Don’t be fooled by all the promotional posters showing Black Widow star Florence Pugh surrounded by lots of summery flowers – this film is anything but country fun in the sun. A modern cult classic that is actually about a cult, Midsommar follows a young couple who head to a fabled Swedish midsummer festival in an effort to mend their relationship. However, the event is far from the idyllic retreat the two were hoping for – and they soon find themselves in the hands of a violent and bizarre pagan cult.

From acclaimed indie studio A24 and director Ari Aster – who also directed Hereditary – it is perhaps unsurprising that Midsommar has been one of the best-reviewed horrors of recent years. A great cast helps also – as well as rising star Pugh, Jack Reynor (Sing Street), William Jackso Harper (The Good Place) and Will Poulter (The Maze Runner) are also experiencing some summer scares.

The Visit (2015)

After a career pause, director M Night Shyamalan (The Sixth Sense) kicked off his comeback with this neat little horror flick, which sees two young siblings stay at their grandparents’ house for a week. Of course, The Visit wouldn’t be on this list if that was all there is to it. The kids soon notice some odd goings on around the house, later stumbling on some dark secrets, but to say any more than that would risk spoiling the film’s surprises. Deanna Dunagan (August: Osage County) and Peter McRobbie (Daredevil) shine as the mysterious Nana and Pop Pop.

Hereditary (2018)

Director Ari Aster made a big impression on movie buffs with this directorial debut, which follows the ill-fated Graham family as they are terrorised by a mysterious presence following the death of their grandmother. Not for the faint-hearted, Hereditary packs some truly disturbing scenes, but stands out as one of the most suspenseful horror movies of the past decade. Toni Collette gives an incredible performance as Annie, a troubled mother pushed to breaking point by unthinkable loss. If you’re a fan of the genre, this is quite simply a must watch.

Zombieland (2009)

Another movie that is a bit more of a lighthearted watch that some of the other choices here, 2009’s Zombieland was a refreshingly fun take on the zombie story that had Jesse Eisenberg, Woody Harrelson, Emma Stone and Abigail Breslin as an unlikely group who are looking to survive.

The violence in this is heightened and there is always a tongue in cheek feel to what is happening but the horror still feels real and the stakes still feel high. And Zombieland builds up to a stelar finish that throws countless zombies at our heroes and it is every bit as tense as it is a spectacle.

American Psycho (2000)

A lean and mean modern horror must-watch, American Psycho perfectly dissects American yuppie culture of the 1990s. But that’s not the reason to watch this 101-minute cult classic. The movie is carried by lead Christian Bale, who serves up a horrifying and hilarious performance as New York investment Patrick Bateman, a man obsessed with status and style. Oh, and violent murder too.

Based on the 1992 novel of the same name, the movie follows Bateman as he dives deeper into his hedonistic fantasies – all the while hiding his psychopathic alter-ego from his co-workers.

Gradually becoming more surreal, this darkly hilarious satire of Manhattan business culture unfolds into a bloody crescendo you won’t forget in a hurry. Already seen it? We promise a re-watch will be worth it: American Psycho carries so many hidden details you’ll spot something new with every viewing.

Under the Shadow (2016)

This 2016 Persian-language release from British-Iranian filmmaker Babak Anvari is a classic example of the way horror films can often act as allegories for serious and relevant themes and issues. The film follows a mother, Shideh and daughter living in war-torn 1980s Iran, whose apartment building is hit by a missile. A superstitious neighbour claims that the missile was cursed, carrying malevolent Middle-Eastern spirits – and this suspicion leads Shideh to believe that her daughter is being possessed.

What follows is a chilling, powerful films works both as a piece of horror fiction and an update on the haunted house genre, but also as a prescient social commentary on conflict in the Middle East. Under the Shadow includes some genuinely brilliant performances from its cast and was selected as the UK’s submission for the foreign language film award at the 2017 Oscars – although it did not get nominated by the Academy.

The Nightingale (2018)

Australian filmmaker Jennifer Kent made quite an impression with her debut feature film The Babadook in 2014, and two years she returned for another slice of contemporary horror with the chilling thriller The Nightingale, starring Aisling Franciosi and Sam Claflin.

