Let’s be real here. As much of a horror aficionado I like to think I am, even I can admit that most horror movies are just flat-out stupid caricatures full of boring tropes and a frustrating restraint when it comes to gore. Very few horror movies on Netflix Australia take the go-hard-or-go-home approach to the genre but the streaming service is still full of incredibly satisfying scares.
From supernatural horror and slashes to gratuitous gore and found footage hauntings, there’s plenty to get across if you’re browsing for some good horror movies on Netflix. I’ve rounded up my favourites, picking through the litter (and trust me, there’s litter) so you don’t have to waste your time with garbage like whatever the most recent Texas Chainsaw Massacre remake was.
Check out our other guides on what to watch on Netflix Australia:
- Everything Coming To Netflix This Month
- Best Movies On Netflix Australia
- Best Shows On Netflix Australia
- Best Documentaries On Netflix Australia
How Boss Hunting Chose The Best Horror Movies On Netflix Australia
I’ve always been a huge fan of the horror genre (don’t read into that) and think I’m pretty damn discerning when it comes to suggesting horror films that are worth watching. And that’s a tough job, given most horror movies aren’t worth watching. Like with our other Netflix guides (which you can read above), our process is fairly straightforward – we watch these films, discuss them in the office, and then pick out the one’s that we personally like the best.
RELATED: The 40 Best Horror Movies Ever Made
Read below for our unranked list of the best horror movies streaming on Netflix Australia.
For more on Boss Hunting’s editorial policy please click here.
Best Horror Movies On Netflix Australia
- Final Destination
- Hereditary
- It
- The Conjuring
- Midsommar
- Hannibal
- The Ritual
- The Mist
- The Black Phone
- His House
- As Above So Below
- Don’t Breathe
- Wolf Creek 2
- The Bababook
- Jigsaw
- A Quiet Place Part II
- Anaconda
- Paranormal Activity 3
- Fear Street Trilogy
- Annihilation
Final Destination
Rating: R18+
Genre: Horror
Director: James Wong
Cast: Devon Sawa, Ali Larter, Kerr Smith, Tony Todd
You Might Also Like: Final Destination 2, Hereditary
Despite a few missteps with some of the sequels, the Final Destination saga remains a distinctive slice of modern horror history, deftly blending supernatural horror with the brutality of a slasher. As the story goes, those who cheat death in a major accident end up getting killed in incredibly gruesome ways by what is essentially everyday life.
Watching death sequences slowly unravel is part of the appeal of any Final Destination movie, but it’s the first one that still has me coming back for re-watches.
Alex Browning (Devon Sawa) has a premonition of a Boeing 747 crash and freaks out just before the actual event, saving a few lives who then all start to die in the order they were meant to, had they remained on the aircraft. While sequels dug deeper into the supernatural mystery behind the deaths, Final Destination is superior simply because of the novelty of its concept.
Hereditary
Rating: R18+
Genre: Supernatural horror
Director: Ari Aster
Cast: Toni Collette, Milly Shapiro, Gabriel Byrne, Alex Wolff
You Might Also Like: The Conjuring, Paranormal Activity 3
I still remember the first time I watched Hereditary. It was in a theatre complex in Austin, Texas. I was there for the SXSW premiere, which was hosted by noted horror fan Elijah Wood and attended by director Ari Aster as well as cast members Alex Wolff and Milly Shapiro.
By the time the screening had finished and the lights had turned back on, I could see some faces in the cinema completely shocked. One man next time to me had even turned a bit pale. They were scared. I was scared.
Hereditary is unique in the fact that Ari Aster didn’t set out to make a horror movie. He made a family drama first and let the horror elements flow from that, bowling into a plot that involves cults and witchcraft but never loses sight of the film’s palpable and breathtaking sense of grief.
It’s a dreadful and depressing watch, but the atmosphere is what really gets Hereditary over as one of the best horror movies you can stream on Netflix Australia.
It (2017)
Rating: R18+
Genre: Horror
Director: Andy Muschietti
Cast: Finn Wolfhard, Bill Skarsgard, Sophia Lillis, Jeremy Ray Taylor
You Might Also Like: The Conjuring, Paranormal Activity 3
Stephen King adaptations are once again tending thanks to Andy Muschietti’s visionary remake of It. The story follows a supernatural killer clown that eats fear and terrorises a group of kids in the fictional town of Derry, Maine.
While King was more subtle in his approach for the original film, the 2017 remake doesn’t really hold back, from a young boy being chewed in a sewer to some genuinely terrifying jump scares sold brilliantly by Bill Skarsgård in the role of Pennywise the Dancing Clown.
