TOP HORROR MOVIES ON NETFLIX IN 2022 

There are many genres of what we know as ‘horror movies’, from the classic slasher movies involving a lot of screaming, blood and guts (Texas Chinsaw Massacre), to the more cerebral psychological horror stories that are equally disturbing but affect us on a different level. Many people are drawn to the adrenalin rush of having the pants scared off us, similar to the feeling of getting on a roller coaster with near vertical drops; others just don’t consider being terrified as a form of entertainment. This article isn’t for them ­– go and make a nice cup of tea and read a magazine?

Here are ten movies or series doing the rounds on Netflix that will give you all feels you love: ­ shock, horror, disgust, nausea, fear and cold chills down your spine. Enjoy! 

STRANGER THINGS

Besides making Kate Bush’s song ‘Running up that hill’ a No.1 hit in 2022, 37 years after its initial release, the final episodes of Series 4 were so popular that it crashed the entire Netflix site. If the words Eleven, the Upside Down, Vecna, and the Mind Flayer make no sense to you, you’re missing out on one of the best Netflix series to hit your screens.

The Duffer brothers' retro sci-fi horror saga has huge appeal with a combination of the show's '80s aesthetic and inspiration from old-school horror, and has proven to be a winning formula. The show takes place in the fictional town of Hawkins, Indiana. The first season, set in November 1983, follows numerous groups of characters as they separately investigate the disappearance of young Will Byers ­– is it some secret government program or something otherwordly and even more sinister? The subsequent second and third seasons expand on the narrative, while he fourth season further expands the show's scope, with major storylines taking place outside of Hawkins for the first time. Fans can also expect a fifth season. 

RAW

16-year-old Justine comes from a family where everyone is a verterinarian and stricty vegetarian. When she starts at veterinary school, she enters a dangerously seductive world that challenges and breaks her purist idealism. During the first week of initiation rituals, wanting to fit in whatever the cost, she is forced to eat raw meat for the first time.

That is the start of her bizarre ‘coming of age’ when she delevops tastes and behaviour that perhaps shows her true self emeging. Her taste for raw meat is refined and she begins to relish the flesh not of animals …but of her own species. 

THE MIST

This movie is based of Stephen King’s novella on the same name, so you can expect some good horror bang for your buck. A bunch of normal townsfolk are trapped inside a grocery store after a mysterious mist envelops the entire town. The horror isn’t only what lurks in this dense fog, there are monsters out for blood.  Perhaps the real horror is psychological – what happen to the minds of these otherwise ‘normal’ folk when fear and paranoia take over to show how easily how easily members of a “civilized” society can throw out their caring pretensions and let their reptilian brains take over in order to do terrible things in the name of individual survival, gradually turning into a death cult.

The leader of the cult is a crazy, bible-thumper, who’s mocked by others as she spews bible verses but becomes a more and more credible voice, much to disgust the of the sensible and more intellectual minority, as the creatures slither closer. This could equate to a a microcosm of our world, with a majority of weak minds ruled by fear, and the minority of level headed individuals powerless to stop the madness. The shocking ending will leave some viewers relieved and others horrified, depending on how much you like being traumatized by a mere movie. 

CREEP

Creep has been described as “a somewhat predictable but cheerfully demented little indie horror film”. Starring Mark Duplass, its plot involves the relationship between two men, and the film depends entirely on their performances, which are excellent A not-so-secretly psychotic recluse hires the a naïve videographer to come and make a documentary of his life out in a cabin in the woods.

Duplass excells  as the deranged lunatic who forces himself into the protagonist’s life and haunts his every waking moment.. Anyone with a bit of savvy will no doubt see where and how this is going to end, but it’s a well-crafted journey that keeps you on the edge of your seat right to the end. 

WE SUMMON THE DARKNESS

At first, this is a story about teenagers being drawn to the growing popularity of heavy metal in 1980s America, a time when right wing God-fearing Christians saw proof of devil worship everywhere and blamed the rise of Satanism on innocent pastimes like Dungeons & Dragons. At some stage in the film, We Summon the Darkness still is that story, but switches to the perspective of religious showmen who happily exploit the fears of the flock to profit the church and themselves.

