The 60 Best Horror Movies On Netflix Right Now (December 2022)

When it comes to the state of horror movies on Netflix, there's one thing that is certain: There sure are a lot of them. With competition heating up across the various content providers and their respective streaming platforms, it's getting harder to hold on to good content. So, naturally, some of Netflix's horror offerings are better than others, and while you could spend ages sorting through its entire catalog to find the most worthwhile gems, a more efficient option would be to let someone else do that work for you. That's where we come in.

We've spent hours combing through Netflix's vast digital catacombs, aka using the search bar, and have found enough horror content to keep you busily terrified for at least a solid month, if not longer. From slashers to ghost stories to horror comedies and everything in between, you will find the 60 best horror movies on Netflix right now on the list below.

"1922" is a slow-burn horror film about a man who is slowly but surely consumed by guilt over his own evil deed.

Thomas Jane stars as Wilfred "Wilf" James, a Nebraska farmer who lives with his wife, Arlette (Molly Parker), and their teenage son, Henry (Dylan Schmid). Unhappy with Arlette's plans to sell the farm and move to the city, Wilf asks his son to assist in murdering her. The deed committed, Wilf finds that his actions come back to haunt him, as he begins to experience a slow but steady psychological decline. Haunted by his wife's ghost and visions of rats, he and Henry eventually suffer their own twisted fates.

Thomas Jane's darkly compelling performance helps carry this unsettling psychological spooker, which was based on Stephen King's novella of the same name — if you want to check out the source material, you can find it in King's collection "Full Dark, No Stars."

Welsh writer-director Gareth Evans made a name for himself by directing the thrilling Indonesian action films "The Raid" and "The Raid 2." Following those up with a trippy period folk horror piece was certainly an interesting, if unexpected, choice.

Set in 1905, "Apostle" stars Dan Stevens as Thomas Richardson, who travels to a remote Welsh island in search of his sister Jennifer (Elen Rhys), who is being held for ransom by a mysterious cult. He infiltrates their village by portraying himself as a convert, and soon gets to know the group's leader, ​​Prophet Malcolm (Michael Sheen). It's not long before things get super weird and kind of gory, with one particular torture scene in particular that is not for the squeamish.

"Apostle" is a bizarre movie that feels a little long at 129 minutes, but it does manage to generate a unique sense of dread. If you're looking for something a little different that will eventually get under your skin, "Apostle" could do the trick.

Samara Weaving has become somewhat of a horror-comedy queen, having played roles such as the hunted bride in "Ready or Not" and the titular killer babysitter, Bee, in Netflix's aptly titled "The Babysitter."

A sort of '80s throwback that mixes a satanic panic-style slasher with "Home Alone," "The Babysitter" revolves around young Cole (Judah Lewis), who stays up past his bedtime one night only to learn that his hot babysitter, Bee (Weaving), is actually a member of a murderous cult. Once discovered, the cult members, including Sonya (Hana Mae Lee), Max (Robbie Ammell), and Allison (Bella Thorne) become hellbent on keeping Cole quiet. The enterprising Cole tries to take them all out first.

With entertaining characters and silly, over-the-top action, "The Babysitter" is a fun genre distraction that was popular enough to get a sequel, "The Babysitter: Killer Queen," that takes place two years later.

It's hard to imagine that anyone reading this list hasn't already seen the Sandra Bullock-starring, post-apocalyptic thriller "Bird Box," considering it was Netflix's most-watched title ever for a few years. Then again, "Red Notice" dethroned it in 2021, so there are a few people who have yet to experience its uniquely terrifying offerings.

The action-packed tale centers on Malorie Hayes (Bullock), as she and fellow survivor Tom (Trevante Rhodes) attempt to save themselves and two young children after the world is overtaken by mysterious entities that cause anyone who looks at them to commit suicide.

As popular as "Bird Box" was, it's no surprise that it spawned a wave of memes, many of which revolved around a sequence in which Bullock wears a blindfold as she navigates a rowboat down a river. Ah, those were simpler times, weren't they?

Haunted dolls and horror movies go hand in hand, but oftentimes the haunted doll in question is of the female persuasion. Not so in "The Boy," a haunted house movie revolving around a suited-up spooky boy doll named Brahms.

