The Top 10 Horror Movies On Netflix That Aren’t Untold

If you aren’t a Tik Tok visitor, you likely don’t know what Untold is. Mr. Movie, a parody movie reviewer, has listed Untold as the scariest movie ever to land on Netflix. He cites statistics showing most viewers turn off the show at 9 minutes and 45 seconds because it is too terrifying to continue. All of this is entirely made up, and the most horrifying thing about Untold is the fact that so many people thought it was real. Evidently, no one reads bios anymore. Although Untold isn’t a real movie, plenty exist in the real world and are currently available to stream on Netflix. Here are the top ten horror movies on Netflix right now.

Top ten lists are arbitrary. One man’s trash is another’s treasure. This list will include the movies that are the easiest to watch, with stellar effects, quality performances, and stingy editing. They are the kinds of movies you could watch repeatedly and find something new to look at or ideas to dissect. These are the movies that you enjoy as much as you are scared by them. Not all of them will be the scariest movies in the genre, but they all are the best horror movies. Think of this as the deserted island horror movie list of all time, assuming you had a working phone and a way to charge it on the island.

Creep

You have never seen lovable Mark Duplass(Josef) like this. He plays a man dying of a brain tumor who hires a videographer to film his last days. This micro-budget found footage film starring Duplass and co-writer and director Patrick Brice(Aaron) is chaotic, bizarre, and genuinely scary in large part because of how unexpectedly chilling Duplass is. The film was initially intended to be a dark comedy about two odd people making a human connection but quickly spiraled into something much scarier as it came together. Whether Josef is dying or not is irrelevant because he clearly views Aaron as something other than an employee. It is inventive, unique, and well-named. Creep will creep you out for sure.

The Mist

The short story by Stephen King, first found in Dark Forces and later in Skeleton Crew, is bleak, claustrophobic, and disturbing. Unfortunately, no one gets out unscathed in this adaptation that takes the already dark story and makes it a bottomless pit of human despair. When a mysterious mist takes over a town bringing with it massive, terrifying creatures, a group of people must band together in a grocery store to fight for survival. The cast is stacked with Thomas Jane, Marcia Gay Harden, Andre Braugher, Toby Jones, William Sadler, and Laurie Holden. The ending is a gut punch that is still hotly debated and is easily the single most impactful final sequence of any horror movie ever made. If you want to punish yourself, watch The Mist.

Crimson Peak

Guillermo del Toro’s sumptuous gothic horror story is a beauty. As with most of del Toro’s films, it is stunning with a fairy tale feel that is easily revised. I’ve seen this movie many times and never tired of the imagery. Mia Wasikowska is Edith Cushing, a young writer recovering from a tragedy when she is swept away by a dashing stranger(Loki’s Tom Hiddleston). When she moves to his isolated family estate, she finds a sister, a menacing Jessica Chastain, and a house with more than its share of secrets. It isn’t necessarily the scariest film on this list, although there are some unnerving moments. What makes it worthy of being included, however, is the del Toro eye. His films are instantly recognizable and enjoyable. Crimson Peak is no different. I never tire of looking at the house, the costumes, and the lighting in this film.

Hush

The most old-school horror film on this list is a throwback to Alfred Hitchcock and the incredible Audrey Hepburn vehicle Wait Until Dark. Hush from Michael Flanagan of The Haunting of Hill House, The Haunting of Bly Manor, Midnight Mass, and The Midnight Club on Netflix is a fantastic horror director. He has a knack for elevating scary ideas into something both frightening and emotional. Hush is no different. Kate Siegel(collaborator and wife of Flanagan) plays Maddie, a deaf and mute writer who has retreated to a remote cabin in the woods. When a masked man(John Gallagher Jr.) breaks into her house, she must fight for her life in silence. Hush is a home invasion story like nothing you have ever seen or heard. Very little dialogue makes the tight ninety-five-minute runtime a taut, tense experience.

