Our teenage years can often feel like the most tumultuous and anxiety-ridden period of our lives, so it only makes sense that it makes for the best horror films. The unease and uncertainty that comes with the rapid changes in our bodies, social situations, and family dynamics associated with adolescence often mirror the emotions we feel when watching the traditional horror films that focus on body horror, class disparity, and the anxieties of losing loved ones, with The Substance, Parasite, and David Lynch’s Eraserhead being prime examples. And with Netflix being the disruptive teen brother of traditional media, we figured it would be the best place to start diving into the teen horror genre. Here are the best teen horror movies on Netflix.
For more recommendations, check out our lists of the best horror movies on Netflix, the best R-rated scary films on the platform, and the best shows and movies on Netflix across all genres.
Disclaimer: These titles are available on US Netflix.
‘Fear Street Trilogy’ (2021)
Rotten Tomatoes: 84% | IMDb: 6.2/10
Fear Street: Part One – 1994
- Release Date
-
July 2, 2021
- Runtime
-
105 minutes
- Director
-
Leigh Janiak
- Writers
-
Leigh Janiak, Phil Graziadei
- Sequel(s)
-
Fear Street: Part Two – 1978, Fear Street: Part Three – 1666
Based on the R. L. Stine book series for an older teenage audience than his hit Goosebumps series, Netflix presents a trilogy of Fear Street movies that span different time periods. Directed and co-written by Leigh Janiak (Honeymoon), the story follows a centuries-long curse in the small fictional town of Shadyside. Each of the films pays homage to classics of the horror genre, like Scream and Friday the 13th, while telling its own intricately connected story over the course of the three movies. Ushering us across the decades are teen stars Kiana Madeira, Olivia Scott Welch, and Benjamin Flores Jr., who are phenomenal leads in this delightfully nostalgic thrill ride.
‘Scream VI’ (2023)
Rotten Tomatoes: 77% | IMDb: 6.4/10
Scream VI
- Run Time
-
122 Minutes
- Director
-
Matt Bettinelli-Olpin & Tyler Gillett
- Release Date
-
March 10, 2023
- Actors
-
Melissa Barrera, Jasmin Savoy Brown, Jack Champion, Henry Czerny, Mason Gooding, Liana Liberato, Dermot Mulroney, Devyn Nekoda, Jenna Ortega
In the latest entry of Wes Craven’s meta slasher franchise, Scream VI takes the “Core Four” of the soft reboot, played by Jenna Ortega (Wednesday), Melissa Barrera (Your Monster), Mason Gooding (Love, Victor), and Jasmin Savoy Brown (Yellowjackets), and places them in New York City, introducing a brand-new setting for the series. Ortega and Barrera are still the emotional core of this new cast of teens being stalked by Ghostface as they add new layers to the Carpenter sisters, who are dealing with a social media smear campaign while trying to move on from their near-death experience. Just like the backdrop of Hollywood in the third movie pumped new life into the set pieces, the New York location introduces a whole new arena in which the characters fight for their lives.
‘It’s What’s Inside’ (2024)
Rotten Tomatoes: 79% | IMDb: 6.6/10
It’s What’s Inside
- Release Date
-
January 19, 2024
- Runtime
-
105 Minutes
- Director
-
Greg Jardin
- Writers
-
Greg Jardin
In high college and college, it’s normal to look at the social hierarchies and wonder what it would be like to be someone else for a day, and It’s What’s Inside takes that idea to a whole new level. Written and directed by Greg Jardin in his feature film directorial debut, the story follows a group of college friends reuniting at a party the night before a wedding where they use a mysterious brain-switching machine to play a game where they try to guess who has switched to whom. This ensemble, including Brittany O’Grady (The White Lotus), Gavin Leatherwood (Chilling Adventures of Sabrina), and Alycia Debnam-Carey (Fear the Walking Dead), is a visually stylish mind-bender with deliberate and, frankly, captivating performances as the main cast not only have act as their own character but also as the others as they randomly swap bodies.
‘The Babysitter’ (2017)
Rotten Tomatoes: 70% | IMDb: 6.4/10
The Babysitter
- Release Date
-
October 13, 2017
- Runtime
-
85minutes
- Writers
-
Brian Duffield
Director McG and writer Brian Duffield (No One Will Save You) team up for a horror comedy that is insanely campy and fun. The Babysitter follows Judah Lewis as a preteen with zero confidence who uncovers a dark secret about his favorite babysitter, played by scream queen Samara Weaving (Ready or Not). The film feels both timeless, taking on the tone and tropes of classic B-movie camp, and like a time capsule of the height of mid-2010s influencer culture, featuring talent from online spaces like Vine star Andrew Bachelor (a.k.a. King Bach) and teen media heartthrobs Bella Thorne and Robbie Amell. This is a film where you can tell everyone involved is having the time of their life while making it.
‘I Know What You Did Last Summer’ (1997)
Rotten Tomatoes: 47% | IMDb: 5.8/10
I Know What You Did Last Summer
- Release Date
-
October 17, 1997
- Runtime
-
101 minutes
- Director
-
Jim Gillespie
- Writers
-
Kevin Williamson
- Sequel(s)
-
I’ll Always Know What You Did Last Summer, I Still Know What You Did Last Summer
Another great time capsule in the history of teen slashers, I Know What You Did Last Summer takes the leading faces that graced every piece of teen media and places them in a death-defying struggle against a hook-wielding stalker. Jumping genres as the main four stars are Jennifer Love Hewitt, Freddie Prinze Jr., Sarah Michelle Gellar, and Ryan Phillippe, who take on the roles of surprisingly complicated characters in a genre that loves to murder archetypes as their stalker appears to be a man they hit with a car and cover up his death. In the post-Scream era, where meta-commentary was the name of the game, this film runs against the grain by presenting a straightforward slasher inspired by the classic ’80s horror while using expert casting to ingratiate viewers with these flawed main characters.
‘Vampires vs. The Bronx’ (2020)
Rotten Tomatoes: 90% | IMDb: 5.7/10
Vampires vs. The Bronx
- Release Date
-
October 2, 2020
- Runtime
-
86 minutes
- Director
-
Osmany Rodriguez
- Writers
-
Blaise Hemingway, Osmany Rodriguez
- Producers
-
Bert Hamelinck, Lorne Michaels, Erin David, Michael Sagol
A plucky group of kids taking on a supernatural threat on their own is a staple of the teen horror genre (think Stranger Things, Attack the Block, or The Lost Boys), and Vampires vs. The Bronx continues the tradition while adding an extra layer of social commentary. Directed and co-written by Oz Rodriguez (Miguel Wants to Fight), the film takes the concept of pale bloodsucking monsters that feed on local populations to sustain themselves and parallels it with the gentrification of neighborhoods traditionally filled with vibrant people of color. Leading this crew of teenage vampire slayers is Jaden Michael, who is phenomenally wholesome as he and his pals use everything they can learn about vampires in film and television to save their Bronx neighborhood from being taken over.
‘Secrets in the Hot Spring’ (2018)
Rotten Tomatoes: 77% | IMDb: 6.1/10
Secrets in the Hot Spring
- Run Time
-
2 hr
- Director
-
Lin Guanhui
- Release Date
-
July 12, 2018
- Actors
-
Zhang Tinghu, Lin Hexuan, Hong Yanxiang, Kuo Shu-yao, Law Ka Ying, Mimi Zhu
Fresh from Taiwan, Secrets in the Hot Spring is a slapstick horror comedy that finds three students traveling to an old hot spring hotel that has a haunted secret. The film, starring Chang Ting Hu, Hung Yan Siang, and Lin He Xuan, definitely feels more Scooby-Doo than Haunting of Hill House, as these goofballs stumble through a worn-down hotel owned by the lead character’s stingy grandparents. Unlike many of the other titles on this list that will have audiences jumping out of their seats with every scare, this one will have your sides hurting and your face weak from laughter as each outlandish sequence knocks you off your feet. The humor and homage to Chinese ghost stories may take a bit to settle into for American audiences, but it’s worth it.
‘Re/Member’ (2022)
Rotten Tomatoes: 57% | IMDb: 5.2/10
Re/Member
- Run Time
-
1 hr 42 min
- Director
-
Eiichirô Hasumi
- Release Date
-
February 14, 2023
- Actors
-
Kanna Hashimoto, Gordon Maeda, Maika Yamamoto, Fûju Kamio
Based on the manga series Karada Sagashi, Re/Member smashes together time loops, a twisted treasure hunt, and a terrifying supernatural entity to form a masterpiece of survival horror. The story follows Kanna Hashimoto as a high school student who is tasked with finding the body of a dead student by their ghost, which sends her and five other students into a deadly race against a monstrous creature that kills them off in every loop until they find all eight pieces of the girl’s body scattered around the school. Through the goriness and dread-filled atmosphere, there are also genuine and heartfelt connections that build between the students that give the film a great balance of tenderness and fear.
