The 10 best Amazon Prime horror movies to watch right now

If you’re looking for a scary watch, you can find some excellent choices among the best Amazon Prime horror movies. From recent releases to some of the best horror movies of all time, this list is packed with unmissable titles that should be on your watchlist ahead of the summer.

There's something for everyone here, from time-travelling serial killers to terrifying ghosts and demonic possessions. And we have some clowns too! Turns the lights off, press play and make sure to have the scariest experience possible.

Below, we've listed the 10 best horror movies on Amazon Prime, including all-time classics like Hellraiser and more recent releases like the fun time-travelling slasher Totally Killer. If that's not enough, we've also put together guides to the best Amazon Prime movies and the best Netflix horror movies too. So if you want to be scared for a few hours tonight, dive into this list and find out how to make it happen.

10. Nanny

Year: 2022
Director: Nikyatu Jusu
Available on: Amazon Prime Video US/UK

A haunting film about Aisha, a Senegalese woman who takes a job as a nanny in the hopes of earning enough money to bring her son to America, Nanny isn't like other films on this list. There are no cruel killers or monsters from another world.

Instead, the horror comes from the exploitative nature of those who knowingly take advantage of Aisha for their ends. In that regard, this film is a powerful deconstruction of the uplifting immigrant stories. Still, there's just enough sprinkling of mysticism and African folklore to keep those with a taste for the fantastical hooked and lends the film an eerie and uncanny atmosphere.

9. Totally Killer

Year: 2023
Director: Nahnatchka Khan
Available on: Amazon Prime Video US/UK

Part science fiction romp, part gory chiller, Totally Killer follows Jamie Hughes, a 16-year-old girl who travels back to the 1980s to save her mother from the Sweet 16 Killer. Original and boldly bonkers, this dark comedy is as sharp as a butcher's knife and every bit as bloody without being grotesque.

While it might not slake the bloodthirst of certain horror hounds (don't worry, we've plenty of gruesome scary movies to come), those who like films like Happy Death Day and the Scream movies will find plenty to love in this playful love letter to the slasher movies of old.

Want more from your Prime subscription? Read our list of the best shows on Amazon Prime to watch right now.

8. Hellraiser

Year: 1987
Director: Clive Barker
Available on: Amazon Prime Video US

Based on Clive Barker's grisly novella The Hellbound Heart, Hellraiser is a creepy cautionary tale about pursuing one's desires at the expense of all else. Our hero is Kirsty Cotton, a young woman who suspects her stepmother is plotting dark deeds in the attic. Sadly, Kirsty's suspicions are quickly proven right, and all Hell breaks lose. Gross and greasy, Hellraiser is an oddly beguiling film that manages to mix the eerie and the erotic.

Indeed, it's probably this twisted sexuality that's made this low-budget monster movie into a beloved genre classic the world over. Well, that and the Cenobites – hedonistic interdimensional ghouls who haunt Kirsty throughout the film. These bizarre creatures boast unforgettable designs, and their leader, Pinhead, has gone on to become a horror icon – it's just a shame my favorite Butterball never got his day in the limelight. One day, my little piggy boy will get his due – one day.

7. Abigail

Year: 2024
Director: Tyler Gillett, Matt Bettinelli-Olpin
Available on: Amazon Prime Video US

It might not scare you to death, but Abigail is probably one of the bloodiest movies in this list. This deliciously fun horror movie sees 2022’s Matilda the Musical star Alisha Weir having the time of her life as a ballerina vampire who wreaks havoc among a group of criminals.

Starring Melissa Barrera, Dan Stevens, Kathryn Newton, Giancarlo Esposito, Kevin Durand, and the late Angus Cloud, the film starts when a ragtag team is tasked with kidnapping a little girl and keeping her trapped inside an old mansion for the night. Little do they realize that the doors of the building are locked and they are actually the meal for a hungry 12-year-old vampire.

For more, read our Abigail review.

6. A Quiet Place: Day One

Year: 2024
Director: Michael Sarnoski
Available on: Amazon Prime Video US

After following the Abbott family's tale in the first two A Quiet Place movies, this prequel movie really surprised us in the best of ways. As the title suggests, A Quiet Place: Day One goes all the way back to the first day when aliens invaded the US, and this time we see the chaos happening in the heart of New York City. Much like its predecessors, it's both a nerve-racking horror and a deeply emotional human story.

