We shouldn’t play favorites, but in truth, the best TV series and documentaries come from HBO—excuse us, “Max.” Everything that the network touches turns to cinematic gold, pretty much. Which is why it really shouldn’t come as much of a surprise to you that the horror movie options on Max are truly excellent. Its catalog includes a ton of the most terrifying films ever made, including classic horrors like Alien and What Lies Beneath and more recent thrillers like Barbarian and Evil Dead Rise.
If there were ever a perfect time to mainline some horror, it’s right now. Here are the freakiest, nightmare-iest, shivers-iest, scary movies available to watch on Max.
A Nightmare on Elm Street
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Horror royalty Wes Craven made this movie in 1984, and it was immediately a major box-office success and garnered tons of positive press. If you’re somehow unfamiliar with the plot (you’ve been living that bunker lifestyle, yeah?), the gist is that teenagers in a suburban Ohio town keep on getting murdered in their dreams by Freddy Krueger, a serial killer who wears a glove with razors for fingers! Light stuff.
Barbarian
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One of the most popular horrors of 2022, Barbarian stars Georgina Campbell, Bill Skarsgård, and Justin Long, and it’s basically anti-Airbnb propaganda. The film follows a woman who books a short term rental, arriving only to find it has been double-booked by another man. That’s not the only surprise in store for her in the home, but we won’t say anything else.
Blair Witch
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This 2016 sequel directly follows the 1999 found footage hit,. Though it’s technically the third film, it entirely ignores the presence of the 2000 follow-up film, so we will too. The film serves up a similar storyline to the first, following a group of college students who venture into Maryland’s Black Hills Forest to investigate the mysterious disappearance of their friend.
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The Conjuring
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The Conjuring is inspired by a real-life pair of paranormal investigators, Ed and Lorraine Warren (played by Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga), who *attempt* to help a family figure out why all this creepy sh*t keeps on happening at their Rhode Island farmhouse. Feel free to brush up on the true story before you commit, that is…if you dare.
Eraserhead
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This 1977 weirdo horror from David Lynch is a cult classic, following a man charged with the care of his deformed child. Of course, that bare bones description doesn’t even begin to cover the lore that is Eraserhead.
Evil Dead Rise
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The fifth installment in the world of Evil Dead, this 2023 horror follows two estranged sisters struggling to save their family from an apocalypse. It’s not just another vintage horror reboot though, this one is actually good. Evil Dead Rise became the highest grossing film in the franchise upon release, which originally began back in 1992.
Hereditary
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Before Ari Aster made Beau Is Afraid, there was Midsommar. Before there was Midsommar, there was Hereditary. Before Hereditary, there was The Strange Thing About The Johnsons, but for now we’ll stick to Hereditary. That’s the one streaming on Max. This 2018 horror from A24 stars Toni Collette, Alex Wolff, Milly Shapiro, and Gabriel Byrne as a family cursed by the loss of their matriarch.
House At The End Of The Street
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While the JLaw renaissance is upon us, let us return to the 2012 thriller House at the End of the Street. The film follows a teenage girl who moves to a new neighborhood with her mother, learning along the way that a neighboring house was the site of an infamous double murder. She, naturally, decides to check out the situation for herself.
I Am Legend
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The apocalypse film to end all apocalypse films, I Am Legend stars Will Smith as the last living man in New York following the spread of a deadly virus—sound familiar?
Insidious
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A horror franchise spanning more than 13 years, (first edition) was released in 2010, following a family whose son becomes a vessel for otherworldly spirits and demons. The franchise grew to includeand. Aside from the first film, only is currently available to stream on Max.
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Jennifer’s Body
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This 2009 horror comes from writer Diablo Cody, who also wrote Juno, Young Adult, United States of Tara, and the Jagged Little Pill musical. In the years that followed the film’s release, Jennifer’s Body became a feminist cult classic, finding resurgence in the wake of the #MeToo movement.
Let Me In
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From the director of Cloverfield, Let Me In stars Kodi Smit-McPhee and Chloë Grace Moretz as a young outcast and an adolescent vampire in 1980s New Mexico. The film was adapted from a Swedish film, Let The Right One In, and was celebrated for its loyalty to the original.