The film follows Clare, a young Irish convict, who chases a British officer through the rugged Tasmanian wilderness bent on revenge. Her journey sees her enlist the services of an Aboriginal tracker who is marked by trauma from his own violence-filled past. Warning: this is not a film for the faint-hearted.

The Cabin in the Woods (2010)

Our strongest advice for this one? Go in as dark as possible. Avoid trailers, avoid any form of plot synopsis, just check straight in to The Cabin in the Woods.

Have you gone now? No? OK then, we’ll try to keep this vague. Five token friends journey to a remote, dark cabin in the woods and it doesn’t go well. Your first impressions of this one are not going to be positive ones, you’ve seen this before in every. single. B-movie. ever. Expect eye rolling and face-palm moments as Joss Whedon and Drew Goddard drag out every horror cliche imaginable before ripping the rug straight out from under your feet in this subverting horror flick.

Chris Hemsworth – fresh from big breaks in Star Trek and Thor – is joined by Kristen Connolly and Anna Hutchison for The Cabin in the Woods. Prepare yourself. Whatever you think is going to happen, probably won’t.

CAM (2018)

Madeline Brewer steals the show in this gritty psychological thriller set in the salacious world of online webcam pornography. Her character, Alice, becomes increasingly obsessed with being Number 1, and resorts to increasingly daring and extreme measures to climb the ranking system, culminating with a fake suicide broadcast that proves enough to nudge her into the top 50. Soon after, her identity is copied by a mysterious doppelgänger, leading to an intense hunt for the culprit.

Screenwriter Isa Mazzei – a former cam girl herself – drew on her own experiences of exploitation in the industry as she crafted the story. Originally imagined as a documentary, Mazzei felt a horror movie was the only way to portray the underbelly of the industry, with numerous cries for help to the police and other authorities going unheeded and written off due to the nature of her career. Cam is a truly modern horror for modern audiences.

Insidious (2010)

James Wan’s work creating the Saw franchise put him on the map in the slasher genre, but Insidious saw the Malaysian director successfully tread deeper down true horror lines than previously. He took on the Insidious project in a bid to prove his capabilities outside of blood and guts horror, and managed to produce a blockbuster with some genuinely chilling moments.

Insidious is a haunted house ride. It stays on a steady track, but the film is packed with a variety of demonic forces that always have you scanning the screen for the next scare. There’s little reliance on gore, but less is more here. The film does a fantastic job of ramping up the paranoia with constant suggestions that you might have seen something in your peripheral vision, and occasionally you will. This sustains the threat throughout the movie, coupled with an atmospheric score and cast led by Patrick Wilson and Rose Byrne.

Veronica (2017)

Spanish film Veronica was released to much fanfare in 2017 with some critics and many on social media branding it “the scariest movie of all time”. Director Paco Plaza had already built a cult following after his successful creation of the [Rec] trilogy, but Veronica caused a storm once it landed on Netflix.

The story follows Veronica (Sandra Escacena) who uses a ouija board during a total eclipse of the sun, a time when dark prevails over light, and events on Earth are believed to reflect that mantra. The glass smashes, she passes out, and seemingly recovers, but the girls’ experience changes Veronica. The rest of the films consists of relentless psychological warfare. How much is reality? How much is in Veronica’s head? The whole things gets crazy.

Oh, and it is loosely based on true events from a tragic case of Estefanía Gutiérrez Lázaro in 1991. A girl died in Vallecas under mysterious circumstances after using a ouija board. Sleep well.

Hostel (2005)

Back in the mid-00s’, “torture porn” movies were all the rage and you do not get much more brutal than Eli Roth’s terrifying and unnerving Hostel. Focusing on three students who head on a trip to Slovakia, they soon realise that they would have been better off staying at home.

They are all kidnapped by unseen forces and help against their will where they are subjected to some of the most vivid torture that you will see in a mainstream movie. There are actually three Hostel movies, all mostly unrelated, and while the second one is missing from the Netflix line-up, the third is there to watch.

