The best horror movies on Netflix for scream time in 2023

Looking to spike your cortisol levels? Then we’ve got the Netflix streaming guide for you.

From old frights to new fears, we’ve scoured Netflix’s horror catalog to find the best cinematic nightmares for darkening your device. Of course, not all terrifying titles are born of the same fire and brimstone — so we’ve included a variety of ethereal ghost stories, stark home invasion horrors, gentrifying vampires, psychological thrillers, classic creeps, satirical scares, and more. Yes, Netflix originals like the

Fear Street

trilogy and

I’m Thinking of Ending Things

are on here. But we’ve also got genre staples and hidden gems.

Here are the best scary movies currently streaming on Netflix — all of them packed with eerie entertainment value because you don’t need to sleep ever again. Happy haunting!

22.

El Conde

Chilean General Augusto Pinochet was one of history’s most notorious dictators and a voracious embezzler, to boot. What if he were “bloodthirsty” in a more literal sense?

From


Spencer


director Pablo Larraín,  this pitch-black satire reimagines Pinochet (played here by Jaime Vadell) as a 250-year-old vampire, living in exile with a family whose ready to tear him (and each other?) apart over his vast fortune. Think of it as “Blood Succession,” but with a math-whiz nun at the center of it (Paula Luchsinger, who nearly steals the film).

Filmed in lush black and white,

El Conde

is a dark, clever, and often gruesome gothic alternative history. It pulls off the feat of offering supernatural chills while never losing sight of the monstrous historical evils which it draws upon. —

Rufus Hickok, Contributing Writer

How to watch

:

El Conde

is now streaming on Netflix.

21.

Under the Shadow

Times are tense in 1980s Tehran for mother Shideh (Narges Rashidi) and her daughter Dorsa (Avin Manshadi). The former medical student is worried about running afoul of Iran’s repressive post-revolutionary government, and the country is mired in a seemingly endless war with Iraq. Her husband Iraj (Bobby Naderi) is called to serve as a doctor on the frontlines, and their apartment building is being shelled daily.

Things only get worse after a bomb hits their apartment building and lodges, unexploded, in the roof; as their neighbors flee to safer locations, the building becomes downright uncanny. Did the bomb let something — or some

one

— in? Precious objects are disappearing from their apartment or being thrown out entirely, which the feverish little girl blames on malevolent djinn. It’s up to Shideh to save not only her daughter’s life from all these external threats but her very soul from malevolent, seemingly mystical intruders.

In his first feature-length film, Iranian-born director Babak Anvari proves adept at slowly ratcheting up the paranoid atmosphere and jittery details, before finally letting it all explode in the last act.  —

R.F.

How to watch


:


Under the Shadow

is now streaming on Netflix.

20.

Run Rabbit Run

Succession

star Sarah Snook has more to worry about than the Roy family in this Aussie chiller. She plays Sarah, a divorced mother and fertility doctor suddenly in charge of her late father’s estate — which includes her estranged mother, Joan (Greta Scacchi), who is in the beginning stages of dementia and is in an adult care home. If that weren’t enough, Sarah’s young daughter, Mia (Lily LaTorre), has begun acting strange. First, it’s the stray rabbit she’s brought home and started dressing like. Then, it’s some creepy crayon drawings and insistent demands to visit Joan, whom Mia has never met. Finally, it’s the girl’s conviction that she’s not Mia at all but Alice, Sarah’s sister who went missing when they were children at the same age Mia is now. Is Alice back for some sisterly spooks? Director Daina Reid makes deft use of unnerving sound design, creepy visuals, and a pervasive sense of dread and danger to strongly suggest the answer is yes. —

R.F.

How to watch


:


Run Rabbit Run

is now streaming on Netflix.

19.

Get Out

Comedian Jordan Peele broke into horror in a major way in 2017 with his directorial debut

Get Out,

which follows a young Black man (Daniel Kaluuya) on an ill-fated trip to meet the parents (Catherine Keener and Bradley Whitford) of his white girlfriend (Allison Williams).

