The 15 best horror films streaming on Netflix

Looking to ruin your evening? Then do we have good news for you! 

From old frights to new fears, we’ve scoured Netflix’s horror catalog to find the best cinematic nightmares for darkening your device. No Bird Box or Cult of Chucky here. Just the good stuff.

Ranked from least to most absolutely wild, here are 15 of the best scary films currently streaming on Netflix — because you don’t need to sleep ever again. 

Happy haunting!

15. Scream (1996)

If you don’t love Scream, then you haven’t seen Scream. 

The first installment in a franchise that will never die, this 1996 slasher chronicles the misadventures of a group of teenagers attempting to outsmart a blood-thirsty killer. The ghost mask! Drew Barrymore’s wig! Actual telephones! What a world. 

Image: MASHABLE COMPOSITE; DIMENSION FILMS

Scream is now streaming . 

14. The Sixth Sense (1999)

You can’t watch M. Night Shyamalan’s iconic story of a kid who sees dead people without noticing at least one new detail you’d previously missed. Starring Bruce Willis, Haley Joel Osment, and Toni Collette, The Sixth Sense is a classic for a reason. Sure, you already know the ending. But what’s one more time around the existential block?

The Sixth Sense is now streaming . 

13. The Conjuring (2013)

Easily the best movie in The Conjuring franchise, this supernatural terror introduced Ed and Lorraine Warren, the real-life paranormal investigators behind The Amityville Horror story, to the Conjuring universe. It’s tense and engrossing, plus stars Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga rock in it. 

Image: warner bros. pictures

The Conjuring is now streaming on Netflix. 

12. Carrie (1976)

It’s the Stephen King and Sissy Spacek film that changed everything. The first on-screen adaptation of a King novel ever, this supernatural horror flick is one you’ve certainly heard of. But if you haven’t made time to see it quite yet, drop everything and do that now. You can thank us later.

Image: Silver Screen Collection/Getty Images

Carrie is now streaming on Netflix. 

11. Creep (2015) 

Oh, you thought you liked Mark Duplass? Well, think again! In Creep, a found-footage film that foregoes pageantry for a stark sense of panic, Duplass plays a strange loner that his documentarian/friend/victim, played by writer-director Patrick Brice, can’t quite pin down. 

This one is just… we don’t know. Good luck. 

Creep is now streaming . 

10. 1922 (2017)

Based on Stephen King’s novella of the same name, 1922 tackles the classic themes of guilt, envy, and evil with sparkling finesse. Thomas Jane and Molly Parker square-off to striking effect, painting a portrait of a marriage that is as at once remarkably absurd and nauseatingly plausible. 

1922 is now streaming . 

9. The Ritual (2018)

Equal parts buddy comedy and excruciating hellscape, The Ritual starts as an intimate drama about a group of friends — but soon morphs into one of the strangest and most startling films Netflix has ever offered. Slippery and divisive, this movie begs to be analyzed, for better or for worse. 

The Ritual is now streaming . 

8. Gerald’s Game (2017) 

One of Stephen King’s lesser known terrors, Gerald’s Game follows a couple on a romantic trip to a remote cabin — where things are totally fine and nothing bad happens. Just kidding! It’s so, so, so bad! This survival thriller rooted in psychological horror offers an exquisite performance by Carla Gugino who is devastating nearly every moment she’s on screen. Watch it for her. 

Gerald’s Game is now streaming on Netflix.

7. The Invitation (2015)

The less you know about The Invitation, the better your viewing will be. Suffice to say, this movie is the dinner-party-from-hell trope done right — with spectacular performances by Logan Marshall-Green, Michiel Huisman, and Tammy Blanchard. 

The Invitation is now streaming on Netflix.

6. The Autopsy of Jane Doe (2016)

Featuring a pre-Succession Brian Cox, this medical mystery-turned-fright fest is one truly sickening ordeal. Think the autopsy scenes from Silence of the Lambs, but that’s just the whole movie. Well, and then there’s the whole thing with the… Just trust us, it’s great.

The Autopsy of Jane Doe is now streaming on Netflix.

5. Velvet Buzzsaw (2019)

From the brilliant mind behind Nightcrawler, comes a hilarious and horrifying send-up of the Los Angeles art scene. Jake Gyllenhaal, Rene Russo, Toni Collette, and half a dozen other people you love act their hearts out as the fine art their characters admire turns lethal. (Seriously, a dude gets strangled by a painting of monkeys. It’s awesome.) 

Image: Claudette Barius/Netflix

Velvet Buzzsaw is now streaming . 

4. Apostle (2018)

Before Michael Sheen became the Angel Aziraphale for Good Omens, he celebrated religion in a, uh… “different” way. Apostle is a completely bonkers period horror film that features Sheen at his most terrifying, playing a cult leader with an affinity for bloodletting, and a mind-blowing storyline you just have to see.

Apostle is now streaming on Netflix. 

3. Train to Busan (2016) 

This South Korean zombie flick takes all the worst things about mass transit and mass murder, then shoves it all into one, action-packed ride from hell. Train to Busan is basically Planes, Trains, and Automobiles, but if Steve Martin was trying to eat John Candy. Have fun! 

Image: next entertainment world

Train to Busan is now streaming on Netflix. 

2. The Witch (2015)

Also known as The Witch: A New England Folktale, this slow-burn nightmare remains the best of the best horror. Starring a spell-binding Anya-Taylor Joy and one surprisingly sexy goat, The Witch is worth watching again — and if you haven’t seen it before? God have mercy on your soul.

The Witch is now streaming . 

1. The Perfection (2019)

From cellos and foreplay to hallucinations and hiking, The Perfection does absolutely whatever it wants. Featuring Allison Williams in her best role since Get Out, this vibrant genre blend will get a reaction out of you. Not necessarily a good reaction, but a reaction nonetheless. 

The Perfection is now streaming .