Best movies like The Forbidden Play

A unique, carefully handpicked, selection of the best movies like The Forbidden Play Starring Shinobu Hasegawa, Kanna Hashimoto, Mayu Hotta, Kenta Izuka, and more. If you liked The Forbidden Play then you may also like: White Noise, Rabbit Hole, The Spiral, Reservation Road, Rich and Strange and many more popular movies featured on this list. You can further filter the list even more or get a random selection from the list of similar movies, to make your selection even easier.

Naoto Ihara lives happily with his wife Miyuki and their son Haruto. Their happiness is crushed when Miyuki suddenly dies in a car accident. Naoto falls into deep grief over the death of his wife. Meanwhile, Naruto buries his dead mother Miyuki's finger in their garden and prays everyday for her to come back to life. The family is visited by video director Hiroko Kurasawa, who used to work with Naoto Ihara. There she sees Haruto shouting a strange spell in their yard. Unexpected and bizarre phenomenons soon take place around Hiroko Kurasawa.

selected filters: Sort: Default

You may filter the list of movies on this page for a more refined, personalized selection of movies.

Still not sure what to watch click the recommend buttun below to get a movie recommendation selected from all the movies on this list

Know any good movies to watch like The Forbidden Play 2023. With a similar plot or stoyline. Suggest it.

White Noise

An architect's desire to speak with his wife from beyond the grave using EVP (Electronic Voice Phenomenon), becomes an obsession with supernatural repercussions.

Rabbit Hole

Life for a happy couple is turned upside down after their young son dies in an accident.

The Spiral

A young pathologist seeks answers to the mysterious death of a friend and soon comes into contact with the same cursed videotape that caused the death of the friend's wife and son, which is haunted by the curse of Sadako, a relentless spirit.

Reservation Road

Two fathers' lives intersect when one of them is involved in a terrible and sudden hit-and-run car accident that leaves the other's son dead. In response, the two men react in unexpected ways as a reckoning looms in the near future.

Rich and Strange

Believing that an unexpected inheritance will bring them happiness, a married couple instead finds their relationship strained to the breaking point.

Ring 2

While investigating the horrifying death of her boyfriend, Mai Takano learns about a videotape haunted by the spirit of a disturbing girl named Sadako, which kills anyone who watches it exactly one week later. When her boyfriend’s son, Yoichi, starts to develop the same psychic abilities as Sadako, Takano must find a way to keep the boy and herself from becoming the next victims.

Ju-on: The Grudge

Volunteer home-care worker Rika is assigned to visit a family, she is cursed and chased by two revengeful fiends: Kayako, a woman brutally murdered by her husband and her son Toshio. Each person that lives in or visits the haunted house is murdered or disappears.

Kuroneko

In the Sengoku period, a woman and her daughter are raped and murdered by soldiers during a time of civil war. Afterwards, a series of samurai returning from the war through that area are found mysteriously dead with their throats torn out. The governor calls in a wild and fierce young hero to quell what is evidently an Onryō ghost. He encounters the two beautiful women in an eerie, beautiful scene. After spiritual purification, he meets the demon in a thrilling fight.

Amityville: The Evil Escapes

The demonic force lurking in Amityville for over 300 years escapes to a remote California mansion. It encounters a struggling family living together by uncertain means. The beast manipulates a little girl by manifesting itself in the form of her dead father. Soon it will be able to possess her completely... is it too late for a young priest to defeat the demon and end the curse?

Another

After a chain of deaths at a junior high school, new transfer student Koichi Sakakibara turns to a mysterious girl who holds the key to the dark mystery.

Burnt Offerings

A couple and their 12-year-old son move into a giant house for the summer. Things start acting strange almost immediately. It seems that every time someone gets hurt on the grounds, the beat-up house seems to repair itself.

Cake

After having visions of a member of her support group who killed herself, a woman who also suffers with chronic pain seeks out the widower of the suicide.

