Best Horror Movies on Netflix (2023)

By Allison Schonter

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Spooky season is upon us, and as the days grow shorter and the nights grow longer, it's the perfect time to settle down inside under the covers with a horror movie. As the countdown to Halloween 2022 begins, horror movie viewing season is underway, and Netflix is packed to the brim with an impressive horror catalog sure to conjure up more than just a few screams.

Netflix's expansive content catalog packs more than just a few fright-filled picks, though only a handful of them are worthy of the title of "Best Horror Movie on Netflix." Those that do make the list include a mix of classics and Netflix originals evoking the spookiest vibes of the season, and some promise to follow you long after the end credits roll. Some may even have you sleeping with the lights on to fend off any monsters lurking in the dark.

Netflix offers three subscription plans – the basic plan $10 per month), the standard plan ($15.50 per month), and the premium plan ($20 per month). The streamer also recently debuted a "Netflix Free Section," allowing non-subscribers to watch a selection of the streamer's most beloved originals at no cost. Keep scrolling to find the must-watch horror movies of the season currently streaming on Netflix.

'Hush'

With a 93% critic's rating on Rotten Tomatoes, Hush has been dubbed a "terrific modern slasher" that will have viewers spending "the full two hours in seat-clutching terror." Premiering in 2016, the film follows Maddie Young, a deaf-mute horror author who finds herself in a fight for survival during a home invasion by a masked killer in her remote cabin home.

The film is one of director Mike Flanagan's earlier works and came on the heels of the cult classic Oculus. Flanagan has since risen to be regarded as one of the current best directors in the horror genre, with his credits including The Haunting of Hill House, The Haunting of Bly Manor, Midnight Mass, and the upcoming The Midnight Club.

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'Fear Street' Trilogy

One of the most buzzed about horror titles to come from Netflix in recent years, the Fear Street trilogy brings R.L. Stine's books of the same name to the small screen. Released over the span of three weeks in July 2021, the film series is comprised of three films that take place in various eras – 1994, 1978, and 1666 – and is set in Shadyside, Ohio, where a centuries-long curse has led to countless massacres. The series is co-written and directed by Leigh Janiak, and features a number of talented young actors, including Stranger Things stars Maya Hawke and Sadie Sink, Community actress Gillian Jacobs, Kiana Madeira, Olivia Scott Welch, and Benjamin Flores Jr. Offering plenty of scares, the Fear Street films are also a fun watch that are reminiscent of '80s and '90s slashers like Scream and Friday the 13. All three films in he trilogy topped the Netflix streaming charts in the U.S. upon their release.

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(Video) TOP 10 BEST HORROR MOVIES ON NETFLIX 2022

'Creep'

If you're looking for a movie that will make your skin crawl, the hair on the back of your neck stand on end, and have you constantly looking over your shoulder, then look no further than Creep. From director Patrick Brice, Creep was release in 2014 as part of the found footage genre, and it got plenty of people talking once it made its way to Netflix. The film stars Mark Duplass Josef, a man who hires videographer Aaron, portrayed by Brice, to to record his final days, as he has an inoperable brain tumor and wishes to make a movie for his unborn child. It is only once Aaron arrives at Josef's house that things seem a bit stranger and Aaron begins to notice Josef's odd behavior and question his true intentions. The film was dubbed "a deeply uncomfortable yet compelling viewing experience" by critics.

If the 2014 film isn't enough to give you nightmares, the followup, Creep 2, just may be enough to keep you up at night.

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'It'

Stephen King is known as the King of Horror, and so it comes as little surprise that anything adapting his expansive collection of horror stories would make this list. More than three decades after he released the novel, and following the miniseries adaptation of it, director Andy Muschietti tried his hand at King's It, and it was a massive success in the world of horror. Set in Derry, Maine, the film follows a group of outcast kids dubbed the Loser's Club who find themselves facing off against Pennywise the Dancing Clown, an evil entity who emerges from the sewers every 27 years to feed off the fear of children.

