If there’s one thing horror fans love the most, it’s a solid scare that gets the adrenaline pumping. We’re forever chasing the thrills that a great scary movie can bring, which is no easy feat the more entrenched in the genre we become. That proves especially true in the current digital age, where there’s an overwhelming sea of options spread across multiple streaming services and platforms that can make finding the scariest offerings tricky. We’re here to help. As we head into the weekend, here’s a roundup of ten of horror’s most intense, bone-chilling movies.
These are some of the scariest horror movies you can and should stream this weekend.
The Autopsy of Jane Doe – AMC+, Hulu, Shudder, Tubi
André Øvredal goes full throttle for the scares in this quiet little chiller that sees a father and son coroner team stumped over the bizarre mysteries contained within the body of an unidentified young woman. Well executed scares, clever twists, and earnest performances by Brian Cox and Emile Hirsch give this supernatural haunter serious heft. While the narrative bides its time unveiling the truth behind Jane Doe’s battered body, it’s heavily steeped in witchcraft. In other words, The Autopsy of Jane Doe presents a new take on the subgenre. More importantly, it’s seriously spooky.
The Dark and the Wicked – AMC+, Shudder
Bryan Bertino, a filmmaker with a reputation for bleak horror, creates unrelenting dread and evil in the vacuum of loss here. His latest is rife with suffocating dread, disturbing visuals, and a haunting atmosphere. Siblings Louise (Marin Ireland) and Michael (Michael Abbott Jr.) return to their childhood home to say their final goodbyes to their dying father, much to their mother’s disappointment. She’d warned them not to come, and it doesn’t take long to figure out why; an evil presence has taken root on the family’s rural land, and it wants them all. Ireland and Abbott Jr. deliver tremendous performances. The horror is intrinsic to a family coping with grief and loss, but it’s heightened to a horrifying degree thanks to Bertino’s distinct style and twisted vision of evil. It makes for a volatile, frightening viewing experience steeped in nihilism.
Ghost Stories – AMC+, Kanopy, Plex, Pluto TV, Tubi
Based on Jeremy Dyson and Andy Nyman’s 2010 stage play of the same name, Ghost Stories is an anthology of sorts that handily succeeds at giving you goosebumps. Skeptic Phillip Goodman (Andy Nyman) specializes in debunking fraudulent psychics on TV. When he’s given three unsolvable case files, he embarks on a journey that shakes his cynicism to its core. Dyson and Nyman understand how to get under your skin and deliver maximum jolts. Nothing was lost in translation when adapting the stage play to screen. This movie brings the scares.
Gonjiam: Haunted Asylum – AMC+, freevee, Hi-Yah, Peacock, Plex, The Roku Channel, Tubi
Amateur ghost hunters in over their heads is a plot description that could apply to many found footage movies, let alone horror in general. If you’re going this route, you’d better find an innovative way to set it apart from the rest, or at least ensure the scares are plenty. Gonjiam nails it. In this Korean film, a horror web show crew plans a live stream event in one of the country’s most infamous abandoned hospitals. The host has rigged fake scares to spook his team for the sake of ratings, but they prove unnecessary thanks to the sinister forces haunting the place. While this movie doesn’t reinvent the wheel, it makes up for that with unrelenting terror. Turn the lights down low and prepare to get creeped out.
Hell House LLC – AMC+, Crackle, Prime Video, SCREAMBOX, Shudder, Tubi, Vudu
A group of friends works to transform an old hotel into a Halloween haunt attraction in time for the season. An unexplained accident on their first night in business results in 15 attendees and staff members’ tragic deaths. Over a decade later, a documentary crew ventures there to answer what happened on that fateful night. Written and directed by Stephen Cognetti, this faux-documentary style horror movie brings tons of thrills and chills. The maze-like setup of the home and the subtle details enhance the spooky tone of this movie. This place is seriously haunted, and it’ll instill a deep fear of clowns.
His House – Netflix
Husband-and-wife Sudanese refugees Bol (Sope Dirisu) and Rial (Wunmi Mosaku) have been through more than most endure in a lifetime. They’ve fled their war-torn village, crossed the ocean, survived a degrading stint in a U.K. detention facility, and have been finally granted an opportunity for housing in their new country. The home may be roomy, but they face hostility in and outside its moldy walls. Remi Weekes’s feature debut transforms the refugee experience into a petrifying horror film with expertly crafted scares. For all the existential terror that Bol and Rial face in their new lives, the director keeps a firm grip on the supernatural, too.
Pulse – AMC+, Crackle, Hoopla, Peacock, Plex, Prime Video, Tubi, Vudu
Kiyoshi Kurosawa’s supernatural chiller Pulse (Kairo) gives an eerie supernatural spin to the apocalypse. A heavily overcrowded afterlife caused the dead to spill over into the world of the living to a chilling effect. They invade like a viral infection via technology, plunging the globe into hopeless despair and death. Kurosawa spins this tale through two distinct halves, as different groups of characters discover that ghosts are invading through the internet. The more methodical pacing allows the sense of unease to unfurl slowly, eventually stripping away any semblance of hope through terrifying spectral encounters and devastating loss. While the spectral encounters bring the frights, Pulse has a way of wielding its existential horror that cuts straight to the bone.
Satan’s Slaves – AMC+, Shudder
A loose remake/prequel of the 1980 Indonesian horror film, writer/director Joko Anwar brings the unrelenting scares. A family in a rural home struggles to survive after mom Mawarni Suwono’s long battle with illness dried up all the royalties from her once-lucrative music career. Her death triggers a series of supernatural occurrences suggesting that perhaps mom made a deal with the devil; and he’s come to collect. The isolated setting, the atmosphere, and the endless barrage of frights make this a perfect spooky watch for the weekend. Look for the sequel that’s also streaming on Shudder.
Shutter – Kanopy, Vudu
Photographer Tun (Ananda Everingham) and his girlfriend Jane (Natthaweeranuch Thongmee) are a happy couple in love. That changes when they open up the doors to supernatural torment when a distracted Jane accidentally runs a woman over while driving home from a friend’s wedding. Tun, who’d been drinking, convinces Jane to flee, leaving the woman alone in the middle of the road. Subsequently, strange images begin showing up in Tun’s photography. The feature debut by Parkpoom Wongpoom and Banjong Pisanthanakun brings stark moments of terror and nightmare imagery that sticks with you. If you love this one, also check out Pisanthanakun’s The Medium on Shudder.
Terrified – AMC+, Hoopla, Shudder
The cinematic equivalent of enjoying a haunted attraction, Demián Rugna’s feature is an onslaught of terror from beginning to end. Plot-wise, there’s not much to it, nor is there a lot of explanation for those that prefer answers. However, that doesn’t stop a cop on the cusp of retirement and a slew of paranormal experts from trying to get to the bottom of a series of bizarre activities plaguing a Buenos Aires neighborhood. With creative and innovative scares aplenty, Terrified is the type of horror film that lives up to its name; it’s freaking petrifying. Make it a Rugna double feature with visceral possession shocker When Evil Lurks, also on Shudder.