This frightening feature offers a commentary on anti-Black racism, illustrating how the white ruling caste exerts control over Black bodies. But Peele wrapped this body-snatching metaphor into an intriguing mystery anchored by Kaluuya’s Academy Award-nominated performance. All told,

Get Out

is a fierce and fresh take on the possession film, placing its true monsters in plain sight. Plus, the already iconic “sunken place” scene will haunt your nightmares.  —

R.F.

How to watch


:


Get Out

is now streaming on Netflix.

18.

Us

For the follow-up to his universally heralded debut

Get Out

, Jordan Peele dreamed up a nightmarish doppelgänger story with

Us

. Here, a bourgeois Black family on vacation (Lupita Nyong’o, Winston Duke, Evan Alex, and Shahadi Wright Joseph), finds themselves stalked by disturbing doubles of themselves, who are violent and very intent on becoming “untethered.”

Peele ups the thrills and bloodshed for this sophomore effort, while using his surreal horror story to examine class and assimilation in America. This one is essentially about the dark shadow selves we’d all rather not face. Oh, and he also manages to scare the living daylights out of… well,

us

. —

R.F.

How to watch


: Us

is now streaming on Netflix.

17.

The Babysitter

Y’know, I’m not sure

The Babysitter

really works as a movie; it’s more the idea of a movie loosely strung together by one-liners and style. Still, it’s a fun way to kill a few hours. Samara Weaving stars as the titular childcare professional, a popular teen with a passion for human sacrifice and one-liners. Judah Lewis stars as the kid being babysat, with supporting performances by Hana Mae Lee, Robbie Amell, Bella Thorne, and Andrew Bachelor. The sequel, released in 2020, is more of the same — so if you like the first, do a double feature.

—Alison Foreman, Entertainment Reporter

How to watch:


The Babysitter

is now streaming on Netflix.

16.

Velvet Buzzsaw

From the dude behind the brilliant 2014 psychological thriller

Nightcrawler

comes a hilarious — and horrifying — send-up of the Los Angeles art scene. In writer-director Dan Gilroy’s epic

Velvet Buzzsaw,

Jake Gyllenhaal, Rene Russo, Toni Collette, and half a dozen other performers you probably love act their hearts out as fine art appreciators hunted down and killed by their priceless pieces. (Seriously, Billy Magnussen gets strangled by a painting of monkeys. It’s awesome.)

— A.F.

How to watch:


Velvet Buzzsaw

is now streaming

on Netflix

.

15.

Blood Red Sky

Netflix’s

Blood Red Sky

is one of those horror movies made so much better by knowing as little as possible going into it that I’m going to try to say as little as possible to get you to watch it. Directed by Peter Thorwarth, who co-wrote the script with Stefan Holtz, this action horror adventure combines the best parts of

Flight Plan

with tinges of

A Girl Walks Home Alone At Night.

Star Peri Baumeister is completely breathtaking as a woman attempting to protect her son from hijackers aboard a transatlantic voyage.

— A.F.

How to watch:


Blood Red Sky

is now streaming on Netflix.

14.

The Ritual

In director David Bruckner’s scenic tour of a hellscape, four pals hike through northern Sweden to honor a departed friend. Of course, their trip soon morphs into a torturous and never-ending nightmare — with a killer lead performance by Rafe Spall. Slippery and divisive, this movie begs to be picked apart. More likely than not, you’ll love the world it creates but hate the way it ends. Or, like me, you’ll love the world it creates

and

how it ends. Have fun with it! And pack bug spray!

— A.F.

How to watch:


The Ritual

is now streaming

on Netflix

.

13.

Apostle

Before Michael Sheen became the angel Aziraphale in Amazon’s

Good Omens

, he celebrated religion in a, uh… “different” way.

Apostle

is a completely bonkers period horror film that features Sheen at his most terrifying, playing a cult leader with an affinity for bloodletting and other “creative” religious sacraments. Lead Dan Stevens keeps the slow-paced narrative moving, with stunning supporting performances by

The Politician

‘s Lucy Boynton and Welsh stage actor Mark Lewis Jones.

— A.F.

How to watch:


Apostle

is now streaming on Netflix.

12.

Cam

One of the most underrated titles in Netflix’s original horror catalog, Isa Mazzei and Daniel Goldhaber’s

Cam

combines the tumultuous world of professional webcam modeling with the

insidious

terrors of a body-snatching whodunnit.