Released in 2017, It became the highest-grossing horror movie of all time, with its sequel, It: Chapter 2, which is not streaming on Netflix, enjoying similar success.

(Video) Top 5 SCARIEST Horror Movies on Netflix Right Now 2022!

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'Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark'

It was the book series that gave us nightmares as children, and now, Alvin Schwartz's children's book series Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark lives on the big screen. Released in 2019, the PG-13 film, from director André Øvreda, brings the children's horror stories to life as a group of unsuspecting teens find themselves caught in the middle of the shadow of the Bellows family, which has loomed over the small town of Mill Valley for generations. What happens next is terrorizing face off against some of the scariest creatures imagined by Schwartz as the kids attempt to save themselves from becoming the next victim.

Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark is a perfect introduction to horror for younger viewers, as it offers a light dose of suspense and scare, just enough to keep viewers on the edges of their seats and set a creepy mood, but not so scary that it will cause nightmares.

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'The Conjuring 2'

No Halloween season is complete without a few ghost stories, and one title on Netflix bears witness to one of the most terrifying, supposedly real-life, hauntings to date: The Conjuring 2. A follow-up to director James Wans' The Conjuring, The Conjuring 2 details the Enfield poltergeist the terrifying series of paranormal events that afflicted the family at the Enfield council house in the '70s. The film brings back Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga as paranormal investigators and authors Ed and Lorraine Warren, who played a hand in investigating the haunting. The film received an 80% critics score on Rotten Tomatoes, with a critics' consensus dubbing the movie "a superior ghost story told with spine-tingling skill."

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'It Follows'

Considered one of the best indie horror films to come out in recent years, It Follows generated plenty of buzz when it debuted at the 2014 Cannes Film Festival. Written and directed by David Robert Mitchell, the movie stars Maika Monroe as Jaime "Jay" Height, a young woman, a young woman who finds herself at the center of a truly bizarre supernatural experience that helped set the film apart from its predecessors. In It Follows, Jay becomes haunted by a supernatural entity after a sexual encounter, and the only way to survive is to have sex with somebody else and pass the curse onto them. In short, the film is about a supernatural STD, and it leads to creeping dread and a lasting feeling that somebody, or something, is following you.

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(Video) The Red Nightmare | Full Horror Movie| Alexanderthetitan

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Honorable Mentions

#Alive
Blair Witch
Gerald's Game
Hellfest
His House
Insidious
Raw
Till Death

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(Video) Top 20 Scariest Horror Movies On Netflix
(Video) Comparison: Scariest Movies of All Time

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FAQs

What are the 10 best horror movies on Netflix? ›

Got it!
  • Till Death. Netflix.
  • Unfriended. Neflix.
  • Creep. Netflix.
  • The Babysitter. Netflix.
  • It. Netflix.
  • Fear Street. Netflix.
  • Hush. Netflix.
  • The Ritual. Netflix.
29 Oct 2022

Which is the world's No 1 horror movie? ›

1. The Exorcist (1973) You may not agree that The Exorcist is the scariest movie ever, but it probably also isn't much of a surprise to see it at the top of our list — with a whopping 19% of all the votes cast.

What is #1 on Netflix right now? ›

Global Top 10
#TV (English)Weeks in Top 10
1The Crown: Season 52
21899: Season 11
3Manifest: Season 43
4Dead to Me: Season 31
6 more rows

What movie has the most jump scares? ›

1. The Haunting in Connecticut 2: Ghosts of Georgia (2013) The Haunting in Connecticut 2: Ghosts of Georgia is far and wide the most 'jumpy' horror movie ever made with 32 jump scares to enjoy throughout the film. Set in 1993.

