The 8 Best Horror Movies on Netflix | Must Watch

8. The Blood Red Sky

Release Date: 23 July 2021

Duration: 121min

Director: Peter Thorwarth

Cast: Peri Baumeister, Roland Møller, Chidi Ajufo, Alexander Scheer, Dominic Purcell

Story/ Plot

An attempt to hijack an overnight transatlantic flight by a bunch of terrorists forces a woman suffering from an unknown illness to take action. She must face her inner beast, which she has battled to suppress, and reveal a sinister secret in order to keep her son safe.

7. I Am the Pretty Thing That Lives in the House

Release Date: 28 October 2016

Duration: 87min

Director: Osgood Perkins

Cast: Ruth Wilson, Bob Balaban, Lucy Boynton, Paula Prentiss

Story/ Plot

Iris Blum, a once-famed horror writer now battling dementia, resides in an isolated Massachusetts home, steeped in mystery. Built for a newlywed couple who disappeared on their wedding day, the house is mostly empty, save for the haunting memories and eerie occurrences. Iris’s caregiver, Lily Saylor, experiences supernatural events from her first night, including ghostly apparitions and growing spots of black mold.

As the peculiar incidents intensify, Lily discovers drafts of Iris’s novel “The Lady in the Walls,” which disturbingly suggests that the fiction may be a factual recount of a gruesome murder in the house. The story within the book reveals that Polly, the protagonist and suspected spirit haunting the house, was killed by her husband, her body concealed behind a wall. The historical terror mirrors the present as the house’s sinister past continues to haunt its inhabitants, culminating in Lily’s own death from fright. The cycle of tragedy seems destined to repeat when a new family moves into the house, overseen by the spectral presence of Lily.

6. Tin & Tina

Release Date: 31 March 2023

Duration: 1h 59min

Director: Rubin Stein

Cast: Milena Smit, Jaime Lorente, Carlos G. Morollón, Anastasia Russo, Teresa Rabal

Story/ Plot

In early 1980s Spain, Lola marries Adolfo after becoming pregnant, but a miscarriage leads her into a deep depression. The couple adopts albino twins, Tin and Tina, from a nearby convent orphanage. The twins’ intense religious fervor and unsettling behaviors soon become apparent, as they engage in disturbing biblical reenactments and even kill Lola’s dog, believing they’re cleansing its soul. Lola becomes increasingly alarmed, especially after a bullying incident involving the twins leads to a classmate’s coma and subsequent death.

The tension escalates when Lola discovers she’s unexpectedly pregnant again. As she distances herself, the twins’ actions grow more extreme, culminating in a violent attempt to ‘baptize’ her newborn, which leads to the children being returned to the convent. Following a tragic fire that kills Adolfo and injures their baby, Lola survives and later learns from the convent head that the twins were innocent. The story concludes with Lola at Adolfo’s funeral, having re-adopted the twins.

5. Viking Wolf

Release Date: 18 November 2022

Duration: 1h 37min

Director: Stig Svendsen

Cast: Liv Mjönes, Elli Rhiannon Müller Osborne, Arthur Hakalahti, Sjur Vatne Brean

Story/ Plot

Liv arrives first at a bus crash site where survivors report a wolf attack. Among the wreckage, she finds her daughter’s belongings, fueling her fear that her daughter, Thale, is involved. William, another first responder, confirms the wolf had human DNA, suggesting a werewolf presence. Meanwhile, Thale, transformed into a werewolf, narrowly avoids attacking her deaf sister, Jenny, recognized by her distinct heterochromia.

The situation escalates as Arthur, trying to protect Jenny, is injured and crashes their van near a crowded pub. Thale arrives and goes on a rampage. Liv and William, alongside Jenny, attempt to subdue Thale. The confrontation leads to a chaotic scene where Lars tries to intervene with his RV, resulting in his death and injuries to Liv and William. Jenny, taking matters into her own hands, tranquilizes Thale.

Thale is later held unconscious in a vet clinic where Liv, grappling with her emotions, contemplates killing Thale with a silver bullet but leaves it unresolved. The movie concludes with Liv placing the silver bullet beside Thale’s photo at home, leaving her final decision ambiguous.

4. Gerald’s Game

Release Date: 29 September 2017

Duration: 1h 43min

Director: Mike Flanagan

Cast: Carla Gugino, Bruce Greenwood, Carel Struycken, Henry Thomas, Kate Siegel

Story/ Plot

Jessie, handcuffed to a bed in an isolated lake house after her husband Gerald’s sudden death, encounters hallucinations and a possible real intruder she dubs “the man made of moonlight.” Initially mistaking a foot-licking incident as the intruder, she soon realizes it was only the dog, but not before Gerald’s apparition warns her of the danger posed by both the dog and the mysterious figure. After a tense interaction with visions of her past self and her abuser, Tom, Jessie resolves to escape by breaking a water glass to cut her wrist, using her blood as a lubricant to slip out of the handcuffs.

