Best Current Streaming Movies
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As Netflix pours more of its resources into original content, Amazon Prime Video is picking up the slack, adding new movies for its subscribers each month. Its catalog has grown so impressive, in fact, that it’s a bit overwhelming — and at the same time, movies that are included with a Prime subscription regularly change status, becoming available only for rental or purchase. It’s a lot to sift through, so we’ve plucked out 100 of the absolute best movies included with a Prime subscription right now, to be updated as new information is made available.
- Dec 14, 2018 - ondering what the best movies on Amazon Prime are? These are the best Amazon Prime movies available this month. Get to streaming.
- Shopping guide for best streaming devices. If you want to do more than watch TV and movies, you need to have a box. Due to the complicated nature of broadcasting rights and ratings, a lot of current television episodes are shown on streaming services a day after they air. Apple TV and Roku have the best access to channel-specific.
Frances McDormand won her first Oscar for her unforgettable performance in this indie smash from Joel and Ethan Coen (“at their clever best,” per our critic). McDormand takes what could have been a caricature — Marge Gunderson, the very pregnant Minnesota police chief with a cheerful Midwestern disposition — and turns it into one of the warmest characters of the entire Coen canon: She deftly conveys not only Marge’s sense of “Minnesota nice,” but her sharp investigative skills and keen instincts for the nuances of human nature.
‘First Reformed’ (2018)
Ethan Hawke creates one of his finest performances as Father Toller, a country priest with a small parish in upstate New York, in this critically acclaimed drama. Paul Schrader, the writer and director, continues to explore the themes of earlier works like “Taxi Driver” and “Hardcore” while simultaneously seizing on the austerity of Toller’s world: The film is quiet and contemplative, which makes its apocalyptic, shattering conclusion all the more impactful. Our critic called it “rigorously conceived and meticulously executed.” (Also recommended: the small but powerful indie dramas “The Virgin Suicides” and “We Need to Talk About Kevin.”)
George Clooney turns in one of his most nuanced performances in this sharp and affecting comedy-drama from the writer and director Jason Reitman (“Juno”). Clooney uses his movie-star good looks and charisma in service of the supremely confident Ryan Bingham, a man who specializes in being the corporate bad guy (he is brought in to handle the layoffs), but whose confidence slowly deteriorates; Anna Kendrick is pitch-perfect as the young woman who is seeking to streamline their profession, and consequently put him out of a job. Our Manohla Dargis praised this “laugh-infused stealth tragedy.”
Two jazz musicians (Jack Lemmon and Tony Curtis) disguise themselves in drag to escape some gangsters, but one of them falls for a seductive singer (Marilyn Monroe, in one of her best performances), while the other becomes the object of a millionaire’s desire. Both uproariously funny and tight as a drum, “Some Like It Hot” works through every complication of its farcical set-up, landing not only on a picture-perfect conclusion but also on one of the best closing lines in all of cinema. Our critic dubbed it “a rare, rib-tickling lampoon.” (Wilder and Lemmon re-teamed the next year for the marvelous “The Apartment” and again in 1966 for “The Fortune Cookie”; both are also on Prime.)
The three-decade journey of the psychedelic rock band the Grateful Dead is brought to vivid life in this six-part, four-hour documentary from director Amir Bar-Lev (“The Tillman Story”). And while the archival materials and rarities will please Deadheads, the film has even more to offer to casual admirers and even newcomers, who will come away with a better understanding of what made this band (and the misfits they attracted) so special. Our critic called it “ambitiously assembled and elegantly directed.” (Music-minded documentary fans will also want to check out the peerless concert docs “Stop Making Sense” and “The Last Waltz.”)
‘The Accused’ (1988)
Jodie Foster won her first Academy Award for her forceful turn as a rape victim in this brutal but essential drama. It’s a hard film to watch, particularly in its relentless dramatizations of the assault, and yet it is not without hope or catharsis, and it prompts fascinating (and still very poignant) questions about responsibility, harassment and victim blaming. Foster’s performance is still a stunner: Detailed and grounded, her character refuses to pander for sympathy or “likability.” Our critic deemed it “a consistently engrossing melodrama.” (For more Oscar-winning drama, check out “Ordinary People.”)
The director Frank Capra and the actor Jimmy Stewart took a marvelously simple premise — a suicidal man is given the opportunity to see what his world would have been like without him — and turned it into a holiday perennial. But “It’s a Wonderful Life” is too rich and complex to brand with a label as simple as “Christmas movie”; it is ultimately a story about overcoming darkness and finding light around you, a tricky transition achieved primarily through the peerless work of Stewart as a good man with big dreams who can’t walk away from the place where he’s needed most. Our critic dubbed it a “quaint and engaging modern parable.”
‘Witness’ (1985)
Harrison Ford stars as John Book, a Philadelphia police detective investigating a murder whose only witness is a young Amish boy, so he follows the boy and his mother (Kelly McGillis) back to their insular community to protect them. The director Peter Weir (“Picnic at Hanging Rock,” “Dead Poets Society”) deftly intermingles this suspenseful mystery story with an affecting human drama, in which Book finds himself drawn not only to the small Amish town but also to the young mother — which raises the stakes considerably. (For another look at off-the-grid living, try “Leave No Trace” on Prime.)
Roman Polanski’s brings a 1970s sensibility to a classic 1940s private eye movie, and explores the tension between those two eras — between what we were traditionally shown and the sex, drugs and moral rot that production codes kept off-screen. Jack Nicholson crafts one of his finest performances as J.J. Gittes, a laid-back Los Angeles gumshoe who gets in way over his head, while Faye Dunaway takes the conventions of the slinky femme fatale and turns them into a portrait of genuine pain and abuse. A.O. Scott says the film “pushes beyond the conventions of the genre.” (The stark, disturbing Dunaway vehicle “Eyes of Laura Mars” is also currently streaming on Prime, as is another terrific ‘70s action flick, “The Taking of Pelham 123.”)
‘Movie Movie’ (1978)
Nearly 30 years before Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez’s “Grindhouse,” the director Stanley Donen and the screenwriter Larry Gelbart perfected the fake double-feature with this affectionate send-up of classic Hollywood. “Movie Movie” gives us two films for the price of one, a black-and-white boxing melodrama and a color musical spectacular (with a fake trailer for a World War II flying-ace picture between them), with shared casts including George C. Scott, Trish Van Devere, Red Buttons and Eli Wallach. Our critic called it “Hollywood flimflamming at its elegant best.”
In profiling leaders of the Indonesian death squads of the mid-1960s, documentarian Joshua Oppenheimer invites them to stage elaborate and surreal recreations of their crimes in the cinematic style of their choosing (musical, gangster, Western, etc.). In doing so, Oppenheimer directs his subjects to craft an upsetting but telling statement on self-deception and the toxicity of power, and on the lies we tell ourselves in order to sleep at night. Our critic deemed it “dogged, inventive, profoundly upsetting and dismayingly funny.”
