There’s no better time to sit in on a scary movie than the cold, sweeping darkness of fall. While the sun sets earlier each day, these movies become a mainstay for everyone looking to raise their heart rate. While many horror movies filter in and out of theaters, many more pass quietly like ghosts through the night. On Netflix, these movies have found a place to build new niche audiences. From the streaming service horror has found a new, cemented outlet of experimentation. The Oswegonian looked at some of Netflix’s best horror films last year. However, with new ones being added almost daily, the list has continued to expand and change. Here are a few to check out.
“The Babadook”
A critical hit, “The Babadook” proved just how successful a limited release can become. Founded on the foundations of Kickstarter, the directorial debut by Jennifer Kent proved to be an outstanding piece of work. Artful, heartfelt and ultimately terrifying, “The Babadook” follows a mother and son who uncover a startling children’s book. What transpires is a suspenseful unraveling of lead Essie Davis’s Amelia. By far one of the greatest horror films on Netflix, “The Babadook” also works as one of the greatest movies on the site in general.
“The Taking Of Deborah Logan”
For horror fans, nothing has become more despised than the cheap, found-footage subgenre. For audiences, films like “The Blaire Witch Project” skyrocketed the subgenre into the mainstream but generally, found-footage is hard to do well. There are exceptions to every rule. “The Taking Of Deborah Logan” is one of these exceptions. Following a research crew’s delving into the mind of an old woman suffering from Alzheimer’s, “The Taking Of Deborah Logan” is filled with the type of atmospheric pressure horror fans crave.
“Mr. Jones”
In “Mr. Jones,” a couple’s getaway to find creative inspiration proves to be everything but. From its opening moments, “Mr. Jones” does a terrific job at establishing a sense of uneasiness in both the viewer and the characters. Upon discovering a vagrant’s den-like home, the characters of “Mr. Jones” experience a shared amount of tension and uncertainty with the viewer. Each passing moment is both haunting and interesting, and by the film’s final experimentally shot moments, everyone is sure to be invested.
“The Houses October Built”
By far one of last year’s greatest and most overlooked horror films, “The Houses That October Built” is terrifying. Utilizing a slow-burn beginning, the movie’s continuous build draws in audiences while the scares continue to flow. The plot of the film is also perfect for Halloween as a group of friends attempt to find the most extreme haunted house. Each moment of “The Houses That October Built” is better than the next. By the end of the film haunted houses will never look the same.
“Creep”
In “Creep,” horror giant Blumhouse Productions’ multiplatform releaser BH Tilt, unleashes one of this year’s most simplistic, yet unsettling films. When asked to shoot a home movie for a dying man, audiences find main character Aaron in a terrible situation. In a time when freelance creative work is so easy to find online, what makes “Creep” so scary is its realism. Created by Patrick Brice and Mark Duplass, “Creep” is a great way to spend a night in.
