Film

Stray

Name: Stray
Genre: Action, Crime, Fantasy, Thriller
Released: 2019
Cast: Karen Fukuhara, Christine Woods, MIYAVI, Ross Partridge, Saki Miata

A scrappy, low-budget urban fantasy that bolts a supernatural curse plot onto a detective story: orphaned teenager Nori teams with a world-weary cop to solve her mother's murder, only to find something older and nastier lurking behind it. Modest effects, earnest performances, moody neon-lit nights. Good for genre-mashup fans who'll forgive rough seams for a story that actually swings big.

TMDb rating

5.7

If you liked this

Bright2017

Will Smith and Joel Edgerton play mismatched cops patrolling a world where orcs, elves and magic wands complicate every case — the same buddy-detective-meets-supernatural-underworld energy as Stray, just louder and glossier.

But The tone lurches between gritty cop drama and goofy fantasy world-building, and critics mostly hated how the two never quite gel.

Fallen1998no page yet

Denzel Washington's detective realizes the killer he caught isn't really dead — a possessing demon just keeps jumping bodies. Same cop-chasing-something-that-isn't-human dread as Stray's murder plot.

But Slow-burn 90s thriller pacing; the twist mechanics demand patience and the effects have aged.

Constantine2005

Keanu Reeves plays an occult detective who reads supernatural crime scenes like fingerprints — moody, rain-soaked LA, demons as literal suspects. Same genre DNA as Stray, bigger budget.

But A loose adaptation of the Hellblazer comics that angered fans, and the plot occasionally sacrifices coherence for style.

The wildcard

Something you would not have found on your own.

The Night of the Hunter1955

Both are stories about a child fleeing a force that feels less like a man than a monster — Stray just gives its pursuer a badge and a backstory instead of a preacher's collar.

A preacher who murders for money stalks two children across a shadow-drenched countryside, in one of the most visually haunting films ever made — pure dread, no CGI required.

But Black-and-white, deliberately theatrical performances, and a fable-like pace that modern thriller fans might find slow or strange.

Marvel's Jessica Jones2015

A damaged private investigator with a hidden power solves cases while dragging trauma behind her — the same noir-detective-plus-supernatural-secret template as Nori and her cop partner, but adult and darker.

But Heavy, unrelenting tone across three seasons; not a light watch, and some stretches sag.

True Detective2014

Two mismatched investigators chase a killer whose crimes seem to brush against something beyond rational explanation — the same dread bleeding into procedural work that Stray goes for.

But No literal supernatural payoff — if you want confirmed magic rather than suggestion, this will frustrate you.

The Innocents2018no page yet

A teenage girl discovers a terrifying power tied to her family's past while being hunted by people who want to use it — the same coming-of-age-meets-supernatural-threat shape as Stray's Nori.

But Cancelled after one season, so the story stops mid-stride with no resolution.

I Am Number Four2011no page yet

An orphaned teenager with otherworldly powers is hunted by forces connected to his family's past, aided by an older protector — close cousin to Stray's setup, played as YA action instead of noir.

But Broad teen-movie polish and predictable beats; it wants blockbuster spectacle more than mystery.

Brightburn2019

A found child with terrifying powers turns the 'special kid' premise into full horror — released the same year as Stray, with the same interest in what happens when a family secret turns violent.

But Very different protagonist morality — if you want a sympathetic supernatural teen, this flips that expectation hard, and brutally.

Grimm2011

A homicide detective discovers he's descended from monster hunters and starts seeing supernatural creatures behind ordinary murder cases — the same cop-plus-hidden-world structure as Stray, stretched into procedural format.

But Monster-of-the-week formula gets repetitive, and later seasons lean more on mythology than the moody menace of earlier ones.

Boku Dake ga Inai Machi2017

Swap the detective partnership for a time-travel device and you get Stray's same engine — someone determined to save a child from a killer who shouldn't still be free.

A young man keeps looping back in time to stop a killer from taking children he loves — the same ache of murder mystery fused with protective devotion, told with anime's emotional directness.

But Time-loop mechanics require patience, and if subtitled animated drama isn't your usual thing, the format itself may be the bigger hurdle.

The Craft1996

Same core idea as Stray — a teenage girl with supernatural power entangled in family and violence — played for maximum trash-glam instead of noir murk.

Four teenage outcasts discover real witchcraft and use it to settle scores, in a gloriously trashy 90s cult favorite that treats teen-girl power as both liberating and dangerous.

But Camp dialogue, dated effects, and a moralizing final act that undercuts some of its own fun.