The best horror movies on Amazon Prime right now

Smile (2022)
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Genre

Horror, Mystery, Thriller

Stars

Sosie Bacon, Kyle Gallner, Caitlin Stasey

Directed by

Parker Finn

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The feature film debut of writer-director Parker Finn, Smile stars Sosie Bacon as Dr. Rose Cotter, a psychiatrist who finds herself haunted by disturbing specters and other supernatural phenomena after one of her patients ends her life right in front of her. As the days and weeks go by, Rose starts losing her grip on reality, leading her to do a bit of investigating into her client’s demise.

Her discovery: a morbid and long-spanning connect-the-dots of self-mutilation. Leaning on jump-scares (albeit some very good ones) and measured performances to spin its terror threads, Smile may feel familiar to many fans of the genre, but who said wearing your influences on your sleeve has to be a bad thing?

Halloween Ends (2022)
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Genre

Horror, Thriller

Stars

Jamie Lee Curtis, Andi Matichak, Rohan Campbell

Directed by

David Gordon Green

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Serving as the bookend to writer-director David Gordon Green’s trilogy of Halloween films (made up of 2018’s Halloween and 2021’s Halloween Kills), Halloween Ends decides to go totally off-formula for its final run with the infamous Michael Myers character, focusing instead on two returning characters: Laurie Strode (Jamie Lee Curtis) and her granddaughter Allyson (Andi Matichak), one new face (Rohan Campbell), and three intertwined stories of survival in the wake of tragedy.

Don’t worry fans, for even though it takes Myers a solid forty minutes-plus to join the fray, once he makes himself known, we’re treated to one of the gutsiest and most polarizing depictions of the madmen once billed as “The Shape.”

Cropsey (2009)

Genre

Mystery, Documentary, Horror, Crime

Stars

Joshua Zeman, Barbara Brancaccio, Bill Ellis

Directed by

Joshua Zeman, Barbara Brancaccio

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Cropsey is the kind of documentary that has us wishing there were more documentaries just like it; and even if you’re a horror fan who never treads the waters of non-fiction, we highly recommend giving this one a go. Produced and directed by Joshua Zeman and Barbara Brancaccio, Cropsey explores the titular urban legend, a monster of a man who preyed upon five New York City children through the ‘70s and ‘80s.

But far more than a wandering wraith, the filmmakers discover that the horrible acts of convicted child kidnapper Andre Rand may be at the root of the decades-old myth. Profound and disturbing, Cropsey has gained quite the following over the last 15 years or so, and for good reason: it’s a sensational and disturbingly horrific doc that’s worth your time.

Beast (2022)
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Genre

Thriller, Action, Adventure, Horror

Stars

Idris Elba, Leah Sava Jeffries, Iyana Halley

Directed by

Baltasar Kormákur

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In director Baltasar Kormákur’s 2022 film Beast, Idris Elba stars as Dr. Nate Samuels, a widowed father of two teenage daughters (Iyana Halley and Leah Sava Jeffries). On a vacation to the Mopani Reserve in South Africa, the trip that everyone needed quickly devolves into an all-out nightmare when a man-eating lion goes on a killing spree. It’s up to Nate and his children to think fast, act fast, and pray, as they do all they can to avoid becoming “prey” to the angry wildlife. Beast knows that it’s operating on an out-there premise that most of us are unlikely to experience, but watching Elba go into combat with an apex predator certainly makes for thrilling cinema.

Rogue (2007)

Genre

Action, Horror, Thriller

Stars

Radha Mitchell, Michael Vartan, Sam Worthington

Directed by

Greg McLean

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What do you get when you replace the blood-hungry lion in Beast with a man-eating crocodile? You get another fight-for-survival picture titled Rogue. Written and directed by Greg McLean, the story follows an American travel journalist named Pete (Michael Vartan) on an Australian trek through croc-infested waters. After investigating a distant signal flare, the reveal of wreckage soon pits Pete and his fellow adventurers against the cause of the destruction: a 25-foot reptilian hellspawn. As the tourists and locals start dying off one by one, Pete and the other survivors must do everything in their power to evade the jaws of the semi-aquatic monster. A creature feature that leans on the strengths of its core cast and impressive monster, Rogue doesn’t pretend to be anything but good, gory fun.

