Some of the horror genre’s most spine-tingling films are available to stream on Prime Video, from thrilling slashers to classic creature features. Whether you’re a fan of hair-raising supernatural horror hits like Hellraiser or a lover of more lighthearted classics such as Cocaine Bear, the popular streaming platform is sure to satisfy your needs.
Then there are the Amazon Originals, such as Luca Guadagnino’s wild take on Suspiria. In other words, if variety is the spice of life, Amazon’s horror selection is as spicy as can be. These horror classics and hits are just a few of the titles currently available on Prime Video for fans to enjoy on movie night.
Updated June 18th by Adam Symchuk: This article was updated to provide more haunting horror picks from Prime Video.
Tobe Hooper’s The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, shot on a shoestring budget, has as fair a claim to being the scariest movie of all time as The Exorcist. And, oddly enough, what could be considered the movie’s flaws are actually massively beneficial. These range from the acting to the technical elements. The film follows a group of adults on a scorching road trip through Texas before they unintentionally stumble across a grotesque family of cannibals.
For one, none of the performances ring as particularly professional. This isn’t to say they’re of poor quality, but they ring more true to real life than cinema. And, when there’s a cannibalistic family with a chainsaw-wielding wrecking ball for a mascot, realism is absolutely terrifying. Whether it’s one of the scariest movies of the ’70s or of all time, Hooper’s film is on the list. Available on Freevee.
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The Descent, written and directed by Neil Marshall, follows a few female friends as they go on a disastrous caving expedition. But it’s not the elements or a fall that does them in, it’s a bunch of blind, bloodthirsty beasties. Talk about a claustrophobic nightmare. As they contend with the cramped cave system and monstrous creatures, they’ll also have to contend with their own inner turmoil as it bubbles to the surface.
A few years after he knocked everyone’s socks off with the brilliant werewolf movie Dog Soldiers, Marshall took horror fans spelunking with his even better The Descent. It’s a visceral masterwork with a devastating ending (depending on which version you watch). In other words, it does for cave diving what Jaws did for the ocean.
David Cronenberg’s The Dead Zone, like the Stephen King novel before it, focuses on a sweet-natured schoolteacher who goes into a coma after a terrible car accident. After half a decade, he awakens, but to a much different life. It’s one where his love is with another man, a new politician has raised his arrogant head, and the once-comatose man has now been either blessed or cursed with second sight.
If it weren’t for The Shining, The Dead Zone would be the best King adaptation of the 1980s. And, even considering that, it’s extremely close. The Dead Zone is more heartfelt and as great as Jack Nicholson and Shelley Duvall are in that Stanley Kubrick film, Christopher Walken and Brooke Adams are equally adept, just in very different roles from that pair.
Stir of Echoes was released the same year as M. Night Shyamalan’s mega-smash blockbuster The Sixth Sense. Suffice it to say, it didn’t receive the same fiscal response. But, in terms of critical reception, they weren’t separated by much. In this film, a blue-collar worker by the name of Tom Witzky is invited to be hypnotized at a playful party. Unfortunately, after succumbing to his hypnosis, Witzky is plagued by horrifying visions.
Yet, to this day, The Sixth Sense has infinitely more clout than Echoes, even with Kevin Bacon headlining it. It’s odd because they’re essentially equally effective films. After all, both come equipped with a devastating gut punch of a twist ending. It’s just that Echoes‘ is slightly more based in reality, which arguably makes it even more horrifying. Available on Freevee.
A quotable horror comedy with a standout return-to-the-big-screen performance from Nicolas Cage, Renfield nonetheless whiffed at the box office. The narrative follows Nicholas Hoult as the title character, the long-serving familiar of Count Dracula. He begins to feel as though he’s wasted his life, and wants to get out from under the thumb of his cruel master.
