The 5 best horror movies to watch on Netflix and more this April

This month is another excellent excuse to enjoy some scary movies.

We at Polygon are obsessed with horror movies. Sure, we’ve got our list of the best horror movies you can watch now, or the best horror movies of 2023 ranked by scariness. We also compile five horror films for each particular month.

This month, we’ve picked movies that should go perfectly with the surprisingly great slate of theatrical horror. There’s the stellar Evil Dead Rise. the most fun The Pope’s ExorcistYou can also Renfield, if that’s more your speed. To help get you ready for a terrifying trip to the theater, or keep the scary buzz going, we’ve picked out a few movies that fit those molds, and an all-time classic wild card for this month’s movies.

Without further ado, let’s dig into it.

The Birds

Universal Pictures

Year: 1963
Run time: 1h 59m
Director: Alfred Hitchcock
Cast: Rod Taylor, Tippi Hedren, Jessica Tandy

Perhaps Alfred Hitchcock’s most overtly supernatural movie, and certainly his most bleak, The BirdsThe story is about a town that has been overrun by an inexplicably aggressive, bloodthirsty and frightening swarm. These birds seem hell-bent to destroy humanity. The movie never once tries to explore or explain what’s made all the avian creatures (possibly in the whole world?) Turn evil in an instant, and you’ll be uneasy when you next see a flock flying overhead.

The Birds Netflix is available for streaming.

Evil Dead II

StudioCanal

Year: 1987
Run time: 1h 24m
Director: Sam Raimi
Cast: Bruce Campbell, Sarah Berry, Dan Hicks

Evil Dead II is a very strange sequel in that it’s mostly a bigger, weirder, meaner, funnier, and all-around more ridiculous remake of the original movie. Ash Williams’ girlfriend Linda, and he go on a camping trip in the woods. Like the first film, spirits are released by reading a section of the cursed Necronomicon. In comparison to the original movie, killings begin earlier, become more slapstick and violent and eventually lead to shotguns and chainsaws.

Evil Dead IIIndieFlix is now streaming.

The Exorcist

Warner Bros.

Year: 1973
Run time: 2h 2m
Director: William Friedkin
Cast: Ellen Burstyn, Max von Sydow, Linda Blair

This is a clear transition point between the modern and classic horror genres. The ExorcistThe film is still relevant 50 years on. It follows the story of a young actress, her mother and the demon Pazuzu as she is possessed. Demon Pazuzu causes havoc in the family, until two priests, the one suffering from a faith crisis and the other nearing the end of their career, perform exorcisms to save the girl’s immortal soul. Despite dozens of exorcism movies following in this one’s footsteps, there are still few that can match this one for scares or pure quality.

The Exorcist The streaming is on HBO Max.

Overlord

Peter Mountain/Paramount Pictures

Year: 2018
Run time: 1h 50m
Director: Julius Avery
Cast: Jovan Adepo, Wyatt Russell, Mathilde Ollivier

One problem with most World War II movies is that there just aren’t enough zombies in them, but Overlord isn’t most World War II movies. This movie follows a group of soldiers who were sent by the Nazis to blow up their radio tower within a Church on D-Day. In the end, the team discovers a research facility hidden in a church and an undead weapon. The film is hilarious, fun, bloody, and just a good time. Overlord Wyatt Russell is the charismatic star in this action-horror movie. The film is directed by The Pope’s Exorcist director Julius Avery!

OverlordFuboTV offers streaming services. Paramount Plus.

The 30 Days of Night

Columbia Pictures

Year: 2007
Run time: 1h 54m
Director: David Slade
Cast: Josh Hartnett, Melissa George, Danny Huston

The horror movie begins with one of its greatest premises. The 30 Days of Night couldn’t help but be a good time. A group of people try to survive the night after a group of vampires shows up in Barrow, Alaska, a town that suffers monthlong polar nights where the sun won’t rise for 30 days. In other words, it’s the perfect spot to set a vampire nightmare. This movie is a mix of horrors including vampires, winter terror, and survival horror.

The 30 Days of NightThe streaming is on Hulu.