The 10 Best Horror Movies on Amazon Prime 2021

Looking to scratch that horror movie itch? Maybe you just want to feel something different. No worries, Amazon has an array of horror flicks with many sub-genres to choose from. Yes, The Green Lantern is also on Amazon but we wouldn’t want to subject you to that kind of horror. Some of these are scary based on their concepts, some for their filming and sound tactics, others for their classic jump-scare antics, but they are all here for the same reason: To scare a side of you that you never knew existed.

So sit down and get a big, fuzzy blanket because we wouldn’t want those demons to get at your feet as we go through the best horror movies on Amazon today. If you happen to be on Netflix, we’ve compiled a list of their best horror films as well.

Alien (1979)

The first of the unforgettable sci-fi movie series, Alien delivers a horrifyingly creative concept that began the universe of canon it has become today. Responding to a distress call, a crew of space travelers is ambushed by a creature of unknown origin that slowly picks them off one by one as it grows into its final form.

Director: Ridley Scott
Main Cast: Sigourney Weaver, Tom Skerritt, John Hurt
Runtime: 117 minutes
IMDB Rating: 8.4

Watch Now

Midsommar (2019

From the director of Hereditary comes Midsommar, an Ari Aster horror flick that plays with some seriously disturbing scenes as well as bringing up multiple issues concerning mental health. A group of friends travels to Sweden to partake in a traditional event known as midsommar, which soon turns ugly and violent as the event delves deeper into its history.

Director: Ari Aster
Main Cast: Florence Pugh, Jack Reynor, Vilhelm Blomgren
Runtime: 148 minutes
IMDB Rating: 7.1

Watch Now

The Lighthouse (2019)

Two men both named Thomas (Willem Dafoe and Robert Pattinson) are working as lighthouse attendants on a dislocated New England island, both struggling to maintain their sanity and their grasp on reality itself. Though this film is classified as horror, that is really only because of the tension created by masterful cinematography, a haunting soundtrack, and the stirring performances by Pattinson and Dafoe.

Director: Robert Eggers
Main Cast: Robert Pattinson, Willem Dafoe, Valeriia Karaman
Runtime: 109 minutes
IMDB Rating:

7.5

Watch Now

Jaws (1975)

The “first summer blockbuster,” and one of Spielberg’s best movies, Jaws is a classic horror film that changed the film industry forever. When a giant shark terrorizes a small beach town, the responsibility falls on a sheriff, a marine biologist, and an old sailor to hunt and kill the vicious beast.

Director: Steven Spielberg
Main Cast: Roy Scheider, Robert Shaw, Richard Dreyfuss
Runtime: 124 minutes
IMDB Rating:

8.0

Watch Now

Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1978)

Boasting an incredible cast and impressive use of camerawork and sound effects, Invasion of the Body Snatchers is a remake that takes its original premise and goes for gold. Strange seeds from outer space take root in San Francisco, where health inspector Matthew Bennell (Donald Sutherland) begins to take note of the strange happenings affecting the nearby residents.

Director: Philip Kaufman
Main Cast: Donald Sutherland, Brooke Adams, Jeff Goldblum
Runtime: 115 minutes
IMDB Rating: 7.4

Watch Now

The Ring (2002)

What has become a regularly referenced pop culture horror flick, The Ring is an Americanized adaptation of a Japanese horror film that has a plot worthy of reiteration. When a journalist hears of a videotape that supposedly kills people seven days after viewing it, she decides to investigate it by viewing it, giving her seven days to solve the mystery before it’s too late.

Director: Gore Verbinski
Main Cast: Naomi Watts, Martin Henderson, Brian Cox
Runtime: 115 minutes
IMDB Rating: 7.1

Watch Now

Rear Window (1954)

In this classic horror film from Alfred Hitchcock, we are plopped down alongside a man in a wheelchair who believes he has witnessed a neighborhood murder. A pioneer of the genre, Hitchcock’s movie methods have a unique way of making the viewer part of the action and stress that have been imitated in thousands of films to follow.

Director: Alfred Hitchcock
Main Cast: James Stewart, Grace Kelly, Wendell Corey
Runtime: 112 minutes
IMDB Rating:

8.5

Watch Now

Come to Daddy (2019)

In the only horror/comedy featured on our list today, Come to Daddy is uniquely awesome in the way that the twists and turns are taken from an already vague point of view. Invited to his estranged fathers’ remote house via letter and crudely drawn map, privileged Norval (Elijah Wood) arrives to find that his father is nothing like he expected. Since it’s much better to go in blind on this one, it’s recommended not to do much research before viewing.

Director: Ant Timpson
Main Cast: Elijah Wood, Stephen McHattie, Garfield Wilson
Runtime: 96 minutes
IMDB Rating: 6.0

Watch Now

We Need to Talk About Kevin (2011)

Defined by its chilling performance from Ezra Miller and Tilda Swinton’s “…finest performance of her career,” from Newsweek, We Need to Talk About Kevin is a psychological horror film that treads on sensitive grounds for the modern American audience. Traumatized and haunted by a horrific act committed by her young son Kevin (Ezra Miller), Eva (Tilda Swinton) re-lives the moments leading up to the act that hinted at his sociopathic behavior all along.

Director: Lynne Ramsay
Main Cast: Tilda Swinton, John C. Reilly, Ezra Miller
Runtime: 112 minutes
IMDB Rating: 7.5

Watch Now

Suspiria (2018)

Based loosely on the 1977 Italian horror film of the same title, Suspiria takes the setting and basic plot and turns it into a twisted and maddening bloodfest of terror and paranoia. At the center of a world-famous dance company is a dark history that begins to unfold after Susie (Dakota Johnson) suddenly goes from newcomer to lead dancer, sparking the previous lead dancer to go mad and the discovery of the dark, treacherous tunnels that reside below the studio.

Director: Luca Guadagnino
Main Cast: Chloë Grace Moretz, Tilda Swinton, Doris Hick
Runtime: 152 minutes
IMDB Rating: 6.7

Watch Now

Editors’ Recommendations