/established/media/agency_attachments/2025/06/25/FfP7EAeCporXBZlXZaRJ.png)
/established/media/agency_attachments/2025/06/25/FfP7EAeCporXBZlXZaRJ.png)
/established/media/media_files/2025/05/29/4vsIfajGkOVEqb9Pso9K.png)
/established/media/post_attachments/theestablished/2024-07/3f69c51d-8b79-40eb-ad2c-b7b935bfd0ae/@imdb_ Hereditary.jpg)
10 scariest movies to watch if you’re a horror junkie
As monsoon sets in (albeit late), the season for marathon movie-watching curled up with a tub of ice cream in your bed is about to kick in too. You have given the good old rom-coms a chance, so why not give the scaries a shot this time around?
Here’s a list of the top 10 scariest movies to watch and where to find them. Only remember to have a close somebody to hold on to when things get a little too spooky.
/established/media/post_attachments/theestablished/2024-07/cf1deb96-380e-410e-a8de-5ecacf201c90/birdbox.jpg)
Bird Box: This Susanne Bier-directed horror flick starring Sandra Bullock, John Malkovich, and Sarah Paulson is definitely among the scariest movies to watch. In this survival drama, a mysterious force runs amok, eating through the population. Everything is in disarray—the only thing that’s certain is that if you see it, you die. The survivors, therefore, must dodge the entity that takes the form of their worst fears. In search of sanctuary, a woman and her kids make their way through the perilous woods and down a river, but there’s a catch: they'll have to cover their eyes from the evil that chases them, and undertake the journey blindfolded.
Where to watch: Netflix
Image: Netflix
/established/media/post_attachments/theestablished/2024-07/52316fdc-f961-4b73-858f-31c96b12d39c/escape room.jpg)
Escape Room: Tournament of Champions: Another survival thriller, this one features two clever teenagers up against the big bad corporations out to get them, trapping them in rooms they can’t find their way out of. But the moment they are in one, they realise they have played this game before, as they go code-breaking, riddle-solving, maybe even backstabbing four others, as they slowly but surely realise what they have in common in order to get out alive.
Where to watch: Netflix
Image: IMDB
/established/media/post_attachments/theestablished/2024-07/df22ce07-b670-4d62-9b34-fc7359b20683/the conjuring (1).jpg)
The Conjuring: There’s a haunted house, there’s a dead pet, and there’s the good old woman for a ghost. What’s not to love about this classic horror franchise? Set in 1970, paranormal investigators and demonologist couple Lorraine (Vera Farmiga) and Ed (Patrick Wilson) Warren are sought out by a middle-aged couple Carolyn (Lili Taylor) and Roger (Ron Livingston) Perron. The Perrons and their five daughters have only just moved into a quiet, isolated farmhouse, where a supernatural presence has made itself known. It starts off slow, as always, but quickly picks up pace to scare the bejesus out of the Perrons who discover the house's twisted and gory history.
Where to watch: Amazon Prime Video
Image: IMDB
/established/media/post_attachments/theestablished/2024-07/4555a5a6-3b94-45d7-8550-964353a78d96/the conjuring-2.jpg)
The Conjuring 2: If you liked part one, part two gets even better and should feature on your list of the scariest movies to watch. The famous on-screen ghostbuster couple Ed and Lorraine Warren fast-forward to 1977, and are seen emerging from a self-imposed sabbatical. They have been summoned to Enfield, a borough in north London, by a Peggy Hodgson. She claims to have attracted something evil in her home, and the Warrens do see what she means when her youngest daughter starts to display signs of demonic possession. As the couple tries to help the haunted girl, an unexpected tragedy befalls them—the spirit possesses them.
