As we get closer to Halloween, our list of the best horror movies on Amazon Prime Video will have you screaming with delight.
On this page we've picked out 10 must see movies that are available to watch right now on the streamer. Here you'll find killer clowns, ruthless serial killers, alien invasions, and even the Antichrist. There's something for every horror taste here, including a few films that have perhaps slipped under your radar. Plus, with Halloween approaching we're going to be regularly updating this page with a new scary pick of the week throughout October – this time around it's classic horror romance Let the Right One In.
Pick of the week
Let the Right One In
Year: 2008
Director: Tomas Alfredson
Available on: Amazon Prime Video US
This goth-tinged teen romance remains a potent dose of Swedish noir. Directed by Tomas Alfredson from a screenplay by John Ajvide Lindqvist, adapted from his own novel, Let the Right One In follows Oskar (Kåre Hedebrant), a shy and bullied 12-year-old boy living with his mother in Stockholm. When a man named Håkan (Per Ragnar) and a young girl, Eli (Lina Leandersson), move into the vacant house next door he quickly falls in love. As he grows closer to Eli, however, he learns something terrifying: Håkan is a killer and Eli... well, she may just be something worse.
Atmospherically shot – Swedish suburbs have rarely looked so frozen – and steeped in gothic romance, Let the Right One In is both moving and, when it needs to be, horrifying. Matt Reeves helmed a decent US version, Let Me In, in 2010, but it's Alfredson's original that gets our recommendation.
The 10 best Amazon Prime horror movies to watch right now
10. Nanny
Year: 2022
Director: Nikyatu Jusu
Available on: Amazon Prime Video US/UK
A haunting film about Aisha, a Senegalese woman who takes a job as a nanny in the hopes of earning enough money to bring her son to America, Nanny isn't like other films on this list. There are no cruel killers or monsters from another world.
Instead, the horror comes from the exploitative nature of those who knowingly take advantage of Aisha for their ends. In that regard, this film is a powerful deconstruction of the uplifting immigrant stories. Still, there's just enough sprinkling of mysticism and African folklore to keep those with a taste for the fantastical hooked and lends the film an eerie and uncanny atmosphere.
9. Totally Killer
Year: 2023
Director: Nahnatchka Khan
Available on: Amazon Prime Video US/UK
Part science fiction romp, part gory chiller, Totally Killer follows Jamie Hughes, a 16-year-old girl who travels back to the 1980s to save her mother from the Sweet 16 Killer. Original and boldly bonkers, this dark comedy is as sharp as a butcher's knife and every bit as bloody without being grotesque.
While it might not slake the bloodthirst of certain horror hounds (don't worry, we've plenty of gruesome scary movies to come), those who like films like Happy Death Day and the Scream movies will find plenty to love in this playful love letter to the slasher movies of old.
Want more from your Prime subscription? Read our list of the best shows on Amazon Prime to watch right now.
8. The First Omen
Year: 2024
Director: Arkasha Stevenson
Available on: Amazon Prime Video US
The Omen is a timeless horror classic, but its sequels were often a bit patchy. What a surprise, then, that this 2024 prequel turned out to be really rather good. Stylishly directed by Arkasha Stevenson, The First Omen introduces us to a novice nun named Margaret Daino (Nell Tiger Free) who quickly bonds with orphan Carlita (Nicole Sorace), who seems to be being bullied by others in the convent. Uncovering a conspiracy at work, Margaret gets pulled deeper into a supernatural mystery that could change the world.
Of course, anyone who has seen Richard Donner's original film will quickly realise where all of this is heading. Even so, with its strong cast (including Fantastic Four's Ralph Ineson) and moments of body horror, The First Omen is more than just another franchise sequel.
Find out why we called the film "devilishly good" in our The First Omen review.
7. Terrifier
Year: 2016
Director: Damien Leone
Available on: Amazon Prime Video US/UK
The terrifying (pun intended) answer to the question, 'Could Pennywise be scarier?' Terrifier is a brutal and blood-soaked sonnet dedicated to murder and mayhem. The film follows two partygoers who are being tormented by the murderous Art the Clown. Honestly, the story's as threadbare as a goth's favorite skinny jeans, but you'll be too shocked by the vicious and outlandish violence to care much.
Still, Terrifier's secret weapon isn't the gore. It's David Howard Thornton, the man under Art's white grease paint, who manages to give an outrageously funny performance even while covered in chunks of human detritus. Without him, these films just wouldn't have worked, and he's helped make Art into a horror icon in the same league as Freddy, Jason, and Leatherface.
Once you finish watching this one, dive into the latest flick in the series with our Terrifier 3 review.
