Best Horror Movies On Prime Video Right Now (May 2023)

Amazon Prime Video’s catalog can be a bit more challenging to navigate versus the neatness of Netflix or Hulu. There are no subcategories or breakdowns, just an endless scroll of fifty-ish pages loaded with titles. Don’t expect many Amazon Originals in their horror section either — these seem to be limited to Blumhouse’s “Into The Blumhouse” collections and not much else. You’d think this is where horror movies come to die, but that’s only if you don’t have a guide.

Clicking through every page of Prime Video’s horror section, you’ll find some real gems hidden between backyard-made uploads that Amazon loosely vets. The problem is, “hidden gems” are just that — hidden. I’m talking “Page 15” for an outright horror icon or anything before the 2000s. Curation seems like an afterthought, just whatever’s available at the time. To make perusing easier, we’ve highlighted the best horror films currently streamable on Prime Video, updated monthly as we sink deeper into their catalog of neverending pages.

Please note: This list pertains to U.S. Amazon subscribers. Some titles may not currently be available on international platforms. This article is frequently amended to remove films no longer on Amazon and to include more horror movies that are now available on the service.

Terrifier 2

Terrifier 2 exploded on the scene with another slasher spree from fan-favorite killer Art the Clown. It’s infinitely better than the barebones original made from zero story and flashy gore, introducing Lauren LaVera as the much-needed franchise final girl. The deaths also go above and beyond, lasting for what feels like minutes as rubbery practical effects tear flesh, dismember parts, and spill blood everywhere. If you’re in the mood for pure psychotic violence for two hours, Terrifier 2 brings the goods.

Cloverfield

Cloverfield still stands as one of my favorite found footage movies, showing how first-person perspectives so wonderfully display scale on screen. New York City turns to rubble under Clovie’s feet as characters bring the camera everywhere, from toppled skyscraper rooftops to subway tunnels filled with minions. I’ll never forget Lizzy Caplan’s death behind the curtain as she bursts, exploding with horror excellence. You feel the size of Clovie like you’re scrambling underneath, trying to avoid becoming monster food. As long as you’re okay with shaky camera footage, Cloverfield remains one of the pillars of early found footage excellence.

Nope

I’m never ready when Prime Video scores a high-profile release for their streaming platform, which was the case when I saw Nope available. Jordan Peele’s take on science fiction and American media fields is his least terrifying, but possibly most accomplished as a filmmaker. Performances are top-notch, cinematography exceptional, vision as confident as ever — Nope is Peele calling back to Spielberg pretty darn well. It’s one of those blockbusters that pushes the mold and keeps you guessing without leaving you in the dust. Peele hasn’t missed from behind the camera, and I hope he never does.

Hell Baby

From the minds behind Reno 911! and many other goofball comedy productions comes a demonic comedy that puts laughs first and hellspawn terror second. Hell Baby isn’t revolutionizing the horror-comedy, but for those who enjoy Robert Ben Garant and Thomas Lennon’s sense of humor (a vast range of maturity levels), there’s some solid gold haunted house schtick to be found. A cast of reliably funny people including Rob Corddry, Leslie Bibb, Keegan-Michael Key, and so many more familiar faces make Hell Baby more entertaining than it should be — look no further than Kumail Nanjiani’s insane long-take gag as a stoned cable guy trying to drive away without drawing attention. Hell Baby gets the job done as a means of silly satanic entertainment that pokes fun at exorcisms, Vatican heroes, and other horror tropes.

Smile

Smile is a textbook definition horror movie that’s scary, composed, and adheres to commen genre expectations. Sosie Bacon leads a film where seeing a haunting grin means you’re about to become an evil entity’s next victim. Storytelling lacks tightness as characters come and go from the absurd scenario, but the scares are all aces. Writer and director Parker Finn understands the bread and butter of most horror experiences: primetime chills. Finn’s movie exists to make you scream and scream you shall. I’m not sure everything about the ending works for me personally? But it’s still worth the stream for the adrenaline spikes alone.

