Looking for a scary movie to watch on Netflix? Any time is the right time to watch a horror movie. Waiting for October to indulge in frightening films is the old way to get your tricks and treats, like renting from Blockbuster or not using Treatster to map out which houses give out the best candy. No, in the modern world, you can sit back and enjoy your scares from the comfort of your own couch thanks to screaming streaming content from Netflix. With that in mind, we’ve put together a list of the best horror movies on Netflix right now, an evolving list that will provide you with classic horror selections and modern cuts to get your fright fix.
Looking for more scary movies? Check out our list of the best horror films on HBO, Hulu, and Prime Video, or browse our list of the best movies on Netflix.
Disclaimer: These titles are available on US Netflix.
Get Out
Rotten Tomatoes: 98% | IMDb: 7.8/10
Release Date February 24, 2017
Director Jordan Peele
Writers Jordan Peele
Cast Daniel Kaluuya, Allison Williams, Catherine Keener, Bradley Whitford, Caleb Landry Jones, Marcus Henderson
Genres Horror, Mystery, Thriller
Runtime 103
Rating R
Jordan Peele’s feature film directorial debut follows Daniel Kaluuya’s Chris, who visits his girlfriend’s (Allison Williams) all-white family one fateful weekend. After an uncomfortable beginning sparks friction, the visit spirals into a hate-fueled nightmare. A horror widely considered one of the 21st century’s best, Get Out is a masterpiece of visual storytelling, with the suspense-ridden narrative oozing a social commentary that bubbles under the surface before exploding in all its unapologetic glory in the final act. Tense, shocking, and beautifully written by Peele, Get Out remains a shining example of how the horror genre doesn’t just have to be a catalyst of nightmares — it can also be an almighty catalyst of change. – Jake Hodges
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Ma
Rotten Tomatoes: 55% | IMDb: 5.6/10
Release Date May 31, 2019
Director Tate Taylor
Cast Octavia Spencer, Juliette Lewis, Diana Silvers, Luke Evans
Runtime 99 minutes
Main Genre Horror
This award-winning tale, directed by The Help’s Tate Taylor, follows the isolated Sue Ann (Octavia Spencer), who, after inviting a group of teenagers to drink in her basement, takes sadistic advantage of their presence, turning their dream into a nightmare. A psychological thriller guaranteed to get under your skin, Ma is a wild ride from start to finish, thanks in no small part to Scotty Landes’ creepy script. Brooding and atmospheric, Ma is another title under Blumhouse Productions that only furthers their incredible reputation. Dark and twisted, Ma is a wonderful watch for a nighttime thrill. – Jake Hodges
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Us
Rotten Tomatoes: 93% | IMDb: 6.8/10
Release Date March 22, 2019
Director Jordan Peele
Cast Lupita Nyong’o, Winston Duke, Elisabeth Moss, Tim Heidecker
Runtime 116 minutes
Genres Horror
After the enormous success of his horror debut, Get Out, Jordan Peele directs his equally impressive follow-up effort: Us. After taking a vacation to sunny Santa Cruz, the Wilson family’s lives are turned on their heads when they are confronted by their sick and twisted doppelgängers. Lupita Nyong’o excels as Adelaide, with her double-edged performance seeing her nominated for many an award. Peele’s brand of dark humor meeting psychological threat and social commentary blends with ease in Us, as the story weaves between moments of sheer terror and unflinching tension. A visual treat, Us is certainly fuel for your nightmares. – Jake Hodges
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Tin & Tina
Rotten Tomatoes: 50% | IMDb: 4.7/10
Release Date May 26, 2023
Cast Milena Smit, Jaime Lorente, Anastasia Russo, Teresa Rabal
Runtime 119 minutes
Rating Not Rated
Genres Horror, Mystery, Thriller
Cast: Milena Smit, Jaime Lorente, Carlos González Morollón
Tin & Tina is a psychological thriller from Spain about a recently married couple, Adolfo (Jaime Lorente) and Lola (Milena Smit), who suffer the loss of a child when Lola has a miscarriage. Determined to raise children together, they turn to a convent that has an abundance of orphans to care for, and they end up going home with a pair of odd twins – the titular Tin and Tina. The film has many horror aspects intertwined with religious imagery that perfectly reflect the crisis of faith that Lola is fighting her way through as she tries to temper her grief by being overly accommodating to these children who may have been sent from hell itself. – Tauri Miller
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Deliver Us from Evil
Rotten Tomatoes: 29% | IMDb: 6.2/10
Director Scott Derrickson
Writers Scott Derrickson, Paul Harris Boardman, Ralph Sarchie, Lisa Collier Cool
Release Date July 2, 2014
Cast Eric Bana, Edgar Ramirez, Olivia Munn, Chris Coy, Dorian Missick, Sean Harris
