30 of the best horror films on Netflix right now – RadioTimes

When youre looking for a short-term adrenaline rush or just want to watch something scary that isnt the news, horror is the ultimate genre to get the job done.

From psychological chillers to gory slashers, theres something terrifying for all kinds of thrill-seekers and Netflix has a wide assortment of them all.

As the streamer is beginning to produce its own blood-curdling content, with the highly-anticipated Im Thinking of Ending Things arriving on the platform in September, its time to start watching whats already on offer to prepare for the scare-fest to come.

In the list below, weve picked out a selection that you may wish to check out for your next spooky movie night, so get the popcorn ready becauseyoure in for a scare!

Orphan Warner Brothers

Starring scream queen Vera Farmiga and Peter Sarsgaard, this psychological thriller performed successfully at the box office due to its creepy, yet unique take on the child from hell premise. Orphan follows a couple who, after the death of their stillborn child, adopt a nine-year-old girl who begins to exhibit hostile behaviour. Darkly humorous at points, this film is packed with scares and top performances, especially from Isabelle Fuhrman who played the disturbing titular orphan.

Watch Orphan on Netflix

Directed by The Machinists Brad Anderson, Session 9 follows an asbestos abatement team who, when working in a derelict mental facility, begin to psychologically unravel after finding disturbing audio tapes from a former patient.This creepy psychological thriller is a deeply unsettling watch, with excellent performances from the likes of Peter Mullan (Trainspotting) and Josh Lucas (Ford v Ferrari).

Watch Session 9 on Netflix

Universal

This supernatural horror may hit a bit too close to work-from-home, with the whole film taking place via Skype, however its worth the watch if youre looking for a different take on the classic found-footage horror clich.

Starring Shelley Hennig (Teen Wolf), Renee Olstead (The Secret Life of an American Teenager) and Will Peltz (Men, Women & Children) among others, Unfriended follows a group of teenagers who, when chatting together online, are suddenly joined by an unknown user claiming to be a former classmate who committed suicide the year before. While the friends initially think the online intruder is another classmate pranking them, they start to suspect that something far more sinister is going on as the chat begins to result in deathly consequences.

Watch Unfriended on Netflix

SEAC

After a career decline, director M Night Shyamalan (The Sixth Sense) kicked off his comeback with this neat little horror flick, which sees two young siblings stay at their grandparents house for a week. Of course, The Visit wouldnt be on this list if that was all there is to it. The kids soon notice some odd goings on around the house, later stumbling on some dark secrets, but to say any more than that would risk spoiling the films surprises. Deanna Dunagan (August: Osage County) and Peter McRobbie (Daredevil) shine as the mysterious Nana and Pop Pop.

This little Norwegian film impressed critics upon release, making ambitious use of the mockumentary format by delving into the folklore of its native country. The story sees three aspiring filmmakers meet a man who claims to hunt trolls for the Norwegian government. Understandably sceptical, they accompany him on a mission and get a lot more than they bargained for. Trollhunter has some creepy moments and some good scares, but maintains a sense of humour throughout.

Director Ari Aster made a big impression on movie buffs with this directorial debut, which follows the ill-fated Graham family as they are terrorised by a mysterious presence following the death of their grandmother. Not for the faint-hearted, Hereditary packs some truly disturbing scenes, but stands out as one of the most suspenseful horror movies of the past decade. Toni Collette gives an incredible performance as Annie, a troubled mother pushed to breaking point by unthinkable loss. If youre a fan of the genre, this is quite simply a must watch.

Watch Hereditary on Netflix

Exorcism of Emily Rose Screen Gems

Starring Laura Linney, this supernatural crime horror follows lawyer Erin Bruner, who is tasked with defending a reverend being prosecuted for the wrongful death of Emily Rose after he performed a church-sanctioned exorcism on her.

Loosely based on the true story of Anneliese Michel, a German woman with epilepsy who underwent exorcism rites the year before her death, The Exorcism of Emily Rose is both a captivating courtroom drama and a horror flick, full of demonic scares.

With excellent performances from Tom Wilkinson and Jennifer Carpenter, this nerve-wracking thriller is perfect if youre looking for a more thought-provoking chiller.