While Hoult and Awkwafina were the perfect performers to hire for this kind of movie (both are perfectly in line with its goofy, genre-balancing tone), Renfield is really Cage’s movie. Dracula may not be the protagonist, but every time he’s onscreen, the movie goes from silly fun to entrancing. But, even when he’s not there, the action sequences are entertaining and both Awkwafina and Hoult have fun.
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People today may have forgotten William Castle’s name, but in the horror genre, he was a master. House on Haunted Hill is his masterpiece. Despite being tame in comparison to modern-day horror films, Castle’s film had moments of creativity that touched on all shades of emotions, from witty dialogue to over-the-top performances to a large serving of corny horror. Vincent Price stars as an elusive mogul who invites a handful of guests to participate in a simple game: should they successfully stay in his home overnight, they will win a huge cash prize. However, what they don’t realize is that they’ll be subjected to horrors of all forms.
The reason we’ve included House of Haunted Hill on the list is that it provides a nice colorful break in a genre that’s dominated by blood and gore. So if you’re in the mood to switch things up within the genre and crave something fun and spooky at the same time, give House on Haunted Hill a watch. It’s a classic and a wonderful starter horror film.
Hell House LLC is one of the creepiest found footage films that revolves around the mysterious deaths of 15 visitors and employees in a haunted Halloween attraction. The film follows a documentary crew that’s sent out to investigate the series of strange deaths that took place at the attraction. Along the way, they find a web of strange evidence ranging from photographs to film footage, along with a survivor who’s willing to go on the record about what transpired that night.
What makes Hell House LLC stand head and shoulders above normal found footage films is that it does a great job of building tension. It does so through its use of claustrophobic spaces while also maintaining a steady pace to the narrative. In other words, it focuses on the right things to make an effective horror film. Those with an adverse fear of clowns in particular will be terrified.
Heavily inspired by Italian filmmaker Lucio Fulci’s works, We Are Still Here operates on Fulci’s principles of horror mixed with a tinge of elements from other giants such as Stuart Rosenberg and H.P. Lovecraft. Despite its mixed reviews, We Are Still Here is a genuinely horrifying tale of how trying to escape personal tragedy only beckons it further. The film stars Barbara Crampton and Andrew Sensenig as Anne and Paul Sacchetti, a couple that move to a quiet neighborhood to recover from their son’s death when a presence begins to haunt them.
We Are Still Here makes the list as it’s a bona fide terror-inducing film. It feels like a slow-burn horror in the first half before descending into total chaos and spine-tingling horror in the second. This slow start and strong ending give the film a terrifying bite, along with an exceptional score from Wojciech Golczewski. It also practically guarantees the viewer won’t get bored.
The iconic Blumhouse Productions has steadily built up a great resume of horror films, with Run Sweetheart Run being another great addition. Touching upon the horrors of modern-day courtship, Shane Feste’s film plays out as a sinister cat-and-mouse game that results in a woman named Cherie (Ella Balinska) being chased by a sadistic man (Pilou Asbaek), whom she went out for dinner with. Expect the hairs on your arms to be raised throughout.
The film works as a ballet of death between the hunter and the hunted, playing out as a thriller with concentrated elements of horror. Pilou Asbaek, who you might remember from Game of Thrones, knocks his portrayal of a twisted, sadist out of the park. He stalks and penetrates the psyche of his powerless victims so well that the effect carries to the viewer.
A fast-paced horror thriller that’s told like it’s on steroids, High Tension is aptly titled and lives up to the name and hype. A gem in the French slasher category, the film follows two young women who go to a secluded farmhouse belonging to one of the girl’s parents, only to be attacked by a crazed psychopath. In other words, it’s not the type of movie that’s for the faint of heart.
High Tension perfectly encapsulates the ethos of a gory cat-and-mouse game that sees the two women fight for their lives against the brutal insanity of the crazed killer. It all results in a bloodbath that’s hard to watch and even harder to digest. But, for those on the film’s wavelength, it’ll be a treat. Available on Freevee.