Genres Action, Crime, Horror, Thriller
Rating R
Runtime 118 minutes
Deliver Us from Evil follows New York police officer Ralph Sarchie (Eric Bana) as he teams up with local priest Mendoza (Edgar Ramírez) to battle the strange demonic possessions that seem to be taking over their city. Exorcism is the order of the day, with the film likened to the likes of The Rite and The Conjuring, with Scott Derrickson’s fantastic direction pulling the audience into all sorts of uncomfortable terror. Supposedly based on a true story, Deliver Us from Evil doesn’t just erratically bring bone-chilling scares — it does so with intellect, with the film itself benefiting from having much more to say than its other-worldly demonic narrative may suggest. – Jake Hodges.
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The Pope’s Exorcist
Rotten Tomatoes: 49% | IMDb: 6.1/10
Director Julius Avery
Release Date April 14, 2023
Cast Russell Crowe, Daniel Zovatto, Alex Essoe, Franco Nero
Genres Horror, Thriller
Rating R
Runtime 103 minutes
The Pope’s Exorcist takes the torch that was sparked by the revolutionary novel-turned-film The Exorcist and runs with it at full speed — while also throwing in some mystery and conspiracies for good measure. Russell Crowe (Gladiator) takes on the role of Father Gabriele Amorth, a real priest of the Vatican who was said to have performed over 10,000 exorcisms. In this fantastical reimagining of Father Amorth’s tales of battling demons, Crowe dives deep into Roman Catholic history and gives a fantastic performance as a priest who not only has to fight against the forces of hell but also his own institution in order to save a young child from his possession.
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Run Rabbit Run
Rotten Tomatoes: 37% | IMDb: 5.0/10
Director Daina Reid
Release Date June 28, 2023
Cast Sarah Snook, Damon Herriman, Greta Scacchi, Julia Davis
Genres Thriller, Horror
Rating Not Rated
Runtime 100 minutes
Run Rabbit Run is a terrifying psychological thriller directed by Daina Reid. Nestled in the breathtakingly gorgeous landscape of Australia – which only enhances the unsettling foundation of the film’s premise – Run Rabbit Run features an undeniably incredible performance from Succession star Sarah Snook as a successful fertility doctor whose daughter (Lily LaTorre) seems to be possessed by the spirit of her deceased sister, Alice. Run Rabbit Run is a gripping watch not only because it centers on a haunting mystery but also due to the breakout role for young LaTorre, who fearlessly enchants on screen against Snook. – Yael Tygiel
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Things Heard & Seen
Rotten Tomatoes: 38% | IMDb: 5.3/10
Director Shari Springer Berman, Robert Pulcini
Release Date April 29, 2021
Cast Amanda Seyfried, Karen Allen, Rhea Seehorn, Natalia Dyer, James Norton, F. Murray Abraham
Genres Horror, Drama, Mystery
Rating TV-MA
Runtime 121 minutes
Based on the novel All Things Cease to Appear by Elizabeth Brundage, Things Heard and Seen is a chilling story about a young couple that moves into a country home with a disturbing past. Amanda Seyfried (Jennifer’s Body) brings the audience on her journey as she explores the darkness in her new house, town, and marriage. Contrasted with Seyfried’s naive yet restless Catherine is her suspicious husband George, played sinisterly by James Norton. Co-directed by Shari Springer Berman and Robert Pulcini, Things Seen and Heard blends old-school psycho-sexual thriller tropes with updated horror technologies to produce a terrifying modern classic. – Yael Tygiel
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Bird Box Barcelona
Rotten Tomatoes: 53% | IMDb: 5.3/10
Director David Pastor, Àlex Pastor
Release Date July 14, 2023
Cast Georgina Campbell, Mario Casas, Diego Calva, Michelle Jenner
Genres Horror, Mystery, Sci-Fi
Runtime 110 minutes
Rating Not Rated
Bird Box Barcelona, the spin-off sequel to the 2018 film based on the Josh Malerman novel, is a thrilling post-apocalyptic horror film that goes beyond a creature feature to explore the monstrous aspects of man. The story takes place in a ravaged Barcelona and follows Sebastián (Mario Casas) and his daughter (Naila Schuberth) as they team up with other survivors of the entities that must not be perceived to escape the pursuit of a dangerous cult that forces people to look upon the creatures, leading them to commit suicide. This expansion to the Birdbox lore is a fascinating dive into the ways that humans deal with great loss as well as the ways that religion can become destructive. – Tauri Miller
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Lights Out
Rotten Tomatoes: 75% | IMDb: 6.3/10
Rebecca must unlock the terror behind her little brother’s experiences that once tested her sanity, bringing her face to face with a supernatural spirit attached to their mother.
