Halloween may still be weeks away, but horror movies have no limit on enjoyment. As one of the most prolific and profitable subgenres in cinema, audiences are always in the mood for some spooky scaries. Fortunately, thanks to the accessibility of streaming services, places like Netflix are home to a plethora of chilling choices. Between original offerings and licensed titles, there’s a horror movie for anyone and everyone. To get you started, we’ve tracked down some of the must-see horror titles currently available to stream on Netflix.
Oh, and when you're done here, be sure to also check out our best Halloween movies list, or our Best Horror Movies of All Time.
Please note: This list pertains to U.S. Netflix subscribers. Some titles may not currently be available on international platforms. This article is frequently amended to remove films no longer on Netflix and to include more horror movies that are now available on the service.
The Ring (2002)
Gore Verbinski’s The Ring helped kickstart the 2000’s avalanche of American horror remakes. With reverence paid to Hideo Nakata’s 1998 Ringu — based on Koji Suzuki’s 1991 novel of the same name — The Ring is capital “H” horror. A cast including Naomi Watts, Martin Henderson and Brian Cox fight against the soggy-haired Samara’s killer videotape. Verbinski executes fright after fright as Samara claims victims after their seven days are up, responsible for what’s handily one of scariest films of its decade. The film’s legacy speaks for itself — the “Katie Corpse” jump scare alone has outlived entire horror releases since forgotten.
Doom (2005)
Doom rules and I’ll hear nothing otherwise. Yes, the Dwayne Johnson and Karl Urban video game adaptation where space marines fight cosmic demons that attack a Mars science facility. Director Andrzej Bartkowiak knows the movie he’s making — pure entertainment schlock that fits an all-important midnight programming slot all about kickin’ ass and BFGs. Not only that, but the first-person-shooter scene is a brilliant translation of video games to screen, and plays just as well over a decade later. Put Doom in the “dumb fun” category of horror-action spectacles with plenty of video game callbacks and some gnarly imagery, always underappreciated when video game adaptations come into the discussion.
Dawn of the Dead (2004)
Remember when Zack Snyder directed a George A. Romero remake written by James Gunn? You should, because it’s the best zombie movie remake ever (well, so far). Romero’s Dawn of the Dead is arguably the top of the zombie movie food chain, but Snyder and Gunn’s dark-and-gritty 2000s remake succeeds on its own merits. As an early adopter of “fast zombies,” with a morbid sense of humor and breakneck intensity, 2004’s Dawn of the Dead is a pulse-pounding reimagining of Romero’s consumerism satires with a nu-age ferocious bite. In this case of originals and remakes, two Dawns are better than one.
Note: Dawn of the Dead will be leaving Netflix on August 1.
Zombieland (2009)
Zombieland is one of the top-tier horror comedies of the 2000s. Maybe that’s because of the “torture porn” craze post-Saw or the avalanche of studio remakes. Zombieland not only injected new life into the zombie subgenre, but brought a sense of humor back to horror films. Twinkies, rules for surviving a zombie apocalypse, and a stellar cast complete with one of the best cameos you can imagine makes for an undead crowd-pleaser. Hope you don’t hate clowns as much as Columbus.
Lights Out (2016)
Before David F. Sandberg took on Annabelle and joined forces with Shazam, he gained notoriety for his short film Lights Out. The bite-sized thriller was so successful it spawned a feature film that’s filled with Scotophobia (fear of darkness), unleashing a monster that hides in the shadows. It’s filled with jump scares, but that’s alright because Sandberg executes them so well. Teresa Palmer anchors the spooky survival story as someone who must wield light like a weapon against the shadow-dwelling villain, leading to fantastic fear-first scenes where you’ll hold your breath.
The Thing (2011)
As a sneaky prequel that honors The Thing in spirit, 2011’s stealth remake got unfairly brushed under the rug. Don’t get me wrong — it’s a travesty that producers scrapped Amalgamated Dynamics’ practical effects for worse post-production digital effects. However, there’s still plenty of good in this frozen monster lock-in. Mary Elizabeth Winstead is a powerhouse, whether blasting a flamethrower or trying to outsmart a chameleon creature, with Joel Edgerton and others just trying to keep up with MEW’s talents. The effects might not be practical, but 2011’s The Thing deserves better as a sufficient enough modern take on The Thing.