The Handmaid’s Tale

‘s Madeline Brewer stars as Alice Ackerman, an ambitious performer eager to climb up the digital ranks who finds herself confronted with a doppelgänger gunning to take her spot, her fans, and maybe…her life.

— A.F.

How to watch:


Cam

is now streaming on Netflix.

11.

1922

Directed by Zak Hilditch and based on Stephen King’s novella of the same name,

1922

tackles classic themes of guilt, envy, and evil through the grim lens of the American Dust Bowl. Thomas Jane and Molly Parker square off to striking effect, painting a portrait of a marriage that is as at once remarkably absurd and nauseatingly plausible. The couple’s son, played by Dylan Schmid, is just as compelling, with a heartbreaking storyline you won’t soon forget. (FYI, fans of the book, there are

big changes

to the adaptation’s ending that didn’t bother me but could bother you.)

— A.F.

How to watch:


1922

is now streaming

on Netflix

.

10.

Ouija: Origin of Evil

The biggest surprise in

Ouija: Origin of Evil

, the 2016 prequel to the mediocre 2014 film

Ouija

, was when it turned out to actually be a good movie. It makes sense now, since

Origin of Evil

‘s director Mike Flanagan has gone on to mesmerize us with

The Haunting of Hill House


, Midnight Mass


,

and


The Fall of the House of Usher



.

But in 2016 this movie hit as a shock — the best kind.

Set in the late 1960s, this is an old-fashioned tale of two sisters, one of whom asks the board to connect with their dead father and the other one who gets possessed by an evil spirit in the process. Flanagan manages to suss out big wallops of the oogie-boogies from the little wooden board and its recognizable planchette, which has haunted every sleepover for the past 130 years. (Ouija boards as we know them date all the way back to 1890, if you can believe it!)*

— Jason Adams, Freelance Contributor

How to watch

:


Ouija: Origin of Evil



is streaming on Netflix.

9. The

Fear Street

trilogy

Director Leigh Janiak pulls off a small movie miracle in her

Fear Street

trilogy, delivering consistently fun and fright-filled sequels that just keep getting better. Start your journey off with

Fear Street Part One: 1994

, in which we meet the cursed teens of a town named Shadyside. For years, the suburban haven has been terrorized by mass murderers — all of them normal townspeople who seemingly “snapped” over nothing.

Across

Fear Street Part Two: 1978

and

Fear Street Part Three: 1666

, get to the bottom of the mystery behind these killings and their connection to the legendary Shadyside Witch. Based on the

Fear Street

books by R.L. Stine, this is a punchy slasher with enough gore and goofs to fuel a straight-through binge.

— A.F.

How to watch:


Fear Street

is now streaming on Netflix.

8.

The Perfection

From cellos and foreplay to hallucinations and hiking,

The Perfection

does absolutely whatever it wants. Featuring Allison Williams in her best role since

Get Out

and

Dear White People

‘s Logan Browning in her best part ever

,

this vibrant genre blend will get a reaction out of you. Not necessarily a good reaction, but a reaction nonetheless. It’s body horror meets psychological thriller meets occult drama meets classical music. With bugs. And vomit. I, for one, loved it!

— A.F.

How to watch:


The Perfection

is now streaming

on Netflix

.

7.

His House

Writer-director Remi Weekes’s

His House

is easily my favorite scary Netflix release from 2020. Wunmi Mosaku and Sope Dirisu star as refugees from South Sudan seeking asylum in Britain who are assigned to

live

in an eerie neighborhood where they aren’t welcome. Spectacularly frightening and ruthlessly critical of its subject matter,

His House

delivers everything it must — and then some.

— A.F.

How to watch:


His House

is now streaming on Netflix.

6.

Vampires vs. the Bronx

Want a movie that’s got excitement, comedy, a scorching message about the evils of gentrification,

and

is a kid-friendly romp? Then take a bite out of

Vampires vs. the Bronx

. Oz Perkins’s PG-13 horror-comedy centers on Afro-Latino teens, who recognize that a flurry of missing person posters and influx of rich white folks with tote bags means bad news for the neighborhood. Together, they team up

Monster Squad-

style to take down the bloodsuckers and save their community. With a sharp wit, a warm heart, a rich sense of atmosphere, and an equal appreciation for the

Blade

movies and ’80s Amblin,

Vampires vs. the Bronx

is an easy watch full of rewards.* —

Kristy Puchko, Film Editor

How to watch:


Vampires vs. the Bronx

is now streaming on Netflix.

