From classics to modern gems, Netflix horror movies and series deliver scares, suspense, and unforgettable stories. These are perfect for fans and casual viewers.
Netflix’s horror library in 2026 feels like a gamble. Some months deliver real gems, while others lean heavily on forgettable, low-budget titles that blur together fast. As rivals like Shudder build deeper genre catalogs, Netflix no longer feels like a one-stop horror hub. Still, if you dig past the noise, there’s plenty worth watching. From stylish originals and unsettling slow burns to binge-worthy horror series that stick with you long after the credits roll, let’s create a list for you that is absolutely terrifying!
1. Jaws
Year: 1975
Director: Steven Spielberg
Stars: Roy Scheider, Richard Dreyfuss, Robert Shaw, Lorraine Gary, Murray Hamilton
Is Jaws really a horror film? If the ocean still makes you uneasy decades later, the answer is yes. Labels aside, it remains one of Spielberg’s sharpest and most thrilling achievements, leaner and more suspense-driven than Jurassic Park or E.T. Ironically, the movie’s famous production problems helped shape its power, since the malfunctioning mechanical shark forced the film to rely on suggestion rather than spectacle. That restraint made every appearance hit harder, especially Brody’s legendary chum scene, which still lands as one of cinema’s great shock moments. Quint’s brutal death only deepened the trauma for an entire generation of beachgoers. What makes Jaws endure, though, is how perfectly it blends character and pacing, delivering a movie that is as unforgettable as it is terrifying.
2. The Texas Chain Saw Massacre
Year: 1974
Director: Tobe Hooper
Stars: Marilyn Burns, Paul A. Partain, Edwin Neal, Jim Siedow, Gunnar Hansen
One of the most brutal mainstream horror films ever made is The Texas Chain Saw Massacre. The movie feels less like a studio movie and more like raw, sweaty arthouse terror. Loosely inspired by Ed Gein, it leans into the harsh textures of rural Texas, using grainy visuals and relentless sound design to create something deeply unsettling. It also introduced Leatherface, the chainsaw-wielding figure in a mask of human skin, whose menace somehow feels eclipsed by his even more disturbing cannibal family, living in decay and feeding on their victims. While the film is not especially gory by modern standards, its impact runs much deeper, tapping into post Vietnam anxieties and rural isolation in a way few horror films ever have. Twisted and strangely beautiful, it never loosens its grip, especially during moments like the infamous hammer ambush, which still feels brutally unforgettable.
3. 28 Days Later
Year: 2002
Director: Danny Boyle
Stars: Cillian Murphy, Naomie Harris, Christopher Eccleston, Megan Burns, Brendan Gleeson
By the time 28 Days Later arrived in 2002, the zombie genre felt exhausted. Then Danny Boyle’s film shocked it back to life. Yes, the infected are not technically zombies, but the distinction barely matters when they are sprinting at full speed and tearing through everything in sight. These rage virus victims modernized the same fears Romero once tapped into, except now the threat feels faster, meaner, and harder to escape. The early scenes of Jim wandering an empty London in hospital scrubs remain some of the most haunting images in horror, especially once the infected appear and the calm shatters instantly. The film treats its monsters with deadly seriousness, ditching camp for raw tension and dread. Its influence shows clearly in Zack Snyder’s Dawn of the Dead remake, which borrowed the speed and intensity while keeping Romero’s undead roots. Together, these films reshaped zombie cinema for the 21st century and proved the genre still had teeth.
4. Train to Busan
Year: 2016
Director: Yeon Sang-ho
Stars: Gong Yoo, Ma Dong-seok, Jung Yu-mi, Kim Su-an, Kim Eui-sung, Choi Woo-shik, Ahn So-hee
Love them or hate them, zombies remain one of horror’s most reliable staples. They show up with clockwork consistency. Even after sitting through more indie zombie movies than people care to admit, there always seems to be one standout every couple of years that reminds me why the genre still works. In 2016, that film was Train to Busan, an easy addition to any best-of list. This South Korean thriller follows a work-obsessed father trying to protect his young daughter on a train overrun by the infected, balancing nerve-shredding action with surprisingly emotional storytelling. It delivers set pieces that feel genuinely fresh for zombie cinema, while grounding the chaos in human stakes that actually hit. The supporting characters are memorable, the makeup work is excellent, and the pacing barely lets you breathe. Few zombie films in the last decade have blended thrills and heart this effectively. This makes Train to Busan a modern classic in the genre.
