13 highly rated horror films you can stream right now

(Images: Entertainment One/A24/Universal Pictures)(Images: Entertainment One/A24/Universal Pictures)
(Images: Entertainment One/A24/Universal Pictures)

As Halloween approaches, you may be looking for some spooky inspiration for your own movie night.

To help, we’ve compiled a list using metrics that are sure to ensure a quality horror film experience.

Here are the best 20 horror films as ranked by review aggregator website, Rotten Tomatoes, that are readily available to stream in the UK.

A Quiet Place (2018)

This excitingly original thriller sees Hollywood husband-and-wife team John Krasinski (who also directs the film) and Emily Blunt play Lee and Evelyn Abbott, a couple desperately trying to keep their children safe from monsters that hunt sound. Therefore, they are forced to navigate their entire lives in silence.

Because their daughter is deaf, the whole family knows American Sign Language, and this helps them to stay safe. But the creatures can pop out in any place and at any time, as soon as they hear noise.

Available on Netflix

Us (2019)

Jordan Peele followed up Get Out with an equally acclaimed second movie - another original nightmare that he wrote, directed and produced - which follows Adelaide Wilson as she returns to her North Carolina home with her husband and their two children.

Intended as a dreamy summer getaway, Adelaide starts to feel paranoid that something bad is going to happen to her family. And, sure enough, they return from the beach one day to find silhouettes of four figures in their driveway.

But the creepiest thing? The monsters they’re facing are doppelgangers of themselves.

Available on Now TV

Alien (1979)

Ridley Scott’s iconic sci-fi horror follows the crew of the commercial space tug, Nostromo, who encounter the eponymous Alien, a deadly and aggressive extraterrestrial set loose on the ship.

Trapped aboard the vessel in deep space with no means of escape, Alien’s blend of science fiction and horror has aged extremely well, and will keep you on the edge of your seat.

It's no wonder the film spawned a media franchise of films, novels, comics, games, and toys which remains popular to this day.

Available on Now TV

Psycho (1960)

(Photo: Paramount Pictures)

Alfred Hitchcock’s most infamous movie essentially rewrote the rules of the horror genre, and gave us that famous shower scene which has been parodied countless times in popular culture.

The film remains an iconic addition to the genre, and centres on the encounter between Marion Crane - a female embezzler on the run - and Norman Bates, the shy proprietor of a secluded old motel.

Available on Now TV

The Cabinet of Dr Caligari (1920)

If you're really looking to do a deep dive on the history of the genre The Cabinet of Dr Caligari is essential viewing - a German silent film which is considered by many to be the first true horror movie.

The film tells the story of an insane hypnotist who claims his somnambulist, Cesare, can see into the future. When he predicts the death of a carnival goer (which subsequently comes to pass), Cesare becomes the prime suspect. But is he guilty, or is the doctor controlling him?

A hundred years on, The Cabinet of Dr Caligari remains terrifying.

Available on Amazon Prime Video

Jaws (1975)

(Photo: Universal Pictures)

Considered the first modern blockbuster, Steven Spielberg’s seminal shark caper may not toy with the supernatural as much as some other horror classics on this list, but is a suspenseful, heart-pounding thriller nonetheless.

Besides, what could be more terrifying than a rabid shark terrorising unsuspecting bathers in the waters of Amity Island? That iconic music will always get the blood pumping.

Available on Now TV

The Babadook (2014)

A true psychological thriller, The Babadook’s classic status is sure to only grow with age.

As close to a modern Grimm’s fairytale as we’re ever going to get, it tells the story of a troubled widow who discovers that her son is telling the truth about a monster which entered their home through the pages of a children's book.

Fans of cheap jump scares need not apply - The Babadooks relies on tried and tested horror techniques to build tension to almost unbearable levels.

Available on Amazon Prime Video

Hereditary (2018)

Even the toughest horror viewers will be left troubled by Ari Aster's directorial debut, which tells the story of a family haunted by a mysterious presence after the death of their secretive grandmother.

Not for the faint-hearted, the horror fans will struggle to not absolutely love it.

Available on Netflix

It Follows (2015)

An STI horror is something most fans of the genre never knew they needed, but watch It Follows and you’ll definitely think twice before your next promiscuous encounter.

It tells the story of a carefree teenager who learns she is the latest recipient of a fatal curse that is passed from victim to victim via sexual intercourse, after sleeping with her new boyfriend for the first time.

It’s certainly an original premise, which won the praise of film fans and critics alike on its release.

Available on iPlayer

Night of the Living Dead (1968)

Legendary horror director, George A Romero, made his debut with this late 1960s classic which essentially set the template for the zombie film. It tells the story of a group forced to take refuge in an abandoned house when corpses begin to leave the graveyard in search of fresh human bodies to devour.

When the reanimated bodies surround the house, the survivors begin to panic. As the zombies start to find ways inside, one by one, the living humans become the prey of the deceased ones.

Available on Amazon Prime Video

The Silence of the Lambs (1991)

The first and only Best Picture winner widely considered to be a horror film, The Silence of the Lambs often nears the top of ‘best of’ film lists, no matter the genre being considered.

Anthony Hopkins’ legendary performance as the cannibalistic serial killer Dr Hannibal Lecter remains one of cinema’s most unsettling watches, and the film was as controversial as it was critically acclaimed upon its early ‘90s release.

Available on Amazon Prime Video

Halloween (1978)

(Photo: Compass International Pictures)

For many, Halloween is the quintessential slasher flick, introducing the world to the relentlessly vengeful Michael Myers, as well as the directorial skills of John Carpenter, who also provided the iconic soundtrack.

Halloween wrote the rulebook on slasher films, a rulebook which has been retread time and time again in the years since. So, while you might see the film’s twists and turns coming a mile off, there's no denying it remains a bonafide horror classic.

Available on Now TV

The Cabin in the Woods (2012)

When five college friends arrive at a remote forest cabin for a holiday, little do they expect the horrors that await them in this 2012 comedy horror.

One by one, the youths fall victim to backwoods zombies, but there is another factor at play - two scientists are manipulating the ghoulish goings-on. Even as the body count rises, there is yet more at work than meets the eye in this meta thriller.

Available on Amazon Prime Video

A version of this article originally appeared on our sister title, the Yorkshire Evening Post

Related topics: