With the spooky season over, the happiest time of the year is ready to begin. Thanksgiving comes first, but you could hardly blame anyone who already has their Christmas hat on. Yet, it’s always a great time for a scary movie, and the best horror movies on Netflix prove it. For all those who love a good dose of chills and thrills, Netflix has you covered with an ample library of horror titles guaranteed to make you shiver. Be it a tale of exorcism or a psychological thriller about the dangers lurking in every corner, these horror movies on Netflix will tackle your primal fears, making you more alert and giving you a much-needed fright.
Some of the best new movies to stream offer plenty of scares while delivering a high-quality experience for terror-starved audiences. Netflix stays consistent every month with new and exciting arrivals that make up for whatever movies are leaving the service. We also found some of the best movies on Netflix, to give you something to watch between scary movies. These supernatural stories, psychological thrillers, and good old-fashioned slashers are the best horror movies that Netflix has to offer, and we wholeheartedly recommend them.
Looking to get your scares elsewhere? We’ve curated guides to the best horror movies on Amazon Prime Video and the best horror movies on Hulu. Need more recommendations? Then check out the best movies on Hulu, the best movies on Amazon Prime Video, the best movies on Max, and the best movies on Disney+.
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Evil Dead Rise2023 -
The Birds1963
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Pearl2022
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Psycho1960
Evil Dead Rise (2023)
69%
6.5/10The latest entry in the fan-favorite horror series, Evil Dead Rise is the fifth installment in this chaotic and beloved ongoing tale. The film centers on two estranged sisters who must put their differences aside to protect their family from the evil deadites that are after them. Honoring everything that made the franchise famous while injecting a much-needed dose of modern thrills, Evil Dead Rise is a worthy addition to the saga. It might not reinvent it or come anywhere close to the original trilogy’s glory, but Evil Dead Rise successfully expands the lore and proves the series is still as entertaining as ever. Groovy, indeed.
The Birds (1963)
90%
7.6/10Pearl (2022)
76%
7.0/10Ti West’s X trilogy arguably peaked with 2022’s Pearl, a prequel to X that was released the same year. The film centers on the titular character, played by an outstanding Mia Goth, a young and ambitious woman who dreams of escaping her farm and unhappy marriage to pursue a career on the stage. As her dreams fall apart, Pearl slowly unravels, leading to murderous results.
With a tour de force performance from Goth and a visual style that wears its influences on its sleeve, Pearl is an incredible horror movie that honors the slasher subgenre while offering a compelling story about broken dreams and the dangers of unexpressed frustration.
Psycho (1960)
97%
8.5/10Another film by Alfred Hitchcock, but this time, it’s his undeniable masterpiece. Psycho stars Janet Leigh as Marion Crane, a woman who steals money from her boss and goes on the run, stopping at a motel in the middle of nowhere for the night. There, she meets the meek, but strange Norman Bates (Anthony Perkins) and discovers that this motel hides more secrets than she imagined.
Widely considered among the all-time best horror movies, Psycho is a game-changing triumph that marked a true before-and-after for the genre. The film has aged beautifully and remains as riveting as it was 64 years ago.
Halloween (2018)
67%
6.5/10Sixteen years after her last appearance in the franchise, scream queen Jamie Lee Curtis returned to the role that made her famous in David Gordon Green’s Halloween. Acting as a direct sequel to the 1978 original and ignoring everything that came after, the film centers on an adult Laurie Strode, who’s lived her adult life preparing for Michael Myers’ return. Now, on Halloween night, the masked killer escapes from a mental institution and returns to Haddonfield to target Laurie, her daughter, and her granddaughter.
A successful reboot of one of cinema’s longest and most aimless horror franchises, 2018’s Halloween returns to basics with a classic slasher story. Curtis is at the top of her game as a traumatized Laurie. Plus, the supporting cast is also up to the task, especially a scene-stealing Greer.
