Horror movies are great year-round, and what better time to enjoy one of these chilling flicks than during the lead-up to Christmas? After all, we all know how terrifying a round or two of holiday shopping can be, so it’s good to have an on-screen outlet or two to bask in. One of the best places to catch up with the latest and greatest horror titles is Amazon Prime Video.
Whether you’re looking to indulge in a classic genre chiller you’ve returned to many times before, or you want to check out something new, Prime Video truly has something for everyone, and we’re thrilled to dive deep into the archives. We hear at Digital Trends love horror films, and this rotating roundup of features includes a ton of different sub-genres and a good mix of new and old films. Here’s everything we’re looking forward to watching in December 2023!
Want more Prime Video content? Check out the best movies on Prime Video right now. If you don’t see anything of note on Amazon Prime, we’ve also rounded up the best horror movies on Netflix and the best horror movies on Hulu.
Bones and All (2022)
The latest effort from masterful filmmaker Luca Guadagnino, Bones and All reunites the director with Call Me By Your Name star Timotheé Chalamet. Set in a modern world not too different from our own, the story follows Maren (played by Taylor Russell) and Lee (Chalamet). Star-crossed lovers, both youths are doing what they can to stay afloat on the road. Oh, and it just so happens that they both enjoy consuming human flesh. On its face, this bizarre blend of horror, drama, and romance may not seem like it would work, but thanks to some committed performances from its two leads, Bones and All is hard to look away from.
Play Dead (2022)
Absentia (2011)
Renfield (2023)
Knock at the Cabin (2023)
An adaptation of Paul G. Tremblay’s The Cabin at the End of the World, writer/director M. Night Shyamalan brings us Knock at the Cabin, the kind of closed-quarters horror flick that will remind us that idyllic trips to the middle of the woods may not be the greatest idea. Our story follows seven-year-old Wen (Kristen Cui) and her fathers, Eric and Andrew (Jonathan Groff and Ben Aldridge), three people minding their own business who are suddenly intruded upon and held captive by a gang of apocalyptic prophesiers led by Leonard Brocht (Dave Bautista).
According to the doomsday crew, if the family doesn’t sacrifice one of their own, a series of global tragedies will consume the world. It’s your typical nail-biting siege pic, with a bunch of characters stuck under one roof for a majority of the runtime, but Knock at the Cabin gets a big boost from its excellent cast, with Dave Bautista being an empathetic standout. Yes, he could kill you by looking at you for too long, but Mr. Brocht could also make you a shed a tear or two.
There's Something Wrong with the Children (2023)
Directed by Roxanne Benjamin from a script by T.J. Cimfel and David White, There’s Something Wrong with the Children stars Alisha Wainwright and Zach Gilford as Margaret and Ben, a couple who take a trip into the wilderness with fellow adults Ellie and Thomas (Amanda Crew and Carlos Santos) and their two kids, Lucy (Briella Guiza) and Spencer (David Mattle). Everything is going peachy-keen until the dawn of a new day. After disappearing into the forest, Lucy and Spencer are acting quite strange upon their return.
Is something supernatural afoot, or did the kids just have too many marshmallows? Cut from the same cloth as films like A24’s horror movie A Hole in the Ground and Amazon’s remake of Goodnight Mommy (swap the weird kids for a weird parent), There’s Something Wrong … isn’t bringing the most original premise to the table, but where this Blumhouse-produced entry truly succeeds is with its foreboding camera work, editing, and haunting score.
M3GAN (2022)
The Battery (2012)
Written, directed, produced, and starring Jeremy Gardner, The Battery follows the postapocalyptic day-to-day lives of two former baseball players, Ben (Gardner) and Mickey (Adam Cronheim). Constantly at each other’s throats, these two survivors of the undead takeover are forced to wander the desolate remains of New England. While searching an abandoned property, Ben and Mickey discover two walkie-talkies.
While testing the radios, they stumble upon a transmission from a nearby group of survivors. Mickey wants to join the marauders, but Ben seems to have his doubts. Shot in just 15 days in Connecticut for only $6,000, The Battery is proof that you don’t need flashy CGI to tell a captivating, horrific, and inspiring story.
Jigsaw (2017)
The eight film in the still-ongoing Saw franchise, 2017’s Jigsaw plays to the typical Saw film formula: Unsuspecting victims are forced to participate in a series of deadly games curated by whatever notorious malcontent is calling themselves “Jigsaw” this time around.
But with the O.G. serial killer, John Kramer, dead in the ground for over a decade, who exactly is still willing and able to pull the murderous strings? Like the many lesser versions of the original film that came before it, Jigsaw doesn’t stray too far from the grisly visuals that the series is known for. That being said, it’s still a decent watch, especially for longtime fans of the saga.
The Taking of Deborah Logan (2014)
The directorial debut of Adam Robitel, The Taking of Deborah Logan follows a group of documentary filmmakers who are looking to produce a film about the crippling affects of Alzheimer’s disease. Their main subject is a woman named Deborah Logan (Jill Larson), a sufferer of dementia who begins experiencing erratic behavior. According to Deborah’s physicians, her behavior is par for the course, but when these eccentricities begin developing links to terrifying crimes and supernatural phenomena, the documentarians realize that their very lives are at stake. A found-footage gem that many fans of the sub-genre will enjoy, The Taking of Deborah Logan is a lesser-known horror entry that doesn’t get talked about as much as it should.
Smile (2022)
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)
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)
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)
The Oak Room (2020)
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.
My Best Friend's Exorcism (2022)
Goodnight Mommy (2022)
The Collector (2009)
Candyman (2021)
Saint Maud (2020)
The Deeper You Dig (2019)
My Heart Can't Beat Unless You Tell It To (2021)
Madres (2021)
Black as Night (2021)
Nocturne (2020)
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)
We Are Still Here (2015)
Bingo Hell (2021)
Hellraiser (1987)
Black Box (2020)
The Neon Demon (2016)
The Reef (2010)
Suspiria (2018)
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