A recent trend has emerged, referred to as “Summerween,” in which people indulge in spooky activity during the sunny season. I could not be happier about this new fad, partially because it gives audiences a good reason to beat the heat by staying in and watching the scariest horror movies on Netflix.
Now, I am not saying we ever needed a good reason to check out some of the best horror movies available to stream with a Netflix subscription, but dubbing 2025 the year of the “Spooky Summer” makes these morbid movie nights feel like an extra-special occasion. With the season nearing its end, allow me to help you curate your next creepy film marathon with my picks for the best you can find on one of the best streaming services to subscribe to, starting with my choice for the absolute scariest horror movie on Netflix
What Is The #1 Scariest Horror Movie On Netflix?
Not every person is afraid of the same things, which is why one of my favorite things about the horror genre is that anyone can find a film that taps into their deepest fears. However, out of all the scariest horror movies on Netflix, the one film that creeped me out and continued to haunt me the most is also among my top choices for the best horror movies of 2023, Talk to Me.
While most demonic possession movies tend to suffer from the same damned formula pioneered by 1973’s The Exorcist, Danny and Michael Philippou’s feature debut, and first great A24 horror movie, scraps everything you thought you knew about the subgenre. The brutal and indelibly frightening instant A24 movie classic follows a group of Australian teens whose strange party game, involving an embalmed hand that can mysteriously conjure dark spirits, quickly turns from a surreal dream to an inescapable nightmare.
How We Curated This List
As I said before, fear is subjective, and the same goes for all art. Thus, it should be noted that there is no right or wrong answer when determining what are the scariest horror movies on Netflix.
For this particular list, the films were selected based on each title’s critical consensus, how popular it is among general audiences, and my own personal feelings about each film. As a lifelong fan of the genre, I hope to have presented you with a list of recommendations of the best movies on Netflix that will satisfy your need for a good scare.
Jaws (1975)
Director: Steven Spielberg
Starring: Roy Scheider, Robert Shaw, Richard Dreyfuss
What it’s about: A quaint island community is terrorized by the emergence of a hungry apex predator.
Why it is one of the scariest horror movies on Netflix: All four Jaws movies are back on Netflix, but I would recommend you stick with the terrifying original blockbuster that kickstarted Hollywood’s obsession with sharks.
Krampus (2015)
Director: Michael Dougherty
Starring: Adam Scott, Toni Collette
What it’s about: A disenchanted young boy’s holiday wish causes his family to become targeted by fabled, demonic creature that comes but once a year.
Why it is one of the scariest horror movies on Netflix: Based on a real folklore legend, Krampus is a darkly funny creature feature that became regarded as an essential Christmas horror movie soon after its release.
Ghost Stories (2020)
Director: Karan Johar, Dibakar Banerjee, Zoya Akhtar, Anurag Kashyap
Starring: Janhvi Kapoor, Sobhita Dhulipala, Sukant Goel, Mrunal Thakur
What it’s about: These four tales involve people haunted by something strange, including a live-in nurse, a woman struggling to conceive a child, a traveler who comes across an empty village, and a woman whose new marriage is not as idyllic as it seems.
Why it is one of the scariest horror movies on Netflix: Ironically, if you ask me, the best segments from Ghost Stories are not at all ghostly, but fans of Indian cinema and spooky stories of all kinds should enjoy the anthology film as a whole.
The Dead Don’t Die (2019)
Director: Jim Jarmusch
Starring: Bill Murray, Adam Driver
What it’s about: The idiosyncratic citizens of a small town become plagued by a strange situation causing the dead to rise.
Why it is one of the scariest horror movies on Netflix: To be perfectly honest, The Dead Don’t Die is easily one of the least scary zombie movies I have ever seen, but I believe its quirky tone and brazenly self-aware nature make it a must-see for horror-comedy fans.
Barbarian (2022)
Director: Zach Cregger
Starring: Georgina Campbell, Bill Skarsgård, Justin Long
What it’s about: A woman discovers that her accidentally double-booked vacation home is filled with more concerning secrets.
Why it is one of the scariest horror movies on Netflix: Before you check out Zach Cregger’s acclaimed follow-up, Weapons, revlive, or discover, the film that made the former The Whitest Kids U’Know member one of horror’s most exciting talents, the subversive and thoroughly unsettling Barbarian.
Us (2019)
Director: Jordan Peele
Starring: Lupita Nyong’o, Winston Duke
What it’s about: A woman and her family come face-to-face with their own deadly doppelgangers during an ill-fated vacation.
