Looking for something truly terrifying to sink your teeth into this weekend? Whether you’re in the mood for haunting psychological scares, intense gore, or just some bloody good fun, Max is currently stacked with killer horror movies, both new and classics. So dim the lights, grab your comfort blanket, and prepare for a frightful binge!
Here’s a list of eight must-watch horror movies streaming on Max to keep you thoroughly entertained (and terrified) this weekend:
The Shining (1980)
Stanley Kubrick’s iconic take on Stephen King’s chilling novel has undeniably stood the test of time, easily remaining one of the best and most genuinely scary horror movies ever made. It’s a true testament to the unforgettable central performances from Jack Nicholson, Shelley Duvall, Danny Lloyd, and Scatman Crothers that this story has become such a beloved (and terrifying) genre staple.
If you somehow missed it, the plot sees writer Jack Torrance accepting a caretaker job at the isolated, haunted Overlook Hotel in Colorado, bringing his wife and young son along for the winter. But while there, Jack’s already fragile sanity (and writer’s block) manifests into something more terrifying, putting his family’s lives in unimaginable peril. All work and no play… You know the rest.
Evil Dead Rise (2023)
Prepare for some apartment complex annihilation! Ellie (Alyssa Sutherland) is a single mother raising three kids—teens Danny and Bridget and young Kassie—in an apartment when her newly pregnant sister Beth (Lily Sullivan) drops by for a visit. What should be a happy reunion quickly becomes a nightmare when the kids stumble upon a copy of the infamous Naturom Demonto, hidden in a secret chamber in the building’s creepy basement.
Foolishly, Danny reads one of the ancient incantations aloud, unwittingly summoning the franchise’s iconic, flesh-possessing monsters known as Deadites. They waste no time wreaking absolute havoc, taking possession of Ellie and brutally attacking her family. Trapped inside a crumbling building with a raging demonic entity, Beth finds herself tasked with the impossible: keeping herself, her unborn child, her nieces, and her nephew alive. This one is relentless!
It Follows (2014)
Maika Monroe truly cemented her status as a modern scream queen with this incredibly unsettling cult horror movie. The premise is brilliantly simple and utterly terrifying: a mysterious curse is transferred to new victims via sex. Once “infected,” the person will be relentlessly stalked by a slow-moving, shapeshifting entity that can take the form of literally anyone – from a stranger to a loved one.
Jay (Monroe) becomes the latest haunted by this relentless being when her boyfriend passes it onto her. If “the thing” ever catches up to her, it will result in Jay’s brutal death. The only way to temporarily escape it is to have sex with someone else and pass it on to them. Otherwise, it follows you forever, or until you (or it) finally die. A sequel is currently in development, so now’s the perfect time to catch up!
It (2017)
With HBO recently sharing that chilling new teaser for the “It” prequel series, “Welcome to Derry,” now feels like the absolute perfect time to revisit Andy Muschietti’s fantastic 2017 film. And while Bill Skarsgård will return to play Pennywise for the prequel, the 2017 movie stands strong as an excellent modern horror film in its own right.
Set in the late 1980s and based on Stephen King’s sprawling, terrifying novel of the same name, the 2017 movie follows a tight-knit group of outcast teens who proudly dub themselves the “Loser’s Club.” They find themselves locked in a terrifying battle against an ancient, malevolent evil entity that resurfaces every 27 years to devour the children of Derry, Maine, and cause various horrifying catastrophes. Prepare to float!
Carnival of Souls (1962)
While “Carnival of Souls” might not terrify modern audiences with jump scares like it did back in the 1960s, it remains a brilliant horror movie that has had a profound, marked influence on countless genre filmmakers since. Made on a shoestring budget, “Carnival of Souls” is considered a quintessential cult classic, inspiring the legendary George A. Romero for his seminal “Night of the Living Dead.”
The film follows a young woman named Mary who miraculously (or perhaps, eerily) survives a horrific car accident. Traumatized and disoriented, Mary decides to leave town, only to begin having increasingly disturbing visions of a terrifying, ghostly man relentlessly following her. She finds herself inexplicably drawn to a deserted carnival in her new home, desperately hoping it might help her figure out where these haunting visions come from and what they mean.
The Silence of the Lambs (1991)
“The Silence of the Lambs” is an influential, Academy Award-winning classic that deserves to be rewatched periodically by all horror and thriller fans. Seriously, just about every psychological crime thriller that has come after this masterpiece owes a significant debt to its groundbreaking storytelling and chilling atmosphere.
The film introduces us to Clarice Starling (Jodie Foster), a bright but inexperienced FBI trainee tasked with interviewing the brilliant, manipulative, and terrifying incarcerated serial killer Dr. Hannibal Lecter (Anthony Hopkins, in an iconic, Oscar-winning performance). Her goal? To gain insight into the mind of another elusive serial killer, Buffalo Bill. The psychological cat-and-mouse game between Clarice and Hannibal is pure cinematic gold.
Hannibal (2001)
Ten years after the events of The Silence of the Lambs, the sophisticated cannibal Dr. Hannibal Lecter is on the loose, living a lavish life in Florence, Italy. But he’s being hunted by two people with very different agendas. Clarice Starling, now an FBI agent, seeks to apprehend Hannibal after he contacts her, drawing her back into his dangerous orbit. Meanwhile, a wealthy, disfigured former victim named Mason Verger (Gary Oldman) relentlessly hunts Hannibal, seeking grotesque revenge after their previous encounter left him mutilated and without a face.
While “Hannibal” can’t quite compare to the sheer perfection of “The Silence of the Lambs,” it has moments of shocking brilliance and disturbing beauty that will stick with you for a very long time. It’s a worthy, if different, continuation of Lecter’s story.
Companion (2025)
Companion follows Josh (Jack Quaid, “The Boys”). After he “jailbreaks” the settings of his AI girlfriend (Sophie Thatcher) and unleashes a terrifying chain of events. During a weekend getaway with friends, played by Lukas Gage, Megan Suri, Harvey Guillén, and Rupert Friend, the idyllic retreat descends into chaos as Iris’s programming spirals out of control.
