With the best horror movies on Netflix, every night can be fright night. We've combed through the streamer's sprawling library to round up the best of Netflix's scary movies that will unearth your deepest fears. This includes one of our favorite horror franchises as well as critically acclaimed entries in the genre like "A Quiet Place II," "Pearl" and "His House."
Horror movie fans may be drawn to the genre for wildly different reasons. Some love the adrenaline rush of getting the bejesus scared out of them, others the mystery of why that killer is out there hacking and slashing. Maybe you just want to watch unruly teens get terrorized because of some twisted karmic justice. We're not here to judge, and neither is Netflix.
The best horror movies on Netflix right now
'A Quiet Place Part II' (2020)
If seeing "A Quiet Place: Day One" had you eager to revisit the franchise, you'll be happy to know "A Quiet Place: Part II" just landed on Netflix in time for the spooky season. The sequel picks up where the first left off, with the Abbott family, led by Emily Blunt's matriarch Evelyn, setting off with her three kids to search for survivors in a world filled with deadly aliens that hunt by sound.
Joining the cast this time are Cillian Murphy as an equally hardened survivor, an old family friend named Emmett, and Djimon Hounsou as the leader of an island colony of survivors, whom we learned more about in "Day One." Filled with pulse-pounding moments and a cast of characters you can't help but get attached to, "A Quiet Place Part II" delivers far more than just cheap thrills—it's a horror film with depth and heart. - AS
Rotten Tomatoes score: 91%
Starring: Emily Blunt, Cillian Murphy, Millicent Simmonds, Noah Jupe, Djimon Hounsou, John Krasinski
Directed by: John Krasinski
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'Pearl' (2022)
Technically "Pearl" is the middle chapter of Ti West's X trilogy, but even as a standalone watch, this is one horror movie not to be missed. Mia Goth gives the performance of a lifetime as Pearl, a young woman with her sights set on Hollywood who feels trapped under the thumb of her overbearing mother (Tandi Wright) on an isolated farm while her husband serves in WWI.
When her wealthy sister-in-law tells her there's a troupe in town auditioning new dancers to take on the road, Pearl's confident it'll be her big break. But as things begin to go wrong and she watches her chances at stardom crumble, let's just say that she doesn't handle rejection well. And I mean at all. This unsettling psychological horror film owes much of its success to Goth's outstanding lead performance, with one gripping monologue truly letting her talent shine through. - AS
Rotten Tomatoes score: 93%
Starring: Mia Goth, David Corenswet, Tandi Wright, Matthew Sunderland, Emma Jenkins-Purro, Alistair Sewell
Directed by: Ti West
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'Scream' (2022)
"Scream" (2022), also known as "Scream 5," takes place 25 years after the original movie. It starts with the murderous Ghostface attacking teenager Tara Carpenter (Jenna Ortega) in her Woodsboro home. When she's hospitalized, her estranged sister Sam (Melissa Barrera) returns to see Tara in the hospital, but then another girl (Sonia Ammar) is killed. Sam turns to Dewey Riley (David Arquette) for help, and he warns Gale Weathers (Courtney Cox) and Sidney Prescott (Neve Campbell) that the killer from their past is back for more. - MM
Rotten Tomatoes score: 76%
Starring: Melissa Barrera, Mason Gooding, Jenna Ortega, Jack Quaid, Marley Shelton, Courteney Cox, David Arquette, Neve Campbell
Directed by: Matt Bettinelli-Olpin, Tyler Gillett
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'Halloween' (2018)
The 2018 “Halloween” reboot was widely praised as a return to the form for the iconic horror slasher series. With director David Gordon Green and writer Danny McBride at the helm and Jamie Lee Curtis reprising her role as Laurie Strode from the original, it sees the masked murdered Michael Myers (James Jude Courtney) escape from prison to once again wreak havoc among the streets of Haddonfield. It all builds to a bloody and satisfying finale that gives us the Laurie vs. Michael rematch that fans have wanted since John Carpenter's original "Halloween." - AS
Rotten Tomatoes score: 79%
Starring: Jamie Lee Curtis, Judy Greer, Andi Matichak, James Jude Courtney, Will Patton, Virginia Gardner
Directed by: David Gordon Green
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'Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark' (2019)
Based on the book series of the same name by Alvin Schwartz, "Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark" is a smart horror film about the narratives we tell ourselves and, more importantly, how they make for great nightmare fodder. It's also filled to the brim with haunting set pieces, terrifying practical effects, and entirely too realistic monsters from the legend himself, Guillermo del Toro.