The Conjuring
Rating: MA15+
Genre: Supernatural Horror
Director: James Wan
Cast: Patrick Wilson, Vera Farmiga, Lili Taylor
You Might Also Like: Hereditary, The Conjuring 2
If you’re browsing for the best Netflix horror movies and haven’t yet seen The Conjuring, then this should be your first watch. James Wan has built an entire – and incredibly successful – cinematic universe based on the success of this original 2013 film, which fellows demonologists Ed and Lorraine Warren as they deal with a haunting in Rhode Island for the desperate Perron family.
The Conjuring isn’t just your typical scary movie. It reinvents supernatural horror with a hellish approach, ditching ghosts for demons and grounding the haunting in something real and relatable thanks to some truly brilliant, measured performances from the likes of Patrick Wilson, Vera Farmiga and Lili Taylor.
Midsommar (2019)
Rating: R18+
Genre: Folk Horror
Director: Ari Aster
Cast: Florence Pugh, Jack Reynor, Vihelm Blomgren
You Might Also Like: Hereditary, The Black Phone
Ari Aster has proven a master of modern horror in the A24 era, springboarding off the success of Hereditary with the hyper-bright, cultish Midsommar. The Scandi aesthetic of the film sets it apart from any other horror movie on Netflix, opting for light instead of dark while following the dysfunctional dynamic of Florence Pugh’s Dani and Jack Reynor’s Christian through the lens of a festival in rural Sweden.
There are only flashes of gore and Midsommar is absolutely nothing like what you’d expect from a conventional horror movie. But make no mistake about it, this is one of the scariest movies on Netflix Australia right now.
Hannibal (2001)
Rating: R18+
Genre: Thriller
Director: Ridley Scott
Cast: Anthony Hopkins, Julianne Moore, Gary Oldman, Ray Liotta
You Might Also Like: The Black Phone, Wolf Creek 2
Ridley Scott’s follow-up to the 1991 classic The Silence of the Lambs is every bit as disconcerting and atmospheric as the original. Anthony Hopkins’ performance as Hannibal Lecter pretty much drives this horror flick and makes it such a compelling watch.
This was back when Scott understood very well that the best horror films don’t rely on gore or jump scares, but rather on strong performances and an engaging story.
In Hannibal, disgraced FBI special agent Clarice Sterling (Julianne Moore, replacing Jodie Foster) is out to catch Lecter before one of his only surviving victims (Garry Oldman) can do it first. It’s not quite as riveting as the quiet cat-and-mouse game that Sterling and Lecter played in the original but the story is told well enough that Hannibal is a certified classic of the horror genre.
The Ritual (2017)
Rating: MA15+
Genre: Horror
Director: David Bruckner
Cast: Rafe Spall, Arsher Ali, Robert James-Collier
You Might Also Like: The Mist, As Above So Below
David Bruckner’s The Ritual is one of those underrated Netflix originals that made an impact when it first came out, but the hype died down just as fast and many latecomers would have completely missed it.
The British horror film tracks four men who take a hiking trip following the death of a mutual friend. The setting, an isolated forest in northern Sweden, has enough natural tension to drive the film but Bruckner performs well, milking out every inch of tension from the plot of suppressed grief and paranoia and then throwing in one of the most unique horror monsters in recent memory.
The Mist (2007)
Rating: R18+
Genre: Horror
Director: Frank Darabont
Cast: Thomas Jane, Laurie Holden, Marcia Gay Harden
You Might Also Like: The Ritual, Anaconda, A Quiet Place Part II
Frank Darabont lifted Stephen King’s 1980 novel as 2007’s The Mist and gave us one of the most measured and satisfying horror movies of that decade.
Aside from the gut punch of its controversial ending, the whole movie is consistently entertaining and paced well with a thread of absolute dread as hapless strangers are surrounded by a mysterious must while trapped in a supermarket.
Thomas Jane leads things here but two other notable cast members are Laurie Holden and Melissa McBridge. That’s notable because they, along with Darabont, would later work together again on The Walking Dead.
While The Mist may not have the aggression of your typical slasher movies or the tension of a good supernatural horror movie, most place this in the same pile as the zombie genre. That’s because The Mist has this strong survival element to it which connects better with the audience and helps the plot really land.
The Black Phone (2021)
Rating: R18+
Genre: Horror
Director: Scott Derrickson
Cast: Ethan Hawke, Mason Thames, Madeleine McGraw
You Might Also Like: Hannibal, It
The Black Phone has been one of the most surprising and original horror movies of the past few years. With a sequel now in the works, it’s a good thing Netflix is now streaming this underrated gem.
Scott Derrickson has put together a tight, creative scary movie that follows a deranged child abductor (Ethan Hawke) who kidnaps a teenager (Mason Thames) and keeps him in a basement with an old phone. The teenager, Finn, uses the phone to communicate with his captor’s previous victims while his sister, played brilliantly by Madeleine McGraw, searches for him using a vague psychic connection.
