Oh, the Horror: The 10 Scariest Movies on Netflix

Horror is a long standing cultural phenomena that is enjoyed with a cult following. It’s the freedom that comes with viewing death as a form of entertainment instead of fear, an outlook people wear on their sleeve like a skull tattoo. The catharsis from horror fans shouts “I’m in control of death, not the other way around.” In short it’s therapy.

Thankfully with Netflix’s broad selection of horror titles, fans don’t have fear a lack of “therapy”. The beauty is the availability of well-known films as well as many terrifying, indie treasures. Slashers, zombie flics, psychological thrills, where to start? Lucky for you, we’ve removed the guess work and compiled an overview of the top ten must see horror movies on Netflix.

Wolfcop

Every horror list needs a B-list movie. Campy and meta, with a full body werewolf transformation that is extremely hard to ignore, Wolfcop fills the role perfectly. While investigating a strange and violent crime spree, an alcoholic cop realizes he’s been transformed into a werewolf for a higher purpose.

Grave Encounters

The production crew of a ghost hunting reality show lock themselves inside an abandoned mental hospital in search of the paranormal. The film is an excellent revival of the found footage style pioneered by The Blair Witch Project.

From Dusk Till Dawn

With gratuitous levels of violence, snappy one liners, and sensual vampires, this Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez flikc has it all.  On the run from a bank robbery, two criminals (George Clooney and Tarantino) hightail it to the Mexican border. Kidnapping a former preacher and his kids, the duo sneak across the border in the family’s RV and seek refuge in a topless bar. Unfortunately, the bar happens to be a nest for a gang of vampires. The brothers and their hostages must fight their way out.

Oculus

A woman tries to exonerate her brother, who was convicted of murder, by proving that the crime was committed by the family’s antique mirror. The seemingly harmless reflections contains a malevolent, supernatural force that infects the mind of those who gazes upon it. As the investigation deepens so does the mirror’s hold on the siblings.

Rosemary’s Baby

A young couple move into an upscale New York apartment, but find themselves surrounded by peculiar neighbors and happenings. After mysteriously becoming pregnant, the wife becomes paranoid of the child’s safety from neighbors, her husband, and the occult.

Berberian Sound Studio

A sound engineer’s work for an Italian horror studio becomes a terrifying case of life imitating art as he is forced to torture people for the sound he needs. The brutality of a Saw movie, the surreal yet creepy sound design of a David Lynch film, and the moral greyness of the Milgram experiment, it’s all here.

The Babadook

Mourning the loss of her husband, a single mother struggles with her son’s fear of a monster lurking in the house, but feels a disturbing presence surrounding her. This film brilliantly plays off of childhood fears and paranoia that will have you sleeping with the lights on.

The Fly (1986)

After an experiment gone wrong, savant scientist is transformed into a man/insect hybrid.

Antichrist

While a married couple have sex, their infant son falls from a window to his death. The wife’s grief is so strong that she is hospitalized. Her husband, a psychiatrist, takes her to a cabin in the woods to treat her on his own. Among the twisted roots and vine her grief sprouts into sexual violence that she inflicts on herself and her husband.

The Shining

A family heads to an isolated hotel for the winter where an evil and spiritual presence corrupts the father towards violence, while his psychic son sees haunting visions from the past and of the future. One of the most iconic titles in horror film history, the blend of dramatic cinematography, haunting score, and a masterful performance from Jack Nicholson, conjures more suspense than a Hitchcock movie.