35 Best Horror Movies Streaming [September 2024]

There's nothing like a well-written horror flick to offer the catharsis of a good scare. From complex psychological terror to good old-fashioned jump scares, there's something purely delightful about getting goosebumps over a movie monster. And with more than a century of horror films to choose from and dozens of subgenres from vampire horror to supernatural demonic thrillers, there's something for everyone. Whether you love a good slasher film or you prefer your horror more subdued, there are some fantastic frightening films available for your enjoyment. We're sharing the 55 best horror movies you can catch streaming right now so you don't miss out on a single chill.

Updated on August 28, 2024: Streamers like Netflix, Hulu, Prime, and Shudder make regular changes to their catalogs each month. We'll be updating this list regularly to reflect those changes, so be sure to check back each month for more great horror!

One of the greatest sci-fi, horror, and sci-fi horror films ever made, "Alien" is a study in tension. The Nostromo is a commercial spaceship, filled with everyday people. After they receive a signal from a nearby moon, however, things go off the rails. Upon investigating the source of the transmission, our hapless heroes discover an alien lifeform as ruthless as it is violent. It ends up aboard the Nostromo, where it hunts them down in a terrifying game of cat-and-mouse. Can they survive this alien onslaught? The better question may be, can you survive this classic film's knife-edged tension?

• Starring: Sigourney Weaver, Tom Skerritt, Harry Dean Stanton
• Director: Ridley Scott
• Year: 1979
• Runtime: 116 minutes
• Rating: R
• Rotten Tomatoes Score: 93%

Set in 1987, "American Psycho" is a blacker-than-black comedy adapted from Bret Easton Ellis' satirical 1991 novel about Manhattan yuppie serial killer Patrick Bateman. Bateman prides himself on his outward appearance of affluence and utter normalcy, measuring his worth in the material details — like the quality of his facial routine — and salivating over the tastefulness of his colleagues' business card fonts. But Bateman's greed extends beyond the material as underneath his cool, blank expression lurks a sadistic murderer who delights in others' suffering, picking off strangers and colleagues alike.

• Starring: Christian Bale, Willem Dafoe, Jared Leto
• Director: Mary Harron
• Year: 2000
• Runtime: 103 minutes
• Rating: R
• Rotten Tomatoes Score: 69%

While critics may not have loved this film, "The Amityville Horror" is a classic haunted house film that has had a lasting impact on the genre, grossing upwards of $80 million at the box office during its original run. The film was based on Jay Anson's controversial 1977 book claiming the Lutz family was terrorized by supernatural forces during their short tenure as owners of a New York Dutch Colonial where family annihilator Ronald DeFeo Jr. had murdered six people in 1974. While the storytelling and acting are uneven at times, overall the film spins a genuinely dark and terrifying yarn that will make even the most hardened skeptics feel just a little less warmly about Dutch Colonial architecture.

• Starring: Margot Kidder, James Brolin, Rod Steiger
• Director: Stuart Rosenberg
• Year: 1979
• Runtime: 118 minutes
• Rating: R
• Rotten Tomatoes Score: 24%

A gloomy, artful Australian psychological horror flick, "The Babadook" finds grieving widow Amelia struggling to raise her 6-year-old son Oskar alone after losing his dad in a car accident on the day she gave birth. After reading Oskar a frighteningly Burtonesque pop-up story called "Mister Babadook," Amelia finds herself plagued by mysterious occurrences resembling details from the book. This beautifully dark story offers layers of symbolism as a metaphor for grief. And in an interesting twist, Mister Babadook has even emerged as an unlikely LGBTQ+ icon, with Vox calling the top-hatted Jack White dupe "queer in the most empirical sense."