5. His House
Year: 2020
Director: Remi Weekes
Stars: Wunmi Mosaku, Sope Dirisu, Matt Smith
Nothing drains horror faster than movies that refuse to actually be scary. Remi Weekes’ His House has no such problem. It opens with tragedy and wastes no time unleashing dread, stacking its haunted house scares early and often instead of teasing them out endlessly. Ghosts appear on floors, staircases, and in corners where you least expect them, creating constant unease. Beneath the terror, though, lies a deeply human story about grief, trauma, and the immigrant experience, echoing the emotional weight of modern independent cinema. Weekes cares deeply about Bol and Rial, about where they came from, what forced them to leave, and the terrible cost of survival. At the same time, he clearly wants viewers jumping out of their seats. That balance between emotional weight and genuine scares is what makes His House feel both meaningful and relentlessly effective.
6. The Haunting of Hill House
Year: 2018
Director: Mike Flanagan
Stars: Henry Thomas, Michiel Huisman, Carla Gugino, Elizabeth Reaser, Oliver Jackson-Cohen, Kate Siegel, Victoria Pedretti
The Haunting of Hill House works not only as great horror TV but also as a thoughtful adaptation of Shirley Jackson’s novel. Instead of relying on constant jump scares, it keeps its monsters mostly hidden, lurking in shadows or just outside the frame. The camera work and pacing echo early horror films, building unease through movement, silence, and suggestion. What feels most unstable while watching is your own mind, since the show trains you to expect tricks, then still catches you off guard. It leans into discomfort rather than shock, letting tension stretch until it becomes almost unbearable. That patience makes the scares land harder and the emotional moments hit deeper. The series gives you time to sit with dread instead of rushing past it. Hill House creates an atmosphere that feels haunting long after the screen goes dark.
7. The Fall of the House of Usher
Year: 2023
Director: Mike Flanagan
Stars: Bruce Greenwood, Mary McDonnell, Carla Gugino, Kate Siegel, Henry Thomas, Zach Gilford, Carl Lumbly, Mark Hamill
No one in modern horror is doing quite what Mike Flanagan does, turning emotional wounds, quiet fears, and unresolved grief into stories that feel more unsettling than any monster ever could. His work leans into faith, love, loss, and mortality, building a horror universe that feels deeply human and strangely beautiful at the same time. The Fall of the House of Usher continues that streak, drawing from Edgar Allan Poe’s classic tale while weaving in elements from works like The Tell Tale Heart, The Raven, and The Masque of the Red Death. The series is packed with clever references, from character names to full poetry readings, while exploring Poe’s favorite themes of guilt, obsession, paranoia, and decay. Part dark satire of the ultra-wealthy and part twisted family tragedy, it plays like a horror-flavored Succession with teeth. The result is a stylish yet unsettling and emotionally loaded slow burn that lingers long after the final episode.
8. Midnight Mass
Year: 2021
Director: Mike Flanagan
Stars: Zach Gilford, Kate Siegel, Kristin Lehman, Samantha Sloyan, Henry Thomas, Hamish Linklater
On Midnight Mass’ Crockett Island, life feels like a slow unravel. An oil spill has wrecked the fishing industry, homes rot under salt air and storms, and most residents have already left in search of something better. Only two ferries connect the island to the mainland, and escaping feels distant and hope even harder to come by. Everything that follows in this seven-episode series is best experienced unspoiled, but what stands out immediately is how inward the show turns its horror. Created by Mike Flanagan, Midnight Mass uses its supernatural elements less for spectacle and more as a way to explore grief, addiction, guilt, and belief. The isolation of the island mirrors the emotional isolation of its characters, whose secret histories and personal failures weigh as heavily as anything lurking in the dark. At times, it feels like a study in Catholic guilt. At others, it plays like a haunting look at group psychology and the dangers of blind faith. “Blessed are those who have not seen and have believed.” Midnight Mass invites you to question where miracles end, and horror begins, and what faith really costs when people are desperate enough to cling to it.
