Happy Halloween! To celebrate, I’ve compiled a list of my favorite horror movies streaming on Netflix. There’s something for everybody, even those who aren’t too fond of gore! So sit down, grab some candy, and prepare to sleep with the lights on (or not at all).
Raw (2016)
Raw is a fantastic, disturbing French film from a promising female director. It focuses on a young woman who leaves her protective parents for the first time and heads to a bizarre, remote veterinary school that forces its freshmen through intense hazing rituals. The young woman had been a devout vegetarian for years, but after being forced to eat meat during a hazing ritual, she develops a lust for flesh that she is unable to quench.
This film is mesmerizing and, in my opinion, absurd in all the right ways. Not for those with a weak stomach or a predisposition for cannibalism.
Hatchet (2007)
Hatchet is a cult slasher film from 2007 that focuses on a group of tourists taking a haunted boat tour through the Louisiana swamp. When their boat sinks and they’re stranded in the wilderness, they find themselves subjected to an urban legend come to life in the form of a hulking killer wielding a hatchet. Also, there are alligators.
This film is truly a gem out of the early 2000s. It comes complete with cheesy acting, a “Girls Gone Wild” subplot, and more cult-quality gore than I knew what to do with. However, low-budget, cheesy horror movies from this time period are usually not without their problematic aspects, so watch with caution.
The VHS Trilogy (2012-2014)
I, personally, am a sucker for both anthology horror and found footage horror, so I couldn’t make this list without including my favorite horror series: VHS, VHS 2, and VHS: Viral. These are American adaptations of the Mexican Rec series. The premise of the original is that a band of thieves break into a house to rob an old man, who they find dead and surrounded by hundreds of VHS tapes. Of course, curiosity kills the cat (or the crook, in this case) and the thieves can’t help but play some of this cryptic footage. Each “tape” follows a different premise, and each are incredibly interesting and disturbing. All three films follow a similar focus, though there is no overarching theme for the films.
I think these films are really original and creepy, and they manage to pack a lot of horror into each segment and leave the viewers wondering what the hell they just watched. The segments have varying levels of gore, ranging from none at all to footage from the Go-Pro of a zombie on a feeding frenzy, and I think they offer something for everyone.
Gremlins (1984)
For those not in it for the scares, I suggest Gremlins. You’ve probably already seen this iconic horror-comedy focusing on a child who receives an innocent pet “mogwai” as a Christmas gift from his father, but it’s always worth a rewatch. The pet comes with three rules: never expose him to bright light, don’t get him wet, and DO NOT feed him after midnight, and after the boy accidentally breaks these three rules, all hell breaks loose.
With a PG rating and only a mild level of disturbingness, this film might be able to fulfill your spooky needs without rendering you unable to sleep.
13 Cameras (2016)
For those not scared by witches, zombies, or ghosts is this realistic horror film that even gave me the heebie jeebies and since I’ve been watching horror movies since I came out of the womb, not much gets to me these days. 13 Cameras follows a newly married couple who moves into a new house and start their life together completely unaware that their perverted landlord installed cameras throughout their house and is watching their every move. The film relies a little too heavily on family drama and feels like a bad soap opera at times, but Neville Archambault, who plays the absolutely repulsive landlord, saves the show and gives this film the absolutely creepy air that makes it so effective.
Overall, this is a film that will get under your skin and make you wonder if this could happen to you.
Honorable mentions:
Hush (2016) follows a deaf woman who is being stalked by a sinister human in her own home.
Would You Rather (2013) follows a group of people tricked into a horrific version of the popular game. Caution: this one gets kind of gross!
It Follows (2014): very popular A-list horror about a teenaged girl with a supernatural STD.
Teeth (2007): very original horror movie about a teenage girl with teeth in her vagina. Worth the watch.
Zombeavers (2014): B-list horror about, you guessed it, zombie beavers. Quite possibly the most dam absurd movie I’ve ever seen. You’ll love it.