The best horror movies on Netflix UK

Five friends head to a cabin in the woods and spooky things begin to happen. Sound familiar? Think again, this is a haunted house story with plenty of twists and turns from the brilliant minds of Joss Whedon and Drew Goddard.

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Directed by James Wan, this super scary haunted house flick is well worth a watch during spooky season – and any time of year, in fact. It's about a suburban family who move to escape their haunted house. But, here's the twist, it's not their old house that's haunted. If you end up enjoying this one, there are two more in the Insidious series, but this one is, in our opinion, the best one.

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Prepare yourself for this one. Hereditary is a stunning piece of cinema with a horror wraparound. It's about Annie (the fantastic Toni Collette), an artist whose mother dies. Her death leads to a whole host of goings on and some jaw-dropping revelations. Collette is stunning as Annie and she is backed by a brilliant supporting cast

It has been a good few years for high-class, low budget horror. Karyn Kusama’s The Invitation keeps you hooked into its increasing bed of tension by nailing it to familiar social pressures and conventions.

A dinner party of old friends starts to fall apart. But is something genuinely odd going on or are we just watching the tectonic plates of complicated relationships rub up against each other? The Invitation is a masterclass in low-key dread.

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The second Scott Derrickson movie on this list and it's the scariest one he made. Sinister is about true-crime writer Ellison Oswalt (Ethan Hawke) whose finds a box of home movies in a home he has just moved into. The movies show a number of grisly murders which have a supernatural theme. Yes, there are too many jump scares but the foreboding atmosphere is just fantastic throughout.

Hush isn't as much of a horror-show as the Kula Shaker song, but it is a terrifying home invasion drama with a twist - the lead protagonist is deaf. This means that when a masked killer comes into her home and she is oblivious, you will no doubt be shouting at the screen. It's tense, taught and Mike Flanagan directs. The star of the show, though, is actress (and Flanagan's real-life wife) Kate Siegel. She's great as the deaf writer who faces a night of terror.

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A two-sentence summary of Creep does not make it sound original. It’s a found footage horror film in which a creepy guy advertises for a camera operator online. Events ensue.

However, it’s an incredibly memorable and taut micro-budget horror you won’t forget, largely thanks to the efforts of star and co-writer Mark Duplass. It’s an exercise in uncomfortable closeness with a single creepy character brought to unnerving life by an excellent performance. It fits more memorable moments into 77 minutes than many films manage in two hours or more.

It also beats the law of diminishing returns. Creep 2 is great as well.

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A movie that started myriad franchises, there are genuine scares to be found in The Conjuring - about a pair of paranormal investigators that head to New England to battle some spooks in a farm house. The movies are now hat tips to future scary films - Annabelle, The Nun - and that's no bad thing.

Gareth Evans was fresh from directing to of the best action movies of all time, The Raid and The Raid 2, when he took on Apostle. The movie is quite the departure for the director but still a brilliant, unnerving watch. Based on Dan Steven's character coming back home to find the occult has taken his town and, most importantly, his sister, this is turn of the century fable that's a pretty frightening watch.

Annihilation did not have a great time at the cinema. Following fights between the director and one of the film’s financiers about whether it was “too intellectual” for a mainstream audience, it failed to recoup profits at the box office. But it has found a comfortable home on Netflix.

It has a dream-like quality, and was adapted from a Jeff VanderMeer novel by Alex Garland, writer of Ex Machina and 28 Days Later. A team of soldiers enter the ever-growing “shimmer”, in which plant and animal life mutate and time appears to bend.

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Director Mike Flanagan's first Stephen King movie (he also made Doctor Sleep) is a brilliant slow burn of a movie, with the fantastic Carla Gugino taking centre stage. Given most of the movie takes place in one room (it's based on a sex game gone wrong, which sees Gugino handcuffed to a bed), it's a masterful film full of suspense and one of the most gruesome scenes that is not for the squeamish!

There have been many takes on the Krampus myth - a demon who terrorises those who don’t like Christmas - but this is the most fun. Starring Parks and Rec’s Adam Scott and Toni Collette, it’s a movie that doesn’t take itself too seriously but also manages to add in some decent scares. Yes, this is a seasonal horror movie but one that’s worth a watch whatever time of the year it is.

This is a brilliant new horror from Netflix, focusing on some refugees who are finally given a place to live after escaping the horrors of South Sudan and being stuck in the UK’s immigration system. Their new house is not as it seems, though. This is a great debut from writer-director Remi Weekes and stars Wunmi Mosaku, Sope Dirisu and Matt Smith.