I See You (2019)
I See You refuses to play by conventional horror movie rules. Sometimes you’re watching a missing person procedural. Other times, it feels like a found footage home invasion thriller. Helen Hunt leads a cast of characters struggling with frustration in the homestead, there’s a killer on the loose, and you’ll learn what “Phrogging” is, which leads to the more suspenseful elements of I See You. It’s better as a domestic horror story than a dramatic examination of family frustrations, which is why it belongs on this list. The frights are frightful and fears put center stage when storytelling works — credit where credit is due.
Eli (2019)
Eli can feel like a horror movie Mad Libs as the story keeps evolving, but that becomes the film’s ultimate charm. It’s about a boy suffering from an auto-immune disease trapped in a quarantine environment who begins to ponder his imprisonment. The “Bubble Boy” beginning turns into a haunted house thriller that becomes an even crazier third act that I won’t spoil for you now. I’m not saying every big swing is successful, but I’ll go to bat for Eli as a horror film that loves to prove expectations wrong. Give me weird and wild over conventional any day — especially when you have the freedom of streaming releases over theatrical constraints.
Nobody Sleeps In The Woods Tonight (2020)
In the mood for a 2020s Polish slasher created by lovers of 80s American horror trends? Bartosz M. Kowalski uses the campground massacre template to execute a contemporary slasher that feels as throwback as rereleases of Crystal Pepsi. It's a familiar brand of campers meeting gruesome fates one by one with a massive emphasis on practical effects, the goriest and most obscene of which become an overall saving grace. Kowalski aims to prove that Polish slashers can hack 'em up with the best of them, even if there's not much else to praise with the same enthusiasm. If you want blood, you've got it by the truckload.
Girls With Balls (2018)
It’s killer rednecks versus a championship volleyball squad in Girls With Balls. Expect a horror comedy with exploding heads and a musical cowboy acting as a narrator who sings about the gratuitous violence on screen. Don’t expect a brilliant subversion of gender tropes in slasher movies — Girls With Balls is an effects-heavy slaughter spree that doesn’t try to be anything else. International approaches to comedy make some jokes harder to laugh at stateside, so as long as you can focus on the balls-out aggression on screen, you should find entertainment in another bloody backwoods fight for survival.
The Block Island Sound (2020)
Kevin McManus and Matthew McManus summon a creepy coastal caper from the depths of Rhode Island waters. It’s more eerie than aggressive as multiple subgenres swirl together in this unsettling waterlogged mystery. You can expect psychological horror, eco-horror, aquatic horror, even possession horror as Block Island community members try to understand the unexplainable events washing upon their shores. The Block Island Sound weaponizes the idea of "siren songs," toys with out-of-body nightmares, and mixes a spoonful of grief into the batter as storytelling churns like a storm that won’t pass.
The Invitation (2022)
Is The Invitation worthy of standing alongside the best vampire movies of all time? Nah. Is it still Good Actually™, especially after being unfairly pegged as a pre-release dud due to a marketing campaign that wasn't as aggressive as prior summer horror releases? Absolutely. Ready or Not and a host of erotic vampire thrillers appear to lend influence, and while The Invitation is never as successful as its inspirations, it's still a worthwhile bloodsucker watch with gorgeous production designs primed to entertain as a choice weekend night Netflix pick.
Before I Wake (2016)
It’s the Mike Flanagan movie that gets talked about the least — in my experience — yet deserves the world. Flanagan does what he does best: tell a powerfully emotional story using fear, family, and creatures. Jacob Tremblay plays an adopted child who’s terrified of falling asleep because of a ghoulish figure known as “The Canker Man.” Butterflies and fantasy worlds don’t detail the scariest horror experience, as Flanagan leans on childhood imaginations that turn traumatic memories into inescapable boogeymen. Maybe it’s that softness of scare volumes — coupled with unfortunate studio bankruptcies that forced an unceremonious Netflix dump premiere — that caused such comparatively little fanfare over the years (considering Flanagan’s hype elsewhere). Hopefully my recommendation can help Before I Wake find new streaming life.