Greta Gerwig made her solo feature directorial debut with this funny and piercing coming-of-age story, set in her hometown, Sacramento, Calif. Saoirse Ronan dazzles in the titular role as a quietly rebellious high-school senior whose quests for love and popularity bring her long-simmering resentments toward her mother (Laurie Metcalf, magnificent) to a boil. Parent-child conflicts are nothing new in teen stories, but Gerwig’s perceptive screenplay slashes through the familiar types and tropes, daring to create characters that are complicated and flawed, yet deeply sympathetic. A.O. Scott praised the film’s “freshness and surprise.” (We also recommend “The Squid and the Whale,” another witty coming-of-age comedy/drama, from Gerwig’s frequent collaborator Noah Baumbach.)
When people say, “They don’t make’ em like they used to,” this is the kind of movie they’re usually talking about: a sparkling literary adaptation, handsomely mounted and elegantly acted by an all-star cast (including Sean Connery, Lauren Bacall, John Gielgud, Anthony Perkins, Vanessa Redgrave and Ingrid Bergman, who won an Oscar for her role). Albert Finney stars as Agatha Christie’s Hercule Poirot, who is called upon to figure out which passenger on the title train killed a man whom, it seems, they all had a motive to murder. Our critic called it “superb fun.” (Lumet’s first film, “12 Angry Men,” is also on Prime.)
The director of “Tangerine,” Sean Baker, returns with another warm and funny portrait of life on the fringes, melding a cast of nonactors and newcomers with an Oscar-nominated Willem Dafoe as the manager of a cheap Orlando motel populated by confused tourists and barely-managing families. The script (by Baker and Chris Bergoch) captures, with startling verisimilitude, the anxieties of living paycheck-to-paycheck (particularly when the next paycheck’s very existence is uncertain) while also borrowing the devil-may-care playfulness of the children at the story’s center. Our critic called it “risky and revelatory.” (Fans of unpredictable indie fare may also enjoy “You Were Never Really Here.”)
The 2017 Academy Award winner for best picture, this triptych about a young, gay African-American man’s coming of age in Miami is a quietly revelatory piece of work, exploring and challenging modern perceptions of masculinity, family, power and love. Director Barry Jenkins (adapting a play by Tarell Alvin McCraney) creates a world so dense with detail and rich with humanity that every character gets a chance to shine; the themes and ideas are all above board, but conveyed with subtlety and understatement. Our critic described it as “a poem written in light, music and vivid human faces.” (“Eighth Grade” and “It Felt Like Love” are similarly complicated coming-of-age stories on Prime.)
‘Raging Bull’ (1980)
Robert De Niro won his second Academy Award for his fiercely physical and psychologically punishing performance in this searing adaptation of the autobiography of the middleweight champion Jake LaMotta. It’s a relentlessly downbeat piece of work, but the force of De Niro’s performance and the energy of Martin Scorsese’s direction are hard to overstate, or to forget. Our critic called it Scorsese’s “most ambitious film as well as his finest.” (De Niro and Scorsese’s later collaboration “The King of Comedy” is also on Prime.)
‘Night of the Living Dead’ (1968)
An unexplained and unstoppable zombie uprising forces a group of strangers to join forces for a common goal in this 1968 horror classic from director George A. Romero. In the half-century since its release, it’s been justifiably praised for its pseudo-documentary, newsreel aesthetic, as well as the adjacent social commentary and political subtext (particularly with regards to its African-American lead, and the unexpected payoff of its grim final scene). But it also remains, after all these years, scary as hell. (If you’re looking for a newer chiller, try out “Hereditary.”)
This classic 1952 Western from the director Fred Zinnemann is best remembered for its innovative construction, in which a small-town marshal’s looming standoff with a revenge-seeking outlaw is dramatized in real time. The film was widely read as an allegory for the film industry blacklists of the era — the screenwriter Carl Foreman was deemed an “uncooperative witness” by the House Un-American Activities Committee. But “High Noon” also cleared an important path for the future of the Western, replacing the usual genre high jinks with thoughtful explorations of masculinity and violence; our critic called it “a Western of rare achievement.” (Western lovers may enjoy the John Wayne classic “Red River.”)
South Korean master Park Chan-wook (“Oldboy”) takes the stylistic trappings of a period romance and gooses them with scorching eroticism and one of the most ingenious con-artist plots this side of “The Sting.” Working from the Sarah Waters novel “Fingersmith,” Park begins with the story of a young woman who, as part of a seemingly straightforward swindle, goes to work as a Japanese heiress’s handmaiden, occasionally pausing the plot to slyly reveal new information, reframing what we’ve seen and where we think he might go next. Adobe after effects serial key. Manohla Dargis dubbed it an “amusingly slippery entertainment.” (For a more classically flavored story of women on the take, try “Love & Friendship.”)
Directed by Howard Hawks, this 1940 film wasn’t the first cinematic adaptation of the popular play “The Front Page,” but it cooked up a twist the 1931 version hadn’t: What if Hildy Johnson, the superstar reporter whom the ruthless editor Walter Burns will keep on his staff at any cost, wasn’t his drinking buddy but his ex-wife? It’s a movie that talks fast and moves faster, and the passage of nearly 80 years hasn’t slowed it down a bit. Our critic called it “a bold-faced reprint of what was once—and still remains—the maddest newspaper comedy of our times.” (For more classic romance, check out “Royal Wedding,” “My Man Godfrey,” or “Born Yesterday.”)
Reeling from the costly disaster of his ill-fated “Dune” adaptation, director David Lynch retreated to his roots— a low-budget independent production, based on nothing more than the odd notions rattling around his own head — and came up with a masterpiece. This twisted mystery thriller follows a naïve young man (Lynch’s frequent lead, Kyle MacLachlan) as he peers under the rocks of his seemingly idyllic small town and discovers the monsters scurrying beneath. Our critic deemed it “as fascinating as it is freakish.”
Three years after reinventing the crime movie with “Bonnie and Clyde,” director Arthur Penn worked similar magic on the Western, adapting Thomas Berger’s novel about a very old man (Dustin Hoffman) who tells the tale of his exploits in the Old West, where he was raised by Native Americans. The film’s attitudes toward indigenous people were boldy progressive at the time of its release, in 1970, coming as it did during a period when most Westerns still teemed with racist images of “merciless Indian savages.” (Source: The Declaration of Independence.) Our critic called it a “tough testament to the contrariness of the American experience.” (Hoffman admirers will also want to seek out “Rain Man.”)
Between the first two “Godfather” epics, Francis Ford Coppola wrote and directed this modest character study, in which a proudly impersonal surveillance expert (Gene Hackman) becomes unexpectedly invested in the subjects of his work and then decides he must step in to save their lives. Like its protagonist, “The Conversation” is most riveting in its quietest moments, though its bold opening sequence — in which Caul attempts to eavesdrop on a whispered conversation in a crowded park — is both brilliant filmmaking and a riveting snapshot of Watergate-era America. Our critic praised Hackman’s “superb performance.” (Like paranoid thrillers? Try “The Game,” “WarGames” or “Primal Fear.”)