Which horror movie has the best story? ›

The Best Horror movies with great storyline
  • The Conjuring (2013) ...
  • Shutter (II) (2004) ...
  • The Sixth Sense (1999) ...
  • The Conjuring 2 (2016) ...
  • The Omen (1976) ...
  • The Silence of the Lambs (1991) R | 118 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller. ...
  • Get Out (I) (2017) R | 104 min | Horror, Mystery, Thriller. ...
  • Manichithrathazhu (1993)

What is the scariest horror series on Netflix? ›

Read on for our picks of the best scary shows on Netflix.
  • Marianne. Netflix. 25M subscribers. ...
  • Brand New Cherry Flavor. Netflix. 25M subscribers. ...
  • The Haunting of Bly Manor. Netflix. 25M subscribers. ...
  • Archive 81. Netflix. 25M subscribers. ...
  • All of Us Are Dead. Netflix. 25.1M subscribers. ...
  • iZombie. IGN. ...
  • Sweet Home. Netflix. ...
  • Slasher. Shaftesbury.
5 Oct 2022

What horror should I watch? ›

The best horror movies
  • The Exorcist (1973) Film. Horror. Director: William Friedkin. ...
  • The Shining (1980) Film. Horror. ...
  • The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974) Film. Horror. ...
  • Alien (1979) Film. Science fiction. ...
  • Psycho (1960) Film. Horror. ...
  • The Thing (1982) Film. Horror. ...
  • Rosemary's Baby (1968) Film. Comedy. ...
  • Halloween (1978) Film. Horror.
20 Oct 2022

What is the top 5 scariest movie in the world? ›

The List: Top 5 Horror Movies Of All-Time, As Ranked By Experts
  • The Exorcist (1973) ...
  • Halloween (1978) ...
  • Paranormal Activity (2007) ...
  • The Shining (1980) ...
  • It Follows (2014)
31 Oct 2022

What movie has the most Jumpscares on Netflix? ›

The show, a horror mystery-thriller that debuted on October 7, has broken a world record for its plethora of jump scares, according to a news release from Guinness World Records. Igby Rigney and Iman Benson in Netflix's spooky teen drama 'The Midnight Club.

Which Exorcist movie is the best? ›

The Exorcist: Every Movie In The Franchise, Ranked
  • 5/5 The Exorcist II: The Heretic (1977)
  • 4/5 The Exorcist: The Beginning (2004)
  • 3/5 Dominion: Prequel to the Exorcist (2005)
  • 2/5 The Exorcist III (1990)
  • 1/5 The Exorcist (1973)
29 Aug 2022

What is scientifically the scariest movie? ›

These are the scariest movies according to science
  • Insidious (2011)
  • The Conjuring (2013)
  • Hereditary (2018)
  • Terrified (2017)
  • It Follows (2014)
  • Dashcam (2021)
  • A Quiet Place II (2020)
  • Paranormal Activity (2007)
18 Oct 2022

Which horror movie has 100 on Rotten Tomatoes? ›

Horror movie 'Glorious' has proved a hit with early critics

A new horror film, starring JK Simmons and Ryan Kwanten, has received a rare perfect score on aggregate review site Rotten Tomatoes.

Is Sinister the scariest movie ever? ›

Yes, really. In news that is sure to provide as many shocked gasps as any self-respecting horror story, director Scott Derrickson's 2012 horror hit, Sinister, has been crowned the scariest movie of all time according to a scientific study.

Where is Netflix most popular? ›

The United States is not only the place where Netflix got its start as a DVD rental service in 1997, but the country also remains Netflix's largest market now that the company has evolved into the most popular SVOD platform worldwide. According to the company's latest filings, the.