Torn Hearts

In the mood for some honky-tonk horrors? How about a movie where Katey Sagal stars as a once-famous country music sensation who torments an aspiring duo after they show up on her doorstep begging for a collaboration? Director Brea Grant feeds off Nashville’s music scene as newbie band Torn Hearts tangles with their idol — Sagal’s Harper Dutch — who soaks their insides with booze and starts breaking down their psyches. Good music, bad attitudes, and jaded celebrity commentaries are the key ingredients that make Torn Hearts such a boot-scootin’ blast to watch. The trio of actresses embraces madness in harmony, and while their standoff isn’t without some disbelief, it’s still one hell of a performance I’d grant an encore.

[REC]

Jaume Balagueró and Paco Plaza master the art of found footage filmmaking with their breakout quarantine sensation [REC]. Residents in a Barcelona apartment complex find themselves trapped inside their building thanks to a government lockdown. We’re given unprecedented access inside through the perspective of a local reporter (Manuela Velasco plays Ángela Vidal) and her cameraman (Pablo Rosso as Pablo), all via first-person documentation. As the night develops, [REC] blends zombie tropes, infection thrills, and religious overtones into this horrifyingly in-your-face experience that throws audiences smack into the middle of it all. There still haven’t been many better examples of found footage exploration except, well, scroll down.

[REC] 2

Balagueró and Plaza reteam on the even more accomplished, even higher-concept sequel [REC] 2. If [REC] is The Godfather of found footage horror, [REC] 2 is The Godfather Part II in terms of sequels that live up to, or might even surpass their originals. Balagueró and Plaza hatch a foolproof reason to re-enter the apartment building — this time it’s a special ops team and medical officer — and the first thing they do? Return to where the scariest sequence in [REC] takes place and then throttle forward as intensity ramps even grander. The question around sequels is always if they can match the prior’s quality, which [REC] 2 does without breaking a sweat.

Nanny

Nikyatu Jusu’s Nanny is one of the better original Prime Video horror releases as of today’s date. Anna Diop stars as immigrant Aisha, with Michelle Monaghan as her upper-class boss. Terror is based on international folklore and damning conversations until an absolute gut punch of a finale drives home Jusu’s fragile vision. We love a horror film that reminds us how movies don’t need fictional monsters — life itself is frightening enough.

The Black Phone

I’m shocked that one of 2022’s best horror films is on Prime Video, but here we are. Scott Derrickson and C. Robert Cargill tag-team another tremendous genre entry that finally introduces Ethan Hawke as a villain. There’s a very Linklater feeling to the film’s first act as children in a 1970s Denver suburb live their lives while a prowler is on the loose — then The Grabber strikes. After that, everything transitions to a basement imprisonment flick that uses the paranormal, the too-ordinary, and loads of repressed trauma as a fight for survival unravels. It’s a full-bodied horror film that pays attention to all its pieces, well worth the easily streamable click.

Run Sweetheart Run

Subtle is something that Run Sweetheart Run is not, which I find a feature, not a bug. Ella Balinska plays a single mother in Los Angeles who is being chased by a misogynistic, womanizing, possibly supernatural predator after a blind date (Pilou Asbæk plays “bad” so well). It’s not pulling punches or sugarcoating commentary. There’s a John Carpenter-esque feel as Balinska’s target flees through a dystopian version of LA where everyone is on her pursuer’s payroll, but also less dystopian based on how characters interact with the fleeing woman. It’s a fight for survival, a bloody satire on women fending for themselves, and a vicious chase flick that’s only taking home run swings. 

Uncaged

From the guy who directed killer elevator and killer Santa movies (Dick Maas) comes Uncaged, about a monstrous lion terrorizing Amsterdam. A blend of CG and animatronic effects bring the lion to life, as a veterinarian leads hunters through the Dutch capital. Maas is known for having a flair for the outrageous, which doesn’t escape Uncaged. The film’s ideas are grotesque and a bit bonkers, amassing a showy body count while indulging darkened humor. If you’re into Mass, B-Movies, and beastly creature features, give Uncaged a whirl.

Tucker & Dale Vs. Evil

Horror comedies might be the most challenging subgenre to manage, but not for Tucker & Dale Vs. Evil. Alan Tudyk and Tyler Labine play yokels hoping for a relaxing vacation who get mistaken for slasher villains. Teenagers kill themselves accidentally on Tucker and Dale’s property, much to the confusion and distress of the otherwise friendly men. Filmmaker Eli Craig balances one of the funniest takedowns of slasher constructions in this equally bloody affair, easily one of the top horror comedies of the 2010s. We’ve been teased with a sequel ever since but sadly have not been so lucky.

