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By the Cut
Photo-Illustration: by The Cut; Photos: Everett Collection, Netflix
There’s something exciting about letting yourself be terrified in the comfort of your own home. Watching a horror movie in a theater might be scarier, but it’s also a lot more jarring to step out into the world immediately after. At home, you can sink into your couch while wrapped up in your coziest blanket or cue up some reality TV as a palate cleanser. Whether you’re into slashers or psychological thrillers, here are 25 of the best horror movies available conveniently on Netflix. Just skip the popcorn so you don’t have to vacuum it up after too many jump scares.
1.His House (2020)
Photo: Aidan Monaghan/NETFLIX
This ghost story centers on a young refugee couple who have arrived in the U.K. from South Sudan. They’re placed in a government-sponsored rental home in a state of disrepair that is horrifying enough on its own, as are the various manifestations of racism, classism, and xenophobia they face in their new home. They are both haunted by the terrors they faced on their journey from Sudan, particularly the loss of their daughter, and soon after settling in, the haunting of their home begins. It’s viscerally frightening, but it’s as thoughtful as it is disturbing. With excellent performances throughout, its surprise ending makes you rethink the whole movie, and its commentary on the ways trauma impacts our psyche feels endlessly relevant.
2. Malevolent (2018)
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Technically this is far from being one of the best horror movies on Netflix thanks to an extremely jarring tone shift halfway through the movie. It is, however, one of the strongest horror performances you’ll find on the streamer; it stars a pre-Midsommar Florence Pugh who really commits to her role as Angela, a reluctant scammer messing with the supernatural in ways she very much shouldn’t. It’s worth watching just to see her slay.
3. Things Heard & Seen (2021)
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The cast of this one is excellent: Amanda Seyfried and James Norton are Catherine and George Claire, a couple who relocate from 1980s Manhattan to a small town in upstate New York after George lands a teaching gig at a liberal-arts college. Not sure why he couldn’t simply commute, but all right. Anyway, they obviously move into a creepy farmhouse; the townspeople are super weird to them; freaky supernatural occurrences abound. What’s more interesting about the film is actually its depiction of a marriage falling apart, which eventually is tied into the spirits that are being heard and seen.
4.Under the Shadow (2016)
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This Iranian horror film, set in the ’80s against the Iran-Iraq War, got tons of critical acclaim and accomplishes something the horror genre can do very well: use the supernatural as a vehicle for social commentary. Narges Rashidi stars in Under the Shadow as a young woman attempting to deal with oppression both outside and inside her home; the latter being of the more demonic variety.
5.Cam (2018)
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This film can claim one attribute that few other horror movies can: a genuinely original concept. Alice (Madeline Brewer) is a cam girl who’s quickly rising in the ranks on her camming site under the pseudonym Lola — until one morning, she wakes up to find someone who looks and sounds exactly like her, but isn’t her, streaming from her account. Soon, she can’t even log in. There are plenty of questions left unanswered, but suspend your disbelief to appreciate its larger themes around online personas and how they impact us as individuals and as a society.
6. The Conjuring (2013)
Photo: Michael Tackett/Warner Bros. Pictures/courtesy Everett Collection
The Conjuring needs no introduction, having become an instant classic of the genre upon its release. A typical horror story about how an isolated farmhouse’s newly moved-in residents are haunted by its dark, violent history is set apart by incredible performances from Vera Farmiga and Patrick Wilson plus director James Wan’s skillful use of tension and fear.
7. Thanksgiving (2023)
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This is a good old-fashioned slasher film made expressly for horror buffs. It’s the feature length manifestation of a fake trailer the director, Eli Roth, made for 2007’s Grindhouse. It’s fairly predictable and lacking in development of the character and plot varieties, but that’s all part of the fun. There are a million references and easter eggs to catch instead. And Addison Rae is in it!
8. Cargo (2018)
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Cargo is another, slightly different take on zombie movie genre. Martin Freeman is stranded with his baby in rural Australia after being infected during a zombie-creating pandemic. Before he succumbs, he has to find a way to keep her safe.
9.Gerald’s Game (2017)
Photo: Glen Wilson/Netflix
A rare case in which the movie is better than the book, this Stephen King adaptation manages to keep up the suspense and horror without much movement. The genuinely chilling premise is that Jessie (Carla Gugino) and her husband Gerald (Bruce Greenwood) are spending a weekend at an isolated cabin to “reconnect.” He handcuffs her to the bed but dies of a heart attack soon after, collapsing on top of her and leaving her trapped and entirely alone. Gugino’s gripping performance makes this the furthest thing from a slog, and even the famously terrible ending of the novel is handled with as much grace as humanly possible.
10. #Alive (2020)
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And now, a horror movie for the girls who aren’t that into horror movies. If you have a low tolerance for gore and a high tolerance for pandemic content, this Korean film is for you. It centers on a young gamer, played by Yoo Ah-in, living in an apartment with his parents and spending much of his time with his PC. But he’s home alone when a deadly zombie virus hits, and decides to shut himself inside his apartment and attempt to survive. Unlike the typical zombie movie, this one really zeroes in on the effects that extreme isolation has on one’s psyche, with minimal zombie fighting and a lot of heart.
11. Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark (2019)
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If there is such a thing as a family-friendly horror movie, Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark is it. With a pleasantly nostalgic aesthetic and a Goonies-style crew of adventuring teens, this movie will bring you right back to the feeling of sitting around a campfire, getting unreasonably freaked out by some kid with a flashlight under their chin.