One Missed Call
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This 2008 supernatural horror is based on a 2003 Japanese film of the same name and, warning, it isn’t good. In its year, it was named the worst-reviewed movie of the year, landing a big fat 0% on Rotten Tomatoes. Still, it’s kinda scary and perfect for the spooky season.
Orphan
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Obsessed with The Curious Case of Natalia Grace? Try its fictional older sister, Orphan. This 2009 horror follows a couple who adopts a 9-year-old child after the loss of their own child, only to find out (the hard way) that she’s a murderous psychopath.
Mirrors
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This 2008 horror stars Kiefer Sutherland and Paula Patton, follows a former cop whose family is on the receiving end of a haunting that appears through mirrors.
Sinister
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You know about this one, but give it another stream. Sinister follows a true crime writer who moves into a new home with his family, stumbling upon a box of deadly home movies that send him on an investigation into darkness.
The Blackcoat’s Daughter
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This twisty 2015 horror stars Emma Roberts, Kiernan Shipka, and Lucy Boynton, and follows three timelines that intercut between each other. We won’t give too much away, but this film takes on the themes of isolation and the dark power of religion.
The Eye
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Starring Jessica Alba and Parker Posey, The Eye follows a violinist who was blinded by her sister as a child. As an adult, she elects to undergo a cornea transplant, but soon finds that her new eyes allow her to see dead people.
The Fly
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From writer-director and horror icon David Cronenberg, The Fly follows a scientist whose faulty experiment turns him into a fly-like creature. The film stars Hollywood royalty, Jeff Goldblum and Geena Davis and is remembered today for its tagline, “Be afraid. Be very afraid.”
The Nun
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A spin-off from The Conjuring cinematic universe, The Nun follows a Catholic priest and a nun in training who discover a dark and demonic secret in 1952 Romania. The film’s sequel, The Nun II, will be released in September, so now is the perfect time to catch up.
The Silence of the Lambs
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This 1991 horror stars Jodie Foster as a young FBI trainee hunting down a serial killer, and Anthony Hopkins as the detained cannibal serial killer Dr. Hannibal Lecter, who helps her solve the case from behind bars. In its year, it won Oscars across all five major categories, which only two films had ever done before. It stands today as the only horror film to ever win the Oscar for Best Picture.
The Witch
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Some folk horror, if it suits your fancy. A24’s The Witch comes from Robert Eggers, who would later create The Lighthouse also under the A24 name. Starring Anya Taylor-Joy, the film follows a Puritan family in 1630s England who dance (literally) with evil in the woods bordering their farm.
Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me
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This 1992 horror is a prequel to the popular series Twin Peaks, following the last seven days of Laura Palmer’s life and the investigation of Teresa Banks’ murder. The series blends horror and humor, but this film does not—all darkness, all the time.
Under the Skin
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An early horror from A24, Under the Skin stars Scarlett Johansson as an alien-like woman who seduces and kills men in Scotland, experiencing along the way a human-life crisis of identity. So it’s horrifying on multiple fronts.
What Lies Beneath
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This 2000 horror comes from the director of Forrest Gump, but it’s a far cry from that. What Lies Beneath stars Harrison Ford and Michelle Pfeiffer as a research scientist and his wife who begin to experience strange hauntings in their lakeside home.
We’re All Going To The World’s Fair
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This fairly new coming-of-age horror follows a teenager who becomes obsessed with a spooky online challenge titled “World’s Fair Challenge,” recording herself and documenting the “changes” she experiences. It’s a pretty terrifying film and feels incredibly real in the realm of the internet, like if we had TikToks during the “Bloody Mary” years.
Courtney Young is a freelance writer covering all things entertainment and pop culture, having previously written for Betches, Mic, and The Cut. Her Real Housewives locale of choice is New Jersey, her emotional support show is Girls, and her toxic trait is romanticizing mafia culture. You can follow her on Instagram @courtneyyoungg.