Horror Movies to Watch With Your Friends: Horror movies have become the topic of discussion among many people, and for a good reason – they are great for bonding, understanding the horrors that real life might just present us and a way to learn important life skills if you ever find yourself looking at a ghost or a zombie! But in all seriousness, horror movies are a great way to snuggle up and get your heart pumping with your friends and family and then discuss afterwards what the protagonist could’ve done to survive their harrowing ordeal.

In this article, we discuss what happens when a group of friends get into a sticky situation that, well, might just end their lives. How do you survive such a situation? Whom do you trust? If you’re in the mood for something that will get your blood pumping and adrenaline rushing, then these horror movies to watch with your friends will be the perfect recipe for a spooky night in!

Horror Movies to Watch With Your Friends

Scream (1996)

Director: Wes Craven
Stars: David Arquette, Neve Campbell, Courteney Cox, Matthew Lillard, Rose McGowan, Skeet Ulrich, Drew Barrymore
Sub-genre: Slasher

Plot: In the small town of Woodsboro, California, student Sidney Prescott is going through some trauma of her own when an unknown caller starts to harass her. What started off as threatening calls, however, soon escalates to her friends being targeted one by one as the killer in a ghost mask slowly makes her way towards her.

This is it – the one that started it all. Well, not the genre itself but the movie that made the slasher genre what it is today – and for good reason! 1996’s Scream is a mammoth of a film that is thrilling, humorous, and the most self-aware horror movie to have ever graced our screens. It was preceded by other giants of the subgenre, including Halloween (1978), Friday the 13th (1980), and A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984). However, what differentiates this one from the rest of them, apart from its tight & fast-paced storyline, is the fact that the screenplay satirizes the cliches of the slasher genre in a unique and relatable way.

Thus, if you are thinking of horror movies to watch with your friends, you might want to watch (or rewatch!) this one since it’s all about friendship and overcoming adversities together.

Evil Dead (2013)

Director: Fede Álvarez
Stars: Jane Levy, Shiloh Fernandez, Lou Taylor Pucci, Jessica Lucas, Elizabeth Blackmore
Sub-genre: Supernatural Horror

Plot: A group of five friends find themselves in a cabin in the woods to help one of their friends to get over heroin addiction. Unfortunately, they figure out soon enough that the cabin has been the place of horrible evils that they invariably unleash into the world, resulting in not only them facing a deadly fate but also the rest of the world ending.

Although Evil Dead is a very popular franchise, I personally loved Fede Álvarez’s reimagining of 1981’s The Evil Dead by Sam Raimi. The practical effects are really believable and extremely well done, and the storyline, although a bit cliched at times, is thoroughly engaging and extremely scary. Jane Levy does a great job with her character, who starts off as a person fighting a drug addiction and ends up doing some really demented deadite acting. This one might just keep you awake at night.

#Alive (2020)

Director: Cho Il-hyung
Stars: Yoo Ah-in, Park Shin-hye
Sub-genre: Post-Apocalyptic Action Horror

Plot: When a zombie outbreak takes over Seoul, video game live streamer Oh Joon-woo finds it difficult to adapt in his tiny apartment alone. With resources running out and the streets getting quickly filled by zombies, he must do anything he can to survive. When things start to look bleak, however, he finds friendship and comfort in another person who is stranded, just like him.

#Alive is that movie which you watch when you are in the mood for some light-hearted but still thrilling zombie action. The practical effects of the zombies are just so great, and the heartbreak and desperation that Joon-woo feels while he tries to figure out how to survive is truly relatable (hello, pandemic). This fast-paced action horror should be on your horror movies to watch with your friends list if you’re in the mood for something thrilling but still fun.

