The number of great horror movies on Max is one of the reasons why it is one of the best streaming services to subscribe to. The platform certainly lives up to its name when it comes to delivering scares of a maximum quality.
I would even say that the scariest selections that a Max subscription offers are genuinely some of the best horror movies of all time, ranging from creepy classics like the Friday the 13th movies to modern masterpieces of the macabre such as Midsommar. There are plenty more great horror movies on Max to choose from, as we have compiled below to help narrow down your search. Viewer beware.
Jaws (1975)
Roy Scheider, Richard Dreyfuss, and Robert Shaw play a trio who go after a shark terrorizing a beach community.
Why it is one of the best horror movies on Max: Based on Peter Benchley’s novel, Jaws is the quintessential shark movie, which made a star out of director Steven Spielberg and gave birth to the Hollywood blockbuster.
Beetlejuice (1988)
After an eccentric new family takes over their home, the lingering spirits of a recently deceased couple (played by Alec Baldwin and Geena Davis) regrettably enlist a mischievous ghost (played by Michael Keaton) to help drive them out.
Why it is one of the best horror movies on Max: The quintessential Tim Burton movie might be Beetlejuice, which is one of the most unique horror-comedy films of all time for its surreal production design and Keaton’s high-energy performance.
Saw (2004)
Victims of a sadistic kidnapper recall what led to their captivity while trying to figure out a safe way to escape.
Why it is one of the best horror movies on Max: Some audiences assume the Saw movies are just a series of torturous scenes, but the original from director James Wan and writer Leigh Whannell is lighter on carnage than it is on suspense.
The Craft (1996)
A young woman (played by Robin Tunney) who recently transferred to a Catholic high school is introduced to the world of witchcraft by her new friends.
Why it is one of the best horror movies on Max: The original Craft cast is full of Scream Queens – also including Neve Campbell, Fairuza Balk, and Rachel True – who cast a captivating spell in this fun supernatural coming-of-age drama from director Andrew Fleming.
The Dead Don’t Die (2019)
Citizens of an already strange small town encounter an even stranger situation when reanimated corpses rise from their graves.
Why it is one of the best horror movies on Max: Writer and director Jim Jarmusch assembles a ridiculously large and renowned cast – including Bill Murray, Adam Driver, Tilda Swinton, and Selena Gomez, for instance – for a ridiculously absurd, but also vastly underrated, zombie movie called The Dead Don’t Die.
Stream The Dead Don’t Die on Max.
Scream (1996)
A group of California teens are stalked by a masked assailant with a knack for scary movie trivia.
Why it is one of the best horror movies on Max: The slasher movie genre was revived in the 1990s with director Wes Craven and writer Kevin Williamson’s frightening and clever first installment of the Scream movies, which have a seventh installment in the works with Neve Campbell returning as Sidney Prescott.
Evil Dead (2013)
Jane Levy gives a riveting performance as a recovering drug addict who falls prey to the sinister, possessive forces after her friends bring her to a remote cabin.
Why it is one of the best horror movies on Max: Alongside producers Sam Raimi, Bruce Campbell, and Rob Tapert, co-writer and director Fede Alvarez crafted a reboot worthy of being called one of the all-time best Evil Dead movies with his more earnest, clever, and relentlessly brutal reimagining of the 1981 classic.
Fright Night (1985)
A teenage boy (played by William Ragsdale) enlists the help of his friends and a TV horror host (played by Roddy McDowell) when he suspects his new neighbor (played by Chris Sarandon) is a creature of the night.
Why it is one of the best horror movies on Max: While its 2011 remake was well-received, most fans believe director Tom Holland’s original Fright Night is the better vampire movie and one of the most fun horror films of its time.
Sinister (2012)
True crime author Ellison Oswalt (Ethan Hawke) moves his family into the site of a grisly murder as research for his next book, only to uncover a much stranger and more unsettling mystery than he could have imagined.
Why it is one of the best horror movies on Max: The film that cemented Hawke as a modern Scream King is Scott Derrickson’s chilling modern haunted house movie masterpiece, Sinister.