It Follows

This creative take on a supernatural STD should be required viewing in all high school health classes. After a sexual encounter, Jay(Maika Monroe) begins having disturbing visions and becomes convinced someone or something is coming after her. This relentless force is single-minded and can’t be deterred. Jay and her friends must figure out what is coming after them and how to stop it before they are all destroyed. It Follows has very little gore, instead relying on tension and dread to propel the story. Director David Robert Mitchell’s film was hailed as the best horror movie of the decade. I’m not sure I would call it the best, but it is certainly in contention, and in a genre that is overstuffed with tired ideas, this remains a solidly fresh take on a ghost story.

Fear Street Trilogy

It’s campy and loads of fun, capitalizing on the popularity of its Stranger Things stars and a surprisingly well-crafted story. The three films, told over three separate timelines, detail a generational curse that has plagued a town. Directed by Leigh Janiak(Honeymoon), based on the young adult book series by R. L. Stine, there isn’t a weak link in the trilogy. The first film set in 1994 resembles the classics from the ’90s Scream and Urban Legend. The next set in 1978 has a decidedly Friday The Thirteenth and Sleepaway Camp vibe, while the final film in 1666 has a witchy, Puritan panic feel that ties all three timelines together with a perfect ending. This trilogy was so successful there are already talks to continue the series.

The Perfection

The first half hour of this Netflix original from Richard Shepard is an uncomfortable watch. You think you are watching an alarming body horror film when it takes a hard left turn and becomes something even darker. Charlotte, Scream Queen Allison Williams of Get Out and the fabulously deranged Me3an is a musical prodigy on the backside of her emergence. She hunts down, seduces, and seemingly destroys new star pupil Lizzie’s (Logan Brown) career. But that is only the jumping-off point for this wild and deeply satisfying wild ride of revenge and maternalism. To say any more ruins the twist.

The Ritual

Easily one of the best creature features I have ever seen, The Ritual from director David Bruckner is many things at once. A group of old college friends reunites to mourn the loss of a friend. They take a hiking trip into a beautiful but remote part of Sweden, and when one of them is injured, they must detour into the forest. What should have been a bonding trip becomes a fight for their lives as they find a sinister force stalking them. The imagery is very creepy in the film’s back half, but the creature is the star. The creative use of Nordic folklore and effective special effects make this a compelling story perfect for a Norse mythology deep dive after watching.

Synchronic

I am a Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead fan. I am 100% down for their brand of sci-fi horror, and their largest budget film to date is less horror than it is an emotional time-winder with elements of fear. However, it is immensely watchable and always reliable. Anthony Mackie delivers a moving performance that reminds you why you have loved the sidekick in all the Marvel movies. Paramedic partners Steve and Dennis(Mackie and Jamie Dornan) have their lives ripped apart when they begin investigating a series of deaths caused by a new designer drug. The drug’s effects are bizarre and start Steve down a dangerous path when Dennis’ daughter’s disappearance is linked to it. Benson and Moorhead’s stories resonate because they are about the unknowable yet all too relatable.

JUSTIN BENSON AND AARON MOORHEAD TALK SOMETHING IN THE DIRT AND EXPLAIN WHAT REALLY HAPPENED TO LEVI

The Thing(2011)

The second The Thing film is a direct prequel to the John Carpenter original made in 1982. It acts as an epilogue to the original explaining how the alien dog came to infect the Antarctic research facility Kurt Russell’s MacReady worked at. I usually am not fond of prequels, but this is one of the few examples of a prequel making both films better. The tie-in to the Carpenter film is nearly perfect, and while director Matthijs van Heijningen Jr. uses some of the same tricks, he manages to create an entirely new story that feels from the same DNA as Carpenters. Mary Elizabeth Winstead plays Kate Lloyd, a scientist recruited to a Norwegian research facility. When they find an alien ship and lifeform frozen deep under the ice, Kate’s boss makes the unwise decision to bring it into the facility and test it. But, of course, you know what happens next.

THE THING 2011 ENDING EXPLAINED-THE PREQUEL TO CARPENTER’S ORIGINAL SETS UP A BLEAK END OF DAYS

The best horror movies on Netflix aren’t always the scariest. Despite Mr. Movie subverting entire audiences for days searching for a horror movie that doesn’t exist, there are plenty that are worth your time. Untold isn’t on this list because there is nothing to see until some streamer gets the bonkers idea to make a fictional horror movie real. The ten films listed above have been made and deserve a first, second, or even third look.