Ava’s Possessions

“The Hangover, but with a lot more demons” was my pull quote for Ava’s Possessions, and that’s my pitch to prospective viewers. Jordan Galland’s quirky horror comedy follows a once-possessed girl trying to piece her life back together by retracing her demon self’s past steps. It’s like she suffered a month-long blackout, and now she’s on the road to recovery – including an AA help group for exorcism survivors. Louisa Krause crushes the role of Ava, and the film’s mystery holds attention, giving audiences a clever twist on tired and overdone exorcism formulas.

Candyman

Nia DaCosta’s Candyman — say it five times — succeeds as a thoughtful requel in remake camouflauge. The creative team sees an opportunity to challenge Bernard Rose’s original by viewing its legacy through a Black lens, which gives a complementary perspective. New elements are introduced (mirror travel), the universe of Candyman expands, and effects teams splatter some righteous gore as trauma is exploited as art. There’s a poignant conversation at the center of Monkey Paw’s Candyman update, one that unifies the worlds of cultural reflection and representative horror in a tasty way.

Tumbbad

Tumbbad is an exquisitely shot Indian horror film about humankind’s follies, demons locked away in Mother Earth’s womb, and the corruption of treasure. It’s a tale in three acts, as we see Vinayak as both child and adult. First, he’s almost devoured by his possessed grandmother while distracted by the prospect of immense riches. He then returns to Tumbbad — after breaking a promise made to his mother — in search of evils with profitable rewards. There’s a moral fable that’s enchanting as a grim fairytale and astounding cinematography that’s colorful, luscious, and awe-striking in ways that modern American horror refuses. It’s a grand spectacle experience that drips macabre beauty in its most tempting forms, stuffed with ambitious storytelling and big swings that make the longer running time fly by with ease.

Hell House LLC

Stephen Cognetti’s Hell House LLC is a spectacularly scrappy take on found-footage Halloween horrors. Haunted attraction creators select an abandoned hotel in upstate New York for their next production, and opening night ends with fifteen dead. Hell House LLC sells itself as documentary footage that recounts the tragedy of Hell House — what went wrong, all the supernatural signs that attraction makers ignored. It’s one of its decade’s better independent horror efforts, especially considering how it maximizes every advantage of found footage styles. Minimal budgets, seasonally creative scares, and in-your-face screams are the calling cards of Hell House LLC.

Master

Mariama Diallo’s Master turns systemic racism into a ghost story that haunts collegiate halls. Regina Hall shines as the first Black master at Ancaster, a predominantly white New England college. There are legends of haunted dorm rooms thanks to witch hangings nearby, but Hall’s character encounters prejudice that’s far more horrifying. The paranormal element of Diallo’s story becomes the unseen but campus-wide stoking of hatred that’s ingrained in Ancaster’s traditions. Horror becomes a conduit for protest as well as a frightening accent on a few occasions, but most impressively, Diallo keeps thematic emphasis tight and tense throughout the university thriller. It’s spooky, frustrated, and particular with its monsters — horror continues to be as punchily political as always.

Train To Busan

If Sang-ho Yeon’s Train To Busan is streaming on a platform, it will be in my recommendations. No exceptions. South Korea’s breakneck zombie thriller jams all the hyper-intensity of World War Z into a speeding commuter vessel and it’s non-stop excitement. Everyone from baseball players to businesspeople must band together when the undead sprint into stations where the train stops. Once the wheels start turning, Yeon’s film never ceases momentum — that’s why it’s one of the best zombie films to release in the last decade (minimum). Look out for its stateside remake produced by James Wan and directed by Timo Tjahjanto!

Harpoon

Rob Grant’s Harpoon is so sarcastic, caustic, and spiteful. I say that with glee. It’s the darkest of dark comedies, cutting to the chase about humanity’s vile core. Three “friends” are stranded on a boat and devolve into the worst versions of themselves — somehow even worse than the betrayers and hotheads they were on land. There’s also a harpoon on board, hence the title. Brett Gelman narrates as Richard (Christopher Gray), Jonah (Munro Chambers), and Sasha (Emily Tyra) try to survive heatstroke, dehydration, and themselves. Drifting on waters that are much calmer than tensions aboard, which is all I want to reveal about this laugh-out-out slice of human misery.

