10 horror hidden gems on Netflix

You may not have heard of these horror movies before, but they’re guaranteed to blow your mind (and keep you up at night).

For some horror fans, October is a struggle. It’s the best time of year to kick back with a flick you’ve never seen before, one that will leave you jumping at shadows for days to come. But despite the vast quantity of horror movies out there, finding new ones that will really get you—especially out of Netflix’s more limited selection—is a tough gourd to crack.

Admittedly, horror can be a pretty formulaic genre. For every quality horror smash out there there’s at least ten other run of the mill write-offs that manage to scare a few people and then fade into obscurity. But amidst the chaff of carbon-copy scares, sometimes a few genuinely good ones end up slipping through the cracks. Whether they’re foreign, arty, or just didn’t quite catch the public eye, there’s a whole slew of top-notch horror movies out there just waiting to be discovered.

Many of these movies are not your typical horror fare. Some are slow-burns, with building atmospheres of dread that go from unnerving to positively suffocating. Others use horror to explore more complex themes, while never sacrificing the fear factor. Some are straight-up beautiful—and all are straight-up scary.

So get the kettle corn popping, break into the Halloween candy a few weeks early, and check out this list of horror diamonds in the rough. Your new favorite horror movie awaits.