20 Scary Movies on Netflix Canada Worth Watching
Updated: Oct. 23, 2020From pulse-pounding monster movies to gore-free supernatural flicks, these scary movies on Netflix Canada will appeal to even the staunchest non-horror fans.
The Invitation (2016)
After their young son dies in an accident, Will (Logan Marshall-Green) and Eden (Tammy Blanchard) agree to part ways. Years later, Will is surprised when Eden invites him and his girlfriend to the Hollywood Hills home she shares with her new husband (Michiel Huisman). The dinner party moves along without a hitch, but when Eden announces that she has joined a mysterious self-help group, Will fears that the new couple have sinister plans for their unsuspecting guests.
Life (2017)
Aboard the International Space Station, six astronauts (including Ryan Reynolds, Jake Gyllenhaal and Rebecca Ferguson) make a groundbreaking discovery: evidence of alien life on Mars. While conducting their research, however, the team learns that this dormant single cell is actually a rapidly evolving life-form hell-bent on destroying everything in its path. It may be familiar horror territory, but Life is nevertheless a wildly entertaining—and surprisingly grim—monster movie.
Happy Death Day (2017)
Meet Theresa (Jessica Rothe), a self-absorbed college student who wakes up on her birthday in the bed of a classmate. Things proceed as normal for Theresa—that is, until she’s murdered. When she wakes up alive and well the next morning, Theresa discovers she’s in a time loop, and must relive the same day over and over again until she identifies her killer. Wonderfully acted and deliriously fun, Happy Death Day is Groundhog Day meets Friday the 13th.
Under the Shadow (2016)
In war-torn Tehran in the late 1980s, former medical student Shideh (Narges Rashidi) and her daughter, Dorsa, struggle to survive while her husband works as a surgeon on the front lines. Soon, the pair begin to suffer increasingly disturbing nightmares. But what at first seems to be unresolved trauma turns out to be something else entirely: Shideh and Dorsa are being haunted by a supernatural entity. Under the Shadow is a stunningly original and well-crafted horror gem.
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The Ritual (2017)
Four friends from university embark on a hiking trip in northern Sweden in honour of their late friend. After one of them is injured, the group decide on a quicker route and cut through the forest. Nothing, however, can prepare them for the horror that lurks within. Emotionally raw and brimming with creepy atmosphere, The Ritual is a clever exercise in horror filmmaking.
Hush (2016)
With Hush, writer-director Mike Flanagan (Netflix’s The Haunting of Hill House) adds an irresistible twist to the home invasion genre. Author Maddie Young (Kate Siegel) lives in complete isolation in the woods while working on her novel. Her world quickly unravels, however, when she discovers that a psychopath has been stalking her home—and aims to make her his next victim. The twist? Maddie just so happens to be deaf and mute. Hush is perfect white-knuckle entertainment.
Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (2007)
Based on the hit musical of the same name, Sweeney Todd might just be the last great movie by frequent collaborators Johnny Depp and director Tim Burton. This slasher sing-along follows an English barber and serial killer (Depp) who murders his customers with the help of Mrs. Lovett (Helena Bonham Carter). Todd’s ultimate goal? To exact revenge on the evil Judge Turpin (Alan Rickman), who sent Todd to Australia 15 years earlier for a crime he didn’t commit.
Bram Stoker’s Dracula (1992)
In 1897, English lawyer Jonathan Harker (Keanu Reeves) travels to Transylvania to settle the affairs of his aristocratic new client, Count Dracula (Gary Oldman). Unbeknownst to him, Dracula is actually a 500-year-old vampire. Intent on seducing Harker’s fiancée (Winona Ryder), Dracula sets sail for London, while legendary vampire hunter Abraham Van Helsing (Anthony Hopkins) is hot on his trail. Devilishly fun and unabashedly over-the-top, Bram Stoker’s Dracula remains an underrated work of Gothic horror.
Overlord (2018)
On the eve of D-Day during the Second World War, American paratroopers are dropped behind enemy lines to destroy a radio transmitter in an old church. The plan fails when the plane is shot down and crashes—only four soldiers remain. As the survivors go ahead with their mission, however, they realize they’ve walked into more than they bargained for: a nearby Nazi base is conducting experiments to create an army of powerful zombies.