Killer Klowns from Outer Space (1988)

Genre

Comedy, Horror, Science Fiction

Stars

Grant Cramer, Suzanne Snyder, John Allen Nelson

Directed by

Stephen Chiodo

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A cult classic for the ages, Killer Klowns from Outer Space is a masterful campfest that follows the townies and local law enforcement of a community besieged by extraterrestrials who look a whole lot like circus clowns. Even their “mothership” is a gigantic circus tent. As the community begins getting harvested by the otherworldly fiends, the citizens must band together to fight back against the invaders and their perilous hijinks. Written and directed by the Chiodo Brothers, who also designed the practical effects for the film, Killer Klowns isn’t a film to be taken seriously, but if you go into it expecting a cheesy amalgamation of gags and big-top slaughter, you won’t be disappointed.

Pet Sematary (1989)

Genre

Horror, Drama

Stars

Dale Midkiff, Fred Gwynne, Denise Crosby

Directed by

Mary Lambert

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If you’re in the mood for an extra-painful kind of horror (you’ll never look at your Achille’s heel the same way again), Pet Sematary is a powerful adaptation of the Stephen King novel of the same name. The 1989 version of the film stars Dale Midkiff as Louis Creed, a doctor who has been transferred to a rural town in Maine. Moving into a new home with his wife (Denise Crosby) and two children (Blaze Berdahl and Miko Hughes), Louis is warned by his neighbor Jud (Fred Gwynne) to be mindful of the speeding 18-wheelers that barrel down the road. When an unexpected tragedy strikes the Creeds, Jud tells Louis of a place where the dead can be brought back to life, which sets into a motion a horrific chain of events that should remind us all to stay away from ancient burial grounds.

The Oak Room (2020)

Genre

Thriller, Horror, Mystery

Stars

RJ Mitte, Peter Outerbridge, Ari Millen

Directed by

Cody Calahan

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Based on the Peter Genoway play of the same name, director Cody Calahan’s The Oak Room stars Breaking Bad alum RJ Mitte and Peter Outerbridge as Steve and Paul. Hoping to settle a long-ago score, a homecoming Steve (Mitte) returns to a bar he once frequented, where he decides to trade harrowing stories with the miserly barkeep. It’s these chilling words that possess a greater part of the film, with the various vignettes delivering countless twists and turns throughout the runtime.

The Relic (1997)

Genre

Horror, Mystery, Thriller

Stars

Penelope Ann Miller, Tom Sizemore, Linda Hunt

Directed by

Peter Hyams

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If monster movies are your bag, The Relic is a solid bit of genre filmmaking that doesn’t pretend to be serious for one second, but it’s the jovial B-movie approach that cements the flick as one with at least some replay value. Starring Tom Sizemore and Penelope Ann Miller as a detective and biologist trying to hunt down a giant beast that’s wreaking havoc at a museum in Chicago, it may not be the most intellectual film you’ve watched (or revisited) all year, but The Relic is pure popcorn fun from start to finish.

My Best Friend’s Exorcism (2022)

Genre

Horror, Comedy

Stars

Elsie Fisher, Amiah Miller, Rachel Ogechi Kanu

Directed by

Damon Thomas

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In My Best Friend’s Exorcism, Elsie Fisher and Amiah Miller star as best friends Abby and Gretchen, high-school pals who come into contact with a demonic entity that decides to take up residence in Gretchen’s body. As the evil within uses its new vessel for wrongdoing aplenty, it’s up to the teens to figure out a way to eradicate the monster before it’s too late. It’s silly in many ways, and not all of its narrative choices are worthwhile ones. But as an off-kilter horror comedy, My Best Friend’s Exorcism is an effective rumination on ’80s genre cinema that sticks its landing more than it doesn’t.

Goodnight Mommy (2022)

Genre

Horror, Drama, Thriller

Stars

Naomi Watts, Cameron Crovetti, Nicholas Crovetti

Directed by

Matt Sobel

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A 2022 remake of the 2014 Austrian film of the same name, Goodnight Mommy stars Cameron and Nicholas Crovett as twin brothers Elias and Lukas. When the siblings are forced to stay with their mother (Naomi Watts), an actress covered in facial bandaging from a “cosmetic” surgery, the boys start to get a strange feeling that this woman is not their mother at all, but some kind of otherworldly imposter that means them harm. While not as captivating as the original film, Goodnight Mommy is still a decent Amazon horror flick that’s perfect to watch on a cold and gloomy night.

The Collector (2009)

Genre

Horror, Thriller

Stars

Josh Stewart, Juan Fernández, Michael Reilly Burke

Directed by

Marcus Dunstan

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The Collector takes all the mayhem and inventive murders of a film like Saw, removes any and all traces of relatable drama, and adds kerosene to the formula. The resulting conflagration is an exploitive mess that can be seen for miles, but we’ll be damned if we can’t turn away. Josh Stewart stars as ex-con Arkin, a man desperate to get some much-needed cash in the hands of his ex-wife, so he decides to rob a house. Not the best plan to begin with, but it just so happens that the targeted domicile has already been selected by a notorious madman who has rigged the residence with a series of inescapable death traps. During early development, The Collector was actually supposed to be a prequel to the Sawseries, which makes sense when you consider the narrative. It’s not groundbreaking genre cinema by any means, but if you need a good sister flick to the Saw canon, The Collector is bound to satiate.

A Quiet Place Part II (2021)

Genre

Science Fiction, Thriller, Horror

Stars

Emily Blunt, Cillian Murphy, Millicent Simmonds

Directed by

John Krasinski

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A tremendous follow up to 2018’s A Quiet Place, writer-director John Krasinski brings us A Quiet Place Part II. Following the remaining Abbot family members in the wake of the first film’s semi-tragic conclusion, mother (Emily Blunt), daughter (Millicent Simmonds), son (Noah Jupe), and an infant continue their fight for survival against the Death Angels, blinded extraterrestrial monsters with powerful hearing capabilities and a bloodlust for humanity. When the Abbots happen upon an old friend, Emmett (Cillian Murphy), the nuclear unit joins up with this companion in the hope of finding a new bastion somewhere beyond the sea. Sophomore efforts tend to miss the mark, especially when it comes to the horror genre, but A Quiet Place Part II manages to rehash all the elements that made the first film so great while expanding the scope of Krasinski’s post-apocalyptic universe.

Candyman (2021)

Genre

Horror

Stars

Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Teyonah Parris, Colman Domingo

Directed by

Nia DaCosta

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Dare to speak his name? In the ghoulish tradition of urban legends like Bloody Mary, director Nia DaCosta’s 2021 film Candyman presents a decades-later sequel to the original 1992 Bernard Rose film of the same name. Starring Yahya Abdul-Mateen II as Anthony McCoy, a Chicago-based painter seeking inspiration for his next set of works, the talented and curious craftsman dives deep into the lore of the infamous Candyman legend after a conversation with a Cabrini-Green resident (Colman Domingo) piques his interest in the man with a hooked hand. But as the bodies start piling up, the world of the paintbrush starts bleeding out into reality as the titular slasher returns once more. Candyman rocks a bold visual style with a kinetic story that comes to life through the film’s ensemble of players, particularly Mateen II as the manic artist who rapidly descends down a rabbit hole of disillusionment and decay.

Saint Maud (2020)

Genre

Drama, Horror, Mystery

Stars

Morfydd Clark, Jennifer Ehle, Lily Frazer

Directed by

Rose Glass

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Religious fervor meets breathtaking indie filmmaking in writer-director Rose Glass’ feature debut Saint Maud. Starring Morfydd Clark as the titular character, a hospice nurse with a devout born-again mentality, Maud is assigned to care for Amanda (Jennifer Ehle), an ailing American dancer living in London. But when Maud’s calling to save the soul of her patient reaches disturbing new heights, no one is safe from the perceived evils and resultant “cleansing.” A daring blend of drama and horror, Saint Maud is powerful cinema from a powerful, new auteur.

