The official season of scares has roughly two weeks to go until we say so long for another year, and while that doesn't mean we have to stop watching horror movies, there's just something about watching them leading up to Halloween that makes it even more fun. Netflix offers up a veritable trove of scary films to binge all month long, it can still be hard to sift through and decide which ones are worth watching — and which just don't quite cut it when it comes to the thrills and chills.
Many subscribers, for example, may not even realize that there are a ton of excellent foreign horror movies available to stream on Netflix. We're talking movies that are truly terrifying, sublimely suspenseful, and gratifyingly grotesque and gory. These movies are so good they're even worth tolerating dubbed audio or even those dreaded subtitles.
For people who enjoy a good fright, these 17 films are the perfect way to round out a pre-Halloween scary movie marathon, and for true film aficionados, they're a great way to learn even more about the genre and perhaps see some of the new concepts and ideas that foreign filmmakers are bringing to the table. Keep reading to find out which foreign horror movies on Netflix are our favorites.
'#ALIVE'
This Korean horror film is incredibly gory and features super-creepy zombies that mysteriously retain some of their life skills, making them all the more capable of finding and attacking their victims — enabling them to exterminate vast swaths of the country's population. Beyond all the gore though, #ALIVE still manages to be suspenseful and even tender at times.
'Cargo'
In this post-apocalyptic horror film out of Australia, a father is on a desperate search for anyone who will help him protect his young daughter from the zombies that have wiped out nearly the entire country, after he himself is infected. With its emotion-driven concept, Cargo often crosses over into the drama genre, but offers up a fresh take on the zombie theme that's definitely worth a look.
'Ravenous'
Ravenous is a French-Canadian horror film in which the residents of a small, rural town in the province of Quebec are experiencing a strange phenomenon, making their bodies appear to be decomposing while they're still living. Only a small number of people seem to be unaffected, and they must manage to hide from the flesh-eating monsters their family and friends have turned into while also attempting to find anyone else who may have survived, in the hopes of working together to escape.
'Eerie'
In this supernatural horror out of the Philippines, a student at an all-girls Catholic school dies by suicide, sending the school community into a tailspin. Eventually, a guidance counselor who has psychic abilities ends up connecting with a ghost who helps her uncover the school's dark and violent secrets.
'The Ritual'
The Ritual is a British horror film based on a novel of the same name by author Adam Nevill. This suspenseful film is about a group of friends who reunite for a camping trip in the remote woods of Sweden, and find themselves met with dark forces when one of them is injured … and they stumble upon a seemingly abandoned cabin.
'Veronica'
This chilling horror flick out of Spain takes place in 1991, and is about a teenager who uses a Ouija board to try to contact her deceased father during a solar eclipse. When she winds up unconscious during the attempted seance, it becomes evident that the forces she summoned are a threat to her and her younger siblings whom she has been tasked with caring for her while her mother is at work.
'Await Further Instructions'
Await Further Instructions is a shocking British sci-fi horror flick about a family who gathers for a holiday reunion and wake up to a terrifying substance surrounding the outside of their home. Trapped inside and unable to make sense of what is happening, they turn on the television hoping to find information on the news and discover a message reading, "Stay Indoors and Await Further Instructions." Powerless and afraid, they turn on each other, and violence ensues.
'Sabrina'
When a dollmaker's grieving adopted daughter — who is also his niece — attempts to summon her deceased mother, a demon possesses one of the child's dolls. The dollmaker's wife becomes the demon's victim, causing the child's doll to terrorize her. The demon in this Indonesian film is obsessed with getting revenge, leading to lots of blood and gore, and often unbelievable scenes, but it's definitely entertaining.
'Stree'
Stree is an Indian horror-comedy about a small town whose residents believe in an evil spirit called "Stree" that returns to the village every year to kidnap men after dark during an annual festival. One citizen doesn't believe in the legend, but when he starts dating a mysterious woman, his friends fear he'll be Stree's next victim.
'Shutter'
Though it's nearly 20 years old, this bone-chilling Thai horror film is worth watching. Shutter is the story of a young photographer who begins seeing strange shadows in his photos after committing a hit-and-run. The mystery evolves when he and his girlfriend discover that whatever dark force is haunting his photos is also affecting his friends, and he realizes that his deepest secret may soon be revealed.
'Suzzanna: Buried Alive'
Another comedy-horror, Suzzanna: Buried Alive is an Indonesian film about a pregnant woman who is killed when a group of her and her husband's employees attempt to rob her house believing no one is there … and find her home. They bury the body, but the next day, Suzzanna appears back in the home as if nothing has happened. Her killers are terrified and convinced they must get rid of her.
'Malevolent'
The British horror film, Malevolent, delivers a slow burn experience that builds more and more suspense as it goes. It's about a brother-sister team with a disturbing past who scam people in their business as ghost hunters. When they arrive at an old, remote estate, though, they discover that it is indeed being haunted by dangerous supernatural forces.
'The Influence'
Another spooky film out of Spain, The Influence is about a woman who moves back home — along with her daughter — to help her sister care for their bedridden and comatose mother. Before long, she begins to recognize a sinister force from her childhood that is now threatening her own child. Though predictable at times, the film delivers on the scare-factor.
'Ghost Stories'
Ghost Stories is an anthology of truly creepy short horror films out of India. The anthology is composed of four different mysterious films: Three of the four focus on the supernatural, while one is more of a zombie story. Each film comes from a different director, so each part has a different flavor.
'Under the Shadow'
Under the Shadow is different, simply because of its country of origin. (Horror films out of Muslim countries are just not common.) This film takes place during the Iran-Iraq conflict in the 1980s, and in it, a Tehran woman — who is home caring for her daughter while her husband is fighting in the war — begins to suspect that an evil spirit is haunting her home.
'The Binding'
The Binding is an Italian horror film about a woman who goes to visit her fiance's family in Southern Italy. The mother, played by Mia Maestro, believes her daughter has been cursed and is desperately trying to figure out why and how she can save her child in the middle of seemingly impossible circumstances.
'May the Devil Take You'
Another Indonesian film, May the Devil Take You, is the story of a young woman whose father falls into a mysterious coma. Determined to find out what is going on, she returns to his home village where she and her stepsister discover its horrifying past. There's plenty of gore, and lots of scares throughout.