Scream (2022)
60%
6.3/10Speaking of quasi-reboots, 2022’s Scream acted as a reinvention for its franchise. Melissa Barrera stars as Sam Carpenter, who returns to Woodsboro after a new Ghostface attacks her sister. As secrets from her past emerge, Sam will have to look for answers in this haunted town as a new wave of killings begin, attracting figures from the past and adding more carnage than ever before.
Scream introduced a new cast of young characters that injected some much-needed life into a dying franchise. Barrera, Jenna Ortega, Jack Quaid, and Mikey Madison brought their A-game, proving Scream could succeed without overly relying on nostalgia. The film’s sharp commentary about the current state of horror is as biting as ever, and the return of crucial characters to the story further enhances the experience.
It Chapter Two (2019)
58%
6.5/10Bill Skarsgård returns as Pennywise the Dancing Clown in Andy Muschietti’s 2019 sequel, It Chapter Two. The film sees the now-adult Losers Club coming back to Derry after Pennywise returns from a long slumber and the death of one of their own. The group will need to face their fears to defeat this ancient evil for good, reconnecting as friends and finding new meaning in their lives.
Although inferior to its predecessor, It Chapter Two benefits from the chemistry of the adult cast — including heavy hitters like James McAvoy, Bill Hader, and Oscar winner Jessica Chastain. The film continues the original’s themes of self-discovery and facing one’s fears, with the cast members bearing a remarkable similarity to their child counterparts. The scares are once again a tad too elaborate to be truly visceral, but a game cast and an excellent villain more than compensate for any narrative shortcomings.
A Quiet Place Part II (2021)
71%
7.2/10The sequel to the 2018 hit, John Krasinski’s A Quiet Place Part II, expands the franchise into new and exciting territory. The story picks up immediately after the end of the original and sees Evelyn Abbott (Emily Blunt) and her children, Regan (Millicent Simmonds) and Marcus (Noah Jupe), facing the outside world and realizing the sound-guided aliens aren’t the only threats waiting for them.
A Quiet Place Part II is a logical continuation of the first movie’s story, elevated by an outstanding cast led by Blunt. Simmonds and Jupe are key to the film’s success, as are newcomers Cillian Murphy and Djimon Hounsou. The aliens are once again the true stars, though, with the film depicting them as truly vicious and terrifying creatures worthy of standing with other horror icons. Tense and emotional, A Quiet Place Part II cements its franchise as one of the best in modern horror.
The Deliverance (2024)
39%
5.1/10Lee Daniels is back, and this time he’s assembled an impressive cast for his supernatural horror movie The Deliverance. The film stars Academy Award nominees Andra Day, Glenn Close, and Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor opposite Academy Award winner Mo’Nique in a story about a family living in Indiana who become convinced their home is a portal to hell.
Based on the Ammons haunting case, The Deliverance is pretty much the oddest project anyone involved could’ve taken part in. Yet, there’s genuine value in it as a camp classic in the making or an atmospheric and melodramatic horror picture that allows its prestigious cast to show a new side to their on-screen personas. Come for the premise; stay for the unintentional laughs.
Day Shift (2022)
51%
6.1/10Academy Award winner Jamie Foxx stars in the action horror comedy Day Shift, opposite Dave Franco, Snoop Dogg, Karla Souza, and Meagan Good. The film follows Bud Jablonski, a man who poses as a blue-collar pool cleaner while actually hunting and killing vampires for a living.
With a wild premise that’s just ridiculous enough to be engaging, Day Shift is among Netflix’s most inspired original horror movies. The ever-reliable Foxx is more than willing to succumb to the screenplay’s delirious antics, even if the film can’t quite keep up with him. Still, solid jokes and a great supporting cast make Day Shift more than worthy of a horror fan’s time.
Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark (2019)
61%
6.2/10Produced by and based on a story from horror maestro Guillermo del Toro, Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark might just be one of the 2010s’ most criminally underrated entries into the genre. Based on the eponymous book series by Alvin Schwartz, the film centers on a group of friends who sneak into an infamous house and unleash evils they couldn’t possibly imagine.
Atmospheric and a bit more approachable than some of del Toro’s or director André Øvredal’s other offerings, Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark lives up to its title with a collection of creepy monsters and creatures that will surely haunt viewers’ nightmares.
The Ritual (2017)
57%
6.3/10Folk horror has seen a rise in popularity, thanks to films like The Witch and Midsommar. However, one of the genre’s most underappreciated entries is David Bruckner’s 2017 hidden gem The Ritual, based on the 2011 novel of the same name. The plot centers on four friends who go on a hiking trip through a Swedish old-growth forest to grieve the death of one of them. However, they will soon stumble upon an ancient evil that will turn their trip into an unending nightmare. The Ritual embraces folklore and uses its striking setting to deliver a chilling tale of dread that favors suggestion and atmosphere over outright displays of terror. However, when it’s operating at full might, The Ritual delivers some truly horrifying imagery, including one of the best monsters in modern horror cinema.
Jigsaw (2017)
39%
5.9/10The long-awaited return of the Saw movie series and the eighth entry in the ongoing story, Jigsaw sees a group of people forced to participate in a series of deadly games in a barn. Meanwhile, the police investigate a new string of murders that share the same MO with the infamous Jigsaw killer, who has been seemingly dead for a decade. Featuring the return of modern horror icon Tobin Bell in the titular role, Jigsaw is a decent return for the long-running franchise. It’s far gorier than its predecessors and perhaps not as scary as it could be, but loyal fans will surely be satisfied by this nightmarish story.
Bone Tomahawk (2015)
72%
7.1/10Western legend Kurt Russell stars in this dark twist on the genre. Bone Tomahawk casts Russell as Sheriff Franklin Hunt, who leads a small posse on a rescue mission to a secluded area where a clan of cannibalistic Native Americans has kidnapped three people. With a strong supporting cast, including Patrick Wilson, Matthew Fox, and Oscar-nominee Richard Jenkins, Bone Tomahawk is a gruesome and atmospheric blend of Western and horror sensibilities that brings out the best of each genre. The story is a decidedly slow-burn, but those with enough patience to fully absorb the film’s distinctive style will be rewarded with a harrowing experience they won’t soon forget.
The Rental (2020)
62%
5.7/10Dave Franco’s feature directorial debut, The Rental is an unnerving tale of small-scale psychological horror that deserves far more attention. It features an impressive cast led by Franco’s wife, Alison Brie, and that also includes Cuckoo‘s Dan Stevens, Jeremy Allen White, and Sheila Vand. It follows two couples who begin suspecting they are being stalked while at their rental home. Born from the increasing anxieties of modern-day vacation trends, The Rental is a solid and intimate scary story that preys on our primal fears concerning privacy and how easy it is to invade it. Flawed but ambitious, The Rental is a worthy horror picture that is sure to please genre fans.
The Autopsy of Jane Doe (2016)
65%
6.8/10A true hidden gem of horror, The Autopsy of Jane Doe stars Emile Hirsch and Brian Cox as a father and son working at a morgue who begin to experience supernatural phenomena when investigating the cause of death of a beautiful, unidentified woman. The film succeeds thanks to its overwhelmingly eerie atmosphere, which favors slow, quiet, dreadful chills rather than overt horror. However, whenever it does succumb to horror’s best-known tropes, including some off-putting moments of gore, it does so cleverly, offering a superior entry into the genre. Memorable, creepy, and unexpectedly funny, The Autopsy of Jane Doe is a brilliant blend of styles, themes, and genres.