Director David F. Sandberg
Release Date July 22, 2016
Cast Teresa Palmer, Maria Bello, Billy Burke, Alicia Vela-Bailey, Emily Alyn Lind, Gabriel Bateman
Genres Horror, Mystery, Thriller
Rating PG-13
Runtime 81 minutes
Lights Out, the directorial debut of David F. Sandberg (Shazam! Fury of the Gods), is about a woman (Teresa Palmer) coming face to face with the supernatural forces that haunt her family. Co-starring Maria Bello (Beef) as the woman’s mother, along with an unexpected performance from young actor Gabriel Bateman, Lights Out is a skillfully crafted horror flick that weaves a captivating story with rich performances and chilling scares. Co-written by Eric Heisserer (Bird Box) and Sandberg, Lights Out builds an unsettling experience with hair-raising thrills and a creepy maleficent force without relying on gore. – Yael Tygiel
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We Have A Ghost
Rotten Tomatoes: 42% | IMDb: 6.1/10
Director Christopher Landon
Release Date February 23, 2023
Cast David Harbour, Jennifer Coolidge, Anthony Mackie, Tig Notaro, Niles Fitch, Faith Ford
Genres Comedy, Adventure
Rating PG-13
Runtime 126 minutes
Studio Netflix
When the Presley family moves into a low-priced fixer-upper, they soon realize they have a ghost named Ernest (David Harbour) living in the attic when the teenage son Kevin (Jahi Di’Allo Winston) catches him on video. Seeing it as an opportunity for money and fame, Kevin’s dad Frank (Anthony Mackie) uploads the video and creates an instant viral sensation that draws national attention to their house — but some of the eyes watching them could put their family in grave danger. We Have a Ghost is a new spin on the haunted house trope that uses internet virality and the ghost hunter craze to create a hilarious original film. – Tauri Miller
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Viking Wolf
Rotten Tomatoes: 43% | IMDb: 5.2/10
Director Stig Svendsen
Release Date February 3, 2023
Cast Elli Rhiannon Müller Osborne, Liv Mjönes, Arthur Hakalahti, Sjur Vatne Brean
Genres Horror, Thriller
Rating TV-MA
Runtime 97 minutes
Directed by Stig Svendsen, who co-wrote the screenplay with Espen Aukan, Viking Wolf is a Norwegian horror film that applies an unexpected and fun variation to traditional werewolf narratives. Surrounded by a scary mystery and placed in an unsettling atmosphere, Viking Wolf stars Elli Rhiannon Müller Osborne as Thale, a teenage outcast who moves to a small town when her mother begins working for the local police department. Featuring impressive CGI for the beasts and impactful use of blood, gore, and shadows, the thrilling story of Viking Wolf succeeds with spine-tingling excitement. – Yael Tygiel
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Silence
Rotten Tomatoes: 29% | IMDb: 5.3/10
Director John R. Leonetti
Release Date April 10, 2019
Cast Kiernan Shipka, Miranda Otto, Stanley Tucci, John Corbett, Kyle Harrison Breitkopf, Kate Corbett
Genres Horror, Drama
Rating PG-13
Runtime 90 minutes
John R. Leonetti’s The Silence is based on Tim Lebbon’s novel, blossoming from a similar premise to A Quiet Place. Set in a world attacked by creatures who use sound to hunt their prey, The Silence follows a Deaf teenager, played by Kiernan Shipka, and her family as they attempt to find shelter. Unbeknownst to them, they fall in with a cult. Shipka is undoubtedly a talented actress, but The Silence was greatly criticized for the casting of a hearing actress in a deaf role, as well as Shipka’s non-native American Sign Language skills. Even with its faults, The Silence is a heart-pumping adventure that also stars Stanley Tucci, John Corbett, and Shipka’s Chilling Adventures of Sabrina co-star Miranda Otto. – Yael Tygiel
