The Housemaid backdrop

Films like The Housemaid (2025)

Published: Feb 22, 2026

A selection of tense domestic thrillers where frightening secrets lurk behind the perfect façade of married life. The films in this collection explore distrust, marital betrayal, and gaslighting, and they carry a taut, dark atmosphere.

The Girl on the Train

1. The Girl on the Train

Crime Mystery Thriller
6.5

2016 · 1h 52min

United States, India

Director: Tate Taylor

Divorced woman Rachel Watson watches, day after day, the life of a seemingly perfect couple in a house near the railway tracks. But one day a woman from that perfect home disappears, and Rachel is drawn into a tangled web of investigation—because she’s the one who saw what most people never did.

Similarity

Closest characteristics: Tension, Pacing, Complexity, Tone, Conflict

Notable differences: Bleakness (+17%)

Style

Darkness
78%
Tension
74%
Bleakness
72%

The Gift

2. The Gift

Thriller Mystery Drama
7.0

2015 · 1h 48min

United States, Australia

Director: Joel Edgerton

After moving into a new house, the married couple Simon and Robyn run into Simon’s former classmate, Gordo. Things quickly turn tense when Gordo starts inserting himself into their lives with intrusive visits and unexpected gifts.

Similarity

Closest characteristics: Pacing, Complexity, Darkness, Tone, Tropes

Notable differences: Bleakness (+17%)

Shared keywords

Mistrust, Revenge, Family dysfunction

Style

Tension
84%
Darkness
78%
Bleakness
72%

Gone Girl

3. Gone Girl

Mystery Thriller Drama
8.1

2014 · 2h 29min

United States

Director: David Fincher

On their wedding anniversary, Nick Dunne comes home to find that his wife Amy has vanished without a trace, and the house shows signs of violence. The further the investigation goes, the more questions police have about Nick’s possible involvement in the mysterious disappearance—and whether this couple was ever truly so perfect.

Similarity

Closest characteristics: Pacing, Tension, Tone, Tropes

Notable differences: Bleakness (+23%), Darkness (+12%), Complexity (+19%)

Style

Tension
84%
Darkness
82%
Bleakness
78%

The Hand That Rocks the Cradle

4. The Hand That Rocks the Cradle

Drama Thriller
6.7

1992 · 1h 50min

United States

Director: Curtis Hanson

Happy couple Claire and Michael hire a young nanny, Peyton, so they can have more time for their own lives. But everything changes when it turns out the sweet girl isn’t quite who she claims to be.

Similarity

Closest characteristics: Darkness, Tension, Pacing, Tone, Tropes

Notable differences: Bleakness (+15%)

Shared keywords

Revenge, Gaslighting

Style

Tension
80%
Darkness
75%
Bleakness
70%

The Beguiled

5. The Beguiled

Drama
6.3

2017 · 1h 33min

United States

Director: Sofia Coppola

Badly wounded and looking for shelter, a soldier ends up at a secluded girls’ boarding school, where several women live and teach under the watch of a strict headmistress. His presence in this isolated world upsets the routine and sparks rivalry among the women.

Similarity

Closest characteristics: Tension, Darkness, Tropes, Tone

Notable differences: Bleakness (+20%), Pacing (-30%)

Style

Tension
80%
Darkness
80%
Bleakness
75%

Side Effects

6. Side Effects

Thriller Crime Drama
7.1

2013 · 1h 46min

United States

Director: Steven Soderbergh

A young woman struggles with severe depression and turns to a clinic, where she’s put on an experimental treatment. But her normal life starts falling apart even more when the prescribed medication brings unexpected side effects.

Similarity

Closest characteristics: Darkness, Pacing, Tension, Tone, Tropes

Notable differences: Complexity (+19%)

Shared keywords

Mistrust, Betrayal, Revenge

Style

Tension
78%
Complexity
74%
Darkness
70%

Rebecca

7. Rebecca

Romance Drama Mystery Thriller
6.0

2020 · 2h 3min

United Kingdom

Director: Ben Wheatley

A young woman falls for a wealthy widower, quickly marries him, and moves into his family estate. But once there, she notices everything still evokes his first wife—from the objects to the very atmosphere—as if someone can’t let her go.

Similarity

Closest characteristics: Tension, Complexity, Bleakness, Tone, Tropes

Notable differences: Pacing (-25%), Romance (+50%)

Style

Tension
70%
Romance
65%
Bleakness
65%

Blink Twice

8. Blink Twice

Mystery Thriller
6.5

2024 · 1h 42min

United States

Director: Zoë Kravitz

After meeting at a charity event, a tech millionaire invites a waitress and her friend on a trip to his private island. Following a string of wild parties, strange events begin to unfold, leaving the girl questioning what’s actually real.