The Babadook (2014)
86%
6.8/10The poster child for the wave of “elevated horror” that took over the latter part of the 2010s, The Babadook is a powerful and thought-provoking tragedy disguised as a horror movie. The brilliant Essie Davis stars as Amelia, a troubled, widowed mother raising her six-year-old son, Sam. When he begins displaying abnormal behavior, Amelia realizes he is being haunted by the Babadook, a humanoid monster who torments its victims. The Babadook is a remarkable examination of grief and acceptance, elevated by an impressive screenplay and Davis’ tour de force performance. The film is as scary as i i’s poignant and affecting, demonstrating the inherent bond between horror and tragedy.
Insidious: The Red Door (2023)
45%
5.5/10Along with The Conjuring, the Insidious franchise is probably the most successful horror IP of the 2010s. Patrick Wilson strikes again, this time as director and star, in Insidious: The Red Door, the fifth entry in the franchise and a direct sequel to 2013’s Insidious: Chapter 2. The plot sees Josh and a now college-bound Dalton haunted by the demons of their past, forcing them to venture into The Further again to try and put them to rest for good. Although weaker than its predecessors, Insidious: The Red Door is a decent directorial debut for Wilson and an effective expansion of the series. It mostly sticks to the same ideas as the first two movies, but Insidious: The Red Door offers a good combo of horror and family drama that should satisfy fans of the franchise.
Viking Wolf (2022)
5.2/10Some of the best horror movies aren’t afraid to explore the genre’s boundaries, boldly venturing into sillier territory. Such is the case for Viking Wolf, the story of a teenager who transforms into a terrifying wolf-human hybrid after being scratched by an abnormally large wolf in the woods. Borrowing from classics like Ginger Snaps, Viking Wolf delivers another werewolf horror story that offers enough blood and gore to satisfy. It finds further strength in its lore and cold Norwegian setting, standing out frome run-of-the-mill werewolf movies, even if it never reaches the highs of the true gems in the subgenre. Even so, it’s entertaining enough for an afternoon at home.
Sister Death (2023)
5.7/10The 2023 Spanish supernatural horror film Sister Death is a prequel to 2017’s Veronica, another horror film on Netflix. It tells the story of Narcisa, a novice with supernatural abilities who’s working as a teacher at a convent operating as an all-girls school in 1940s Spain. Soon, she begins experiencing disturbing events that lead her to discover the sinister truth behind the convent. Sister Death is a great addition to the ever-expansive collection of religious horror movies that come out every year. Utilizing its Gothic setting to its fullest, the film tells an eerie and often disturbing tale of human cruelty and pain that is as unsettling as its supernatural themes, if not more.
Thanksgiving (2023)
63%
6.3/10Eli Roth directs the hysterical Thanksgiving, based on his fake trailer from the Robert Rodriguez movie Grindhouse. Set a year after a Black Friday riot ends in tragedy, the film follows a small town terrorized by a deranged killer out for revenge. A love letter to the classic slashers of the past, Thanksgiving strikes the perfect balance between comedy and gore. It’s bloody, over-the-top, and explosive, delivering an uncommonly dynamic slasher that will surely become a staple of the season of giving.
The Pope's Exorcist (2023)
45%
6.1/10Oscar-winner Russell Crowe stars in Julius Avery’s 2023 supernatural horror film The Pope’s Exorcist. The plot follows Father Gabriele Amorth, the Chief Exorcist of the Vatican, who stumbles upon a centuries-old conspiracy within the church as he investigates the possession of a young boy. A strange, yet surprisingly effective showcase for Crowe, The Pope’s Exorcist is uneven, but suitably chilling. It might not be the best movie about exorcisms, but a series of creepy sequences and Crowe’s commanding performance make up for any flaws the film might have.
Mr. Harrigan's Phone (2022)
55%
6.0/10Slowly but surely, Jaeden Martell has become a modern scream king through his consistent contributions to the horror genre. John Lee Hancock’s Mr. Harrigan‘s Phone sees him playing Craig, a young man who discovers he can communicate with his recently deceased friend through an iPhone. Aided by a creepy and scene-stealing Donald Sutherland, Martell makes the best out of the intriguing premise, elevating Mr. Harrigan’s Phone past other similar techno-horror movies. The film might not be based on one of Stephen King’s best-known stories, but it is among the best adaptations of the prolific author’s work.
