The Best Horror Movies Streaming This Month Are About The End Of The World (November 2024)

Well folks, current event news is … not great. I won’t go into further detail on that, but I’m sure you know what I’m talking about. On top of that, the cold, dead winter is closing in, which means the sun sets around 4:30 P.M. and smothers us in darkness. Things are feeling absolutely apocalyptic right now, which brings us to the subject of this month’s horror streaming column: end of the world horror movies! Yes, let’s just jump head-first into the bleak uncertainty of the future by watching scary movies about end times. To compile this month’s list, I stuck to some loose rules. For one thing, I tried to limit the inclusion of zombie movies — apocalyptic zombie movies are a genre unto themselves, and I’m sure I could fill up an entire list of them, but that’s not what I wanted to do here. Also, since this is a horror movie list, I wanted to keep this list horror-centric — there are a lot of apocalyptic movies that just don’t quite fit into the horror genre (i.e., disaster movies like “2012” and “The Day After Tomorrow”). Now that we’ve got that out of the way, let’s celebrate the dark days of November with the best horror movies streaming this month. 

Streaming on Prime Video.

The original “Cloverfield” was a viral marketing sensation. Produced by J.J. Abrams and directed by Matt Reeves, the found footage monster movie built up a ton of buzz thanks to mysterious trailers and online tidbits. After the film came out and turned a profit, rumors of a sequel persisted for years, but for the longest time, one failed to materialize. Then, in January of 2016, a trailer arrived attached to the Michael Bay film “13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi.” The trailer was vague and mysterious, and then suddenly, the title “CLOVERFIELD” popped up on the screen. The internet was suddenly abuzz! The film was, of course, “10 Cloverfield Lane,” and while production on the project was known, the world at large had no idea this was going to be a “Cloverfield” movie. And to be fair, “10 Cloverfield Lane” isn’t a sequel to “Cloverfield.” Instead, the idea was that “Cloverfield” would become a kind of brand-name for secret genre films that arrived unexpectedly. It was a really neat idea that was sadly killed off by the highly disappointing Netflix movie “The Cloverfield Paradox.” 

But while that movie may have failed, “10 Cloverfield Lane” is a total blast. Directed by Dan Trachtenberg and co-written by Damien Chazelle, “10 Cloverfield Lane” is a limited location thriller about a young woman named Michelle (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) who gets into a car accident and wakes up trapped in an underground bunker belonging to the mysterious, threatening Howard (John Goodman). Also in the bunker: a friendly guy named Emmett (John Gallagher Jr.). Howard explains that some sort of apocalyptic attack has happened outside, and everyone has to remain in the bunker for their own safety. Michelle is understandably skeptical about all of this, but a series of events convinces her that Howard may be telling the truth. And yet, doubt remains, and that’s where the thriller aspect of the film takes root. Clever, simple, and effective, “10 Cloverfield Lane” is intense and scary, and still holds up. 

Streaming on Netflix.

Alfred Hitchcock’s “The Birds” is a brilliant, strange movie that avoids explanation. One day, birds randomly begin violently attacking people. Why? No one really knows, but it might have something to do with Melanie Daniels (Tippi Hedren), a vapid socialite who chases a man back to his hometown simply because she can. Is she attracted to the man, a smug lawyer named Mitch played by Rod Taylor? Maybe, but more likely, she likes the idea of conquest: Mitch seems to kind of abore Melanie, who has a reputation for playing practical jokes. Rather than take a hint and leave Mitch alone, Melanie hops in her car and heads out to the seaside town of Bodega Bay. She’s determined to win this guy over. But before any of that can happen, birds begin attacking.

The attacks are small at first, and can seemingly be shrugged off as random and unimportant. But little by little, the size of the attacks grow, bringing with them death and destruction. But why? “Why are they doing this?” a hysterical woman asks Melanie late in the film. “They said when you got here the whole thing started. Who are you? What are you? Where did you come from? I think you’re the cause of all of this. I think you’re evil.” Whether or not this has anything to do with Melanie ends up being inconsequential. All that matters is that the birds are really ticked-off, and no one is safe. 

Streaming on Shudder.

“Day of the Dead” isn’t the best movie in George A. Romero‘s original “Dead” trilogy, but it is the most apocalyptic. Hope seems entirely gone in this manic, chaotic entry, which has humanity living underground while zombies roam the landscape. While scientists attempt to study the dead, military men remain trigger-happy, and the tension continues to simmer until it eventually boils over and explodes in a bloody, body-ripping climax. “Day of the Dead” thrives on chaos, and boasts both one of the most memorable zombies of all time — Bub, the “smart” zombie — and some of the most memorable gore effects ever created, courtesy of the legendary Tom Savini (working with fellow makeup FX legends Greg Nicotero and Howard Berger). Romero would make other zombie movies after this — “Land of the Dead,” “Diary of the Dead,” and “Survival of the Dead” — but “Day of the Dead” feels like the true end; a denouement for the human race. 

Streaming on Hulu.

M. Night Shyamalan’s “The Happening” has a lousy reputation, but I’ve long maintained the movie isn’t nearly as bad as some would have you believe. In fact, I firmly think Shyamalan was making an amusing B-movie, and he succeed. To be fair, the film has problems: Mark Wahlberg is not convincing as a science teacher, and Zooey Deschanel’s performance is baffling (she seems like she’s on another planet). But the movie is also a lot of fun. It was Shyamalan’s first R-rated flick, and he leaned into that rating with gruesome death scenes. The premise: plants and trees begin releasing a kind of neurotoxin that results in mass suicides. Will humanity survive? Should it survive? I don’t know. All I know is that the movie ends with our main characters seeking shelter at the home of a crazy old woman named Mrs. Jones who says weird things like “Why are you eyeing my lemon drink?”, and I love every second of it. 

Streaming on Max.

A slow-burning, low-key horror-drama, “It Comes at Night” is a small-scale end of the world picture. A plague has ravaged the planet, causing people to resort to going into seclusion for their own safety. Paul (Joel Edgerton) and Sarah (Carmen Ejogo) live with their teenage son Travis (Kelvin Harrison Jr.) in a remote house in the woods. One day, another family — Will (Christopher Abbott), his wife Kim (Riley Keough), and their child Andrew (Griffin Robert Faulkner) — show up looking for help. Paul is understandably hesitant to let these strangers into their lives, but he eventually relents and lets Will and his family take up residence in their big house. But tensions soon arise, and things grow bleak. “It Comes at Night” is not a traditional horror film, even though that’s how A24’s marketing sold it. Instead, the horror arises from human frailty and insecurities; it’s a film about how we doom ourselves through our own foolish, selfish actions. 

Streaming on Peacock.

Alex Proyas’ absolutely bonkers “Knowing” has a great premise. When a time capsule from the late 1950s is dug up, it contains a mysterious code scribbled across some pieces of paper. That code ends up in the hands of an MIT astrophysics professor played by none other than Nicolas Cage. Cage’s character cracks the code and discovers it lists a series of dates that predict catastrophes and tragedies (yes, even 9/11 is listed on there). The code lists the date of the tragedy, the coordinates of where it will take place, and how many people will die. That’s scary enough on its own, but soon Cage discovers the final bit of decoded destruction is predicting the end of the world itself. If all of this sounds wild and crazy, let me just say I’ve only scratched the surface. There’s even more wacky stuff going on here, and while a lot of it strains credulity, it makes for a very entertaining end of the world movie. Plus, a plane crash scene designed to look like it’s shot in one long take is legit scary. 

Streaming on Tubi.

If you were a kid obsessed with finding odd horror movies at Blockbuster Video in the 1990s, you likely came across “The Prophecy.” Written and directed by Gregory Widen, “The Prophecy” did have a theatrical release, but it really found its footing once it hit VHS and gained a cult following — a following that resulted in multiple direct-to-video sequels. The original is the best of the bunch, though, telling an apocalyptic story that turns angels into villains. There’s a war raging in Heaven, and to help win that war, the angel Gabriel, played with delicious menace by Christopher Walken, is stalking the Earth to steal the soul of a recently dead war criminal. Meanwhile, a former priest who became a cop, played by great character actor Elias Koteas, and a school teacher, played by Virginia Madsen, get mixed up in all of this, and have to find a way to stop Gabriel and save the world. It’s all rather silly if you stop and think about it for too long, but if you’re able to get on the film’s weird wavelengths, you’re in for a treat.

Streaming on Paramount+.

I didn’t expect much from “A Quiet Place: Day One.” It’s not that I immediately assumed the movie would be bad. It’s just that this is the third entry in a series, and a prequel to boot — that sort of combination often doesn’t lend itself to high-quality cinema. So I was wonderfully surprised when this turned out to be the best movie in the franchise. I like the first “A Quiet Place,” and I thought the sequel was fine, too. But “Day One,” which benefits from the work of “Pig” filmmaker Michael Sarnoski, is leaps and bounds better. It’s more meditative, more thoughtful, more melancholy. The monster movie stuff ends up being secondary to the story of a terminally ill woman (the wonderful Lupita Nyong’o) who teams up with a nervous guy (Joseph Quinn) to trek through New York just as all hell breaks loose. The stuff involving the monstrous aliens who are sensitive to sound is still there, and it’s enjoyable enough, but it’s the human drama at the heart of the movie that makes “Day One” something special. 

Streaming on Shudder.

In the mood for some gore? Then check out Rob Jabbaz’s ultraviolent “The Sadness.” While I suppose you could classify this as a zombie movie, the antagonists here aren’t the walking dead that we see in Romero’s movies. Instead, they’re more like folks infected with the rage virus in “28 Days Later.” Set in Taiwan, the film opens with news of the Alvin virus, a flu-like sickness that causes fits of violent rage in those infected. As the virus spreads, people go absolutely bonkers, unleashing a wave of gruesome violence across the city. In the midst of all of this, Jim (Berant Zhu) is trying to get to his girlfriend Kat (Regina Lei) while dodging murderous lunatics left and right. I want to be clear: “The Sadness” is unapologetically graphic and gruesome, and if that’s not your thing, you should definitely avoid this one like the plague. But if you’re in the mood for some splatter-punk grue, you’ll be impressed with the gore makeup effects on display here. 

Streaming on Netflix.

Jeff Nichols’ “Take Shelter” boasts an incredible performance from Michael Shannon, who plays Curtis, a guy from Ohio who begins having terrifying dreams. Curtis grows worried that the end of the world is approaching, while the people around him, including his wife (Jessica Chastain), begin to worry he’s losing his mind. Even Curtis isn’t sure what’s happening — we learn that his mother suffered from paranoid schizophrenia, and Curtis grows concerned that the mental disorder has been passed down. Then again … what if his nightmares and visions are right? What if the end really is near? Determined to protect his family, Curtis takes out a loan he can’t afford to build an underground shelter, all while alienating seemingly everyone in town. “Take Shelter” creates horror both through Curtis’ disturbing nightmares and from Shannon’s performance, which grows more unhinged throughout the course of the film. I’m not entirely sure how I feel about the final scene of the film, but everything leading up to that is genuinely effective and unnerving.