"The Boy" centers around an American nanny, Greta (Lauren Cohan), who travels to the U.K. after being hired by an older couple, the Heelshires, to care for their "son," Brahms. Soon, however, Greta learns that Brahms happens to be a porcelain doll. Greta is left alone to care for Brahms under a very strict set of rules, and it's not long before strange things begin to happen, such as Brahms seemingly moving about on his own. With help from local delivery man Malcolm (Rupert Evans), Greta begins to piece together the haunted mystery, which includes learning that the real Brahms was killed in a fire 20 years prior.

As haunted doll movies go, "The Boy" is solid fare, offering a clever and atmospheric spin on the genre. Theater audiences seemed to agree, which led to the production of a Katie Holmes-starring sequel, "Brahms: The Boy II."

Sometimes life takes an unexpected turn for the much, much worse, as the two main characters in "Calibre" discover while on a hunting trip that goes horribly wrong.

This dark, twisted, suspenseful Scottish thriller follows two friends, Marcus (Martin McCann) and Vaughan (Jack Lowdon), whose lives descend into a nightmare when one of them accidentally shoots a young boy while aiming for a deer. Things only escalate from there (or go downhill, depending on how you want to look at it), as their subsequent efforts to hide their deeds and escape the consequences of their actions only plunge them deeper and deeper into trouble.

Thanks to assured direction, steady performances, and a smart script, "Calibre" makes for a riveting, and most importantly, nerve-jangling watch.

The twisty psychological techno-thriller "Cam" explores themes of identity, voyeurism, sex work, and the horrors of our modern digital landscape, all in a stylish package with a great performance at its center.

Madeline Brewer stars as Alice, a camgirl operating under the handle Lola_Lola with aspirations of improving her rank on the FreeGirlsLive website. She has a certain set of standards she adheres to, but she goes so far as to pretend to slit her own throat one day, which instantly improves her popularity. After managing to crack the top 50 in the rankings, she suddenly finds she has been locked out of her account, with a mysterious new girl who looks and acts just like her having taken over her channel. Alice becomes increasingly frantic as she tries to find out the truth behind her virtual doppelganger.

"Cam" is a suspenseful and provocative work that was partially inspired by screenwriter Isa Mazzei's real life experiences as a camgirl.

After helping spawn a franchise with his debut feature, "Saw," director James Wan reinvigorated slow-burn studio-funded horror with his spooky supernatural shocker, "The Conjuring."

Based on real-life events, "The Conjuring" follows demonologists Lorraine and Ed Warren (Vera Farmiga and Patrick Wilson) as they investigate the terrifying goings-on at a Rhode Island farmhouse. There, they discover that the homeowners, the Perron family, are being tormented by the spirit of a witch named Bathsheba, and that an exorcism is the only way to stop her.

"The Conjuring" was so successful at the box office that it spawned its own film universe which includes eight movies to date, including the spinoff "Annabelle," which focuses on a haunted doll, and "The Conjuring 2," which follows the Warrens as they tackle a case in England known as "The Enfield Haunting." The franchise has earned over $2 billion dollars globally, with four of the films in the top eight highest-grossing horror movies of all time.

Sometimes the most innocuous things end up being the scariest. In situations like that, it's best to trust your instincts, which is something writer-director-actor Patrick Brice and writer-co-star Mark Duplass demonstrate in their found-footage style 2014 comedy-horror film "Creep."

Brice stars as Aaron, a freelance videographer who responds to a Craigslist ad by Josef (Duplass), who happens to live in a remote cabin. When Aaron arrives, Josef explains that he has cancer and wants Aaron to help him make a video diary for his soon-to-be-born child. Josef seems amicable enough at first, but he also has a creepy weird stranger-danger energy. Though Aaron has misgivings about the situation, Joseph keeps convincing him that it's all in his head, even as the situation becomes increasingly uncomfortable.

Duplass gives a memorably unnerving performance as the unpredictable Josef, and his bizarre antics end up creating a palpable sense of unease throughout. The creepily entertaining "Creep" spawned a sequel aptly named "Creep 2," which is just as good as the first, although slightly less scary.

No "best of" horror list would be complete without a Tim Burton movie in the mix, at least not as far as fans of Gothic chills and visually sumptuous production design are concerned. "Dark Shadows" may not be Burton's best, but this adaptation of the Gothic TV series of the same name does have its dark delights.