The shadow of the Bellows family has loomed large over the fictional town of Mill Valley for generations. When a group of teenagers chance sneaking into the family's supposedly haunted mansion, they uncover a book of horror stories written by the young Sarah Bellows. These terrifying tales soon have a way of becoming all too real as Sarah, now a ghost, starts writing new short stories, resulting in horrible fates for the unsuspecting teenagers. The friends must learn more about Sarah's tragic past to put an end to these hauntings once and for all. - AS
Rotten Tomatoes score: 77%
Starring: Zoe Colletti, Michael Garza, Gabriel Rush, Austin Zajur, Natalie Ganzhorn, Austin Abrams, Dean Norris, Gil Bellows, Lorraine Toussaint
Directed by: André Øvredal
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'The Ritual' (2017)
This Netflix original masterfully uses a monster movie framework to deconstruct moral dilemmas around fear, guilt and what we owe one another. While out drinking one night, two friends, Luke (Rafe Spall) and Robert (Paul Reid), break off from their group to stop by a convenience store. They walk in on a robbery gone awry, but Luke manages to hide and watches terrified as the burglars kill his friend.
The rest of the group decide to honor Robert's memory by going on a hiking trip in northern Sweden. But as they venture deeper into the forest, they become hopelessly lost and begin to suspect a supernatural force may be stalking them. "The Ritual" expertly cultivates a sense of dread throughout by gradually revealing the unknown horrors lurking in the forest. - AS
Rotten Tomatoes score: 74%
Starring: Rafe Spall, Arsher Ali, Robert James-Collier, Sam Troughton
Directed by: David Bruckner
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'The Platform' (2019)
Plunged into the Pit, Goreng (Iván Massagué) lives his days in this massive prison tower, where a regularly descending platform brings sustenance. The further down it goes, the less there is to eat. Residents at the top of the prison get better quality food with more to go around.
This leaves those living in the Pit at the bottom to starve. As the platform's food levels shift monthly, Goreng's alliances and beliefs are tested while residents are routinely shuffled around. When a cryptic message about a young girl surfaces, things change dramatically -- but the fight for survival is a constant. - BV
Rotten Tomatoes score: 79%
Starring: Iván Massagué, Antonia San Juan, Zorion Eguileor
Directed by: Galder Gaztelu-Urrutia
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'His House' (2020)
One of the most unique and horrifying scary movies I've seen in recent memory, "His House" follows a young refugee couple, Bol (Sope Dirisu) and Rial (Wunmi Mosaku), who are granted asylum in a small English town after fleeing war-torn South Sudan.
Met with hostility and racism in their new community, the couple struggles to adjust. Straining their relationship further is a mysterious malevolent force in their house that seems connected to their traumatic past. But while Rial insists something is not right and wants to move, Bol worries that making waves could get them deported. And so the two are on their own to face whatever's haunting them. - AS
Rotten Tomatoes score: 100%
Starring: Wonmi Mosaku, Sope Dirisu, Matt Smith, Cornell John, Emily Taaffe
Directed by: Remi Weekes
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'Fear Street' trilogy
Netflix knocked out back-to-back-to-back home runs with its "Fear Street" trilogy films, which adapt the R.L. Stine books. Expect retro scares and spooky thrills, but updated for the audiences that grew up with the books, and expect a bit more scares than kid-fare. Expect a haunted camp, a literal witch hunt and much more. - HTC
Rotten Tomatoes score: 83% (Part One), 88% (Part Two), 89% (Part Three)
Starring: Kiana Madeira, Gillian Jacobs, Julia Rehwald, Sadie Sink, Emily Rudd
Directed by: Leigh Janiak
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'Vampires vs The Bronx' (2020)
Vampires have taken over all across the world, even in Staten Island (see "What We Do In The Shadows" for a laugh), but they just picked the wrong borough to battle. "Vampires vs The Bronx" frames the tried and true trope of vampires as an evil invading force, and applies it to a modern topic: gentrification. In this movie, we meet a group of kids just trying to live their own lives, except for Miguel Martinez. Known to many as "Lil Mayor," Miguel is trying to save the local bodega, which is fighting off rising rent prices. All the while, vampires are actually the ones behind family-owned businesses being bought out. "Vampires vs The Bronx" is the latest addition to our best horror movies on Netflix list for finding a way to make a vampire movie where it's not just the blood that's being sucked out, but the life of a neighborhood. - HTC
Rotten Tomatoes score: 92%