Watch The Exorcism of Emily Rose on Netflix

Mark Duplass is front and centre throughout this inventive found-footage flick, which sees an out of work videographer accept a job filming the day-to-day life of an eccentric client who claims to be terminally ill. The more he sees, the stranger it gets, and he begins to question whether hes in danger. Duplass gives a mesmerising performance as the eponymous Creep, while director Patrick Brice puts the tired format to effective use, proving there is still life in this over-exposed subgenre. Its a creative piece of work which demonstrates how horror movies can thrive on a bootstrap budget.

Watch Creep on Netflix

A lean and mean modern horror must-watch, American Psycho perfectly dissects American yuppie culture of the 1990s. But thats not the reason to watch this 101-minute cult classic. The movie is carried by lead Christian Bale, who serves up a horrifying and hilarious performance as New York investment Patrick Bateman, a man obsessed with status and style. Oh, and violent murder too.

Based on the 1992 novel of the same name, the movie follows Bateman as he dives deeper into his hedonistic fantasies all the while hiding his psychopathic alter-ego from his co-workers.

Gradually becoming more surreal, this darkly hilarious satire of Manhattan business culture unfolds into a bloody crescendo you wont forget in a hurry. Already seen it? We promise a re-watch will be worth it: American Psycho carries so many hidden details youll spot something new with every viewing.

Watch American Psycho on Netflix

Stephen King books have long been a common source of horror films and have spawned some of the most enduring hits in the genre. This 2017 film by Andy Muschietti, which was followed by a sequel last year, was particularly well-received, becoming the highest-grossing horror film of all time, surpassing a long-standing record that had been held by The Exorcist since the 1970s.

The film boasted an exceptional young cast with Stranger Things alumni Finn Wolfhard putting in an especially memorable performance and Sophia Lillis also impressing in the role of Beverley and pulled off the tricky accomplishment of managing to be both funny and scary in equal measure. It also played into the 80s nostalgia that has been immensely popular in recent years, resulting in a very faithful adaptation of Kings work although one notably controversial scene towards the end of the book is sensibly left out.

Watch It on Netflix

Slasher flick Hush follows Maddie Young (Kate Siegel), a deaf woman who lost the ability to hear and speak after contracting bacterial meningitis as a child. She is soon targeted by a masked serial killer (John Gallagher Jr), who chases her around her home while she attempts to evade him.

A terrifying cat-and-mouse scare from thriller aficionado Mike Flanagan, Hush is an intimate 80 minutes of home invasion horror thatll have you double-checking your locks.

Watch Hush on Netflix

This 2016 Persian-language release from British-Iranian filmmaker Babak Anvari is a classic example of the way horror films can often act as allegories for serious and relevant themes and issues. The film follows a mother, Shideh and daughter living in war-torn 1980s Iran, whose apartment building is hit by a missile. A superstitious neighbour claims that the missile was cursed, carrying malevolent Middle-Eastern spirits and this suspicion leads Shideh to believe that her daughter is being possessed.

What follows is a chilling, powerful films works both as a piece of horror fiction and an update on the haunted house genre, but also as a prescient social commentary on conflict in the Middle East. It includes some genuinely brilliant performances from its cast and was selected as the UKs submission for the foreign language film award at the 2017 Oscars although it did not get nominated by the Academy.

Watch Under the Shadow on Netflix

This instalment in The Conjuring film series explores the origin of Annabelle, a haunted doll from the collection of paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren. Set in the 1950s, the film opens with Samuel and Esther Mullins devastated by the loss of their young daughter, who is killed when she is hit by a car. Years later, they welcome six orphaned girls and a nun into their home, who discover the mysterious doll that appears to have a life of its own.

While not revolutionary in its execution, Annabelle: Creation was recognised as a significant improvement on the film that preceded it, as well as another solid addition to the expanding Conjuring universe. Talitha Bateman (Love, Simon), Stephanie Sigman (Spectre) and Miranda Otto (The Lord of the Rings) lead the cast.

Watch Annabelle: Creation on Netflix

Its probably fair to say that the work of surrealist master David Lynch more or less defies conventional genre categorisation with the word Lynchian almost having become a genre descriptor in its own right. And while his 1986 masterpiece Blue Velvet might not be a horror film in the conventional sense of the word, its weird, nightmarish mood certainly qualifies it as a piece of psychological horror and not one for the faint-hearted.

The films explores the dark, seedy underbelly of suburban America by focusing on the story a young student, Jeffrey, played by Kyle MacLachlan (who would later star in perhaps the most iconic Lynch role of all, Dale Cooper in Twin Peaks). One day Jeffrey discovers a severed human ear while he is wandering through his neighbourhood, and, determined to find the source of the ear, he joins forces with the daughter of a detective (Laura Dern) to investigate. Advanced warning after watching youll never hear the music of Roy Orbison the same way again.

Watch Blue Velvet on Netflix

Simply the fact that Beetle Juice was poured out from the mind of Tim Burton should give you some idea as to what you should expect. This classic 80s film is peak Burton, full of imaginative new ways to prevent you from sleeping.

The premise revolves around a recently deceased couple (played by Alec Baldwin and Geena Davis) who are stuck haunting the next tenants of their former home. They unsuccessfully try to get rid of the new family including Winona Ryder among the cast list but require the assistance of the titular poltergeist Betelgeuse (Michael Keaton). Keaton produces some of his most manic work in this twisted comedy romp, filled with all the bizarreness you would expect a Burton production to be laced with. The dated practical effects and CGI make the whole production even more unnerving with some grotesquely weird images sure to be seared into your mind no matter what age you are.

Watch Beetle Juice on Netflix

Another Stephen King brainchild was brought to life in 1990 by Rob Reiner. Misery strikes an uncomfortable nerve even now in this day and age of online TV and film fandoms gaining increasing power. Social media provides a prime platform for millions to vent their views at authors covertly, hiding behind usernames and display pictures if content creators dare to venture in unpopular directions.

Kathy Bates brings out the full range, from perky to deranged, in Misery as her character Annie Wilkes rescues revered author Paul Sheldon (James Caan) from a car crash. She soon discovers Paul has killed off a beloved character in her favourite Misery novel series and embarks on a tyrannical reign of captivity and torture against the author in a bid to force a new story, to change the events of his intended book. Its a tense, gripping watch with both Caan and Bates excelling in their roles. Bates picked up a best actress Oscar for her unhinged display one of just a few top honours afforded to antagonists over the years.

Watch Misery on Netflix

A horror film directed and starred in by The Offices Jim Halpert aka the Least Scary or Intimidating Man in the World was enough to capture the attention of a whole new audience, even if it didnt fill many of us with confidence the end result would be such a solid film. John Krasinski has made a concerted effort in recent years to shake off the Jim niceness with roles in 13 Hours: the Secret Soldiers of Benghazi and Jack Ryan, and in A Quiet Place he cuts his directorial teeth in style.

He stars as the father of the Abbott family, joined by real-world wife Emily Blunt, as they are forced to live in total silence while hiding from monsters with super sensitive hearing. The lack of sound throughout most of the film doesnt become any less tense. Theres a particularly strong performance by Millicent Simmonds, a deaf teen actress, who plays the daughter Regan in powerful style throughout. This film is to everyday chit-chat what Jaws is to summer beach holidays

Watch A Quiet Place on Netflix

Directed by The Night Managers Susanne Bier and starring Sandra Bullock, Bird Box has been described as A Quiet Place but with blindfolds and was a global smash hit when it first arrived on Netflix in December 2018. Bullock plays a mother who must protect her children from mysterious creatures who, once glimpsed, drive people to suicide or turn them into homicidal psychopaths, and covering their eyes is their only protection

Watch Bird Box on Netflix

Read our full Bird Box review

Martin Freeman in a zombie apocalypse. Need more convincing to watch this movie? If so, we should tell this Netflix original sees The Hobbit star play Andy, a father stranded in rural Australia after the globe is struck by a pandemic. Fortunately, its nothing COVID-related. Unfortunately, this disease spawns an army of the undead within 48 hours, one Andy must keep from attacking a new-born infant.

Although it sounds a by-the-numbers zombie flick, this well-crafted and critically-acclaimed movie packs an emotional depth unseen in many horrors, primarily due to Freemans mesmerising performance. And sure, its light on jump scares, but we still challenge you to trek in the Aussie outback after watching Cargo.

Watch Cargo on Netflix

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Australian filmmaker Jennifer Kent made quite an impression with her debut feature film The Babadook in 2014, and two years she returned for another slice of contemporary horror with the chilling thriller The Nightingale, starring Aisling Franciosi andSam Claflin.

