True horror fans know that horror movies are for life, not just for Halloween. Why wait until October to indulge in a slasher movie session or a monster mashup? If you’d rather get your spooky kicks every month of the year, there’s streaming services who can answer your request. You can enjoy all John CharpentierWes Craven or Stanley Kubrick movies you want.
Instead of heading to the cinema for every new release, you can watch horror movies right from the comfort of your couch – plus, you can keep the lights on. Here are some of the best places to stream everything from zombie thrillers and supernatural encounters to monster attacks and iconic classics.
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If you’re looking for an all-you-can-eat horror buffet, then Shudder is a great place to stock up — and it’s all ad-free. Owned by AMC Networks, the niche streaming platform has over 350 horror movies in its library as well as TV series. Shudder offers a quality range of originals, classics, international gems and modern scares, including V/H/S/94, The Seed, Phantasm, Halloween, Children of the Corn and Train to Busan. Choose from Aliens, Slashers, Vampires, Hauntings, Comedy Horrors and more.
You can sign up for Shudder as a standalone subscription for $6 per month, and it comes with a seven-day free trial. It’s also included in the AMC Plus five-channel package, which costs $7, and Shudder is a Prime Video add-on channel, which costs $6 per month. A handful of titles are available for free on the Roku Channel, but you’ll have to pay to access the majority of Shudder’s library. We recommend downloading the Shudder app directly to your phone, tablet, FireTV device, or smart TV.
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A free streaming service, Tubi offers so much more than B-movie horror selections. With a dedicated category that’s home to over 450 titles, including originals, famous franchises and retro favorites, you can scare yourself day and all night. You can find 80s and 90s cult hits like Puppet Master and Bride of Chucky alongside Annabelle: Creation, Insidious, Slender Man, 2022’s The Jack in the Box: Awakening, and all of the Resident Evil movies.
Although Tubi is an ad-supported service, you can watch it on virtually any device. Create an account to access its entire catalog.
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WarnerMedia’s streaming service gives you access to the Warner Bros. and content from DC and HBO. Besides that, the app is sleek and easy to use on any device. If you like horror movies, there’s plenty to watch on HBO Max.
HBO Max’s selection ranges from older classics to new horror releases, including Cat’s Eye, Poltergeist, American Psycho, The Shining, Malignant, all of the It movies, M. Night Shyamalan’s Old, The Conjuring Universe, and all of the Final Destination collection. Slasher superstars Freddy Krueger, Jason Voorhees and Michael Myers are all featured. There’s also lighter fare like Gremlins and the original Godzilla movies, as well as horror mysteries like Last Night in Soho. HBO Max also has an easy-to-find horror collection where you can one-click access to groups of franchise movies, such as I Know What You Did Last Summer, Underworld, and Mimic.
Simply open the app and navigate to the horror section to begin your binge-watching session. HBO Max costs $10 per month (with ads) or $15 for the ad-free experience.
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Granted, Crackle is something of a B-movie heaven where you can pile on your watch list with movies like Killer Mermaid, Malevolence 2, Return of the Scarecrow, and Lake Placid: The Final Chapter. But the streaming service is free and also offers more mainstream titles like Resident Evil and An American Werewolf in Paris. And if you’re a fan of mutant monsters wreaking havoc, you’ll find plenty of Sharktopus movies, giant spiders, and piranhas. Crackle has movies from the 1950s (like The Blob) through 2021, and you can click through to horror subgenres like comedy, action, mysteries, or monsters for easier navigation.
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Whether you own a Roku device or have the Roku Channel as a standalone app on another device, it’s easy to extract thrills and chills. There’s a dedicated horror category where you can stream Roku originals like The Stranger as well as titles like Leviathan, The Colony, Horns and Flowers in the Attic. Within the Roku channel, there are several “live” channels where you can watch scary movies around the clock, including Bloody Disgusting TV, FilmRise Horror, and Horrorfy.
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Prime Video has an abundance of movie titles, and its horror offerings include exclusive and original releases from Blumhouse, the production company known for projects like Get Out, Paranormal Activity, The Purge, Happy Death Day, and Ma. Besides streaming Amazon Originals like Evil Eye and Suspiria, you can watch free movies on Freevee or other movies like Mother! or The Hills Have Eyes included in your Prime subscription. You also have the option of buying or renting the latest titles available on Prime Video. Watch movies from 2022 like The Black Phone, Firestarter and The Cursed or rent media from years past like It: Chapter Two or Village of the Damned. Browse Prime Video’s rotating selection by clicking on the horror category, or check out our recommendations for the best scary movies on the platform.
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Paramount Plus might not be the first streamer to think about horror, but it’s home to several popular franchises, including Scream, A Quiet Place, and Paranormal Activity. You can stream all movies from each series.
But the service also has some nostalgic classics in the vault like Invasion of the Body Snatchers, Carnival of Souls, Rosemary’s Baby, Pet Sematary, Night of the Living Dead, and 1980’s Friday the 13th. Viewers will find around 200 scary movies on Paramount Plus, many of which are recent releases. While Orphan and World War Z are among the familiar titles, there’s also an assortment of lesser-known films. Paramount Plus costs $5 for the ad-supported version.
Other services we tested
Sure netflix on its part of captivating horror movies too, but we wanted to focus on services that are either free or heavily invested in the genre, like Shudder. We also looked Peacock and it’s attractive because of its Universal Pictures and SyFy catalog, but its library is smaller than most with around 160 movies. However, if you are a Comcast Xfinity Flex or X1 customer, you can get Peacock Premium for free, so take advantage of its offers.
We also checked Show time and Starz. While both services provide a solid roster of new and old scares, the price isn’t necessarily worth it when you can stream many of their titles on other services. However, HBO Max and Paramount Plus made the cut due to owning their own franchise-heavy collections. HBO Max is also notable for its inclusion of animated and family horror movies.
Horror Movie Streaming Service FAQ
Do suspense thrillers count in this horror streaming lineup?
No. Although horror includes subgenres like comedy (Shaun of the Dead), paranormal, psychopathic killers, and alien invasions, we didn’t count thrillers like Black Swan and Joker for this category. Instead, this list focuses on platforms with a variety of straightforward horror titles.
Which service offers the most classic horror movies?
If you want to watch movies from past eras for free, your best bet is Tubi, but if you don’t mind paying for old-school creepiness, you should roll with Shudder.
Which service is best for hit horror titles?
You’re bound to come across big-name movies on pretty much any streaming service, but when it comes to the newer blockbusters, expect to pay a premium. Services like Prime Video, HBO Max, and Paramount Plus will usually offer the movies after they hit theaters for rent or with your paid subscription plan.
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