I Stream, You ScreamGot a password and not afraid to use it? Gather up your security blankie and comfort animals, because these are the scariest movies you can stream in the comfort of your living room—or bedroom, if that's where you do your watching.
Figuring out the best horror movies on Netflix remains a time-consuming task. Choice paralysis is no joke, and sometimes relying on algorithms to guide your decisions doesn't pan out the way you hoped. It's a much better idea to take the Rotten Tomatoes scores for movies and rank them based on that - even if the scores are nebulous and tricky.
Rotten Tomatoes, a review aggregation site, labels movies as Fresh or Rotten. Avoid rummaging through Netflix's immense library of freaky flicks by watching one of these horror films with the best Rotten Tomatoes score.
Creep 2 is filmed in a found footage style with vlogging added into the mix. After the success of Creep in 2014, writer/director Patrick Brice and writer/star Mark Duplass returned with this sequel, which follows a strange man who enjoys making new friends by placing ads.
A struggling vlogger/YouTuber, Sara, answers Aaron's online ad looking for "video work." Sara meets Aaron in his secluded mountain home where he makes an unbelievable confession, forcing her to decide whether to take her chances staying with him or escape while she can.
While critics say this film is by no means as creepy or menacing as the first, the cringe-inducing awkwardness of the characters makes it an uncomfortable horror film.
Actors: Mark Duplass, Karan Soni, Patrick Brice, Desiree Akhavan, Caveh Zahedi
The Wailing - or Gokseong - is a South Korean horror film about a small town in the wake of a bizarre epidemic. This mysterious illness causes a rash, which precedes violent and murderous outbursts. The victims then experience a trance-like state and die.
Police officer Jong-goo's partner convinces him to look at a Japanese stranger in the town as the possible cause of the illness and death. Soon, Jong-goo is in a race to save his daughter from the mysterious illness plaguing the rest of the town.
Many critics cite the film's brutal nature and seamless fusion of Eastern mythology and hard crime lore as the core of its brilliance. Professional reviewers suggest going into the film blind, so maybe skip the trailer for this one.
This 2016 Persian film takes us into the lives of Shideh and her daughter, Dorsa. The two are left alone in an apartment after Shideh's husband, Dr. Iraj, is drafted to work in the war zone during the 1988 Tehran missile attacks.
Dorsa soon begins asking questions about the legendary jinn, spirits drawn to places of turmoil, anxiety, and fear. Shideh and Dorsa must contend with the possibility that the legends are true.
Under the Shadow is a critical darling due to its subtle but unnerving nature. The film has a boiling frog type of buildup; the tension is gradual and quiet, but it slowly burns you.
The Babadook centers on the dysfunctional household of Amelia and her son, Samuel. Samuel's father died in a car accident while driving Amelia to the hospital to give birth, leaving them both off-center and different from the people around them. One day, a book about "the Babadook" appears, and Amelia reads it to Samuel. The book terrifies the child and sets off a chain of horrifying events in their lives.
Critics are obsessed with this Australian horror film due to it weaving the anxieties of motherhood into a traditional boogeyman story.
Actors: Essie Davis, Daniel Henshall, Noah Wiseman, Hayley McElhinney, Barbara West
It Followsis loved for both its aesthetic and ability to keep the viewer on the edge of their seat. The film follows Jay, a 19-year-old who becomes trapped by a vicious curse after a romantic encounter.
The Big Bad of It Follows is frightening, but writer/director David Robert Mitchell's bleak, almost-our-reality-but-not-quite world makes the film so unsettling. The sense of uneasiness builds from the intangible quality of the Big Bad, and details like one character's book narration (from a clamshell e-reader) mirroring the horrors of Jay's life only add to the film's unnerving nature.
One of the many reasons critics love this film is its staying power, as the atmospheric movie keeps people on their toes days after viewing.
The predecessor to Creep 2, this found footage film plays on loneliness, a societal inability to be rude, and a belief in second chances. Aaron answers an ad from a stranger named Josef that wants to hire a videographer for one day of work. Aaron drives to Josef's secluded country home and finds someone seemingly unhinged by a cancer diagnosis - or is something else causing the strange behavior?
This slow-burner won critics over, mostly due to Mark Duplass's performance. The film serves as a quasi-horror character study, and portrays an unease everyone has experienced with a stranger who is entirely too pleasant.