• Starring: Essie Davis, Noah Wiseman, Hayley McElhinney
• Director: Jennifer Kent
• Year: 2014
• Runtime: 94 minutes
• Rating: NR
• Rotten Tomatoes Score: 98%

When Denver child serial killer "the Grabber" kidnaps a bullied child named Finney, a supernaturally charged phone and his sister's psychic visions are the only things standing between him and the Grabber's dark plans. The film is adapted from a short story by Joe Hill and bears the influence of his horror master dad, Stephen King, in the storytelling craftsmanship. In an interview with Filmmaker Magazine, cinematographer Brett Jutkiewicz explained he used a limited but not desaturated color palette that adds a dark, nostalgic feel to the storytelling. It's a perfect fit for a rare presentation of the late 1970s not as the upbeat simpler time it's often portrayed as in film and television today but as the uncertain period when bullies ruled their schools and many American communities were plagued by rampant crime and an uptick in serial killers.

• Starring: Mason Thames, Madeleine McGraw, Ethan Hawke
• Director: Scott Derrickson
• Year: 2021
• Runtime: 103 minutes
• Rating: R
• Rotten Tomatoes Score: 83%

When "The Blair Witch Project" was released in 1999, it was something of a game-changer for the horror genre. Using a bare-bones script, minimal natural sets, a handful of cameras, and some improvisational acting, the film was instrumental in pioneering the found-footage technique with absolutely chilling results. Told through the supposedly "recovered" footage of three film students who went camping deep in the woods in search of the legendary Blair Witch, the story relies on dark images, unsettling sounds, shaky cameras, and strange artifacts found in the woods to tell its tale. Menaced by unseen forces, the students become lost, seemingly trapped in the supernatural snare of the Blair Witch.

• Starring: Heather Donahue, Michael C. Williams, Joshua Leonard
• Director: Daniel Myrick, Eduardo Sánchez
• Year: 1999
• Runtime: 87 minutes
• Rating: R
• Rotten Tomatoes Score: 86%

In the post-pandemic era of Airbnb vacays gone wrong, the rental property horror story has become a full-fledged subgenre in its own right. "Cabin in the Woods" is something of a precursor, and would fit well in a triple feature with "Barbarian" and "The Rental." The story revolves around a group of college friends whose weekend trip to a remote cabin turns them into lab rats in an elaborate psychological experiment. Thanks to the mysterious scientists' Disney-quality special effects team, the group is immersed in a series of surreal horrors. "Cabin in the Woods" serves up plenty of grisly fun while taking more than a few satirical stabs at the slasher genre.

• Starring: Kristen Connolly, Chris Hemsworth, Anna Hutchison
• Director: Drew Goddard
• Year: 2012
• Runtime: 95 minutes
• Rating: R
• Rotten Tomatoes Score: 92%

Kicking off one of the most beloved horror franchises of all time, "Child's Play" introduced the world to Chucky, a baby-faced, red-headed doll partially inspired by the Cabbage Patch Kids. It all starts when a voodoo-wielding serial killer transfers his soul into a talking "Good Guy" doll to escape death. When that doll is gifted to a six-year-old boy named Andy, bloody shenanigans ensue. Ridiculous, funny, and scary, "Child's Play" is a must-watch for any horror fan who finds dolls just a little bit unsettling.

• Starring: Catherine Hicks, Chris Sarandon, Alex Vincent
• Director: Tom Holland
• Year: 1988
• Runtime: 87 minutes
• Rating: R
• Rotten Tomatoes Score: 73%

Don't be fooled by the terrible Rotten Tomatoes rating — "Children of the Corn" falls under the horror film sub-category of "so bad it's good." Based on the 1977 Stephen King short story of the same name, "Children of the Corn" has a pretty terrifying premise: A town full of rural Nebraska kids have created a cult under the deity "He Who Walks Behind the Rows," and their religion involves a whole lot of human sacrifice that kicked off with the mass murder of every adult in their town. There's just something utterly chilling about the idea of feral children riled up under a cult of personality, even if the acting does get a bit corny at times. Pun intended. 