Bit (2019)

Genre

Horror, Comedy

Stars

Nicole Maines, Diana Hopper, Zolee Griggs

Directed by

Brad Michael Elmore

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When Laurel (Nicole Maines) relocates to LA, she has big dreams of a new life. But her aspirations are soon put to rest after meeting Duke (Diana Hopper), the leader of an all-female pact of vampires intent on making Laurel one of their own. As the vamps encroach, Duke reveals that she and her coven operate as vigilantes, luring abusive men to their deaths. Will Laurel join the ranks? Bit is powered by a number of integral and relevant themes, using the horror-comedy sub-genre as a springboard to communicate its many messages.

The Deeper You Dig (2019)

Genre

Horror, Drama

Stars

John Adams, Toby Poser, Zelda Adams

Directed by

Toby Poser, John Adams

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In The Deeper You Dig, the lives of a mother, daughter, and stranger are horrifically intertwined in the wake of a devastating accident. The stranger (John Adams), known as Kurt, does what he can to cover his tracks. What he wasn’t expecting was the untimely power of the supernatural to descend over his unplanned crime. As the line between the living and the dead starts to fizzle, it’s only a matter of time before the blood on Kurt’s hands becomes his ultimate undoing. A well-shot, simply made horror flick, The Deeper You Dig explores how far we’ll go for our families through an eerie, wraith-like lens.

My Heart Can’t Beat Unless You Tell It To (2021)

Genre

Drama, Horror

Stars

Patrick Fugit, Ingrid Sophie Schram, Owen Campbell

Directed by

Jonathan Cuartas

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In writer-director Jonathan Cuartas’ My Heart Can’t Beat Unless You Tell It To, Patrick Fugit stars as Dwight, one of three siblings of a privately vampiric family. Dwight and his sister Jessie (Ingrid Sophie Schram) roam the desolate streets at night, seeking victims for their ailing younger brother, Thomas (Owen Campbell). But as the bodies continue piling, Dwight dreams of a new life — one unhindered by the bloodletting of innocents, perhaps. A bare-bones feature debut that matches moody atmospherics to a captivating plot revolving around the struggles of a family, My Heart Can’t Beat… is indie horror at its best.

Madres (2021)

Genre

Horror

Stars

Ariana Guerra, Tenoch Huerta, Elpidia Carrillo

Directed by

Ryan Zaragoza

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In Madres, an expectant Mexican-American couple retires to a farming community in 1970s California to have their first baby. But as a series of horrific visions begin plaguing the mother, the soon-to-be parents wonder if the myriad of disturbing images they’ve been seeing are due to the stresses of the forthcoming child, or maybe it has something to do with a sinister curse that has been stomping around the ranch the couple has been working on? Another great entry in the Welcome to the Blumhouse film series, Madres explores a number of important social issues under the banner of top-shelf horror.

Black as Night (2021)

Genre

Horror, Thriller

Stars

Asjha Cooper, Fabrizio Guido, Craig Tate

Directed by

Maritte Lee Go

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In Black of Night, Asjha Cooper stars as 15-year-old Shawna as a renegade vampire hunter living in New Orleans. When her mother falls victim to a band of vamps that has plagued the city since the travesty of Hurricane Katrina, Shawna teams up with three ragtag vigilantes to track down the leader of the vampires and put an end to their nighttime scheming once and for all. A fun blend of action, horror, teen melodrama, and social commentary, Black as Night borrows plenty from like-minded vampire flicks but dishes out enough of its own flavor to keep viewers glued to the screen.

