For those looking to be thoroughly spooked, Netflix is home to a wide array of unsettling
horror movies, ranging anywhere from gory slashers to tense psychological thrillers.
To help you navigate the vast amount of Netflix exclusives the platform has to offer, here's
a list of the creepiest Netflix films you should never watch alone.
After the unexpected death of their friend, a group of old college buddies honor his memory
by taking a trip to Sweden.
Shortly after embarking on their hiking journey, one of the friends is injured, and the group
decides to take a shortcut through the forest.
After a series of eerie occurrences, the group becomes lost, turning what was supposed to
be an adventurous trip commemorating their lost pal into a disturbing, dangerous affair.
The Ritual is at its strongest when it explores the relationships and interactions between
the friends.
As their sanity begins to slip, so does their friendship, showing just how fragile the bond
between friends can be.
The film offers a perfect blend of a good story, creepy imagery, and a cast of likable
characters.
The natural eeriness of the forest, the growing tension as the group becomes more lost and
increasingly worse for wear, and the inclusion of a sacrificial cult all make for a wonderfully
frightening flick.
Just be careful about watching it before taking any trips out to the forest.
In Hush, Maddie Young is a deaf, mute author who has moved into a remote house to write
her next book in peace.
Unfortunately for the author, she gets trapped in a twisted life or death scenario when a
stranger with a crossbow finds her isolated home.
Not only is Hush one of the best horror films on Netflix, it's also one of the most suspenseful
films in the home invasion sub-genre.
Director Mike Flannigan's expertise in tension-building and creepy storytelling shine through effortlessly
in Hush, especially with the film's use of sound.
Because Maddie is deaf, Hush uses the natural sound of a scene to help induce panic in the
audience.
Viewers listening closely to the film will be able to catch specific cues that escape
the main character.
Before I Wake follows Jessie and her husband Mark who take in a foster child named Cody
after their son passes away.
Once Cody moves in, it becomes apparent to the new parents that Cody is reluctant to
sleep.
Turns out there's a good reason: Cody's dreams become reality, which is especially awkward
as he keeps dreaming about their dead son.
When Cody begins to dream of Jessie's deceased child, the dynamic in the house immediately
changes.
The parents struggle with accepting the passing of the son when he keeps appearing in front
of them at night.
But once Cody's dreams turn to nightmares, the tone of the film changes from fantastical
to terrifying.
In an attempt to rekindle their failing marriage, Jessie and her husband Gerald take a vacation
to their lake house.
Shortly after arriving, Gerald decides to engage in some adventurous bedroom activity,
but he has a heart attack immediately after he handcuffs Jessie, leaving her completely
trapped.
Confined to her bed, Jessie must find a way to escape while also facing off against a
starving dog and an ominous house guest that visits her at night.
"You're not real."
Gerald's Game is a brutal film to watch because of the sheer helplessness of the protagonist
throughout the film.
Her drive to stay alive and to free herself creates a sense of optimism throughout the
film, but the obstacles in her way are absolutely brutal.
Wilfred James lives on a farm with his wife, Arlette, and teenage son, Henry.
Though Wilfred and Henry adore their simple life, Arlette has other plans for the family.
After she expresses her intent to sell the farm and move to the city with Henry, tensions
quickly rise in the household.
With limited options, Wilfred concludes that to keep his land, he must kill his wife.
1922 dives into the mind of a man willing to kill for his own personal gain.
The film frames the narrative through Wilfred's telling of events.
His inner monologues are eloquent and almost poetic, but Wilfred is truly an unnerving
character to follow.
"This is a thing I regret even more bitterly than the crime for the reasons that this document
will show."
More terrifying than the killing itself is how Wilfred's violent plot affects him and
the people he loves in ways he never believed possible.
The film doesn't shy away from showcasing the consequences of Wilfred's depraved actions,
and if you're looking for a slow-burn horror film with a menacing main character, 1922
is definitely worth a watch.
The Perfection focuses on Charlotte, a renowned cellist who was forced to leave an elite conservatory.
When Charlotte begins a relationship with Elizabeth, the new prodigy from the same music
school, things quickly spiral out of control.
The Perfection is genuinely unsettling, primarily due to the strong acting of the two lead actresses.
Both manage to be likable and unpredictable, and it makes for a wild ride for viewers of
the film.
With plenty of graphic imagery and disturbing implications, The Perfection still manages
to be a thought-provoking watch.
CAM follows Alice, a cam-girl who aspires to rise to the top ranks of a cam-girl website.
After she fakes killing herself on one of her shows, Alice's account is hacked by a
person who looks and sounds identical to her.
To get back her show and regain her identity, Alice must find the source of the copycat
hacker.
Not only is CAM a fun premise, the film smartly comments on how women are treated in the adult
video industry.
Alice is an extremely likable, confident woman who is proud of her job as a cam-girl and
the audience she has acquired.
The creepiness in CAM largely stems from how easily someone's work and identity can be
stolen online.
Alice's life is instantly destroyed, and there's seemingly nothing she can do to protect herself.
Considering just how easily accounts and even major corporations can be hacked online, the
implications in CAM should be more than enough to make everybody delete their social media
accounts and permanently log off.
