Best Horror Movies to Stream on Netflix, Prime, and More

When the days get shorter and the nights get longer, nothing beats cuddling up with a loved one for a spine-chilling movie. However, with new films hitting digital shelves constantly, it can be a challenge to find quality horror.

To remove some of the guesswork and headaches, here are 21 of the best horror movies now streaming on major platforms such as Netflix, Amazon Prime, Peacock, Hulu and more. From gore and psychological thrillers, movies that have the best dying quotes, or just plain jump scares these movies are worth a revisit or a first-time watch. For convenience, they’re listed in chronological order.

Please note that some of these movies were released prior to the modern film-rating system. Viewers should use discretion when selecting unrated movies.

 

• Frankenstein (1931)
• Dracula (1931)
• Psycho (1960)
• Night of the Living Dead (1968)
• Carrie (1976)
• Halloween (1978)
• Friday the 13th (1980)
• The Evil Dead (1981)
• A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984)
• Scream (1996)
• Ringu (1998)
• Final Destination (2000)
• 28 Days Later (2002)
• Saw (2004)
• REC (2007)
• Jennifer’s Body (2009)
• The Cabin in the Woods (2011)
• Sinister (2012)
• The Babadook (2014)
• Get Out (2017)
• Us (2019)

 

Frankenstein (1931)

Cast: Colin Clive, Mae Clark, Boris Karloff
Streaming Services: Peacock, Fandango, Vudu, Amazon Prime (To Rent or Buy), Apple TV
Rating: None
Language: English
Subcategory: Monster
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 100%

Starring Boris Karloff as Frankenstein’s monster, this movie is unlikely to give you much of a fright nowadays, but it is an excellent look into what people were scared of over a century ago. If you don’t mind watching a movie in black and white, this film is a haunting depiction of Mary Shelley’s immortal story.

Find it on IMDb here.

 

Dracula (1931)

Cast: Bela Lugosi, Helen Chandler, David Manners
Streaming Services: Peacock, Fandango, Vudu, Amazon Prime (To Rent or Buy), Apple TV
Rating: None
Language: English
Subcategory: Vampire
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 92%

In addition to Boris Karloff, film buffs have undoubtedly heard of Bela Lugosi, another actor famous for starring in many of the horror movies of the 1930s and 1940s. Lugosi plays the titular Dracula. Though most people are familiar with the classic vampire story, Lugosi still manages to strike fear into viewers’ hearts, so many years later.

Find it on IMDb here.

 

Psycho (1960)

Cast: Anthony Perkins, Janet Leigh, Vera Miles
Streaming Services: Peacock, Fandango, Vudu, Amazon Prime (To Rent or Buy), Apple TV
Rating: None

Language: English
Subcategory: Serial Killer
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 96%

The shower scene and its accompanying music have become synonymous with horror since this movie’s release, and for good reason. Though some of the scenes and special effects may seem hokey in the wake of modern technology, most of the scares absolutely hold up.

The plot twist has probably been spoiled for you by now, but this film has nail-biting suspense all the same.

Find it on IMDb here.

 

Night of the Living Dead (1968)

Cast: Duane Jones, Judith O’Dea, Karl Hardman
Streaming Services: Fandango, Vudu, Apple TV
Rating: None
Language: English

Subcategory: Zombie
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 97%

Don’t mistake this for an average zombie flick. George Romero defined an entire genre with this revolutionary movie, and its social commentary was radical in its time. The protagonist stands firm and helps unite his group against an onslaught of creatures. It’s a common mythos in zombie movies, true—but this classic is still guaranteed to surprise you at the end.

Find it on IMDb here.

 

Carrie (1976)

Cast: Sissy Spacek, Piper Laurie, Amy Irving
Streaming Services: Fandango, Vudu, Amazon Prime (To Rent or Buy), Apple TV, Hulu
Rating: R
Language: English
Subcategory: Supernatural
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 93%

Hammering home the theme that bullying has severe consequences, the original Carrie stars Sissy Spacek in all of her glory. Some scenes feature students cruel enough to make you cringe, no matter how many years you’ve been out of school.

Find it on IMDb here.

 

Halloween (1978)

Cast: Donald Pleasence, Jamie Lee Curtis, Tony Moran
Streaming Services: Fandango, Vudu, Amazon Prime (To Rent or Buy), Apple TV
Rating: R
Language: English
Subcategory: Serial Killer
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 96%

In this thrilling movie that launched a beloved franchise, Jamie Lee Curtis takes on the role that later earned her the title of Scream Queen.

A quiet, sleepy town in Illinois gets the shock of its life when an inmate from a local insane asylum escapes. When he prowls the streets for unwitting victims, the area’s hapless teens learn a new meaning for the word “fear.”

Find it on IMDb here.

 

Friday the 13th (1980)

Cast: Betsy Palmer, Adrienne King, Jeannine Taylor
Streaming Services: Fandango, Vudu, Amazon Prime (To Rent or Buy), Apple TV
Rating: R
Language: English
Subcategory: Serial Killer
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 64%

This first installment in the Friday the 13th franchise is a must-watch for horror fans.