The only thing scarier than ghouls and monsters are ghouls and monsters in the guise of family and friends. Operating on this premise, Philip Kaufman’s film is based on Jack Finney’s 1958 novel and more than does justice to Finney’s classic paranoia-inducing sci-fi tale. It’s also the scariest take on the material, though Abel Ferrera’s Body Snatchers (1993) has its effective moments. In the film, Donald Sutherland and Elizabeth Driscoll play a pair of scientists who come face to face with alien “pod people” who duplicate the human population.
A short and tautly written film, Invasion of the Body Snatchers unpacks the mayhem of the ’70s and creates an internal ethos of horror that is more concentrated and steady. Unlike other horror films that overtly paint a tacky picture of a monster, Invasion of the Body Snatchers relies on infiltration and obscurity to derive its horror, leaving the audience in the cold and the dark. It’s an unforgettable experience and one of the best remakes of all time.
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The Lazarus Effect revolves around a couple of scientists who are working on a serum to assist coma patients. The serum can effectively bring a person back from death if administered quickly enough, but trials with a dog show that it can have some peculiar and mysterious side effects. When Zoe (Olivia Wilde) herself is effectively killed in a freak electrocution incident, her fiancé uses the serum on her to bring her back, despite the rest of their team being against it. Remarkably, Zoe is revived but soon begins to exhibit some frightening and supernatural side effects.
Over the years, talented actress and director Olivia Wilde has become well known for her racy scenes and usually picking serious dramatic roles. However, back in 2015, she tried something different with The Lazarus Effect and managed to steal the show with her eerie antics, making fans take note of her acting range. Not unlike Blake Lively in The Shallows. This film would be the first feature-length project directed by Jeremy Slater, who would later go on to create the MCU miniseries Moon Knight for Disney+.
One of the most frightening found footage horrors you’re likely to see, The Taking of Deborah Logan featured some brilliant and creative filmmaking techniques on its way to a 92% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. As a medical student and her team film the life of an elderly Alzheimer’s patient for a documentary on the disease, little do they know that the woman is suffering from a far more terrifying affliction.
With some amazing cinematography, a chilling story, and epic visuals that will stick with you, the film has become a cult favorite among horror fans and is widely regarded as one of the best films of its subgenre. Directed by Adam Robitel, the director of other horror films such as Insidious: The Last Key, you should put the kids to bed for this one. Why? Because it features some nightmarish scenes that they are bound to find truly disturbing.
Coming from the brilliant mind of Clive Barker, Hellraiser was one of the 1980s’ most inventive horror films. With a strong central narrative about the desire for resurrection and how far someone will go for a love that’s not real, Barker’s film is far more than a blood fest. It’s a well-acted, sublimely-constructed cinematic nightmare. The film sees Frank Cotton getting his hands on a mystical puzzle box, one that opens the door to another dimension once it is successfully solved. However, tampering with the box draws the attention of the Cenobites, grotesque and otherworldly creatures who feel pleasure and pain interchangably.
Hellraiser is a thought-provoking masterpiece that sheds new light on words like “temptation” and “suffering.” While the sequels fell to low-budget home releases and the modern reboot didn’t appeal to everyone, Hellraiser is a classic piece of horror that’s always good for a rewatch. Not to mention, its immediate sequel, Hellbound, is worth a watch. It’s arguably the best film Barker ever directed.
Andrew Patterson’s debut feature substantiates the point that the role of money in filmmaking can sometimes be bypassed if the filmmaker has a clear vision and a genuine propensity for storytelling. Stepping away from the norm attached to first-time filmmakers, Patterson’s film is a polished, self-assured sci-fi horror story of an alien abduction that makes a simple approach seem like a stylistic choice. Set in the 1950s, this film follows a pair of radio station employees as they stumble across an alien signal across the airwaves.
Throughout the film, there’s an eerie presence of someone out there but one you can’t grasp or put a finger on. The Vast of Night pays homage to American paranoia of the ’50s, without falling into the trap of either celebrating or criticizing the cold-war sentiment of the times. Patterson constantly plays with the score, using obscure sounds layered with electronic cackling while also going so far as to completely melt the frame to black to emphasize the dialogue. Overall, Patterson’s film culminates into a well-told tale of horror pulsating within the framework of a sci-fi flick.
