October has arrived and with it comes the urge to watch as many horror movies as you can. With Halloween fast approaching, there is no better time to check out the scariest films you can find anywhere. Netflix is home to some great options, yet many of the choices are among the most notable horror flicks around. Alien, Nope, Jaws, 28 Years Later, The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, The Black Phone, and the underrated Fear Street trilogy are all among the most popular options for any Netflix subscriber. As great as those are, there’s a lot more fun in finding cult classics on the platform.
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These are the movies that were overlooked upon release or were quickly forgotten about, yet went on to grow in popularity. People eventually came to appreciate what they do well and they’ve gone down as some of the better horror films of their time. Netflix is home to some great modern cult classics in the horror genre, yet October also marks the arrival of a criminally underrated sequel to one of the greatest slasher flicks ever that took more than two decades to get made. Watching any, and especially all, of these movies can make your spooky season much better.
4) Creep
One of the better modern cult classic horror films is 2014’s Creep. Directed by Patrick Brice and co-written by Brice and Mark Duplass (who both star in the project), the found-footage movie is incredibly unsettling. It starts simply enough as a videographer is hired to record the life of Josef, who is expected to die before his wife gives birth, so the footage can be shown to the child. However, Josef’s behavior becomes increasingly unhinged and chaotic as things progress.
The film becomes something completely unexpected and Duplass’ performance is chilling. Though it was mostly ignored upon release, Creep found success over time and ended up spawning a franchise. There’s a 2017 sequel that’s just as good (and is also on Netflix), while The Creep Tapes is a Shudder TV spin-off from 2024. There’s even talk of a third film installment. The original Creep sits at an impressive 91% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, making it one of the best horror movies of the 2010s.
3) Valentine
The slasher subgenre is a special one because it works almost just as well when the movie is great and when the movie is considered bad. Fans of slashers love when it’s cheesy and lackluster, but they also love when it’s legitimately great. That has allowed several projects with poor reviews to become cult classics. 2001’s Valentine is among them, which received terrible reception from critics and didn’t even perform well at the box office, barely outgrossing its budget.
The premise is simple, centering on a group of female friends who get stalked by a killer in a cupid mask in San Francisco leading up to Valentine’s Day. Over the years, Valentine has been reevaluated and praised for kills inspired by Dario Argento’s works and for being a fun, tongue-in-cheek slasher. It also boasts a classic cast for its time, starring Denise Richards, David Boreanaz, Marley Shelton, Katherine Heigl, and more. Slasher fans should absolutely check this out.
2) Psycho II
The original Psycho is one of the greatest horror movies ever made and remains one of the best slashers in history. With most slasher franchises, the first installment is the best, and the sequels tend to lack something. Releasing a sequel to Psycho was a risk, especially when it took 23 years to arrive, and especially since it didn’t adapt the sequel to the novel. Instead, 1983’s Psycho II stands alone and is a surprisingly strong slasher flick.
Psycho II brought back both Anthony Perkins and Vera Miles, which was crucial because of how good they were the first time around. The story is set 22 years after the original and centers on Norman Bates returning home after a stint in a mental institution. The end result was a film that was well-received by critics, yet far too many people have still overlooked it because they tend to only consider the 1960 original. Psycho II is a cult hit that deserves more appreciation.
1) Hush
Mike Flanagan is one of the modern masters of horror. He truly broke out with his Netflix series The Haunting of Hill House and films like Doctor Sleep and The Life of Chuck. However, some of his best work came before that era, including 2016’s Hush, which is a hidden gem and has all the requirements of a cult classic horror flick. The film has a simple, yet terrifying setup as it sees a woman without the ability to hear or speak get stalked at her home by a killer.
It’s one of those premises that can immediately hook you because you put yourself in the shoes of the protagonist. It’s about as scary a situation as you can imagine and watching it play out is harrowing. Kate Siegel is fantastic in the lead role and this chilling 81-minute modern slasher does a great job of captivating a viewer. The film has only become more beloved over time, including getting a collector’s edition 4K release. Flanagan’s hit Netflix series Midnight Mass is also actually based on the story-within-a-story from Hush.
Did we miss your favorite cult classic on Netflix? Let us know in the comments!
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A scene from Death to Smoochy