• Starring: Peter Horton, Linda Hamilton, R.G. Armstrong
• Director: Fritz Kiersch
• Year: 1984
• Runtime: 93 minutes
• Rating: R
• Rotten Tomatoes Score: 36%

Loosely based on the experiences of Ed and Lorraine Warren, the paranormal investigators connected to the famous Amityville case, "The Conjuring" follow the Warrens as they investigate a Rhode Island farmhouse haunting where the creep factor runs amok at 3:07 each morning. With its atmospheric storytelling and paranormal themes, "The Conjuring" is a thrilling ghost story in the spirit of supernatural classics like "The Omen" and "The Amityville Horror." It's also the first film in the "Conjuring" universe, which is quite the franchise for fright fans.

• Starring: Vera Farmiga, Patrick Wilson, Ron Livingston
• Director: James Wan
• Year: 2013
• Runtime: 111 minutes
• Rating: R
• Rotten Tomatoes Score: 86%

The fifth entry in the "Evil Dead" series, "Evil Dead Rise" is a standalone tale without the benefit of Bruce Campbell's Ash Williams. You might balk at this — but in fact, its well-crafted story and faithfulness to Sam Raimi's vision keep this absence from ever being a problem. Set in a run-down Los Angeles apartment building, this gore-soaked tale unleashes the Deadites with the help of an earthquake and the world's creepiest record collection. Twisted, unsettling, and deliciously fun, "Evil Dead Rise" is every bit as good as any other "Evil Dead" tale.

• Starring: Lily Sullivan, Alyssa Sutherland, Morgan Davies
• Director: Lee Cronin
• Year: 2023
• Runtime: 97 minutes
• Rating: R
• Rotten Tomatoes Score: 84 %

Horror prequels have a bad reputation thanks to titles like "Annabelle," "Hannibal Rising," and 2011's "The Thing." But every so often, a movie like "The First Omen" comes along and proves that prequels can sometimes live up to their predecessors. Directed by Arkasha Stevenson, "The First Omen" center around an American woman named Margaret who's come to Rome in order to work in an orphanage and eventually take her vows and become a nun. However, not only is Rome in the middle of some serious social unrest, there's something satanic happening behind the walls of the orphanage. Seeing unsettling visions and fearing for the life of a troubled young girl, Margaret's faith is put to the test when it seems the devil himself has descended upon the Church. Featuring a brilliant lead performance from Nell Tiger Free, nearly unbearable levels of suspense, and a shot so shocking that we can't believe the movie is only rated R, "The First Omen" deserves as much praise as its demonic daddy, "The Omen."

• Starring: Nell Tiger Free, Ralph Inneson, Sônia Braga
• Director: Arkasha Stevenson
• Year: 2024
• Runtime: 119 minutes
• Rating: R
• Rotten Tomatoes Score: 82%

After years of making a name for himself in comedy, Jordan Peele blew critics away with his directorial debut and first foray into horror, "Get Out." This film follows Chris Washington, a Black photographer visiting his white girlfriend's parents for the first time. He begins to feel increasingly uneasy about the strange behavior he encounters from everyone he meets. When Rose's father convinces him to try hypnotherapy for smoking cessation, Chris soon finds himself fighting for his life. Like much of Peele's comedy, this film is both entertaining and thought-provoking, dealing with nuanced racial and social themes. It does a particularly good job of skewering white America's self-congratulatory "post-racial" politics.

• Starring: Daniel Kaluuya, Allison Williams, Bradley Whitford
• Director: Jordan Peele
• Year: 2017
• Runtime: 104 minutes
• Rating: R
• Rotten Tomatoes Score: 98%

The first film in the long-running Michael Myers series, "Halloween" is John Carpenter's classic slasher film. It might not have been the first slasher, but it definitely put the subgenre on the map. After 6-year-old Michael kills his older sister on Halloween, he spends 15 years in a mental institution before escaping. Free to wreak havoc, Myers dons a white William Shatner mask and sets out to kill a bunch of unlucky teens, including Jamie Lee Curtis' Laurie Strode. As he menacingly stalks down our young cast, we're treated to a film that set the bar for what a slasher should be — lean, mean, and white-knuckle scary.

