15 Best Netflix Original Horror Movies of All-Time

Spooky season is upon us, and Netflix has you covered with a ton of excellent horror movies. In this list, we’re counting down the streamer’s 15 best original horror movies. 

Netflix loves to license some of the biggest and best horror movies out there, but the streamer has also built up a steady supply of excellent original offerings. From paranormal movies to monster flicks and violent slashers, this list takes you through all corners of horror that Netflix Original movies have to offer.

15

A Classic Horror Story

• Genre: Drama, Horror, Mystery, Thriller
• Rating: TV-MA
• Release Date: July 14, 2021
• Director: Roberto De Feo, Paolo Strippoli
• Cast: Matilda Anna Ingrid Lutz, Francesco Russo, Peppino Mazzotta, Will Merrick
• Language: Italian
• Runtime: 95 min

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The title speaks for itself, really. This suspenseful Italian horror offers up plenty of scares and violence, but the story itself is a bit hollow and cliché. It follows five strangers who’re traveling across Southern Italy when their camper crashes into a tree, and they find themselves stranded in a creepy woods. What follows is a brutal and intense fight for survival.

In terms of reviews, A Classic Horror Story didn’t hit big heights, but if you’re seeking something scary this spooky season that you don’t have to think about too much, this is a solid option.

14

The Texas Chainsaw Massacre

• Genre: Horror
• Rating: R
• Release Date: August 18, 2025
• Director: Tobe Hooper
• Cast: Marilyn Burns, Edwin Neal, Allen Danziger
• Language: English
• Runtime: 83 min

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Netflix’s Texas Chainsaw Massacre (2022), is set almost 50 years after the original, cult classic film. Whether it falls into official canon is debatable — there’s plenty of continuity errors taking into account the other movies — so let’s call it a ‘legacy’ sequel. The movie follows a new group of teens, each terrorized by an older, but no less dangerous, Leatherface. It also marks the return of Marilyn Burns as Sally Hardesty, the sole survivor from the original film. Now, Sally’s out for revenge.

Netflix’s Texas Chainsaw Massacre film was panned by critics upon release. It’s not a great movie by any means, but if you’re seeking a fun slasher — especially if you’re a fan of the franchise — you might get something out of it.

13

Cam

• Genre: Horror, Mystery, Thriller
• Release Date: November 16, 2018
• Director: Daniel Goldhaber
• Cast: Madeline Brewer, Patch Darragh, Melora Walters, Devin Druid
• Language: English
• Runtime: 94 min

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In 2018, Daniel Goldhaber made his directorial debut with Cam, an intense psychological horror, taking place in the digital world of webcam pornography. This unique concept could have gone a lot of ways, but it ended up being a pretty triumphant start to Goldhaber’s career. Written by Isa Mazzei — who drew from her own experiences as a camgirl — the movie dives into issues with online identity, and the horrors that can come with it.

Note that this is your very last month to stream this movie on Netflix, as it’s due to leave the streamer globally in November.

12

There’s Someone Inside Your House

• Genre: Horror, Thriller
• Rating: TV-MA
• Release Date: October 6, 2021
• Director: Patrick Brice
• Cast: Sydney Park, Sarah Dugdale, Théodore Pellerin
• Language: English
• Runtime: 96 min

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Most slasher movies feature a serial killer who hides their identity behind some sort of mask — look no further than Leatherface. But There’s Someone Inside Your House does things a little differently. Rather than wearing a creepy mask, the killer wears the face of their victims.

Based on the best-selling novel of the same name by Stephanie Perkins, the movie follows college student Makani, who moves from Hawaii to a small town in Nebraska to live with her grandmother. However, before settling in, she and her newfound friends find themselves entangled in a web of murders. Makani herself quickly becomes the killer’s next target.

Created by a killer team of horror masters, Shawn Levy (Stranger Things) and James Wan (The Conjuring), this movie is intense, savage, and filled with suspense.

11

Blood Red Sky

A plane hijack. A vampire story set in the sky. That’s exactly what Blood Red Sky is all about. The movie does horror and suspense well, offering up a decent number of jump scares and lots of blood and gore.