12. Creep (2014)
Photo: Netflix
An underappreciated but truly excellent (and mostly improvised) found-footage-style portrayal of how our fear of social discomfort can put us in dangerous situations. Mark Duplass stars as Josef, a certified weirdo whose penchant for making people uncomfortable is apparent almost the moment he greets Aaron (Patrick Brice), who has come to film him for the day. Josef tells Aaron that he has terminal brain cancer and wants to create a video diary for his unborn son. He slowly and methodically pushes at Aaron’s boundaries until you find yourself screaming at him to leave. Best of all, this movie is a clean 82 minutes long.
13. The Platform (2019)
Photo: Netflix
If you appreciate cutting social commentary along with your horror, watch this Spanish language film. It takes place in a prison where inmates are assigned two to a floor. Every day, a platform descends through a hole in the middle of a building. At the top, it’s covered in food — theoretically enough to feed everyone, but it never works out that way because those at the top take more than their fair share. With several clever twists and a grisly conclusion, it’s worth a watch.
14. Apostle (2018)
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This one is for the gore-heads and the period piece fans. Set in 1905, it’s about a man who goes undercover, secretly joining a cult that has kidnapped his sister in order to save her. The vision is specific and strong, even if it doesn’t always totally make sense, and the bodily fluids are plentiful.
15. Don’t Listen (2020)
Photo: Netflix/Courtesy Everett Collection
Your classic haunted house film. A couple who makes a living flipping houses moves into a new one with their son, Eric, and some very creepy things start happening. The performances are strong even when the script isn’t always, but it’s a deeply immersive addition to the genre that keeps the tension going throughout.
16. Simón (2023)
Photo: Netflix
In this horror-drama, Christian McGaffney plays Simón, a Venezuelan freedom fighter seeking asylum in the United States after escaping a brutal regime. It’s not your typical scare, but the frenetic tension rising from the urgency of Simón’s situation, combined with the truly harrowing flashbacks of brutal torture he experiences while dealing with guilt over leaving behind his community and country, are enough to give anyone nightmares.
17. The Deliverance (2024)
Photo: Netflix
I have only four words for you: Glenn Close cigarette auntie. But seriously, Lee Daniels’s latest boasts an absolute all-star cast — we got Andra Day! We got Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor! We got Mo’Nique! I can’t promise that it’s the best horror film you’ll ever watch, but it’ll certainly be one of the most memorable.
18. The Pope’s Exorcist (2023)
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Starring Russell Crowe as the super down-to-earth and relatable exorcist to the pope, this is technically a horror movie but has more of an action movie vibe, in which Crowe is the gun-totin’ cowboy — but instead of totin’ a gun he’s totin’ a crucifix. Anyway … there are exorcisms aplenty and a fun but skillful performance from Crowe. What more could we ask from an exorcism movie?
19. We Have a Ghost (2023)
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If you like your horror with a little goofiness, We Have a Ghost is for you. It’s a classic horror narrative: A family moves into a decrepit house, and a ghost starts haunting everybody in an attempt to scare them off. But this time, instead of being scared away, the family’s son, Kevin (played by Jahi Di’Allo Winston), films the ghost, Ernest, and the resulting footage proceeds to go viral. We also get a Jennifer Coolidge cameo and a tinge of mystery as the family members try to find out what really happened to Ernest.
20. The Babadook (2014)
Photo: ©IFC Films/Courtesy Everett Collection
Despite its silly-sounding title, this visceral Australian psychological horror film has everything: a creepy, possessed child; a mother who’s seeing things; an evil object that can’t be disposed of; a terrifying monster; a dead father. It somehow manages to include all of these elements while still feeling very real and dealing with problems we can all, in some way, connect to: the horrible vulnerabilities of childhood alongside the horrors and pitfalls of parenting.
21. The Babysitter (2017)
Photo: Tony Rivetti Jr., SMPSP/B) 2015 Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc./Netflix
This satire, brought to you by McG of Charlie’s Angels: Full Throttle fame, takes all the generic elements of a home-alone horror movie and exaggerates them for comedic effect, with varying degrees of success. The movie is grounded in its star performance from Samara Weaving, who plays the titular babysitter with gusto.
22. The Autopsy of Jane Doe (2016)
Photo: ©IFC Films/Courtesy Everett Collection
This stunningly creepy film takes place mostly in a morgue, where a father-and-son duo played by Brian Cox and Emile Hirsch works to uncover the horrific tale of their Jane Doe — the dead body of a woman found at a crime scene full of bloodied and dismembered dead bodies. While the interior of Jane Doe’s body is ravaged with various forms of abuse and violence, the exterior is strangely unmarked. The process of solving the mystery is nearly as terrifying as the crime itself.
23. Fear Street Part One: 1994 (2021)
Photo: NETFLIX
The first in Netflix’s Fear Street trilogy, based on the book series by R.L. Stine, is a nostalgic slasher that is a bit kinder to its characters than the classics it references. Still, it delivers on sudden, violent deaths. It centers on a group of teens living in the historically gory town of Shadyside, being brutally haunted — and hunted — by ghostlike killers.
24. The Rental (2020)
Photo: ©IFC Films/Courtesy Everett Collection
Dave Franco’s directorial debut builds tension in the first hour with a slow-burning setup: Two couples decide to celebrate a career win with a weekend in the woods, at an Airbnb-style rental. Their relationship issues and the creepy environment build up to a psychologically scarring denouement.
25. El Conde (2023)
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This gorgeously filmed, darkly funny film reimagines the Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet Ugarte as a vampire who has wreaked violence and havoc for centuries, always managing to escape and reinvent himself to work with various global oppressors, until he has to fake his own death and go into hiding. The ultimate horror of the film is its message that evil never really dies, it evolves.
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