Asghar Farhadi writes and directs this lucid and contemplative morality play, in which a married couple must grapple with the fallout of an assault on the wife in their home, particularly when the husband’s desire for vengeance surpasses her own. Farhadi’s brilliance at capturing the complexities of his native Iran’s culture is as astonishing as ever — particularly when coupled with insights into victimhood, justice, poverty and intimacy that know no borders. A.O. Scott praised the picture’s “rich and resonant ideas.” (Foreign film fans may also enjoy “Cold War” and “Embrace of the Serpent.”)
Martin Scorsese is best known for kinetic gangster movies like “Goodfellas,” “The Departed,” and “Casino,” but sometimes another Scorsese surfaces, the director of quiet, austere meditations on religious faith like “The Last Temptation of Christ,” “Kundun” and this 2016 adaptation of the novel by Shusaku Endo. Scorsese sheds his customary stylistic flourishes and explores the central theological problem with humble solemnity, resulting in one of his riskiest films, and one of his most rewarding. Our critic praised its “haunting tableaus and performances.” (Scorsese’s “Hugo” is also on Prime.)
Robin Williams and Nathan Lane are warm, winning and hilarious in this clever riff on the classic French comedy “La Cage Aux Folles.” The screenwriter Elaine May and the director Mike Nichols smoothly reconfigure the material for the Clinton-era culture wars — our critic praised its “giddy ingenuity” — building the kind of farce in which each half-truth and outright deception leads to another, creating a house of cards that grows funnier and more precarious the higher it climbs. (Younger Williams fans will want to add “Jumanji” to their lists.)
‘I Am Not Your Negro’ (2017)
This stunning documentary concerns the life and writings of James Baldwin, but it’s less focused on tracing the arc of its subject’s life than on the potency of his words. Director Raoul Peck uses as his framework the notes of Baldwin’s unfinished book “Remember This House,” in which Baldwin was attempting to reckon with the legacies of Martin Luther King, Malcolm X and Medgar Evers; guided by Baldwin’s passages, Peck constructs an urgent and audacious essay about our past and our present. Our critic called it “a concise, roughly 90-minute movie with the scope and impact of a 10-hour mini-series.” (Documentary lovers should also seek out “Stories We Tell” and “Nuts!”)
One of the most enduring images of the great Buster Keaton comes from this 1928 classic, in which a clueless Keaton, wandering the streets of his hometown during a cyclone, pauses for a moment in front of a building — which collapses around him, his life saved only by his accidental position in the landing place of an open window. Our critic called it “one of the most astonishing sight gags ever filmed,” and good news: The rest of the movie is wonderful too. (For more of Mr. Keaton, stream “College” on Prime.)
This vibrant and playful 2017 exploration of the life of Emily Dickinson comes from the fertile mind of the great British writer and director Terence Davies (“The Deep Blue Sea”), who so frequently and masterfully unearths the raw desires and emotional truths of the periods he explores. This time, he has the good fortune of partnering up with Cynthia Nixon in the leading role; she adroitly dramatizes Dickinson’s journey, emphasizing the humor and happiness of her earlier years, and how that joy gradually dissipated. “Though ‘A Quiet Passion’ is small,” our critic wrote, “it contains multitudes.”
Joel and Ethan Coen’s story of a struggling folk singer in Greenwich Village in 1961 cheerfully intertwines fact and fiction; they faithfully reproduce that period, and incorporate many of its key figures into a week in the life of the title character (played by Oscar Isaac). But this is not just a museum piece, or a “music movie.” It’s about the feeling of knowing that success is overdue, and yet may never arrive. A.O. Scott called it an “intoxicating ramble.” (For a more traditional musical drama, check out “Fiddler on the Roof.”)
Kenneth Lonergan makes films about people in turmoil, roiled by bottomless sadness, dysfunction and guilt. Casey Affleck won an Oscar for his nuanced portrayal of Lee Chandler, a Boston plumber who, for all practical purposes, is broken; Lucas Hedges is prickly and funny as the nephew who needs him to put himself together again. Keenly observed, emotionally fraught and surprisingly funny, it’s a tear-jerker in the best sense, never stooping to cheap manipulation. Our critic called it “a finely shaded portrait.” (For more indie drama, try “Mystic Pizza” and “Big Night.”)
Meryl Streep won her second Oscar for this elegiac adaptation of the William Styron novel, directed by Alan J. Pakula (“All the President’s Men”). What begins as a folksy story of a would-be writer and his friendship with the couple upstairs grows into something far more traumatic, as the naïve, young Stingo (Peter MacNicol) discovers exactly what led Sophie (Streep), a Polish immigrant, to lose her two children before immigrating to the United States. Our critic wrote, “It's a film that casts a powerful, uninterrupted spell.” (For a somewhat lighter literary adaptation, queue up “Wonder Boys.”)
“Fences,” August Wilson’s Pulitzer Prize-winning play about an African-American family’s struggles in 1950s Pittsburgh, was first performed on Broadway in 1987; after Denzel Washington starred in its 2010 revival, he retained much of the original cast for this film adaptation, which he directed himself. The familiarity with the material and the cast’s familiarity with one another is clear: The characters have the offhand intimacy of family and longtime friends, and the psychological minefields of Wilson’s text are navigated with subtle dexterity. Our critic called it “much more than a filmed reading.” (Washington also shines in Kenneth Branagh’s adaptation of Shakespeare’s “Much Ado About Nothing.”)
A young man’s coming of age becomes a group project when his single mother (Annette Bening) reaches out to their housemates and friends for help, resulting in a slightly more complicated education than she envisioned. This touching and personal dramedy from the writer-director Mike Mills (“Beginners”) deftly conveys the period without relying on caricature, and resists resorting to cheap villainy or soapboxing. Every character is brought to life with humor and sensitivity, and Bening’s work is among her very best. Manohla Dargis deemed it “a funny, emotionally piercing story.”
Nicolas Cage won — and earned — the Academy Award for best actor for his wrenching portrayal of a failed screenwriter who goes to Sin City to drink himself to death. Our critic called this moving indie drama “passionate and furiously alive.” Elisabeth Shue was nominated for an Oscar for her turn as a prostitute who falls into something like love with the suicidal writer, and it speaks to the richness of their performances and the texture of Mike Figgis’s direction that such a melodramatic narrative, populated by well-worn stock characters, has such emotional immediacy.
In 1989, the country was shocked by the sexual assault and near-death of a young white jogger in Central Park. Five black and Latino youths were quickly charged, tried, sentenced and imprisoned — until a serial rapist confessed over a decade later, his claim borne out by DNA evidence. This informative and infuriating documentary by Ken Burns, Sarah Burns and David McMahon meticulously details the charged atmosphere in which the five teenagers were accused and convicted, as well as the tremendous personal toll taken by this miscarriage of justice. Our critic called it “emotionally stirring.”
