Movies that feel likePiranha 3D (2010)

Name: Piranha 3D
Director: Alexandre Aja
Genre: comedy, horror
Released: 2010

Each year the population of sleepy Lake Victoria, Arizona explodes from 5,000 to 50,000 residents for the annual Spring Break celebration. But then, an earthquake opens an underwater chasm, releasing an enormous swarm of ancient Piranha that have been dormant for thousands of years, now with a taste for human flesh. This year, there's something more to worry about than the usual hangovers and complaints from locals, a new type of terror is about to be cut loose on Lake Victoria.

If you loved Piranha 3D, the closest films we have are Nobody Sleeps in the Woods Tonight (2020), Tucker and Dale vs. Evil (2010) and Crawl (2019). All three share Piranha 3D's dread and unsettling feel, which is what we rank on before quality.

Seen the big three already? The under-the-radar pick below is Housebound (2014).

🍅 76% Rotten Tomatoes★ 5.5 IMDb ↗TMDB ↗dir. Alexandre Ajawitty playful dread unsettling

11 of 12 streaming nowNetflix · HBO Max · Amazon Prime Video

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If Piranha 3D hit the spot, these will too

Nobody Sleeps in the Woods Tonight

2020 · dir. Bartosz M. Kowalski

🍅 67%★ 4.9comedy · horrorNetflix

Both land wit and play at once

Addicted to technology, a group of teens attends a rehabilitation camp in the forest, but a sinister force there intends to take them offline forever.

Tucker and Dale vs. Evil

2010 · dir. Eli Craig

🍅 86%★ 7.5comedy · horrorPeacock

Dread-soaked where it counts, unsettling underneath

Two hillbillies are suspected of being killers by a group of paranoid college kids camping near the duo's West Virginian cabin. As the body count climbs, so does the fear and confusion as the college kids try to seek revenge against the pair.

Crawl

2019 · dir. Alexandre Aja

🍅 84%★ 6.1horror · thrillerNetflixParamount+

Alexandre Aja working the same nerve twice

The difference: Easier on the wit than Piranha 3D

When a huge hurricane hits her hometown in Florida, Haley ignores evacuation orders to look for her father. After finding him badly wounded, both are trapped by the flood. With virtually no time to escape the storm, they discover that rising water levels are the least of their problems.

What We Do in the Shadows

2014 · dir. Jemaine Clement

🍅 96%★ 7.6comedy · horror

Witty comedy in both cases

Vampire housemates try to cope with the complexities of modern life and show a newly turned hipster some of the perks of being undead.

Zombieland: Double Tap

2019 · dir. Ruben Fleischer

🍅 68%★ 6.6comedy · horrorMax

Horror with a pulse of play, in both cases

Columbus, Tallahassee, Wichita, and Little Rock move to the American heartland as they face off against evolved zombies, fellow survivors, and the growing pains of the snarky makeshift family.

Krampus

2015 · dir. Michael Dougherty

🍅 67%★ 6.2horror · comedy · fantasyPrime VideoPeacock

One thread runs through both: creature

The difference: Sits closer to fantasy than Piranha 3D does

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.

Jennifer's Body

2009 · dir. Karyn Kusama

🍅 47%★ 5.6horror · comedyHuluPeacock

Both lean on dread more than on comedy

The difference: The scrappier of the two with critics

Jennifer, a gorgeous, seductive cheerleader takes evil to a whole new level after she's possessed by a sinister demon. Now it's up to her best friend to stop Jennifer's reign of terror before it's too late.

The Babysitter

2017 · dir. McG

★ 6.4comedy · horrorNetflix

Horror built on unease, twice over

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 Dead Don't Die

2019 · dir. Jim Jarmusch

🍅 55%★ 5.4comedy · drama · horrorNetflix

Witty comedy, and it commits to that

The difference: Leans harder into drama than Piranha 3D does

In the sleepy town of Centerville, the lives of a number of interconnected characters are disrupted by the undead.

Ready or Not

2019 · dir. Matt Bettinelli-Olpin

🍅 89%★ 6.9horror · comedyNetflix

Playful horror, and it commits to that

A young bride's wedding night turns into her worst nightmare when her ridiculously rich in-laws force her to play a gruesome game of hide-and-seek.

Fright Night

1985 · dir. Tom Holland

🍅 83%★ 7.1comedy · horror

Both work the same dread

The difference: Made in the 1980s, in a different era of the craft

Charley Brewster, a high school student, accidentally discovers the true and creepy nature of Jerry Dandrige, his dashing and enigmatic new neighbor; but no one seems willing to believe him.

Housebound

2014 · dir. Gerard Johnstone

🍅 95%★ 6.7horror · comedy · thrillerPrime Video

Both run unsettling where it counts

When Kylie Bucknell is sentenced to home detention, she's forced to come to terms with her unsociable behaviour, her blabbering mother and a hostile spirit who seems less than happy about the new living arrangement.