Freeing herself, she tries unsuccessfully to call for help, then drives away only to hallucinate the deformed man again, crashing her car. Rescued by locals, she later fabricates having amnesia about the ordeal to avoid recounting her traumatic experience. Six months post-escape, Jessie is active in supporting sexual abuse survivors but is haunted nightly by the figure of the moonlight man. Discovering he is a real serial killer named Raymond Andrew Joubert, Jessie confronts him during his court arraignment. After he mocks her, she dismisses him as insignificant, leaving the court empowered, having faced her physical and psychological captors.

3. Disappear Completely

Release Date: 24 September 2022

Duration: 1h 40min

Director: Luis Javier Henaine

Cast: Harold Torres, Teté Espinoza, Fermín Martínez, Vicky Araico, Norma Reyna, Quetzalli Cortés

Story/ Plot

In a poignant tale of longing and escape, a young girl from the countryside becomes consumed by the idea of disappearing from her bleak surroundings. Surrounded by a mother who immerses herself in Bible verses and a father who drowns his sorrows in alcohol and nostalgia, she finds solace in playing a solitary game of hide-and-seek. Inspired to express her feelings of isolation and her desire for disappearance, she organizes a stage play.

The play is an adaptation of an old Filipino film that tells the story of a family who mysteriously vanishes in the mountains during a war. The performance resonates deeply with her internal struggles and yearnings. Mysteriously, right after the play, during a seemingly routine car ride, she disappears. This event sets off a frantic search by her parents in the nearby woods. However, as they search for her, they, too, begin to disappear one by one, echoing the narrative of the play and transforming their family story into a haunting reality of vanishing without a trace.

2. Cargo

Release Date: 18 May 2018

Duration: 1h 45min

Director: Ben Howling, Yolanda Ramke

Cast: Martin Freeman, Simone Landers, Anthony Hayes, David Gulpilil, Susie Porter, Natasha Wanganeen, Caren Pistorius

Story/ Plot

In a post-apocalyptic setting, Andy, bitten by a zombie, prepares for his inevitable transformation. He plans a final stand to protect his daughter, Rosie, with Thoomi’s help. Initially, Andy considers using the gun’s last bullets on himself and Rosie as a merciful end, but Thoomi stops him, suggesting there might still be hope. They encounter smoke, signaling human presence, and soon face Vic again. Vic, emotionally broken by his wife Lorraine’s death, fights Andy but eventually surrenders Rosie peacefully.

As Andy’s infection worsens, he arranges to be bound and used as a pack animal by Thoomi to carry her and Rosie safely through dangerous terrain. They reach a group of Aboriginal warriors where Thoomi uses perfume to momentarily restore Andy’s humanity before he is mercifully killed. The trio arrives at a secluded survivor community where Rosie and Thoomi are warmly received. Thoomi and her family plan to raise Rosie, grateful for Andy’s sacrifices. The community memorializes Andy, highlighting his final act of love and gratitude.

1. The Ritual

Release Date: 8 September 2017

Duration: 1h 34min

Director: David Bruckner

Cast: Rafe Spall, Arsher Ali, Robert James-Collier, Sam Troughton

Story/ Plot

After witnessing their friend Rob’s murder during a robbery, Phil, Dom, Hutch, and Luke honor his memory by hiking Sweden’s Kungsleden trail. Opting for a shortcut through the forest after Dom injures his knee, the group encounters disturbing signs: a mutilated elk, ominous symbols, and a nightmarish cabin with strange artifacts and effigies. That night, the group experiences terrifying dreams and injuries, escalating their fear.

Their situation worsens as they encounter a mysterious creature in the forest, leading to Hutch’s brutal death. Phil vanishes after being dragged away by the creature, leaving Luke and Dom to stumble upon a cult settlement worshiping an ancient entity named Moder, a god-like figure demanding sacrifices for immortality.

Captured and facing the threat of sacrifice, Luke manages to escape after setting the cult’s cabin ablaze and confronting Moder. Despite hallucinations and intense fear, Luke defiantly refuses to submit to Moder, striking it with an axe and escaping to a nearby road. His final act of defiance against the roaring creature marks a moment of personal triumph over the traumas endured in the forest.