Not only are the performances incredibly solid, especially from the two young actors, but Derrickson’s screenplay strikes the perfect balance between the real, atmospheric elements of the film while also pulling in those supernatural themes without it all feeling too convoluted. Not many horror films can do that, which is why The Black Phone has been so successful both commercially and critically.
His House (2020)
Rating: MA15+
Genre: Supernatural Horror
Director: Remi Weekes
Cast: Sope Dirisu, Wunmi Mosaku, Malaika Wakoli-Abigaba
You Might Also Like: The Conjuring
His House is one of those Netflix horror movies that come with little fanfare and isn’t widely known, but the way this 2020 thriller unravels would leave any horror enthusiast with a deep sense of satisfaction.
Remi Weekes lifted this story from Felicity Evans and Toby Venables, benefitting from a strong cast, led by Wunmi Mosaku, to track a refugee family from South Sudan attempting to adjust to life in an English town.
A typical haunting is used to juxtapose the evils of racism and discrimination, balancing both and sending a pointed message by the time the credits roll. This isn’t a preachy film, however, with Weekes giving the streaming service a brilliant, highly underrated horror movie that is best enjoyed by fans of shows like Midnight Mass, The Haunting of Hill House and the Fear Street films.
As Above So Below (2014)
Rating: R18+
Genre: Horror
Director: John Erick Dowdle
Cast: Perdita Weeks, Ben Feldman, Edwin Hodge
You Might Also Like: The Ritual
Surprisingly profitable despite a lack of access and a few overly critical reviews, As Above So Below is a satisfying effort from John Erik Dowdle. Found footage films have fallen completely out of fashion for good reason, but Dowdle manages to keep it simple and restrained to make the format work.
And work it does. Scares are effective and tension is tight throughout the entire film, which follows a young woman and her crew running into evil when they enter the catacombs of Paris to hunt for a treasure. It’s not the best premise, and there are moments Dowdle would no doubt regret by now, but for the most part this is still one of the best horror movies on Netflix Australia.
Don’t Breathe (2016)
Rating: R18+
Genre: Horror
Director: Fede Alvarez
Cast: Stephen Lang, Jane Levy, Dylan Minnette
You Might Also Like: It, As Above So Below
Forget the middle sequel exists. Don’t Breathe is a surprising entry from Fede Alvarez, whose muscular and no-holds-barred direction really takes this film from its odd premise and makes it a modern horror classic.
Sam Raimi and Robert Tapert co-produced the film, Raimi’s involvement shows. Don’t Breathe has the kind of relentless, claustrophobic terror of an Evil Dead, using a small house and making it seem much larger and more menacing than it actually is.
The story follows three would-be home invaders who foolishly break into a blind man’s house only to realise that the seemingly disabled man is a brutal, unstoppable killer. That’s the long short of it, and Stephen Lang sells it all incredibly well as he sinks into the role of The Blind Man.
Wolf Creek 2 (2013)
Rating: R18+
Genre: Horror
Director: Greg McLean
Cast: John Jarratt, Ryan Corr, Philippe Klaus, Shannon Ashlyn
You Might Also Like: It, Hannibal
Wolf Creek 2 is not as silent and patient as the original but Greg McLean’s Australian horror classic is nothing if not entertaining. If you’re looking for a scary movie, look elsewhere. There isn’t much in the way of scares in Wolf Creek 2, but there’s plenty of brutal tension as John Jarratt’s psychopathic Mick Taylor stacks up more bodies in the Australian outback.
The Babadook (2014)
Rating: R18+
Genre: Supernatural Horror
Director: Jennifer Kent
Cast: Essie Davis, Noah Wiseman, Daniel Henshall
You Might Also Like: Hereditary
Sometimes the best scary movies are most effective when they’re grounded in something real, presenting more as a drama rather than a straight-up horror film. In her directorial debut, Australia’s Jennifer Kent set out to do just that with The Babadook, presenting a horror movie as a complicated metaphor for madness and loneliness – two things often far scarier than any unexpected noises or bumps.
Amelia Vanek (Essie Davis) is a troubled widow living in Adelaide with her six-year-old son Samuel (Noah Wiseman). The Babadook spends time with this rather simple premise before really clawing into the guts of the script, using an imaginary monster to explore loss and grief.
Jigsaw (2017)
Rating: R18+
Genre: Horror
Director: Michael Spierig, Peter Spierig
Cast: Matt Passmore, Tobin Bell, Callum Keith Rennie
You Might Also Like: Final Destination
The Saw franchise refuses to die. 2017’s Jigsaw was pretty much the resurrection of the series after 2010’s Saw 3D was promised to be the franchise’s final leg. I’m not quite sure if The Spierig Brothers completely justified the revisit, but the script by Josh Stolberg and Peter Goldfinger was apparently interesting enough to convince Lionsgate to bring back the property.
