The Best Horror Movies on Paramount Plus (Paramount+) in December 2024

Why Watch It? Smile was good. Smile 2 might be better. This sequel takes the basic format of the first film and twists it into something that is unrelentingly tense. Also, Naomi Scott is brilliant as a pop star with a dark past and an even darker present.

Official Description: About to start her world tour, global pop sensation Skye Riley (Naomi Scott) begins experiencing terrifying and inexplicable events. As lines blur between reality and nightmare, Skye is forced to face her past before her life spirals out of control.

Why Watch It? For a story that didn’t need a prequel, Apartment 7A is good on its own as a spooky movie that echoes a classic.

Official Description: When a struggling, young dancer suffers a devastating injury, she finds herself drawn in by dark forces when a peculiar, well-connected, older couple promises her a shot at fame.

Why Watch It? While not as emotionally resonant as the previous A Quiet Place movies (especially the first one), this prequel does have a good story, tense action, and more than enough thrills to make it a worthy addition to the franchise.

Official Description: When New York City comes under attack from an alien invasion, a woman and other survivors try to find a way to safety. They soon learn that they must remain absolutely silent as the mysterious creatures are drawn to the slightest sound.

Why Watch It? Talk to Me has a great story to go along with its insidiously creepy scares.

Official Description: A group of friends unleash supernatural forces with an embalmed hand.

Why Watch It? Horror westerns are a rare sight these days, though Organ Trail may be better described as a grueling thriller rather than a straightforward horror movie.

Official Description: A ruthless band of bloodthirsty bandits terrorizes a family on the treacherous Oregon Trail, and challenge’s one woman’s will to survive.

Why Watch It? Moving to New York City helps Scream VI feel fresh, though the movie itself will feel comfortably familiar for longtime fans. The kills are brutal, and the continuation of Sam (Melissa Barrera) and Tara’s (Jenna Ortega) story is well done.

Official Description: The four survivors from the most recent Woodsboro Ghostface killings have moved to New York City for a fresh start. Just as they begin to feel a sense of normalcy, they receive that infamous call. Ghostface is more brutal and relentless than ever and will stop at nothing to hunt them down.

Why Watch It? Significant Other is a sci-fi survival movie that is built around interesting characters. Well acted and tense, it is a gem of a movie that might have gotten overlooked by many people since it came out in 2022 among LOTS of great horror and thriller films.

Official Description: Follows a young couple who take a remote backpacking trip through the Pacific Northwest and face sinister events leading them to realize that everything about the place is not as it seems.

Why Watch It? Smile is a psychological horror movie that has become a viral sensation and the highest grossing horror movie of 2022.

Official Description: Smile follows Dr. Rose Cotter (Sosie Bacon), a psychiatrist working in a psych ward, who has a traumatic experience with a patient. Afterwards, Rose begins experiencing a terrifying supernatural phenomena.

Why Watch It? Mia Goth absolutely shines in Pearl as a young woman with darkness inside her. As a prequel to Ti West’s X, Pearl is quite different, but feels like it fits in perfectly with the saga of its title character.

Official Description: Trapped on her family’s isolated farm, Pearl must tend to her ailing father under the bitter and overbearing watch of her devout mother. Lusting for a glamorous life like she’s seen in the movies, Pearl’s ambitions, temptations, and repressions all collide in the stunning, technicolor-inspired origin story of X‘s iconic villain.

Why Watch It? Bodies, Bodies, Bodies is a darkly funny murder mystery. It’s not really a slasher movie like some descriptions suggest. It’s really more akin to an Agatha Christie story told through the filter of its (mostly) Gen Z characters.

Official Description: A group of 20-somethings get stuck at a remote family mansion during a hurricane, and a party game ends with a dead body on the ground and fingers pointed everywhere.

Why Watch It? “If you’ve ever been a fan of a Scream movie and haven’t seen Scream (2022) yet, you should. It’s also a good jumping-on point for people new to the franchise.” — Chris Catt, Best Horror Movies of 2022

Official Description: Twenty-five years after a streak of brutal murders shocked the quiet town of Woodsboro, a terrifying new killer resurrects the Ghostface mask. As the deaths mount, Woodsboro’s new targets must seek help from the survivors of the original Ghostface attacks. Now, only Sidney Prescott (Neve Campbell), former sheriff Dewey Riley (David Arquette), and reporter Gale Weathers (Courteney Cox) can find a way to stop the killer when everyone is a suspect.

Why Watch It? This Paramount Original movie was panned by critics. However if you pay for Paramount+, and are a fan of the Paranormal Activity franchise, it’s worth watching for the interesting cinematography. Otherwise just watch the original Paranormal Activity movies that all stream here.

Official Description: A documentary filmmaker follows Margot (Emily Bader), as she heads to a secluded Amish community in the hopes of meeting and learning about her long-lost mother and extended family. Following a string of strange occurrences and discoveries, she soon realizes this community that welcomed them into their home might be hiding something sinister…

Why Watch It? Have you seen a sensory-deprivation horror movie yet? No. Then watch A Quiet Place and experience an innovative new take on the horror/alien genre.

Official Description: If they hear you, they hunt you. In this terrifyingly suspenseful thriller, a family must navigate their lives in silence to avoid mysterious creatures that hunt by sound. Knowing that even the slightest whisper or footstep can bring death, Evelyn (Emily Blunt) and Lee (John Krasinski) Abbott are determined to find a way to protect their children at all costs while they desperately search for a way to fight back. Hailed by critics and audiences around the world, experience the must-see movie of the year.

* = Requires additional Showtime subscription.

• December 1
  • Cujo (1983)*
  • Disturbia (2007)
  • The Exorcist (1973)
  • Fear (1996)
  • The Monster Squad (1987)*
  • Rings (2017)*
  • Rosemary’s Baby (1968)*
  • The Uninvited (2009)*
  • Zodiac (2007)*
• December 31
  • Backcountry (2014)*