Cathy's Curse

A young girl is possessed by the spirit of her dead aunt, who died in a car accident. Soon members of her family begin to mysteriously die off.

Pet Sematary

Dr. Louis Creed's family moves into the country house of their dreams and discover a pet cemetery at the back of their property. The cursed burial ground deep in the woods brings the dead back to life -- with "minor" problems. At first, only the family's cat makes the return trip, but an accident forces a heartbroken father to contemplate the unthinkable.

Slumber

A sleep doctor tries to protect a family from a demon that feeds on people in their nightmares.

The Dark and the Wicked

On a secluded farm in a nondescript rural town, a man is slowly dying. His family gathers to mourn, and soon a darkness grows, marked by waking nightmares and a growing sense that something evil is taking over the family.

Black Butler

Set in the year 2020, Shiori Genbo runs the large corporation Funtom. Shiori is also a descendant of prestigious noble family Phantomhive of England. As a descendant of the noble family Phantomhive, Shiori solves difficult cases which are ordered by the queen. In order to take revenge, Shiori makes a deal with Butler Sebastian. Their deal involves Butler Sebastian protecting Shiori until her revenge is fulfilled and then Sebastian will consume her spirit.

More Painful than Rain

Ayami, who works in the marketing department of an advertising agency, is about to turn 30 and is beginning to think that she would rather live her life for work than marriage. Just then, she meets Kurasawa, who works at the same company, and they soon find themselves drawn to each other.

Ed Gein

The true story of Edward Gein, the farmer whose horrific crimes inspired Psycho, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre and The Silence of the Lambs. This is the first film to Gein's tormented upbringing, his adored but domineering mother, and the 1957 arrest uncovered the most bizarre series of murders America has ever seen

Fluke

Workaholic Thomas Johnson dies in an auto accident and comes back to life as a dog. Remembering some of who he was, he returns to his wife and son to protect them from the man who caused his accident. But, as time goes by, he remembers more of his life, and realizes he wasn't such a good husband and father.

Ghost Story

Four successful elderly gentlemen, members of the Chowder Society, share a gruesome, 50-year-old secret. When one of Edward Wanderley's twin sons dies in a bizarre accident, the group begins to see a pattern of frightening events developing.

Poltergeist

Steve Freeling lives with his wife, Diane, and their three children, Dana, Robbie, and Carol Anne, in Southern California where he sells houses for the company that built the neighborhood. It starts with just a few odd occurrences, such as broken dishes and furniture moving around by itself. However, when he realizes that something truly evil haunts his home, Steve calls in a team of parapsychologists led by Dr. Lesh to help before it's too late.

Shrill Cries: Reshuffle

Maebara Keiichi, a young teenager, has recently moved from the city to the rural village of Hinamizawa with his family. He is adjusting quite well to his new life, making friends at the small school, playing games, passing time in relative happiness, when suddenly a gruesome murder occurs. A mystery begins to unravel — tracing back to happenings five years ago. As Keiichi learns more about these strange events, he wonders if he will be able to face the truth behind all of this.

Hereditary

When Ellen, the matriarch of the Graham family, passes away, her daughter's family begins to unravel cryptic and increasingly terrifying secrets about their ancestry.

Happily

Tom and Janet have been happily married for years. But a visit from a mysterious stranger leads to a dead body, a lot of questions, and a tense couples' trip with friends who may not actually be friends at all.

Mother

A publishing company is working on a book about Umezu’s life. The lead editor, Sakura, knows that Umezu’s late mother Ichie was very influential to his work. As the investigation continues, bizarre incidents begin occurring one after another. Soon, the grudge of a mother who should be dead sparks mounting fear around Umezu.

Practical Magic

Sally and Gillian Owens, born into a magical family, have mostly avoided witchcraft themselves. But when Gillian's vicious boyfriend, Jimmy Angelov, dies unexpectedly, the Owens sisters give themselves a crash course in hard magic. With policeman Gary Hallet growing suspicious, the girls struggle to resurrect Angelov -- and unwittingly inject his corpse with an evil spirit that threatens to end their family line.