• Starring: Jamie Lee Curtis, Donald Pleasence, Nick Castle
• Director: John Carpenter
• Year: 1978
• Runtime: 91 minutes
• Rating: R
• Rotten Tomatoes Score: 96%

A fairly disturbing supernatural horror thriller, "Hellraiser" is film that gave the world Pinhead, the iconic, otherworldly demon. When sadomasochist Frank Cotton purchases a mysterious puzzle box in Morocco, he unlocks the portal to Hell where the Cenobites dwell. The Cenobites, who cannot differentiate between pleasure and pain, are part of a religious order that specializes in sadomasochism. And eventually, they cross paths with Frank's innocent niece, Kirsty, a poor young woman who also has to deal with Frank when he comes back from the dead. With its themes of torture and degradation, this film is one of the more controversial and divisive on the list.

• Starring: Clare Higgins, Ashley Laurence, Andrew Robinson
• Director: Clive Barker
• Year: 1987
• Runtime: 93 minutes
• Rating: R
• Rotten Tomatoes Score: 70%

"House" stars the Greatest American Hero William Katt, Richard Moll of "Night Court" fame, and George Wendt from "Cheers." But the true main character is the house itself, a Victorian that looks like a cousin of Disney's Haunted Mansion. After suffering the disappearance of his young son, the death of his aunt, and a separation from his wife, horror author Roger Cobb moves back home to work on his Vietnam War memoir, only to find himself plagued by powerful — and potentially supernatural — hallucinations. The fact that "House" is a comedy is evidenced by its cast and silly monster puppets, but the theme of PTSD and the film's overall atmosphere lend it enough weight to make it worth watching.

• Starring: William Katt, George Wendt, Richard Moll
• Director: Steve Miner
• Year: 1985
• Runtime: 93 minutes
• Rating: R
• Rotten Tomatoes Score: 57%

"It Follows" is about the ultimate high school horror — a sexually transmitted evil entity. After she and her new boyfriend go "parking," high schooler Jay learns that her guy has passed a shape-shifting supernatural creeper to her when they did the deed. If the spirit catches Jay, it will kill her and then work its way backward through the chain of past partners. To boot, no one can see it but the afflicted, and the creature is practically invulnerable to damage of all kinds. Ripe for subtext analysis and brimming with suspense, "It Follows" is one of the best horror films on the list when it comes to legitimate white-knuckle scares.

• Starring: Maika Monroe, Keir Gilchrist, Daniel Zovatto
• Director: David Robert Mitchell
• Year: 2014
• Runtime: 100 minutes
• Rating: R
• Rotten Tomatoes Score: 95%

These days, shark-themed horror has bloomed into a full-fledged sub-genre, brimming with popcorn-worthy flicks like "The Meg," "47 Meters Down," and Asylum's ultra-campy "Sharknado" series. But decades before Tara Reid wielded her saw-hand against toothy foes, a young Richard Dreyfuss found himself facing off with a 25-foot great white shark in the classic "Jaws." When the beach community of Amity Island is menaced by a shark with a hankering for people meat, a pair of local hunters decide to get their Captain Ahab on. But catching this savage beast will be harder than they think. This seaside thriller is just as much fun to watch today as it was in 1975, and the corny special effects are part of what gives it such enduring charm.

• Starring: Roy Scheider, Robert Shaw, Richard Dreyfuss
• Director: Steven Spielberg
• Year: 1975
• Runtime: 124 minutes
• Rating: PG
• Rotten Tomatoes Score: 97%

One of the best horror films in recent memory, "Late Night With the Devil" is presented as the lost recording of a 1970s late-night show ... one that takes a supernatural turn and ends in demonic disaster. David Dastmalchian — a truly great "that guy" actor — finally gets the lead part he deserves as talk show host Jack Delroy, who plans on delivering a Halloween-themed episode in a desperate bid to climb up the ratings. Unfortunately, the demon-possessed girl he decides to interview might end Jack's show for good, if his own past doesn't consume him first. With a perfect '70s late-night vibe — complete with guests who feel like regulars on those types of programs, a la Uri Geller and James Randi — "Late Night With the Devil" makes good on its premise and delivers some genuine chills with its unique format.

