Netflix Horror movies & series

Bingeing on horror movies is like eating spicy food – it’s terribly uncomfortable, but most of us can’t seem to stay away. Netflix’s Shaitaan has given us those highly-sought chills, and if you can’t get enough, we’ve consolidated some of the best horror flicks out there.

Whether you’re a horror-junkie or just looking to try this genre for the first time, here’s a list of 10 Netflix horror movies and series. You’re guaranteed to find something from supernatural to psychological thrillers that’ll make you cover your eyes and squirm.

– Movies –

1. The Strays

Not everything is as perfect as it seems

What happens when the perfect life you’ve built starts crumbling right before your eyes? That’s Neve’s reality in The Strays, a psychological-horror thriller that sees her dream life disappear after the sudden appearance of 2 stalkers.

They follow her everywhere – from the private school she works at and even inside her home. To make matters worse, they even befriend her kids to mess with her.

Just like Neve, you’ll feel the same sinking feeling whenever the stalkers pop up on screen. Watch it to find out the reason behind their motives, and how sometimes no matter how hard you try, you can never run away from your past.

Tomatometer: 54%
Recommended for: Get Out fans, thriller fans
Trigger warnings: Violence, gore

Watch The Strays on Netflix.

2. The Pope’s Exorcist

Inspired by a true person

Fans of the famous The Conjuring franchise should check out The Pope’s Exorcist, which is also based on a true story. But instead of paranormal investigators, this story follows Father Gabrielle Amorth, the Pope’s personal assistant. Following an exorcism gone wrong, he uncovers dark secrets about The Vatican, revealing a web of deceit, lies, and even corruption.

It’s a battle of good versus evil as the film dives into the real stories of Father Amorth that he chronicled about the exorcisms he’s done during his ministry.

iMDb: 6.1/10
Recommended for: Fans of The Conjuring franchise, supernatural horror fans
Trigger warnings: Violence

Watch The Pope’s Exorcist on Netflix.

3. Nope

Sci-fi comedy horror movie taking place during daytime

Most horror movies take place in the dark. But the “scary” scenes in Nope, a sci-fi comedy horror film, take place during daytime. We’re introduced to siblings OJ and Em, who’re desperately trying to save their family business.

But just as they think it’s a lost cause, they suddenly spot a UFO in the sky. They try to document the UFO sighting, in hopes that the footage will get them rich and famous, but soon realise that they have messed with the wrong entity.

What sells the horror is the chemistry between the siblings; their witty dynamic would even make you forget that you’re watching a scary film. Jump scares are also almost non-existent, and it’s director Jordan Peele’s uncanny ability to build suspense using unsettling visuals that makes this a great horror film.

Tomatometer: 83%
Recommended for: Sci-fi fans, fans of Get Out
Trigger warnings: Some violence

Watch Nope on Netflix.

4. The Black Phone

Horror thriller where the main character gets help from the dead

The Black Phone sees young 13-year-old Finney held captive by a serial killer whose moniker is The Grabber. He is trapped in a soundproof basement with no means of communication, except for an ominous rotary phone.

He soon discovers that the phone actually allows him to talk with The Grabber’s past victims, who don’t want Finney to share the same fate as them, so they try to help him escape. The question is, how long can Finney execute his escape without The Grabber catching on to his plans?

Tomatometer: 82%
Recommended for: Horror thriller fans, fans of Don’t Breathe
Trigger warnings: Violence, gore, and drug use

Watch The Black Phone on Netflix.

5. Texas Chainsaw Massacre (2022)

Sequel to a cult classic

For those who want a modern retelling of an old horror classic, Texas Chainsaw Massacre is the one for you. A direct sequel to the 1995 film, The Return of the Texas Chainsaw Massacre, it sees Leatherface don the iconic mask once again in search of new victims.

This time round, they are a bunch of unsuspecting young adults who think it’s a good idea to waltz into a haunted town to try and urbanise it. They may not live to regret their decisions, as they’re too busy trying to survive Leatherface’s razor sharp chainsaw.

iMDb: 6.5/10
Recommended for: Fans who like displays of goriness
Trigger warnings: Gore

Watch Texas Chainsaw Massacre on Netflix.

6. The Medium

Thai-South Korean horror flick

The Medium takes elements from 2 genres we love – Southeast Asian horror and South Korean thrillers. Think the spine-tingling lore of Munafik told in a thriller format like Train to Busan. It is also presented in a documentary style, with “found footage” to give you the extra creeps.

The story takes place in a rural village in Thailand, where a shaman’s family begins to get harassed by supernatural occurrences. It doesn’t happen for no good reason though, as the spirit wants revenge for the shaman’s family’s previous sins. The plot uncovers the heinous crimes of the shaman’s past, as we see how the kids pay for their ancestors’ sins in more gruesome ways than one.