Pet Sematary (1989)
After moving his family to a rural town, a doctor (played by Dale Midkiff) learns from his new neighbor (played by Fred Gwynne) about a nearby Native American burial ground with supernatural properties.
Why it is one of the best horror movies on Max: Mary Lambert’s spine-tingling adaptation of Stephen King’s Pet Sematary is one of the most essential examples of horror films that explore grief, proving that “sometimes dead is better.”
Midsommar (2019)
A cultural festival in Sweden proves to be too much to handle for the grieving Dani (Florence Pugh), her emotionally distant boyfriend, Christian (Jack Reynor), and their friends.
Why it is one of the best horror movies on Max: 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, and one of the best A24 horror movies yet, Midsommar.
It Comes At Night (2017)
A family of three (played by Joel Edgerton, Carmen Ejogo, and Kelvin Harrison Jr.) breaks one of their rules for surviving a cataclysmic virus by taking in another couple (played by Christopher Abbott and Riley Keough) and their young son.
Why it is one of the best horror movies on Max: Writer and director Trey Edward Schults’ It Comes at Night 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 Amityville Horror (1979)
George (James Brolin) and Kathy Lutz (Margot Kidder) move into a seemingly perfect home with their children that turns out to be the site of a brutal murder and soon proves to be a living nightmare.
Why it is one of the best horror movies on Max: Just about all the most essential haunted house movie tropes can be traced back to director Stuart Rosenberg’s classic adaptation of Jay Anson’s book, The Amityville Horror, which is allegedly inspired by terrifying true events.
Stream The Amityville Horror on Max.
Evil Dead Rise (2023)
A woman (played by Lily Sullivan) must protect her nephew and nieces from their own mother (played by Alyssa Sutherland) after possessive forces invade their L.A. apartment building.
Why it is one of the best horror movies on Max: Some say the Evil Dead movies make up the greatest horror franchise ever and writer and director Lee Cronin’s latest gruesome installment, Evil Dead Rise – which brings the action out of the woods – only continues to further that claim.
Paranormal Activity (2009)
Micah (Micah Sloat) tries to capture evidence to back up claims from his girlfriend, Katie (Katie Featherston) that they are being haunted.
Why it is one of the best horror movies on Max: One of the first films to bring the found-footage thriller genre to the mainstream is the first installment of the Paranormal Activity movies – Oren Peli’s low-budget, partially improvised, and overall terrifying instant classic.
Carrie (1976)
Meek high school student Carrie (Sissy Spacek), who faces daily torment from her fanatical mother (played by Piper Laurie) and classmates, discovers that she has telekinesis.
Why it is one of the best horror movies on Max: Brian DePalma directs the first, and still the most acclaimed, adaptation of Stephen King’s debut novel, Carrie – a chilling meditation on the perils of early womanhood which earned Spacek and Laurie Academy Award nominations.
Friday The 13th Movies (1980-1989, 2009)
Over the course of several years, youths working or camping at the infamous Camp Crystal Lake fall prey to brutal murders.
Why it is one of the best horror movies on Max: Currently, on Max, you can stream the first eight Friday the 13th movies and the 2009 remake to see most of Jason Voorhees’ best kills (and that of the series’ other slashers).
Stream the Friday the 13th movies on Max.
The Witch (2016)
A devoutly religious family is torn apart by an evil force lurking right under their noses in their isolated New England home.
Why it is one of the best horror movies on Max: The film that broke Robert Eggers, one of the horror genre’s greatest living visionaries, and Anya Taylor-Joy, arguably the greatest modern Scream Queen, was The Witch – a deliciously creepy masterpiece of slow-burn horror deeply rooted in Puritan-era folklore.
Night Of The Living Dead (1968)
Seven people find themselves trapped in a rural farmhouse, in a deadly battle against zombies.
Why it is one of the best horror movies on Max: No horror movie list is complete without a George A. Romero selection, such as Night of the Living Dead – the terrifying apocalyptic thriller that 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.
No matter what time of the year, this leading streaming service always has movies that are scary to the Max.
