10 Netflix Horror Movies You Won’t Want to Miss (February 2021)

We are in what some have called a new renaissance of horror films. With movies like Jordan Peele’s ‘Get Out’ and Ari Aster’s ‘Hereditary’ and ‘Midsommar’ leaving extreme impressions on audiences, significant films like theirs have helped almost completely redefined the genre. While classic slasher films like the original ‘The Texas Chain Saw Massacre’ will always be loved by fans, horror lovers nowadays are demanding more than just senseless violence and blood splatter. We want a well-crafted narrative, engaging cinematography, and a plot that actually makes us think. Luckily, Netflix has horror movies you should be terrified to miss.

Unfortunately, this renaissance and newfound popularity with horror films has opened the flood gates to a lot of terrible movies being made – for every great Netflix horror film, there are about 50 that just aren’t worth a damn. Lucky for you, your friends here at Loud News Net like to puff, chill and watch horror movies, including the bad ones, so you don’t have to.

So, without further ado, here is a list of 10 must-see Netflix horror movies currently streaming on Netflix:

The Girl with All the Gifts (2017)

Release Date: February 24, 2017 

Director: Colm McCarthy

Cast: Gemma Arterton, Glenn Close, Paddy Considine, Dominique Tipper

Runtime: 1h 51m

Rotten Tomatoes Ratings: 86% Tomatometer / 67% Audience Score

If you are looking for a horror movie on Netflix that will not only keep you on the edge of your seat but also give you quite a mindf-ck, then look no further. Combining the best of sci-fi and horror, the film follows a young girl named Melanie in a post-apocalyptic future where humanity is ravaged by a disease that she may carry the cure for. With so many narrative layers and story arches, this Netflix horror film is one of the best to leave you with a lot to think about for days.

The Platform (2020)

Release Date: March 21, 2020

Director: Galder Gaztelu-Urrutia

Cast: Ivan Massagué, Emilio Buale, Zorion Eguileor

Runtime: 1h 34m

Rotten Tomatoes Ratings: 80% Tomatometer / 71% Audience Score

 

This Netflix horror movie original from Spain shows that director Galder Gaztelu-Urrutia is on another level. The film takes place in a prison that is a tower that holds its prisoners on each level. Every day, a platform, starting from the top, stop at each level with a massive amount of food for a brief period of time, allowing the prisoners to devour as much as they can before it descends to the next level. The plot seems to be an allegory for social hierarchies and has enough depth and subtle nuances to blow your mind. It starts out a bit soft, causing you to question if it’s a horror movie at all, but it absolutely gets more sick and twisted as it goes on, taking you to unpredictable realms of human depravity.

What Keeps You Alive (2018)

Release Date: August 24, 2018

Director: Colin Minihan

Cast: Hannah Emily Anderson, Brittany Allen, Martha MacIsaac

Runtime: 1h 39m

Rotten Tomatoes Ratings: 82% Tomatometer / 42% Audience Score

 

This 2018 Canadian indie movie just found it’s way to Netflix about a week ago and has already clawed it’s way up the charts to Netflix’s top 10. Unfortunately, upon its release and despite its critical acclaim when shown at South by Southwest, this movie never had the distribution needed to reach audiences and horror lovers – until now. The film follows a couple, Jules and Jackie, that trek to a cabin in the woods for a lovers’ retreat. As their first anniversary together, Jules begins to learn troubling things about Jackie and her past, which begins the unraveling of a grim movie that will surely leave your jaw on the floor.

The Ritual (2018)

Release Date: February 9, 2018

Director: David Bruckner

Cast: Rafe Spall, Rob James-Collier, Arsher Ali

Runtime: 1h 34m

Rotten Tomatoes Ratings: 74% Tomatometer / 60% Audience Score

 

This British supernatural horror and Netflix original is….. well, creepy to say the least. As if there weren’t enough horror movies to make you nervous about getting lost in the woods, this Netflix original takes it to new levels.

Four friends travel out for a hike in memory of a mutual friend that recently passed, only to get lost and subsequently stalked by an evil that not even nightmares could fathom. Rife with creepy scenes and jump scares, this movie will make you uncomfortable in the best ways possible.

We Summon the Darkness (2020)

Release Date: April 10, 2020

Director: Marc Meyers

Cast: Alexandra Daddario, Keean Johnson, Johnny Knoxville

Runtime: 1h 23m

Rotten Tomatoes Ratings: 68% Tomatometer / 33% Audience Score

 

This somewhat recent addition to the Netflix horror movie lineup is director Marc Meyers’ perfect homage to classic slasher films. We follow 3 lovely girls as they attend a heavy metal show and lure 3 guys they meet back to their place for beer and some good old fashioned satanic sacrifice fun. While not a movie that will necessarily make you scared, it’s a film that doesn’t take itself too serious and has a lot to say about the ‘Satanic Panic’ of the 80s. And as a cherry on top, Johnny Knoxville of Jackass fame stars as the leader of a death cult. Curious for more info? Check out our review of the Netflix movie here.