9. Creep
Year: 2014
Director: Patrick Brice
Stars: Mark Duplass, Patrick Brice
Creep is a simple setup that leans hard into personality and somehow makes it work better than expected. Directed by Patrick Brice and starring Mark Duplass, the film follows a naive videographer hired to document the life of a strange recluse in a remote cabin. From the start, the energy feels off in the best way. Duplass, often known for his charm, flips that image into something deeply unsettling, playing a man who works his way into the protagonist’s life and refuses to let go. The early exchanges crackle with awkward tension, the kind that makes you laugh and squirm at the same time. Genre fans will probably guess where things are headed, but that predictability never kills the experience. The real strength lies in the chemistry between the two leads, which carries the film from quiet unease into full-blown discomfort. This makes Creep a small but strange and oddly effective indie horror gem.
10. Cabinet of Curiosities
Year: 2022
Directors: Guillermo Navarro, David Prior, Jennifer Kent, others
Stars: Tim Blake Nelson, Andrew Lincoln, Essie Davis, F. Murray Abraham, others
When you first hit play on Netflix’s Cabinet of Curiosities, it’s fair to wonder how much of this really feels like a Guillermo del Toro project. The series is framed as a collection of stories he personally curated, with del Toro himself stepping in as host, pulling objects from the cabinet to introduce each tale. That setup raises expectations fast. You start asking if the episodes he helped write are enough to shape the whole thing, and if the rest can match that same level of craft and imagination.
The good news is, there is no need to doubt it. Cabinet of Curiosities delivers some of the most striking visuals, production design, and cinematic polish seen in streaming horror in a long time. The stories themselves can feel familiar at times, but the execution elevates them, guided by filmmakers who clearly know the genre inside and out. Every episode feels carefully chosen, like something that earned its place on the shelf. Watching it, you get the sense this is exactly the kind of collection del Toro would stand behind, proudly and without hesitation.
11. Bram Stoker’s Dracula
Year: 1992
Director: Francis Ford Coppola
Stars: Gary Oldman, Keanu Reeves, Winona Ryder, Anthony Hopkins
Based on the 1897 Gothic classic, Francis Ford Coppola’s Dracula is gloriously excessive. Sometimes stunning and sometimes unintentionally funny, often both at once. The production design is lush, and the old-school practical effects feel like a love letter to early cinema. This gives the film a rich and theatrical texture. Gary Oldman devours the role with operatic intensity, Winona Ryder leans into the doomed romance, and Anthony Hopkins brings wild energy to Van Helsing. Subtlety is not on the menu here, and that is before you get to Keanu Reeves, whose earnest but awkward performance sticks out in ways that are hard to ignore. Still, when Coppola’s romantic excess clicks, it is intoxicating, sweeping, and weirdly beautiful. When it misses, it veers into full melodrama, yet somehow remains endlessly watchable. It is messy, maximalist, and unforgettable, for better and for worse, in exactly the way cult favorites often are.