Where to watch: Netflix
Image: Rotten Tomatoes
/established/media/post_attachments/theestablished/2024-07/fbb88cc7-c988-4f59-a64a-1a793f64eb0b/hereditary.jpg)
Hereditary: Trust Ari Aster to really mess with your head and emotions through tales of horror lurking in familiar familial set-ups. In Hereditary, when the Graham family matriarch passes away, her daughter and grandchildren begin to unearth mysterious and alarming secrets about their ancestors, while trying to escape the macabre destinies they have inherited.
Where to watch: Amazon Prime Video
Image: IMDB
/established/media/post_attachments/theestablished/2024-07/b87a60cc-d312-49ad-8e38-7d95d66b91ba/IT.jpg)
It: You have to admit—very few things strike as much terror in hearts as a grisly clown does, and a joker doesn’t really get more terrifying than Pennywise (played to perfection by Bill Skarsgård). Is It among the scariest movies to watch? You bet it is! In the sleepy little town of Derry, Maine, seven young outcasts are gearing up to face their worst nightmare—an ancient, shape-shifting predator that shimmies up from the sewer every 27 years to haunt the town's children. How do the kids outrun the bloodthirsty Pennywise that one mortifying summer?
Where to watch: Amazon Prime Video
Image: IMDB
/established/media/post_attachments/theestablished/2024-07/d50e5f81-3a30-4e00-8070-eebec1e58b0f/annabelle creation.jpg)
Annabelle Creation: A former toy maker and his wife are glad to have a nun and six orphaned girls in their California farmhouse. We soon learn that years ago, the couple's seven-year-old daughter Annabelle died in a car accident. But something doesn’t seem quite right when one of the six girls sneaks into a forbidden room and finds an innocent-looking doll that talks and comes to life…and that can’t possibly be good news.
Where to watch: Amazon Prime Video
Image: IMDB
/established/media/post_attachments/theestablished/2024-07/c293aeb3-c6cd-41e8-bafb-7394d2d5ac9f/the menu.jpg)
The Menu: Starring Ralph Fiennes, Nicholas Hoult and Anya Taylor-Joy, this film is about a fancy dinner gone bad, to put it mildly. Slowik (Fiennes) is the chief chef of a fine-dine restaurant at an exotic island resort—a culinary maestro, but not without his secrets. Besides serving food from his scrumptious menu, he likes to spring surprises (or shocks) on his guests during the course of the meal. Seated with other guests is a young couple (Hoult and Taylor-Joy) who can’t wait for this evening to ensue. But much to their horror, it has anything but pleasantness in store.
Where to watch: Disney + Hotstar
Image: Rotten Tomatoes
/established/media/post_attachments/theestablished/2024-07/aa13115f-2d9f-4444-b6b9-5bb64d5a7552/ouija.jpg)
Ouija: Origin of Evil: It’s 1967 in Los Angeles, where a widowed mother, unbeknownst to her, invites legit evil into her home while buttressing her séance scam business with a new stunt. It’s a ponzi scheme gone really wrong. When this ruthless spirit begins to haunt her youngest daughter, the family must huddle and put their heads together to send this unwelcome guest back into the ether. A fitting name on the ‘scariest movies to watch’ list indeed.
Where to watch: Netflix
Image: IMDB
/established/media/post_attachments/theestablished/2024-07/2b3972d0-78ef-4ce0-b3eb-7c3ec7679b84/get out.jpg)
Get Out: Chris (Daniel Kaluyya) and his girlfriend Rose (Allison Williams) have finally arrived at the meet-the-parents milestone in their relationship. To facilitate it, Rose invites Chris for a weekend getaway with her parents. They seem overly friendly and chill, making Chris wonder if this behaviour is the family’s eager attempt to make peace with their daughter's interracial relationship. However, as the weekend rolls on, a series of disturbing discoveries leads Chris to a truth that’s horrifying beyond his worst nightmares.
Where to watch: Amazon Prime Video
Image: IMDB
Also Read: How subtitlers make movies more inclusive
Also Read: Bookmark these OTT shows, movies and docuseries to binge-watch in March
Also Read: How do socio-political biases influence our movie-watching experience?