Michelle Pfeiffer finally found her star-making role in this deliriously enjoyable gangster comedy from the director Jonathan Demme (“The Silence of the Lambs”). She plays Angela de Marco, a Mob widow who finds herself caught between the crime family of her dead husband (Alec Baldwin) and the affable F.B.I. man (Matthew Modine) who wants her to work for him. Jazzily mounted and giddily funny, our critic called it “wildly overdecorated screwball farce.” (For more modern screwball fun, stream “The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert” or “Dirty Rotten Scoundrels” on Prime.)
Over the course of this wistful and lovely low-key dramedy from Jim Jarmusch, the bus-driving poet named Paterson (Adam Driver) does not seek success, discovery or even publication. That’s not why he writes — it’s about routine and release. Intoxicatingly lived-in, “Paterson” is a valentine to all of those who create art not to make a living, but to sustain their souls in the meantime. Our critic praised its “visual precision and emotional restraint.”
Set at a group home for troubled teens, this 2013 indie drama from director Destin Daniel Cretton casts aside the after school-special conventions typical of such stories and digs out the dramatic truths buried within. Cretton offsets the inherently downbeat subject matter with an exuberant directorial hand and coaxes gutsy performances from his ace cast, including “before they were stars” turns by Brie Larson, Lakeith Stanfield, Stephanie Beatriz and Rami Malek. Our critic noted, “Mr. Cretton manages to earn your tears honestly.” (Admirers of indie coming-of-age dramas should also check out “Mud” and “Precious.”)
Charles Chaplin’s first feature-length comedy — “six reels of joy,” according to the original advertisements — was informed by his suspicion that audiences would grow restless if subjected to an hour-plus of gags and slapstick. So he went all-in on pathos, creating a story in which his iconic Little Tramp character discovers an abandoned baby, raises the child as his own and must then summon all his ingenuity to keep their makeshift family intact. Even this first time out, Chaplin juggles the seemingly incongruent tones with ease. Our critic praised Chaplin’s “inimitable pantomime.” (Silent movie fanatics will also want to stream the Amazon original “Wonderstruck.”)
Emily V. Gordon and Kumail Nanjiani based their first screenplay on their own, unconventional love story — a courtship that was paused, then oddly amplified by an unexpected illness and a medically induced coma. This isn’t typical rom-com fodder, but it’s written and played with such honesty and heart that it somehow lands. Nanjiani and Zoe Kazan (standing in for Gordon) generate easy, lived-in chemistry and a rooting interest in the relationship, while a second-act appearance by Holly Hunter and Ray Romano as her parents creates a prickly tension that gives way to hard-won affection. Our critic deemed it “a joyous, generous-hearted romantic comedy.” (If you like your comedies with a dash of heartfelt drama, we recommend “Moonstruck.”)
As director of the “Ocean’s” trilogy, Steven Soderbergh honored the classic heist movie aesthetic: sleek, classy and star-studded. And then he set out to subvert all of those conventions with this working-class heist comedy, in which a minor character describes its central job as “Ocean’s 7-11.” The key players are familiar (the safecracker, the computer whiz, the sexy girl, the brains of the operation), but they’re done with salty fun and earthy humor. You’ll never say “cauliflower” the same way again. Our critic dubbed it “gravity-defying” and “ridiculously entertaining.” (Caper movie fans may also enjoy the somewhat grittier “A Simple Plan” and “Good Time.”)
‘The Blackcoat’s Daughter’ (2017)
Osgood Perkins — son of the “Psycho” star Anthony Perkins — writes and directs this unnerving and disturbing story of creepy goings-on at a near-empty girls’ boarding school. The performances (from Kiernan Shipka, Lucy Boynton, and Emma Roberts) are sharp and the scares are genuine, while Perkins’ orchestration of mood and atmosphere is chillingly effective. Our critic called it “perfectly acted and gorgeously filmed.”
Kevin Costner, Susan Sarandon and Tim Robbins were all propelled to the next level of stardom by this 1988 sleeper hit from the writer-director Ron Shelton, and it’s not hard to see why. It’s a laid-back charmer, endlessly funny and casually sexy, and it gives all of them the opportunity to do what they do best: it features Costner shooting straight, Sarandon smoldering, and Robbins playing an amiable goofball. Our critic praised its “spirit and sex appeal.”
Gene Hackman stars as Norman Dale, the Indiana high school basketball coach with a checkered past in this sleeper from David Anspaugh — an underdog sports story with the expected early setbacks and dramatic victories. What makes it special is Hackman, crafting the kind of performance that reveals nothing while also seeming to hide nothing; it’s only as we spend more time with the character that he reveals the goodness under his gruff exterior — and the darkness beyond that. Our critic called it “a small film, and a very admirable one.”
The original 1956 “Invasion of the Body Snatchers,” in which alien invaders implant themselves in humans and take on their form, was widely seen as an allegory for the Red Scare. This “dazzling remake,” as our critic described it, is updated and released from that context, but it found another in post-hippie, health-obsessed San Francisco. The stakes are lower, but the remake has a self-aware sense of humor and a decent proportion of gross-outs and jump-scares, as well as an ending that’s just as creepy as the original’s. (Fans of trippy thrillers will also enjoy “Always Shine” and “Dressed to Kill.”)
‘Night of the Hunter’ (1955)
The esteemed character actor Charles Laughton made his one and only trip behind the camera for this haunting small-town thriller. Robert Mitchum crafts a chilling, unforgettable performance as Harry Powell, a mysterious stranger who romances a widowed mother (a superb Shelley Winters) whose children seem to be the only ones capable of seeing the evil within him. Our critic called it “clever and exceptionally effective.” (Classic movie fans will also want to stream David Lean’s 1946 adaptation of “Great Expectations.”)
John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd kicked off the tradition of translating “Saturday Night Live” characters to the big screen with this outsized musical-action-comedy from the director John Landis (“Animal House”). The plot is old hat: The title characters try to put their old band back together in order to save their childhood orphanage. But it proves to be an ingenious clothesline upon which Aykroyd and Landis’s script can hang a serious of rousing musical numbers and car-crunching chase scenes. Our critic called those sequences “dazzling.” (For more irreverent musical comedy, check out “A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum.”)
The director John Schlesinger captures the sights and sounds (and practically the smells) of Times Square in the late 1960s with this absorbing winner of the Oscar for Best Picture — the first and only X-rated movie to capture that prize. Jon Voight was propelled to stardom by his charming performance as Joe Buck, a naïve Texas boy who comes to New York City with visions of rich women in his head; Dustin Hoffman created another memorable character as the street-wise native who shows him the ropes. (“I’m walkin’ here!”) Our critic called it “a moving experience that captures the quality of a time and a place.”