Why it is one of the scariest horror movies on Netflix: Speaking of comedy stars-turned-horror auteurs, after debuting with the instant classic Black horror movie, Get Out, Jordan Peele delivered another chilling thriller with thought-provoking societal commentary with the arguably scarier Us.
Heart Eyes (2025)
Director: Josh Ruben
Starring: Oliva Holt, Mason Gooding
What it’s about: A notorious masked murderer who specializes in targeting couples on Valentine’s Day mistakenly sets their sights on two co-workers.
Why it is one of the best horror movies on Netflix: I am not the biggest fan of romantic-comedy movies, but fusing the genre’s most essential tropes with a story destined to be a slasher classic makes Heart Eyes one of the best 2025 movies of the horror variety so far, if you ask me.
Train To Busan (2016)
Director: Yeon Sang-ho
Starring: Gong Yoo, Jung Yu-mi
What it’s about: A virus turning South Korean citizens into the flesh-eating undead makes its way onto a commuter train, forcing its passengers to fight for their lives until they can reach a safe stop.
Why it is one of the scariest horror movies on Netflix: One of the best zombie movies of the 21st Century is the relentlessly unnerving and hauntingly heartbreaking Train to Busan, which spawned a spin-off called Peninsula that I would recommend also checking out on Netflix.
Smile (2022)
Director: Parker Finn
Starring: Sosie Bacon, Kyle Gallner
What it’s about: A psychiatrist becomes the next heir to a chain curse that makes her the target of a malevolent, manipulative entity that feeds on trauma.
Why it is one of the scariest horror movies on Netflix: You can stream the 2024 hit Smile 2 with an Amazon Prime subscription but, first, you must experience this terrifying phenomenon from the beginning with the surprisingly raw and absorbing Smile.
Vampires Vs. The Bronx (2020)
Director: Oz Rodriguez
Starring: Jaden Michael, Gerald W. Jones III
What it’s about: A group of brave teens discover that their urban neighborhood is being invaded by evil, blood-sucking creatures.
Why it is one of the scariest horror movies on Netflix: Vampires vs. the Bronx is a fun and charming horror-comedy movie that also boasts a potent commentary on gentrification.
Cam (2018)
Director: Daniel Goldhaber
Starring: Madeline Brewer
What it’s about: An internet model learns of a woman who bears a striking resemblance to her and begins to hijack her livestream.
Why it is one of the scariest horror movies on Netflix: The clever and visually unique Cam is not only high on thrills of a spooky kind, as it is also considered one of the best sexually explicit movies on Netflix.
Thanksgiving (2023)
Director: Eli Roth
Starring: Patrick Dempsey, Nell Verlaque
What it’s about: A high school student, her friends, and others fall at risk of ending up on the menu when a killer dressed as a pilgrim begins terrorizing their town on Turkey Day.
Why it is one of the scariest horror movies on Netflix: Based on a fake trailer made for 2007’s Grindhouse, the aptly titled Thanksgiving is easily the best Thanksgiving horror movie I have ever seen.
Ouija: Origin Of Evil (2016)
Director: Mike Flanagan
Starring: Elizabeth Reaser, Annalise Basso
What it’s about: A fake psychic accidentally invites real terror into her home after trying to incorporate a board game into her act in 1960s California.
Why it is one of the scariest horror movies on Netflix: Despite flopping at the box office, Ouija: Origin of Evil is a spooky prequel that greatly surpasses the original in a way only a horror master like Mike Flanagan could achieve.
The Fear Street Trilogy (2021)
Director: Leigh Janiak
Starring: Kiana Madeira, Sadie Sink
What it’s about: A trio of terrifying tales – one taking place in the ‘90s, another from the 1970s, and one more that takes us to the 1600s – complete one sinister saga about a small town plagued by a wicked curse.
Why it is one of the scariest horror movies on Netflix: Goosebumps creator R.L. Stine’s slightly more mature series of horror novels inspired the acclaimed trilogy of Fear Street movies, released on Netflix one week after another, which are packed with some fun horror movie Easter Eggs and clever, bloody surprises.
His House (2020)
Director: Remi Weekes
Starring: Sope Disiru, Wunmi Mosaku
What it’s about: After escaping the nightmare occurring in their native country of South Sudan, a refugee couple discovers that they have more to fear when they move into a new home in England.