Perennial Tim Burton favorite Johnny Depp stars as Barnabas Collins, who is turned into a vampire after rejecting the advances of a witch named Angelique (Eva Green). Returning to his family's wealthy estate 200 years later in 1972, he finds the manor in ruins and inhabited by his dysfunctional descendants, including matriarch Elizabeth Collins Stoddard (Michelle Pfeiffer). He also finds that the governess, Victoria (Bella Heathcote), appears to be the reincarnation of his former love, Josette. After falling for Victoria, Barnabas seeks to become human, but Angelique has also survived the ages, and will stop at nothing to have him for herself.

Sure, the darkly comedic "Dark Shadows" is overly complicated and a bit campy, but it has a stacked cast and it looks cool, and that's got to count for something, right?

Let's be honest, not every horror movie on Netflix is a winner. But surely you could do worse than watching Luke Evans play Vlad the Impaler, aka Dracula, in a CGI-heavy, big-budget historical fantasy epic that aims to reveal the "untold" origin story of the infamous monster.

Written by Matt Sazama and Burk Sharpless, who went on to pen "The Last Witch Hunter" and "Morbius," "Dracula: Untold" pits a young Prince Vlad (Evans) against the Ottoman Empire after they demand an extra thousand young men, including Vlad's son, to bolster their troops. Vlad decides to protect his family and the people of his kingdom with help from an ancient vampire whom he'd encountered in a cave. The vampire offers him a bit of his blood to drink, giving Vlad the power he needs to destroy the Ottoman army, along with the visually-entertaining ability to turn into a giant swarm of bats.

Ostensibly eyed as part of Universal's "Dark Universe," plans for a sequel were ultimately scrapped, leaving "Dracula: Untold" a unique standalone entry in the, um, Dracula-verse.

The "Fear Street" trilogy is a series of teen-centric horror films loosely adapted from R.L. Stine's book series of the same name. Capitalizing on the nostalgia that made a hit out of "Stranger Things" and birthed a new round of "Scream" movies, the "Fear Street" films are clear homages to horror films from previous decades.

"Fear Street Part 1: 1994" wears its "Scream" influence on its sleeve, revolving around a group of teens that includes Deena (Kiana Madeira ), Samantha (Olivia Welch), and Josh (Benjamin Flores Jr.), who live in the neighboring towns of Shadyside and Sunnyvale. They're stalked by a slasher in a skull mask while trying to get to the bottom of Shadyside's dark history.

In an homage to "Friday the 13th," "Fear Street Part 2: 1978" takes place at a summer camp, while "Fear Street Part 3: 1666" takes things back to days of witch trials, as the teens try to end the town's evil for good. Together the three films, directed by Leigh Janiak, comprise a solidly entertaining set of horror flicks.

If you're into creepy creepers and disturbing psychological thrillers, "The Gift" is for you. It features a particularly unsettling antagonist named Gordo Moseley (Joel Edgerton), who shows up at the new home of married couple Simon (Jason Bateman) and Robyn (Rebecca Hall).

While Gordo is a former classmate of Simon's, it soon becomes apparent that he's dropped in for more than just tea and cookies. Gordo starts leaving gifts and gets all up in Robyn and Simon's lives in a way that quickly becomes invasive and threatening; the reason is seemingly tied to a secret from Simon's past. In typical horror movie fashion, things go from bad to worse, and it all ends up with a deeply upsetting finale.

In addition to starring in "The Gift," Edgerton also wrote and directed the film, proving him to be a multi-faceted talent. "The Gift” currently holds a 91% critics score on Rotten Tomatoes, and is worth a view if you want to watch a great cast get caught up in some twisted mind games.

While the reigning Netflix horror king, Mike Flanagan, has made this list several times for his chillingly effective horror movies, perhaps his pièce de résistance is "The Haunting" anthology, which consists of two limited series based on classic works of horror literature. The second, "The Haunting of Bly Manor," is a loose adaptation of Henry James' classic novella "The Turn of the Screw."

Utilizing rich production design and a lushly spooky setting, the story follows Dani Clayton (Victoria Pedretti), an American au pair who arrives at the titular Bly Manor to look after two young children, only to discover that the stately home is haunted by a number of ghosts. Like Flanagan's other works, "The Haunting of Bly Manor" is a scary and engrossing treat for fans of Gothic horror and good, old-fashioned ghost stories. 

