Best Horror Movies on Netflix Right Now (February 2023)

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Umma (2022)

Run Time: 1 hr 23 min | Director: Iris K. Shim

Cast: Sandra Oh, Fivel Stewart, Dermot Mulroney, Odeya Rush

As Grey’s Anatomy, The Chair, and Killing Eve has shown us, there’s truly nothing that Sandra Oh can’t do. She proves that yet again in Umma, where she plays Amanda – a Korean immigrant homeschooling her daughter Chrissy (Fivel Stewart) on a rural farm away from technology. Amanda is not only dealing with the stress of her Chrissy wanting to move away for college, but she’s also having flashbacks of her abusive childhood after receiving the ashes of her recently deceased mother – as well as a vicious spirit intent on inhabiting her body. The film offers up some supernatural scares, but the themes of generational trauma and identity are where the true terror lies. – Taylor Gates

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Choose or Die (2022)

Run Time: 1 hr 24 min |Director: Toby Meakins

Cast: Iola Evans, Asa Butterfield, Angela Griffin, Ryan Gage, Eddie Marsan, Kate Fleetwood, Pete MacHale

When Kayla (Iola Evans) discovers an old ‘80s computer game that comes with a yet-to-be-claimed $100,000 cash prize for anyone who beats it, her curiosity and family’s need for money drive her to give the game a try. However, the game is more than just a simple choose-your-own-adventure meets horror campaign. It has the ability to warp reality and force Kayla to make deadly decisions that affect people in real life. Forced to continue playing, Kayla and her friend Isaac (Asa Butterfield) try to find a way to stop the game for good — it is just code after all. But as they learn of the malevolent forces that went into the game’s conception, they realize that winning and staying alive may not be as easy as they think. Choose or Die feels both nostalgic and fresh, paying homage to classic video games while delivering a narrative that hasn’t been done to death. Its short 84-minute runtime is an asset, not a hindrance, allowing the movie to dive straight into the horror without unnecessary fluff dragging it down. Choose or Die is honestly a lot of fun and a great casual watch for horror buffs and novices alike! – Brynna Arens

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Ouija: Origin of Evil (2016)

Run Time: 1 hr 39 min | Director: Mike Flanagan

Cast: Elizabeth Reaser, Lulu Wilson, Annalise Basso, Henry Thomas

Mike Flanagan had already built a reputation as a rock-steady horror filmmaker by 2016, but the sense of “holy crap, this guy can do anything” became set in stone once he took on a prequel to a critically-derided movie about an evil ouija board and made one of the scariest movies of the last decade. Ouija: Origin of Evil takes us to the 1970s, where fake psychic Alice Zander (Elizabeth Reaser) and her two daughters, Lina (Annalise Basso) and Doris (Lulu Wilson), perform seances for paying customers in the wake of Alice’s husband dying. Doris, the youngest, spices up the act with the introduction of a ouija board, but the cursed item makes things all too real when it not only sends a dark spirit into the girl’s body but exposes the deep-seated evil ingrained in the Zander’s house. There is, to be very clear, absolutely no reason for Ouija: Origin of Evil to be good at all, so it’s a downright shock that it’s this horrifying and effective. And, because it’s Flanagan we’re talking about here, there’s also a potent dramatic heart beating underneath all those bumps in the night. –Vinnie Mancuso

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The Babysitter (2017)

Run Time: 1 hr 25 min | Director: McG

Cast: Samara Weaving, Robbie Amell, Bella Thorne

It’s a common trope: a little kid has a crush on their sexy teenage babysitter. But Netflix’s original flick The Babysitter turns that on its head, by making the hot babysitter also happen to be part of a Satanic cult. The cult – who has brought their ceremony into young Cole’s house – will stop at nothing to prevent Cole from spreading their secret. It’s not really a “scary” horror film; it’s more goofy, super gory, and a kind of throwback to the campy horror of the 1980s. – Alyse Wax

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It Follows (2014)

Run Time: 1 hr 40 min | Director: David Robert Mitchell

Cast: Maika Monroe, Keir Gilchrist, Daniel Zovatto, Jake Weary

This modern classic takes the old trope of girls getting slaughtered after a sexual encounter is turned on its head. Jay becomes haunted by a shadowy, supernatural figure after she has sex. Her partner finally explains that he passed it to her through their intercourse, making it the worst STD of all time. Jay must either pass off the ghost via sex with another man, or the demon will kill her and return to haunting the man who gave her the ghost. – Alyse Wax

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Fear Street Part One: 1994 (2021)

Run Time: 1 hr 45 min | Director: Leigh Janiak

Cast: Kiana Maderia, Olivia Scott Welch, Benjamin Flores Jr., Julia Rehwald, and Maya Hawke