Kevin Bacon stars as a young man on the run from a mysterious killer who, for unknown reasons, is targeting former counselors at the now-closed campsite of Crystal Lake. Perhaps the killer hopes to avenge a long-forgotten misdeed?

Find it on IMDb here.

 

The Evil Dead (1981)

Cast: Bruce Campbell, Ellen Sandweiss, Richard DeManincor
Streaming Services: Fandango, Netflix, Vudu, Amazon Prime (To Rent or Buy), Apple TV
Rating: NC-17
Language: English
Subcategory: Zombie
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 95%

Like countless horror movies before (and after) it, The Evil Dead feeds viewers the initial premise of young people gallivanting through the woods and sheltering in an abandoned cabin.

In Sam Raimi’s take, however, the group discovers an ancient text. When read aloud, it awakens monsters that would have been better left alone.

Find it on IMDb here.

 

A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984)

Cast: Heather Langenkamp, Johnny Depp, Robert Englund
Streaming Services: Fandango, Vudu, Amazon Prime (To Rent or Buy), Apple TV
Rating: R
Language: English
Subcategory: Supernatural
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 94%

An absolute classic, (reboot, anyone?) this one is usually lumped in with other classic franchises like Friday the 13th and Halloween, but A Nightmare on Elm Street gives a refreshing twist on the otherwise standard serial killer plotline. Here, the killer can only get his victims under certain conditions. You may have trouble falling asleep after watching this one.

Find it on IMDb here.

 

Scream (1996)

Cast: Neve Campbell, Courteney Cox, David Arquette
Streaming Services: Fandango, Vudu, Amazon Prime (To Rent or Buy), Apple TV
Rating: R
Language: English
Subcategory: Serial Killer
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 76%

For audience members who aren’t looking to spend the entire film clutching the couch cushions, fear not. Scream has a healthy dose of comedy to temper the scares.

(However, those funny moments also mean you’ll be distracted when the killer strikes. Whether that’s a bonus or not is entirely your call.)

Find it on IMDb here.

 

Ringu (1998)

Cast: Nanako Matsushima, Miki Nakatani, Yûko Takeuchi
Streaming Services: Amazon Prime (To Rent or Buy), Apple TV
Rating: R

Language: Japanese
Subcategory: Supernatural
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 97%

Americans are likely more familiar with the American adaptation, The Ring, which was released four years after Ringu. Is it worth watching the original, then?

Absolutely! Gore Verbinski’s adaptation of the source was very loose—not just in plot, but in scariness, as well.

If you’re looking for a real fright, you can’t go wrong with Japanese horror. Ringu begins with the same general premise: a woman finds a horrifying videotape, watches it…then receives a phone call that she’ll die in one week.

Find it on IMDb here.

 

Final Destination (2000)

Cast: Devon Sawa, Ali Larter, Kerr Smith
Streaming Services: Fandango, Vudu, Amazon Prime (To Rent or Buy), Apple TV
Rating: R
Language: English
Subcategory: Supernatural
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 35%

When an ordinary man has a vision that the plane he’s on will crash, he manages to convince a few others to get off the plane with him. The plane takes off and crashes, just as he saw it in the vision.

But death has a schedule, and it doesn’t like getting cheated. The people who miraculously avoided the crash begin to die under mysterious circumstances, twists of fate, and bizarre “accidents.”

They say life always finds a way…but so does death.

Find it on IMDb here.

 

28 Days Later (2002)

Cast: Cillian Murphy, Naomie Harris, Christopher Eccleston
Streaming Services: Fandango, Vudu, Amazon Prime, Apple TV
Rating: R
Language: English
Subcategory: Zombie
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 87%

Despite the zombie subcategory, this movie doesn’t feature any classic zombies—at least, not in the traditional sense.

28 Days Later introduced us to the now ubiquitous concept of zombified humans: people infected with a strange virus that transforms them into crazed cannibals. For the first time in cinematic history, the “zombies” can run.

Find it on IMDb here.

 

Saw (2004)

Cast: Cary Elwes, Leigh Whannell, Danny Glover
Streaming Services: Fandango, Vudu, Amazon Prime (To Rent or Buy), Apple TV
Rating: R
Language: English
Subcategory: Psychological

 Thriller
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 50%

The Saw franchise quickly devolved into little more than torture porn in subsequent movies, but the original firmly commits to its innovative premise without being overly graphic.

Cary Elwes (The Princess Bride) delivers the full range of his acting chops in this film. What’s more, the surprise ending will drive you out of your seat…and might even compel you to watch future films, if only for more pieces to the big-picture storyline.

Find it on IMDb here.