Starring: Jaden Michael, Gerald W. Jones III, Gregory Diaz IV, Sarah Gadon, Cliff "Method Man" Smith
Directed by: Osmany Rodriguez
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'Cam' (2018)
Alice Ackerman, a successful camgirl, used to have a tight focus on her reality. All that changes once she figures out that faking her own death will shoot her to the top of the charts, and get a ton of tips. But before she can seize on her popularity, a new rival named Princess_X — who looks just like Alice — appears and shatters the scene. The film seizes on the mob mentality behavior that drives social media circles wild and turns into a macabre thriller as Alice begs the police for help. - HTC
Rotten Tomatoes score: 93%
Starring: Madeline Brewer, Patch Darragh, Melora Walters
Directed by: Daniel Goldhaber
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'Bird Box' (2018)
This Netflix original stars Sandra Bullock, as Malorie Hayes, who is about to go on a terrifying journey downriver in a boat, with only the blindfolds on their heads to protect them. Yes, normally you'd expect that everyone would want their vision when they're pitted against ghastly terrors, including infected fellow survivors, and therein lie the mysteries of "Bird Box." Without the ability to actually perceive their enemies, the imaginations of Malorie and her cohorts conjure up even scarier possibilities of what's behind the blindfolds. - HTC
Rotten Tomatoes score: 63%
Starring: Sandra Bullock, Trevante Rhodes, Jacki Weaver
Directed by: Susanne Bier
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'Apostle' (2018)
"Apostle" builds its thrills slowly, as you watch Thomas (Dan Stevens) go undercover to save his sister Jennifer (Elen Rhys) from a mysterious cult. In a brilliant bit of casting, Michael Sheen plays Malcolm, the cult leader, a (rightly) paranoid creep who's obsessed with the roots and vegetation of the land. - HTC
Rotten Tomatoes score: 80%
Starring: Dan Stevens, Lucy Boynton, Michael Sheen
Directed by: Gareth Evans
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'Cargo' (2017)
This Netflix original is the rare modern zombie movie done right. A cross between "The Walking Dead" and "The Road," it stars Martin Freeman as Andy Rose, a dad navigating the zombie-filled deserts of rural Australia with his wife Kay (Susie Porter) and baby Rosie after a viral pandemic turned those infected into flesh-hungry monsters.
While "Cargo" does hit a lot of the same beats as other zombie flicks, Freeman delivers a strong performance that grounds the film in relatable humanity. It spins a story of post-apocalyptic survival around a poignant exploration of parental love and sacrifice. And the zombie designs themselves are worth noting too, with "Cargo's" undead transforming into something uniquely animalistic and disturbing. - AS
Rotten Tomatoes score: 88%
Starring: Martin Freeman, Natasha Wanganeen, David Gulpilil
Directed by: Ben Howling, Yolanda Ramke
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'Little Evil' (2017)
Parenthood is frightening enough, but "Little Evil" one-ups the perils of child-rearing with a question: What if your new stepson was possessed by an actual demon? And who better to be thrust into this sticky situation than Adam Scott, who works every flavor of awkward into each role he takes. - HTC
Rotten Tomatoes score: 92%
Starring: Adam Scott, Evangeline Lilly, Donald Faison
Directed by: Eli Craig
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'Gerald's Game' (2017)
Sometimes, married life can get a bit boring and predictable, and couples decide to spice things up in the bedroom. "Gerald's Game" is a cautionary tale, though, of what happens when husband Gerald Burlingame (Bruce Greenwood) dies during the middle of one of these experimental evenings and leaves his wife Jessie (Carla Gugino) trapped, attached to the bedframe. And then Gerald haunts her. - HTC
Rotten Tomatoes score: 91%
Starring: Carla Gugino, Bruce Greenwood, Henry Thomas
Directed by: Mike Flanagan
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'1922' (2017)
What happens when you start a murder mystery by revealing the killer's identity? You get "1922," a Netflix-produced adaptation of a not-so-short story from Stephen King. It stars Thomas Jane ("The Punisher") as Wilfred James, who admits to the murder of his wife, which is what happened prior to his life falling apart. As rats plague James' life, the audience begins to question what it's been told, and how much it can trust the narrator, who thinks his wife is haunting him. - HTC
Rotten Tomatoes score: 91%
Starring: Thomas Jane, Neal McDonough, Molly Parker
Directed by: Zak Hilditch
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'Under the Shadow' (2016)
"Under the Shadow" has one of those premises that feels so ripe for horror movie fodder, I'm surprised I haven't seen it done more.