‘Demon’ (2016)
This Polish possession story from the writer and director Marcin Wrona opens on a note of uncertainty and dread and then holds it for 94 harrowing minutes. Wrona transforms the relatable fears of wedding day into something far more sinister, as our groom protagonist discovers horrifying skeletons in his new family’s closet (or, more accurately, its yard); the filmmaker offsets the considerable nightmare imagery and wild-eyed desperation with piercing moments of gallows humor, particularly in contemplating how “sensible people” might react to these events. Our critic praised its “light shivers” and “bluntly old-fashioned screen magic.”
From a guy named Freddy and a guy named Jason finally meeting up to Tim Burton's Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street to three Final Destinations to Spielberg's Jaws and beyond, there are a lot of good scary horror movies to choose from on Netflix in April..
Are you looking for the best horror movies streaming on Netflix right now? We've got you covered with our monthly updates on the best scariest new movies on Netflix.
It's as wild and as varied as a film genre gets -- from indie stories of terror to digital features of killing to high-brow masterpieces about evil -- and whatever the brand of horror you're in the mood for, there's something on the service for you. So let's take a look at the best scary new releases in horror to stream on Netflix right now, including many of the top recent horror films from 2018, 2017, 2016 and 2015, as well as many of the best, all-time greatest classics. We've picked splatter thrillers, terror-inducing nightmare fests, schlocky tales, blood-curdling flicks, and more. It's horror for fans of all kinds to watch, whether it's Halloween or not!
Oh, and when you're done here, be sure to also check out our list of the 100 Best Horror Movies Ever and what's new to Netflix this month.
A Good Movie On Netflix
rnGremlins is the sort of horror movie they just donu0027t make anymore. Itu0027s geared toward a slightly younger audience but features all the gore and frights youu0027d expect from an R-rated feature. Itu0027s basically the reason the MPAA created the PG-13 rating in the first place. Itu0027s also a movie that still maintains its charm even three decades later. Itu0027s funny. Itu0027s gross. Itu0027s dark. Itu0027s Gremlins.','height':675,'width':1200,'url':'https://assets1.ignimgs.com/2019/05/13/gremlins-1557788085419.jpg','styleUrl':'https://assets1.ignimgs.com/2019/05/13/gremlins-1557788085419_{size}.jpg','credit':','objectRelationName':','objectRelationUrl':','albumName':'The Best Horror Movies on Netflix','relativePosition':'02','albumTotalCount':22},{'caption':'ScreamrnrnWes Craven already staked a claim as one of the all-time great horror directors thanks to A Nightmare on Elm Street. It seems almost unfair that he got to reinvent the slasher genre all over again with Scream. This horror movie works on two levels. Itu0027s a genuinely frightening look at a group of teens being hounded by a mysterious, masked killer. But itu0027s also a sly, self-aware parody of the genre that pokes fun at Cravenu0027s own resume and other classics like Halloween and Friday the 13th.','height':900,'width':1600,'url':'https://assets1.ignimgs.com/2019/05/13/scream-1557788085447.jpg','styleUrl':'https://assets1.ignimgs.com/2019/05/13/scream-1557788085447_{size}.jpg','credit':','objectRelationName':','objectRelationUrl':','albumName':'The Best Horror Movies on Netflix','relativePosition':'03','albumTotalCount':22},{'caption':'Freddy vs. Jasonrn
rnThis 2003 slasher movie finally gave fans the pop culture mashup they had been waiting for ever since a Freddy Krueger/Jason Voorhees crossover was teased in 1993u0027s Jason Goes to Hell: The Final Friday. The result isnu0027t high art, but since when has anyone expected that from these two franchises? All that matters is that Freddy vs. Jason is a lot of fun. Its goofy, self-aware sense of humor pairs well with the copious amounts of gore. It also serves as a sort of last hurrah for both franchises before their eventual reboots. Frankly, nothing beats the originals.','height':674,'width':1200,'url':'https://assets1.ignimgs.com/2019/04/02/freddy-vs-jason-1554170875207.jpg','styleUrl':'https://assets1.ignimgs.com/2019/04/02/freddy-vs-jason-1554170875207_{size}.jpg','credit':','objectRelationName':','objectRelationUrl':','albumName':'The Best Horror Movies on Netflix','relativePosition':'04','albumTotalCount':22},{'caption':'The Silence of the Lambsrn
rnJonathan Demmeu0027s Oscar-winning film wasnu0027t the first time Thomas Harrisu0027 Hannibal Lecter made it to the big screen, but it was surely the best. The 1991 picture landed Academy Awards for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor (Anthony Hopkins), Best Actress (Jodie Foster), and Best Screenplay (Ted Tally), while also launching a franchise about the oh-so-suave cannibalistic genius. Of course, if you somehow havenu0027t seen The Silence of the Lambs yet, you must do that immediately on Netflix.. with some fava beans and a nice chianti.','height':827,'width':1471,'url':'https://assets1.ignimgs.com/2019/04/02/silence-of-the-lambs-1554225615799.jpg','styleUrl':'https://assets1.ignimgs.com/2019/04/02/silence-of-the-lambs-1554225615799_{size}.jpg','credit':','objectRelationName':','objectRelationUrl':','albumName':'The Best Horror Movies on Netflix','relativePosition':'05','albumTotalCount':22},{'caption':'Cult of Chuckyrn
rnThereu0027s a bit of Childu0027s Play/Chucky renaissance going on right now, with a reboot (featuring the voice of Mark Hamill as Chucky!) in the works, a TV series from franchise creator Don Mancini, and then the ongoing series of sequels to the original 1988 film about the killer doll. As we said in our review of Cult of Chucky, u0022Too many horror sequels feel like cheap and soulless cash ins. Cult of Chucky has big ideas, strong performances and some moments that rank among the best in the series. The other classic slasher franchises may be failing, but lately, Chucky is making entertaining horror sequels look like childu2019s play.u0022','height':720,'width':1280,'url':'https://assets1.ignimgs.com/2019/04/02/cult-of-chucky-1554225615812.jpg','styleUrl':'https://assets1.ignimgs.com/2019/04/02/cult-of-chucky-1554225615812_{size}.jpg','credit':','objectRelationName':','objectRelationUrl':','albumName':'The Best Horror Movies on Netflix','relativePosition':'06','albumTotalCount':22},{'caption':'Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Streetrn
