Sick of wondering which horror movie on Netflix is worth a watch? Fret no more.
Turn off the lights, turn up the volume, move in closer and experience some of the best horror films the streaming giant has to offer.
In no particular order…
GERALD’S GAME – Watch it HERE.
Haunting of Hill House/Bly Manor creator Mike Flanagan directs and co-writes this tense and surprisingly layered Stephen King adaptation. Carla Gugino (Hill House) puts in one hell of a performance as a woman whose husband handcuffs her to the bed in what, at first, appears to be a bit of kinky foreplay. Nope. Things go from bad to worse.
OVERLORD – Watch it HERE.
An underrated zombie-war flick from Aussie director Julius Avery (Son of a Gun) that delivers some gritty and very entertaining mash-up of both genres. It’s like a B-grade slice of schlock, delivered in A-grade fashion. Energetic and slick stuff.
LIGHTS OUT – Watch it HERE.
Based on a viral short film, Lights Out was just the right type of project for James Wan to jump on and produce. Not only was it a surprise financial hit, it was a fun, creepy and jump-filled little pic that had us aching for our childhood night lights. The feature film debut for director David F. Sandberg (Shazam!) was effectively made and offered up a few new scares thanks to the stay-in-the-light narrative. Plus, a strong performance by Aussie actress Teresa Palmer.
DON’T BREATHE – Watch it HERE.
Fede Alvarez’s follow-up to his well-received 2013 Evil Dead remake was Don’t Breathe, a nail-biter that flipped the usual home invasion narrative: making intruders the victims. Stephen Lang gave us a memorable horror villain with The Blind Man, a blind Army vet who’s not too pleased when three young hoodlums break in to get his cash. Suspense is the name of the game here.
HIS HOUSE – Watch it HERE.
We said in our review: “Although the narrative is ostensibly a ghost story, it is a layered and relevant one. [Writer-director Remi] Weekes has made a film that works as straight horror, as a sharp piece of social commentary, and as a metaphor for coping with trauma.”
TRAIN TO BUSAN – Watch it HERE.
An ambitious zombie movie that juices its fun concept for all it’s worth. We follow a self-absorbed businessman and his daughter as they travel by train from Seoul to Busan. When zombies overrun their train, well, it’s on. Highly energetic to the point of exhaustion and surprisingly emotional, ticking off the necessary zombie movie checklist while keeping a close eye on characterisation and scope.
UNDER THE SHADOW – Watch it HERE.
Under the Shadow is an internationally co-produced horror film set in war-torn 80s Tehran. The film follows a mother and daughter as they deal with the terrors of a post-revolution city, which hard enough, but then a mysterious evil entity begins to haunt their home. The feature debut for Iranian director Babak Anvari (Wounds) juggles more drama-common themes of femininity and suppression with a nice dose of creep-out, psychological horror. One that deserves more attention.
HUSH – Watch it HERE.
Another home invasion horror-thriller with a twist. Whereas Don’t Breathe gave us a vision-impaired villain, Hush gives us a hearing-impaired victim. Another film from director Mike Flanagan (Gerald’s Game), who racks up the anxiety by giving us slickly designed sequences of pure tension, ramped up with point-of-view audio ““ we often can’t hear where the bad guy is either. The villain may ultimately not be very memorable, but this is a nail-biter you should definitely put on the list.
THE RITUAL – Watch it HERE.
According to horror films: forests suck. The Ritual has college friends reuniting for a hiking trip in Sweden. No prizes for guessing that things don’t go according to plan for these dudes in this nicely-crafted slice of character-driven horror. The journey has proven a little polarising among viewers, but whether you dig the overall explanation given at the end or not, the expedition itself is well worth taking.
ANNIHILATION – Watch it HERE.
A horror sci-fi film here – one that, particularly towards the end, will be more appealing to those that like their science fiction heady. Still, there’s plenty of unsettling sequences and imagery for horror fiends in this tale of a biologist who signs up for a dangerous, secret expedition into a mysterious zone where the laws of nature don’t apply. Written and directed by Alex Garland, known for writing-directing Ex Machina and writing 28 Days Later, Sunshine, Never Let Me Go and Dredd.
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