While this and the other entry in the "Haunting" anthology, "The Haunting of Hill House," aren't technically "movies" per se, their limited storylines and cinematic feel are enough for us to bend the rules a bit, especially since they're among the very best horror offerings Netflix has on the service.

Writer-director Remi Weekes' debut feature, "His House," is a harrowing horror film that merges social and political issues with a more traditional haunted house tale in a story that reflects some of the repressed horrors of the refugee experience.

"His House" follows the story of married couple Rial (Wunmi Mosaku) and Bol (Sope Dirisu), refugees from South Sudan who have been granted asylum in England after a tragic journey. Moving into a run down government-funded house, the pair do their best to assimilate in the face of racism and cultural differences. Soon, though, strange happenings begin to occur within the home, and eventually Rial attributes the eerie disturbances to an apeth, or a "night witch."

As of this writing, "His House" holds a 100% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. It was nominated for three BAFTAs, with Weekes winning for outstanding debut by a British writer, director, or producer.

Before Mike Flanagan cranked out hit series like "The Haunting of Hill House" and "Midnight Mass" he directed "Hush," a high-tension single-location thriller that is almost sure to make your pulse pound.

Kate Siegel stars as Maddie, a horror author who is unable to speak or hear due to complications from contracting meningitis as a child. Having moved to a remote cabin in the woods, she is visited one night by a masked crossbow-wielding assailant (John Gallagher Jr.), and the rest of the film becomes a suspenseful game of cat and mouse as Maddie attempts to outwit the would-be killer.

Siegal, who is married to Flanagan and has starred in several of his other projects, co-wrote the script for "Hush" with her husband. The nail-biting film was well-received by critics and horror fans — Stephen King himself said that it's "Up there with 'Halloween.'" Talk about high praise!

French director Pascal Laugier first made a name for himself as part of the New French Extremity movement with his 2008 film "Martyrs," then later wrote and directed the similarly twisted "Incident in a Ghostland," which debuted in 2018.

Two sisters (Crystal Reed and Anastasia Phillips) and their mother return to the home where they were attacked 16 years prior, but nothing is as it seems in this psychological thriller. As the story retells itself via flashbacks, we learn that both the house and the psyches of its inhabitants are both cracked in all sorts of ways. If situations like sexual abuse, trauma, and their psychological ramifications bother you, I'd avoid this film, but if you think you can handle it, creepiness and horror abound in the "Ghostland."

If you or anyone you know has been a victim of sexual assault, help is available. Visit the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network website or contact RAINN's National Helpline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673).

It's hard to deny the terrifying power of a killer clown, which is why Stephen King's novel "It" and its subsequent adaptations have been scaring kids for decades now. The most modern version of "It" stars Bill Skarsgard as Pennywise the Clown, who torments the kids of Derry, Maine. His reign of terror starts with young Georgie, who chases his brothers' sailboat down a storm drain where Pennywise happens to be just hanging out. This sets off a chain of events that involve Georgie's older brother Bill (Jaeden Martell) and his friends, known as The Losers' Club, who must band together to stop the ancient evil that threatens to consume their town.

With its mix of coming-of-age drama, nostalgia, and sheer horror, 2017's "It" proved that King's stories never really lose their appeal to audiences. "It" also scared up huge box office numbers for Warner Bros. and left us all a little more frightened of red balloons.

Long before he was directing R Patz in "The Batman," Matt Reeves directed an English-language remake of the cult Swedish vampire horror film, "Let The Right One In."

Simply titled "Let Me In," Reeves' version stars Kody Smit-McPhee as young Owen, a shy, bullied boy who befriends a new neighbor, Abby (Choe Grace Moretz), who has moved in next door with an older man. As murders in the neighborhood suddenly spike, it dawns on Owen that Abby might actually be a blood-sucking vampire. Young love sure can be complicated!

Now, the original film, which was based on a novel by Swedish author John Ajvide Lindqvist, is generally considered to be a horror classic. As far as remakes go, though, "Let Me In" is actually pretty good. Stephen King went so far as to call it "The best American horror film in the last 20 years."