What movie has the most f words? ›

The 10 Most Profane Movies of All Time, Ranked by The Number of F-Bombs
  • Alpha Dog (2006) - 367 f-words. ...
  • Straight Outta Compton (2015) - 392 f-words. ...
  • Casino (1995) - 422 f-words. ...
  • Nil by Mouth (1997) - 428 f-words. ...
  • Summer of Sam (1999) - 435 f-words. ...
  • Uncut Gems (2019) - 560 f-words. ...
  • The Wolf of Wall Street (2013) - 569 f-words.
1 Jun 2022

What is scariest movie on Amazon Prime? ›

Here are the 40 best horror movies on Amazon Prime:
  1. Let the Right One In. Year: 2008. ...
  2. The Silence of the Lambs. Year: 1991. ...
  3. An American Werewolf in London. Year: 1981. ...
  4. The Wailing. Year: 2016. ...
  5. Night of the Living Dead. Year: 1968. ...
  6. Hellraiser. Year: 1987. ...
  7. We Need to Talk About Kevin. Year: 2012. ...
  8. We Are Still Here. Year: 2015.
2 Nov 2022

What movie has the most rotten tomatoes? ›

100 Movies lists, but there are many others and several entries with dozens of positive reviews, which are considered surprising to some experts. To date, Leave No Trace holds the site's record, with a rating of 100% and 251 positive reviews.

What horror movie has the best rotten tomatoes? ›

Best Horror Movies 2021
  • #1. A Quiet Place Part II. 91% 89% #1. ...
  • #2. My Heart Can't Beat Unless You Tell It To. 98% 58% #2. ...
  • #3. The Boy Behind the Door. 97% 63% #3. ...
  • #4. The Amusement Park. 96% 47% #4. ...
  • #5. Slaxx. 96% 45% #5. ...
  • #6. Candyman. 84% 63% #6. ...
  • #7. The Delivered. 95% 56% #7. ...
  • #8. Lucky. 93% 29% #8.

What is the best horror movie remake? ›

The 25 Best Horror Movie Remakes
  • #8. The Thing (1982) 84% 92% #8. ...
  • #7. It (2017) 86% 84% #7. ...
  • #6. We Are What We Are (2013) 86% 50% #6. ...
  • #5. Let Me In (2010) 88% 76% #5. ...
  • #4. The Fly (1986) 93% 83% #4. ...
  • #3. Nosferatu (1979) 95% 83% #3. ...
  • #2. Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1978) 92% 82% #2. ...
  • #1. Evil Dead 2 (1987) 95% 89% #1.

What is the scariest horror monster? ›

The Scariest Movie Monsters, Ranked
  • 7/7 The Bear - Annihilation.
  • 6/7 Death Angels - A Quiet Place.
  • 5/7 The Entity - It Follows.
  • 4/7 The Babadook - The Babadook.
  • 3/7 The Alien - The Thing.
  • 2/7 Xenomorph - Alien.
  • 1/7 Pennywise - It.
14 Sept 2022

Who is the scariest horror killer? ›

#1 JASON VOORHEES (Friday the 13th: Part 2, 1981)

Jason Voorhees is the number one scariest killer on this list. Jason has the highest body count in slasher history with about 157 kills across his movie career.

What is the new scary Netflix series? ›

Netflix has a new upcoming reality series with 28 Days Haunted, which features a ghost hunting premise that'll quickly hook horror fans.

Is it healthy to watch horror? ›

Watching frightening films can give you much more than a good scare, they can also help relieve stress and anxiety. (Yes, really.) Monsters under the bed, zombies rising from the grave, and chainsaw-wielding maniacs aren't exactly the first things that come to mind when one is trying to conjure soothing images.

What scary movie should I watch 2022? ›

The best horror movies of 2022 to watch right now
  • Barbarian. Release date: September 9, 2022. ...
  • Nope. Release date: July 22, 2022. ...
  • The Black Phone. Release date: June 24, 2022. ...
  • Watcher. Release date: June 3, 2022. ...
  • X. Release date: March 18, 2022. ...
  • Men. Release date: May 20, 2022. ...
  • You Won't Be Alone. Release date: April 1, 2022. ...
  • Fresh.
29 Oct 2022

Is it OK to watch horror at night? ›

Don't watch late at night

That's because all that suspense can increase physiological arousal in your body — the opposite of what helps you feel sleepy, Lindgren says. “It can be hard to go to sleep because you're trying to get the body to do two different things at the same time,” she says.

