— Courtesy of Netflix
Looking for some great original horror movies and series to stream on Netflix? Look no further, here are my recommendations.
Netflix has been a hard hitter in the streaming horror game over the past year or so. Of course, everyone knows about Bird Box, since it was a huge success (both as a movie and as a thousand memes), but are there any other Netflix originals worth watching?
The answer is YES! And I am going to give to you a short list of what I consider to be the best Netflix horror originals currently streaming on Netflix.
Hush — Written by The Haunting of Hill House’s Mike Flanagan and wife Kate Siegel, Hush premiered at South by Southwest in March of 2016, then began streaming on Netflix a month later. Both Stephen King and William Friedkin are fans, with King comparing it to Wait Until Dark and Halloween.
Hush tells the story of Maddie (Siegel), a deaf woman who lives in an isolated house in the woods. A masked killer slaughters Maddie’s friend right outside of her front door, and realizes she is deaf when she doesn’t respond to her friend’s screams for help. He then torments and stalks Maddie, who is trapped in her home. Maddie is a fighter, and her plans and schemes are both thrilling and tense. I loved this movie!
Hush—Courtesy of Netflix
The Babysitter – This has become one of my favorites, I have watched it multiple times while introducing it to my friends. Wikipedia classifies it as horror comedy, but I would also add that it has a very large amount of blood and gore.
12-year-old Cole (Judah Lewis) is rather nerdy, and regularly gets bullied at school. Lucky for him, his hot babysitter Bee (Samara Weaving) takes up for him – and genuinely seems to like him. One of the high points of this flick is the friendship these two unlikely characters share, a friendship that is put to the test when Judah finds out Bee is the leader of a demonic cult. The Babysitter is both scary and ridiculously hilarious, and all of the performances are dead on.
The Babysitter—Courtesy of Netflix
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Gerald’s Game – Mike Flanagan both directed and wrote the screenplay for this adaptation of Stephen King’s very dark novel. I always loved the book, but doubted there would ever be a movie made…I am very glad that I was wrong!
Jessie and her husband Gerald visit their isolated lake house for a little time away, and Gerald gets carried away during some bondage play that Jessie was not expecting. When she objects, Gerald refuses to stop, they argue, and her husband drops dead of a heart attack. Making things worse is the fact that Jessie is handcuffed to the bed, with no idea of how to break free.
Dehydration, hallucinations, a stray dog, buried childhood memories and a horrifying deformed intruder make this an intense, scary tale. Carla Gugino gives a killer performance in this movie, which scored an impressive approval rating of 90% on Rotten Tomatoes.
Malevolent – Courtesy of Netflix
Malevolent — Angela and Jackson are siblings living in Scotland, where they lead a fake paranormal investigation team. They regularly take money from grieving family members, then trick them with recordings and planted “evidence” of hauntings. Angela, who is marketed as the medium on the team, begins to actually experience some supernatural activity, and wants out of the operation, but Jackson guilts her into performing one last time.
As they investigate a former orphanage with a very dark past, Angela begins to see the ghosts of little girls who were murdered. While there are some plot holes in the story, I really appreciated how the movie takes a violent turn into hardcore horror territory during the last 40 minutes or so. If you can handle that sort of thing, give this one a watch.
The Haunting of Hill House – There has been a lot written about this series, and as a fan of the original novel, I think it deserves the attention it has received. The story is compelling, rich, emotional, and beautiful, and I don’t care what ANYONE says, it IS scary. I haven’t talked to a single person who didn’t jump during the car scene, and get cold chills during the Bent-Neck Lady reveal. The actors are perfectly cast (including the incredibly talented young children), and I cannot recommend this one highly enough. Watch it, then thank me for talking you into it.
The Haunting of Hill House — Courtesy of Netflix
Cam – Madeline Brewer (Orange is the New Black) gives a star-making performance in this creepy, crazy, psychological horror story of cam girl Alice, who goes by the screen name of Lola_Lola.
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Alice is obsessed with increasing her ranking on the cam site, even simulating suicide on camera to increase her tips and popularity. One day, Alice sees that Lola is streaming, despite the fact that she is not online. When she attempts to log on, she is locked out of her account, and then sees a cam girl onscreen who looks just like her. It only gets weirder from there.
Cam was written by former cam girl Isa Mazzei, and is a rarity: a story that is actually sympathetic to sex workers. Stephen King himself lauded Brewer’s performance, and Cam holds a 94% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
He’s Out There – This tense home invasion thriller stars The Handmaid’s Tale’s Yvonne Strahovski, and just came to Netflix recently. Laura and her two little girls arrive at their remote lake house, expecting Daddy to arrive later that day. After the girls discover a creepy tea party setup in the woods, the family begins to be tormented by a masked intruder outside.
There is nothing all that original about the story, but the acting performances are strong (especially Strahovski’s), and there are enough scary little touches to keep horror fans engaged. I watched this not really expecting a lot, but was pleasantly surprised and a little creeped out.
So, there you go, a few original movies to keep you busy for a few nights. If you decide to watch something on this list that is new to you, drop a comment and let me know what you think.
Netflix subscriber? Planning on checking out any of these can’t miss horror titles? Let the other scary streamers know what you think in the comment section below.