It is hard enough sifting through all the movies offered by streaming services to discover those that really scare. The Netflix database is always updated with new releases, foreign finds, and critically praised originals.
Whatever genre you are after – psychological suspense, supernatural horror, or survival horror – here is the list of the 10 best horror movies that Netflix currently offers to its subscribers.
1. His House (2020)
- Sub-Genre: Psychological Horror / Supernatural
- Runtime: 1h 33m
- Key Themes: Grief, Asylum, Folklore, Traumatic Guilt
Why It’s a Must-Watch:
His House was written and directed by Remi Weekes and is easily one of the most acclaimed horror films in recent years. The film is about Bol and Rial, who are refugees trying to make themselves at home in a poor English village after escaping their troubled homeland, South Sudan. Unfortunately, the process of asylum makes them live in a poorly maintained house, which has an evil entity called apeth (also known as a night witch).
Why Is It Scary:
Unlike some other scary movies, His House is terrifying due to the fact that it draws inspiration from real-life horrors. The supernatural presence in the film serves as a form of survivor’s guilt. The visual representation of the evil being, along with walls bleeding memories of the dangerous sea journey, make the viewers feel claustrophobic and trapped.
2. Incantation (2022)
- Sub-Genre: Found Footage / Religious Folk Horror
- Runtime: 1h 51m
- Key Themes: Curses, Occult Rituals, Maternal Instincts
Why It’s a Must-Watch:
Directed by Kevin Ko, Incantation grew into a huge phenomenon in East Asia and almost instantly acquired the title of one of the most horrifying films in Taiwan. Being shot in a mockumentary or found footage style, Incantation tells a story about Ronan, a mother who unknowingly defied a certain religious tradition six years ago and now has to protect her little daughter from an eternal and terrible curse.
Why Is It So Scary?
Incantation violates the fourth wall and dares its audience to do things very rarely found in today’s horror films. Indeed, the main character talks to the viewers and calls on them to learn the specific chant and sign in order to send some good energy. However, the further plot unfolds and one finds out that participating in those chants, Incantation wants to make its viewers share their curse.
3. The Ritual (2017)
- Sub-Genre: Folk Horror / Creature Feature
- Runtime: 1h 34m
- Key Themes: Wilderness Survival, Guilt, Norse Mythology
Why It’s a Must-Watch:
The Ritual is a movie directed by David Bruckner. In it, four university friends undertake a hiking journey through the Swedish forest as a tribute to their dead comrade. After they take a shortcut through an untrodden, impenetrable forest, they are hunted by a mythical creature from Norse mythology.
Why Is It Scary?
Firstly, it is great in terms of atmospheric terror, where the thick, never-ending tree line helps create feelings of agoraphobia and loneliness. Secondly, the design of the monster, which was done by concept artist Keith Thompson, is considered one of the most scary creature designs in modern horror films.
4. Creep (2014)
- Sub-Genre: Found Footage / Psychological Thriller
- Runtime: 1h 17m
- Key Themes: Boundary Violation, Social Discomfort, Obsession
Why It’s a Must-Watch:
With a screenplay penned jointly with Mark Duplass, Creep is an excellent example of a minimalist, low budget film. The storyline of this film revolves around Aaron, a videographer, who takes up a $1,000-a-day job in a small mountainous town to create a video diary of Josef, a person diagnosed with brain cancer. He wants to leave this video behind for his child.
What Makes It Scary:
The scary part of this movie comes from social awkwardness used for psychological terror. Josef constantly pushes his limits starting from bizarre demands and ending with extremely eerie activities like his wolf mask called “Peachfuzz”.
5. Gerald’s Game (2017)
- Sub-Genre: Psychological Survival Horror
- Runtime: 1h 43m
- Key Themes: Isolation, Domestic Trauma, Hallucinations
Why It’s a Must-Watch:
Based on Stephen King’s novel that has been regarded as “unfilmable” for a long time, director Mike Flanagan brings an extremely horrifying suspense thriller. Jessie and Gerald come to a lake house, far away from everything else, in order to fix their relationship. While playing with kinks, Gerald suddenly dies of a heart attack, leaving Jessie locked up in a cabin handcuffed to a big bedframe.