Under The Shadow (2016)
Babak Anvari’s Under the Shadow is a phenomenal cross section of national trauma invaded by nightmare demons. A family in war-torn Iran is plagued by visits from djinns as if exploding bombs outside and military threats weren’t enough. Anvari manipulates shadows and creates haunted architectures under Iraq-Iran conflict conditions, highlighting the terrors of both. There are some extremely effective scares and fresh deliveries of otherwise common fright-flick molds because, when in doubt, turn to international flavors for something original.
The Wretched (2019)
Brett Pierce and Drew T. Pierce dive into soilborne folklore horror with a heavy helping of witchcraft. It’s poster with a backward-turned skeleton antler headdress that sells extreme horror imagery, but it’s actually what I’d consider rather feisty gateway horror. It’s like a demonic spinoff of Wife Swap, as a child in a summer vacation town thinks his neighbor is a witchy entity tied to child disappearances in the area. Backstory elements can be a bit scattershot, but when Abbie — played by Zarah Mahler — activates the film’s horror thrills whether that’s Wendigo-esque forms or contortionist body-horror? The Wretched proves why it’s a perfect entry point for young horror fans who get a strong coming-of-age tale that doesn’t hold back when it comes to Friday night frights that will test the whole family.
Read our review of The Wretched.
Unfriended (2014)
Unfriended is one of the first titles to start the “Screen life” horror trend of filmmaking from a laptop or device’s perspective back in 2014. Well before titles like Host and Searching would take the subgenre by storm. A dead classmate haunts her bullies on a Skype call as we watch like we’re one of the participants — technology and terror blend as supernatural forces overtake digital realms. I applaud the scare executions, and proper rights are acquired so iTunes and YouTube can all be shown on camera (which keeps viewers rooted in realism). As one of the “Screen life” originals, it’s still one of the best.
Read our review of Unfriended.
Incantation (2022)
Kevin Ko’s Taiwanese found footage flick Incantation speaks in clichés, but that doesn’t make them any less frightening. You’ll get a few good jolts as a mother must protect her daughter from evils she called upon by breaking religious taboos. Translation: foolish viral video ghost hunters defy the unknown and pay consequences both then and later. The script is murky on the camera’s rules regarding who is filming from a found footage sense and taboo happenings around the entity’s curse. Nevertheless, there’s an interesting concept around interactive found footage horror that smacks of the Ring franchise in its social media focuses, and you’ll yip a few scared noises — you could do way worse on Netflix.
Read our review of Incantation.
There’s Someone Inside Your House (2021)
Patrick Brice’s slasher adaptation accomplishes two massive feats for modern horror flicks: keeps us guessing and slaughters without restraint. It’s another film about teenagers getting sliced and diced by a masked killer, but it’s stylish and fierce enough to carve its own path. Situational misdirects keep audiences guessing who could be guilty of mass murder as characters point fingers while blood runneth everywhere from church confessional booths to aflame corn mazes. Don’t expect the next Scream or anything, just a solid contemporary slasher that succeeds when it matters most.
Coming Home In The Dark (2021)
Are you in the mood for something insufferably bleak and sweater-gnawing tense (meant as a compliment)? That’s Ozploitation flick Coming Home in the Dark. It’s a vacation tragedy that sees a family on a road trip who encounters the evilest of humans. It’s the epitome of wrong place, wrong time, and captures the ultimate parental horror of mothers and fathers trying to protect their children. There are no further cat-and-mouse complications — people are the real monsters of horror, no demons or supernatural entities needed.
Cargo (2017)
One of Netflix's first original horror films is still one of my favorites. Ben Howling and Yolanda Ramke's Cargo stars Martin Freeman as a father traversing the Australian outback with his daughter — also, there are zombies. Think The Walking Dead as an undead film that's more about its human characters facing survival drama than zombie action, except this one packs sturdy emotional stakes. Freeman's traveler encounters psychos, ferocious walkers, and weather elements that add thrills to Cargo, but what's unexpected is how a baby doesn't weigh the narrative down. Child subplots in horror are a tricky formula to crack that Cargo gets right, as the fears of protective parents translate into a hearty zombie experience.