1922 (2017)

This Stephen King adaptation set in the titular year follows the story of a farming family in Nebraska with the father Wilf James (Thomas Jane) citing the mantra “a man’s pride is his land” as a rule to live by. His wife Arlette (Molly Parker) wants out, however. She intends to move to the city, upgrade, leave the tough slog of farm life behind. In response, Wilf conspires to kill Arlette with the help of son Henry (Dylan Schmid).

1922 is a bleak tale, certainly not one for the rat-haters in your life, but it is transferred very well from page to screen by Zak Hilditch with many critics hailing it as one of the best efforts at replicating King’s work on screen. Much of the trauma throughout stems from the guilt ebbing away at Wilf’s consciousness, a slow chipping away of his resolve, and while there’s little cheer to go around, it’s a worthy Netflix production.

Annihilation (2017)

Alex Garland follows up his stellar directorial debut Ex Machina with this sci-fi horror oddity. Lena (Natalie Portman) is a US army soldier who joins a squad tasked with the terrifying mission of entering a strange alien zone (known as the Shimmer), from which a number of exploratory teams have never returned. Upon entering the surreal place, she and her squadmates encounter some truly macabre and nightmarish beasts, but push on to the lighthouse where they hope to find answers.

Portman gives a brilliant performance in the lead role, with Jennifer Jason Leigh (The Hateful Eight), Gina Rodriguez (Jane the Virgin) and Tessa Thompson (Thor: Ragnarok) all giving memorable supporting turns. Its ending proved a little divisive when the film was first released, but the journey Annihilation takes you on is more than worth your time, boasting gripping tension and striking visuals throughout.

The Purge (2013)

The Purge franchise has come a long way since it began, with four(!) sequels – including 2021 release The Forever Purge – and even a spin-off TV series following the original 2013 movie. However, the first film is still one of the best, introducing the still intriguing concept – what if all crime was legal for a 12-hour period? Ethan Hawke (Sinister) and Lena Headey (Game of Thrones) bring some star power to the first instalment, playing a wealthy couple who become the target of a murderous gang after taking in a wounded man.

The what if? nature of the film’s premise lends itself well to social allegory and moral conundrums, so it is perhaps unsurprising the franchise has stretched itself into several films. It is, of course, suitably scary as well – the movie’s use of masks is enough to put you off Halloween for good. Sequel The Purge: Anarchy is available on Netflix also, though the following three films are not yet on the streaming service.

Split (2016)

Before she took the world by storm in The Queen’s Gambit, Anya Taylor-Joy’s breakout role first came in this 2016 horror. Signalling a return to form for director M. Night Shyamalan after a series of poorly received blockbusters, Split sees a man with 23 different personalities kidnap three girls. The teenagers must find a way to escape before the kidnapper unleashes an infamous 24th personality – The Beast.

The psychological thriller is an acting masterclass from James McAvoy (His Dark Materials), who had to portray personalities such as dominant organiser Dennis, elderly caretaker Patricia and nine-year-old boy Hedwig. The ending also revealed the film to be a stealth sequel to Shyamalan’s 2000 superhero thriller Unbreakable – setting up 2019 crossover Glass.

Crawl (2019)

Alligators are an underutilised foe in horror films, and they’re on full fearsome display in this recent hit starring Skins star Kaya Scodelario. Scodelario plays aspiring swimmer Haley Keller, a university student who travels back to her hometown after being unable to contact her father during a category 5 hurricane. She soon eventually finds her father unconscious in the family home’s basement as the floodwaters start rising – and they’re not alone…

Featuring the double whammy of the horror of a hurricane and a swarm of angry alligators, Crawl certainly gave the sofa critics of Celebrity Gogglebox a shock once the film was added to Netflix. Much of the film takes place in the crawl space in the family basement, effectively combining a claustrophobic setting with the ticking clock of rising floodwaters and the sheer terror of an alligator attack. Just to make matters worse a dog is along for the ride – we know who we’re rooting for to make it out alive…

In the mood for something less frightening? Check out our lists of the best movies on Netflix and best series on Netflix, or visit our TV Guide to see what else is on. Want to see what’s on the other streaming sites? Take a look at our best Disney Plus shows guide or best Disney Plus movies.

Slow internet ruining the suspense? Banish the buffering with the best broadband deals.