3 Overlooked Netflix Original Horror Movies Worth Watching

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Dalton is a freelance writer, novelist, and filmmaker from Orlando Florida. He currently lives in Charlotte, North Carolina, and pursues writing full-time. He is an avid reader, film buff, and amateur historian who also publishes novels on the side. Dalton graduated from the University of Central Florida with a BFA in Film and he often applies his industry-specific knowledge when writing about film and television. Along with his blog, Dalton's critical essays on film have been published in various places online.

Netflix produces a ton of new content every year and some of their best original horror films have gone unnoticed. Besides being the industry leader in classic streaming, Netflix has spent years blazing a trail with its original TV shows and movies. Horror is a genre that has always done well on Netflix, due in large part to their originals.

However, for every Bird Box and Fear Street, Netflix has released handfuls of horror films that didn't get as much attention. Since there's always so much to see on streaming, it's no wonder that hidden gems pass by so frequently. Thankfully, the best Netflix originals are always streaming, and forgotten horror flicks don't have to stay forgotten forever.

3 It's What's Inside (2024)

Nikki looks in a cracked mirror in It's What's Inside

Despite its silly premise, It's What's Inside was one of the most surprising horror films of 2024. A group of college friends reunite after years apart, but find their night turned upside down when they decide to play a body-swapping game. Certainly more of a horror comedy than a straight-up fright film, It's What's Inside still has a few chills.

Body-swapping isn't unusual in horror, but the movie cleverly integrates the swapping into its visuals. The characters are all rich and dynamic, if not totally likable, and there's a certain amount of thriller energy once things really get going. Horror has struggled to capture the social media age, but It's What's Inside completely nails 21st century culture.

2 His House (2020)

Wunmi Mosaku and Sopé Dìrísù standing together in His House

Horror has taken a distinctly dramatic turn recently, and movies like His House use the genre as a platform to tell a much deeper story. The plot concerns a pair of refugees from South Sudan who flee to the UK but are tormented by the ghosts of their past. The slow-burn gem relies heavily on suspense before its shocking payoff.

Though some might be turned off by the movie's approach to horror, it's worth the wait. Its deeper themes about racism and guilt are served well by the movie's plot, and His House balances its richer narrative with the trappings of a classic ghost story. The movie got great reviews, but deserves a bit more attention half a decade later.

1 1922 (2017)

Thomas Jane leans against a wall in 1922

Stephen King adaptations are almost always smash-hits, but 1922 has fallen to the wayside as the years pass. King's novella comes alive in the story of a father who is slowly driven mad years after he conspired to kill his wife. Gritty and shocking, the unorthodox supernatural film has all the trademarks of a well-crafted Stephen King chiller.

Every aspect of the story has a heightened sense of reality, and there are more than a few legitimately jarring moments to keep any horror fan satisfied. What's more, 1922 has plenty of melodrama to add emotional emphasis to the frightening things playing out onscreen. Lacking a traditional monster, the Netflix original horror film is just that — fiercely original.