There are, conservatively, fourteen billion terrible horror movies out there. We sorted through them to find the best scary movies on Netflix. Ahead, discover horrors, thrillers, and slashers that we can, in all good conscience, recommend. Go get scared.
1. Creep (2014)
Probably the best addition to the genre of found footage horror in the past fifteen years–excluding the superior Creep 2 of course. Creep wears its concept on its title, telling the story of a truly disturbing serial killer and the man he’s chosen to be his next victim.
2. Creep 2 (2017)
It's essential, obviously, to watch the first Creep before sitting down to Creep 2. But the sequel builds on and outdoes the original in every possible way, wringing new drama, laughs, and scares from a conceit most reasonably figured had been bled dry. It's a tiny modern masterpiece.
3. Forgotten (2017)
If Squid Games has you fiending for more Korean cinema, add Forgotten to the queue. Mashing mystery, horror, murder, and thriller into one film, this twisting tale of a brother trying to discover what happened to his seemingly amnesic sibling after having been kidnapped for 19 days has a little something for everyone.
4. Hush (2016)
Mike Flanagan might be the most consistent and prolific horror filmmaker working today. Hush is Flanagan at his most lowkey, but also his most creative. He gives the home-invasion thriller new life with the conceit of our protagonist being a deaf woman played by Kate Siegel. Flanagan puts us in her shoes, removing arguably the most important sense when it comes to horror—and somehow uses it to make things even scarier.
5. Jaws (1975)
The movie that still makes everyone hesitate before running into the ocean, Steven Spielberg’s Jaws remains the scariest PG movie of all time and proves the best movie monsters hunt in the day.
6. Raw (2016)
After a veterinary school freshman is forced to eat meat for the first time in her life she develops a taste for flesh, leaving her meek vegetarian ways behind and indulging in all things carnal. Vibrant visual horror plus coming of age drama creates a French fusion that might just be the best new scare on streaming.
7. Cam (2018)
One of the best and most original horror movies in years, Daniel Goldhaber and Isa Mazzei’s film takes an atypical approach to both scares and sex as they relate to the genre. Madeleine Brewer anchors the film with a multifaceted performance as a beleaguered sex worker, facing off with a demonic entity that's stolen her online identity.
8. The Exorcist III (1990)
Scrapping the trash Exorcist 2 from the canon, original creator William Peter Blatty returns with a vengeance and a new thrilling case of possession. After local Boston cop William Kinderman (George C. Scott) notices a link between an ongoing string of murders and the cases of a serial killer that was executed fifteen years prior he reopens the investigation only to find demons waiting for him on the other side.
9. He Never Died (2015)
Henry Rollins plays an ancient being who requires blood to stay immortal and then this dark, gleefully violent movie takes a hard turn into mythology that you almost certainly weren't expecting. It's a fun, original idea for a vampire movie—only swap out a vampire for something much, much more interesting.
10. The Strangers (2008)
The Strangers reintroduced a concept all-too familiar to the world but absent, at the time, from the genre: people doing evil shit simply because they can. Watching America’s sweetheart Liv Tyler, and Scott Speedman of Felicity fame fight for their lives for no other reason than some sicko’s amusement is so realistic it’s terrifying.
11. Eli (2019)
Eli's a weird one: It hit Netflix after Paramount decided it was unmarketable and dumped it on the streaming service instead of taking it to theaters. Bad sign! And yet, Eli is actually pretty solid. It starts out as something of a staid haunted house story with some decent stylish flairs: Eli is a young boy allergic to the world whose parents take him to an experimental medical facility retrofitted inside a remote mansion, complete with a team of ominous nurses. It's dumb but entertaining enough, but eventually everything gets turned on its head with a clever twist. It's spooky and there's some real ambition here. Don’t sleep on it.
12. May the Devil Take You (2018)
Full of over-the-top gunk, gloriously cheesy dialogue, and South East Asian necromancy, this Indonesian horror conjures comparisons to early Sam Raimi in all the right ways.
13. The Conjuring (2013)
A period paranormal that reinvigorated supernatural horror, The Conjuring follows married couple Ed (Patrick Wilson) and Lorraine (Vera Farmiga), as they check out the strange happenings of an old farmhouse. The blend of creepy 1970s Exorcist vibes with modern techniques has proven so popular with purists and neophytes alike that it spawned a whole universe that totals up to seven sequels, spin-offs, and prequels and counting: Annabelle (2014), The Conjuring 2 (2016), Annabelle Creation (2017), The Nun (2018), The Curse of La Llorona (2019), Annabelle Comes Home (2019), and The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It (2021).