Why Is It Scary:
Flanagan makes use of Jessie’s inner voice by projecting her and her dead husband in a very psychological way. This film deals with survival issues, first of all, physical – escaping from starvation and the “Moonlight Man,” but also mental, which is related to overcoming Jessie’s repressed childhood memories. This movie also boasts one of the most disturbing body horror scenes in the modern cinematography.
6. Under the Shadow (2016)
- Sub-Genre: Foreign / Historical Supernatural Horror
- Runtime: 1h 24m
- Key Themes: Iranian Politics, Domestic Confinement, Middle Eastern Folklore
Why It’s a Must-Watch:
Taking place in the 1980s during the Iran-Iraq war in Tehran, Babak Anvari’s film “Under the Shadow” tells the story of Shideh, a wife trying to raise her child, Dorsa, while her husband is away fighting at the warfront. When the missiles attack the apartment building in which she and her daughter live, an unexploded missile lands in their building and releases an evil Djinn.
Why It Is Scary:
There is a double threat of being attacked not only during the war but also from the Djinn. This fear factor is made even scarier with the setting of a collapsing building and the ability of the Djinn to take any form.
7. Apostle (2018)
- Sub-Genre: Period Folk Horror / Cult Thriller
- Runtime: 2h 10m
- Key Themes: Religious Fanaticism, Corruption, Body Horror
Why It’s a Must-Watch:
Apostle is a horror movie directed by Gareth Evans, director of The Raid movies. Apostle is a gory horror movie set in the year 1905. Thomas Richardson goes on a mission to save his kidnapped sister from a cult that is demanding a high price for her rescue. On joining the cult members, he realizes that their leaders worship an island god who demands sacrifice of people’s lives for the growth of their crops.
What Makes It Scary:
Gareth Evans uses his signature style of pacing in horror. Apostle transforms from a mystery movie to a gory thriller movie with medieval torture methods and body horror.
8. Veronica (2017)
- Sub-Genre: Supernatural / Possession
- Runtime: 1h 45m
- Key Themes: Ouija Boards, Demonic Possession, Coming-of-Age
Why It’s a Must-Watch:
Directed by Paco Plaza (who co-created the Spanish horror film [REC] among others), Veronica attracted widespread attention due to being supposedly too scary for many people, forcing them to stop watching midway. Veronica draws inspiration from actual police reports made in Madrid in 1991, where a teenage girl performs a séance using a Ouija board during a solar eclipse, bringing an evil demon to her family house.
Why Is It Scary?
The main reason why Veronica is frightening is that it incorporates supernatural elements into believable family conflicts. As a member of the household who has to look after three little siblings while their mom is constantly working, Veronica feels lonely and abandoned. The movie makes extensive use of sounds, darkness, and horrifying special effects.
9. The Black Phone (2021)
- Sub-Genre: Supernatural Thriller / Serial Killer
- Runtime: 1h 43m
- Key Themes: Abduction, Ghosts, Resilience
Why It’s a Must-Watch:
The Black Phone is directed by Scott Derrickson and based on the short story of Joe Hill and features Ethan Hawke as “The Grabber,” a creepy kidnapper terrorizing the children of a suburbia in 1978. After the kidnap of Finney and his confinement in a sound-proof basement, the disconnected wall-mounted phone starts ringing.
Why It Is Creepy:
The movie is a well-crafted balance between the grittiness of the 1970s and the supernatural. Through the use of the disconnected phone, Finney is contacted by the victims of The Grabber who provide him hints for escape. What makes the movie even more creepy is the performance of Ethan Hawke through his series of masks.
10. Don’t Move (2024)
- Sub-Genre: Real-Time Survival Thriller
- Runtime: 1h 32m
- Key Themes: Paralytic Horror, Cat-and-Mouse, Ticking Clock
Why It’s a Must-Watch:
Don’t Move, a high-concept horror thriller produced by Sam Raimi and directed by Adam Schindler and Brian Netto, involves a story about Iris, a woman grieving for something, who encounters a strange person in a remote forest and who injects her with a paralytic substance. She has exactly 20 minutes in order for her nervous system to shut down, which makes her unable to move from one place to another while being pursued in the dark forest.