Green Room (2016)

Release Date: April 29, 2016

Director: Jeremy Saulnier

Cast: Anton Yelchin, Imogen Poots, Alia Shawkat, Joe Cole, Patrick Stewart

Runtime: 1h 34m

Rotten Tomatoes Ratings: 90% Tomatometer / 75% Audience Score

 

What ‘We Summon the Darkness’ provides for heavy metal lovers, ‘Green Room’ does for fans of punk rock. We follow a punk band that plays a show at a secluded venue that ends up being an audience of skinheads and nazi punks that sure as hell don’t appreciate the bands cover of “Nazi Punks Fuck Off” by the Dead Kennedys. The band eventually witnesses a crime in the back of the venue that sets off a wild chain of events that will keep you thoroughly engaged. With an outstanding cast, including Anton Yelchin (before his untimely death in 2016) and Patrick Stewart (yes – captain Picard of Next Generation fame), this horror movie absolutely deserves the 90% grade it currently holds on Rotten Tomatoes.

The Perfection (2019)

Release Date: May 24, 2019

Director: Richard Shepard

Cast: Allison Williams, Logan Browning, Steven Weber, Alaina Huffman

Runtime: 1h 30m

Rotten Tomatoes Ratings: 72% Tomatometer / 58% Audience Score

 

Another psychological mind bender to add to your queue, this Netflix original horror film follows 2 musical prodigies on a trip to Shanghai. What unfolds is a tale of envy and deception which will make viewers question how far they would go to make it to “the top”. And there’s a scene that involves self mutilation that will absolutely haunt you for days on end.

The Witch (2016)

Release Date: February 19, 2016

Director: Robert Eggers

Cast: Anya Taylor-Joy, Ralph Ineson, Kate Dickie

Runtime: 1h 32m

Rotten Tomatoes Ratings: 90% Tomatometer / 59% Audience Score

 

In his directorial debut, Robert Eggers proves he has a special knack for attention to detail and using thematic elements to craft one hellishly creepy film. This period piece set in 1630 New England follows a puritan family that encounters a sinister evil in the woods surrounding their home. Like many classic horror movies prior to the era of slasher films made popular in the 70s and 80s, Eggers uses everything from general tone, lighting, music, and sound to build suspense. While it starts as a slow burn that may not be for everyone, it evolves into an unforgettable horrific experience that is sure to be a classic.

Train to Busan (2016)

Release Date: July 22, 2016

Director: Sang-ho Yeon

Cast: Gong Yoo, Ma Dong-seok, Woo-sik Choi, Eui-sung Kim

Runtime: 1h 58m

Rotten Tomatoes Ratings: 94% Tomatometer / 89% Audience Score

 

The popularity of Korean cinema has been on the rise for the past few years, and a viewing of films such as this gives good reason why. If you haven’t tired yourself out of the Zombie genre, then this is surely a must watch. It takes place on a train ride that goes awry when a zombie outbreak ravages some of the passengers. While the plot sounds simple enough and maybe even cliche, there is much more depth within the film and it’s characters that have truly garnered the cult classic status this movie has received from fans. And word around the campfire is that a sequel titled Peninsula is currently in post production.

The Evil Dead (1981)

Release Date: November 30, 2016

Director: Sam Raimi

Cast: Bruce Campbell, Ellen Sandweiss, Betsy Baker

Runtime: 1h 25m

Rotten Tomatoes Ratings: 95% Tomatometer / 84% Audience Score

 

Before directing arguably bad big-budget films like the Toby Mcguire ‘Spiderman’ movies, director Sam Raimi had his humble beginnings as a filmmaker with this indie classic. What started with a small budget and a team of friends shooting a campy horror movie at a cabin in the woods, has evolved into a franchise that continues to this day, most recently with the television show ‘Ash vs. Evil Dead’. Liking horror films but never having seen this classic is like saying you like hip hop but you don’t know who Jay-Z is; it has proven to be a timeless cult classic that has inspired just about every horror filmmaker after its time. Even famed writer Steven King was beyond impressed when he saw the film in 1982.

Netflix Horror Movies Honorable Mention:

• Tucker and Dale vs. Evil (2015) – a fun, campy slasher film about two rednecks turned into accidental serial killers.
• The Silence of the Lambs (1991) – Anthony Hopkins plays Hannibal Lector in this unforgettable classic about an FBI agent who enlists one killer to find another.
• Child’s Play (1998) – This is the film that started a franchise that would give an entire generation of kids nightmares. This original has all the creepiness and sadistic humor the recent remake missed out on.
• Murder Party (2007) – A group of weirdos try to make their Halloween unforgettable by staging a murder party, where they all partake in killing a stranger. It’s fun, over the top, and doesn’t take itself too seriously.
• Await Further Instructions (2018) – A family wakes up on Christmas day to find their house enclosed by a mysterious substance and “Stay Indoors and Await Further Instructions” plastered on their TV screen. Not a movie for everyone, but it does have interesting things to say about themes such as blind faith.
• Candyman (1992) – This film surprisingly still holds up, so much so that Jordan Peele is writing the screenplay for the upcoming remake in which Tony Todd is set to reprise his role. Definitely worthy of late-night viewing.