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Eli
Rotten Tomatoes: 48% | IMDb: 5.8/10
Director Ciaran Foy
Release Date October 18, 2019
Cast Kelly Reilly, Charlie Shotwell, Max Martini, Lili Taylor
Genres Horror, Drama, Mystery
Rating R
Runtime 98 minutes
Writers Daniel Maze, Alexander Yurchikov
Director Ciarán Foy spellbinds with his haunting horror movie Eli, starring Charlie Shotwell (Morbius) as the titular young boy with a rare autoimmune disease. Co-starring Lili Taylor (Outer Range) as the mysterious doctor curing the boy’s illness, Eli juxtaposes Taylor’s calm demeanor with eerie imagery to produce spine-tingling excitement for scary movie audiences. Also starring Max Martini (Bosch: Legacy), Kelly Reilly, and Sadie Sink (Stranger Things), Eli is a suspenseful mystery that plays in the shadows, alluding to ghostly intervention while building tension and unraveling into a paranormal fright-fest. – Yael Tygiel
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Little Evil
Rotten Tomatoes: 92% | IMDb: 5.7/10
Director Eli Craig
Release Date September 1, 2017
Cast Evangeline Lilly, Adam Scott, Bridget Everett, Clancy Brown, Tyler Labine, Donald Faison
Genres Comedy, Horror, Fantasy
Rating TV-MA
Runtime 94 minutes
Little Evil is a goofy horror comedy written and directed by Eli Craig (Zombieland). Starring Adam Scott (Severance) as a man embarking on his idealized life with the woman of his dreams, played by Evangeline Lilly (Ant-man and the Wasp), only to discover that her son (Owen Atlas) may be the antichrist. With a playfully clever script and featuring a slew of comedic heavyweights in supporting roles, Little Evil tackles scary movie tropes with an entertaining homage. Focused more on comedy than horror, Little Evil is a cute film to watch with friends who like a less intense spooky season. – Yael Tygiel
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Texas Chainsaw Massacre
Rotten Tomatoes: 31% | IMDb: 4.7/10
Director David Blue Garcia
Release Date February 18, 2022
Cast Jacob Latimore, Sarah Yarkin, Elsie Fisher, Mark Burnham
Genres Horror
Rating R
Runtime 81 minutes
The ninth installment in the franchise, Netflix’s 2022 version of Texas Chainsaw Massacre takes place 50 years after Leatherface’s (Mark Burnham) 1973 killing spree after a group of young entrepreneurs travel to Texas to auction off old properties and create a trendy area. When inspecting what they believed to be an abandoned orphanage, however, they find it’s occupied by an elderly woman named Ginny (Alice Krige) – and the notorious serial killer, leading to a bloody and terrifying game of cat-and-mouse. Though it doesn’t reinvent the genre, Texas Chainsaw Massacre is exactly what you’d expect from the slasher, offering gore and frights galore. – Taylor Gates
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Resident Evil
Rotten Tomatoes: 35% | IMDb: 6.6/10
Based on the popular video game, Milla Jovovich and Michelle Rodriguez star as the leaders of a commando team who must break into “the hive,” a vast underground genetics laboratory operated by the powerful Umbrella Corporation. There, a deadly virus has been unleashed, killing the lab’s personnel and resurrecting them as the evil Un-dead. The team has just three hours to shut down the lab’s supercomputer and close the facility before the virus threatens to overrun the Earth.