Bird Box takes place in a frightening universe where creatures drive anyone who looks at
them to insanity.
To avoid this fate, survivors must stay indoors and cover their eyes when navigating outdoors.
Malorie, an expectant mother, joins a group of survivors in hopes of safely waiting out
the storm.
With a child on the way and dwindling resources among the group, Malorie must not only protect
herself but also find a way to safely raise her newborn child in the post-apocalyptic
world.
Bird Box presents a fascinating premise where survivors must restrict the use of their eyes,
forcing them to find new ways to go on with their daily lives.
Most of the horror stems from having characters walk around blindly, all while mentally unstable
people are trying to kill them.
But the themes of motherhood and the fears associated with it add an extra level of horror
that viewers are likely to find very unsettling.
Serial killers are a staple of the horror genre, but more often than not, we associate
them with monsters like Michael Myers and Jason Voorhees rather than real life human
beings.
But in Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile, the focus isn't on some fictional slasher
but instead on Ted Bundy, the infamous serial killer who murdered at least 30 women throughout
the 1970s.
The film highlights Ted Bundy and his relationship with his girlfriend, Liz Kendall, as they
weather the police's growing suspicions of Bundy.
Unknown to Liz, Ted is actively murdering people while they're together and constantly
spinning lies to avoid detection.
What makes Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile an especially chilling watch isn't
gory killings or tense action set pieces.
It's just how charismatic this killer is.
Ted Bundy was an actual killer who killed real people, often by manipulating his victims
into a false sense of security and preying on their goodwill.
"Whoever this woman is who's accusing you, I'm sure she's just got you mixed up with
some other handsome stranger."
Set in the Australian Outback, Cargo follows the trials and tribulations of Andy, a man
who's survived the zombie apocalypse, along with his baby daughter Rosie.
Unfortunately, Andy's recently been bitten, and he only has a matter of hours before he
turns into one of the undead.
With precious little time left, Andy's priority is to find someone to raise his daughter after
he turns into one of the walking dead.
Unlike many other zombie films, our hero Andy is bitten early on, fated to die.
As Andy's time diminishes and he becomes more like the undead, we see not just the decline
of society but the fracturing of the family unit.
Cargo plays on the fear of complete isolation and being mostly responsible for your own
survival, unable to seek out the help of others in society.
In Apostle, cultists living on a remote island kidnap a woman and hold her for ransom.
Sent on a mission to rescue his sister, Thomas Richardson makes his way to the island to
save her.
While covertly living among the cult members, Thomas must navigate the island stealthily
and play the role of a devout follower.
One of the bloodiest movies on Netflix, the film features horrific rituals, creepy creatures,
and impressive action scenes.
And when our hero discovers the full extent of what's happening on this island, he realizes
he's caught up in something much darker than he bargained for.
As the film progresses, the beliefs of the cult are slowly revealed, and the aggressive
enforcement of those ideas helps to create a sense of imminent dread for much of the
film.
Apostle is the perfect creepy film for any viewer that's at once terrified and fascinated
by cult life.
I Am the Pretty Thing That Lives in the House follows the story of Lily Saylor, a live-in
nurse who's hired to assist Iris Blum, a retired writer with dementia.
Once Lily begins to settle into the old house, a series of strange events starts to occur,
like mold appearing on the walls and figures of ghostly beings roaming the halls.
After finding a draft of one of Iris' books detailing a murdered couple who once lived
in the house, Lily begins to suspect that the account isn't fictional and that the home
might be haunted.
For fans of paranormal thrillers, I Am the Pretty Thing That Lives in the House makes
excellent use of the haunted mansion's creepy atmosphere, with plenty of slow pans and dark
lighting.
Instead of relying on jump scares and constant threats, the film is more reserved, slowly
building up the paranormal happenings in Iris' home.
For viewers who may be tired of watching tweens shrieking at CG ghosts and specters, the film
offers a refreshing change of pace that's still likely to keep you awake at night.
While serial killers, gory deaths, and dark lighting all make for a creepy experience,
sometimes the scariest scenarios are a film's psychological elements.
In Clinical, Dr. Jane Mathis is a psychiatrist struggling to move on with her life after
she's attacked by one of her patients.
Relentlessly tortured by the idea that she failed in her role as a psychiatrist, Jane
steps away from treating trauma patients to focus on her own well-being.
Just as she's beginning to make progress, Jane receives a request from a man suffering
from trauma after an intense automobile accident.
Moved by the man's plight, Vanessa agrees to help him, but doing so has its consequences.
Trying to juggle her mental health while also fulfilling her promise to her new client begins
to take a toll.
What separates this creepy Netflix horror film from other movies is that it plays with
the concept of how scary a person's own mind can be when they're not in control of it.
Ghastly figures manifesting during sleep paralysis and an unstable reality all come into play,
showing that sometimes the most severe and dangerous struggles are constructed inside
our own minds.
Check out one of our newest videos right here!
Plus, even more Looper videos about your favorite horror movies are coming soon.
Subscribe to our YouTube channel and hit the bell so you don't miss a single one.