The 15 Best Horror Movies Streaming On Netflix Right Now

When you need that horror fix, you can always count on Netflix to deliver the chills and thrills, both through its original programming and the many studio and indie horror flicks it licenses. But they have so much to choose from that it can be tough to sort through it all.

Fortunately, we've taken a deep dive into Netflix's catalog to find the best horror movies, and found the good stuff so you don't have to. Whether you're in the mood for the anxiety-inducing slow burn of Crimson Peak, the b-movie shlock of Piranha or one of James Wan's immaculately-constructed haunted house movies, Netflix has something for every taste.

And if you're not in the mood for horror, our list of the best action movies on Netflix might be more up your alley. And if you're an HBO Max subscriber, we've got lists of dope sci-fi and action movies on that excellent service as well.

1. It

The less said about the second one, the better. But that first movie--no doubt the defining killer clown movie of our lifetime--is so great, and so legitimately terrifying, that it makes it easy to pretend the subpar sequel never happened.

2. The Conjuring 2

Is there any other filmmaker who can put together a chaotic scene quite like James Wan? While the story in this second Conjuring flick is pretty meh these days, the film is a perfectly crafted technical masterpiece. As a piece of horror spectacle it has no rivals.

3. Crimson Peak

Looking for a slow burn gothic haunted house movie? Oscar-winning director and nerd fave Guillermo del Toro has exactly what you need right here, and Tom Hiddleston and Jessica Chastain are pitch-perfect as a pair of siblings who are, ah, way more messed up than they look.

4. Blair Witch

It's not quite on the level of the original Blair Witch Project--what is?--but the surprising third movie in the series was fun and clever enough to be a worthy successor to the franchise name.

5. Resident Evil

Putting aside issues with the Paul WS Anderson film as an adaptation of the game, that first movie is a legitimately fun little zombie movie that spawned a pretty solid horror-action franchise. It may not have been what the gamers wanted, but it's great in its own way.

6. It Follows

When you're not in the mood for the usual horror thrills and are looking for something that will fill you with existential dread for an hour and a half and leave you feeling really bad about everything, It Follows is there for you.

7. Insidious

We could keep discussing director James Wan's impeccable craftsmanship, but there's no need to continue beating that horse. Insidious is another Wan classic, and its defining moment comes when it delivers perhaps the greatest jump scare in movie history.

8. Fear Street

This trilogy of RL Stine adaptations hit just the right tone, a sort of "this is seriously scary, but we're all having fun here, right?" vibe. Like they somehow managed to keep it light even while a bunch of summer camp teens are getting slaughtered--while also keeping the whole thing from turning into a joke. It's an impressive balancing act.

9. The Cave

One of a pair of dueling 2005 horror movies about spelunkers being attacked by weird cave monsters (yes, really). The Cave is the fun one of the two, with 2 Fast 2 Furious villain Cole Hauser and a pre-Game of Thrones Lena Headey having a good ole time in this claustrophobic b-picture.

10. The Green Inferno

Eli Roth's cannibal movie is relentlessly cruel and has a, ah, "questionable" worldview. But if you're the sort of horror fan who's into movies that intentionally make you feel really weird and uncomfortable and generally existentially queasy, The Green Inferno is your ticket.

11. Apostle

Writer/director Gareth Evans may be best known for the incredible The Raid films, but his foray into horror on Netflix deserves almost as much love as those instant classics. Evans infused this tale--about a man trying to save his sister from a weird religious cult in 1905--with so much anxiety and dread that it stays in your head long after it's over.

12. Unfriended

A group of friends on a video chat are haunted by a ghost that kills them one by one while they're live--and we're watching it all through one of their computer screens. And this came out in 2014, well before COVID turned Zoom into a regular part of life. Unfriended was an awesome gem when it came, but it's only gotten better as the world caught up.

13. The Bye Bye Man

Despite being dumped in January and panned by critics and having a really dumb-sounding title, The Bye Bye Man--about a ghost who will trick you into doing something terrible unless you can somehow make yourself not think about him--is actually a great pick for those times when you want a movie that'll really mess with your head. If you're into stuff like Mike Flanagan's Oculus or The Haunting of Hill House, this one will be right up your alley.

14. Piranha

Not all horror has to be serious business. Sometimes, horror is a silly movie about people on a resort vacation being eaten by murderous hordes of fish. While that may sound like a so-bad-it's-good premise, Piranha is actually just a great little movie that unironically deserves its cult status.

15. The Mist

Frank Darabont's adaptation of the Stephen King short story--about a bunch of smalltown folks trapped in a grocery store during a mysterious invasion of terrifying monsters--delivers all the chills and thrills you can imagine. And that's before it knocks you the f--- out with maybe the greatest and most depressing ending in horror history.