rnSweeney Todd may just be the darkest collaboration between director Tim Burton and star Johnny Depp to date, and thatu0027s saying something. This adaptation of the Stephen Sondheim/Hugh Wheeler musical casts Depp as a Victorian-era barber returned to London with revenge in mind. Even if youu0027re not keen on the prospect of horror characters breaking into song, the gore, moody visuals and black sense of humor make this a musical well worth watching.','height':675,'width':1200,'url':'https://assets1.ignimgs.com/2019/04/02/sweeney-todd-1554170875215.jpg','styleUrl':'https://assets1.ignimgs.com/2019/04/02/sweeney-todd-1554170875215_{size}.jpg','credit':','objectRelationName':','objectRelationUrl':','albumName':'The Best Horror Movies on Netflix','relativePosition':'07','albumTotalCount':22},{'caption':'Final Destination 1-3rn
rnOne of the best modern horror franchises has three great installments on Netflix, all of them about people who narrowly avoid horrifying tragedies, only to be chased down by death itself because they were supposed to die. All of the Final Destination movies are breathtakingly elaborate murder machines, as u0022deathu0022 manipulates the world around these characters, trying to kill them by creating nearly impossible freak accidents. Ingenuity is the name of the game, and the first three Final Destination movies play it brilliantly!','height':720,'width':1280,'url':'https://assets1.ignimgs.com/2019/04/02/final-destination-3-1554170875206.jpg','styleUrl':'https://assets1.ignimgs.com/2019/04/02/final-destination-3-1554170875206_{size}.jpg','credit':','objectRelationName':','objectRelationUrl':','albumName':'The Best Horror Movies on Netflix','relativePosition':'08','albumTotalCount':22},{'caption':'Hostelrn
rnEli Rothu0027s best thriller, Hostel, is a vicious and mean-spirited trip to eastern Europe, where boorish and immature American tourists are kidnapped and used as fodder in the torture trade. These are the type of heroes youu0027d normally want to die in a low-budget horror movie, but Rothu0027s brutal violence and his lingering looks at their torment pushes Hostel beyond those familiar, mindless thrills and into the realm of the tragic and horrifying.','height':720,'width':1280,'url':'https://assets1.ignimgs.com/2019/04/02/hostel-1554170875210.jpg','styleUrl':'https://assets1.ignimgs.com/2019/04/02/hostel-1554170875210_{size}.jpg','credit':','objectRelationName':','objectRelationUrl':','albumName':'The Best Horror Movies on Netflix','relativePosition':'09','albumTotalCount':22},{'caption':'The Autopsy of Jane Doern
rnOne of the creepiest and most original horror movies in years, The Autopsy of Jane Doe stars Brian Cox and Emile Hirsch as a father-son team of morticians who are tasked with performing an autopsy on a mysterious corpse that turned up at an inexplicable crime scene. As they dissect the body they discover one impossible medical mystery after another, until they find - too late - that the horrors havenu0027t stopped now that u0022Jane Doeu0022 is dead. itu0027s suspenseful, fascinating, and scary as heck.','height':720,'width':1280,'url':'https://assets1.ignimgs.com/2019/04/02/the-autopsy-of-jane-doe-1554170875216.jpg','styleUrl':'https://assets1.ignimgs.com/2019/04/02/the-autopsy-of-jane-doe-1554170875216_{size}.jpg','credit':','objectRelationName':','objectRelationUrl':','albumName':'The Best Horror Movies on Netflix','relativePosition':10,'albumTotalCount':22},{'caption':'Panu0027s Labyrinthrn
rnGuillermo del Torou0027s Oscar-winning dark fairy tale tells the story of a young girl in early Francoist Spain, as she retreats into a world of horrifying magic to escape her fascist, violent new stepfather. Her world is so grim that even her imagination is tainted, and her childhood fantasy life more closely resembles a waking nightmare, filled with gruesome monsters and cruel temptations. Del Torou0027s film is haunting, earnest, and beautifully eerie.','height':720,'width':1280,'url':'https://assets1.ignimgs.com/2019/04/02/pans-labyrinth-1554170875213.jpg','styleUrl':'https://assets1.ignimgs.com/2019/04/02/pans-labyrinth-1554170875213_{size}.jpg','credit':','objectRelationName':','objectRelationUrl':','albumName':'The Best Horror Movies on Netflix','relativePosition':11,'albumTotalCount':22},{'caption':'My Bloody Valentinern
rnFor whatever reason there just arenu0027t a lot of great slasher movies on Netflix, but at least weu0027ve got Patrick Lussieru0027s splashy remake of My Bloody Valentine. Jensen Ackles (Supernatural) takes the lead here, as a serial killer in a mining uniform starts rampaging though a small town on Valentineu0027s Day. Lussier fills his film with bizarre sequences and fun characters, and although itu0027s probably not one of the best slasher movies ever made, it definitely scratches the itch to watch gory kills in the safety of your own home.','height':720,'width':1280,'url':'https://assets1.ignimgs.com/2019/04/02/my-bloody-valentine-1554170875212.jpg','styleUrl':'https://assets1.ignimgs.com/2019/04/02/my-bloody-valentine-1554170875212_{size}.jpg','credit':','objectRelationName':','objectRelationUrl':','albumName':'The Best Horror Movies on Netflix','relativePosition':12,'albumTotalCount':22},{'caption':'The Witchrn
rnA family thatu0027s too Puritan for 1630s colonial America, which was spectacularly Puritan, is forced to live on their own, on the outskirts of the world. Grief, deception, hypocrisy and religious paranoia take hold, and the family starts tearing each other apart. Robert Eggersu0027 instant, modern classic is a masterpiece of mood, and captures the historical era with immersive specificity. Youu0027ll feel like youu0027re trapped on this farm with these people, and going mad right alongside them.','height':720,'width':1280,'url':'https://assets1.ignimgs.com/2019/04/02/the-witch1-1554170875223.jpg','styleUrl':'https://assets1.ignimgs.com/2019/04/02/the-witch1-1554170875223_{size}.jpg','credit':','objectRelationName':','objectRelationUrl':','albumName':'The Best Horror Movies on Netflix','relativePosition':13,'albumTotalCount':22},{'caption':'The Boyrn
rnThis unexpected, creepy hit from 2016 stars Lauren Cohan (The Walking Dead) as a babysitter hired by eccentric millionaires to take care of their.. doll? At first she thinks itu0027s the easiest gig in the world, but she gradually begins to suspect that the doll is more alive than it appears. Spooky atmosphere and some very unexpected developments make The Boy a standout creepfest.','height':720,'width':1280,'url':'https://assets1.ignimgs.com/2019/04/02/the-boy-1554170875217.jpg','styleUrl':'https://assets1.ignimgs.com/2019/04/02/the-boy-1554170875217_{size}.jpg','credit':','objectRelationName':','objectRelationUrl':','albumName':'The Best Horror Movies on Netflix','relativePosition':14,'albumTotalCount':22},{'caption':'The Sixth Sensern
