The only bad thing we can say about The Fall of the House of Usher, Netflix’s latest horror series from master of the art Mike Flanagan, is that we wish there was more of it. And a lot of other people felt the same way – it’s the second most-watched English-language show on Netflix this week, since it launched. It was beaten only by the David Beckham documentary, which is quite a different proposition (and horrific to some in its own way).
If you too have binged every episode of Usher, there are plenty more stellar and spooky shows on Netflix that we think you’ll adore too – and if Usher was your first Mike Flanagan show, you’re going to love what else he’s made for the streamer.
Come with us for some seriously scary shows that have much more to offer than jump scares and fake blood – and don’t forget to also check out our guide to 13 great new horror movies that landed on Netflix, Hulu and more in October 2023.
Red Rose
Originally broadcast on the UK’s BBC Three, Red Rose has an unbeatable 100% from the critics on Rotten Tomatoes. And no wonder: it’s terrifically timely terror, a tale of teens who download a mysterious app called Red Rose and soon regret it. It’s a more horrific Black Mirror, a tale not just of teens in peril but of grief, peer pressure and the siren song of social media, and it’s exceptionally stressful: this is a real edge-of-the-seat show.
As Shannon Connellan writes in Mashable, “Red Rose takes the time to examine serious themes of grief, death, class, family, friendship, and early adulthood, all while our protagonists endure a tech–fuelled nightmare that will make you want to throw your phone in the sea.”
Dark
Dark is based on one of the most horrifying things imaginable: the disappearance of children. There are three thrilling, bewildering and sometimes terrifying seasons of the show available to stream, with the already impressive 90% Rotten Tomatoes rating for season one rising to a perfect 100% in the second.
If you watched French ghost story The Returned you’ll have some idea of what to expect in terms of the hushed atmosphere and often unbearable tension, but while the quality here is just as good, the show is a very different proposition that mixes not just real-world drama and scares but also multiple timelines and some speculative fiction too. Reviews have variously referenced Stranger Things, Twin Peaks, Lost and UK drama The Missing… but Dark is very much its own thing.
The Haunting of Hill House
Created by the same Mike Flanagan of Fall of the House of Usher, this is my favorite of all the Flanagan series on Netflix. Based on the novel by Shirley Jackson, it’s the story of a family who grows up in American’s most famous haunted house, and who return to it as distinctly dysfunctional adults. There are lots of ghosts here, and not all of them are of the spooky variety – although there are plenty of scares here too. In its review, Collider said that “The Haunting of Hill House is both an absolutely terrifying ghost story, but it’s also an emotionally devastating familial drama. And it’s one of the best shows Netflix has released thus far.” It’s still up there with the very best.
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