• Starring: David Dastmalchian, Laura Gordon, Ian Bliss
• Director: Colin and Cameron Cairnes
• Year: 2023
• Runtime: 86 minutes
• Rating: R
• Rotten Tomatoes Score: 97%

Adapted from a 2004 novel by John Ajvide Lindqvist, "Let the Right One In" is one of the all-time vampire horror movies — a dark and disturbing romance horror set in Stockholm in the early 1980s. The film centers on a bullied 12-year-old-boy who develops a close bond with a young vampire. But as the two grow closer, our troubled protagonist finds himself being drawn deeper and deeper into the vampire's bloody world. But hey, at least he doesn't feel so alone anymore. The result is cinematically beautiful, visually frightening, and never pulls its punches.

• Starring: Kåre Hedebrant, Lina Leandersson, Per Ragnar
• Director: Tomas Alfredson
• Year: 2008
• Runtime: 114 minutes
• Rating: R
• Rotten Tomatoes Score: 98%

A dark psychological horror film, "Malignant" tells the story of Madison, a woman plagued by horrific visions, courtesy of an imaginary friend she's had since childhood. When her visions turn out to be prescient in their connection to a serial killer, Madison must explore what happened to her, prior to her adoption at eight years old. While not the most heart-stopping horror in his repertoire, "Malignant" is a satisfactorily mind-bending thriller from director James Wan, whose extensive horror credits include creating "The Conjuring" universe and work on "Insidious," "M3GAN," "Dead Silence," and "Saw." Screenwriter Akela Cooper, who penned "M3GAN" and has written for "Grimm" and "American Horror Story," also brings strong work to this film.

• Starring: Annabelle Wallis, Mckenna Grace, Maddie Hasson
• Director: James Wan
• Year: 2021
• Runtime: 111 minutes
• Rating: R
• Rotten Tomatoes Score: 76%

"M3GAN" is a satirical science fiction horror film built for an age in which kids spend more time than ever glued to screens and A.I. inches ever closer to the technological singularity. Robotics engineer Gemma is charged with developing hot toys. After a devastating car accident, she also becomes responsible for raising her niece, Cady. Overwhelmed, Gemma finds a novel way to reduce Cady's emotional burdens and her own responsibilities: She pairs the child with M3GAN, an advanced robot with incredibly advanced A.I. Interweaving just enough over-the-top violence to qualify as a satisfying slasher film with plenty of deliciously silly one-liners, "M3GAN" explores the way technology impacts kids' psychological health. It's a must-see for fans of "Child's Play" and "Black Mirror" alike.

• Starring: Allison Williams, Violet McGraw, Ronny Chieng
• Director: Gerard Johnstone
• Year: 2022
• Runtime: 102 minutes
• Rating: PG-13
• Rotten Tomatoes Score: 93%

"Midsommar" is a trippy, beautiful, folk horror freakshow of a film. Haunted by the death of her loved ones, Dani joins her not-so-great boyfriend and his buddies as they journey to rural Sweden to attend the communal midsummer festival. They end up shrooming with the locals and quickly realize they've stumbled into a violent pagan cult where human sacrifice is part of the summertime festivities. More gory than terrifying, "Midsommar" is a vivid, intelligent head trip through gorgeous Nordic scenery.

• Starring: Florence Pugh, Jack Reynor, William Jackson Harper
• Director: Ari Aster
• Year: 2019
• Runtime: 145 minutes
• Rating: R
• Rotten Tomatoes Score: 83%

A horror classic that goes hard on the creepy child trope, "The Omen" has everything: the Antichrist, demonic possession, zoo animals, an epic birthday party, and even a super loyal dog. An American diplomat and his wife decide to have a kid while living in Rome, but their stillborn child gets switched at birth with the literal embodiment of evil — birthed by a jackal, no less. Things start to get creepy as the little one reaches elementary school age and his demonic DNA begins to emerge. For fans of 1960s and 1970s psychological supernatural horror like "Rosemary's Baby" and "The Shining," "The Omen" is mandatory viewing.