rnThe film that made M. Night Shyamalan a household name is just as creepy and effective as itu0027s ever been. Bruce Willis stars as a child psychologist whose latest patient is a young boy, played by Haley Joel Osment, who thinks he can see and talk to the dead. The scares are subtle and mysterious, but the real draw here is Willis and Osment, playing perfectly off of each other as huge realizations dawn on them, filling their respective lives with fear. And the ending is still a classic.','height':720,'width':1280,'url':'https://assets1.ignimgs.com/2019/04/02/the-sixth-sense-1554170875221.jpg','styleUrl':'https://assets1.ignimgs.com/2019/04/02/the-sixth-sense-1554170875221_{size}.jpg','credit':','objectRelationName':','objectRelationUrl':','albumName':'The Best Horror Movies on Netflix','relativePosition':15,'albumTotalCount':22},{'caption':'The Wailingrn
rnA bumbling cop investigates a series of mysterious deaths in his small town, and discovers that the real horror may be closer to home than he realizes. The Wailing sprints from genuine dread to broad horror comedy and back again, keeping you on your toes the whole time. Youu2019ll never know where exactly this movie is going, but youu2019ll be glad it went there.','height':720,'width':1280,'url':'https://assets1.ignimgs.com/2019/04/02/the-wailing-1554170875222.jpg','styleUrl':'https://assets1.ignimgs.com/2019/04/02/the-wailing-1554170875222_{size}.jpg','credit':','objectRelationName':','objectRelationUrl':','albumName':'The Best Horror Movies on Netflix','relativePosition':16,'albumTotalCount':22},{'caption':'The Conjuringrn
rnVera Farmiga and Patrick Wilson play supernatural investigators who take on a job protecting a large family from a malevolent presence. James Wan directs the hell out of The Conjuring, crafting memorable characters and scary set pieces that will make you jump right out of your seat, shrieking like nobodyu2019s business. Itu2019s as frightening as it is classy.','height':720,'width':1280,'url':'https://assets1.ignimgs.com/2019/04/02/the-conjuring-1554170875218.jpg','styleUrl':'https://assets1.ignimgs.com/2019/04/02/the-conjuring-1554170875218_{size}.jpg','credit':','objectRelationName':','objectRelationUrl':','albumName':'The Best Horror Movies on Netflix','relativePosition':17,'albumTotalCount':22},{'caption':'Geraldu0027s Gamern
rnCarla Gugino travels to an isolated cabin with her husband to spice up their marriage, but he dies while sheu2019s handcuffed to the bed, and now sheu2019s trapped, starving, and staring down a feral dog thatu2019s found its way into the house. Mike Flanaganu2019s impeccably constructed adaptation of the Stephen King novel is a suspenseful film, but also a bravura showcase for Guginou0027s incredible acting talents.','height':720,'width':1280,'url':'https://assets1.ignimgs.com/2019/04/02/geralds-game-1554170875209.jpg','styleUrl':'https://assets1.ignimgs.com/2019/04/02/geralds-game-1554170875209_{size}.jpg','credit':','objectRelationName':','objectRelationUrl':','albumName':'The Best Horror Movies on Netflix','relativePosition':18,'albumTotalCount':22},{'caption':'The Invitationrn
rnLogan Marshall-Green is invited to his ex-wifeu2019s house for a dinner party, but thereu2019s somethingu2026 off. He canu2019t quite put his finger on it but there are suspicious little details everywhere, and director Karyn Kusama skillfully keeps us on a knife edge the whole movie, wondering what the heck is really going on. The Invitation is a subtle horror thriller, but if you like a movie with a slow burn, and impressive psychological insight, itu2019s a must see.','height':720,'width':1280,'url':'https://assets1.ignimgs.com/2019/04/02/the-invitation-1554170875219.jpg','styleUrl':'https://assets1.ignimgs.com/2019/04/02/the-invitation-1554170875219_{size}.jpg','credit':','objectRelationName':','objectRelationUrl':','albumName':'The Best Horror Movies on Netflix','relativePosition':19,'albumTotalCount':22},{'caption':'Under the Shadowrn
rnA single Iranian mother is trapped in her apartment with her frustrating young child and, after a missile strikes her building, a demonic djinn which starts manipulating them. Babak Anvariu2019s eerie and emotionally charged horror movie takes on a greater significance when placed against the political backdrop of Iran in the 1980s, but whether youu2019re picking up on all the subtext or only watching Under the Shadow as a straight-up supernatural thriller, youu2019re going to be impressed.','height':720,'width':1280,'url':'https://assets1.ignimgs.com/2019/04/02/under-the-shadow-1554170875225.jpg','styleUrl':'https://assets1.ignimgs.com/2019/04/02/under-the-shadow-1554170875225_{size}.jpg','credit':','objectRelationName':','objectRelationUrl':','albumName':'The Best Horror Movies on Netflix','relativePosition':20,'albumTotalCount':22}]'>
Or follow these links for the best of other genres:
Not a Netflix subscriber or prefer Amazon? We went ahead and added some links for those, if that's your thing.
Please note: This list pertains to U.S. Netflix subscribers. Some titles may not currently be available on international platforms.
Best Horror Movies on Netflix Right Now
Gremlins
Gremlins is the sort of horror movie they just don't make anymore. It's geared toward a slightly younger audience but features all the gore and frights you'd expect from an R-rated feature. It's basically the reason the MPAA created the PG-13 rating in the first place. It's also a movie that still maintains its charm even three decades later. It's funny. It's gross. It's dark. It's Gremlins.
Scream
Wes Craven already staked a claim as one of the all-time great horror directors thanks to A Nightmare on Elm Street. It seems almost unfair that he got to reinvent the slasher genre all over again with Scream. This horror movie works on two levels. It's a genuinely frightening look at a group of teens being hounded by a mysterious, masked killer. But it's also a sly, self-aware parody of the genre that pokes fun at Craven's own resume and other classics like Halloween and Friday the 13th.
Freddy vs. Jason
This 2003 slasher movie finally gave fans the pop culture mashup they had been waiting for ever since a Freddy Krueger/Jason Voorhees crossover was teased in 1993's Jason Goes to Hell: The Final Friday. The result isn't high art, but since when has anyone expected that from these two franchises? All that matters is that Freddy vs. Jason is a lot of fun. Its goofy, self-aware sense of humor pairs well with the copious amounts of gore. It also serves as a sort of last hurrah for both franchises before their eventual reboots. Frankly, nothing beats the originals.
The Silence of the Lambs
Jonathan Demme's Oscar-winning film wasn't the first time Thomas Harris' Hannibal Lecter made it to the big screen, but it was surely the best. The 1991 picture landed Academy Awards for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor (Anthony Hopkins), Best Actress (Jodie Foster), and Best Screenplay (Ted Tally), while also launching a franchise about the oh-so-suave cannibalistic genius. Of course, if you somehow haven't seen The Silence of the Lambs yet, you must do that immediately on Netflix.. with some fava beans and a nice chianti.