Read our review of Cargo.
Till Death (2021)
"A woman finds herself shackled to a corpse as part of a revenge plot." Megan Fox plays the previously mentioned woman handcuffed to her stone-cold dead ex in one of her recent indie horror ventures. It's not that Till Death is revolutionary; more how Fox carries a gimmick film through engaging thrills as she drags her co-star's lifeless body around a house and away from killers. Till Death knows it's only ever trying to be a chilly Friday night stream at barely ninety minutes, and that's the proper mindset. Fox's "comeback tour" raises eyebrows with Till Death, a movie worth a gamble based on the premise's better-than-expected execution.
The Babysitter (2017)
Does The Babysitter indulge McG’s tendencies as a director who loves popular needle drops and quotes pop culture like a middle schooler who discovered HBO? Yes. Is it also written by Brian Duffield of Spontaneous fame — a magnificent young adult dark comedy – and does it star modern scream queen in the making, Samara Weaving? Thankfully, these saving graces play into McG’s bounce-about take on horrific humor as a child realizes his babysitter is performing a cult ritual while mom and dad are out for the night. A supporting cast including Robbie Amell, Bella Thorne, Hana Mae Lee, and Andrew Bachelor all have their moments subverting specific “hunted home alone” tropes — still, The Babysitter is Samara Weaving’s showcase. Tune in, share some laughs, soak in a devilish Weaving performance, and check out Netflix’s funniest spooky original so far.
Read our review of The Babysitter.
The Ritual (2017)
Netflix's original horror game rose to another level with The Ritual, David Bruckner's directorial debut outside segments in The Signal, V/H/S, and Southbound. Four friends take a northern Swedish hiking trip in memory of their deceased fifth, only to become victims of a woodland nightmare. Visions begin by layering psychological horror as the characters confront fears or guilt, then cultism adds communal dread, and lastly, Bruckner delivers on creature-feature goods. One source of terror feeds into the next and provokes future traumas, all interconnected as Bruckner weaves in and out of multiple horror subgenres with ease. There's so much to enjoy as Swedish forestation becomes an isolated outdoor prison, and then all hell breaks loose. Bruckner flaunts his filmmaking chops in a significant way.
Blood Red Sky (2021)
Peter Thorwarth’s Blood Red Sky boils down to vampires on a plane — but not like the SYFY channel throwaway such a title suggests. Nadja (Peri Baumeister) is a bloodsucking mother whose only motivation is to keep her son alive from hijackers who want to crash a commercial flight. It’s far tenser and emotionally comprehensive than expected, staying far away from being another Snakes on a Plane knockoff. Performances are substantial, whether gruff terrorists or ferocious mothers, while intensity drives home an action-horror experience like airliner blockbuster Non-Stop but with more sucked blood.
Crimson Peak (2015)
If you can't make it out to a theater to check out Nightmare Alley yet, or are just looking for the perfect follow up after seeing Guillermo del Toro's latest, the impeccable Crimson Peak is the perfect film for you. One of the most gorgeous films in a man whose entire filmography is known for how jaw droppingly stunning, it is features incredible performances from Tom Hiddleston, Mia Wasikowska and Jessica Chastain. This hauntingly human story will keep you guessing as supernatural forces seem to swirl around Edith Cushing and Sir Thomas Sharpe.
Apostle (2018)
Director Gareth Evans did not come to play with the gorgeous and gory Apostle. While the Netflix original is several years old at this point, it still feels like this one never got the attention it quite deserved. Before the era where Netflix original films were super prevalent, Apostle follows Thomas Richardson (played by none other than Dan Stephens) as he seeks out to rescue his sister from a strange, secluded cult.
#Alive (2020)
No one does a zombie movie quite like South Korea, and #Alive is one of the absolute best. A video game streamer decides to lock himself in his apartment while a zombie outbreak destroys the surrounding city of Seoul, but just as he’s losing all hope, he discovers that his neighbor in the apartment across from him is also still alive. The two create a zipline to share food, and share walkie-talkies to communicate with one another, while zombies terrorize the world outside of their walls. It’s a film as much about the human need for interaction as it is about survival, and the constant threat of zombies keeps keeps every moment filled with exhilarating tension.
