The Last House
Courtesy of Netflix
The Last House is putting up big viewing hours on Netflix, planting itself at the #1 spot on the service’s top 10 movie list since release. That is despite having abysmal scores from both critics and audiences, a 27% and a 28% on Rotten Tomatoes, respectively. Even in the field of lackluster Netflix originals, that is extremely poor. Those takes are correct. I watched the movie out of morbid curiosity, and you can read my recent review to see why I think it really is that bad.
The good news is that despite The Last House being a huge miss, there are many, many other horror movies currently on Netflix that you can watch instead. And I would very much recommend doing so, no matter if the algorithm is putting the movie on top of your scroll screen or not. I’m going to avoid obvious classics here, but my recommendations are:
The Ritual – This is one of the oldest Netflix original horror movies I can even remember, debuting way back in 2017. It also remains one of the service’s best. After a tragedy, friends hike through the woods before they stumble upon something truly evil, and it has one of the best creature designs I’ve seen in this genre to date. Do not, however, confuse this with The Ritual from 2025, an extremely awful exorcism movie with Al Pacino.
A Quiet Place Day One – I really did not think that a Quiet Place prequel had any chance at all of being good, particularly forgoing the original cast and moving to an entirely different timeline. I was wrong. This is easily the best of the three, with incredible performances from recent Helen of Troy Lupita Nyong’o and Stranger Things rocker and new Fantastic Four member Joseph Quinn in a role that really made me appreciate him as an actor. Moving, unusual, thrilling film.
His House – It may have flown under the radar for many, but it is one of the most well-reviewed horror movies in history, a perfect 100% Rotten Tomatoes score from 128 critic reviews. That just does not happen. It follows a refugee couple who have fled the horrors of their home country, the war-torn Sudan, only to discover evil has followed them to their new home. Gripping and devastating.
28 Years Later: The Bone Temple
Sony
28 Years Later/28 Years Later: The Bone Temple – I suppose I have to recommend these as a pair. I think that The Bone Temple is the superior film, and it is one of the best horror movies of the year, but I would watch the pair of them. This is an all-time great performance from Ralph Fiennes and The Bone Temple in particular features some of the best villains I’ve seen in the zombie genre. No, they aren’t zombies.
Host – You want a weird one? This is a weird one. Set (and filmed) during the 2020 COVID lockdown, friends get online to conduct a virtual séance, and things go very wrong, as you might expect. It’s filmed entirely over Zoom, and is reminiscent of another favorite of mine, Unfriended. Skeptical? Well, it’s got a 98% Rotten Tomatoes score
I promise, promise that all of these are way better than The Last House, no matter where it’s placed on the top 10 list. You won’t regret listening to me here.
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