Similarity

Closest characteristics: Pacing, Tension, Complexity, Tone, Conflict

Notable differences: Bleakness (+17%), Darkness (+14%)

Shared keywords

Violent, Revenge

Style

Darkness
84%
Tension
83%
Bleakness
72%

Room

9. Room

Drama Thriller
8.1

2015 · 1h 58min

United States, Canada

Director: Lenny Abrahamson

A little boy and his mother have been held captive in a locked room since his birth. One day they finally dare to escape, and he gets his first chance to experience the world outside.

Similarity

Closest characteristics: Darkness, Tension, Bleakness, Tone, Conflict

Style

Tension
78%
Darkness
70%
Bleakness
65%

Nocturnal Animals

10. Nocturnal Animals

Drama Thriller
7.4

2016 · 1h 56min

United States, China

Director: Tom Ford

Susan has a successful life in Los Angeles: she has a husband and runs her own business. One day she receives an unexpected package from her ex—a novel written especially for her. Reading the manuscript awakens long-forgotten memories and makes her see the past in a new light.

Similarity

Closest characteristics: Pacing, Tension, Tone, Tropes

Notable differences: Bleakness (+27%), Darkness (+16%), Violence (+12%), Complexity (+17%)

Style

Darkness
86%
Tension
84%
Bleakness
82%

Lady Macbeth

11. Lady Macbeth

Drama
6.8

2016 · 1h 26min

United Kingdom

Director: William Oldroyd

England, 19th century. Young Katherine is married off by arrangement to a much older man. Later she meets a worker on her new husband’s estate, and a romance sparks between them.

Similarity

Closest characteristics: Tension, Darkness, Tropes, Tone

Notable differences: Bleakness (+23%), Pacing (-19%)

Shared keywords

Betrayal, Moral ambiguity, Trapped, Infidelity

Style

Bleakness
78%
Darkness
74%
Tension
72%

Elle

12. Elle

Drama Thriller
7.1

2016 · 2h 11min

Belgium, France

Director: Paul Verhoeven

Similarity

Closest characteristics: Tension, Pacing, Tone, Conflict

Notable differences: Bleakness (+17%), Darkness (+16%), Complexity (+12%)

Style

Darkness
86%
Tension
78%
Bleakness
72%

God's Crooked Lines

13. God's Crooked Lines

Drama Mystery Thriller
7.1

2022 · 2h 35min

Spain

Director: Oriol Paulo

A private detective enters a psychiatric hospital posing as a patient to investigate the mysterious murder of one of the inmates. The deeper she digs into the case, the greater the danger to her becomes.

Similarity

Closest characteristics: Darkness, Pacing, Tension, Tone, Tropes

Notable differences: Complexity (+19%)

Style

Tension
78%
Complexity
74%
Darkness
70%

Misery

14. Misery

Drama Thriller
7.8

1990 · 1h 47min

United States

Director: Rob Reiner

During a terrifying blizzard, a famous writer gets into a car accident. He’s rescued by a woman—a devoted fan of his work—who is ready to do anything so she never has to let him go.

Similarity

Closest characteristics: Pacing, Darkness, Tone, Tropes

Notable differences: Bleakness (+15%), Tension (+15%), Violence (+22%)

Shared keywords

Violent, Trapped, Survival game

Style

Tension
90%
Darkness
78%
Violence
72%

Swimming Pool

15. Swimming Pool

Crime Thriller
6.7

2003 · 1h 42min

France, United Kingdom

Director: François Ozon

A British crime novelist travels to her publisher’s luxurious estate in the south of France to find solitude and work on her next book. But the unexpected arrival of his daughter disrupts her peace — and ultimately leads to a crime.

Similarity

Closest characteristics: Darkness, Tension, Tropes, Tone

Notable differences: Pacing (-20%), Complexity (+15%)

Style

Complexity
70%
Tension
65%
Darkness
60%

About the movie The Housemaid (2025)

The Housemaid plot: A young woman named Millie takes a job as a maid in a luxurious mansion. But over time she realizes that behind the flawless facade of the perfect family lie shocking and dangerous secrets that won’t let anyone go so easily.

Keywords: Violent, Mistrust, Betrayal, Moral ambiguity, Suspenseful, Revenge, Trapped, Trauma, Risk vs control, Family dysfunction

Style characteristics: Tension, Darkness, Pacing