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The 8 best horror movies on Netflix right now

From pastiches of horror classics to totally original work, Netflix has great horror movies for every taste

Joe Allen
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Loving horror movies is, for some movie-goers, almost entirely different from loving movies generally. Plenty of people love both, but deep horror fans know that there’s nothing better than going to a theater or dimming all the lights at home and being prepped to get scared out of your mind. It’s a totally unique thrill ride, and can sometimes feel closer to riding a roller coaster than to anything you might get from other movie genres. If you’re looking to replicate that thrill ride at home, then we’ve got you covered with some of the best horror movies on Netflix to choose from. Of course, Netflix also has awesome action movies and a great roster of shows to peruse, but for this list, we’ll be running down the best horror movies the service has to spook you.

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Velvet Buzzsaw (2019)

Velvet Buzzsaw
61 %
5.7/10
r 113m
Genre Thriller, Mystery, Horror
Stars Jake Gyllenhaal, Rene Russo, Zawe Ashton
Directed by Dan Gilroy
watch on Netflix
watch on Netflix
Although it functions as a parody of both horror more generally and of the art world, Velvet Buzzsaw is also a gory romp of jump-scare antics and well-known celebrity cameos. For those who value the business of art over its quality, the recently discovered art of Ventril Dease, one of this movie’s central characters, might literally blow your mind, at least if Velvet Buzzsaw is to be believed.
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The Conjuring (2013)

The Conjuring
68 %
7.5/10
r 112m
Genre Horror, Thriller
Stars Vera Farmiga, Patrick Wilson, Lili Taylor
Directed by James Wan
watch on Netflix
watch on Netflix
Featuring homages to classic horror movies in its cinematography, sound design, lighting, and music, director James Wans’ The Conjuring is exactly as scary as you might expect it to be. The film follows two paranormal investigators and demonologists named Ed (Patrick Wilson) and Lorraine (Vera Farmiga) Warren who are asked to look into the Perron home, where spirits unlike anything they’ve ever seen before haunt and torment the family due to events that took place in that house. This movie would launch a pretty successful horror franchise, but the first installment remains one of the scariest movies of the 21st century.
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1922 (2017)

1922
70 %
6.2/10
tv-ma
Genre Horror, Crime, Drama, History
Cast Thomas Jane, Molly Parker, Dylan Schmid
watch on Netflix
watch on Netflix
From the haunting novella by Stephen King, 1922 is a truly scary psychological thriller that features a career redefining performance from Thomas Jane. When a farmer’s wife threatens to leave him and his desolate farm for the city, Wilfred (Jane) convinces his son to be an accomplice to her murder, and they both pay the price.

Fear Street: 1994 (2021)

Fear Street: 1994
67 %
6.2/10
107m
Genre Horror, Mystery
Stars Kiana Madeira, Olivia Scott Welch, Benjamin Flores Jr.
Directed by Leigh Janiak
watch on Netflix
watch on Netflix

All three movies in the Fear Street trilogy are worth watching, but that’s especially true of the first installment, Fear Street Part One: 1994. The film tells the story of a group of high school kids who are forced to deal with a generational curse that has transformed their town into a terrible place. In addition to being genuinely suspenseful and frightening, the Fear Street movies also work well as parodies of the kinds of horror movies that we’ve become so familiar with. The first installment is reminiscent of a 90s slasher, but it updates the formula enough to be plenty compelling in its own right.

Vampires vs. the Bronx (2020)

Vampires vs. the Bronx
76 %
5.7/10
pg-13 86m
Genre Comedy, Horror
Stars Jaden Michael, Gerald W. Jones III, Gregory Diaz IV
Directed by Oz Rodriguez
watch on Netflix
watch on Netflix
With a surprisingly successful blend of comedy and horror, Vampires vs. the Bronx is in the mold of the social horror movies that have become more common in recent years. The movie features a group of teens who band together to save their neighborhood from the throes of poverty and crime, only to realize that the gentrification occurring in their neighborhood is being caused by bloodsucking vampires.

Hush (2016)

Hush
67 %
6.6/10
r 82m
Genre Horror, Thriller
Stars Kate Siegel, John Gallagher Jr., Samantha Sloyan
Directed by Mike Flanagan
watch on Netflix
watch on Netflix
Aided by an original and concise plot, Hush creates an ever-growing sense of suspense that manages to bring something genuinely new to the over-saturated home invasion horror sub-genre. A deaf and mute writer decides that the best place to do her work is alone in a house in the forest, which is the perfect place for a psychotic stalker to have some sadistic fun.

Cam (2018)

Cam
71 %
5.9/10
tv-ma
Genre Mystery, Thriller, Horror
Cast Madeline Brewer, Patch Darragh, Melora Walters
watch on Netflix
watch on Netflix
Highlighted by an excellent performance from Madeline Brewer and an original, new-age concept, Cam takes a psychological premise and turns it into a bloody, mind-twisting thriller that hits a little too close to home for some online content personalities. The film follows an ambitiously driven cam girl named Alice who responds well to her audience’s requests until an exact replica of herself takes over her account and begins to please the darkest corners of the internet.

His House (2020)

His House
72 %
6.5/10
93m
Genre Drama, Horror, Thriller
Stars Sope Dirisu, Wunmi Mosaku, Matt Smith
Directed by Remi Weekes
watch on Netflix
watch on Netflix
His House is a psychological thriller that contains some truly unexpected twists. A couple flee their home in South Sudan barely escape death and are allowed to live in England as asylum-seekers, but required to live in a home of the government’s choosing that turns out to be haunted, reminding them of the dark journey they have already taken. In addition to being genuinely terrifying, His House also provides some trenchant commentary on the international refugee crisis and how countries have responded to it.

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Joe Allen
Joe Allen
Contributor
Joe Allen is a freelance culture writer based in upstate New York. His work has been published in The Washington Post, The…
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