Ritual

A disillusioned filmmaker has an encounter with a young woman who has a ritual of repeating "Tomorrow is my birthday" everyday. He tries to communicate with her through his video camera.

Snow White: The Fairest of Them All

Snow White's mother dies during childbirth, leaving baby Snow and father John for dead on an icy field, who then receives a visit from one of Satan's representatives, granting him three wishes.

True Mothers

After a long and unsuccessful struggle to get pregnant, convinced by the discourse of an adoption association, Satoko and her husband decide to adopt a baby boy. A few years later, their parenthood is shaken by a threatening unknown girl, Hikari, who pretends to be the child's biological mother. Satoko decides to confront Hikari directly.

All the Way Home

In the early 1900's Tennessee, a loving family undergoes the shock of the father's sudden, accidental death. The widow and her young son must endure the heartache of life following the tragedy, but slowly rise up from the ashes to face the hope of renewed life.

They Wait

Jason and his wife, Sarah, leave their adopted home of Shanghai and travel to Vancouver, British Columbia, for his uncle's funeral, staying with his Aunt Mei. Already disoriented, Jason and Sarah are unnerved when their son, Sam, begins seeing ghosts and violent deaths. After Sam is hospitalized, Sarah consults with a pharmacist who's well-informed about Chinese mythology and who tells her that supernatural forces threaten her son.

Miss ZOMBIE

A doctor and his family receive an unexpected delivery from an old friend at their remote country home - a large wooden crate containing a gun, a female zombie and an instruction sheet telling them not to feed her meat. The family is concerned, of course, but she seems harmless enough. Perhaps she can help clean up outside?

Pecoross' Mother and Her Days

Laid-back baby boomer Yuichi (Ryo Iwamatsu) is a middle-aged manga artist and singer-songwriter when he isn't at his salaryman day job or watching out for his elderly mother. Suffering from increasing dementia since her husband's death, Mitsue (Harue Akagi) is a constant source of comic energy or annoyance for Yuichi, and he and his son must soon decide if they should put her in a home for the elderly. Jumping back in time, we see how Mitsue (played by Kiwako Harada) tracked the tumult of the latter half of the 20th century, being raised as one of 10 brothers and sisters, surviving the war, and having to push her alcoholic husband (Ryo Kase) along in life. "Pecoross" is directed by the oldest active film director in Japan, Azuma Morisaki, who creates an emotionally complex work that is only the more profound and life-affirming for its cartoonish portrayal.

A Man

Akira works as a lawyer. One day, he meets with his former client Rie, who asks Akira to perform a background check on her late husband Daisuke.

Crossed Over

After her son dies in a hit-and-run accident, a woman forms an unusual friendship with a convicted killer awaiting execution.

Naked as We Came

Love, loss and hope are tumultuously explored amidst a tranquil backdrop and asks us all the question: What is your dream? After an unexpected phone call, Laura and her brother Elliot rush to their family’s country estate to find Lilly their mother gravely ill and living with a handsome young stranger named Ted. Estranged for some time, their mother’s condition sets Laura and Elliot on a path to realizing where their own lives have gone wrong. Lilly, on the other hand, has mellowed from the controlling woman she was and is hoping to pass on some wisdom to her children. Now her kids find themselves dealing with their own feelings of resentment and broken dreams while trying to figure out how Ted fits into their mother’s life. Elliot even sleeps with Ted to break some barriers. But Ted has a secret of his own.

The Echo

An ex-prisoner moves to an old apartment, where one gets to see in the middle of a domestic problem between a police officer, his wife and his daughter. When he tries to intervene, he will be caught in a mysterious curse.

