One would hope that a streaming service with the name “Max” would have some of the best movies you can find from any kind of genre and, luckily, this is a platform that does not disappoint. I would even say that the scariest selections for those with a Max subscription are genuinely some of the best horror movies of all time, ranging from creepy classics to modern masterpieces of the macabre.
You do not necessarily have to take it from me, but I still would check out the vast collection on the streaming service and see if it satisfies the horror fan in you. To help narrow down your search, we have compiled our choices for the best horror movies on Max. Viewer beware.
Midsommar (2019)
Writer and director Ari Aster proves he has the talent to unsettle audiences to their core even in a bright, idyllic setting with his sophomore feature-length effort, Midsommar. The title refers to a Swedish festival that, in some deeply twisted and disgusting moments, proves too much to handle for Dani (Florence Pugh), her emotionally troubled boyfriend, Christian (Jack Reynor), and their friends.
The Exorcist (1973)
Director William Friedkin never intended to make The Exorcist into a horror movie, but rather a commentary on the mysteries of religious faith. Nevertheless, many fans of the genre consider this allegedly fact-based, terrifying story of a young girl (played by Academy Award nominee Linda Blair) possessed by a malevolent entity to be the most frightening film of all time.
It Comes At Night (2017)
Writer and director Trey Edward Schults’ It Comes at Night stars Joel Edgerton, Carmen Ejogo, and Kelvin Harrison Jr. as survivors of a cataclysmic virus who break their rules by taking in another family, played by Christopher Abbott, Riley Keough, and Griffin Robert Faulkner. It is not quite the horror film that its marketing led some to believe, but its devastating commentary on human nature in the wake of catastrophe makes it one of the best A24 movies yet.
Stream It Comes at Night on Max.
The Hole In The Ground (2019)
Before Lee Cronin became part of the Evil Dead movies’ legacy by helming Evil Dead Rise, the Irish filmmaker broke through with another chilling tale of a family affected by suspicious and unusual circumstances. Seána Kerslake leads The Hole in the Ground as a woman who begins to suspect that her son (played by James Quinn Markey) may not be who he says he is.
Stream The Hole in the Ground on Max.
Under The Skin (2014)
A decade before Jonathan Glazer became a two-time Oscar nominee for The Zone of Interest, one of his best known efforts outside of music video directing was a supremely weird movie called Under the Skin. Also one of the most captivatingly unique and subtly thought-provoking alien invasion movies ever made, it stars Scarlett Johansson as an otherworldly visitor in human form preying on lonely men in England.
The Amityville Horror (1979)
Just about all the most essential haunted house movie tropes can be traced back to this classic allegedly inspired by terrifying true events. James Brolin and Margot Kidder star in The Amityville Horror as a couple who move into a seemingly perfect home with their children that turns out to be the sight of a brutal murder and soon proves to be a living nightmare.
Stream The Amityville Horror on Max.
Cujo (1983)
Only an author as twisted as Stephen King could make you fear a creature as loving as a St. Bernard. The film adaptation of Cujo – starring Dee Wallace as a mother trapped in her car with her young son by the rabid dog – captures that fear and claustrophobia brilliantly.
Evil Dead Rise (2023)
Some say the Evil Dead movies make up the greatest horror franchise ever and the latest gruesome installment only continues to further that claim. Writer and director Lee Cronin takes the series out of the cabin and into an apartment building, where a woman must protect her nephew and nieces from their own possessed mother, in Evil Dead Rise – from producers Sam Raimi, Bruce Campbell, and Rob Tapert.
Jennifer’s Body (2009)
In one of Megan Fox’s coolest movies, the actor pokes fun at her own public image, and that of modern teenage girls in general, by playing a conceited cheerleader turned into a man-eating, demonic succubus. Also one of the best horror movies by a female director (Karyn Kusama) and written by Academy Award winner Diablo Cody, Jennifer’s Body is a killer satire with many iconic creepy moments to spare.
Stream Jennifer’s Body on Max.
Paranormal Activity (2009)
One of the most essential films to bring the found-footage thriller genre to the mainstream is a relatively simple haunted house story, but with shocking surprises and startling scares that are anything but simple. Shot on a shoe-string budget with almost completely improvised dialogue, Oren Peli’s original installment of the Paranormal Activity movies is a terrifying instant classic.
Stream Paranormal Activity on Max.
Carrie (1976)
Brian DePalma directs this acclaimed adaptation of Stephen King’s debut novel, Carrie. Sissy Spacek received an Academy Award nomination for her performance in the role of a troubled young woman who discovers she has telekinesis.
Friday The 13th Movies (1980-1989, 2009)
Currently, on Max, you can stream the first eight Friday the 13th movies and the 2009 remake, which follow Crystal Lake’s unlucky campers, among other victims. See most of Jason Voorhees’ best kills (and that of the series’ other slashers) now.
Stream the Friday the 13th movies on Max.
Hereditary (2018)
Writer and director Ari Aster instantly asserted himself as one of horror’s most creative (and demented) talents with this drama starring Toni Collette as a woman whose family suffers nightmarish circumstances following a tragedy. If not the best A24 horror movie yet, Hereditary makes a great case for being the most deeply unsettling.
The Menu (2022)
Modern day Scream Queen Anya Taylor-Joy stars as one of many unwitting participants in a several-course meal of deadly proportions by a highly esteemed chef (played by Ralph Fiennes). From director Mark Mylod and writers Seth Reiss and Will Tracy, The Menu is a sharply funny satire of elitist culinary culture through a pitch black lens.
The Witch (2016)
One of the horror genre’s greatest living visionaries only broke onto the scene a handful of years ago with writer and director Robert Eggers’ deliciously creepy masterpiece of slow-burn horror deeply rooted in Puritan-era folklore. Indeed, The Witch does take place in the Puritan era and follows a devoutly religious family (including Anya Taylor-Joy) torn apart by an evil force lurking right under their noses in their isolated New England home.
The Conjuring (2013)
In the early 2010s, haunted house movies had seen better days, but director James Wan saw its revival by literally returning to those better days with a film set in the subgenre’s prime: the 1970s. Inspired by the alleged case files of paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren (Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga), The Conjuring was scary enough on its own to earn an R rating and still become a big enough hit to kick-off an ongoing “true horror” shared universe of period thrillers.
Eraserhead (1977)
The beauty of horror is how it applies to a wide variety of unique styles and few films are more stylistically unique than the movies of David Lynch. The artist’s experimental vision is, arguably, best defined in his black-and-white feature-length directorial debut that boldly defies traditional horror... and storytelling. Future Twin Peaks cast member Jack Nance plays Harry Spencer – a factory worker who becomes a father to a mutant child, which is merely the basis for all the surreal and disturbing phenomena that Eraserhead challenges you with.
Night Of The Living Dead (1968)
No horror movie list is complete without a George A. Romero selection, such as Night of the Living Dead, which stars Duane Jones and Judith O’Dea and is about seven people who find themselves trapped in a rural farmhouse, in a deadly battle against zombies. The terrifying apocalyptic thriller helped redefine the genre, ushered in a new wave of horror movie filmmaking, and made the zombie movie genre what it is today.
Stream Night of the Living Dead on Max.
Eyes Without A Face (1959)
Eyes Without a Face is a French horror movie starring Pierre Brasseur and Alida Valli about a man who is determined to have face transplant surgery on his daughter after she becomes disfigured from a car crash. The bizarre classic influenced many films with similar themes and plotlines, including Pedro Almodovar’s The Skin I Live In.
Stream Eyes Without a Face on Max.
No matter what time of the year, this leading streaming service always has movies that are scary to the Max.