Nocturne (2020)

Genre

Horror, Mystery, Thriller, Music

Stars

Sydney Sweeney, Madison Iseman, Jacques Colimon

Directed by

Zu Quirke

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Nocturne stars Sydney Sweeney (Euphoria, White Lotus) and Madison Iseman (I Know What You Did Last Summer) as twin sisters Juliet and Vivian. Accomplished pianists attending a prestigious music school, Vivian’s abilities are near-virtuoso and always a step above Juliet’s hands. That is until Juliet comes into the possession of a music theory book from a student that had jumped to her death. As the tome begins granting Juliet newfound confidence and dedication to the piano, her inflated ego meshes with a series of supernatural events that threaten her own life and the safety of those around her.

The Manor (2021)

Genre

Horror

Stars

Barbara Hershey, Nicholas Alexander, Bruce Davison

Directed by

Axelle Carolyn

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Judith Albright (Barbara Hershey) isn’t who she used to be, not since her stroke at any rate. After moving into a prestigious nursing home, the ailing Judith begins experiencing horrific visions that lead her to believe something sinister is afoot at the sprawling estate. But with dementia running rampant through the halls, Judith’s insistence that something is not what it seems is easily dismissed by staff and family as an elderly case of “cried wolf.” But the truth, it turns out, is all too real. The Manor doesn’t reinvent the wheel when it comes to the genre, but writer-director Axelle Carolyn’s vision is a fun one to embrace — supplying the viewer with familiar motifs, ominous score, and plenty of seedlings that lead into third-act reveals.

We Are Still Here (2015)

Genre

Horror

Stars

Barbara Crampton, Andrew Sensenig, Lisa Marie

Directed by

Ted Geoghegan

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Anne (Barbara Crampton) and Paul Sacchetti (Andrew Sensenig) are grieving parents that decide to relocate to a rural New England town, taking up residence in an 1800s rustic home. Upon moving in, the couple is warned by a concerned local that their home is an evil sanctum that they should vacate promptly. Undeterred by these provocations, Anne and Paul invite spiritualist pals May (Lisa Marie) and Jacob Lewis (Larry Fessenden) to their estate in hopes of contacting their deceased child — a supernatural leaning that quickly becomes the downfall of all involved, particularly when it turns out that their home may have a deviant mind of its own.

Bingo Hell (2021)

Genre

Thriller

Stars

Adriana Barraza, L. Scott Caldwell, Clayton Landey

Directed by

Gigi Saúl Guerrero

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Lupita (Adriana Barraza) is a longtime resident of the Oak Springs retirement community. Living out her days in peace, a once-idyllic residence suddenly falls to darkness when the enigmatic Mr. Big (Richard Brake) becomes the new property manager. Sensing that evil is afoot, Lupita and her fellow retirees band together to take down the evildoer. But as the bodies start piling up, the senior citizens realize they may be entrenched in a hell they may not escape from. A splatterfest of camp, gore, and a cobbled narrative that ultimately satiates, Bingo Hell isn’t world-class cinema, but it’s perfect viewing for horror fanatics.

Hellraiser (1987)

Genre

Horror

Stars

Ashley Laurence, Andrew Robinson, Clare Higgins

Directed by

Clive Barker

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Stay away from ancient, evil puzzle boxes: A hard rule that all should follow. These are words of wisdom that nomadic Frank (Sean Chapman) ignores. After purchasing a Pandora’s box of terrors and tinkering with the relic, a hoard of extra-dimensional demons known as Cenobites are unleashed upon him. Dragging Frank to their realm of pain and torture, his brother (Andrew Robinson) and his wife (Clare Higgins) move into Frank’s residence. When a drop of blood reawakens Frank, he tasks Julia, his brother’s spouse and Frank’s once-lover, with bringing him fresh victims to ultimately be reborn. Based on Clive Barker’s novel The Hellbound Heart, Hellraiser combines graphic visual effects and an unrelenting narrative, resulting in a macabre masterpiece for the ages.

Black Box (2020)

Genre

Horror, Science Fiction, Thriller

Stars

Mamoudou Athie, Phylicia Rashād, Amanda Christine

Directed by

Emmanuel Osei-Kuffour, Jr.