The film follows Clare, a young Irish convict, who chases a British officer through the rugged Tasmanian wilderness bent on revenge. Her journey sees her enlist the services of an Aboriginal tracker who is marked by trauma from his own violence-filled past. Warning: this is not a film for the faint-hearted.

Watch The Nightingale on Netflix

Our strongest advice for this one? Go in as dark as possible. Avoid trailers, avoid any form of plot synopsis, just check straight in to The Cabin in the Woods.

Have you gone now? No? OK then, well try to keep this vague. Five token friends journey to a remote, dark cabin in the woods and it doesnt go well. Your first impressions of this one are not going to be positive ones, youve seen this before in every. single. B-movie. ever. Expect eye rolling and face-palm moments as Joss Whedon and Drew Goddard drag out every horror cliche imaginable before ripping the rug straight out from under your feet in this subverting horror flick.

Chris Hemsworth fresh from big breaks in Star Trek and Thor is joined by Kristen Connolly and Anna Hutchison for The Cabin in the Woods. Prepare yourself. Whatever you think is going to happen, probably wont.

Watch The Cabin in the Woods on Netflix

Madeline Brewer steals the show in this gritty psychological thriller set in the salacious world of online webcam pornography. Her character, Alice, becomes increasingly obsessed with being Number 1, and resorts to increasingly daring and extreme measures to climb the ranking system, culminating with a fake suicide broadcast that proves enough to nudge her into the top 50. Soon after, her identity is copied by a mysterious doppelgnger, leading to an intense hunt for the culprit.

Screenwriter Isa Mazzei a former cam girl herself drew on her own experiences of exploitation in the industry as she crafted the story. Originally imagined as a documentary, Mazzei felt a horror movie was the only way to portray the underbelly of the industry, with numerous cries for help to the police and other authorities going unheeded and written off due to the nature of her career. A modern horror for modern audiences.

Watch Cam on Netflix

James Wans work creating the Saw franchise put him on the map in the slasher genre, but Insidious saw the Malaysian director successfully tread deeper down true horror lines than previously. He took on the Insidious project in a bid to prove his capabilities outside of blood and guts horror, and managed to produce a blockbuster with some genuinely chilling moments.

Insidious is a haunted house ride. It stays on a steady track, but the film is packed with a variety of demonic forces that always have you scanning the screen for the next scare. Theres little reliance on gore, but less is more here. The film does a fantastic job of ramping up the paranoia with constant suggestions that you might have seen something in your peripheral vision, and occasionally you will. This sustains the threat throughout the movie, coupled with an atmospheric score and cast led by Patrick Wilson and Rose Byrne.

Watch Insidious on Netflix

Spanish film Veronica was released to much fanfare in 2017 with some critics and many on social media branding it the scariest movie of all time. Director Paco Plaza had already built a cult following after his successful creation of the [Rec] trilogy, but Veronica caused a storm once it landed on Netflix.

The story follows Veronica (Sandra Escacena) who uses a ouija board during a total eclipse of the sun, a time when dark prevails over light, and events on Earth are believed to reflect that mantra. The glass smashes, she passes out, and seemingly recovers, but the girls experience changes Veronica. The rest of the films consists of relentless psychological warfare. How much is reality? How much is in Veronicas head? The whole things gets crazy.

Oh, and it is loosely based on true events from a tragic case of Estefana Gutirrez Lzaro in 1991. A girl died in Vallecas under mysterious circumstances after using a ouija board. Sleep well.

Watch Veronica on Netflix

This Stephen King adaptation set in the titular year follows the story of a farming family in Nebraska with the father Wilf James (Thomas Jane) citing the mantra a mans pride is his land as a rule to live by. His wife Arlette (Molly Parker) wants out, however. She intends to move to the city, upgrade, leave the tough slog of farm life behind. In response, Wilf conspires to kill Arlette with the help of son Henry (Dylan Schmid).

1922 is a bleak tale, certainly not one for the rat-haters in your life, but it is transferred very well from page to screen by Zak Hilditch with many critics hailing it as one of the best efforts at replicating Kings work on screen. Much of the trauma throughout stems from the guilt ebbing away at Wilfs consciousness, a slow chipping away of his resolve, and while theres little cheer to go around, its a worthy Netflix production.