Tomatometer: 81%
Recommended for: Fans of Asian horror movies
Trigger warnings: Cannibalism, incest, and animal cruelty

Watch The Medium on Netflix.

7. Don’t Breathe 

A great plot twist weaved into the story

Home invasion movies are typically about the house owners falling prey to some psychotic serial killers and whatnot. But Don’t Breathe flips this premise around and turns our trio of invaders into unknowing victims. You could say they had it coming since they’re robbing an old, blind man who lives alone.

The Netflix horror movie is ripe with suspense from the beginning and you’re served a chilling reveal about the owner of the house that’s sure to make you cringe or scrunch up your face in disgust.

Look forward to Stephen Lang’s portrayal of the blind homeowner – it’s impeccable and blood-chilling. We can imagine the other actors not having to fake being scared with him stalking them around his house.

Tomatometer: 88%
Recommended for: Fans of Get Out, suspense lovers
Trigger warnings: Violence, sexual assault, kidnapping

Watch Don’t Breathe on Netflix.
You can also catch the sequel Don’t Breathe 2 instead.

8. The Ritual 

College students haunted by a Norse creature

Most supernatural horror films make use of spirits, ghosts, and demons found in widely practised religions to make the movies more scarily relatable and familiar. But The Ritual has a different spin on things by taking inspiration from Norse mythology instead.

4 men embark on a hiking trip in the Swedish wilderness only to be slowly picked off one by one by an unknown creature. They end up stumbling upon the village of the cult that serves this entity and get trapped. Watch it to find who makes it and who doesn’t, if any at all.

Tomatometer: 73%
Recommended for: Cult genre fans, Norse mythology fans
Trigger warnings: Violence, gore, alcohol

Watch The Ritual on Netflix.

– Series –

9. Archive 81

Follow an archivist’s investigation into a cult

Archive 81 lets you see horror, but not from the scope of a paranormal investigator or ghost hunter, but an archivist instead. Here, Dan is tasked to fix and reassemble old video footage that’s been damaged in a huge building fire – or so it seems.

A story seems to unravel in the archived clips, as it becomes an investigation into what really happened on the day of the fire.

The more Dan investigates, the more we see supernatural elements occur in his own life, something the original owner of the archives also experienced decades ago. As he pieces the clips together, we see that there’s more that meets the eye, with a demonic cult pulling the strings, even subtly controlling Dan’s life up till this point.

Tomatometer: 87%
Recommended for: Horror mystery fans, thriller fans
Trigger warnings: Gore, violence

Watch Archive 81 on Netflix.

10. The Midnight Club

Collection of scary stories

In The Midnight Club, a group of terminally-ill youth are sent to a hospice to await their end. To pass time, they gather every midnight to share a scary story. As the movie progresses, we see supernatural incidents from the told stories take place in the hospice, leading to more questions about the sinister history of the place.

Yes, they are just kids, but they are far from your typical damsels in distress trope. The fact that they’re living on borrowed time means they have nothing to lose, making for an emotional journey as we see who makes it out to live another day, and who doesn’t.

Fun fact: the wheelchair impaired character Anya, is actually an amputee in real life too.

Tomatometer: 86%
Recommended for: Those looking for bite-sized horror stories, fans of the original The Midnight Club book
Trigger warnings: Violence

Watch The Midnight Club on Netflix.

11. The Haunting of Hill House

Hidden ghosts that quietly unnerve you

Usually, when a family moves out of a haunted house, that alone solves all their ghostly problems. But in the case of this family from Hill House, their nightmarish experiences follow them well into adulthood and explodes into full-blown family drama when they’re forced to reunite after one of the siblings commits suicide.

The siblings are a configuration of a recovering junkie, an insensitive writer, a psychic alcoholic, and an owner of a mortuary. So while every episode has its own handful of jump scares, you won’t be able to help but to press “Next Episode” to find out what happens next with the dysfunctional family.

Tomatometer: 93%
Recommended for: Those who want a good story, those who want a happy ending
Trigger warnings: Suicide, alcohol, drugs, violence

Watch The Haunting of Hill House on Netflix. Continue the anthology with The Haunting of Bly Manor.

Netflix horror movies & series

Admittedly, the horror genre has a questionable reputation – who deliberately sets themselves up to get scared right? But even non-horror buffs can enjoy these Netflix horror movies and series with the right company. So hit up your friends and have a Netflix Party sesh before you can’t anymore.

For other Netflix flicks, check out these sad Netflix stories for a good tear-jerker, or our list of Singaporean movies on Netflix to support local films. You can also watch these mind-bending Netflix movies for a good thriller.

Cover image adapted from: iMDb
Last updated by Syahiran Sean on 26th August 2024.