Blood Red Sky was the most successful German Netflix Original film at the time of release. It might not be the best horror on Netflix, but it’s got a unique hook that sets it apart from everything else.

10

1922

• Genre: Crime, Drama, Horror
• Rating: TV-MA
• Release Date: October 20, 2017
• Director: Zak Hilditch
• Cast: Thomas Jane, Molly Parker, Dylan Schmid
• Language: English
• Runtime: 102 min

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Whenever something is based on a Stephen King novel, you know you’re in for a good time. This 2017 movie was the second Stephen King adaptation on the streamer, arriving shortly after Gerald’s Game. 1922 is extremely dark, disturbing, and intense. It begins with a farmer, Wilfred James, who, in the midst of a financial crisis, murders his wife for financial gain, convincing his son to help him. He pens a letter admitting to murdering his wife… and then his life spirals out of control.

9

Calibre

• Genre: Action, Horror
• Rating: TV-MA
• Release Date: June 29, 2018
• Director: Matt Palmer
• Cast: Jack Lowden, Martin McCann, Tony Curran, Ian Pirie
• Language: English

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Caliber is one of those films that quickly becomes stressful to watch (but in a good way, of course). The 2018 movie follows two friends, Marcus and Vaughn, who head to the secluded Scottish Highlands on a hunting trip. Out in the sticks, Vaughan attempts to shoot down a deer… but accidentally hits a child. Then things get out of control.

Caliber is not a traditional, pure horror movie, but it does psychological horror extremely well through the slow building of dread, the exploration of fear, and bleakness.

8

In the Tall Grass

• Genre: Drama, Horror, Thriller
• Rating: TV-MA
• Release Date: October 4, 2019
• Director: Vincenzo Natali
• Cast: Patrick Wilson, Harrison Gilbertson, Rachel Wilson, Tiffany Helm
• Language: English
• Runtime: 90 min

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Written and directed by Vincenzo Natali, In the Tall Grass is based on the novel of the same name by legendary horror author Stephen King. It takes place when a brother and sister enter a large grass field to rescue a young boy. However, they soon realize that the field has engulfed them, and there’s no way out.

This movie isn’t your traditional horror; it’s not monsters or ghosts. Instead, the setting itself — a field of tall grass — offers an unnerving and eerie atmosphere. It might not be the best King adaptation (there are so many!), but In the Tall Grass certainly delivers a unique chill.

7

Gerald’s Game

• Genre: Drama, Horror, Thriller
• Rating: TV-MA
• Release Date: September 29, 2017
• Director: Mike Flanagan
• Cast: Carla Gugino, Bruce Greenwood, Chiara Aurelia
• Language: English
• Runtime: 103 min

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Sticking with Stephen King adaptations, next up is Gerald’s Game. This movie brought together the genius of King with visionary horror filmmaker Mike Flanagan (The Haunting of Hill House, Midnight Mass). The result? An excellently crafted, psychological horror.

Gerald’s Game is a pretty bizarre movie. It follows a couple, Gerald and Jessie, who head to a secluded spot to rekindle their relationship. While sleeping together in a remote cabin, during foreplay, Gerald dies, and Jessie is left handcuffed to the bed with her dead husband on top of him. As time passes, she grows delirious, and the plot takes terrifying twists and turns.

6

It’s What’s Inside

• Genre: Comedy, Mystery, Sci-Fi
• Rating: R
• Release Date: October 4, 2024
• Director: Greg Jardin
• Cast: Brittany O’Grady, James Morosini, Gavin Leatherwood
• Language: English
• Runtime: 103 min

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It’s What’s Inside blends horror and science fiction, all wrapped up in one wildly mind-bending and suspenseful ride. The 2024 movie follows a group of friends who gather for a wedding weekend. However, one gift plunges the night into chaos. The movie plays with themes of time distortion and psychological horror.

With disturbing moments, surreal events, and tons of twists, this movie will undoubtedly stick with you. Sadly, this movie did terribly in the Netflix charts, but don’t let that put you off.

