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.
‘X’ (2022)
Rotten Tomatoes: 94% | IMDb: 6.5/10
Horror fans will absolutely love X, while those who prefer not to watch an absolute blood bath should probably stay away. Produced by A24, X is written and directed by Ti West (Pearl). The film tells the story of a group of friends who rent a cabin outside of town to film their adult movie. The film takes place in 1979, in the days way before Airbnb, so the crew’s hosts, Pearl and Howard, are anything but hospitable. One by one, the friends are picked off by their mysterious hosts, whose background is slowly revealed as the plot unfolds.
X stars Mia Goth (Suspira), Jenna Ortega (Scream), Brittany Snow (Pitch Perfect), Kid Cudi (The Harder They Fall), Martin Henderson (Smokin’ Aces), and Owen Campbell (Super Dark Times). The film had a sequel come out just months after its release, Pearl, which tells the origin story of X’s villain, Pearl. Reprising the role of Pearl is Goth, whose performance in both films is award-worthy. – Emily Cappello
‘Tin & Tina’ (2023)
Rotten Tomatoes: 50% | IMDb: 4.7/10
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
‘Deliver Us from Evil’ (2014)
Rotten Tomatoes: 29% | IMDb: 6.2/10
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
‘Run Rabbit Run’ (2023)
Rotten Tomatoes: 37% | IMDb: 5.0/10
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
‘Things Heard & Seen’ (2021)
Rotten Tomatoes: 38% | IMDb: 5.3/10
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
‘Bird Box Barcelona’ (2023)
Rotten Tomatoes: 53% | IMDb: 5.3/10
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
‘Lights Out’ (2016)
Rotten Tomatoes: 75% | IMDb: 6.3/10
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
‘We Have A Ghost’ (2023)
Rotten Tomatoes: 42% | IMDb: 6.1/10
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
‘Viking Wolf’ (2023)
Rotten Tomatoes: 43% | IMDb: 5.2/10
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
‘Silence’ (2019)
Rotten Tomatoes: 29% | IMDb: 5.3/10
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
‘Eli’ (2019)
Rotten Tomatoes: 48% | IMDb: 5.8/10
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
‘Little Evil’ (2017)
Rotten Tomatoes: 92% | IMDb: 5.7/10
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
‘Texas Chainsaw Massacre’ (2022)
Rotten Tomatoes: 31% | IMDb: 4.7/10
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
‘Resident Evil’ (2002)
Rotten Tomatoes: 35% | IMDb: 6.6/10
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
‘Choose or Die’ (2022)
Rotten Tomatoes: 33% | IMDb: 4.8/10
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
