Monsters on Max: The Best Horror Movies to Stream Now

Does Max have good horror movies?

There are 105+ horror movies on Max™ (formerly HBO Max), and we’d say about 60% of them are worth watching.

That’s a lotta movies, so we’ve highlighted nine in blurb recommendations, covering an ancient demon and a little girl, non-traditional vampires, demented dads, a weird-and-wacky haunted house, murder-minded telepaths, home invaders, serial killers, Swedish cultists, werewolves, and Beetlejuice.

But why stop there? When you’ve killed off this six-pack-and-a-half, we list nearly three dozen more of the best horror movies on Max to watch right now.

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• Beetlejuice (1988)
• Cronos (1993)
• The Exorcist (1973)

• House (1977)
• Midsommar (2019)
• Scanners (1981)

• The Shining (1980)
• The Strangers (2008)
• Trick ‘r Treat (2007)

Before director Tim Burton became a household name with the release of Batman in 1989, he took viewers on a whirlwind journey to New England, the Land of the Dead, and Saturn. Sounds wild, right? Well, that’s just a sliver of what you get with Beetlejuice.

Packed with eccentric characters and dark humor, the film (dare we mention its title a third time?) is a cinematic treat like no other. It’s spooky fun and will have you grinning from ear to ear once its brisk 92-minute runtime is up. —Taylor Kujawa, Sports Editor

In the first feature film from Guillermo del Toro (Pan’s Labyrinth, Nightmare Alley, Hellboy), an old antique dealer—Jesús Gris (Federico Luppi)—discovers a golden device resembling a scarab within a sculpture. The object embeds itself in Gris, feeding on his blood and restoring the old man’s youth and vigor.

As Gris and his new gadget become acquainted, a dying rich man who’s chased the device for years tries to purchase it, then steal it. Gris resists, and the man has him killed—or so he believes. Gris resurrects as a vampire seeking to settle the score without becoming a soulless bloodsucker like his pursuer. Refreshingly different, Cronos will satisfy your craving for something more than the same old vampire stories. (RH)

We’d be remiss not to include one of the scariest movies ever on a list of the best horror movies on Max. William Friedkin’s notoriously shocking tale of a demon-possessed girl, her desperate mother, and the two priests who intervene isn’t just scary—it’s f**king scary. And that’s true even if you don’t believe in God or Satan. In the absence of religion, The Exorcist might be an examination of the very relatable tragedy of losing a loved one to mental illness or substance abuse. So this is one of those films that’s gonna getcha no matter what. (RH)

Nobuhiko Obayashi’s wacky-but-freaky haunted house film, seven giggly teen girls—Gorgeous, Mac, Fantasy, Sweet, Kung Fu, Prof, and Melody—visit Gorgeous’s elderly aunt, whom she hardly knows.

As the film progresses, you’re kept delightfully off-balance, often asking, “WTF?!” or “Why are they still giggling?” as trippy, gruesome stuff happens. That’s part and parcel of House’s (or Hausu’s, if you prefer the original Japanese title) considerable charm. (RH)

Ari Aster gave us some of the most terrifying (and quotable) modern horror scenes with Hereditary, exploring the weight of grief and chaos outside of our control. Now prepare yourself for Midsommar: A horror film that doesn’t try to keep you awake at night so much as it asks you to experience something truly disturbing and uncomfortable—but maybe not for the reasons you think.

Midsommar’s drug-trip cinematic spirals, off-putting-yet-idyllic ambiance, and uncomfortable social taboos solidify its deserved place in modern horror. Plus, Florence Pugh commands the screen in a way that left me crowning her as the May Queen of my horror-loving heart. —Aaron Gates, Deputy Editor

We always talk about the head explosion scene in David Cronenberg’s 1981 sci-fi body horror classic, Scanners. We text the GIF to shock our friends and pretend it’s the film’s only highlight.

The grue doesn’t saturate the entire film, but the stress does. Credit that to strong performances—especially from the eerily intense Michael Ironside as the evil telepath Daryl Revok—along with the music and sound design. Howard Shore’s high-pitched, discordant score drags a violin bow along your last nerve and, combined with the sound design, with its jumble of un-mutable inner monologues and alarming sounds, make you wonder if your head might explode. And that’s Cronenberg for you. (RH)

Stephen King’s ghost story The Shining is an old-fashioned tale of domestic violence. Jack Torrance (Jack Nicholson), newly sober after hurting his son Danny, brings the brood to the Overlook Hotel for six months of peace and quiet, but things don’t go his way: Jack’s demons follow him there—or did they lure him back?

Remove the supernatural and King’s tale becomes even more frightening, a tale of a family locked in a house, with no help in sight, waiting for “Dad” to really lose his mind this time. It’s too real and, as such, significantly scarier than blood waves, creepy twins, and a catfishing old hag in Room 237. (RH)

Four words will chill you forever after you watch Bryan Bertino’s home-invasion slasher, The Strangers. The film’s shocking violence may also affect you, but the deadpan explanation for three masked killers’ sadistic visit will bounce around your brain for some time afterward. (So will some of the songs from the film’s cool, creepy soundtrack, but I digress.)

No spoilers, though: When you hear the words for the first time, it should be from the killer’s mouth.

Michael Dougherty’s (Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire) Halloween-themed anthology of interconnected stories is as fun, mysterious, and satisfying as a pillowcase packed with free candy. It’s also pretty freaky, with serial killers, a pack of sexy werewolves, murderous undead trick-or-treaters, and a diabolical imp in burlap who gets slashy with a broken lollipop. Theme aside, Trick ‘r Treat is a blast to watch any time of year, either as background ambience for your Halloween party or a serious lights-out screening. (RH)

• Aliens (1986)
• The Amityville Horror (1979 and 2005)
• The Brood (1979)
• Carnival of Souls (1962)
• The Craft (1996)
• Dream Scenario (2023) 
• Eraserhead (1977)
• Evil Dead (2013)
• Evil Dead Rise (2023)
• The Eyes of My Mother (2016)
• Eyes Without a Face (1960)

• Fright Night (1985)
• I Saw the TV Glow (2024)
• It Comes at Night (2017)
• Kwaidan (1964)
• Leviathan (1989)
• The Lighthouse (2019)
• The Lure (2015)
• MaXXXine (2024, coming Oct. 18)
• Night of the Living Dead (1968)
• Onibaba (1964)
• Open Water (2003)

• Paranormal Activity series
• Pet Sematary (1989) 
• Salem’s Lot (2024, coming Oct. 3) 
• Saw series (through Saw: The Final Chapter)
• Scream series (through Scream 4)
• Sinister (2012)
• Species (1995)
• Ugetsu (1953)
• We’re All Going to the World’s Fair (2022)
• The Witch (2015)