Serial killers in cinema have always terrified us, not just for their brutality, but for how they reflect the darkest corners of human psychology. Whether inspired by real-life figures or invented entirely in fiction, these films and series use murder not merely as a plot but as a lens to explore obsession, guilt, charisma, and fear. From the masked mayhem of Scream VI to the icy restraint of Watcher, this movie list gathers titles currently streaming on Netflix that dig into the minds of serial killers — and those who survive them. These aren’t just slashers; they’re portraits of violence and its ripple effects.
1. Scream VI (2023)
Scream VI stretches the meta-slasher franchise into bloodier, bolder terrain by taking the Ghostface killings to New York City. This time, it’s not just the violence but the legacy that haunts. The film leans into generational trauma, genre awareness, and urban anonymity as a fresh kind of terror. Melissa Barrera and Jenna Ortega hold their own amid returning faces, and directors Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett orchestrate brutal, theatrical kills. While not as narratively sharp as Craven’s original, it’s a clever meditation on horror fandom and franchise fatigue.
2. Watcher (2022)
Chloe Okuno’s Watcher is a slow-burn psychological thriller that toys with isolation, gendered paranoia, and urban displacement. Set in Bucharest, the film places Maika Monroe’s Julia at its center — a lonely expatriate who grows convinced that a stranger across the street is watching her. It begins as a Rear Window homage but quickly deepens into an unnerving exploration of gaslighting and invisibility. The fear doesn’t just come from outside the apartment; it emerges from how easily others dismiss her warnings. With taut pacing and elegant restraint, the film crafts a modern anxiety piece through the lens of psychological horror.
3. Texas Chainsaw Massacre (2022)
This modern reboot/sequel to the 1974 horror classic doesn’t carry the grit or cultural anxiety of the original, but it serves its purpose as a gory spectacle. Set decades after Leatherface’s original rampage, the film brings influencers and gentrifiers to a ghost town, only to be shredded by old trauma — quite literally. While the screenplay lacks depth, the violence is unrelenting, and the camera lingers just long enough to make you wince. It’s more massacre than message, but that might be the point in a legacy-slasher era.
4. Creep (2014)
Patrick Brice’s Creep strips horror down to its most intimate and unsettling form. Mark Duplass is terrifyingly good as Josef, a man who hires a videographer to document his “final days,” only for the project to dissolve into something manipulative, off-kilter, and deeply menacing. Shot in a faux-doc style, the film thrives on performance and discomfort — a minimalist horror that burrows into the viewer’s nerves. It’s about boundary violations and performative vulnerability, and Duplass’s tonal mastery makes this a study in sociopathic charm.
5. Woman of the Hour (2023)
In Woman of the Hour, Anna Kendrick directs and stars in a film based on the true story of Rodney Alcala, a convicted serial killer who once appeared — and won — on a televised dating show. The film walks a delicate tightrope between dark irony and real-life horror, capturing a society that aired charm while missing the danger beneath. Kendrick’s direction is understated but effective, using the absurdity of the setup to explore how we socially perform innocence, and how often charisma obscures cruelty.
6. Psycho (1960)
There’s little left unsaid about Hitchcock’s Psycho, but its relevance still pulses. More than just the slasher prototype, Psycho is a masterclass in misdirection, taboo-breaking, and psychological terror. Anthony Perkins delivers a career-defining performance as Norman Bates, a man fractured by guilt and maternal fixation. The infamous shower scene isn’t just shock — it’s a cultural turning point. Even now, the film evokes discomfort not because of gore, but because it teaches you how fragile sanity is, and how quickly it can be staged.
Also, Read – The 20 Best Movies of Alfred Hitchcock
7. Heart Eyes (2023)
Heart Eyes is a slasher film dressed in neon-red menace and dating-app dread. The masked killer, whose heart-shaped lenses hide a leering gaze, functions as a metaphor for the predatory loneliness of digital romance. While the film indulges in genre convention — bloody kills, screaming final girls — its real horror lies in the banality of evil. It’s not subtle, but it doesn’t need to be. In a world where vulnerability is commodified in swipes, Heart Eyes makes literal the fear that someone’s watching you — and they liked what they saw.
8. Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile (2019)
Zac Efron surprises in this dramatized retelling of Ted Bundy’s crimes, not because he channels evil, but because he masks it so well. The film reframes the narrative through the eyes of Bundy’s long-time partner, Liz, played with quiet devastation by Lily Collins. Instead of leaning into gore or courtroom dramatics, it shows the insidiousness of charisma and how denial can bind us to monsters. It’s less a horror film and more a portrait of complicity — of how evil doesn’t always wear a mask.
9. There’s Someone Inside Your House (2021)
This Netflix original attempts to merge Scream-style slasher tropes with Gen Z confessional culture. Set in a Nebraska high school, students are hunted by a killer exposing their darkest secrets. The hook is promising — sins made viral — but the film struggles between moralizing and mayhem. Still, its sleek production and diverse cast offer enough novelty, and at its best, it asks a tough question: what if your worst mistake became your obituary?
10. I Know What You Did Last Summer (1997)
This post-Scream classic delivers more than just glossy slasher thrills — it defines late-’90s teenage horror with polished, formulaic suspense. Four teens cover up a fatal accident, only to find themselves stalked by a relentless, hook-wielding figure in a chilling tale where guilt takes ghostly form. Jennifer Love Hewitt and Sarah Michelle Gellar lead with emotional immediacy, and while the film’s metaphors are simple, its message is chilling: you can bury a body, but not the consequences.
