The best horror movies streaming right now

It’s Halloween season, so that means it’s time to watch some of the best horror movies you can stream. (Although, a bad horror movie can be a lot of fun to watch, too.) In order to help you plan your Halloween movie marathon, we’ve scoured the major streaming services to put together a list of films to look for. In addition to selections from our lists of the best horror movies on Netflix, the best horror movies on Amazon Prime Video, and the best horror movies on Hulu, you can find films available on HBO Max, Peacock, Disney+, and Paramount+ services. So go ahead and pop some popcorn, turn off the lights, and get ready for a spooky movie.

Looking to stream something other than scares? We’ve also rounded up the best movies on Netflix and the best movies on Hulu, as well as the best movies on Amazon Prime and the best movies on Disney+.

Frailty (2001)

Genre Drama, Thriller, Crime

Stars Bill Paxton, Matthew McConaughey, Powers Boothe

Directed by Bill Paxton

watch on HBO Max

A harrowing horror film directed by Bill Paxton, Frailty begins with Fenton Meiks (Matthew McConaughey) approaching FBI Agent Wesley Doyle (Powers Boothe) with the story of how his father (portrayed by Paxton) became a serial killer who believed he received messages from God. The film explores how young Fenton (Matt O’Leary) and his brother, Adam (Jeremy Sumpter), were forced to take part in their father’s murders and what happened when Adam and his father claimed to see a “demon” in Fenton as well.

Werewolf by Night (2022)

Genre Horror, Comedy, TV Movie

Stars Gael García Bernal, Laura Donnelly, Harriet Sansom Harris

Directed by Michael Giacchino

watch on Disney+

Gael Garcia Bernal stars in this homage to classic creature features featuring a cabal of Marvel Comics’ greatest monster hunters. The black-and-white thriller follows a group of talented hunters whose reunion at a memorial for one of their own turns into a fight for survival. Surprisingly gruesome for a Disney project, the film does a wonderful job of channeling the vibe of late-night monster movies from a bygone era but with some modern Marvel movie flavor.

Doctor Sleep (2019)

Genre Horror, Thriller, Fantasy

Stars Ewan McGregor, Kyliegh Curran, Rebecca Ferguson

Directed by Mike Flanagan

watch on HBO Max

Doctor Sleep walks a fine line between acting as a sequel to Stephen King’s The Shining and Stanley Kubrick’s theatrical adaptation, which King reportedly hated. Somehow, it manages to reconcile the two as much as possible. In the present, Danny Torrance (Ewan McGregor) is still haunted by his experiences in the Overlook Hotel. But after finding peace within himself, Danny befriends a young girl named Abra Stone (Kyliegh Curran), whose shining power may dwarf his own. Unfortunately, Abra’s powers also draw the attention of a psychic cult called the True Knot, which wants to feed off of her gift. To save Abra, Danny will have to face the literal ghosts of his past.

The Blair Witch Project (1999)

Genre Horror, Mystery

Stars Rei Hance, Michael C. Williams, Joshua Leonard

Directed by Daniel Myrick, Eduardo Sánchez

watch on Hulu

This found-footage film blew the doors off the horror genre in 1999, leading to a flood of imitations — some good, some not so much — and changing the way we look at scary movies. The story follows a group of students on the prowl in the Maryland woods for an urban legend known as the Blair Witch. But the party of three soon loses sight of their documentary project when they get lost in the never-ending forest hell that may become their final resting place. An amazing film that hits just as hard today as it did on the brink of a new millennium, it’s worth a rewatch if you’ve forgotten just chilling it is.

Hush (2016)

Genre Horror, Thriller

Stars Kate Siegel, John Gallagher Jr., Samantha Sloyan

Directed by Mike Flanagan

watch on Netflix

Before he turned gothic horror into mainstream hits with The Haunting of Hill House and The Haunting of Bly Manor, filmmaker Mike Flanagan co-wrote and directed this 2016 home-intruder thriller starring Hill House actress Kate Siegel, who also co-wrote the script with Flanagan. The film follows a deaf-mute novelist (Siegel) who finds herself pursued by a murderous stalker while staying at her remote house in the woods. Critically praised for its nearly dialogue-free story and creative use of sound, Hush is widely regarded as a modern horror masterpiece of cinema.

Train to Busan (2016)

Genre Horror, Thriller, Science Fiction, Action

Stars Gong Yoo, Jung Yu-mi, Ma Dong-seok

Directed by Yeon Sang-ho

watch on Peacock

What’s scarier than snakes on a plane? How about zombies on a train. That’s the scenario Seok-woo (Gong Yoo) and his daughter Su-an (Kim Su-an) face when they board a train to Busan at the exact moment a zombie outbreak occurs. Now they and some other survivors must navigate train cars crawling with the undead as the train speeds toward safety. Zombies may seem like a dead horse at this point, but Train to Busan injects some fresh blood into the concept, offering a claustrophobic, pulse-pounding survival story.