5.

Gerald’s Game

Another romp from Mike Flanagan, based on one of Stephen King’s lesser-known terrors,

Gerald’s Game



follows a couple on a romantic trip to a remote cabin where things are totally fine and nothing bad happens. Just kidding! It’s so, so,

so

bad! This survival thriller rooted in psychosexual trauma offers an exquisite performance by Carla Gugino, who is devastating nearly every moment she is on screen.


Really. It’s

Haunting of Hill House

times 10. Watch it for her.

— A.F.

How to watch:


Gerald’s Game

is now streaming on Netflix.

4.

Crimson Peak

Directed by creature connoisseur Guillermo del Toro,

Crimson Peak

is a dark gothic fantasy you’ll want to fall into head-first. Mia Wasikowska leads as a 19th-century American heiress who’s whisked away to England by her handsome new husband, played by Tom Hiddleston. Once the young bride arrives at her groom’s family mansion, however, visions of ghosts begin to plague her. That her sister-in-law, played by Jessica Chastain, treats her with mysterious disdain isn’t helping.

An epic mystery with more exquisite scenes than you can count, this spectacular ghost story gives longtime del Toro fans the horror flick they’ve always wanted from the iconic director.

— A.F.

How to watch:


Crimson Peak

is now streaming on Netflix.

3.

Creep

Oh, you thought you

liked

Mark Duplass? Because he was the love interest in all those

indie

rom-coms, played that doctor in

The Mindy Project,

and is easily the best character in

The Morning Show

? Well, think again! In

Creep

, a found-footage film that foregoes pageantry for a stark sense of panic, Duplass plays a strange loner named Josef that freelance documentarian Aaron, played by writer-director Patrick Brice, can’t quite pin down. Duplass’s performance is intoxicating, and Brice imagines a universe so compelling it absolutely merits its equally great sequel (also on Netflix).

— A.F.

How to watch:


Creep

is now streaming

on Netflix

.

2.

Incantation

Kevin Ko’s Taiwanese horror freaked people out so much that it even

started a TikTok challenge

and managed to become the

all-time highest-grossing horror film in Taiwan

. “When one imagines horror movies, it’s almost impossible to not associate them with jump scares, monsters, or slashers,” wrote Rizwana Zafer for Mashable. “

Incantation

does not rely on any of those typical

horror movie

factors, so it’s not really ‘scary’ in the traditional sense. Instead, Ko manages to terrify us using suspense and dread, built on the intimacy and psychological terror of the heroine. He plays on our deepest fears to scare us, incorporating elements of gore, trypophobia, and the eeriness of the unknown, that something evil is always lurking in the background.”*

— Shannon Connellan, UK Editor

How to watch:


Incantation

is now streaming on Netflix.

1.

I’m Thinking of Ending Things

Emotional demolitions expert/filmmaker Charlie Kaufman destroys audiences once more in the mind-boggling


I’m Thinking of Ending Things


. Adapted from Iain Reid’s novel of the same name, this cryptically titled psychological thriller follows a woman, played by Jessie Buckley, and her boyfriend, played by Jesse Plemons, on a disturbing visit to his parents’ remote farmhouse. What follows? Well, that depends on who you ask.

A transfixing meditation on art, existence, value, authorship, isolation, and more,

I’m Thinking of Ending Things

is a truly one-of-a-kind experience as profound as it is disquieting. You may not have a great time in this house of abstract horrors (especially when Toni Collette is onscreen doing those classically terrifying Toni Collette things), but it will be a lasting one.


*



— A.F.

How to watch:



I’m Thinking of Ending Things



is streaming on Netflix.

* denotes that this blurb appeared in a previous Mashable list.

UPDATE: Apr. 6, 2022, 11:23 a.m. EDT

This list has been updated to reflect Netflix’s current streaming library.