Starting with Beasts of No Nation and The Ridiculous 6 in 2015, Netflix has been releasing original films at an increasing rate. However, it wasn't until I Am the Pretty Thing That Lives in the House a year later that the streamer released an original horror movie.
Then the studio dove into adapting manga with Death Note and mixing comedy with horror for Little Evil before bringing a Stephen King story to life with the claustrophobic Metacritic.
The Perfection (2019): 60
Allison Williams (The Perfection as musical prodigy Charlotte, who seemingly begins to fear for her title after her doting instructor begins to give his attention to a new pupil. But in the end, his attention may not be all a student might hope for.
The Perfection earned comparable reviews from both critics and audience contributors. The former gave it a mixed score of 60, while the score was a hair higher at 6.1, which was enough to put it into the category of favorability.
Apostle (2018): 62
While not quite Apostle comes very close. The actor portrays Thomas Richardson (circa 1905), a man who must travel to an island to save his sister from a religious cult and its eccentric leader.
The Michael Sheen co-starring film is a rarity, as it holds identical scores from both critics and s. In other words, its Metascore is 62 while its score is 6.2. For those who enjoy Apostle, The Wicker Man (1974) could make for an excellent double feature, considering it holds universal acclaim and a Metacritic must-see badge.
Cargo (2018): 65
Starring Martin Freeman (The Hobbit trilogy, Black Panther), Cargo is a post-apocalyptic horror drama taking place after a viciously deadly pandemic. Freeman portrays the infected patriarch of a family who must find safety for his infant daughter before he's become fully rabid.
Whereas most movies tend to have higher scores than Metascores, Cargo takes the opposite path. As far as critical reception goes, the film received favorable reviews and a 65 Metascore. However, its score was exactly half a point lower at 6.0.
Nightbooks (2021): 65
A Nightbooks stars Krysten Ritter as Natacha, a witch with a penchant for kidnapping. Her latest target is her apartment complex neighbor Alex Mosher, a boy whose parents don't understand his love for horror writing. Fortunately for Mosher, Natacha likes this. However, if the child doesn't consistently prove useful, Natacha is unforgiving in the worst way possible.
Nightbooks did fairly well on Metacritic, receiving a 65 Metascore from critics and an ittedly lower 5.6 score from average joe contributors.
I Am The Pretty Thing That Lives In The House (2016): 68
Starring The Affair's Ruth Wilson and Bohemian Rhapsody's Lucy Boynton, I Am the Pretty Thing That Lives in the House certainly has a talented cast. Wilson portrays a live-in nurse who begins to encounter a ghost named Polly (Boynton).
It also had its professional fans when released, but not so much from the general public. While the film holds a Metascore of 68, it also holds a much lower score of 4.4, which indicates average viewer reviews as opposed to its favorable critical Metascore.
Fear Street Trilogy (2021): 67, 61, 68
Netflix gave R. L. Stine fans not one but three full-length, well-reviewed films. Interestingly enough, no two films of the trilogy are of the same sub-genre, but they're all connected by a centuries-old curse. Fear Street Part Three: 1666 takes on a period piece vibe like The Witch.
The R. L. Stine YA adaptation naturally received a varying response over the course of three films, but they ended up being fairly comparable. Fear Street Part One: 1994 received a Metascore of 67 and a lower score of 5.7. Fear Street Part Two: 1978 didn't do as well in of Metascoring (61), but it did receive a higher score (6.9). Lastly, Fear Street Part Three: 1666 did better than the other two films with a Metascore of 68. However, its score fell in the middle at 6.5.
1922 (2017): 70
Released the same year as fellow Stephen King adaptation 1922 features Thomas Jane in a powerhouse performance of intimidation and brute force. He portrays "Wilf" James, a Nebraska-based farmer who enlists his son (Henry) to commit murder. The target: the boy's own mother (Arlette), who both plans to sell the farm and openly opposes Henry's relationship with his girlfriend, Shannon.
The top-tier installment of the King adaptation resurgence received an impressive 70 Metascore, while its score was just a hair below at 6.8.
Cam (2018): 71
The Blumhouse co-produced The Handmaid's Tale) as Alice Ackerman, a camgirl who finds her taken over by a mysterious doppelgänger named Lola.
Cam's Metascore was a bit higher than the numerical representation of the audience response. On the former side, the film holds a 71, while the general public gave it a 6.4. Critics were quick to praise Brewer for her performance in the lead role, as well as the film's favoring of suspense over cheap scares.
Vampires Vs. The Bronx (2020): 76
Along with being one of Vampires vs. the Bronx also serves well as a horror film and holds a score that indicates as much. The Lorne Michaels-produced movie sees a group of vampires descend upon the Bronx, leaving a couple of teens as the best bet to bring them down.
The genre hybrid holds a very good Metascore of 76. With that being said, it's only based on five reviews. However, its score is based on 17, which is substantially lower at 4.6.
Gerald's Game (2017): 77
Mike Flanagan's Gerald's Game is widely seen as one of the better recent King adaptations, but a quick look at Reddit would reveal that many viewers took issue with one scene involving the wrist (which was actually portrayed fairly verbatim from the novel).
Flanagan's film did very well on Metacritic, but one score was noticeably higher than the other. On the critical side, it received a 77, but on the contributor side, it received a 6.6.
