Summary

• Max offers the best horror movies, a mix of classics and modern releases, spanning various sub-genres for every horror fan.
• Max's horror movie collection has gained critical acclaim, challenging viewers' perceptions and offering disturbing yet thought-provoking tales.
• The Max horror movies include part of larger franchises, perfect for binge-watching, and manage to rise above the stereotypical horror genre stigma.

The best horror movies on Max include some of the best scary movies in history. That is because Max has the Warner Bros. movie library, as well as many other movies from both the golden age of cinema and the modern horror movies of the last few years. What makes the Max horror movies such a great collection is that it has offerings from several different subgenres, from slasher movies and psychological thrillers to monster movies, demonic thrillers, and even some classic prestige releases.

The horror movie is a genre that has at times struggled to gain critical acclaim, but the best horror movies on Max manage to rise above the rest, attaining critical praise, and in some cases, major award recognition. Max also offers plenty of movies that are part of larger franchises, and several of them allow subscribers to binge-watch an entire franchise without changing streaming services. These best horror movies on Max are both disturbing and thought-provoking at the same time, signifying horror’s ability to challenge what viewers think they know about the world.

25 The Meg 2: The Trench (2023)

Jason Statham Fights Prehistoric Sharks Again

In The Meg 2: The Trench, Jason Statham once again returns to fight sharks. However, in this new movie, there is something even deadlier than sharks, as Jonas is now also fighting eco-terrorists. The movie loses a little of what made the first one so much fun, as instead of the heroes battling two Megalodons in a fight for survival, too much time here is spent having gunfights with the eco-terrorists, who have a wild plan to use the Megalodons' home to farm rare minerals.

The shark action is still always a good time.

However, once the sharks are back in the picture, as well as a giant octopus, things pick up again. Statham is always in good form in these movies and while only select people return from the first movie, the shark action is still always a good time.

24 Pet Sematary (1989)

Based On The Stephen King Story About The Dead Rising Again

Stephen King's Pet Sematary is one of the horror author's earliest terrifying works, and it received its first big-screen adaptation in 1989. Now available as one of Max's best horror movies, a family moves to a new home in a remote town only to watch in horror as their toddler son is killed by a ing semi-truck. When Louis Creed learns of the Pet Sematary, where the dead come back to life, he takes his son out there and buries him, hoping for the best.

This movie remains a horrifying tale, as when young Gage returns, he is very different and kills anyone who gets in his way. The movie remains a cult classic and received a critically panned sequel in 1992 and a remake in 2019. However, it is still the first that remains the best adaptation of the King story.

23 The Blob (1958)

A Slimy Creature Feature Starring Steve McQueen

While the movie was remade in 1988 with Kevin Dillon in the starring role, the original The Blob remains one of the best classic creature features in horror history. The movie was Steve McQueen's very first leading role in a movie and told the story of an amoeboidal alien that lands on Earth and begins eating anyone who crosses its path.

While critics didn't originally appreciate the movie, it has since developed a massive following and even received a Criterion Collection release.

22 Evil Dead Rise (2023)

The Fifth Evil Dead Movie Comes To The City

Evil Dead Rise is the fifth movie in the Evil Dead franchise, following the original Sam Raimi trilogy and the 2013 re-imagining. This movie keeps the same story in place, with people finding the Necronomicon and inadvertently releasing the Deadites back into the world. However, the big difference is that this movie follows a small family who fight to protect each other. It also brings the story to the city, after the previous releases took place mostly at a cabin in the woods.

The movie was a box office success, making more than any other movie in the franchise. It also earned Saturn Awards nominations for Best Horror Film and Best Make-up, while critics gave it mostly positive reviews. It is also one of the bloodiest entries in an already bloody franchise, with the family dynamics making it one of the most terrifying.

21 Jennifer's Body (2009)

A Horror-Comedy With Megan Fox As A Demon-Possessed Killer

One of the most underrated horror movies on Max is Jennifer's Body. Megan Fox stars as a high school girl who dies in a Satanic ritual sacrifice. However, she returns from the dead as a demonically possessed killer intent on making everyone pay for her demise.

While the movie was dismissed when released, it has since been reevaluated as a feminist cult classic, especially following the #MeToo Movement.

Written by Diablo Cody, the script is smart and funny and Fox is perfectly cast as the monstrous killer. While the movie was dismissed when released, it has since been reevaluated as a feminist cult classic, especially following the #MeToo Movement.

20 Malignant (2021)

James Wan's Horror Movie About Trauma

Released in 2021, James Wan directed Malignant. The movie stars Annabelle Wallis as a woman who has visions of people being murdered only to realize the murders are happening. One of the best horror movies on Max in recent years, Malignant goes into a lot more gruesome direction than Wan's other movies, but it is a clear throwback to the demonic movies of the 1980s.

It also has one of the most shocking reveals in horror history. The movie received positive reviews from critics, although it struggled at the box office when it played in theaters.

19 Cronos (1993)

Guillermo Del Toro's Directorial Debut

Guillermo Del Toro made his name directing fantasy movies, mostly based within the realm of fairy tales. For fans of the director, his directorial debut is one of the best horror movies on Max. Cronos tells the story of an alchemist who created a device that can offer a person eternal life in 1836. Over 450 years later, people set out to find this device, searching for immortality.

This is a Spanish-language movie, but it also has a familiar face for American fans of Del Toro, as Ron Perlman also plays an important role. The movie received critical acclaim and has since become part of the Criterion Collection.

18 From Dusk Till Dawn (1996)

A Movie That Turns To Horror Midway Through

From Dusk Till Dawn was an interesting movie when it hit theaters in 1996. The film had two directors. The first half of the movie saw Quentin Tarantino direct the story of the Gecko brothers on the run from the police, and heading toward Mexico. However, Robert Rodriguez directed the second half of the movie, which turned it from a crime drama into a horror onslaught.

The gangster movie is fun, but when they end up at the bar they hide out in, they learn too late that it is a vampire bar, and when dusk arrives, every human in the bar has to fight to stay alive. It has become a cult classic and spawned Dusk Till Dawn sequels and even a TV series based on the story.

17 Cabin Fever (2003)

Eli Roth's Apocalyptic Disease Movie

Cabin Fever is Eli Roth's directorial debut movie and showed he was a fresh face in horror when it hit theaters in 2002. The movie was a body horror movie about a group of friends who rent a cabin in the woods for a vacation only to fall victim to a flesh-eating disease.

The movie helped popularize the torture porn subgenre, although it shares more with the body horror movies of directors like David Cronenberg. The movie received positive reviews and spawned a franchise that included sequels, a prequel, and a remake.

16 Häxan (1922)

A Swedish Horror Movie From The Silent Era

For fans who want to see a very early silent-era horror movie, Max has Häxan on the streaming service. While most attention in the silent era went to German Expressionism in horror, this was a Swedish horror movie that was known in the United States as The Witches. The movie is set up as a documentary-styled horror movie, tracing the history of witchcraft from the Middle Ages through the 20th Century.

Häxan was one of the most expensive silent films Sweden ever made, and it is also available from the Criterion Collection. The movie has a 91% Rotten Tomatoes rating and remains one of the best silent-era horror movies ever made.