14. The Conjuring 2 (2016)
Based on a real-life case, the Enfield Poltergeist plastered U.K. newspapers between 1977 and 1979 with the story of two pre-teen sisters haunted by evil spirits. These spirits never met paranormal investigators/relationship goals couple Ed (Wilson) and Lorraine Warren (Farmiga) though. Armed with a whole new bag of tricks and ghosts sporting creepy British accents The Conjuring 2 manages to outdo its predecessor in both fun and fright.
15. Sinister 2 (2015)
Courtney Collins and her two children move to a remote farmhouse—which just happens to be next door to a church where violent murders were committed. Now Courtney has to contend with evil forces and the abusive ex-husband that she just escaped.
16. Berlin Syndrome (2017)
A revolting story about a woman taken prisoner by her sick S.O.B. boyfriend in his apartment. There is no humor or fun-loving moments in this one. This is a terrifying dose of reality that is made more frightening by the fact that even while writing this there are thousands of human beings living it.
17. Crimson Peak (2015)
The king of modern horror, Guillermo del Toro, made his most unadulterated foray into the genre yet with this underrated entry. Guillermo’s signature world building talents are lent to gothic mansions, ghosts, and a stacked cast of Tom Hiddleston, Mia Wasikowska, Charlie Hunnam, and Jessica Chastain to creates a chilling tale reminiscent of an old ghost novel.
18. The Ritual (2017)
A bunch of British blokes travelling through the woods of Sweden is a fitting setup for universally recognized scare tactics. Isolated, lost, hungry, and cold in a foreign dark terrain while being hunted covers near every fear we’ve had ingrained in us as humans going back to caveman days. What we never saw before was a creature as scary as the one in The Ritual.
19. Gerald's Game (2017)
Most actors would be intimidated by a single room psychological horror where they don’t even stand up for the majority of the movie, but not Carla Gugino. She owns this cautionary tale of sexy bondage gone awry with her hands tied behind her back—and to the bed posts.
20. Apostle (2018)
Period pieces always have the upper hand when it comes to horror, because the past just makes everything creepier. Dan Stevens and Michael Sheen bring this slow burn mind game of tweed and past traumas to a scorching boil when Christianity and cult religion clash on a desolate island located off the shores of 1905 England.
21. The Call (2020)
Horror films live and die by their concept, and The Call has one of the best in years. After answering an old landline, Kim Seo-yeon (Park Shin-Hye) discovers the woman on the other end, Young Sook (Jeon Jong-seo), is calling from 20-years earlier. Attempting to meddle with time to improve her own position, Seo-yeon sets off a string of events resulting in the murder of her father and her own imprisonment.
22. Insidious 2 (2013)
Before the Insidious franchise became a tired copy of itself and Blumhouse Productions still meant horror gold, this second installment continued the story of the Lamberts after having freed their son from the evil spirit of the first film. Of course, there wouldn’t be an Insidious 2 if they were out of the woods, and Rose Byrne soon finds herself running from ghouls in nightgowns once again while Tiny Tim’s Tiptoe Through the Tulips blares on vinyl.
23. The Guest (2014)
Before Stranger Things premiered in 2016, The Guest pioneered the revival of horror’s greatest decade (yes, the 80s). Chock-full of Carrie homages, badass Roadhouse references, and a killer new wave soundtrack to really set the mood, the referential predictability of this cookie-cutter thriller proves to be its greatest strength.
24. Bird Box (2018)
More of a gimmick than a fully fleshed-out film, this half-baked horror (and surprisingly huge hit) does manage to stir up some genuine jumps with sharp camera work and snappy use of audio. The biggest thrill comes from the wait for the monster reveal, which makes the viewing experience an overall enjoyable one. Is it worth a watch? Absolutely. Is it worth a re-watch? Maybe not so much.
25. Before I Wake (2016)
There’s nothing creepier than little kids. Pair that with the best child actor out right now and you’re in for one hell of a horror. After Mark (Thomas Jane) and Jessie (Kate Bosworth) adopt 8-year-old Cody (Jacob Tremblay) they’re visited by magical creatures and other creations of Cody’s imagination. Upon further investigation they discover that whatever Cody dreams when he’s asleep comes to life in the real world. Sounds beautiful right? Now think back to your own 8-year-old nightmares and get ready for one of the most bone chilling horrors you’ve seen in years.
26. Vampires Vs. The Bronx (2020)
The Lost Boys with an uptown vibe, Vampires vs. the Bronx brings 80s-style bloodsucking horror to the no nonsense streets of New York. Highly self-aware and packed full of jump-out screams, this supernatural spin on the very real issue of gentrification never loses sight of its message, or its purpose to entertain.
27. Dark Skies (2013)
Tired of ghost stories? Feeling nostalgic for X-Files? Dark Skies recalls all the classic 90s crees with flashing lights, weird symbols, and odd animal behavior. Phenomenal acting from J.K. Simmons and Keri Russell doesn’t hurt either. Well, maybe it does, but you’ll have to watch to find out exactly how.