Watch 1922 on Netflix

The premise couldnt be more corny, youd be forgiven for thinking horror had completely ran out of ideas in the early 80s when Christine found its way into cinemas, but once again Stephen King comes up trumps with a gripping storyline plucked straight out of a fast and furious nightmare. How could a garish red-and-white 1958 Plymouth Fury possibly be scary? Well, mission accomplished.

Christine is a car, that much we have deduced, possessed by an evil spirits deep within the chassis. The car seduces a 17-year-old boy Arnie Cunningham (Keith Gordon) who becomes deeply obsessed with the car, obeys the car, worships the car, with deadly consequences. We told you its corny on paper, but the result is surprisingly effective, making Christine a cult classic horror flick that everyone need to experience once. Like many horror films, it wont be for everyone, but maybe a haunted car is right up your street.

Watch Christine on Netflix

Arguably the most trippy film on the list, Climax is a deranged technicolour depiction of a dance party gone horribly off the rails. A troupe of young dancers start out innocently enough, nailing a rehearsal that leads to celebratory drinks and an afterparty. However, upon downing sangria that has been laced with LSD, the group rapidly descends into all-out anarchy. This is a psychological drama where secrets are revealed, paranoia boils over, mania assumes command, a lawless explosion.

Its a graphic watch, with strong violence, graphic nudity, drug use, the full works, as director Gaspar Noe seeks to unsettle his audience at every opportunity. Its intentionally a trial to watch as the somersaulting camerawork sends your own head spinning at times. Visceral images and vibrant colours add to the sensory overload, but somehow it all falls into place to provide a spectacle as opposed to a disorganised mess. Theres method in the madness.

Watch Climax on Netflix

Distressing, unnerving, deeply unsettling. Events of The Invitation are the result of failing to cull your Facebook friend list. Occasionally youre going to get invited along to something that youll actually attend, and youll wish you simply clicked ignore. Game of Throness Daario Naharis finally washes up in the Hollywood Hills as Michiel Huisman plays the role of David who invites a bunch of lost contacts to his house along with wife Eden (Tammy Blanchard).

Guests include Will (Logan Marshall-Green) and new girlfriend Kira (Emayatzy E Corinealdi). Will had previously been married to Eden, but the pair split up following the accidental death of their son. A return to his former home sees Will become increasingly paranoid about his ex-wifes motives for the invitation.

This is a paranoia-driven experience that leaves you as befuddled as the party guests as to what is real and what is psychological. Its a steady-build, but the pay-off is worthy of a place in your viewing schedule.

Watch The Invitation on Netflix

Alex Garland follows up his stellar directorial debut Ex Machina with this sci-fi horror oddity. Lena (Natalie Portman) is a US army soldier who joins a squad tasked with the terrifying mission of entering a strange alien zone (known as the Shimmer), from which a number of exploratory teams have never returned. Upon entering the surreal place, she and her squadmates encounter some truly macabre and nightmarish beasts, but push on to the lighthouse where they hope to find answers.

Portman gives a brilliant performance in the lead role, with Jennifer Jason Leigh (The Hateful Eight), Gina Rodriguez (Jane the Virgin) and Tessa Thompson (Thor: Ragnarok) all giving memorable supporting turns. Its ending proved a little divisive when the film was first released, but the journey Annihilation takes you on is more than worth your time, boasting gripping tension and striking visuals throughout.

Watch Annihilation on Netflix

Ethan Hawke heads up this violent, supernatural horror thriller centred around the discovery of a box of disturbing home movies. Hawke who plays the role of true crime writer Ellison Oswalt moves his unwitting wife and kids to a house which previously belonged to a family murdered by hanging in the garden, because that is a completely normal thing to do when eyeing up a property investment.

Upon arrival, he discovers a box of Super 8 reels contains innocuously labelled home movies of a BBQ, family party, even mowing the lawn. What a laugh. Of course, none of the footage is pleasant, and all of it features the grainy demonic figure of Bughuul, a pagan deity who appears responsible for the murders.

He doesnt actually receive a great deal of screen time, but his frightening appearances always dangle the threat of him showing up at any moment. Once again, its your imagination that provides a heavy dose of the horror in this one.

Watch Sinister on Netflix

In the mood for something less frightening? Check out our lists of the best movies and best TV shows on Netflix, or visit our TV Guide to see what else is on.

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30 of the best horror films on Netflix right now - RadioTimes

Reviewed and Recommended by Erik Baquero