102 movies
Over the last several years, I've rekindled and deepened my love of genre cinema by participating in a number of Letterboxd horror and cult movie challenges. In the process, I've polished off a ton of classics that I'd never gotten around to before, and also discovered some buried riches that I hadn't even known about before.
With that in mind, I wanted to give something back to help encourage and guide the nascent horror hounds out there who are just now discovering the richness of the genre.
This is by no means a definitive list of all the quality horror readily available on streaming, but I think it could be a nice resource and starting point for anybody looking to take a deep dive into the past 100 years of scary movies. I'll readily admit that I've only scratched the surface myself, so don't be afraid to go off the beaten path and explore what looks good to you once you've exhausted these recommendations.
You'll notice that most of the movies featured here are available on free ad-supported services such as Tubi or Crackle, as well as local library-affiliated services like Hoopla and Kanopy. These sites are a veritable treasure trove of horror, including both restorations of vintage films from labels like Full Moon, Kino, and Shout Factory as well as current indie faves from A24, Oscilloscope Labs, and others. I've also included a handful of titles that you can find on your regular household Netflixes and Hulus, but you can watch the vast majority of titles on this list without spending a dime.
Having said that, I do encourage anybody who wants to get serious about horror to look into a subscription to the all-horror/thriller streaming service Shudder. It's only around $6 a month (less if you're like me and went for the annual subscription rate) and the curation and exclusives are top-notch. They offer a free trial period and have some special deals around this time of the year, so it's well worth taking the plunge if you're curious.
The list is mostly in chronological order, although I've also added a little section at the end of left-field "cult classic" picks from all eras. Follow the numbers:
- 1-22: Classic Scares (pre-1980)
- 23-46: Gen-X Nostalgia (80s/90s)
- 47-72: Modern Frights (2000-present)
- 73-101: Cult Classics (too weird to be a classic, too classic to be forgotten)
Acknowledgments:
-- Benito Cereno and his annual Haunting of Netflix House lists, which were a big inspiration for me starting my yearly October horrorthons ca. 2014 or so.
-- Cinemonster and his annual Hooptober challenge right here on Letterboxd, for turning exploration of the horror genre into a delightful non-competitive game for cinephiles.
-- Justin Hullinger and his weekly Cult Movie Challenge on Facebook, for insights into niche subgenres that I hadn't delved into previously.
-- The great folks on The Flop House Podcast Facebook group, who over the years have helped to give me a better and more informed critical perspective on cult movies and genre cinema.
-- And to anyone I might have forgotten, thank you for everything.