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In the wake of a horrific car accident that killed his wife, Nolan (Mamoudou Athie) is left with crippling amnesia and a 10-year-old daughter to care for. After agreeing to undergo an experimental treatment to reclaim his lost faculties, the widowed father gets more than he bargained for when a series of disturbing hallucinations plague Nolan’s day-to-day. Hellbent on finding the cure for these manifestations, Nolan will soon discover that there’s a much darker side to his so-called recovery. A tactful and imaginative debut from director Emmanuel Osei-Kuffour, Jr., Black Box will keep you curled tight at the edge of your seat. We guarantee it.

The Neon Demon (2016)

Genre

Thriller, Horror

Stars

Elle Fanning, Jena Malone, Desmond Harrington

Directed by

Nicolas Winding Refn

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16-year-old Jesse (Elle Fanning) is an aspiring model who has recently relocated to Los Angeles. When she secures work with a prolific agency, the sky appears to be the limit for the fresh face. But as Jesse faces scrutiny and a series of uncomfortable exchanges with her older peers, mixed with a cycle of visceral and disturbing dreams and hallucinations, the veil of high fashion begins to peel back, revealing a strange and sordid underbelly for the youthful talent. A hypnotic tale of horror with a mighty sucker punch of an ending, The Neon Demon is as much an homage to ’70s foreign-language horror flicks as it is a fitting entry in the canon of writer-director Nicolas Winding Refn.

The Reef (2010)

Genre

Drama, Horror, Thriller

Stars

Damian Walshe-Howling, Zoe Naylor, Adrienne Pickering

Directed by

Andrew Traucki

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When four friends hit the high seas to deliver a yacht to a client in Indonesia, their voyage is quickly uprooted when their vessel capsizes in a coral reef. As the disparate foursome decides to swim to a nearby island with whatever supplies they can hang on to, a great white shark emerges from the depths and begins stalking them. While we’ve all seen our fair share of cheap shark-genre chillers, writer-director Andrew Traucki delivers his story through horrific slow burns, buttressed by the magnificent talents of the main ensemble. This is one of the better 90-minute oceanic horror films out there and a testament to the power of a good script and a director with a strong vision. Australian waters have never felt so foreboding.

Suspiria (2018)

Genre

Horror, Thriller

Stars

Dakota Johnson, Tilda Swinton, Mia Goth

Directed by

Luca Guadagnino

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Hot off the success of his 2017 film, Call Me by Your Name, director Luca Guadagnino dove headfirst into the production of Suspiria, a remake of Dario Argento’s 1977 Technicolor nightmare about a prestigious German dance academy with a mysterious and sordid past. In Guadagnino’s rendition, Dakota Johnson plays Susie Bannion, the American newcomer to the foreign school, and what a wicked first day of classes she has. An expelled student, Patricia Hingle (Chloë Grace Moretz), is murdered, and not long after the ex-matriculate confessed to her therapist that the dance academy is run by evil witches.

Vivarium (2019)

Genre

Science Fiction, Horror, Mystery

Stars

Imogen Poots, Jesse Eisenberg, Eanna Hardwicke

Directed by

Lorcan Finnegan

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Ah yes, the joys of buying your first home. As if closing costs, inspections, and the pains of moving day weren’t hell enough, imagine being trapped in a neighborhood where all the houses are exactly the same — and there’s no escape. That’s where director/co-writer Lorcan Finnegan’s Vivarium gets started. After Tom and Gemma (Jesse Eisenberg and Imogen Poots) travel to the mysterious development of Yonder with their oddball realtor, Martin (Jonathan Aris), the agent seemingly disappears. A labyrinthine nightmare, Eisenberg and Poots flourish as Tom and Gemma, an innocent young couple that slowly begin losing their minds and overall grip on reality, especially once a newborn baby arrives — appearing out of the clear blue. Is this maze of suburbia all in their head, or are their sinister forces at play? You’ll just have to watch to find out.

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The best horror movies on Amazon Prime right now

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