The Taking Of Deborah Logan

Found footage fans already know why Adam Robitel’s The Taking Of Deborah Logan is on this list. Deborah Logan (Jill Larson) permits a film crew to document her battle with Alzheimer’s, but the production becomes more nightmare than informational research. Threads between mental illness and possession are pulled so delicately until jarring scares deliver thunderous horrors. Deborah’s condition worsens as the camera rolls and evolves past medical explanations. Then we reach an open-wide finale moment that’s been gif’ed a million times, assuring mass acclaim around Robitel’s debut.

We Are Still Here

Haunted houses are part of any horror fan’s comfort formula but can present storytelling problems. Why remain in an estate that aims to harm you? Or possess your family? Ted Geoghegan’s We Are Still Here works as a New England ghost story because characters played by Barbara Crampton and Andrew Sensenig believe their new abode’s strange occurrences are signs from their deceased son. A calmness keeps them settled until their assumptions are proven very, disastrously wrong. It’s a third-act for the ages that pays off slower burns when Geoghegan unleashes more bloodshed in its closing remarks than some entire movies accomplish. Eat your hearts out, A24. Here’s how you sustain elongated simmers with a proper climax.

Stitches

If you’re in the mood for a horror-comedy slasher, may I direct you towards Conor McMahon’s Stitches? British comedian Ross Noble plays an undead clown who reanimates to slaughter the now-teenage children responsible for his accidental party death. Death scenes are over-the-top and emphasize practicality, like when a boy’s head inflates like a balloon or brains are scooped like ice cream blobs. It’s wild fun and even sets up a mythological cultish vibe as Stitches is somehow tied to a graveyard clown congregation, which begs for a sequel. That ship has probably sailed, but for everyone who misses the lunacy of 80s slasher romps? Stitches should be a headliner act.

Hellraiser

Classic horror staples don’t often find their way onto Prime Video, but Clive Barker’s Hellraiser remains the exception. Pinhead makes his theatrical debut serving sadomasochism as the only flavor on Barker’s menu. Cenobites explore new torturous carnal pleasures, no longer able to decipher between pain and pleasure. So begins a gory affair where bodies are pulled apart by hooks as leather demons bring such sights to show the humans caught in their path. Oh, and there’s skinwalking to boot? Hellraiser lives its name by bringing Hell unto Earth, whether you’re talking about the disgusting gratification on-screen or the slew of unappetizing sequels.

House On Haunted Hill

Yes, 1999’s House On Haunted Hill is an underrated aughts-era example of gothic decadence — but let’s not forget the William Castle original. Vincent Price and Carol Ohmart star as untrusting partners who so entertainingly scorch each other with hateful words, setting a proper murder mystery afoot. Since we’re talking about a 1959 haunted house whodunit, there’s less stress put on inky ghosts and more on the macabre charisma of Price and his character’s guests. Survive the night and win a handsome sum of cash — leave, or worse, and forfeit. The latter becomes harder as the evening turns gravely severe in this delicious horror puzzler that still holds its mansion-mania charm.

Scare Campaign

Cameron and Colin Cairnes have something to say about the mainstream’s shift in media consumption. Scare Campaign is about television pranksters challenged by “The New Entertainment,” in that nobody’s falling for old tricks anymore. The Scare Campaign crew find themselves hunted by The Masked Freaks — these guerrilla filmmakers who’ve outfitted their cameras with weapons like chainsaws or nooses. Crowds show their support to encourage illegal presentations of deaths online, as the Scare Campaign workers wonder how things have become so bleak given their days as television horror jokesters. Don’t be afraid of the film’s indie vibes — it’s a tale that’s only gained more relevance and bite as society’s social media habits have altered since 2016.

Suck

If you’re a sucker for horror rock musicals, you should crank Rob Stefaniuk’s Suck. A host of rockstars from Alice Cooper to Henry Rollins roll through this vampire take on selling your soul for everlasting fame. Admittedly, it’s not precisely high-brow since Malcolm McDowell plays a vampire hunter named Eddie Van Helsing. Still, musical interludes and the film’s goofy commentary on stardom strum the right chords. Moby, Iggy Pop, Alex Lifeson — Suck has it all in terms of talent. If only “The Winners” had any of the listed legends in their actual band, they wouldn’t have to morph into bloodsuckers for attention.