What is the scariest movie ever IMDb? ›

Feature Film, Rating Count at least 25,000, Horror (Sorted by IMDb Rating Descending)
  1. Alien (1979) R | 117 min | Horror, Sci-Fi. ...
  2. Psycho (1960) R | 109 min | Horror, Mystery, Thriller. ...
  3. The Shining (1980) ...
  4. Tumbbad (2018) ...
  5. The Thing (1982) ...
  6. The Exorcist (1973) ...
  7. Diabolique (1955) ...
  8. The Blue Elephant (2014)

Why horror movies are the best? ›

People like the feeling they experience when they get scared. A study by journal Communication Research quotes that the people having a liking towards horror films enjoy the intense feelings such a fear. It also claims that when you are scared, the immediate response of our mind goes into either fight or flight mode.

Who is the scariest movie character in the world? ›

Leatherface was voted the number one most horrifying character from a horror film, and this makes perfect sense. The villain in The Texas Chain Saw Massacre franchise is impossible to forget about and just might be the most disturbing one.

Is insidious scary? ›

Insidious is full of some of the best jump scares in horror history, none of which are predictable. Part of what makes Insidious' jump scares so horrifying is that they are not just visual jump scares, but they are supported by loud sound effects, creating the perfect combination to create an ideal jump scare.

Is The Conjuring scary? ›

As said too, 'The Conjuring' is genuinely scary, with actual tension, suspense and dread, in a palm-sweating and heart-pounding sense at its best, while not relying too much on jump scares (they are there but have build up and were surprising).

Does venom have jump scares? ›

Some characters die on-screen, and. Plus, there are jump scares, and Venom himself (itself?) is pretty scary to look at, with his giant fangs, and there's no real consequence for his brutality. Language includes several uses of "s--t" and "bulls--t," a use of "f--k," a use of "p---y," and more.

Is there a scarier movie than The Exorcist? ›

'The Shining'

Due to its creepy twin little girls and hallways filled with blood, The Shining is often put in competition with The Exorcist as the scariest movie ever.

Which Exorcist movie is based on a true story? ›

Did you know that author William Peter Blatty's novel The Exorcist was inspired by the actual 1949 exorcism of a young boy from Cottage City, Maryland, and the horrifying 1634 Loudun exorcisms? The story goes that Blatty heard about the Maryland case while he was a student at Georgetown University.

Is The Exorcist the scariest movies of all time? ›

While it's not a Halloween movie per se, 1973's The Exorcist should top your spooky streaming list on the holiday -- according to experts, it is the scariest movie ever made.

What watching horror movies does to your brain? ›

The results of multiple studies approve that scary scenes advance the level of adrenaline, releasing neurotransmitters in the brain. Faster reaction, better alertness, improved concentration, and a plethora of other advantages can be witnessed as a result of a single movie session.

Are horror movies real or fake? ›

Horror films have produced some of the most iconic figures in pop culture. But not all scary movies are completely fictional — some are actually based on real life. For example, "The Conjuring" was based on the real life Perron family.

Which horror movies are in the same universe? ›

Horror Movies You Never Realized Were In The Same Universe
  • Full Moon Features. ...
  • Sadako vs. ...
  • Dinesh Vijan's horror-comedy universe. ...
  • The Walter Paisley shared universe. ...
  • Ghostbusters and Casper. ...
  • Jaws and Piranha 3D. ...
  • The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 and Sharknado: The 4th Awakens. ...
  • The Evil Dead, Friday the 13th, and Pumpkinhead.
12 Jun 2022

Has any movie gotten 0% Rotten Tomatoes? ›

On the film review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes, films that every surveyed critic considered bad have a 0% rating. As of 2022, 43 films have received this rating.

What movie has the lowest Rotten Tomato score ever? ›

1. Ballistic: Ecks vs. Sever (2002) According to critics via Rotten Tomatoes, this embarrassingly incompetent cyper-espionage dumpster fire is the single worst movie ever made.

