9 Most dark and disturbing movies on Netflix

There’s a movie to suit every mood. There are those days when we feel a love/hate connection with the films we’re watching. We seek out the most terrifying and frightening films. We sit up all night watching them, then wonder why we would scare ourselves in this way, jeopardizing the remainder of our week’s sleep.

Disturbing films, a subgenre of horror, provide a totally different form of escapism to those who appreciate them. If you’re one of those folks who squirm, twitch, and shriek in terror yet still like scaring yourself with excruciating movies, you don’t have to scour the deep web for them. Netflix has a good variety of anxiety-inducing, frightening films that will provide you with the type of fear you need. Take a look at our list of a few unsettling Netflix movies below, and make sure you’re snuggled deep in your covers and ready to puke with every one of your lights switched on before you hit play.

Unlocked (2023)

In Unlocked, retired CIA agent Alice Racine (Noomi Rapace) works as a social worker after being plagued by her inability to prevent a terrorist attack in Paris. When information leads to a probable new assault, Alice is the sole individual who can help, so her former commander (Michael Douglas) summons her back into duty, despite her reluctance. Alice realizes that her assignment has been jeopardized when interviewing a captured suspect. While fleeing, she meets Jack Alcott (Orlando Bloom), a cat thief who remains behind to help. As Alice gets close to figuring out who is behind the terrible scheme, she realizes she has no confidence in anyone.

Things Heard and Seen (2021)

‘There’s Someone Inside Your House,’ an adaption of Stephanie Perkins’ eponymous novel, follows Makani and a group of her Osborne High School classmates as they battle against time to stop a frightening serial murderer. The murderer, whose sole tactic is to murder while wearing the victims’ faces, appears to be targeting persons who have already harmed someone. As the gang unearths one terrible truth after another, the boundary between friends and adversaries blurs, and Makani realizes that anybody among them may be out for blood.

Midnight Mass (2021)

Midnight Mass opens with Riley Flynn (Zach Gilford) coming home to Crockett, a small island hamlet, after years in prison for murdering someone while driving drunk. Riley stays with his parents and younger brother, dismayed with his Christian upbringing, and reunites with his childhood sweetheart, Erin Greene (Kate Siegel), who happens to be eight months pregnant and a recent returnee to Crockett. When a new priest, Father Paul (Hamish Linklater), comes on Crockett and takes over at St. Patrick’s Church, he appears to kick off a chain of odd and incredible occurrences of biblical proportions.

Eli  (2019)

‘Eli,’ an eerie horror film on Netflix, is about a little child who appears to have a rare disease that causes allergic responses anytime he goes outside. As a result, if he goes outside, he must wear safety equipment. Dr. Isabella Horn (Lili Taylor) runs a distant institution that his parents admit him to. Eli is overjoyed in the first two days, being able to go about without the bulky protective garment and embrace his parents. However, he quickly begins to see unexplained phenomena within the institution, leading him to assume that it is haunted. Ciarán Foy, whose previous films include ‘Citadel’ and ‘Sinister 2’, directed the film.

The Platform (2019)

This Spanish sci-fi thriller depicts the narrative of a remarkable multi-story penal institution that houses two convicts on each floor. Food is delivered by an elevator-like platform that stops on every level for a set length of time, during which offenders must consume everything they can. They are unable to store anything for later. If they do, the jail officials will either scorch or freeze them to death by adjusting the interior temperature of the cell. Goreng (Iván Massagué), the protagonist, has voluntarily joined the jail population in order to obtain a diploma. He suddenly realizes that he has committed the biggest mistake of his life. The film’s director is Galder Gaztelu-Urrutia. Netflix published ‘The Platform’ for its global audience following its premiere at the 44th Annual Toronto International Film Festival.

Fractured (2019)

The plot of Netflix’s psychological horror film ‘Fractured’ focuses on Ray Monroe (Sam Worthington), whose child Peri (Lucy Capri) falls into an unprotected hole after being pursued by a stray dog. Ray and his partner Joanne (Lily Rabe) bring her to a neighboring hospital, where she is admitted. He subsequently learns that his wife and child are both missing, and the medical personnel denies having any idea of their whereabouts. They even informed him that he came there by himself for therapy. Ray began his desperate quest for his family, terrified for their safety. Critics lauded Worthington’s acting as well as Brad Anderson’s direction and Björn Charpentier’s cinematography in the picture.

The Perfection (2019)

‘The Perfection,’ one of Netflix’s most terrifying originals, is a movie that should be avoided by youngsters. The film’s principal character is Charlotte (Allison Williams), a musical prodigy who is invited to the most prestigious music school by her teacher. She befriends one of the brightest girls in the school, Lizzie, and they eventually become sexually connected. When the two of them get to the school, they realize that something horrific is going on behind the guise of a musical school. But how will both of them withstand the vengeance of such heinous criminals?

We ask that you view this video with adults only because of the violence. Many of the scenarios can be too graphic for even those who are hardcore followers of cinematic violence. Richard Shepard, the filmmaker, expertly combines genre cliches to create a suspenseful movie that will stay with us for a long time.

Bird Box (2018)

In Netflix’s ‘Bird Box,’ Earth has been overrun by demonic monsters who can assume the form of a person’s deepest fear and drive them insane, eventually leading to suicide. The film is divided into two tales that focus on the exact same person, Malorie (Sandra Bullock), and take place five years apart. One shows a still-pregnant Malorie while she tries to survive shortly after the siege, while the other highlights her efforts to keep her kids alive. The film, directed by Susanne Bier and a remake of Josh Malerman’s 2014 novel of the same name, earned largely good reviews from reviewers. It also earned the streaming service’s most-watched original video of all time.

I Am the Pretty Thing That Lives in the House (2016)

‘I Am the Pretty Thing That Lives in the House,’ an atmospheric horror film, follows a horror writer and her caretaker as they continue to encounter mysterious forces in their home. Iris Blum, the author of the issue, suffers from persistent dementia. Therefore, the management of her home has recruited Lily Saylor to take care of her. Lily becomes concerned when she notices shadowy silhouettes of a lady in the house. In her perspective, the line between imagination and reality becomes increasingly blurred as time passes. We are constantly reminded of Iris’s statement in one of her writings that there are places where both the living and deceased coexist. Is her home a dimension like that as well?

Due to the environment and engaging people, this film has the appeal of a retro horror picture. This is a movie to see if you like tight atmospheres than jump scares. The filmmaker’s restraint is the most frightening aspect of the picture. There is a persistent sense of suspense that may be extremely unsettling for the audience at times.