Train to Busan (2016)

Director: Yeon Sang-ho
Stars: Gong Yoo, Jung Yu-mi, Ma Dong-seok, Kim Su-an, Choi Woo-shik, Ahn So-hee, Kim Eui-sung
Sub-genre: Post-Apocalyptic Action Horror

Plot: Cynical workaholic Seok-woo finds himself stranded with his young daughter on a high-speed train when the world around him starts to crumble thanks to a zombie outbreak. As he and the other passengers fight against a hoard of zombies, betrayals become rife among the survivors as they become more and more desperate.

Ok, I know we have two zombie movies on this list, but what can I say, these are just so entertaining to watch! South Korean horror film Train to Busan, however, is not just a thrilling and very effective horror movie, but it is also a very emotional one. Again landing the practical effects department, the movie is extremely effective thanks to where it takes place – inside a clamped and crowded space on a fast-moving train.

And if that wasn’t enough, we have betrayals and backstabbing to get you hooked on the characters and wish for their survival. If you are planning on horror movies to watch with your friends, this one will get the whole gang together to root for the protagonist!

The Call (2020)

Director: Lee Chung-hyun
Stars: Park Shin-hye, Jeon Jong-seo, Kim Sung-ryung, Lee El
Sub-genre: Psychological Thriller

Plot: Seo-yeon and Young-sook, two women belonging to completely different times, come into contact with each other thanks to a phone call. What starts out as an innocent friendship soon devolves into a harrowing story of anger, betrayal, jealousy and murderous rage as their fates collide and change forever.

With a bunch of talented actors who nail every moment that they appear on-screen, this psychological horror/thriller will keep you at the edge of your seat till the very last moment. It’s extremely violent sometimes and will give you nightmares by the end of it. However, the main selling point of this movie is the fact that it is just so creepy and the twists that the film comes up with are truly entertaining and helps to keep the thrill alive. Plus, I think it would be very difficult for anyone to make new friends after this!

Midsommar (2019)

Director: Ari Aster
Stars: Florence Pugh, Jack Reynor, William Jackson Harper, Vilhelm Blomgren, Ellora Torchia, Archie Madekwe, Will Poulter
Sub-genre: Folk Horror

Plot: After her sister commits murder-suicide, a distraught Dani is left shattered. Trying to gain support from her long-term boyfriend Christian but getting stone-walled at every moment, the disfunctional couple, along with his friends, travel to Sweden to attend a midsummer festival. What starts off as a fun psychedelic-fuelled trip turns out deadlier than any of them ever expected!

I know that a lot of people don’t like this film but if you and your friends are fans of psychological horror and are fascinated (and a bit creeped out) by cults as we are then Ari Aster’s folk horror will be the one for you. It’s tense and uncomfortable atmosphere, a breathtaking performance by Florence Pugh, the bloody and progressively insane situations by the cult and the ease with which they lure a traumatised and lonely girl into their clutches will definitely send shivers down anyone’s spine.

Incantation (2022)

Director: Kevin Ko
Stars: Tsai Hsuan-yen, Huang Sin-ting, Kao Ying-hsuan, Sean Lin, RQ
Sub-genre: Found-Footage Supernatural Horror

Plot: Following a non-linear storyline, Li Ronan is a mother who is seen desperately trying to lift a curse on her daughter Dodo. The curse in question is one that she stumbled upon years ago and one that resulted in her losing custody of Dodo after her birth. As she desperately tries to handle the consequences of her actions 6 years ago, her motivations become increasingly convoluted and things just don’t seem like what they appear.

This movie is by-far the creepiest of the lot and a horror movie list would be remiss without a found footage entry. That being said, Incantation balances found-footage and supernatural elements superbly and makes the viewers comfortable with Ronan’s journey as we are asked to pray for her young daughter’s safety. Unfortunately, as we learn more about her and her motivations, it becomes clear that things are not what they seem and in the end, you are met with the truth that will leave you thoroughly creeped out. It’s 2022’s most engaging and eerie film and the way it is shot, along with its deeper connotations and symbolism will leave you feeling thoroughly entranced.

And that’s our list of horror movies to watch with your friends. Do you have a favourite movie from this list? Let us know in the comments below!

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