Movie

Child in the Night

1990 · 95 min

A somber, slow-burning TV thriller that burrows into a child's trauma, mixing psychological unease with a few jolting scares.

Directed by: Mike Robe
Genres: Mystery, Thriller, Drama
Starring: JoBeth Williams, Tom Skerritt, Season Hubley

Tagline: The secret of a grisly murder, locked in a child's mind.
Overview: Traumatized after seeing his father brutally murdered by a hook wielding assailant, young Luke is tasked to help unmask the killer.

Your rating is saved. See your suggestions, or find titles like this one below.

Rate it, and Mesmero finds titles that feel like it. You do not need an account.

Search YouTube for a trailer

In the UKNo streaming, rental or purchase options known.

Directed by: Mike Robe
Genres: Mystery, Thriller, Drama
Starring: JoBeth Williams, Tom Skerritt, Season Hubley

In your watch list

How it feels

Written by AI. It can be wrong.

Tone: tensestrength 2 of 3
darkstrength 2 of 3
melancholicstrength 1 of 3
eeriestrength 1 of 3
Pacing: measured, 2 of 4, from slow-burn to relentless
Attention: engaged, 3 of 4, from background-friendly to demanding
Themes: trauma
memory
grief
family
deception
Places: big city
home
Era: contemporary
Audience: adult
Form: twist ending
Content intensity: Gore mild
Language mild
Violence strong
Sex mild

All scales, 0 to 10

Scales, 0 to 10
Scale	Value	0 to 10
Action	3
Horror	5
Humour	1
Realism	7
Romance	3
Tension	7
Darkness	7
Complexity	5
Emotional weight	7

Titles like Child in the Night

Movie

Mystic River

2003

A slow, heavy descent into grief and suspicion, where every scene tightens the knot of guilt and violence.

Tense, dark · about trauma and grief · twist ending

Via: tense
dark
trauma
grief
twist ending
Pacing: slow-burn
Attention: demanding
Runtime: 138 min

Details

Mystic RiverHidden from your suggestions.

Movie

The Sixth Sense

1999

A quiet, haunting slow burn that creeps under your skin and then lands an emotional gut punch you never see coming.

Tense · about grief and family · twist ending

Via: tense
grief
family
twist ending
Pacing: slow-burn
Attention: engaged
Runtime: 107 min

Details

The Sixth SenseHidden from your suggestions.

Movie

Peeping Tom

1960

A chilling, intimate descent into a voyeur's mind, where every frame feels complicit and the tension never lets up.

Tense, dark · about trauma · twist ending

Via: tense
dark
trauma
twist ending
Pacing: measured
Attention: engaged
Runtime: 101 min

Details

Peeping TomHidden from your suggestions.

Movie

Shattered Mind

1996

A slow-burning psychological drama that keeps you uneasy as a family unravels under buried secrets.

Tense, dark · about trauma and memory · twist ending

Via: tense
dark
trauma
memory
twist ending
Pacing: measured
Attention: engaged
Runtime: 120 min

Details

Shattered MindHidden from your suggestions.

TV series

The Good Daughter

2026

A heavy, slow-drip psychological mystery that keeps you uneasy, unspooling old wounds through a small-town crime and its tangled secrets.

Tense, dark · about trauma and memory · twist ending

Via: tense
dark
trauma
memory
twist ending
Pacing: slow-burn
Attention: engaged
Seasons: 1

Details

The Good DaughterHidden from your suggestions.

Movie

Seven

1995

A grimy, rain-soaked descent into human depravity that leaves you tense, unsettled and quietly devastated long after it ends.

Tense, dark · twist ending

Via: tense
dark
twist ending
Pacing: measured
Attention: demanding
Runtime: 127 min

Details

SevenHidden from your suggestions.

TV series

Servant

2019–2023

A claustrophobic, slow-creeping dread that seeps through a beautiful townhouse, keeping you uneasy and unsettled long after each episode.

Tense, dark · about grief and family

Via: tense
dark
grief
family
Pacing: slow-burn
Attention: demanding
Seasons: 4

Details

ServantHidden from your suggestions.

Movie

Searching

2018

A taut, emotionally charged thriller told entirely through screens, keeping you glued as a father pieces together his daughter's secret life.

Tense · about grief and family · twist ending

Via: tense
grief
family
twist ending
Pacing: brisk
Attention: engaged
Runtime: 102 min

Details

SearchingHidden from your suggestions.

Movie

Stillwatch

1987

A slow-burning psychological thriller that blends political intrigue with haunted-house dread and repressed trauma.

Tense · about trauma and memory · twist ending

Via: tense
trauma
memory
twist ending
Pacing: slow-burn
Attention: engaged
Runtime: 93 min

Details

StillwatchHidden from your suggestions.

Movie

A Mind in Chaos

2025

A slow, uneasy retreat into trauma and paranoia, where quiet rooms and odd sounds keep you tense and unsettled.

Tense, dark · about trauma and grief

Via: tense
dark
trauma
grief
Pacing: slow-burn
Attention: engaged
Runtime: 101 min

Details

A Mind in ChaosHidden from your suggestions.

Movie

Scream

1996

A knowing, playful horror ride that keeps you tense and guessing while winking at the genre's rules.

Tense, dark · about trauma and deception · twist ending

Via: tense
dark
trauma
deception
twist ending
Pacing: brisk
Attention: engaged
Runtime: 112 min

Details

ScreamHidden from your suggestions.

Movie

Killer Clown

2026

A tense, gloomy stalker thriller that leans on buried memories and creeping dread rather than spectacle.

About trauma and memory · twist ending

Via: trauma
memory
twist ending
Pacing: measured
Attention: engaged
Runtime: 88 min

Details

Killer ClownHidden from your suggestions.

Where to watch in the UK

No UK streaming, rental or purchase options are known.

Streaming data from JustWatch.TMDB

Details

Genres: mystery, thriller, drama, tv movie, horror
Directed by: Mike Robe
Written by: Michael Petryni
Starring: JoBeth Williams, Tom Skerritt, Season Hubley, Mike Pniewski, Tim Choate, Thom Bray, Elijah Wood, Darren McGavin
Music: Mark Snow
Cinematography: Gerald Hirschfeld
Runtime: 95 min
Country: United States of America, Italy
Languages: English

TMDB IMDb Letterboxd Wikipedia Wikidata

Something wrong on this page? Tell us.

Child in the Night

How it feels

More like this

Titles like Child in the Night

Where to watch in the UK

Details