Fright(1971)
6

Young babysitter Amanda arrives at the Lloyd residence to spend the evening looking after their young son. Soon after the Lloyds leave, a series of frightening occurrences in the gloomy old house have Amanda's nerves on edge. The real terror begins, however, when the child's biological father appears after recently escaping from a nearby mental institution.



Home Alone
7.451

Eight-year-old Kevin McCallister makes the most of the situation after his family unwittingly leaves him behind when they go on Christmas vacation. When thieves try to break into his home, he puts up a fight like no other.



The Parenting
6.055

Boyfriends Josh and Rohan plan a weekend getaway to introduce their parents, only to discover that their rental is home to a 400-year-old poltergeist.



The Claus Family

When his grandfather suddenly falls ill, holiday-hating Jules learns of his family's magical legacy and realizes he's the only hope to save Christmas.



Speak No Evil
7.2

When an American family is invited to spend the weekend at the idyllic country estate of a charming British family they befriended on vacation, what begins as a dream holiday soon warps into a snarled psychological nightmare.



The Gift
The Gift(2015)
6.7

Simon and Robyn are a young married couple whose life is going as planned until a chance run-in with Simon's high school acquaintance sends their world into a tailspin.



Frozen
Frozen(2010)
6

When three skiers find themselves stranded on a chair lift at a New England ski resort that has closed for the next week, they are forced to make life or death choices that prove to be more perilous than staying put and freezing to death.



Hideaways
Hideaways(2011)
6.2

The elder one of each generation in the Furlong family is equipped with an extraordinary capacity. James discovers the nature of his at the time of an accident which causes the death of his father and his grandmother. Haunted by this mysterious evil he hides in a forest not to harm anybody. A few years later, Mae also takes refuge it in the forest and meets James.



The Turning
5.7

A young woman quits her teaching job to become a private tutor and governess for two wealthy young kids, but soon starts to suspect there’s more to their house than meets the eye.



Christmas on Mistletoe Farm

After inheriting a farm at Christmas time, a widowed father makes a bumpy adjustment to village life — while his kids hatch a plan to stay there forever.



My Extraordinary Summer with Tess

As the youngest of the family, Sam is haunted by the notion that someday he could become the last remaining survivor, all alone. On a family vacation at the beach, he meets the unconventional Tess, who carries her own secrets around with her and shows him how the present moment can win out over memories and anxiety about what’s yet to come.



Christmas Vacation '91

This coarse bedroom farce takes place at the St. Moritz ski resort over a Christmas vacation. Among the couples whose lives intersect are a widowed artist honeymooning with his second wife, a gay man traveling with his son and his lover (and hiding each from the other), a snobbish couple from Milan who have been forced to share a suite with a pair of crass Romans, etc.



The Babysitter
6.2

When Cole stays up past his bedtime, he discovers that his hot babysitter is part of a Satanic cult that will stop at nothing to keep him quiet.



The Humans
6.1

Erik Blake has gathered three generations of his Pennsylvania family to celebrate Thanksgiving at his daughter’s apartment in lower Manhattan. As darkness falls outside and eerie things start to go bump in the night, the group’s deepest fears are laid bare.



What We Did on Our Holiday

Doug and Abi and their three children travel to the Scottish Highlands for Doug's father Gordie's birthday party. It's soon clear that when it comes to keeping a secret under wraps from the rest of the family, their children are their biggest liability...



Christmas Getaway

When a reservation mix-up at a mountain resort forces a newly-single travel writer to share a cabin with a handsome widower and his precocious daughter over the holidays, their lives are transformed by the magic of Christmas and the unexpected power of love.



Let It Snow
6.1

In a small town on Christmas Eve, a snowstorm brings together a group of young people. They soon find their friendships and love lives colliding, and come Christmas morning, nothing will be the same.



To All a Goodnight
4.603

A group of teenagers at a party find themselves being stalked by a maniacal killer in a Santa Claus costume.



The Darkness
4.8

A family returns from a Grand Canyon vacation with a supernatural presence in tow.



That Christmas
7.18

It's an unforgettable Christmas for the townsfolk of Wellington-on-Sea when the worst snowstorm in history alters everyone's plans — including Santa's.



Lights Out
6.365

Rebecca must unlock the terror behind her little brother's experiences that once tested her sanity, bringing her face to face with a supernatural spirit attached to their mother.



12 Men of Christmas

A high-powered New York publicist finds herself in Montana promoting a charity calendar after being betrayed by her boss and fiancé. Unfortunately, matters of the heart are just as complicated in the wilds as they are in the big city.



Home for the Holidays

After losing her job, making out with her soon-to-be former boss, and finding out that her daughter plans to spend Thanksgiving with her boyfriend, Claudia Larson faces spending the holiday with her unhinged family.



Our Little Secret
6.274

After discovering their significant others are siblings, two resentful exes must spend Christmas under one roof — while hiding their romantic history.



Leave the World Behind

A family's getaway to a luxurious rental home takes an ominous turn when a cyberattack knocks out their devices—and two strangers appear at their door.



The Christmas Chronicles: Part Two

Kate Pierce is reluctantly spending Christmas with her mom’s new boyfriend and his son Jack. But when the North Pole and Christmas are threatened to be destroyed, Kate and Jack are unexpectedly pulled into a new adventure with Santa Claus.



Home Sweet Home Alone

After being left at home by himself for the holidays, 10-year-old Max Mercer must work to defend his home from a married couple who tries to steal back a valuable heirloom.



