If you're in the mood for a good scare but don't know where to start, Amazon Prime Video's got you covered. The streaming service's extensive library includes classics like The Blair Witch Project (1999) and An American Werewolf in London (1981) and even more recent horror gems like Hereditary (2018) and Don't Breathe (2016). To further narrow down the list, here are five great women-led horror films currently streaming on the platform:
Australian photojournalist Clare (Teresa Palmer), on vacation in Berlin, meets the charming teacher Andi (Max Riemelt) who woos her with strawberries and his accent, takes her back to his place for a one-night stand and then, terrifyingly, doesn't let her leave. Set almost entirely in one apartment, with its bolted doors and double-paned windows, director Cate Shortland's unsettling film preys on very real fears — that what appears to be a gushing romance for one member of a couple could well be a hostage thriller for the other.
Kids can be cruel. Married couple Kate (Vera Farmiga) and John (Peter Sarsgaard) find that out the hard way when they adopt nine-year-old Esther (Isabelle Furhman) from the local orphanage. Her past is shrouded in mystery, masking a violent streak that leaves behind a trail of hurt in this chilling, smartly crafted film directed by Jaume Collet-Serra.
The idyllic lives of a woman (Jennifer Lawrence) and her older, well-known partner (Javier Bardem) are disrupted when his fanatical admirers keep turning up at their house, in this relentlessly unnerving Darren Aronofsky film that's part Biblical allegory, part commentary on the inherently selfish nature of artists and part home-invasion thriller. In the film's 121-minute runtime, 66 feature Lawrence's face in close-up — the increasing horror in her eyes is almost as frightening as what unfolds in front of her.
A mother's grief grows to monstrous proportions in director Jennifer Kent's haunting debut feature. The film follows the recently widowed Amelia (Essie Davis), whose mounting frustration at not being able to adequately parent her young son is compounded by a strange, malevolent presence in the house. She soon discovers that the two might be more interlinked than she thought.
Director Luca Guadgino makes the big twist of the 1977 Italian film the explosive starting point of its 2018 remake, trading high camp for a slow-burn eeriness and grotesque scenes of body horror that are no less effective than the original. The film stars Dakota Johnson as an American dancer who enrolls at a prestigious Berlin dance academy that gradually turns out to be a front for something much more sinister.
Recommendations in collaboration with Amazon Prime Video.