And it’s not a bad shout, really. Jigsaw is entertaining enough. Although it fails to capture the same novel appeal of the first few films, the eighth installment in the long-running series manages to throw in piles of gore and creative kills, spinning in a decent plot that follows the archetype of a police investigation with an inexplicable ending.
A Quiet Place Part II
Rating: PG13
Genre: Survival Horror
Director: John Krasinski
Cast: Emily Blunt, Cillian Murphy, Millicent Simmonds
You Might Also Like: As Above So Below, The Ritual
I didn’t enjoy A Quiet Place Part II as much as the original but this loosely drawn survival-adventure-horror is still a great watch. Now that the lore has been established, Emily Blunt has plenty to work with as she tries to navigate this bleak, monster-ridden world with her children.
John Krasinski is fine in the director’s seat for this one, playing with scale and maximising the monsters to really hammer into that horror element of it. By large, however, this is one of the most accessible horror movies on this list and those who want something more intense might be left wanting.
Anaconda (1997)
Rating: PG13
Genre: Creature Feature
Director: Luis Llosa
Cast: Jon Voight, Jennifer Lopez, Ice Cube, Eric Stolz, Owen Wilson
You Might Also Like: The Ritual, It
It may seem hilariously dated by now but this B-Grade monster movie about giant snakes and Jon Voight terrorising Jennifer Lopez is always a fun watch. Ice Cube and Owen Wilson are thrown in there for good measure, and the former really does the heavy lifting when it comes to providing a bit of lighthearted, comedic relief.
Anaconda may fall victim to the same “desperately trying to be Jaws” schtick that got the otherwise enjoyable Lake Placid but as far as cheesy 90s creature features go, it’s one of the best. Although 1990’s Arachnophobia is easily the superior film in the very niche Jaws-inspired subgenre.
Paranormal Activity 3 (2011)
Rating: R18+
Genre: Supernatural Horror
Director: Henry Joost, Ariel Schulman
Cast: Chloe Csengery, Jessica Tyler Brown, Christopher Nicholas Smith
You Might Also Like: The Conjuring, His House
When a supernatural horror movie, three entries deep into a tired franchise, can make $207 million against a $5 million budget, it’s at least worth seeing why.
Henry Joost and Ariel Schulman introduced a few new tricks to Paranormal Activity 3, using the found footage format to great effect and really teasing out the scares by piecing together more of the backstory behind the hauntings.
Don’t bother with the sequels, the quality of this long-running franchise pretty much dies with Paranormal Activity 3.
Fear Street Trilogy (2021)
Rating: R18+
Genre: Horror
Director: Leigh Janiak
Cast: Kiana Maderia, Olivia Scott Welch, Bejamin Flores Jr
You Might Also Like: The Conjuring, His House
There aren’t too many Netflix Original horror films worth writing about but the brilliantly executed Fear Street trilogy is an easy exception. Director Leigh Janiak creatively used RL Stine’s source material to present a modern homage to horror in all its forms, bringing to life the many different subgenres to piece together the ultimate celebration of horror.
Aside from Netflix’s Fear Street trilogy, there aren’t many multi-genre films on the service so even if you aren’t a horror fan, it’s worth watching through these three movies just for how inventive they are.
Annihilation (2018)
Rating: R18+
Genre: Horror
Director: Alex Garland
Cast: Natalie Portman, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Tessa Thompson
You Might Also Like: It, The Ritual
Alex Garland’s creative sci-fi horror was one of the first Netflix Original horror films and remains one of the most imaginative. An all-female cast, led by Natalie Portman and complemented well by Jennifer Jason Leigh, Gina Rodriguez and Tessa Thompson, turns in uniformly excellent performances as fear and paranoia set in against a backdrop of mutating plants and animals.
The kills are few and far between. Don’t go in expecting Predator. But when Garland does bother killing off his ensemble cast, he does so in a spectacularly brutal fashion to satisfy any horror buffs.
Best Horror Movies On Netflix Australia – Frequently Asked Questions
What are the top 10 scariest movies on Netflix?
While horror movies are so widely different that putting together a ranking would be tough, some of the best include The Conjuring, Hereditary, Fear Street, His House, Final Destination, Midsommar, Don’t Breathe, The Black Phone, The Mist and It.
What is the best horror movie on Netflix Australia?
The single best horror movie to watch on Netflix Australia is either Hereditary or The Conjuring.
Are there any good horror TV series on Netflix?
There are some great horror-themed TV series on Netflix Australia including The Haunting of Hill House and Midnight Mass.