Meatball Machine Kodoku

Nobody knows where they came from. They parasitize in human beings, take control of them and change their bodies into hideous monsters (Necro-borg). The Necro-borg fight each other until the other dies. Where did they come from? To what end? Yuji and Kaoru, whom both have dark secrets within themselves, get caught up in the horrific battles of Necro-borg. What will their fate be?

Brave Hearts: Umizaru

Mika is a flight attendant on board an airplane scheduled to land at Haneda Airport. On the way to the airport the airplane's engine starts to burn. In order to save the 346 people on board the airplane, sea marshall Daisuke Senzaki and his team are called into action ...

Ghosts of Darkness

Two paranormal investigators are unexpectedly thrown together in the hope of solving a 100 year mystery. Locked for three nights in a house with a dark and unsettling past, the two investigators must put their differences to one side and work together. They soon discover the myths and stories are nothing compared to what actually resides within the eerie walls of Richwood Manor. Scepticism and showmanship are soon put to one side when the two investigators realise there is more at stake than just their professional reputation. For once they have stumbled onto the real thing, but this time it's their own lives at stake.

Doll Graveyard

It's 1905 when 12 year old Sophia plays all by herself in her big, creepy house with only four handmade dolls as friends. When her abusive father has finally had enough, he forces her to bury them in the backyard. But, after she "slips" and breaks her neck, dad buries her right along with the dolls. 100 years later, the Fillbrook family moves into the very same house.

Riverside Mukolitta

A lonely young man moves in a 50-year-old apartment building. When he meets the cheerful residents, he finds himself surrounded by small happiness.

The Complex

Nursing student Asuka has just moved into an apartment complex with her parents and younger brother. On the first night in her new room, she is awoken by a strange scratching sound coming from the apartment of her neighbor, a reclusive old man who has refused all attempts at communication. Concerned over his well being, Asuka enters his home only to find him dead from malnutrition. Worse, it looks as if he had been trying to claw his way into her room. Asuka learns that there have been a number of strange deaths in the complex over the years from Shinobu, the handyman cleaning up the old man’s apartment. Even the girls at school whisper rumors of it being haunted.

Chizuko's Younger Sister

The Kitao family is coping with the loss of the eldest daughter, Chizuko, who was killed in a freak accident the year prior. When the other daughter Mika is suddenly in a dangerous situation, Chizuko returns as a ghost to save her; reunited with her sister, Mika begins spending time with Chizuko again.

Cobalt Blue

Ryuji is a fisherman that has brought up his daughter Ryoko single-handedly. Ryoko and her childhood friend Kazuya have fallen in love. But when Kazuya dies in a tragic accident while diving for coral wood, Ryoko is overcome with grief and, emotionally destroyed, retreats into silent mourning.

This Child Is Evil

Doctor Shiro Kubo, whose family had a severe accident leaving the mother in a coma, is called to treat a strange disease. His daughter is suspicious of the woman who claims to be her mother after leaving the coma. Who is the woman who pretends to be her mother? A father must do everything he can to bring tranquility to his family.

Nanase futatabi

A gifted psychic named Nanase teams up with other psychics in order to fight against a mysterious organization determined to hunt them down.

Haunted Campus

Shinji Yagami (Yuma Nakayama) is a university student. He is easily frightened, due to seeing ghosts. He has feelings for Koyomi Nada (Haruka Shimazaki). To protect Koyomi Nada, Shinji and Koyomi joins the occult research group at their university. They try to solve a mystery of the haunted campus with members of their occult group.

Proof of the Man

In Tokyo, 1974, a young African American is found dead in a lift. A knife is stuck deep into his chest and a streak of tear is running down his cheek. A policeman, Munesue starts to investigate the case. On the same day, there is a grand reception party held on the top floor by Kyoko, a popular beautician adored by everyone as an ideal wife and mother. The investigation reveals the victim was raised in a ghetto in NY, was able to speak a little Japanese, and his dying words was “su to u ha.” Startling connection between him and Kyoko is to be revealed…

More related lists

Sort results by:

X close
Default
Clear filters
...