During the Iran-Iraq war of the 1980s, Shideh (Narges Rashidi) must care for her daughter, Dorsa (Avin Manshadi), all alone. As the war escalates, a missile slices through their apartment building but fails to detonate. Though her neighbors evacuate, Shideh chooses to remain, and that's when things take an unsettling turn. Dorsa begins acting stranger and stranger until Shideh questions her own grasp on reality. She slowly grows to suspect that her daughter may be suffering from something more sinister than wartime shock. - AS
Rotten Tomatoes score: 99%
Starring: Narges Rashidi, Avin Manshadi, Bobby Naderi
Directed by: Babak Anvari
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'I Am the Pretty Thing That Lives in the House' (2016)
Netflix has leaned pretty hard into original content, so it was only a matter of time until the site created a horror movie. "I Am the Pretty Thing That Lives in the House" (directed by Oz Perkins) has a mouthful of a title, but it's a smart film that builds an eerie atmosphere. Lily Saylor (Ruth Wilson) is a nurse, hired to take care of aging horror novelist Iris Blum (Paula Prentiss). Blum's ghosts may be more real than she lets on. - HTC
Rotten Tomatoes score: 58%
Starring: Ruth Wilson, Paula Prentiss, Bob Balaban
Directed by: Oz Perkins
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'He Never Died' (2015)
Being immortal sucks when you have to spend all your time alone. Jack (Henry Rollins) never ages or dies, but needs blood to survive. The easiest way to get it is to kill and eat people, which he doesn't really want to do — partially because he has little interest in leaving the house. A run-in with the local crime syndicate forces him out of his isolation, but life isn't easy when everyone looks like lunch. - HTC
Rotten Tomatoes score: 87%
Starring: Henry Rollins, Booboo Stewart, Steven Ogg
Directed by: Jason Crawczyk
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'Creep' (2014)
Inspired by odd encounters when buying stuff off of Craigslist, "Creep" is a found-footage horror movie that ponders how much you risk when applying for jobs found in online ads. The film starts with Aaron (director/co-writer Patrick Brice), a videographer in need of work, answers a job ad posted by Josef (co-writer/co-producer Mark Duplass), who he soon realizes is a weirdo. Not only does Josef get a kick out of scaring his new employee, but he also carves "J+A" into a tree, giving Aaron a sense that this job is more than he bargained for. And one night, when Josef asks Aaron to stay for a drink, things get even weirder. You'll never think of the phrase 'peachfuzz' the same way again. - HTC
Rotten Tomatoes score: 89%
Starring: Mark Duplass, Patrick Brice
Directed by: Patrick Brice
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'The Pope's Exorcist' (2023)
Yes, even the Pope gets his own exorcist. And, shockingly, this movie is based off of a real person: Father Gabriele Amorth, who founded the International Association of Exorcists. Here, Amorth (Russell Crowe) has to deal with the worst case scenario: the Pope himself is ill, and demonic foul play is apparently involved.
Critics say "The Pope's Exorcist" is the latest solid horror movie about possession, bolstered by Crowe's strong performance. It's not trying to claim or sully the grounds surrounding the original The Exorcist, just extend the lore. Oh, and a sequel is confirmed. - HTC
Rotten Tomatoes score: 50%
Starring: Russell Crow, Daniel Zovatto, Alex Essoe, Franco Nero
Directed by: Julius Avery
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'Zombieland' (2009)
The zombie apocalypse takes a fun, comedic spin in "Zombieland." Thanks to an infectious case of mad cow disease, many Americans have turned into zombies. One of the survivors is Columbus (Jesse Eisenberg), a cautious person who follows a strict zombie survival checklist to stay alive.
While searching for his parents, Columbus runs into Tallahassee (Woody Harrelson), an outlaw who agrees to give Columbus a ride to Ohio. As they make their way through America, the duo run into sisters Wichita (Emma Stone) and Little Rock (Abigail Breslin), who convince the boys to accompany them to an amusement park in Los Angeles that’s supposedly zombie-free. Traveling to the park is a risk. But in a zombie apocalypse, what do they have to lose? - DG
Rotten Tomatoes score: 89%
Starring: Woody Harrelson, Jesse Eisenberg, Emma Stone, Abigail Breslin
Directed by: Ruben Fleischer
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