Top 10 Horror Movies on Netflix

By Connor Eyzaguirre and Austin Johnson

10.) Creep (2014)

"I love wolves. because they love deeply, but they don't know how to express it, and they're often very violent and, quite frankly, murder the things that they love, and inside of the wolf is this beautiful heart."

Creep and Creep 2 are two of the stranger horror films you can find on Netflix. The first one is a bit better in our opinion, but if you like it then definitely give the sequel a shot. It’s a sort of passion project that Patrick Brice and Mark Duplass wrote together, directed together, and acted together in. And it’s just them two in the film which is creepy in itself. Brice plays a young videographer named Aaron who answers an online ad for a one-day job for Duplass’s character, Josef. Aaron and Josef face off in an isolated house for an hour and twenty minutes of wacky found footage horror. Mark Duplass is extremely unsettling as Josef and the finale of Creep is unforgiving.

9.) Gerald's Game (2017)

“The people who were supposed to protect you from the
monsters turned out to be monsters themselves.”

Gerald's Game has always been one of Stephen King's most outlandish and distressing stories. The film adaptation and Netflix Original didn't get nearly enough attention, despite being a fantastic retelling of this insane story. It's so simple. Jessie Burlingame goes to a cabin in the woods with her husband Gerald, ends up handcuffed to the bed in a wild sex romp, and becomes trapped when her husband dies of a heart attack. The entire movie is built on the hope that Jessie will figure out a way to escape before she succumbs to exposure. Gerald's Game was director Mike Flanagan's first foray into the King realm, with his follow-up being the fantastic Doctor Sleep. With this film, Flanagan proved he was one of the best guys to adapt King's work.

8.) Insidious (2010)

"I don't avoid stressful situations. I'm just
dealing with them in my own fucking way."

We are massive fans of Leigh Whannell and James Wan here at Filmgazm. That’s the writer/director duo for Insidious, which is one of the better supernatural horror films of the past decade and sure fire entertainment. Netflix has all kinds of random horror films, but there’s not as many textbook supernatural films as you would think. Patrick Wilson has become an icon of the horror genre and his performance as Josh Lambert in Insidious is a big part of that. Rose Byrne plays his wife, Renai and let’s just say that there’s some family drama in this one.

7.) Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (2007)

"There was a barber and his wife, and she was beautiful. A foolish barber and his wife. She was his reason and his life, and she was beautiful. And she was virtuous. And he was..."

And the winner… is Todd! Tim Burton has been important to the fantasy/horror realm for quite some time now and it makes sense that he would be able to take a character that’s been around since the 1840’s and turn it into one of the coolest modern musicals. Johnny Depp delivers a terrific performance as Todd and Burton’s wife at the time, Helena Bonham Carter also gives us something special. The supporting performances from Alan Rickman, Timothy Spall, Sacha Baron Cohen, and Ed Sanders are all fantastic. Those dudes can fucking sing! Sweeney Todd is in a class of its own when it comes to horror options on Netflix and simply a must see.

6.) Cloverfield (2008)

"Okay, just to be clear here, our options are: die here, die in
the tunnels, or die in the streets. That pretty much it?"

Cloverfield breathed new life into the found footage subgenre and showed audiences just how far you could go with a handheld camera. Directed by Matt Reeves, written by Drew Goddard, and produced by J.J. Abrams, Cloverfield became popular mostly due to its brilliant marketing strategy. To this day, little hints are still dropped in random articles and videos about the franchise, giving fans the building blocks of what the hell was really going on in Cloverfield, 10 Cloverfield Lane, and The Cloverfield Paradox. But it started here, with a gigantic monster destroying New York City, and the group of friends trying to escape it. Seeing a monster movie from the perspective of the people fleeing the attack was a genius move, and this film remains a staple of the 2000's.

5.) The Invitation (2015)

"I'm so glad you're here. We have a lot to
talk about. So much to say tonight."

Karyn Kusama has a wide ranging filmography, but her psychological horror film from 2015, The Invitation, is her best. It’s a pretty anxious ridden film that involves some folks being sort of stuck in a house, so I don’t know if it’s the best to watch right now, but if you’re weird like us then definitely go down the rabbit hole of The Invitation. Logan Marshall-Green plays the main character named Will who accepts a dinner party invitation. The party is at his ex-wife’s house and it gets weird pretty quick but then it gets dark nice and slow. Will is the only one questioning what’s going on, which makes him seem paranoid but as the film unfolds, we are with him. Logan is fantastic, but the best performance comes from John Carroll Lynch as one of the party guests. The Invitation levels you with its wicked atmosphere and then stops your heart with its violence.

4.) The Evil Dead (1981)

"We're going to get you. We're going to get you.
Not another peep. Time to go to sleep."

The Evil Dead is the film that started the careers of Sam Raimi, Bruce Campbell, and the Coen Brothers. It's one of the most important horror films in cinema history, because it was produced on a super low budget, was hugely profitable, started a multimedia franchise, and inspired countless filmmakers to make their own "cabin in the woods" flicks. It's such a simple premise. A group of friends vacations at a cabin in the woods and accidentally awakens demonic spirits who possess and kill them one by one. The makeup still looks insane, the scares are fantastic, and the origin story of Ash "Hail to the King" Williams could not be better.

3.) The Wicker Man (1973)

"Come. It is time to keep your appointment with the Wicker Man."

The Wicker Man is a British horror film that is arguably the best film ever done about the power of cults. Man's beliefs can be a powerful evil, and if properly manipulated, they can make someone a god in their own way. Thus is the case with Christopher Lee's Lord Summerisle, one of his best villains. When Sgt. Howie, a great performances from Edward Woodward, goes to a Scottish island village to find a missing girl, he uncovers a community of pagans who worship the harvest, and deliver a human sacrifice to ensure a bountiful harvest. The ending is famous for being incredible shocking, even today, and it's a must-see for fans of psychological and believable horror.

2.) The Witch (2016)

"Wouldst thou like to live deliciously?"

There are few times I've been seriously unnerved at just the trailer of a movie. I remember distinctly seeing the trailer of The Witch, and it freaked me out. I had nightmares. I knew I needed to see this movie. And holy shit, the film did not disappoint. The Witch is one of the eeriest, most unsettling horror films ever made. It follows a puritan family in the 1600's who are exiled from their village and forced to make a home in the surrounding woods, only to be plagued by a witch living in the woods. The family slowly unravels as they are picked off and isolated, and the film's ending turns everything on its head. It's a brilliant debut from Robert Eggers, and with The Lighthouse, he's proven he's a talent who is here to stay.

1.) Rosemary's Baby (1968)

"God is dead! Satan lives!"

Roman Polanski is definitely one of the most controversial Hollywood figures of all time, but he’s made a few incredible films. We have talked about how hard it is to separate the man from the work many times on Filmgazm. We even dedicated an entire podcast episode to Polanski’s wild career. Rosemary’s Baby is simply too good to pass up or overlook because it’s just one of those horror films that somebody had to make. John Cassavettes and Mia Farrow play a couple named Guy and Rosemary Woodhouse. They move to an apartment in New York City where their lives literally turn into something from hell. Cassavettes and Farrow are both spectacular, but it’s Farrow who is really having to push herself as her character is pregnant with the devil's baby. Ruth Gordon also delivers a very strong performance as one of the neighbors in their new apartment. Rosemary’s Baby is always going to be a staple in the horror genre and it’s honestly just one of the best films on Netflix as a whole.