6. A Quiet Place: Day One
Year: 2024
Director: Michael Sarnoski
Available on: Amazon Prime Video US
After following the Abbott family's tale in the first two A Quiet Place movies, this prequel movie really surprised us in the best of ways. As the title suggests, A Quiet Place: Day One goes all the way back to the first day when aliens invaded the US, and this time we see the chaos happening in the heart of New York City. Much like its predecessors, it's both a nerve-racking horror and a deeply emotional human story.
Lupita Nyong’o leads the cast as Sam, a terminally ill woman who sees her day out in the city ruined by the aliens. We follow events from her perspective (and her cat's) as they unfold. Soon she meets another survivor (played by Fantastic Four star Joseph Quinn) and a beautiful friendship starts to blossom in the unlikeliest of places.
For more, read our A Quiet Place: Day One review.
5. Hell House LLC
Year: 2015
Director: Stephen Cognetti
Available on: Amazon Prime Video US
Horror fans can get a bit sniffy about found footage movies, but you shouldn't dismiss the genre out of hand; otherwise, you'd miss out on chilling gems like Hell House LLC. This fake documentary investigates the opening of the 'Hell House' Halloween attraction and the tragic fate that befell the staff on opening night.
While Hellhouse LLC might not reach the hallowed heights of films like The Blair Witch, it's still an engaging and eerie thriller that will delight fans of other blink-and-you-’ll-miss-it horrors like Ghostwatch and Grave Encounters. Oh, and if you're afraid of clowns, well, there's a certain mannequin who's so horrifying he makes Pennywise look like Ronald McDonald (if you know, you know).
If you are a fan of hauntings and villains, you can check out our list of the best monster movies of all time.
4. The Fog
Year: 1980
Director: John Carpenter
Available on: Amazon Prime Video US
This John Carpenter classic is both creepy and just a little bit cosy. Set in the sunny Californian coastal town of Antonio Bay, it follows a trio of characters – Adrienne Barbeau's DJ Stevie Wayne, Tom Atkins's laconic Nick Castle, and Jamie Lee Curtis's young hitchhiker Elizabeth Solley – as they uncover a supernatural threat. Antonio Bay, it turns out, has a very dark history and the sins of the past are coming back to haunt it in a very literal fashion.
Gorgeously shot and with a reliably effective Carpenter score, The Fog is a great mood piece. Its not the scariest of films, its spooks seemingly fairly easy to escape (did nobody consider simply leaving the town in a car?), but it still has a few moments of genuine creepiness and is steeped in atmosphere as thick as the fog itself.
3. Saint Maud
Year: 2019
Director: Rose Glass
Available on: Amazon Prime Video US
One of the most impressive horror movies of the last decade, Saint Maud is an unsettling and atmospheric meditation on faith, obsession, and loneliness. The film follows Maud, a former nurse turned carer who becomes convinced she's on a mission from god to save the soul of her current client, Amanda.
Unlike other films on this list, which revel in gory spectacles and creatures or killers that defy our understanding, Saint Maud is an understated and creepy journey into madness through the lens of a tragically lonely woman. Of course, it's not all sad scenes of melancholy or Maud talking to herself (even the most pretentious of film fans would get bored of that). There's some genuinely unnerving body horror for those who are so inclined, and it features an ending so bleak it'll have you howling to the heavens for blessed relief.
For more information on this modern gem, read our Saint Maud review.
2. Nosferatu
Year: 2024
Director: Robert Eggers
Available on: Amazon Prime Video US
A gorgeous retelling of Murnau's silent classic film, which was inspired by Bram Stoker's Dracula, Nosferatu is one of the best horror movies of recent times. Robert Eggers did it again – the director of modern gems like The Witch and The Northman created a flawless gothic tale that explores desire like we rarely see on screen these days.
Set in the early 1800s, the film follows a young girl who pleads for a supernatural being to ease her loneliness, which is killing her. She awakens a mysterious creature who seduces her and makes her pledge herself to him for eternity. Years later, the creature comes back to see her promise fulfilled, even if she is a grown married woman.
For more, read out Nosferatu review.
1. The Wailing
Year: 2016
Director: Na Hong-jin
Available on: Amazon Prime Video US/UK
With a jaw-dropping 99% score on Rotten Tomatoes, it's easy to see why The Wailing is one of the best horror movies of the last decade. This South-Korean horror movie is an unexpected and jaw-dropping masterpiece that blends black magic, zombies, ghosts, demonic possessions and other horror tropes in a brilliant and unique way.
The story follows a policeman who investigates a series of mysterious killings and illnesses in a remote Korean village. His real goal, however, is to save his own daughter. The Wailing is a experience like no other, which is makes it a perfect top spot for our list of the best Amazon Prime horror movies to watch right now.
For more streaming picks head over to our lists of the best Netflix movies and the best movies on Disney Plus. Or, for more gore and guts, we also have a handy guide on all the upcoming horror movies on the near horizon to look forward to.
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