Lupita Nyong’o leads the cast as Sam, a terminally ill woman who sees her day out in the city ruined by the aliens. We follow events from her perspective (and her cat's) as they unfold. Soon she meets another survivor (played by Fantastic Four star Joseph Quinn) and a beautiful friendship starts to blossom in the unlikeliest of places.

For more, read our A Quiet Place: Day One review.

5. Terrifier

Year: 2016
Director: Damien Leone
Available on: Amazon Prime Video US/UK

The terrifying (pun intended) answer to the question, 'Could Pennywise be scarier?' Terrifier is a brutal and blood-soaked sonnet dedicated to murder and mayhem. The film follows two partygoers who are being tormented by the murderous Art the Clown. Honestly, the story's as threadbare as a goth's favorite skinny jeans, but you'll be too shocked by the vicious and outlandish violence to care much.

Still, Terrifier's secret weapon isn't the gore. It's David Howard Thornton, the man under Art's white grease paint, who manages to give an outrageously funny performance even while covered in chunks of human detritus. Without him, these films just wouldn't have worked, and he's helped make Art into a horror icon in the same league as Freddy, Jason, and Leatherface.

Once you finish watching this one, dive into the latest flick in the series with our Terrifier 3 review.

4. Hell House LLC

Year: 2015
Director: Stephen Cognetti
Available on: Amazon Prime Video US

Horror fans can get a bit sniffy about found footage movies, but you shouldn't dismiss the genre out of hand; otherwise, you'd miss out on chilling gems like Hell House LLC. This fake documentary investigates the opening of the 'Hell House' Halloween attraction and the tragic fate that befell the staff on opening night.

While Hellhouse LLC might not reach the hallowed heights of films like The Blair Witch, it's still an engaging and eerie thriller that will delight fans of other blink-and-you-’ll-miss-it horrors like Ghostwatch and Grave Encounters. Oh, and if you're afraid of clowns, well, there's a certain mannequin who's so horrifying he makes Pennywise look like Ronald McDonald (if you know, you know).

If you are a fan of hauntings and villains, you can check out our list of the best monster movies of all time.

3. Saint Maud

Year: 2019
Director: Rose Glass
Available on: Amazon Prime Video US

One of the most impressive horror movies of the last decade, Saint Maud is an unsettling and atmospheric meditation on faith, obsession, and loneliness. The film follows Maud, a former nurse turned carer who becomes convinced she's on a mission from god to save the soul of her current client, Amanda.

Unlike other films on this list, which revel in gory spectacles and creatures or killers that defy our understanding, Saint Maud is an understated and creepy journey into madness through the lens of a tragically lonely woman. Of course, it's not all sad scenes of melancholy or Maud talking to herself (even the most pretentious of film fans would get bored of that). There's some genuinely unnerving body horror for those who are so inclined, and it features an ending so bleak it'll have you howling to the heavens for blessed relief.

For more information on this modern gem, read our Saint Maud review.

2. American Psycho

Year: 2000
Director: Mary Harron
Available on: Amazon Prime Video US

While there may be rumors of a new reboot of American Psycho due to hit the big screen, the 2000 classic still holds up as a near-perfect adaptation of Bret Easton Ellis' twisted novel. It stars Christian Bale in arguably one of his best performances as Patrick Bateman, a New York City investment banker with a secret.

While he spends most of his days excelling at work, obsessively keeping on top of his appearance and living the high life, by night, everything gets a bit more bloody. However, as his fantasies begin to escalate, he begins to find it harder to hide his psychopathic side from his co-workers.

Willem Dafoe, Jared Leto, Justin Theroux, and Reese Witherspoon also star in this biting black comedy that was once considered to be unfilmable. Yet Mary Harron nailed the impossible and made the thriller a hit with audiences and critics alike.

Read our American Psycho review for more.

1. The Wailing

Year: 2016
Director: Na Hong-jin
Available on: Amazon Prime Video US/UK

With a jaw-dropping 99% score on Rotten Tomatoes, it's easy to see why The Wailing is one of the best horror movies of the last decade. This South-Korean horror movie is an unexpected and jaw-dropping masterpiece that blends black magic, zombies, ghosts, demonic possessions and other horror tropes in a brilliant and unique way.

The story follows a policeman who investigates a series of mysterious killings and illnesses in a remote Korean village. His real goal, however, is to save his own daughter. The Wailing is a experience like no other, which is makes it a perfect top spot for our list of the best Amazon Prime horror movies to watch right now.

For more streaming picks head over to our lists of the best Netflix movies and the best movies on Disney Plus. Or, for more gore and guts, we also have a handy guide on all the upcoming horror movies on the near horizon to look forward to.