• Starring: Gregory Peck, Lee Remick, David Warner
• Director: Richard Donner
• Year: 1976
• Runtime: 111 minutes 
• Rating: R
• Rotten Tomatoes Score: 84% 

Using a found-footage storytelling format, "Paranormal Activity" sees San Diego couple Micah and Katie as they deal with a demon infestation that's plagued Katie since she was a child. After Micah installs cameras throughout their home to capture the supernatural activity, the haunting gradually escalates from low-level scares to possession and violence. To add to the sense of realism, the filmmakers used a technique called "retroscripting" where the actors were asked to improvise around an outline, juxtaposing a sense of the mundane against the paranormal to add to the terror and suspense.

• Starring: Katie Featherston, Micah Sloat, Mark Fredrichs
• Director: Oren Peli
• Year: 2007
• Runtime: 86 minutes
• Rating: R
• Rotten Tomatoes Score: 83%

Adapted from the 1983 Stephen King novel, "Pet Sematary" transplants the city-dwelling Creed family from Chicago to a farmhouse in the quiet town of Ludlow, Maine, where their perfect home is situated right next to a busy trucker route. After a friendly neighbor shows them an old burial ground that reanimates the dead, they find out too late the things that come back aren't quite right. Despite its low Rotten Tomatoes rating, this film is a campy horror classic that should be on every Stephen King fan's must-watch list.

• Starring: Denise Crosby, Fred Gwynne, Dale Midkiff
• Director: Mary Lambert
• Year: 1989
• Runtime: 103 minutes
• Rating: R
• Rotten Tomatoes Score: 55%

"Psycho" is one of the most iconic horror films ever made, with an immeasurable influence on films, television, and pop culture in general. It begins with Marion Crane, a secretary who rashly decides to take off with $40,000 she's meant to deposit for her employer. While on the run, she finds herself at the Bates Motel, a roadside joint run by a friendly but troubled young man named Norman. Norman claims to live with his controlling mother, but as Marion discovers, there's more to their bizarre situation than meets the eye. Anthony Perkins' haunting performance as Norman Bates still resonates, all these decades later.

• Starring: Anthony Perkins, Janet Leigh, John Gavin
• Director: Alfred Hitchcock
• Year: 1960
• Runtime: 109 minutes
• Rating: R
• Rotten Tomatoes Score: 96%

A 1985 quasi-sequel to "Night of the Living Dead," "The Return of the Living Dead" is a comedic horror flick that's notable for developing the brain-eating aspect of the modern zombie mythos. "The Return of the Living Dead" finds medical warehouse employees inadvertently bringing about an undead apocalypse when their workday shenanigans result in the release of a toxic gas that reanimates corpses and turns them into flesh-eating zombies. With a soundtrack that features several L.A.-based punk and death metal bands and punk characters, the film is as much a comedy as it is a horror flick.

Starring: Clu Gulager, James Karen, Don Calfa

Director: Dan O'Bannon

Year: 1985

Runtime: 91 minutes

Rating: R

Rotten Tomatoes Score: 91%

The first commercially-released film from horror legend James Wan, "Saw" uses a framed nonlinear narrative to tell the story of the Jigsaw Killer from the perspective of his victims. Two men wake up in a room surrounded by clues from Jigsaw, a serial killer who tests his victims with elaborate puzzles before killing them and cutting puzzle pieces from their bodies. Each victim's puzzle is specifically tailored to his or her personal life, making for some truly clever kills. Despite its dismissal as mindless torture by some critics, "Saw" would prove successful enough to yield nine sequels, and is a favorite among many horror movie fans.

• Starring: Cary Elwes, Danny Glover, Michael Emerson
• Director: James Wan
• Year: 2004
• Runtime: 103 minutes
• Rating: R
• Rotten Tomatoes Score: 50%

If you find alien abduction utterly terrifying, "Signs" should definitely be on your watch list. M. Night Shyamalan's sci-fi horror flick finds the rural Pennsylvania Hess family responding to crop circles and apparent ETs on their property. When the signs go from fun to menacing as the aliens launch a full-scale invasion, the Hess family –- along with the rest of humanity –- must fight for their lives, all while they grapple with the loss of the family matriarch and the father's loss of faith. Come for the aliens, stay for some of the greatest jump scares ever put to film.

