Whether you’re heading out or staying in this Halloween, I’ve got you covered for all of October with my ultimate list of the best horror movies on Netflix!
Oh, hello. I’m not sure anyone will be surprised to see me blogging again – following an unplanned hiatus thanks to the pandemic and life changes – now that it’s spooky season!
Halloween is my favourite time of the year after all..
I’ve got a bunch of post ideas in mind this month (although whether or not I find the time to actually write them is a different matter), so I thought what better way to kick off my blogging again with a list of the best horror movies on Netflix (five days into October, lol).
Because no matter what you’re doing this month, you’re sure to find time to get cosy in front of the TV with some tasty snacks and get your scare on.
Yes, there are 31 and yes, it would be an ideal challenge to watch one every single night throughout the month but that’s just not possible.
And in case it isn’t obvious, these movies are on Netflix UK.
Here are my recommendations* of horror movies on Netflix, in order of scare factor…
💀 Funny/Spooky Fun
Ghostbusters (1984) | Parapsychologists create a business exterminating ghouls and hobgoblins – and end up facing one killer demon in a cellist’s apartment.
Goofy | Supernatural Sci-Fi | Family
Pet Sematary (2009) | A sinister burial ground lies beneath the Creed family’s new, rural Maine property, and a sequence of tragic events will soon unleash its terrible power.
Chilling | Ominuious | Scary
Shaun of the Dead (2014) | Shaun has no clue what to do with his life or his relationship, but motivation comes in the form of a freak zombie attack.
Gruesome | Gory | Witty
Snakes on a Plane (2006) | Tasked with flying a murder witness to Los Angeles, a badass FBI agent has to battle a horde of venomous snakes unleashed midflight.
Gory | Suspenseful | Creature Feature
My boyfriend argued that Snakes on a Plane isn’t really a Halloween movie..but I don’t care. It’s still jumpy and great to watch this time of year!
Tremors (1990) | After a seismologist gets unusual readings on her equipment, handymen discover 30-foot-long carnivorous worms that suck their prey underground.
Horror Comedy | Creature Feature | Sci-Fi Movie
Van Helsing (2004) | Vampire hunter Van Helsing travels to a mysterious region of Europe on a quest to vanquish Count Dracula, the Wolf Man and Frankenstein’s Monster.
Fantasy Movie | Horror | Action & Adventure
Zombieland (2009) | Amid a zombie apocalypse, a cautious loner joins a Twinkie-obsessed daredevil and a cunning pair of sisters on a road trip from Texas to Los Angeles.
Offbeat | Violent | Irreverant
Zombieland Double Tap (2019) | Amid family drama and flesh-eater battles, the zombie-slaying foursome returns, encountering more survivors and a new breed of the undead.*
Offbeat | Violent | Exciting
*This is one of VERY FEW sequels I actually consider to be better than the previous movie. I loved this so much more than I thought I would and found it much more hilarious than the first – plus I liked where they went with the story, when, after wrapping up the first movie, you thought there was nowhere else the storyline could go..
💀💀 Generally spooky with a few jump scares thrown in
Army of the Dead (2021) | After a zombie outbreak in Las Vegas, a group of mercenaries takes the ultimate gamble by venturing into the quarantine zone for the greatest heist ever.*
Violent | Irreverant l Exciting
*Zombies and Las Vegas = two of my most favourite things! We watched this during our stay at Mollie’s Motel on our way to Bath earlier this year and as modern zombie movies go, it definitely impressed me.
Dawn of the Dead (2004) | In the wake of a plague, America is overrun by millions of cannibalistic zombies. A small group of survivors tries to find refuge in a shopping mall.
Gruesome | Gory | Violent
Deathnote (2017) | Light Turner finds a supernatural notebook and uses it to mete out death, attracting the attention of a detective, a demon and a girl in his class.
Mind-bending | Violent | Scary
Flatliners (2017) | A group of medical students explores life after death by temporarily stopping their hearts, unaware the experiment comes with terrifying side effects*
Chilling | Psychological | Scary
*I have a weird story about this movie! I remember watching the original when I was younger and was very excited for the remake to come out. I forgot all about it then, one day at dinner, was telling my Dad that they’d remade it and I wanted to watch it. Imagine my surprise when mere moments later I opened the TV magazine and saw right there that it was premiering on TV THAT VERY EVENING. Spooky – and the perfect addition to my list of horror movies on Netflix.
[Images via Alternative Movie Posters + IMDB]
Halloween (1978) | Michael Myers escapes from a mental hospital and returns home for a murderous Halloween night rampage in this classic slasher-horror film.
Scary | Teen Scream | Horror
House at the End of the Street (2012) | Moving to a new town proves even more stressful for a teenager when she learns that the house next door was the site of a double murder.
Ominous | Scary | Suspenseful
Krampus (2015) | A family starts to lose its Christmas spirit and is soon terrorized by a demon destined to punish those who don’t give the holiday its proper due*
Chilling | Scary | Suspenseful
*Surprisingly, this horror fell under the radar, despite starring Adam Scott and Toni Collette (who we know is pretty amazing in modern horror movies).
Ma (2019) | When a woman agrees to buy booze for a group of teens, they begin to party in her basement – but her hospitality soon turns into obsession.