Described by Luca Guadagnino as a “cover” of Dario Argento’s 1977 classic of the same name, Guadagnino’s film aims at exploring its ancestors’ ethos rather than mimicking it. Working as a modern cousin of Argento’s film, Suspiria exemplifies how similar generic tropes can be employed for disparate results, taking the theme from its source material only to birth a new type of horror. Visually stunning and thematically rich, it’s also a take on the material that should provide some pleasant surprises for fans of the original.
First off, the reimagining features incredible performances from Tilda Swinton, Chloë Grace Moretz, Mia Goth, and Dakota Johnson. Then, there’s the haunting score by Radiohead’s Thom Yorke. Lastly, with its brilliant cinematography, Suspiria is a worthy experimental successor to the original Giallo classic. While it flopped at the box office, its surprising creative deviations from the original film are a sight to behold.
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Commenting on the parables of modern-day parenting, Lynne Ramsay’s film is a nihilist tale of guilt and horror. Adapted from Lionel Shriver’s 2003 novel of the same name, We Need to Talk About Kevin explores the complicated relationship between Eva Khatchadourian (Tilda Swinton) and her psychopathic son Kevin (Ezra Miller). Impressively enough, it’s just as unsettling an experience as the novel.
Ramsey makes things clear right off the bat. Eva wasn’t very fond of her then-toddler Kevin and not much has changed. Where other films turn a blind eye to the darker side of raising a child, Ramsey’s film lights up the scene and delves into the subject. She notes and underlines the fact that motherhood is a ritual in which the adults consent to gradual parasitic destruction where the upside is providing society with a healthy contributing member, while the downside is the loss of life and individuality.
Carnival of Souls explores the internal darkness of the human psyche as it explores the psychological state of a woman who’s the sole survivor of a fatal car accident. To put the crash and its memories behind her, Mary Henry (Candace Hilligoss) moves to Utah, only to be haunted by visions of a fiendish man. As the visions increase in frequency, Mary finds herself strangely gravitating towards a carnival on the outskirts of town with the hopes of finding answers to her tragic past.
Herk Harvey’s film is a masterclass in atmospheric tension achieved on a modest budget. Over six decades since its release, Herk Harvey’s film has a strange allure. The film is also credited with having a deep influence on David Lynch’s work with its infusion of surreal elements and jarring spacial logic.
One of the latest horror hits on this list is 2022’s Smile. The creepy film stars Sosie Bacon as therapist Dr. Rose Cotter, who works in a psychiatric ward and witnesses a bizarre and unsettling death of a disturbed patient that causes her to experience terrifying strange occurrences. Rose’s young patient warned her of a chilling entity that only she could see and that took the form of smiling people before her death, and now the doctor has become its new target.
Smile was a massive box office hit and earned rave reviews from critics for its themes, screenplay, and extremely unnerving visuals. The film leveraged psychological horror rather than the gimmicky way, resulting in a film that’s more scarring than it’s scary. Furthermore, it should do much to make stars of Bacon and Caitlin Stasey.
Serving as a direct sequel to the 1992 original hit, the 2021 horror slasher Candyman once again centers on the eponymous urban legend, a vengeful supernatural killer who leaves behind a trail of mayhem and murder when invoked by saying his name five times in a mirror. But, it does so in an interesting way. Whether one is a fan of the IP or not, it’s a movie worth going into spoiler-free.
In the installment, artist Anthony McCoy (Yahya Abdul-Mateen II) brings the malevolent presence back into the real world after jokingly calling upon him. Though he uses the legend as inspiration for his art, he quickly becomes consumed by the past and the violent spirit. Original film star Tony Todd reprises his sensational role as Candyman, with fellow co-stars Virginia Madsen and Vanessa Williams. Available on Freevee.
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