The 10 Best Horror Movies to Stream on Amazon Prime Video Right Now

Streaming platforms offer a huge variety of movies that can make you laugh and cry, but sometimes, you just want a good horror film to put you on edge. If you’ve gotten your fill of chills from Netflix, check out these films currently available on Amazon Prime Video that are guaranteed to rattle your nerves.

1. The Black Phone (2021)

This surprise hit based on a Joe Hill story sees a small town suffer a rash of child abductions. When Finney Blake (Mason Thames) is next to go, he finds himself at the mercy of The Grabber (Ethan Hawke). To escape, he’ll need the help of a mysterious telephone that allows him to communicate with the killer’s other victims. The Grabber’s creepy masks were co-designed by horror makeup legend Tom Savini, in collaboration with Jason Baker, Levi Simpson, and director Scott Derrickson.

2. Smile (2022)

A therapist (Sosie Bacon) begins seeing some disturbing images—and people—after losing a patient. Writer and director Parker Finn adapted his own short film, Laura Hasn’t Slept.

3. Event Horizon (1997)

Sam Neill and Laurence Fishbourne star in this space chiller about a ship missing for decades that’s rediscovered—and now home to something far more sinister than its original crew. While the film has developed a cult following, it was largely ignored upon its initial release: Paramount asked that director Paul W.S. Anderson rush it out for a summer premiere after their other big release, Titanic, was moved to December of that year.

4. Candyman (2021)

Director Nia DaCosta and producer Jordan Peele reimagine the 1992 horror classic for a new generation. When a couple moves into what used to be Chicago’s Cabrini-Green housing project, they discover the legend of the Candyman is based more on fact than fiction. Before Peele got involved, producers floated a Candyman vs. Leprechaun crossover film, in the vein of Freddy vs. Jason.

5. Train to Busan (2016)

The road to salvation is paved through hell in this zombie thriller from South Korea. After a viral outbreak, a band of survivors boards a train that they hope will lead to safe territory. Gong Yoo (Squid Game) co-stars. A U.S. remake titled Last Train to New York is due sometime in 2023.

6. Saint Maud (2019)

This slow-burn, psychological chiller stars Morfydd Clark (The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power) as a hospice nurse who believes it’s her duty to save the soul of her patient—and explores increasingly extreme methods of doing so. The most cooperative actor may have been Nancy, a cockroach that plays a prominent role: Insect trainer Grace Dickinson said Nancy regularly hit her marks. One scheduled three-hour block of cockroach filming needed just one hour to complete.

7. The Collector (2009)

A simple heist goes awry when a burglar (Josh Stewart) picks the wrong house. Once inside, he’s confronted with finishing the job or rescuing the victims of a maniac. Co-writers Patrick Melton and Marcus Dunstan wrote the script on spec: It was briefly considered as a possible Saw (2004) prequel. The idea was nixed, but Melton and Dunstan went on to write Saw IV, Saw V, Saw VI, and Saw 3D.

8. Splinter (2008)

A gas station becomes the site of a battle for survival against an unpredictable parasite in this low-budget sleeper. It even earned a nomination at the 2009 Spike TV Scream Awards for Most Memorable Mutilation.

9. Hellraiser (1987)

With Hellraiser, Clive Barker directed his own adaptation of his short story “The Hellbound Heart.“ A seemingly normal domestic family comes under the rule of Pinhead (Doug Bradley) after their uncle unleashes a particularly nasty corner of hell under their roof. Barker said he wanted to cast “real actors“ in the roles, a sharp contrast to the ’80s slashers of the era that put an emphasis on attractive teenagers being led to slaughter.

10. Let the Right One In (2008)

Call it a coming-of-fang story: In Sweden, a young boy befriends a girl whose shyness belies a thirst for human blood. Director Tomas Alfredson wouldn’t let his young leads (Kåre Hedebrant and Lina Leandersson) read the script, preferring they learn by hearing it read aloud to them.

Looking for a new movie to watch, or at least a movie that’s new to you? Mental Floss’s new book, The Curious Movie Buff: A Miscellany of Fantastic Films from the Past 50 Years, offers behind-the-scenes details and amazing facts about some of the greatest movies of the past half-century. And it’s available now at your favorite place to buy books, or online right here.

A version of this story ran in 2019; it has been updated for 2023.