Why This Film is Scary:
In this movie, the basic terror lies in the physical immobility of the main character. In the process of action of the medicine, Iris becomes increasingly incapable of running, walking, speaking, and even blinking. The plot uses spatial relations and micro-movements of the main character as major elements of suspense and fear.
Quick Comparison: Which Movie Should You Watch First?
| Movie Title | Primary Sub-Genre | Fear Factor (Out of 10) | Best For Fans Of… |
| His House | Psychological / Folk | 8.5/10 | Get Out, Babadook |
| Incantation | Found Footage / Occult | 9.5/10 | The Ring, Blair Witch Project |
| The Ritual | Creature / Wilderness | 8/10 | The Descent, Annihilation |
| Creep | Found Footage / Thriller | 7.5/10 | Misery, Unsettling Character Studies |
| Gerald’s Game | Survival / Psychological | 8/10 | 127 Hours, Stephen King Adaptations |
| Under the Shadow | Historical Supernatural | 8.5/10 | A Dark Song, The Devil’s Backbone |
| Apostle | Period / Folk Horror | 7.5/10 | The Wicker Man, Midsommar |
| Veronica | Supernatural / Possession | 9/10 | The Conjuring, Insidious |
| The Black Phone | Supernatural / Slasher | 7.5/10 | IT, Sinister |
| Don’t Move | Survival / Thriller | 8/10 | Hush, A Quiet Place |
Expert Streaming Tips for Netflix Horror Fans
- Check Foreign Audio Options: When watching films such as Incantation, Veronica, and Under the Shadow, always opt for the original language soundtrack with subtitles and never choose to watch the dubbed version. The dubbed version tends to turn off the sound effects which play a major part in the scare element of the movie.
- Adjust the Picture Quality: Scare films use a lot of shadows in their shots. It is therefore important to ensure that you have the display settings on a dark picture mode (i.e. “movie” or “cinema” mode) and motion smoothing set to OFF.
- Auditory Devices: Modern horror films rely a great deal on the sound effect in the films. It is therefore important to make sure that you use either surround sound or quality headphones when viewing the film.
Conclusion: Ready to Face Your Fears?
This is constantly changing at Netflix, but these ten films are among the best horror films offered by the streaming service right now. While the claustrophobia of social fear from Creep may not suit everyone, the terrifying panic from Incantation definitely provides a different kind of horror experience for everyone.
The good thing about modern technology in terms of streaming services is accessibility. However, this can be also one of the major pitfalls when trying to watch movies – the problem of too many choices and inability to choose just one. The next time when you will spend hours looking at the thumbnails, take a look at this list and enjoy these frightening masterpieces.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is objectively the scariest horror movie on Netflix?
While fear is entirely subjective, Incantation and His House consistently rank among critics and audiences as the most terrifying films on the platform. Incantation excels in breaking the fourth wall to make the viewer feel cursed, while His House delivers intense, supernatural scares deeply rooted in real-world trauma. For a more recent release, the 2025 addition 28 Years Later has been widely praised for its relentless, high-stakes zombie terror.
How often does Netflix update its horror movie selection?
Netflix adds new movies—both licensed content and original productions—on a weekly basis. However, their licensed horror library (movies not produced by Netflix) tends to experience the most significant turnover at the beginning of every month. The largest influx of horror content traditionally arrives in late September and October to coincide with the Halloween season.
Are any of the top Netflix horror movies based on true stories?
Yes. Veronica is famously inspired by a real-world case from 1991 in Madrid, Spain (the “Vallecas case”), which remains one of the only times a police officer officially documented unexplained, paranormal activity in a police report.
Can I download these horror movies to watch offline?
Yes, as long as you have an active, ad-free Netflix subscription plan (Standard or Premium). You can download titles like The Ritual, Gerald’s Game, and The Black Phone to a mobile device or tablet using the Netflix app for offline viewing. Keep in mind that downloaded titles expire after a certain period, usually 48 hours to 7 days, depending on the specific licensing agreement.
Does Netflix have good slasher movies?
Absolutely. If you enjoy the slasher sub-genre over supernatural themes, Netflix offers excellent original and licensed slashers. Notably, the Fear Street trilogy (1994, 1978, and 1666) serves as a fantastic, bloody homage to classic slasher eras, while movies like There’s Someone Inside Your House and the recent 2025 release Heart Eyes deliver fresh takes on masked killers.