Tremors (1990)
In the isolated town of Bixby, Nevada, two handymen (Kevin Bacon and Fred Ward) join forces with a distressed seismologist and a gun-toting couple to face off against giant worm-like creatures that threaten to pick off residents one-by-one. Can our heroes save the day? Equal parts buddy comedy and monster movie, Tremors never takes itself too seriously—and that’s what makes it so darn watchable.
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Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein (1994)
Troubled by the death of his mother, Swiss scientist Victor Frankenstein (Kenneth Branagh) becomes obsessed with conquering death. After exhaustive research, Frankenstein achieves the unthinkable: using spare body parts and a killer’s cadaver, he creates the Creature (Robert De Niro). Initially docile, the Creature runs away from the fearful townspeople—and later returns to his maker demanding a bride for himself.
Shutter (2004)
Tun (Ananda Everingham), a successful photographer, and his girlfriend, Jane, are involved in a hit-and-run after a night of partying. When mysterious white shadows begin appearing in his photos, the couple believe they are being haunted by the spirit of the young woman they ran over. Expertly acted and refreshingly gore-free, Shutter will keep you guessing until its shocking twist ending.
Searching (2018)
When his teen daughter, Margot, disappears one night, widowed father David (John Cho) joins forces with a San Jose police detective (Debra Messing) to find her. The catch? Searching is set entirely on computer screens, smartphones, televisions and security cameras, as David traces Margot’s digital footprint and discovers just how little he actually knew his daughter. Unpredictable and surprisingly moving, Searching is an edge-of-your-seat thriller.
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In the Tall Grass (2019)
In Kansas, Becky (Laysla De Oliveira) and her brother Cal hear the cries of a young boy lost in a field. They venture in to rescue him, only to become lost themselves—soon, it becomes apparent that a supernatural force is preventing the group from leaving. Based on the novella by Stephen King and Joe Hill.
Color Out of Space (2019)
After a meteorite lands on their farm, Nathan (Nicolas Cage), his wife Theresa (Joely Richardson) and his family are forced to do battle against a seemingly unstoppable alien organism that can possess their minds and bodies—and colour the world around them. Based on a short story by H.P. Lovecraft.
I Am the Pretty Thing That Lives in the House (2016)
Relying less on jump scares and more on creepy atmosphere, I Am the Pretty Thing… is a modern update on the haunted house story. When Lily (The Affair’s Ruth Wilson) becomes the live-in nurse for retired horror writer Iris Blum (Paula Prentiss), she begins seeing strange things throughout the house. Most alarming is the ghost of Polly (Lucy Boynton), who may have inspired Blum’s most famous character.
Jaws (1975)
One of the most popular movies ever made, Steven Spielberg’s Jaws is still a satisfying jolt to the system more than 40 years after its release. Moviegoers remember Quint’s (Robert Shaw) spine-tingling USS Indianapolis speech (“Sometimes the shark would go away… and sometimes he wouldn’t go away”) and John Williams’ iconic score, but the true strength of Jaws is how effortlessly it goes back and forth between deadpan comedy and sheer terror.
Shutter Island (2010)
In 1954, U.S. Marshals Teddy Daniels (Leonardo DiCaprio) and Chuck Aule (Mark Ruffalo) arrive at Ashecliffe Hospital, a maximum-security psychiatric institution in Boston Harbor. The hospital’s staff claim that a female patient who murdered her three children has vanished without a trace, but Daniels senses something even more horrifying is afoot.
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I Am Mother (2019)
In the wake of humanity’s extinction, a teenage girl is raised by a robot mother (Rose Byrne) with a mission to repopulate the Earth. But their unique bond is threatened when an inexplicable stranger (Hilary Swank) arrives with alarming news.
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10 Cloverfield Lane (2016)
After surviving a car accident, Michelle (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) wakes up in an underground bunker built by Howard (John Goodman). He claims to have rescued her and tells her that chemical fallout from a recent nuclear attack has made the outside air unbreathable; his companion, Emmett (John Gallagher Jr.), claims to have witnessed the attack firsthand. Michelle grows suspicious of Howard, however, and together with Emmett, plans a daring escape.
Next, check out the best classic movies on Netflix Canada!