Supernatural horror often draws its fear from vengeful spirits, demonic possessions and entities that defy explanation. Netflix's catalog includes films that explore these ideas through different settings, from a 1970s television studio to remote villages and former convents.
The following six titles were selected for their focus on supernatural threats and the tension surrounding the unknown.
1. Late Night with the Devil (2023)
Starring David Dastmalchian, Late Night with the Devil takes place on Halloween night in 1977. A talk-show host broadcasts a young woman who claims to be possessed by a demon, hoping to boost the program's ratings. The broadcast soon spirals out of control as supernatural events begin to unfold on stage.
The film recreates the atmosphere of 1970s television while using live entertainment and sensationalism to build an increasingly oppressive horror story.
2. Ouija: Origin of Evil (2016)
Directed by Mike Flanagan, Ouija: Origin of Evil follows Doris, played by Lulu Wilson, a lonely girl living with her mother, who pretends to communicate with spirits in the 1960s. After Doris uses a Ouija board to contact her deceased father, she releases malevolent beings that begin to consume her body.
Alongside its supernatural scares, the film addresses grief and loneliness, as well as the tension between belief and skepticism and the pressures that can lead people to take extreme measures.
3. Incantation (2022)
This Taiwanese horror film uses a found-footage format to create the impression that its events could be real. Its story centers on a mother who must break a terrible curse after violating a religious taboo.
As she races to reverse the curse, she does everything possible to protect her daughter from the evil she has unleashed.
4. Sister Death (2023)
Sister Death is a Spanish film built around Gothic imagery and religious horror. It follows Narcisa, played by Aria Bedmar, a young novice with miraculous gifts who arrives at a former convent that has become a school. After she begins teaching there, disturbing events start to torment the location.
The film emphasizes psychological horror while exploring guilt and the loss of innocence, making its religious setting a central part of the unease.
5. When Evil Lurks (2023)
Directed by Argentine filmmaker Demián Rugna, When Evil Lurks follows two brothers who discover a possessed man on the verge of giving birth to a demonic entity. Their attempt to dispose of the body accidentally spreads the curse through the area.
The resulting outbreak of demonic possession leads to escalating violence, despair and fear. The film has prompted sharply divided reactions, but its extreme subject matter gives it a particularly intense presence within the selection.
6. The Whispering (2023)
The Thai film The Whispering is set in a remote village during the 1970s. Its story follows a young man whose younger sister is suffering from a frightening and unexplained illness.
He eventually discovers that the condition is connected to a violent spirit that feeds on family bonds. The film uses legends and supernatural entities to create a story in which fear remains closely tied to relationships between relatives.
Sources: Canaltech.