What horror movie has the highest BPM? ›

During the film “Sinister,” the study found the average heart rate among participants was the highest at 86 BPM with the highest spike in heart rate, to 131 BPM. The second scariest movie, according to the study, was the 2010 horror film “Insidious” that made viewers' hearts pump, on average, at 85 BPM.

Which was scarier conjuring or Sinister? ›

No other movie topped this individual jump scare. Overall, Insidious came in second place behind Sinister. Rounding out the rest of the top 10, The Conjuring came in third, Hereditary in fourth, Paranormal Activity in fifth, and It Follows in sixth.

Is Sinister OK for kids? ›

This film is very disturbing though and if is definitely not for young children. There is hanging, drowning, etc. But it's ok for mature 13 year olds.

What scary movie makes fun of Sinister? ›

The main films parodied in Scary Movie 5 include Paranormal Activity, Black Swan, Mama and Rise of the Planet of the Apes. Other films parodied are Sinister, Inception, Ted (only in the unrated DVD), Evil Dead (which was released a week prior to the film), The Cabin in the Woods, Insidious and The Help.

Is Veronica The scariest movie on Netflix? ›

In fact, there's a rumor going around that this is the scariest movie on Netflix. (In our estimation, Veronica is not that scary. It's a worthy effort, but as far as witch-board movies go, you'll get more out of Ouija 2: Origin of Evil.)

How scary is fresh? ›

This is a disturbing, dark, and gruesome horror story that keeps the viewer guessing as it plays with the conventions of horror movies and romcoms. Fresh strikes a fine balance between blood and gore, story and message, and unsettling scenes offset by macabre humor.

What is the least scary movie? ›

Coming out on top as the least scary movie was The Silence of the Lambs with no jumpscares..but we think that might be dependent on who you ask. Also included in the top twenty were Cannibal Holocaust (1980), The Blair Witch Project (1999) and Bone Tomahawk (2015).

Why is Annabelle rated R? ›

Annabelle is rated R by the MPAA for intense sequences of disturbing violence and terror.

What is an R rated movie? ›

Restricted: R - Under 17 requires accompanying parent or adult guardian. Contains some adult material. Parents are urged to learn more about the film before taking their young children with them.

Are Scary movies good for anxiety? ›

It helps us feel in control. In one recent study, Clasen found that anxious people might get better at handling their own anxiety by watching scary movies. “There may be a relief in seeking out situations that give you a blast of well-defined fear with a clear source and a crucial element of control,” he explains.

What are some clean horror movies? ›

A Quiet Place
  • Horror.
  • Features.
  • Lights Out (2011)
  • The Ring.
  • Insidious.
  • Mama.
  • horror.
  • The Final Girls.
29 Oct 2019

What is the scariest horror movie on Netflix Reddit? ›

The 10 Scariest Movies On Netflix, According To Reddit
  • 10/10 The Conjuring 2 Is Terrifying.
  • 9/10 It Follows Is Overlooked Far Too Often.
  • 8/10 Gerald's Game Unlocks A New Fear In Viewers.
  • 7/10 In The Tall Grass Is A Successful King Adaptation.
  • 6/10 Before I Wake Is A Dream Come True.
  • 5/10 The Ritual Puts A Damper On Camping.
7 Nov 2022

Are scary things good for you? ›

Fear creates an immune response in the body. Even psychological fear, such as watching a scary movie, causes the body to think it's under threat. In turn, the system responds, giving the body adrenaline, which can boost the immune system, much in the same way as exercise does.

Why is the Black Swan Rated R? ›

The Black Swan is rated R by the MPAA for strong sexual content, disturbing violent images, language and some drug use.

Is fear street scary or funny? ›

It's hard to feel too much of a chill when a young woman's mortal terror is sharing screen space with a gag about the '90s vogue for blacklight posters. There are moments of real eeriness, but for the most part the movies are aiming at funny/gory more than evoking deep-seated dread.

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