Cult of Chucky
There's a bit of Child's Play/Chucky renaissance going on right now, with a reboot (featuring the voice of Mark Hamill as Chucky!) in the works, a TV series from franchise creator Don Mancini, and then the ongoing series of sequels to the original 1988 film about the killer doll. As we said in our Cult of Chucky review, 'Too many horror sequels feel like cheap and soulless cash ins. Cult of Chucky has big ideas, strong performances and some moments that rank among the best in the series. The other classic slasher franchises may be failing, but lately, Chucky is making entertaining horror sequels look like child’s play.'
Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street
Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street may just be the darkest collaboration between director Tim Burton and star Johnny Depp to date, and that's saying something. This adaptation of the Stephen Sondheim/Hugh Wheeler musical casts Depp as a Victorian-era barber returned to London with revenge in mind. Even if you're not keen on the prospect of horror characters breaking into song, the gore, moody visuals and black sense of humor make this a musical well worth watching.
Final Destination 1-3
Best Current Streaming Netflix Movies
One of the best modern horror franchises has three great installments on Netflix, all of them about people who narrowly avoid horrifying tragedies, only to be chased down by death itself because they were supposed to die. All of the Final Destination movies are breathtakingly elaborate murder machines, as 'death' manipulates the world around these characters, trying to kill them by creating nearly impossible freak accidents. Ingenuity is the name of the game, and the first three Final Destination movies play it brilliantly!
Hostel
Eli Roth's best thriller, Hostel, is a vicious and mean-spirited trip to eastern Europe, where boorish and immature American tourists are kidnapped and used as fodder in the torture trade. These are the type of heroes you'd normally want to die in a low-budget horror movie, but Roth's brutal violence and his lingering looks at their torment pushes Hostel beyond those familiar, mindless thrills and into the realm of the tragic and horrifying.
The Autopsy of Jane Doe
One of the creepiest and most original horror movies in years, The Autopsy of Jane Doe stars Brian Cox and Emile Hirsch as a father-son team of morticians who are tasked with performing an autopsy on a mysterious corpse that turned up at an inexplicable crime scene. As they dissect the body they discover one impossible medical mystery after another, until they find - too late - that the horrors haven't stopped now that 'Jane Doe' is dead. it's suspenseful, fascinating, and scary as heck.
Pan's Labyrinth
Guillermo del Toro's Oscar-winning dark fairy tale tells the story of a young girl in early Francoist Spain, as she retreats into a world of horrifying magic to escape her fascist, violent new stepfather. Her world is so grim that even her imagination is tainted, and her childhood fantasy life more closely resembles a waking nightmare, filled with gruesome monsters and cruel temptations. Pan’s Labyrinth is haunting, earnest, and beautifully eerie.
My Bloody Valentine
For whatever reason there just aren't a lot of great slasher movies on Netflix, but at least we've got Patrick Lussier's splashy remake of My Bloody Valentine. Jensen Ackles (Supernatural) takes the lead here, as a serial killer in a mining uniform starts rampaging though a small town on Valentine's Day. Lussier fills his film with bizarre sequences and fun characters, and although it's probably not one of the best slasher movies ever made, it definitely scratches the itch to watch gory kills in the safety of your own home.
The Witch
A family that's too Puritan for 1630s colonial America, which was spectacularly Puritan, is forced to live on their own, on the outskirts of the world. Grief, deception, hypocrisy and religious paranoia take hold, and the family starts tearing each other apart. Robert Eggers' instant, modern classic The Witch is a masterpiece of mood, and captures the historical era with immersive specificity. You'll feel like you're trapped on this farm with these people, and going mad right alongside them.
The Boy
This unexpected, creepy hit from 2016 stars Lauren Cohan (The Walking Dead) as a babysitter hired by eccentric millionaires to take care of their.. doll? At first she thinks it's the easiest gig in the world, but she gradually begins to suspect that the doll is more alive than it appears. Spooky atmosphere and some very unexpected developments make The Boy a standout creepfest.
The Sixth Sense
The Sixth Sense is the film that made M. Night Shyamalan a household name is just as creepy and effective as it's ever been. Bruce Willis stars as a child psychologist whose latest patient is a young boy, played by Haley Joel Osment, who thinks he can see and talk to the dead. The scares are subtle and mysterious, but the real draw here is Willis and Osment, playing perfectly off of each other as huge realizations dawn on them, filling their respective lives with fear. And the ending is still a classic.
The Wailing
A bumbling cop investigates a series of mysterious deaths in his small town, and discovers that the real horror may be closer to home than he realizes. The Wailing sprints from genuine dread to broad horror comedy and back again, keeping you on your toes the whole time. You’ll never know where exactly this movie is going, but you’ll be glad it went there.
The Conjuring
Vera Farmiga and Patrick Wilson play supernatural investigators who take on a job protecting a large family from a malevolent presence. James Wan directs the hell out of The Conjuring, crafting memorable characters and scary set pieces that will make you jump right out of your seat, shrieking like nobody’s business. It’s as frightening as it is classy.
Gerald's Game
Carla Gugino travels to an isolated cabin with her husband to spice up their marriage, but he dies while she’s handcuffed to the bed, and now she’s trapped, starving, and staring down a feral dog that’s found its way into the house. Mike Flanagan’s impeccably constructed adaptation of the Stephen King novel Gerald’s Game is a suspenseful film, but also a bravura showcase for Gugino's incredible acting talents.
The Invitation
Logan Marshall-Green is invited to his ex-wife’s house for a dinner party, but there’s something… off. He can’t quite put his finger on it but there are suspicious little details everywhere, and director Karyn Kusama skillfully keeps us on a knife edge the whole movie, wondering what the heck is really going on. The Invitation is a subtle horror thriller, but if you like a movie with a slow burn, and impressive psychological insight, it’s a must see.
Under the Shadow
A single Iranian mother is trapped in her apartment with her frustrating young child and, after a missile strikes her building, a demonic djinn which starts manipulating them. Babak Anvari’s eerie and emotionally charged horror movie takes on a greater significance when placed against the political backdrop of Iran in the 1980s, but whether you’re picking up on all the subtext or only watching Under the Shadow as a straight-up supernatural thriller, you’re going to be impressed.
Best Current Streaming Movies
Train to Busan
The zombie apocalypse has been unleashed in South Korea, and a group of total strangers are stuck on a speeding train when the outbreak starts. Sang-ho Yeon’s breathless horror-thriller figures out every possible way to make “zombies on a train” seem new and exciting, and builds a whole cast of characters you won’t want to watch get eaten, even though you know most of them will. Train to Busan is one of the most pulse-pounding zombie movies ever.
The Ritual
A group of friends are backpacking through the woods, but after spending the night in an abandoned cabin with a bizarre religious icon inside, they start to experience inexplicable phenomena. There are some familiar elements in David Bruckner’s The Ritual, but the film’s got a great cast and eventually leads to unusual, horrifying conclusions.
So there you have it: what to watch on Netflix right now in the world of horror movies. Check back here each month for new titles as Netflix adds them!
Note: This article is frequently amended to remove films no longer on Netflix, and to include more horror films that are now available on the service.