The first installment of Netflix’s Fear Street trilogy of films is an absolute blast from start to finish. Very much drawing influence from Scream, this R-rated slasher takes place in the town of Shadyville, where people going back decades have a habit of going on violent killing sprees. Rumors swirl that it’s all to do with a witch’s curse from the 1600s (which is covered in the third movie), and in this 1994-set film a group of teenagers find themselves the target of a bevy of masked killers as the try to figure out what’s going on and how to survive it. At the center of the story is a queer romance that sets this apart from many other slashers of its ilk, and there’s enough comedic relief to keep this from being bogged down as a horror film of the self-serious type. Again the Scream comparisons are apt, so if you’re in for a spooky good time that also sets up a mythology that is concluded in the next two Fear Street movies, give Fear Street Part One: 1994 a whirl. – Adam Chitwood

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Fear Street Part 2: 1978 (2021)

Run Time: 1 hr 50 min | Director: Leigh Janiak

Cast: Sadie Sink, Emily Rudd, Ryan Simpkins, McCabe Slye, Ted Sutherland, Jordana Spiro, Gillian Jacobs, Chiara Aurelia, Jordyn DiNatale

It’s tempting to loop all of the Fear Street films into one entry because they’re such a satisfying (you might even say limited series-like) whole, but they’re also so stylistically distinct and uniquely effective, they’re worth singling out on their own. As for the second installment, 1978 takes audiences back to another Shadyside massacre, this time inspired by the summer camp horror trend of the 70s and 80s. Anchored around the story of two estranged sisters finding their way back to each other despite their differences, 1978 unleashes the Nightwing killer scene in the first film while investigating the story behind how he became a cursed mass murderer and deepening the established mythology and character work in the process.

I wouldn’t recommend watching them out of order on your first watch but if you’re looking to head back into fear Street and don’t have time to watch the whole trilogy, 1978 is easily the most self-contained of all three, but good luck not immediately hitting play on the next one. – Haleigh Foutch

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Fear Street Part 3: 1666 (2021)

Run Time: 1 hr 54 min | Director: Leigh Janiak

Cast: Kiana Madeira, Ashley Zukerman, Gillian Jacobs, Olivia Scott Welch, Benjamin Flores Jr., Darrell Britt-Gibson, Emily Rudd, McCabe Slye, Fred Hechinger, Jordyn DiNatale

The final film in the trilogy, Fear Street Part Three: 1666 brings it all together by traveling to the origins of the curse, so if you’re looking for a bit of period horror with a big action payoff, this is your best bet. It’s stunning how writer-director Leigh Janiak created a distinct language for each installment, not just cinematically, but in the horror traditions she employs. In keeping, 1666 is the darkest of the three, delving into the rotted core of society behind the Shadyside curse. But Janiak keeps a tight tonal command, never fully abandoning the fun spirit that makes her trilogy such a treat.

Understandably, considering how much story 1666 has to carry as the installment that answers it all, Part Three might be the least cohesive as a standalone film, but it also might be the most rewarding of them all as you watch Janiak’s magic pull it all off. – Haleigh Foutch

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The Conjuring 2 (2016)

Run Time: 2 hr 13 min | Director: James Wan

Cast: Vera Farmiga, Patrick Wilson, Frances O’Connor, Madison Wolfe, Simon McBurney, Franka Potente

Speaking of that billion-dollar franchise, Netflix also has Wan’s follow-up The Conjuring 2available to stream right now. The 2016 sequel picks up with the Warrens during the investigation of one of their most infamous cases, known as the Einfeld poltergeist, which finds them helping yet another spirit-plagued family, this time in the U.K. While The Conjuring 2 isn’t quite as downright scary as the first film, there are still plenty of wonderful Wan creatures to keep you on the edge of your seat, and of course, Vera Farmiga and Patrick Wilson are reliably endearing as the Warrens. Bonus, the film’s opening scene also pays tribute to another iconic horror franchise with a nod to the Amityville Haunting. – Haleigh Foutch

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Vampires vs. The Bronx (2020)

Run Time: 1 hr 26 min | Director: Osmany Rodriguez

Cast: Jaden Michael, Gregory Diaz IV, Gerald W. Jones III, Joel Martinez, Shea Whigham