It’s a fascinating to watch, particularly in light of how well the movie holds back on secrets unaware to the viewer. The reality only becomes clear after the fact, conveyed in a choice of words here, a moment of hesitation there, and an occasional show of forced enthusiasm. For as unhinged as things get, it’s the initial restraint that’s most remarkable. 

OATS STUDIO SHORT FILM COLLECTION ­– ZYGOTE

Originally released on YouTube in 2017, this is a collection of experimental sci-fi and horror short films from District 9 director Neill Blomkamp (one of ours!), all of which have potential for feature film projects. Sci-fi feature Rakka imagines an Earth overrun by telepathic reptilian aliens, as human survivors carry on a desperate and seemingly futile resistance (not far from the truth according to some!).

The best in show, though, is probably Zygote, in which Dakota Fanning plays a researcher on the run from a truly hideous creature, with major echoes of The Thing, that has taken over her facility. The creature in Zygote, with its plethora of borrowed human limbs, is perhaps one of the most monstrous creatures seen in the horror world in recent memory. Time to get the popcorn! 

THE HAUNTING OF HILL HOUSE

The aesthetic of The Haunting of Hill House series works by subtle suggestion of horror. The apparitions of monsters, ghosts, and eerie sounds happen off-screen, barely shown, or obscured by shadow. In terms of camera movement and shot design, the series deliberately works to develop uneasiness and create a sense of inconsistency in the mind of the viewer: you’re constantly wary of being tricked, but the construction of its scenes often gets you anyway.

By embracing the discomfort – and the time necessary to get us to squirm in our seats rather than jump – The Haunting of Hill House is great at creating troubling scenarios, and even better, getting right into our heads. 

MIDNIGHT MASS

Midnight Mass is set on Crockett Island, where misfortune has ruined the lives of the inhabitants; most have fled but a few remain. An oil spill has nearly annihilated the fish supply, ruining the island’s main economy. The homes are shabby and neglected,  attacked by the relentless ocean elements. The majority of residents have fled the island for lack of opportunity, leaving a paltry few behind.

Isolated and with any hope in short supply, the inhabitants are ripe for believing in the supernatural or being manipulated by the arrival of a mysterious new Catholic priest to the island. Is he their saviour or is he the devil? Midnight Mass concerns itself with the pschological horrors within: the oftentimes wrong turns of group psychology, suffering and guilt, the question of faith, and the ethical issues of leadership with vulnerable followers. This seven-episode series explores all of these issues to their disturbing conclusion. 

APOSTLE

Director Gareth Evans explores the well-worn genre in the form of the “cult infiltration movie”. However, Apostle takes its place as the year’s best horror cinema through a fresh stylishness. Every frame is beautifully composed, from the foreboding arrival of Dan Stevens’ character at the island cult compound, to the fantastically yucky bloodbath of the third act, in which viscera flows with lavish abandon.

Evan’s conclusion combines supernatural insanity and uncomfortably realistic human violence. If you’re turned on by wanton savagery that is driven not by honour but by some desperate belief, then  get ready for a gorefest (watched through the small slits of your fingers?) 

THE PLATFORM

The Platform centres on a diabolical vertical prison structure, with one cell per floor and two inmates per cell. Each day a stone slab descends from the top and pauses for two minutes at each floor, where the prisoners must eat only what they can in that two minutes before it descends to the next floor. Obviously, the pick of the food goes to the first few cells, while often those at the bottom never get a scrap.

The positions of the cells change all the time. We never really need to know how or why this social experiment works or what it intends to discover, except the obvious different personalities’ reactions to adversity – whether ‘us or them’ survival mode, or self-sacrificing altruism. The key to the tension is that the prisoners’ positions constantly fluctuate, therefore twisting the knife and creating both the characters’ and the viewers’ tension.