Santa Who?
5.463

Santa Claus develops amnesia after accidentally falling out of his sleigh and only the innocence of a small child can save him. Meanwhile, Santa has to battle the disbelief of a newsman.



Cosy Dens
Cosy Dens(1999)
7.912

Two families, Sebkovi and Krausovi, are celebrating Christmas, but not everyone is in a good mood. The teenage kids think that their fathers are totally stupid, and the fathers are sure that their children are nothing more than rebels, hating anything they say.



The Shining
8.2

Jack Torrance accepts a caretaker job at the Overlook Hotel, where he, along with his wife Wendy and their son Danny, must live isolated from the rest of the world for the winter. But they aren't prepared for the madness that lurks within.



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.



Old
Old(2021)
6.3

A group of families on a tropical holiday discover that the secluded beach where they are staying is somehow causing them to age rapidly – reducing their entire lives into a single day.



Force Majeure
6.858

While holidaying in the French Alps, a Swedish family deals with acts of cowardliness as an avalanche breaks out.



The Christmas Shoes
6.849

Two separate stories mesh - in the first, a young music teacher, Maggie Andrews, begins dying of a heart condition and her son Nathan tries to get a pair of Christmas shoes for her before she dies. In the second, lawyer Robert Layton and his wife Kate are slowly drifting apart and the matter comes to a head during Christmas when Kate takes over for Maggie for the school choir.



Flesh & Blood
6.9

Kimberly, a teenager suffering from agoraphobia, has not left the house since her mother's unsolved murder. On the eve of Thanksgiving, she begins to suspect that the safe harbor of home and her doting father may be a dangerous mirage.



The Warning
6

Ten-year-old Nico receives a threatening letter and now his life is in danger. No one seems to believe him except one person that he doesn't know.



Danika
Danika(2006)
5.071

Traumatized since childhood by her brother's accidental death, Danika Merrick hallucinates a bank robbery and quits her job. Despite support from her three children and loving husband, Danika continues to experience unnerving visions. She seeks help from therapist Evelyn Harris but pervasive reports of violent incidents involving children make Danika fear for her own family, and she grows increasingly paranoid, worrying she may be going insane.



Christmas Icetastrophe

This Christmas, a super frozen object is going to slam into the Earth. In the middle of a small town, and very quickly, dreams of a "White Christmas" will turn into a FROZEN NIGHTMARE.



Alaska
Alaska(1996)
5.8

Jake Barnes and his two kids, Sean and Jessie, have moved to Alaska after his wife died. He is a former airline pilot now delivering toilet paper across the mountains. During an emergency delivery in a storm his plane goes down somewhere in the mountains. Annoyed that the authorities aren't doing enough, Jessie and Sean set out on an adventure to find their father with the help of a polar bear which they have saved from a ferocious poacher. Conflict ensues.



Black Christmas
5.165

As the residents of sorority house Pi Kappa Sigma prepare for the festive season, a stranger begins a series of obscene phone calls with dubious intentions...



The Winter Lake
5

When Holly’s dark secret is accidentally uncovered by her new emotionally unstable neighbor Tom, they are pulled into a violent confrontation with her father, who will do anything to keep the secret hidden.



Saint
Saint(2010)
4.961

A horror film that depicts St. Nicholas as a murderous bishop who kidnaps and murders children when there is a full moon on December 5.



Your Christmas or Mine 2

They've swapped Christmas – again. Can Hayley and James' relationship survive another turbulent family Christmas or has their future together gone off-piste?!



The Witches
6.941

A young boy named Luke and his grandmother go on vacation only to discover their hotel is hosting an international witch convention, where the Grand High Witch is unveiling her master plan to turn all children into mice. Will Luke fall victim to the witches' plot before he can stop them?



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.



First Born
5.4

A young couples lives are turned upside down when the birth of their first child is accompanied by terrifying entities that threaten their newly formed family.



The Remains
4.702

After a family moves into an old Victorian home, they discover a chest in the attic containing antiques tainted by a malevolent spirit. As the antiques slowly possess each family member, the spirit grows stronger, hellbent on kidnapping the children.



Casper's Haunted Christmas

Kibosh, supreme ruler of all ghosts, decrees that casper must scare at least one person before Christmas Day so Casper visits Kriss, Massachusetts where he meets the Jollimore family and sets out to complete his mission. As usual, kindhearted Casper has a ghastky time trying to scare anyone; so The Ghostly Trio, fed up with his goody-boo-shoes behavior, secretly hires Casper's look-alike cousin Spooky to do the job-with hilarious results.



The Sandman
7.1

A young child and his mother face a visit from the terrifying sandman.



Motherly
Motherly(2022)
6.132

Kate and her daughter Beth live alone in an isolated farmhouse in the woods, but when Kate slowly begins to suspect that something sinister is happening, her motherly instincts are put to the test.



National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation

It's Christmastime, and the Griswolds are preparing for a family seasonal celebration. But things never run smoothly for Clark, his wife Ellen, and their two kids. Clark's continual bad luck is worsened by his obnoxious family guests, but he manages to keep going, knowing that his Christmas bonus is due soon.



Downhill
Downhill(2020)
5.247

Barely escaping an avalanche during a family ski vacation in the Alps, a married couple is thrown into disarray as they are forced to reevaluate their lives and how they feel about each other.



The Good Son
6.775

A young boy stays with his aunt and uncle, and befriends his cousin who's the same age. But his cousin begins showing increasing signs of psychotic behavior.



Skinamarink
5.404

Two children wake up in the middle of the night to find their father is missing, and all the windows and doors in their home have vanished.

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