A Quiet Place (2018)

Genre Horror, Drama, Science Fiction

Stars Emily Blunt, John Krasinski, Millicent Simmonds

Directed by John Krasinski

watch on Paramount+

Silence is the only way to stay safe in this terrifyingly tense franchise that follows a family struggling to survive in a post-apocalyptic world where extraterrestrial creatures stalk anything that makes a sound. John Krasinski co-wrote and directed the 2018 film, which became one of the year’s biggest hits and the recipient of a long list of awards for both the cast’s performances and various technical achievements. If you enjoy it, feel free to roll right into a double feature with the film’s 2021 sequel, which is also available to stream.

It Follows (2014)

Genre Horror, Mystery

Stars Maika Monroe, Keir Gilchrist, Daniel Zovatto

Directed by David Robert Mitchell

watch on Netflix

Everyone knows that the worst thing you can do in a horror movie — outside of maybe splitting up or stumbling into the basement — is to have sex. For Jay (Maika Monroe), a night with her shady boyfriend Hugh (Jake Weary), has life-threatening consequences, as Hugh reveals that he has passed on to her a curse in which a shapeshifting creature will pursue her, slowly but unstoppably, until it catches her or she passes the curse on to someone else. Director David Robert Mitchell employs a number of techniques to heighten the terror, manipulating the camera to keep audiences guessing as to whether anyone in the background of any scene could be the creature.

Suspiria (2018)

Genre Fantasy, Horror, Thriller, Drama

Stars Dakota Johnson, Tilda Swinton, Mia Goth

Directed by Luca Guadagnino

watch on Amazon

Remaking a classic film is always an audacious move, but Luca Guadagnino sticks the landing with his take on Dario Argento’s delirious Suspiria. Set in Berlin during the Cold War, the film follows Susie (Dakota Johnson), a new student at the prestigious Markos dance school. A gifted dancer, Susie impresses the school’s artistic director, Madame Blanc (Tilda Swinton), but little does she know, she’ll be lucky to make it to graduation. Suspiria is a gorgeous film, full of striking images and deft camera movement, and like the Markos school, that beauty hides grotesque horror.

The Innkeepers (2011)

Genre Horror, Thriller

Stars Sara Paxton, Pat Healy, Alison Bartlett

Directed by Ti West

watch on Peacock

Before he was earning acclaim for recent horror hits X and Pearl, Ti West directed paranormal thriller The Innkeepers. The film introduces the viewer to Claire (Sara Paxton) and Luke (Pat Healy), employees at the Yankee Pedlar Inn, on the last night before the hotel closes down forever. With business at a crawl, the two are free to spend their night talking, goofing off, and investigating the inn’s resident ghost, a woman who killed herself after being left at the altar. As one might expect, however, things take a sinister turn, and West’s careful pacing transforms the film from a supernatural slacker-comedy into something much darker.

I Am the Pretty Thing That Lives in the House (2016)

Genre Horror, Thriller

Stars Ruth Wilson, Paula Prentiss, Bob Balaban

Directed by Oz Perkins

watch on Netflix

Osgood Perkins’ haunted house film begins in darkness, with crackly narration as a woman dresses in white drifts into the frame. From there, the camera wanders through a house at night, a small circle of dull light revealing the interior. The film follows Lily (Ruth Wilson), a young nurse assigned to take care of elderly author Iris Blum (Paula Prentiss). A slowly-paced film that gently cranks up the tension rather than offering a series of bloody climaxes, it’s the cinematic equivalent of the climb at the start of a roller coaster, stretched out for an hour and a half.

Hellraiser (1987)

Genre Horror, Fantasy

Stars Clare Higgins, Ashley Laurence, Sean Chapman

Directed by Clive Barker

watch on Amazon

This classic, franchise-spawning horror movie opens on Frank Cotton (Sean Chapman) solving an ornate puzzle box. When he completes it, hooked chains appear and rend him to bits. Frank’s brother (Andrew Robinson) later moves into his house, along with his wife, Julia (Clare Higgins), and daughter, Kirsty (Ashley Laurence). After Larry cuts his hand during the move, the spilled blood resurrects Frank, who sets about consuming people in order to restore his body. If Kirsty is to survive and send Frank back to Hell, she must use the puzzle box and strike a deal with its nightmarish owners. Hellraiser is a gruesome work of body horror. Despite the gory special effects, however, it’s a methodical film, unfolding in a slow but unrelenting fashion.

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