 

REC (2007)

Cast: Manuela Velasco, Ferran Terraza, Jorge-Yamam Serrano
Streaming Services: Fandango, Vudu, Amazon Prime (To Rent or Buy), Apple TV
Rating: R
Language: Spanish
Subcategory: Found Footage
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 89%

This Spanish-language movie is the epitome of the “found footage” horror movies subgenre. While an English version, Quarantine, was later released, the original is well worth the watch.

It doesn’t rely too heavily on nausea-inducing camera motion, yet still conveys the characters’ urgency and terror as they flee the horrific creatures striking from the darkness.

Find it on IMDb here.

 

Jennifer’s Body (2009)

Cast: Megan Fox, Amanda Seyfried, Adam Brody
Streaming Services: Fandango, Vudu, Amazon Prime (To Buy), Apple TV
Rating: R
Language: English
Subcategory: Feminist, Dark Comedy
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 45%

More of a comedic commentary on high school boys’ views on women than outright horror, Jennifer’s Body stars Megan Fox as a beautiful teenager selected for a virgin sacrifice. A hitch in that plan leaves Jennifer stronger and more powerful…but with a hunger for human flesh: specifically, the flesh of male classmates, much to the horror of her best friend.

Sprinkled with some commentary on society’s views on women, Jennifer’s Body takes a stab at blending comedy and horror. Most critics agree it satisfies neither genre as much as it could have.

Nonetheless, it’s an entertaining standout amongst other horror movies for its theme of female empowerment, some gems of smart dialogue, and a thoughtfully fresh soundtrack.

Find it on IMDb here.

 

The Cabin in the Woods (2011)

Cast: Kristen Connolly, Chris Hemsworth, Anna Hutchison, Fran Kranz
Streaming Services: Fandango, Hulu, Vudu, Amazon Prime, Apple TV
Rating: R
Language: English
Subcategory: Mashup
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 92%

Joss Whedon hit it out of the park with this film. The Cabin in the Woods purposely plays on the classic tropes of the many horror movies that precede it.

A group of young people traipsing into the woods? Check. Deserted cabin? Check. Drugs, sex, failed experiments, mysterious diaries, incantations, and zombies? Yeah, it’s got it all.

However, this junk-drawer approach serves the film well. By mashing together virtually every element you’d expect in a scary movie, it leaves you baffled as to what will happen next.

When anything and everything is possible, predictability goes out the window—a refreshing change for horror vets who’ve seen it all.

Find it on IMDb here.

 

Sinister (2012)

Cast: Ethan Hawke, Juliet Rylance, James Ransone
Streaming Services: Fandango, Vudu, Amazon Prime (To Rent or Buy), Apple TV
Rating: R
Language: English
Subcategory: Supernatural
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 63%

A true-crime author moves his family to a small town so that he can concentrate on his next big hit. Early on, he discovers strange footage in the attic, and slowly grows obsessed with the fate of his home’s previous owners.

Find it on IMDb here.

 

The Babadook (2014)

Cast: Essie Davis, Noah Wiseman, Daniel Henshall
Streaming Services: Vudu, Amazon Prime (To Rent or Buy)
Rating: R
Language: English
Subcategory: Supernatural
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 98%

A grieving widow struggles to help her young son, an insomniac who claims he can see monsters. This includes the Babadook, a humanoid clad in a top hat that haunts and tortures a person after he or she becomes aware of his existence. The worst part? Denying its existence only makes the Babadook stronger.

The film takes an unusually nuanced view of the grieving process, and how differently adults and kids respond to tragedy. Some of the scariest scenes in The Babadook center on the mother’s desperation to help her son and keep him safe, all the while noticing her own mental state is declining.

Find it on IMDb here.

 

Get Out (2017)

Cast: Daniel Kaluuya, Allison Williams, Bradley Whitford
Streaming Services: Fandango, Vudu, Amazon Prime (To Rent or Buy), Apple TV
Rating: R
Language: English
Subcategory: Social Commentary
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 98%

This film takes social commentary horror movies to a whole new level. In a deviation from normal expectations, the film cast Daniel Kaluuya as a black protagonist whose experiences with seemingly ordinary white folk are nothing short of horrific. Regardless of your ethnicity, this movie is sure to make you squirm! Should Get Out be your new Christmas horror flick this year? Jordan Peele seems to think so!

Find it on IMDb here.

 

Us (2019)

Cast: Lupita Nyong’o, Winston Duke, Elisabeth Moss
Streaming Services: Fandango, Vudu, Amazon Prime (To Rent or Buy), HBO Now, Apple TV
Rating: R
Language: English
Subcategory: Social Commentary
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 93%

Jordan Peele does it again with his next foray into the horror genre, in which doppelgangers attack a family during their vacation. This time, the cast is almost entirely black. Lupita Nyong’o is absolutely stunning in the lead role.

Find it on IMDb here.

 

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The best horror movies require more than gore and jump-scares to strike terror into viewers’ hearts. Originality, emotion, and directing finesse all play crucial roles in the genre. Use this list wisely: after binge-watching these frightful films, it might be a lights-on kind of night.

 

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