Violent | Scary | Suspenseful
The Boy (2016) | A nanny is hired by a couple to look after their boy. She’s shocked to learn that her charge is actually a doll that the couple treats like a human.
Chilling | Scary | Suspenseful
The Cabin in the Woods (2012) | Five friends arrive at a secluded cabin with clear rules for their retreat. But when protocol is broken, punishment is swift – and everyone will pay.
Mind-bending | Gruesome | Gory
The Descent (2005) | Six girlfriends on a spelunking trip become trapped under the earth, where they start to suffer from limited oxygen and delusions – or are they?
Gory | Suspenseful | Creature Feature
The Purge (2013) | In a crime-ridden future when overtaxed cops let murder and other crimes rule the streets one night a year, someone’s knocking at James Sandin’s door.
Dystopian | Teen Scream | Horror
The Woman in Black (2012) | Sent to an isolated village to tie up a deceased client’s affairs, a young lawyer finds himself in a community grappling with a sinister presence.*
Chilling | Ominous | Scary
*I really struggled between choosing how spooky I should rate this movie because overall, it’s very suspenseful but not my type of ‘scary’ – HOWEVER, I recently re-watched it and absolutely lost my sh*t at the amount of well-timed jump scares that I’m convinced my neighbours must have thought I was being murdered due to how many times I screamed in surprise. Do you think I’ve rated this correctly in my list of horror movies on Netflix – or should it come under seriously spooky?
Let me know if you think otherwise!
Thir13en Ghosts (2011) | An unsuspecting family moves into a house inherited from an eccentric uncle, only to discover that it has a dangerous agenda all on its own.
Gory | Suspenseful | Supernatural Horror
Wounds (2019) | When a New Orleans bartender picks up a cell phone dropped in a brawl, he begins to receive ominous messages – and finds his sanity slowly unravelling.*
Chilling | Ominous | Scary
*This is another one that went totally under the radar for me. I expected it to be a B-List horror movie but it exceeded by expectations by far – and I’m not surprised, now that I know it was actually premiered at the Sundance Film Festival!
[Image from Pinterest + Alternative Movie Posters]
💀💀💀 Seriously spooky and/or disturbing
Hereditary (2018) | After the death of her mother, artist Annie and her family uncover their terrifying legacy and grapple with malevolent forces beyond their control*
Chilling | Ominous | Psychological
*Let me tell you, this movie F*CKED ME UP. Y’know when everyone declares you need to watch a movie because it’s one of the best horror movies ever? Unlike in the case of The Babadook, people were entirely right about this movie. It’s not for the faint-hearted…
Hostel (2005) | Three unwary students travel to Slovakia looking for a hostel said to be brimming with wanton women, only to become objects of imaginable torture.
Violent | Scary | Dark
Insidious (2010) | A family moves into a new home, where their son falls into a coma and eerie events begin to reveal something far more sinister is lurking in the house.
Chilling | Scary | Supernatural Horror
*I know the many, many sequels/spin-offs don’t do this series justice, but Insidious (and the second and third movie) are some of my all-time favourites. I love the original take on your traditional haunted house movie, I love all the little nod’s to classic horror movies (like the screeching violins on the title screen) and I love how they all link together so well (particularly the scene when we see/hear ‘ghosts’ running around outside and the way this is linked back in a later movie). And yes, I know everyone says the main scary dude looks like Darth Maul but I don’t even care – he still scares the sh*t outta me.
Also – how is this movie now over TEN years old?! It still seems so modern when watching it.
Midsommar (2019) | A grieving woman accompanies her boyfriend and his grad-school colleagues to a remote Swedish village that isn’t the idyllic commune it appears to be.*
Psychological | Horror | Art House
*Another one that’s certainly NOT for the faint-hearted. I would also definitely recommend reading up about this film online afterwards for the different takes on the themes behind the movie and things you may have missed during your first viewing.
Sinister (2012) | A true-crime writer discovers a cache of videotapes depicting several brutal murders that took place in the very house he just bought.
Chilling | Scary | Supernatural Horror
The Blair Witch Project (1999) | Three student filmmakers march into the woods to make a documentary about a fabled witch credited with a string of murders dating back 200 years.
Chilling | Ominous | Scary
The Conjuring (2013) | When a family starts experiencing supernatural terrors after moving into a Rhode Island farmhouse, they seek the help of a pair of noted demonologists.
Chilling | Scary | Suspenseful
FUN FACT: Though this movie isn’t a true story, the characters – Ed and Lorraine Warren – are. They were paranormal investigators that investigated famous cases such as the Amityville Haunting, the Annebelle doll (also a spin-off movie of The Conjuring) and the Enfield poltergeist.
The Strangers (2008) | A quiet stay at a remote vacation home spirals into terror for a couple when they come under attack by three masked, mysterious, murderous intruders.
Scary | Dark | Suspenseful
*Please note, I have literally taken the movie descriptions direct from Netflix. I don’t have the time (or patience) to sum up every single one into witty one sentences!
So there we have it. A list of the weird, wonderfully spooky and super scary horror movies on Netflix you can watch this October. Will you be taking part in the challenge? Have you already seen any of the above? Let me know your thoughts by commenting below!
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