The original slasher movie and still the best, Halloween is a low-budget masterpiece with director John Carpenter writing, directing and even making the music for the horror flick. Laurie Strode, played by Jamie Lee Curtis, is haunted by her past when a masked, silent killer comes after her. The many sequels dilute the legacy but this is an essential watch.

One of the most claustrophobic horror's ever made (and one of the best British horrors), Neil Marshall's The Descent follows an all-woman pot-holing crew as they get stuck underground and find out that they aren't alone. This version has the UK ending which is far harsher than the nice US one.

Florence Pugh is fantastic in this stunning, savage horror movie based around some backpackers who get caught up in the goings-on of a seemingly bucolic folk festival. what ensues is a modern horror masterpiece, with some of the best flower arrangements ever seen on film.

Directed by Zack Snyder and written by James Gunn, this remake of Dawn of the Dead remains faithful to the original in the fact that it is still a take on the humans horrible infatuation with consumerism, but this time the zombies run and the stakes are higher. It's a lot of fun and doesn't fall in the trap of most other remakes.

Sam Raimi may have gone all Hollywood but it's his horror movies where he really shines. Drag Me To Hell is a great example of a director who will use every technique under the sun to scare. It's a brilliant film about a woman put under a curse, and one that doesn't let up until its gory end. And even then you will be cowering once the credits roll.

This was Quentin Tarantino's movie of the year when it was released. And we can see why, it's a brilliant cat-and-mouse chase between a gifted swimmer and a bloody massive croc. This is fantastic fun, directed ably by Alexandre Aja and fantastically acted by Kaya Scodelario. This is one movie that just doesn't let up.

This is a fantastic, engrossing horror about a lapsed Hasidic Jewish man who has to stay over with the dead body of someone, unfortunately a devilish spirit comes along for the ride. What ensues is a crisis of faith and a glimpse at true horror.

The original found footage horror, The Blair Witch Project may have lost some of its shine due to its years of being homaged but it's still a creepy movie that has one of the scariest endings of all time. If you haven't seen this one since it changed horror back in 1999, then it's well worth a revisit.

This Italian movie plays on the concept of horror movie cliches to great effect. It's all based around a couple lost in the woods and, well, it all goes very wrong from there. This is a refreshing take on horror and we reckon it needs to be seen by more people.

Another Stephen King adaptation (of a short story), this is a brilliant tale of revenge on a man who conspired to kill his wife for financial gain. Thomas Jane and Molly Parker star - both brilliant actors who are fantastic in this film. This may be one of King's lesser known works but it's a good 'un.

Billed as the 'scariest Netflix horror' of all time when it was first released, this is certainly a spine chiller. Director Paco Plaza (REC) adds in a whole host of scares to this movie, about a seance done be teenagers that seems to have brought a nasty spirit into the world.

Nope, we haven't managed to say his name in the mirror since this movie either. While the remake updates the horror for the modern age, the original is still an unnerving tale about gentrification, race, tall tales and what happens when they all collide. Tony Todd is magnificent as the titular bad guy.

A cult classic, American Mary is about a medical student who gets into the underground world of body modification. Written and directed by the Soska sisters, who are currently re-imagining Cronenberg's Rabid, this is a fantastic eerie movie that spins the idea of a slasher flick on its head.

Eli is about a boy who can't go outside because he's allergic to lots of things. When he arrives at a medical facility that's sealed off from the outside, he finally starts to feel normal again. Well, until things take a very odd and sinister turn. This movie is scary, tense and full of twists - perfect for Halloween.

One of the new horror movies on the list and one of the most fun. The whole Fear Street series plays with horror conventions in different eras, but it is the first that is the best for us. It's about a group of teenagers that seemingly get caught up in some witch-based antics.

Cam is a really interesting take on the horror genre with a sex-positive movie that focuses on the obsession of wanting to be liked. Madeline Brewer is Alica, a cam girl who is trying to break into the top 50 of cam girls, with a show that’s not seedy but fun. She gets there but then something happens and the whole film flips on its side. It’s a great low-budget horror that offers more than meets the eye, thanks to the way it never looks down on the sex workers portrayed.

Under The Shadow isn't about blood and gore shocks but a film that has an utter feeling of fear and dread permeate throughout it. Based during the Iran/Iraq conflict, this is the tale of a mother and daughter hiding from the horrors of war in a house that seems to be haunted. At times beautifully shot, this is a wonderful movie about horror - real life and otherwise.