Mike Flanagan is mentioned several times on our list for good reason: The writer-director has a lot of great horror works on Netflix. Following the success of his "Haunting" shows, Flanagan created another Gothic horror series, "Midnight Mass," a slow-burn chiller set in a dying fishing village on Crockett Island. In it, Riley Flynn (Zach Gilford) returns to his hometown after spending a few years in prison for drunk driving, only to find himself struggling to reintegrate into the devoutly Catholic community.

His arrival coincides with that of a mysterious young priest (Hamish Linklater), and soon a series of strange events, both miraculous and ominous, occurs. The situation escalates as the townsfolks' secrets are revealed and the community finds themselves divided. While it's broken into seven book-style chapters, the limited series is inherently cinematic; it's a cliche, but you really can treat this one like a really long movie. It also stars some regulars from Flanagan's other projects, including Kate Siegel, Rahul Kohli, and Annabeth Gish.

Designer Tom Ford's Hitchcockian neo-noir thriller "Nocturnal Animals" may not be the first film that comes to mind when one thinks of "horror," but it's certainly dark and disturbing.

Amy Adams stars as Susan, a wealthy married art gallery owner whose emotionally unavailable husband (Armie Hammer) is always on the road. When her estranged ex-husband Edward (Jake Gyllenhaal) sends her a copy of his latest manuscript, she becomes drawn into the disturbing storyline in which the protagonist's wife and daughter are violently murdered.

Michael Shannon, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, and Isla Fisher also star in this stylish, twisty, and well-acted mystery. "Nocturnal Animals" was nominated for nine BAFTAs, while Shannon was nominated for an Academy Award for his intense performance.

To say that "The Perfection" is a movie that received mixed reactions is to undersell the situation a bit. To be frank, it's a film that one could either love or hate, but it is likely to generate some form of a reaction either way, just by the nature of its wild plot and head-spinning twists and turns.

The psychological horror-thriller follows Charlotte Willmore (Allison Williams), a talented cellist who is forced to leave a prestigious music academy, only to return later and find a new star pupil, Elizabeth "Lizzie" Wells (Logan Browning), has taken her place. The two are at first drawn to one another, and end up on a trip through rural China, where Lizzie ends up — oh, you know what? You should just watch it and find out the wackily sinister secrets of "The Perfection" for yourself.

Before French director Julia Ducornau made waves by winning the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival for her much talked about "Titane," she made another horror film that shocked festival audiences with its squirm-inducing scenes.

"Raw" can best be described as a coming-of-age cannibal film. Its main character, a vegetarian named Justine (Garance Marillier), experiences strange urges after being forced to eat rabbit kidneys while attending veterinary school. She begins to crave meat, including of the human variety; her fixation only intensifies over time.

It's been reported that when "Raw" screened for festival-goers at the Toronto International Film Fes, audience members actually passed out and required medical attention due to the graphic nature of some of the scenes — so, viewers beware. This one isn't for the faint of heart.

If you like your horror to be of the action-packed, early 2000s, guitar-riffing, Milla Jovovich-roundhousing-off-a-wall-to-kick-a-zombie-dog-in-the-face variety, then "Resident Evil" is for you.

Based on the popular survival horror game, "Resident Evil" is the first film in what would become a billion-dollar movie franchise. Jovovich stars here as Alice, an amnesiac from Raccoon City who, along with Rain Ocampo (Michelle Rodriguez), leads a commando team into an underground facility known as "The Hive." There, they must fight off zombies (and zombie dogs) infected by a genetically-engineered virus while trying to outsmart a supercomputer known as the Red Queen. If they fail to shut down the AI in three hours, the virus could escape, putting the whole world at risk. Despite a relatively low Rotten Tomatoes score, "Resident Evil" is a pulpy, pulse-pounding good time, and one of the better video game adaptations.

Listen, any movie that has a number in place of a letter in its title is at least a little cool, and "Scre4m" is no exception. The fourth installment in "Scream" film series, "Scre4m" reunites director Wes Craven with screenwriter Kevin Williamson to continue their Woodsboro-based meta-rific slasher fun. Considering that this is the only "Scream" installment on Netflix" it's certainly worthy of a spot on this list.