5

Apostle

• Genre: Thriller
• Rating: M
• Release Date: October 12, 2018
• Director: Gareth Evans
• Cast: Kristine Froseth, Dan Stevens, Michael Sheen, Lucy Boynton
• Runtime: 129 min

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Gareth Evans is perhaps best known for his gritty action thrillers, much like his 2025 Netflix movie Havoc, or the action thriller The Raid. When he dipped his feet in horror for Apostle (2018), he delivered an excellent flick. Written, directed, and edited entirely by Evans, Apostle takes place early twentieth century, where Thomas Richardson (Dan Stevens) embarks on a journey to rescue his kidnapped sister, who’s stuck on an island run by a religious cult.

Think of it as a little like horror classic The Wicker Man (1973), with a more fantastical twist.

4

The Babysitter

2017’s The Babysitter blends comedy, thriller, horror, and slasher elements. Starring Samara Weaving as the titular babysitter. Sent to look after 12-year-old Cole, who has an obvious crush on her, he must put aside his juvenile feelings when he learns that she’s a member of a murderous satanic cult of teenagers.

Cole soon learns that he’s to be her first blood sacrifice, and so the film becomes a fight for him to survive the night. After high ratings, The Babysitter merited a sequel movie, The Babysitter: Killer Queen, in 2020.

3

His House

• Genre: Drama, Horror, Thriller
• Rating: TV-14
• Release Date: October 30, 2020
• Director: Remi Weekes
• Cast: Bradley Banton, Mevis Birungi, Javier Botet, Vivien Bridson
• Language: English
• Runtime: 93 min

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The perfect 100% Tomatometer score on Rotten Tomatoes speaks for itself. His House follows a refugee couple who escape a war-torn South Sudan and try to establish a new life in England. However, as they adjust to their new surroundings, they soon learn there’s something evil and inherently sinister lurking beneath the surface.

Reviews regard His House as one of the finest and most emotional horrors of recent years. It twists the genre into a story that’s deeply emotional and meaningful, while also retaining levels of extreme horror.

2

Bird Box

• Genre: Drama, Horror, Sci-Fi, Thriller
• Rating: R
• Release Date: December 21, 2018
• Director: Susanne Bier
• Cast: Sandra Bullock, Trevante Rhodes, John Malkovich, Sarah Paulson
• Language: English
• Runtime: 124 min

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Released back in 2018, Bird Box quickly became one of Netflix’s most popular movies of all time (and still ranks there today). Based on the best-selling novel, Bird Box sets the scene in a post-apocalyptic world, where an unseen entity compels people to commit suicide. This forces people to mask their faces. The story follows Malorie, who’s determined to protect two children. While completely blindfolded, they traverse the post-apocalyptic lands, attaching themselves to a ragtag group of survivors. It’s a story of survival, hope, and determination.

Thanks to its success, Bird Box also merited a later spinoff, Bird Box Barcelona, which was decent but didn’t quite reach the heights of its predecessor.

1

Fear Street

• Genre: Horror, Mystery, Thriller
• Rating: TV-MA
• Release Date: May 23, 2025
• Director: Matt Palmer
• Cast: Katherine Waterston, Ariana Greenblatt, Lili Taylor
• Language: English

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In 2021, Netflix went all-in on Fear Street. The streamer released 3 movies (each respectively subtitled 1994, 1978, 1966) in the same month. The movies are based on the novels by seminal horror writer R.L. Stine, and set in the fictional town of Shadyside — better known as the murder capital of the United States. The setting and tone of the films are inspired by movies from the era they cover, while still having the feel of a modern, contemporary horror.

Moreover, if the trilogy isn’t enough for you, Netflix also released Fear Street: Prom Queen in 2025. Prom Queen revisits the fictional town of Shadyside for the high school class of ‘88, where the election for Prom Queen gets bloody.

If you want to immerse yourself in a movie series of horror and slasher, it doesn’t get much better than Fear Street!

What’s your favorite horror movie on Netflix? Tell us in the comments down below!