Top 10 Scariest Movies You Can Stream on Shudder

Your enjoyment of “Mandy” will depend on three things - how much you value crazy action, how much you value gorgeous visuals, and your opinion on wacky, out-of-his-mind Nicolas Cage. Cage plays a grieving man named Red Miller who is out for revenge. And while the story isn’t overly original, “Mandy” finds its identity through the craft of its filmmaking. The movie is filled with bright neon colors, a haunting synth-driven score from the late Icelandic composer Jóhann Jóhannsson, and Cage absolutely hamming it up for the camera. It’s totally gonzo in the best way possible, a glorious throwback to the blood-soaked grindhouse films of old.

This is a...well, terrifying Argentinian film that involves paranormal researchers investigating strange supernatural occurrences in a neighborhood of Buenos Aires. “Terrified” received little attention when it was released, as it was mostly relegated to various film festivals, including Texas’s Fantastic Fest, where it proceeded to win Best Horror Feature. It’s a shame, because this film deserves to be seen by as many people as possible. It’s what would happen if you mixed Guillermo del Toro with “The Conjuring,” featuring some solid spooks and truly incredible creature effects. In fact, del Toro is slated to produce a remake, so it’s clearly right up his alley.

Inspired by an old Korean folktale, this film concerns two sisters who must battle both their unhinged stepmother and the ghosts that are haunting their home. Released in Korea as “Rose Flower, Red Lotus,” “A Tale of Two Sisters” was both the first Korean horror film to be screened in American theaters and the highest-grossing horror film in the country’s history. It made major waves back in 2003 and earned solid reviews, with some critics noting its similarities to Shakespearean tragedies. It’s disorienting, absurd, and stylish (in all the best ways, of course), and it mixes its frights with some genuine pathos and psychological insights. It’s a horror movie with a brain.

An undeniable classic of the genre, “Hellraiser” was directed by horror maestro Clive Barker and adapted from his own novella, “The Hellbound Heart.” It’s certainly a weird one, complete with sadomasochistic creatures known as Cenobites, extradimensional realms, magic puzzle boxes, flayed bodies, and a man whose head is held together by pins. Such is the imaginative genius of Barker, and “Hellraiser” proved successful enough to spawn many sequels. It’s also surprisingly smart and well-written, especially in the relationship between Frank and Julia. But above all, the film is unrelentingly dreadful and twisted, a gleefully uncompromising film that isn’t afraid to bombard audiences with the outlandish, the disgusting, and the horrifying.

One of the most influential horror films ever made, “Black Christmas” is a must-watch for any self-respecting fan of the genre. Released in October of 1974, this movie is widely regarded as a seminal slasher film and one of the very first of its kind. It influenced a wide range of future slashers, most notably John Carpenter’s “Halloween” (which of course went on to influence even more slashers). This one is a bit different, as it never reveals the killer and primarily keeps him off screen. The most we get of him are the now-iconic phone calls that he sends to the female residents of the sorority house. This utter lack of identity only serves to make the film scarier.

This classic gothic film was directed by Italian master Lucio Fulci. It involves a young woman who inherits a hotel in Louisiana. The only catch is that the hotel was built over the gateway to Hell. Yeah, that is a pretty big catch… Much like “Mandy,” this movie favors style over story, with some critics noting that the plot is… let’s say secondary. But that’s fine, the story is nothing but a framework for Fulci to do what he does best - present audiences with tons of uproarious and outlandish gore. It’s one of the most stylish and surreal bloodbaths in cinematic history; a nightmare filmed and presented on screen.

Perhaps one of the most famous J-horror films ever made, “Audition” was made to capitalize on the success of the previous year’s “Ring.” The movie is based on a book by Ryu Murakami and directed by famous filmmaker Takashi Miike, and it follows a widower who is tormented by his new girlfriend. This is definitely a slow burn, but its climactic torture sequence is now an iconic piece of cinema, and it influenced future “torture porn” movies like “Saw” and “Hostel.” And while the film is most famous for its torture sequence, it actually contains a surprising amount of depth and character development, especially in how it presents the main antagonist. “Audition” may be the greatest Japanese horror film ever made.

This seminal slasher flick is often paired with “Black Christmas” as being the most influential movie of its genre. And, they were, coincidentally, released on the very same day - October 11, 1974. Made in Texas on a miniscule budget, “The Texas Chain Saw Massacre” helped revolutionize the horror genre in many key ways. Primarily, the idea of a massive, silent, and masked figure who stalks and kills teenagers can be traced back to this film. It also helped make Leatherface a staple of the horror genre - not to mention one of the most grotesque villains in movie history. And while the movie contains almost no blood or gore to speak of, it remains scarier today than many of its spiritual successors.

John Carpenter was undoubtedly inspired by early slasher films of the ‘70s, but he and co-writer/producer Debra Hill arguably perfected the subgenre and made it what it is today. “Halloween” transferred the action to American suburbia and turned its villain into more of a symbol than an actual character. The everyday setting was certainly paramount to the movie’s success, as was boogeyman Michael Myers, who stood in for the silent, unknowable evil that could permeate even the most idyllic and seemingly-innocent locales. The opening scene is particularly important in this regard. Michael is just a normal-looking kid who lives in a normal-looking house; this could be anyone’s kid.

Before we unveil our top pick, here are a few honorable mentions.

“The House of the Devil” (2009)
Part Slasher, Part Haunted House, Part Homage, Part Satire

“Blood Quantum” (2019)
Zombie Horror with Sociopolitical Subtext

“The Witch in the Window” (2018)
Flipping a House Turns Positively Ghostly

“Ginger Snaps” (2000)
Freaky Werewolf Movie Combined With Intelligent Teen Flick

“Hell House LLC” (2015)
Found Footage Halloween Film

Made for peanuts in rural Pennsylvania, this George A. Romero masterpiece changed the zombie genre forever. Zombie movies certainly existed before this, but they were usually relegated to cheesy B-movies involving voodoo. Even Roger Ebert admits in his famous review that no one was expecting the sheer brutality and unrelenting horror of “Night of the Living Dead.” The movie took zombies seriously while also offering up some surprising sociopolitical subtext involving Vietnam, Cold War politics, and domestic racism. It’s not nearly as gory or as violent as Romero’s future works, but it’s arguably the scariest and most nihilistic entry in the iconic “Dead” series. It may just be the greatest, smartest, and most influential zombie film ever made.