Set on the 15th anniversary of the original Woodsboro murders, "Scre4m" sees Ghostface once again pop out of the woodwork to murder some high school students. This time, however, Sidney Prescott (Neve Campbell), who's in town to promote her new self-help book, becomes the main suspect.

Original "Scream" cast members Courtney Cox and David Arquette also return as the now-married Gale Weathers and Sheriff Dewey Riley, and they're joined by franchise newcomers Emma Roberts, Hayden Panettiere, and Rory Culkin.

Filmmaking duo Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead recently directed episodes of Marvel's "Moon Knight" series, but for years prior to that the pair were cranking out mind-bending sci-fi and horror films on a low budget for a dedicated fan base. "Synchronic" was a step up for the duo in terms of budget, and their first step in a slightly more commercial direction.

Anthony Mackie and Jamie Dornan star as Steve and Dennis, two New Orleans-based paramedics who have been called to an increasing number of cases involving bizarre and gruesome accidents and deaths tied to a designer drug called Synchronic. After Dennis' daughter goes missing, they learn that the drug can send people back in time, and that anything that happens to them in the past happens in the present as well.

"Synchronic" is a trippy, otherworldly, genre-blending film that continues to highlight Benson and Moorehead's scrappy, innovative abilities. Bloody Disgusting called it a "must watch."

If you've ever found yourself complaining that not enough horror movies are actually scary, look no further than Iranian writer-director Babak Anvari's eerie "Under The Shadow" (2016). This slow-burn chiller effectively blends social and political themes with supernatural frights, and while it takes its time building up the story, the end result is spooky as heck.

Set in war-torn Tehran in the '80s, the film follows Shideh (Narges Rashidi), a former medical student and mother who opts to stay in the city with her daughter Dorsa even though shelling in the area has intensified. A missile hits their building (though doesn't detonate), which coincides with the arrival of a djinn, a supernatural demon of sorts that travels on the wind. Left alone in the empty building with her daughter, they must face this terrifying entity on their own.

Critics have compared "Under The Shadow" to movies like "The Babadook" and "Repulsion." It won a BAFTA for outstanding debut. and was nominated for outstanding British film of the year.

What's scarier, vampires or gentrification? Director Oz Rodriguez's socially conscious horror-comedy "Vampires vs. the Bronx" cleverly highlights the terrors of both.

Three young friends from the Bronx, Miguel Martinez (Jaden Michael), Bobby Carter (Gerald W. Jones III), and Luis Acosta (Gregory Diaz IV), must face off against a group of murderous vampires who have been using a real estate company, Murnau Properties, as cover while taking over the neighborhood. Using their investigative hats and the skills they learned while watching the movie "Blade," the boys give it their all to save their lives and the neighborhood they love while kicking some serious vampire butt. The end result is an adventure that's equal parts charming, scary, and fun.

Maybe you've already seen the Tim Burton-helmed ratings sensation "Wednesday," especially considering it's one of Netflix's most-watched shows ever. But we'd be remiss not to include the morbidly morose, Addams Family-inspired series on our Netflix horror list. It's not a film, but it is one of the most popular horror offerings on the streamer.

A perfectly deadpan Jenna Ortega plays the title character, who is shipped off to the Nevermore Academy boarding school by her parents Morticia and Gomez (Catherine Zeta-Jones and Luis Guzman), where she attempts to solve a local murder mystery that spans 25 years while learning to harness her newfound psychic abilities.

With lavish production design, great characters and acting across the board, and a now-famously viral goth dance scene choreographed by Ortega herself, "Wednesday" is a deliciously dark delight for fans of the strange and unusual. Thankfully, they won't have to wait long for more, as the series has already been greenlit for a second season.

If you like horror movies about creepy witches, then "The Wretched" might be up your alley. Really, the film could have just as easily been titled, "The Witch Next Door," as it concerns a teen boy named Ben (John-Paul Howard) who becomes suspicious of the woman next door, Abbie (Zarah Mahler), after he moves in with his father while his parents are getting a divorce.

There's just something about Abbie that seems a little off, like the fact that her own son is terrified of her, and that her body seems a little, uh ... decayed? In any case, "The Wretched" is not a bad little horror film. As a fun aside, it was number one at the box office for a hot minute when it was released during the pandemic with little competition via a smartly conceived drive-in roll out by IFC Midnight.