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10 Horror Movies on Netflix UK to Watch This Halloween

Spoiler Free Suggestions to Scratch Your Horror Itch This October

By Danielle MurrayPublished 5 years ago 7 min read
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I love watching horror movies all year round but particularly in October, and considering Netflix UK has a decent sized catalogue of horror movies I figured I would put together a list of some of my favourites in time for you to watch some for Halloween.

This article is entirely spoiler free and the movies are in no particular order.

'Hush' (2016)

Netflix

Plot: A deaf writer (Maddie played by Kate Siegel) who lives alone in a house in the middle of the woods is happened upon by a masked killer (The Man played by John Gallagher Jr) who figures she might be an easy target.

What's so good about it: It's simplistic but does fantastic things. It primarily has two characters/actors and the entirety of it takes place in or around Maddie's home. A lot of the movie is driven by the intensity of each scene, the slow but gripping development of the plot, and how these two characters interact with each other. It's intriguing, smart, and one of my top horror movies of all time.

'The Autopsy of Jane Doe' (2016)

IFC Midnight

Plot: Two coroners (father and son) try to identify the body of a young woman shrouded in a complex and dark mystery.

What's so good about it:It's just under an hour and a half and every second is as gripping as the next. As the plot slowly developed and more information was revealed, I found myself becoming more and more invested. The horror tends to be subtle and well placed, while in certain places it can be quite visceral. The story was great, the pacing was even better, and the way they use horror was surprisingly refreshing.A little something else I want to give props to is the fact that this movie looks amazing too.

'Pitch Black' (2000)

USA Films

Plot: The passengers and crew of a transport ship crash land on a planet that is home to deadly creatures that hunt in the dark only to discover that they have arrived just as a month-long eclipse is about to occur. It is the prequel to the Chronicles of Riddick (2004).

What's so good about it: Something I particularly love about this movie is that the two main and, in my opinion, most important characters: Riddick (played by Vin Diesel) and Fry (played by Radha Mitchell) are both extremely flawed and definitely not the typical "hero" types. It was interesting to watch them (both separately and together) as the plot progressed and edged closer to its conclusion. Pitch Black blends sci-fi and horror to create a really simple yet interesting story that also serves as a fantastic introduction to the character Riddick.

'The Collector' (2009)

Freestyle Releasing / LD Entertainment

Plot:An ex-con, in order to repay a debt to his wife, decides to rob his new employer, but when he breaks in he quickly discovers that someone else has already broken in and has rigged the house with deadly traps.

What's so good about it: It's a dark movie that balances gore and creepiness incredibly well, and actually has an interesting plot as well. It's simple but it gives you enough to get to know the main character Arkin, played by Josh Stewart, and actually care about him. By making you care you become more invested in every step of the story because you want to know what happens to Arkin and whether or not he succeeds.

'Cloverfield' (2008)

Paramount Pictures

Plot:A found footage movie about a group of friends who have to travel across New York to find refuge from a giant, rampaging monster who is attacking the area.

What's so good about it:I actually adore the found footage aspect although I know a lot of people talked about getting motion sickness. The shaky camera added to the urgency and uneasiness while not limiting the movie to a narrowed point of view. It's clever in its filmmaking, it's got fantastic pacing, and overall the growing threat of the monster is believable and terrifying.

'10 Cloverfield Lane' (2016)

Paramount Pictures

Plot: After a car accident, a woman wakes up in an underground shelter with two men. One of them claims that the world is under attack and they're only safe underground. It is also part of the Cloverfield universe but it isn't found footage.

What's so good about it: I loved the use of limited space in this movie and the fact that the threat outside the bunker is primarily at the word of one of the men. It makes everything tense, leaves you feeling suspicious throughout, and although there are violent outbursts it mostly relies on subtle creepiness and fantastic pacing.

'Annihilation' (2018)

Paramount Pictures / Netflix

Plot: A mysterious, iridescent looking field suddenly appears over an area of land and the movie follows a biologist who signs up as part of an expedition to enter the zone and figure out what's causing it before it grows too big only to find that the laws of nature are very different inside.

What's so good about it: This one is actually kind of hard to talk about. To put it simply: it's beautiful. It has some very obvious, in your face, type of horror but there's also a lot of subtle horror too. Some of it is in the way the world works, the thoughts of the characters, or the lack of control that both you and the characters have. It's not an overly complex movie but it is unique and otherworldly. When you keep questioning it and try to work out every single moment, it takes away some of the magic. It's mysterious, visually striking, and has an interesting layout of events.

'Would You Rather' (2012)

IFC Films

Plot: In order to secure treatment for her sick brother, a young woman ends up agreeing to compete in a deadly game of "would you rather."

What's so good about it: It's a really entertaining twist on the usual harmless game. You never know what's going to happen from one minute to the next which allows for a rather basic idea to become very interesting to watch. There are moments that will make you cringe and others that will make you angry. You never really know what a character might do when presented with a "would you rather" and sometimes their decisions will completely shock you.

'From Dusk Till Dawn' (1996)

Miramax Films

Plot: Two bank robbers, Seth and Richie Gecko (George Clooney and Quentin Tarantino), take a family hostage in order to cross the border into Mexico undetected. As they wait at a strip club known as the Titty Twister for Seth's contact, they quickly discover that the place is crawling with vampires.

What's so good about it: This is a classic for me. It's got a lot of action mixed in with a good amount of gore. It's got a good handle on the horror side of things, it's gripping, and there's a consistent, dark aesthetic. And with all of that, it never loses sight of its plot or its character. Some of my all-time favourite movie characters are from From Dusk Till Dawn and that perfect balance of all its elements makes this one of the best movies to invest your time in. It's also pretty funny at times too.

'Mama' (2013)

Plot: After five years, two missing girls are found and put into the care of their uncle and his girlfriend only to discover that a supernatural spirit as latched onto them.

What's so good about it:Mama keeps you locked up and invested in the current events of the family but also keeps you informed about who/what Mama is and what happened to the two girls in the years they were missing. There's a perfect balance within the plot and it feels like the writers and creators took their time in making sure that the appropriate information was put into the final work while still being a pretty terrifying movie at times. It really is a perfect of example of not losing story to horror or vice versa.

So that is my list of 10 horror movies to watch this Halloween and they're all available on Netflix UK! Below are some honorary mentions that didn't quite make it onto the list but are still pretty awesome:

  1. The Amityville Horror (2005)
  2. The Belko Experiment (2016)
  3. The Boy (2016)
  4. Don't Breathe (2016)
  5. The Purge (2013)
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About the Creator

Danielle Murray

she/her • uk — I mostly write about TV shows and movies but I occasionally write about other things too — blogtwitter instagram medium

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