28. Velvet Buzzsaw (2019)
Never fully living up to it’s horror potential, Velvet Buzzsaw is still worth the watch. Razor-sharp dialogue and standout performances from Jake Gyllenhaal as a sexually confused art critic, and Rene Russo as a sellout dealer who robs the cursed paintings of a dead man makes this one of Netflix’s most entertaining originals.
29. The Forest of Love (2019)
This new flick from acclaimed director Sion Sono plays like a live-action anime. This Japanese horror film will probably prove too decadent for most, but to put it in terms most western movie fans will understand, it’s like a Kill Bill with four exclamation marks tacked on the end.
30. The Devil All the Time (2020)
Teen heartthrobs be damned; this is officially the second scariest film set in Appalachia (No. 1 is still Deliverance). Featuring a new oddball accent to add to Robert Pattison’s growing collection and a surprisingly gritty performance from your friendly neighborhood Tom Holland, The Devil All the Time is a hair-raising tale about how men seek out monsters in stories, but often have something much more sinister hiding inside themselves.
31. The Killing of a Scared Deer (2017)
More of a skin crawler than an outright scream machine, this slow burn from the notoriously twisted mind of Yorgos Lanthimos will have you curled up alone in the corner of your room out of disgust rather than fear. This is a hard one to stomach even for fans of Lanthimos’ more popular works, but damn is it worth it.
32. We Summon the Darkness (2019)
Guts, giggles, and girl power make this early 2000s-style teen horror as entertaining as it is frightening. Featuring a performance from Johnny Knoxville as a Bible Belt preacher, this time machine of terror about cult murders during a music festival party transports you back to an era when being terrified with friends was some of the best fun you could have.
33. It Comes at Night (2017)
Capping off the era of high-quality, low-budget horrors that dotted the 2010s, It Comes at Night tells the now all-too-familiar story of extreme isolation due to a pandemic. The fact this one hit as hard as it did before the world imploded only makes the prospect of a rewatch more terrifying.
34. 1922 (2017)
Written by the horror G.O.A.T. himself, Stephen King, 1922 gets inside your mind and festers. The rotten choices made by the characters, the putrid flesh of their victim, the stench of decay wafting from their souls and sanity…King hasn’t come close to losing his touch.
35. Hold the Dark (2018)
A good enough thrill set in the Alaskan tundra, this man vs. nature turned man vs. man turned man vs. man with the help of nature film relies largely on the cast to carry the story. Good thing this cast is stacked with Jeffrey Wright, Alexander Skarsgård, and James Badge Dale all supplying great performances that make this simple piece better than it has any right to be.
36. Errementari: The Blacksmith and the Devil (2018)
This imaginative Spanish film is one of the current top offerings on Netflix across all genres. Director Paul Urkijo’s visual feast of Basque folklore falls somewhere between Tim Burton and Guillermo Del Toro, and will have you fluttering between tears and fears as you fall in and out of love with its fantastic cast of characters –including the Devil.
37. Veronica (2017)
This major scare from Madrid brings adds contemporary twists to the terror of The Exorcist. When Catholic school girls start playing with Ouija boards, bad things are bound to happen: unleashed demons, soul-hungry blind nuns, and all types of religious guilt. Be forewarned, this one will hit especially hard for those that grew up a member of the Papal faith.
38. Calibre (2018)
Calibre wrings a horrible hunting accident in the Scottish Highlands into something far more sinister. The haunting landscape is a feat of isolation, while the audio-engineering will drive you mad with silence even in the most deafening scenes. If you’ve been wanting something more grounded than a ghost story, but more challenging than a stranger-danger, Netflix has no better than Calibre.
39. I Am the Pretty Thing that Lives in the House (2016)
Lucy Boyton plays the titular pretty thing. She's a 28-year-old caretaker who takes a new job. Her patient? A retired horror writer whose house holds secrets upon secrets lurking in the shadows.
40. The Paramedic (2020)
This creepy Netflix original follows the story of Angel, a paramedic (no surprise there) who is on a path to destroy everything in his life. When tragedy strikes, things only get worse. The film just keeps getting darker, and darker, and darker still. Prepare to shiver every time you hear an ambulance wail and think of this disturbing film.
41. Blumhouse's Truth or Dare (2018)
Rounding out our list of the best scary movies on Netflix is Blumhouse's Truth or Dare. The age-old game that we've all been playing since childhood takes an insidious turn. The consequences of a dare are deadly, but opting for truth isn't safe either. And if you choose not to take a turn? You die immediately. Lucy Hale stars in this horror flick that you will not soon forget.
