10 Most Innovative Horror Movies On Streaming

This film is considered to be the quintessential work of German Expressionist cinema, and the silent horror movie still holds up in creepiness to this day. Dr. Caligari tells the story of an insane hypnotist who uses a somnambulist to commit murders. It’s often interrupted as a reflection of post-war Germany.

Why It’s Innovative: Dr. Caligari helped draw worldwide attention to German cinema and German expressionism. Also, the framing of the film is innovative. As the prologue and epilogue establish, the main story of Dr. Caligari occurs in the middle through flashbacks.

[Where to watch The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari]

Hey there, Leatherface. This one follows a group of friends traveling together who fall victim to a family of cannibals. Basically, don’t travel together anywhere, young people. This iconic movie is gory, disturbing, and the last thing you want to watch over lunch.

Why It’s Innovative: This movie contributed heavily to the slasher genre and was made on a shoestring budget, like Blair Witch. However, what really sets The Texas Chainsaw Massacre apart is its violence. This movie popularized extreme, realistic-looking violence in horror, to the shock of critics everywhere.

[Where to watch The Texas Chainsaw Massacre]

You’re going to need a bigger boat. Steven Spielberg’s iconic movie about one quaint summer town being plagued by a Great White shark has stood the test of time. The movie follows police chief Brody (Roy Scheider), shark hunter Quint (Robert Shaw), and oceanographer Hooper (Richard Dreyfuss) as they attempt to rid their peaceful waters of one blood-thirsty maneater.

Why It’s Innovative: Jaws did two huge things for pop culture: It created the Hollywood blockbuster, and it uncovered a horror-fueled fascination we didn’t realize we all have — sharks. If it weren’t for Jaws, we may not have Shark Week or Sharknado. That’s a world I don’t want to live in.

[Where to watch Jaws]

This is the reason you still want to hug Sissy Spacek to this day. The movie follows the titular Carrie, a shy girl with telekinetic powers who is mercilessly bullied by her classmates and abused by her mother. However, it’s Carrie who gets the last laugh in a revenge-filled and very violent way.

Why It’s Innovative: This wasn’t merely the first Stephen King adaptation. It was King’s first adaptation from his first book. But more than that, Carrie’s very construction — the powerful “monster” actually being the semi-hero — was rare during its time.

[Where to watch Carrie]

This British American horror comedy follows two American men who are attacked by a werewolf while backpacking in England. One of the friends, Jack (played by Griffin Dunne), dies from the attack, but David (David Naughton) lives on, slowly transitioning during full moons. Yep, we have a werewolf.

Why It’s Innovative: It’s all about the makeup and special effects. The film won the 1981 Academy Award for Outstanding Achievement in Makeup, and it’s still praised to this day for its use of practical effects. Take that, CGI.

[Where to watch An American Werewolf in London]

Written and directed by Sam Raimi, Evil Dead follows five college students who decide to vacation in the hills of Tennessee during their spring break. However, when Ash (Bruce Campbell) and Scotty find the Book of the Dead, things quickly escalate from relaxing vacation to tree assault.

Why It’s Innovative: Evil Dead launched master of horror Sam Raimi’s career, which should make it notable for that fact alone. However, it also popularized low-budget gore and shock effects, which have been heavily used throughout scary movie history. You can now see the latest iteration of Ash on STARZ’s horror comedy series, Ash v. the Evil Dead.

[Where to watch The Evil Dead]

You knew that John Carpenter’s iconic slasher was going to make the list. One Halloween night, six-year-old Michael Myers stabbed his sister to death with a kitchen knife. Since that day, he has never been about to control the rage. Or die apparently. Oh my god, he’s right behind you!

Why It’s Innovative: Halloween is credited as the father of the slasher movie, and for good reason. That’s basically all that Michael Myers does. Thanks for the kills, Michael.

[Where to watch Halloween]

Three ametuer filmmakers go into the woods to learn the origin of the mysterious Blair Witch. After two days of getting hopeless lost, breaking down, and annoyingly yelling at each other, Heather finally finds the witch’s lair. The last thirty minutes of this thriller may be the most terrifying in all of horror history.

Why It’s Innovative: Though it’s a style of filmmaking that’s been used before, Blair Witch was the first movie to popularize the found footage style of filmmaking. It also revitalized indie filmmaking by making $248 million against its $60,000 budget.

[Where to watch The Blair Witch Project]

This was the Christian Bale movie that made you shudder after paying too much attention to business cards. Mary Harron’s take on Bret Easton Ellis’ novel of the same name was disturbingly dark and funny, plunging into the extremities of greed, power, lust, and mental instability. The movie follows Patrick Bateman, a wealthy New York investment banker who has elaborate fantasies about murdering those around him.

Why It’s Innovative: Bale’s performance as the status-obsessed and sex and gore-fueled Patrick Bateman established a wealthy man trope we still see today.

[Where to watch American Psycho]

This zombie masterpiece starring Cillian Murphy, Naomie Harris, and Christopher Eccleston rewrote what the zombie movie could be. Jim (Murphy) wakes up from a medical procedure and realizes he may be the only human left in the world. There are a lot of haunting shots of Murphy walking alone around the typically packed London. However, things aren’t as they appear.

Why It’s Innovative: Two words — fast zombies. 28 Days Later was the movie that sped up our zombies and breathed new life into these iconic horror figures.

[Where to watch 28 Days Later]