Why it is one of the scariest horror movies on Netflix: Among the few horror movies rated 100% on Rotten Tomatoes is the BAFTA-winning His House, which boasts unsettling real-world commentary under its indelible haunted house movie thrills.
Run Rabbit Run (2023)
Director: Daina Reid
Starring: Sarah Snook, Lily LaTorre
What it’s about: A single mother is forced to confront her tragic past when her young daughter begins to act out of character.
Why it is one of the scariest horror movies on Netflix: One of the best horror films about grief on Netflix is Run Rabbit Run, which exaggerates the common parental fear of passing one’s flaws onto their children to a deeply haunting degree.
The Ritual (2018)
Director: David Bruckner
Starring: Rafe Spall, Arsher Ali
What it’s about: A hiking trip through the Swedish wilderness is ruined when a group of grieving friends discover that they have been targeted by a sinister force.
Why it is one of the scariest horror movies on Netflix: Among the most underrated Netflix original movies, and not just of the horror variety, is The Ritual, which is a well-acted and expertly paced survival thriller with some insane twists and turns.
Gerald’s Game (2017)
Director: Mike Flanagan
Starring: Carla Gugino, Bruce Greenwood
What it’s about: A woman finds herself trapped in her vacation home, and in traumatic memories, after a romantic getaway with her husband takes a tragic turn.
Why it is one of the scariest horror movies on Netflix: One of Mike Flanagan’s best movies is also one of the best Stephen King movies I have ever seen: Gerald’s Game, which builds on its already unsettling set-up with heart-racing twists and a shocking finale.
#Alive (2020)
Director: Il Cho, Jo Il Hyung
Starring: Ah-In Yoo, Park Shin-hye
What it’s about: One of the few remaining humans in Seoul, South Korea, struggles to keep himself safe from the deadly victims of a dehumanizing virus.
Why it is one of the scariest horror movies on Netflix: The Korean horror movie favorite #Alive is one of the most relatable zombie movies of its time, having dropped on Netflix in 2020, as most of the world was struggling with things like infectious diseases and self-isolation.
Creep And Creep 2 (2014, 2017)
Director: Patrick Brice
Starring: Mark Duplass
What it’s about: The unsettling behavior of a strange individual is documented by two very unlucky professional videographers.
Why it is one of the scariest horror movies on Netflix: Two of the most unsettling found footage thrillers I have ever seen are the partially improvised Creep movies, which later spawned a series, The Creep Tapes, which is available with a Shudder subscription.
In The Tall Grass (2019)
Director: Vincenzo Natali
Starring: Laysla De Oliveira, Avery Whitted, Patrick Wilson
What it’s about: A group of strangers struggles to find a way out of a field of high-growing grass that seems to have a mind of its own.
Why it is one of the scariest horror movies on Netflix: Based on a novella from Stephen King and his son Joe Hill, In the Tall Grass is an exciting, mysterious, supernatural meditation on claustrophobia.
Upcoming Scary Movies Coming To Netflix
If you don’t believe that any of the films above should qualify as the scariest horror movies on Netflix, perhaps some of these upcoming horror movies might be what you are looking for. Keep an eye on the 2025 Netflix movies schedule to see when you can stream these highly anticipated nightmares.
Frankenstein (November 2025)
Coming both to Netflix and to select theaters is Academy Award-winning writer and director Guillermo del Toro’s take on Mary Shelley’s landmark novel, Frankenstein, which stars Oscar Isaac in the title role and Jacob Elordi as his creature.
Troll 2 (December 1, 2025)
The surprisingly fun Norwegian creature feature, Troll, in which the titular monster wreaks havoc on the modern world, has spawned a sequel that I hope gets a new title (for the sake of fans of 1990’s Troll 2), which arrives on Netflix in Winter 2025.
What Is The Worst Horror Movie On Netflix?
Personally, my choice for the least scary horror movie on Netflix would have to be Fear Street: Prom Queen, which I believe is a shameless rip-off of Prom Night that does not reflect any of the refreshing elements of its trilogy of predecessors. However, with a 7% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, it seems that the most common choice for the platform’s weakest horror movie is 2018’s The Open House.
From writing and directing duo Matt Angel and Suzanne Coote, the movie stars Dylan Minette as a teenager who moves into a new home with his recently widowed mother (played by Piercey Dalton), where they begin to experience unexplainable encounters. I have not actually seen The Open House, but with critics and audiences calling out an unoriginal setup and a plot that moves at a snail’s pace with little to no tension, I just might keep it that way.
What do you think are the scariest horror movies on Netflix?
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