The Babysitter (2017)
6.3/10Bonafied modern scream queen Samara Weaving stars as the titular character in McG’s 2017 slasher comedy The Babysitter. The plot follows a lonely 12-year-old boy Lewis, who discovers his beautiful and mysterious babysitter, Bee, is the leader of a satanic cult and wants to kill him. Benefitting from Weaving’s deliciously wicked performance and a plot that excels at if not necessarily reinvents the slasher formula, The Babysitter is an entertaining blend of horror and comedy for fans of both genres.
Gerald's Game (2017)
77%
6.5/10The underrated Carla Gugino stars opposite Bruce Greenwood in Mike Flanagan’s 2017 psychological horror film Gerald’s Game. Adapted from Stephen King‘s 1992 novel, the film follows a married couple at a secluded getaway home. Looking to rekindle their strained relationship, the man handcuffs the woman to the bed; however, he suddenly dies of a heart attack, leaving his wife in a dire situation. With little hope of escaping and a series of demons haunting her mind, the woman must do everything in her power to survive.
Ouija: Origin of Evil (2016)
65%
6.2/10A prequel to the 2014 film Ouija, Ouija: Origin of Evil follows a woman and her two daughters who conduct a fraudulent seance business. Looking to improve their act, the woman introduces a Ouija board into her sessions, unknowingly summoning a vengeful spirit looking to possess her youngest daughter. Elizabeth Reaser, Kate Siegel, and Henry Thomas star, with Mike Flanagan directing.
Old People (2022)
Veronica (2017)
6.2/10When will the world learn that using ouija boards is a surefire way to get yourself mixed up with supernatural forces that won’t leave, even when you ask them nicely? In director Paco Plaza’s Veronica, the latest victim of the ghoulish phenomena turns out to be the film’s titular character, a 15-year-old girl who begins experiencing paranormal events after going a round with the infamous ouija. Veronica is an unsettling film for sure, effectively relying on tone and atmosphere more than one would expect in crafting what could have been just another possession film.
The Day of the Lord (2020)
4.9/10Choose or Die (2022)
43%
4.7/10Incantation (2022)
6.9/10Here’s a solid blast of found-footage madness for you and yours to enjoy. Incantation is co-written and directed by Kevin Ko and stars Tsai Hsuan-yen as Li Ronan, a desperate mother who is suffering the consequences of accidental desecration. Years before, Li violated a sacred Chen ritual, leading her newborn daughter to be cursed by an ancient deity. With time running out, Li must now do everything in her power to lift the hex from her child before the deity consumes the innocent girl. While the narrative veers off course here and there, as a whole, Incantation is a mostly cohesive and kinetic bit of shaky-camera scariness that we bet most viewers will thoroughly enjoy.
Velvet Buzzsaw (2019)
Bird Box (2018)
51%
6.6/10Nobody Sleeps in the Woods Tonight (2020)
4.9/101922 (2017)
70%
6.2/10The Old Ways (2020)
67%
5.4/10Blood Red Sky (2021)
43%
6.1/10Texas Chainsaw Massacre (2022)
34%
4.8/10No One Gets Out Alive (2021)
43%
5.3/10Don't Listen (2020)
6.1/10The 8th Night (2021)
5.3/10Malevolent (2018)
Oxygen (2021)
67%
6.5/10Fear Street: 1994 (2021)
67%
8.7/10Things Heard & Seen (2021)
49%
5.3/10Army of the Dead (2021)
57%
5.8/10#Alive (2020)
The Block Island Sound (2021)
5.3/10His House (2020)
72%
6.5/10Apostle (2018)
62%
6.3/10