The delightfully-titled Vampires vs. The Bronx is one of those modern horror movies with such a simple, clever twist on a well-worn genre you wonder how it didn’t happen sooner. The gist: A crew of kids living in a Bronx neighborhood discovers that the real estate company buying up local businesses is run by a cabal of blood-sucking vampires. Seeing as gentrification is largely the act of sucking a community dry, the concept is a home run. But director Osmany Rodriguez—who is responsible for many an SNL segment, most importantly “A Kanye Place”—also manages to have a ton of fun in the process. The Stranger Things comparisons are obvious, but with the grit and attitude of 2011’s must-watch alien invasion flick, Attack the Block. It’s just such a charming, genuine movie that loves vampire horror enough to show characters literally taking notes from Blade and loves New York City enough to wage war with the undead over the sanctity of a corner bodega. If you know, you know. –Vinnie Mancuso

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Creep/Creep 2 (2014)

Run Time: 1 hr 22 min / 1 hr 20 min | Director: Patrick Bice

Cast: Mark Duplass, Patrick Bice, Desiree Akhavan

Found footage gets a bad rap, but when it works, it works. And in the Creep movies? Oh yeah, it works. The 2014 original stars director and co-writer Patrick Bice as a videographer who travels to a remote cabin hired by a strange fella named Josef (played by co-writer and producer Mark Duplass in one of the best performances of his ever-unpredictable career), who says he as a brain tumor and wants to film a video diary for his unborn child before he dies. Duplass does incredible work threading the needle between a creepy and likable guy, keeping you guessing about his endgame the whole time. Of course, by the end of the movie, you know the answer… which is what makes it so phenomenal that the 2017 sequel Creep 2 works just as well. Bice also directs the follow-up, with Desiree Akhavan taking on the role of the new videographer in potential peril, and her dynamic with Duplass’ Josef is even more intriguing and unpredictable. Both are fantastic, edge-of-your-seat thrillers that use the found footage format for all its worth. – Haleigh Foutch

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Unfriended (2014)

Run Time: 1 hr 22 min | Director: Leo Gabriadze

Cast: Shelley Hennig, Moses Storm, Renee Olstead, Will Peltz, Jacob Wysocki, Courtney Halverson, Heather Sossaman

A natural evolution of the found-footage format in our digital era, the filmmaking approach dubbed “Screenlife” presents a movie entirely from the perspective of computer, tablet, and smartphone screens, and the haunted-Skype horror movie Unfriendedwas one of the first Screenlife movies to break through with mainstream audiences. It’s easy to see why – most of us spend our lives on screens anyway, and that mode of storytelling offers filmmakers access to all the little secrets we try to tuck away in our deleted texts and secret files. Following the suicide of a classmate after online bullying, a group of teens finds themselves picked off one-by-one during their digital hangout by an inescapable, malicious spirit. It sounds kinda goofy, and sometimes it kinda is, but Unfriended works better than you might expect, and now that we’re all forced to hang out virtually any way, now’s a perfect time for a revisit. –Haleigh Foutch

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#Alive (2020)

Run Time: 1 hr 38 min | Director: Cho Il-hyung

Cast: Yoo Ah-in and Park Shin-hye

During the peak of the pandemic, Netflix debuted a new horror film that both timely and familiar with the tried and true tropes of the zombie genre. #Alive, a tech-era zombie survival thriller feels firmly rooted in our internationally shared sense of isolation during the pandemic lockdowns. The Korean horror wastes no time getting to the action, centering on a young man (Yoo Ah-in) who finds himself trapped in his apartment alone after the rapid onset of a zombie plague and following his attempts to stay alive — and sane — from his newfound confinement. #Alive doesn’t exactly break the mold of zombie thrillers, but it’s a tightly-constructed thrilling treat with some of the best zombie transformation scenes in recent memory, and that despairing sense of isolation (along with the inner strength it takes to overcome it) makes it stand out as a unique entry in the zombie canon that feels pitched exactly to the anxieties of 2020. – Haleigh Foutch

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In the Tall Grass (2019)

Run Time: 1 hr 30 min | Director: Vincenzo Natali

Cast: Laysla De Oliveira, Avery Whitted, Patrick Wilson, Will Buie Jr., Harrison Gilbertson

Netflix has tapped into the well that is Stephen King in a big way. But with the adaptation of In the Tall Grass, they’ve also got a handle on the next generation of horror authors with Joe Hill. The premise is simple: Passersby are called into a vast field of tall grass by people pleading for help, only to be unable to find their way back out again. But since this is a King & Son joint, abject horror obviously waits for them among the greenery…

In her review of the new Netflix adaptation, our own Haleigh Foutch called the feature film “ambitious, imaginative, and artfully presented, taking King and Hill’s contained short and transforming it to a more expansive, sometimes confounding universe of horrors. In the Tall Grass doesn’t always work, but when it does, it’s compelling and gorgeous, and yet another film on the Netflix roster I wish more people had an opportunity to see in theaters.” That’s more than enough reason to add it to your watch-list today. – Dave Trumbore

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