12. 28 Years Later
Year: 2025
Director: Danny Boyle
Stars: Jodie Comer, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Jack O’Connell, Alfie Williams, Ralph Fiennes
Fans expecting nonstop chaos like the original 28 Days Later might be surprised by how much this sequel leans into a quieter, coming-of-age story. After a chilling flashback to the early days of the outbreak, the film jumps forward to around 2030, where a small and fortified community survives on an island off England’s coast, connected to the mainland by a narrow causeway at low tide. Thirteen-year-old Spike, played by Alfie Williams, prepares for his rite of passage. He is traveling with his father, Jamie, played by Aaron Taylor-Johnson, to face the infected for the first time. Spike seems more worried about his mother, Isla, portrayed by Jodie Comer, whose illness leaves her confused and vulnerable, than about the rage virus itself. As tensions grow between father and son, the story unfolds in unexpected ways. The film avoids obvious set pieces, favoring eerie detours and emotional beats instead. The result is less like a traditional zombie sequel and more like a strange and haunting fairy tale wrapped in suspense. The story is drifting between tenderness and terror in ways that linger.
13. Smile
Year: 2022
Director: Parker Finn
Stars: Sosie Bacon, Kyle Gallner
Smile may not win over hardcore horror purists, but for casual viewers and anyone easily rattled, it delivers a relentlessly creepy ride. The film blends elements of elevated horror with old-school shock tactics, mixing psychological unease with crowd-pleasing jump scares. At its core, it plays like a modern curse movie in the vein of The Grudge or It Follows, while also tapping into stories where trauma unlocks something far darker beneath the surface. Dread is the engine here, not gore, and the movie works hard to make you feel trapped alongside its characters. The camera and score constantly tease scares, sometimes delivering and sometimes pulling back, which can feel exhausting but also keeps tension high. A few moments tip into silliness, but the atmosphere rarely breaks. What helps Smile stand out is how it treats trauma as more than just a gimmick. The haunting feels real and unavoidable, making the emotional struggles run parallel to the supernatural threat instead of replacing it. Genre veterans will spot familiar beats. But for most viewers, Smile lands as genuinely terrifying and hard to shake once the credits roll.
14. Doctor Sleep
Year: 2019
Director: Mike Flanagan
Stars: Ewan McGregor, Rebecca Ferguson, Kyliegh Curran, Cliff Curtis
Doctor Sleep, being a direct sequel to The Shining, almost works against it. The constant callbacks to Kubrick’s film often feel unnecessary, reexplaining what never needed explanation and turning iconic moments into fan service instead of storytelling. From recycled visuals to on-the-nose dialogue about Jack Torrance’s past, the movie spends too much time reminding you of something better instead of trusting its own ideas. When it finally breaks away, though, Doctor Sleep becomes far more fun. As a wild horror adventure about an adult Danny Torrance, played by Ewan McGregor, teaming up with a gifted teen to battle an immortal cult that feeds on psychic energy, it actually works. Mike Flanagan brings his usual emotional grounding and visual flair, and Rebecca Ferguson clearly enjoys chewing the scenery as the villainous leader. The tone shifts into something strange and oddly entertaining. As a Shining sequel, it feels awkward and unnecessary. As a standalone Stephen King fever dream, it is messy but enjoyable, with enough weirdness and heart to make the ride worthwhile.
15. Gerald’s Game
Year: 2017
Director: Mike Flanagan
Stars: Carla Gugino, Bruce Greenwood
Mike Flanagan’s Gerald’s Game trims Stephen King’s novel down to its emotional core, cutting away the stranger edges to focus on tension, trauma, and survival. The result is a tightly wound thriller that leans almost entirely on two performances, and Bruce Greenwood and Carla Gugino more than rise to the challenge. Gugino especially carries the film with raw intensity, turning isolation into something deeply unsettling. This approach fits perfectly with Flanagan’s track record in horror, from Absentia to Oculus, Hush, and Ouija: Origin of Evil, all of which center on strong and resilient female leads. That consistency feels less like a coincidence and more like intent, with Flanagan drawn to stories about women confronting buried pain, reclaiming agency, and surviving emotional or literal captivity. Gerald’s Game takes those ideas and locks them inside a stripped-down, single-location nightmare that never loses its grip. It may look modest on the surface, but it overachieves at every turn. The film is powered by two actors doing heavy emotional lifting and a director who understands how to turn quiet desperation into gripping and skin-crawling suspense.
So, which one are you picking up for the next Netflix and chill session?