Creep (2014)
Fans of POV/found footage horror films, rejoice, because Creep is one of the best in this style. In Patrick Brice’s directorial debut, Creep follows a filmmaker named Aaron who answers a strange man named Josef’s online ad to film him for the day, the final request of a man claiming to be dying of cancer hoping to make a video for his unborn child. Upon arrival, Aaron realizes that there’s something super weird about Josef and with the camera constantly rolling, we witness the absurdity and danger in store for Aaron. Come for the wild as hell Mark Duplass performance, stay for the Peachfuzz mask. If you love it, Netflix also has the sequel — Creep 2.
The Fear Street Trilogy
Leigh Janiak was the talk of the summer when Netflix dropped the cinematic trilogy based on the popular book series by “Goosebumps” author R.L. Stine, Fear Street. The Fear Street trilogy brought three separate movies to tell one cohesive story about the cursed town of Shadyside and the inhabitants impacted by generational horror. Each film is predominantly set in a different time period, delivering a little treat for fans of slashers, hauntings, teen horror, queer horror, and folk horror. The three films work best when watched all together, but each film can successfully stand on its own, making it a must-see trilogy.
Gerald’s Game (2017)
Stephen King’s Gerald’s Game was considered to be his “unfilmable” work, but if anyone is capable of proving King wrong, it’s Mike Flanagan. The man behind The Haunting of Hill House, The Haunting of Bly Manor, Midnight Mass, Hush, Doctor Sleep, and others successfully tackled Gerald’s Game and provided one of Netflix’s best original horror releases. Gerald’s Game is a terrifying descent into madness and home to a dynamite leading performance by Carla Gugino.
His House (2020)
Remi Weekes truly made something special with His House, arguably one of the scariest films on the Netflix roster. A haunted house story on the surface, His House centers on a refugee couple escaping war-torn Sudan only to find that the English town they’ve fled to may be just as harrowing as the land they left. The source of the film’s horror lies not just with the supernatural elements, but also with themes of grief, guilt, abandonment, xenophobia, and assimilation. It’s a powerful haunt that will linger with you long after the credits roll.
May The Devil Take You (2018)
If there’s one area where Netflix thrives with their horror offerings, it’s with their international selection of scares. Genre fans have been praising the work of Timo Tjahjanto for years with his standout shorts in The ABCs of Death and V/H/S/2, but his feature film work in Indonesia is arguably his best, and Netflix’ acquisition has brought his work to mainstream Western audiences. In May The Devil Take You, a young woman visits her father’s former home trying to find the answer regarding his mysterious illness, only to discover the horrifying truth about his past.
The Perfection (2018)
Go into The Perfection as clueless as possible (but be aware of some triggering rape stuff), because half the fun of this psychological horror film is trying (and failing) to guess just what happens next. Allison Wiliams plays a former cello prodigy who returns to her prestigious music school to find that she’s been replaced by the new star student, Lizzie played by Logan Browning. The Perfection plays with exploitation film conventions and completely subverts them on their head in absolutely unpredictable ways. It’s a wild thrill ride and truly, perfection.
Vampires Vs. The Bronx (2020)
Vampires have been used as metaphors for a variety of othering, but Vampires Vs. The Bronx highlights humanity’s true villain –gentrification. After a trio of young best friends discover a brood of vampires are preparing to destroy The Bronx, they take matters into their own hands and get the community together to fight back against the monsters invading their home. Calling it The Lost Boys for a new generation feels too easy, but the Frog Brothers would be proud do see how Miguel, Bobby, Luis, Gloria, Lil Mayor, and the rest of the gang tackle the aptly named Murnau real estate film. Leave the stake, take the adobo.
See our list of the best vampire movies for more like this.
Upcoming Netflix Horror Movies for August
Netflix has a near constant churn of movies coming and going from the platform. We've looked ahead at the next August to find the upcoming horror movies coming to the platform.
- Marry My Dead Body (2023) - August 10