• Starring: Mel Gibson, Joaquin Phoenix, Abigail Breslin
• Director: M. Night Shyamalan
• Year: 2002
• Runtime: 106 minutes
• Rating: PG-13
• Rotten Tomatoes Score: 75%

The film that gave the world the phrase "I see dead people," "The Sixth Sense" is an atmospheric psychological horror film that centers around the relationship between a child psychologist and a boy who claims to sense the post-living. At first, young Cole is terrified of these supernatural encounters, but eventually, he comes to realize he can use his ability to help others. As psychologist Malcolm gradually comes to believe Cole is telling the truth, he realizes the child has an even darker secret to learn.

• Starring: Bruce Willis, Toni Collette, Haley Joel Osment
• Director: M. Night Shyamalan
• Year: 1999
• Runtime: 107 minutes
• Rating: PG-13
• Rotten Tomatoes Score: 86%

Adapted from Parker Finn's 2020 short film "Laura Hasn't Slept," this psychological horror film follows the mental unraveling of a therapist named Rose. A troubled patient tells Rose that there's an evil entity stalking her — one that causes its victims to eerily smile right before forcing them to commit suicide. And then, that's exactly what happens in Rose's office. Traumatized by her patient's death, Rose begins seeing horrific visions herself, with the lines between reality and imagination become blurred in a confusing, insomniac haze of psychological trauma and terror. Playing on the pay-it-forward curse trope explored in films like "It Follows," "Smile" is a dread-filled — if occasionally formulaic and jump scare-laden — and suspenseful example of a fresh take on a time-honored horror trope.

• Starring: Sosie Bacon, Jessie T. Usher, Kyle Gallner
• Director: Parker Finn
• Year: 2022
• Runtime: 115 minutes
• Rating: R
• Rotten Tomatoes Score: 79%

If you or anyone you know is having suicidal thoughts, please call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline by dialing 988 or by calling 1-800-273-TALK (8255)​.

The first film in the long-running franchise, "The Texas Chain Saw Massacre" introduced the world to the human skin-wearing serial killer Leatherface. A fairly straightforward slasher film, albeit one that hits ridiculously hard, "Massacre" follows a group of teens who wind up crossing paths with a cannibalistic family. The film is pure terror through and through, and it exploits the frightening setting of the Texas woods at night while offering up plenty of blood, gore, and shocking levels of violence.

• Starring: Marilyn Burns, Gunnar Hansen, Paul A. Partain
• Director: Tobe Hooper
• Year: 1974
• Runtime: 83 minutes
• Rating: R
• Rotten Tomatoes Score: 89%

What could be more terrifying than a zombie apocalypse? Dealing with a zombie apocalypse while trapped on a speeding South Korean train. Workaholic finance manager Seok-woo and his daughter are en route to Busan for the girl's birthday when the zombie outbreak kicks off, spreading through the train rapidly. But after attempting to disembark, they quickly realize that things are even worse outside. Dark and frightening, "Train to Busan" is a gleefully frightening ride.

• Starring: Gong Yoo, Ma Dong-seok, Jung Yu-mi
• Director: Yeon Sang-ho
• Year: 2016
• Runtime: 118 minutes
• Rating: NR
• Rotten Tomatoes Score: 94%

After a Puritan family is exiled from their community due to an unnamed theological dispute between their father and local leaders, they try to restart their lives on the edge of the wilderness. But soon, they're hindered by a mysterious and blood-thirsty witch. Filmed using only natural light and candlelight to add to the sense of period realism, and set to a dissonant and minimalist score, this chilling film evokes a sense of dark paranoia and family turmoil.

• Starring: Anya Taylor-Joy, Ralph Ineson, Kate Dickie
• Director: Robert Eggers
• Year: 2015
• Runtime: 92 minutes
• Rating: R
• Rotten Tomatoes Score: 90%