Director Paul W.S. Anderson
Release Date March 15, 2002
Cast Milla Jovovich, Michelle Rodriguez, Eric Mabius, James Purefoy, Martin Crewes, Colin Salmon
Genres Action, Horror, Sci-Fi
Rating R
Runtime 100 minutes
If you enjoyed Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City, check out the movie that started the franchise. Resident Evil stars Milla Jovovich as Alice, the badass who is determined to clean up after the Umbrella Corporation’s biotech chemicals have created zombies… and worse. If you are looking for high-intensity action and lots of cool monsters, this is one you can’t miss. — Alyse Wax
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Umma
Rotten Tomatoes: 32% | IMDb: 4.7/10
Director Iris K. Shim
Release Date March 18, 2022
Cast Sandra Oh, Dermot Mulroney, Odeya Rush, Fivel Stewart
Genres Horror, Drama, Mystery
Rating PG-13
Runtime 83 minutes
As Grey’s Anatomy, The Chair, and Killing Eve has shown us, there’s truly nothing that Sandra Oh can’t do. She proves that yet again in Umma, where she plays Amanda – a Korean immigrant homeschooling her daughter Chrissy (Fivel Stewart) on a rural farm away from technology. Amanda is not only dealing with the stress of her Chrissy wanting to move away for college, but she’s also having flashbacks of her abusive childhood after receiving the ashes of her recently deceased mother – as well as a vicious spirit intent on inhabiting her body. The film offers up some supernatural scares, but the themes of generational trauma and identity are where the true terror lies. – Taylor Gates
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Choose or Die
Rotten Tomatoes: 33% | IMDb: 4.8/10
Director Toby Meakins
Release Date April 15, 2022
Cast Iola Evans, Asa Butterfield, Robert Englund, Angela Griffin
Genres Horror, Drama, Thriller
Rating MA-17
Runtime 84 minutes
When Kayla (Iola Evans) discovers an old ‘80s computer game that comes with a yet-to-be-claimed $100,000 cash prize for anyone who beats it, her curiosity and family’s need for money drive her to give the game a try. However, the game is more than just a simple choose-your-own-adventure meets horror campaign. It has the ability to warp reality and force Kayla to make deadly decisions that affect people in real life. Forced to continue playing, Kayla and her friend Isaac (Asa Butterfield) try to find a way to stop the game for good — it is just code after all. But as they learn of the malevolent forces that went into the game’s conception, they realize that winning and staying alive may not be as easy as they think. Choose or Die feels both nostalgic and fresh, paying homage to classic video games while delivering a narrative that hasn’t been done to death. Its short 84-minute runtime is an asset, not a hindrance, allowing the movie to dive straight into the horror without unnecessary fluff dragging it down. Choose or Die is honestly a lot of fun and a great casual watch for horror buffs and novices alike! – Brynna Arens
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Ouija: Origins of Evil
Rotten Tomatoes: 84% | IMDb: 6.2/10
Director Mike Flanagan
Release Date October 21, 2016
Cast Doug Jones, Henry Thomas, Elizabeth Reaser, Kate Siegel, Lin Shaye, Annalise Basso
Genres Horror, Drama, Mystery
Rating PG-13
Runtime 99 minutes
Mike Flanagan had already built a reputation as a rock-steady horror filmmaker by 2016, but the sense of “holy crap, this guy can do anything” became set in stone once he took on a prequel to a critically-derided movie about an evil ouija board and made one of the scariest movies of the last decade. Ouija: Origin of Evil takes us to the 1970s, where fake psychic Alice Zander (Elizabeth Reaser) and her two daughters, Lina (Annalise Basso) and Doris (Lulu Wilson), perform seances for paying customers in the wake of Alice’s husband dying. Doris, the youngest, spices up the act with the introduction of a ouija board, but the cursed item makes things all too real when it not only sends a dark spirit into the girl’s body but exposes the deep-seated evil ingrained in the Zander’s house. There is, to be very clear, absolutely no reason for Ouija: Origin of Evil to be good at all, so it’s a downright shock that it’s this horrifying and effective. And, because it’s Flanagan we’re talking about here, there’s also a potent dramatic heart beating underneath all those bumps in the night. –Vinnie Mancuso
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