What to read, watch, and listen to if you lovedThe Only Good Indians
Stephen Graham Jones · Book · 2020
If you loved The Only Good Indians, start with Dark Winds (Graham Roland, 2022) — a series on the same thread. Below: 4 films, 4 series and 2 podcasts, each matched to The Only Good Indians across media.
If you loved The Only Good Indians, you are likely drawn to stories where the weight of historical trauma manifests as inescapable, terrifying supernatural or social retribution.
Films on the same thread
Clown in a Cornfield
Eli Craig · Film · 2025
Explores: Small Town Secrets, Coming of Age, Toxic Nostalgia.
Like The Only Good Indians, this slasher explores how small-town secrets and toxic nostalgia can fuel a cycle of violence that demands a reckoning for past sins.
Killers of the Flower Moon
Film · 2023
Explores: Systemic Racism, Greed, Betrayal.
This historical account mirrors the systemic injustice and deep-seated cultural betrayal found in The Only Good Indians, highlighting how greed and racism destroy Indigenous lives and legacies.
Bone Tomahawk
S. Craig Zahler · Film · 2015
Explores: Rescue Mission, Brutality of the West, Cultural Clash.
This film captures the same grim, visceral atmosphere of The Only Good Indians, focusing on the brutal collision between cultural survival and a descent into terrifying, unknown darkness.
Is God Is
Aleshea Harris · Film · 2026
Shares a thread with The Only Good Indians: generational trauma.
Much like the characters in The Only Good Indians, these sisters are driven by the inescapable pull of generational trauma and the violent, necessary pursuit of blood retribution.
Series on the same thread
Only Murders in the Building
Steve Martin · Series · 2021
Explores: True Crime Obsession, New York City, Intergenerational Friendship.
While lighter in tone, the obsession with true crime here echoes the investigation of dark, buried histories that anchors the narrative tension in The Only Good Indians.
Reservation Dogs
Taika Waititi · Series · 2021
Explores: Indigenous identity, small-town life, teenage friendship.
This series offers a more grounded look at the Indigenous identity and rural struggle that informed the cultural backdrop of The Only Good Indians, replacing horror with grit.
Dark Winds
Graham Roland · Series · 2022
Explores: Navajo Culture, Spiritual Beliefs, Trauma.
This drama mirrors the way The Only Good Indians weaves spiritual beliefs and historical trauma into a crime narrative, forcing characters to confront the ghosts of their past.
IT: Welcome to Derry
Andy Muschietti · Series · 2025
Explores: Childhood Trauma, Ancient Evil, Group of Friends.
This story channels the dread of The Only Good Indians by showing how ancient, buried evils inevitably rise to punish a community for its long-forgotten, generational sins.
Podcasts on the same thread
1619
The New York Times · Podcast · 2019
Explores: systemic racism, national identity, legacy of slavery.
This podcast provides the real-world sociopolitical context that makes the themes of systemic racism and inherited legacy in The Only Good Indians feel so urgent and devastating.
The School of Greatness
Lewis Howes · Podcast · 2026
Explores: Self-Actualization, Resilience, Peak Performance.
While different in format, the focus on resilience and overcoming past struggles provides an alternative perspective on the deep-seated personal growth found within The Only Good Indians.
Keep exploring
Common questions
Is The Only Good Indians a standalone novel?
Yes, The Only Good Indians is a standalone 2020 novel by Stephen Graham Jones. It is a complete work of psychological horror and sociopolitical commentary that does not require reading any other books to understand the narrative or the author's themes.
What themes are explored in The Only Good Indians?
The Only Good Indians explores themes of revenge and identity. Stephen Graham Jones weaves these elements into a narrative that serves as both a work of psychological horror and a piece of cutting sociopolitical commentary regarding the American Indian experience in modern society.
Who is the author of The Only Good Indians?
The Only Good Indians was written by Stephen Graham Jones. He is a New York Times bestselling author also known for writing The Buffalo Hunter Hunter and is widely regarded as a master of modern horror literature.
How has The Only Good Indians been received by critics?
The Only Good Indians is a New York Times bestseller. Stephen King has described the novel as thrilling, literate, scary, and immersive, highlighting its effectiveness as a psychological horror story that provides significant insight into the American Indian experience through its complex narrative.