9 Horror Films Adapted From Books To Stream On Netflix In July
We all lead busy lives, so sometimes reading a full book isn’t practical.
That’s why we’ve compiled a list of the best horror movies on Netflix that are based on novels. We’ve also included movies inspired by short stories, manga, and other works that fit within the spirit of paperback storytelling.
1. Malevolent (2018)
Director: Olaf de Fleur | Runtime: 88 minutes
Based on: Hush (2011) by Eva Konstantopoulos
A brother and sister team of scammers posing as genuine paranormal investigators take a job that will forever change their lives in the supernatural horror movie Malevolent.
2. The Ritual (2017)
Director: David Bruckner | Runtime: 94 minutes
Based on: The Ritual (2011) by Adam Nevill
The Ritual is an insidious folk horror movie with exceptionally strong characters and conflict. It is a movie about the fracturing of a friend group first, and about the horrors contained in the Swedish wilderness second.
3. Homunculus (2021)
Director: Takashi Shimizu | Runtime: 116 minutes
Based on: the manga Homunculus (2003-2011) by Hideo Yamamoto
After a homeless man, Susumi Nokoshi (Go Ayano), undergoes an experimental surgery, he begins to see people as distorted versions of themselves when he closes his right eye. Homunculus is more of a psychological thriller than horror, but Japanese director Takashi Shimizu includes some horror elements for good measure.
4. Bird Box Barcelona (2023)
Director: Álex Pastor, David Pastor | Available starting July 14
Based on: Bird Box Barcelona is a spinoff sequel to the movie Bird Box (2018) which was based on the novel Bird Box (2014) by Josh Malerman.
Bird Box Barcelona promises a similar kind of apocalyptic and cosmic horror as the first Bird Box movie, but with a production set in Spain and created by Spanish filmmakers, it could provide a completely new take on the subject.
5. The Fear Street Trilogy (2021)
Director: Leigh Janiak | Runtime: 331 minutes total
Based on: the Fear Street series of books by R.L. Stine
The Fear Street movies are R-rated horror movies that feel a lot like throwbacks to teen slasher flicks ranging from the late 1970s to the 1990s. The trilogy takes a trip back to the 1600s for a witch-hunt movie towards the finale, but the overall slasher feel of this well-made supernatural horror series sticks around to the end.
6. Gerald’s Game (2017)
Director: Mike Flanagan | Runtime: 103 minutes
Based on: Gerald’s Game (1992) by Stephen King
Lauded horror filmmaker Mike Flanagan directed this adaptation of Stephen King’s novel which many people thought was unfilmable. As always, Flanagan did great work, making Gerald’s Game a supremely unsettling experience.
7. The Pale Blue Eye (2022)
Director: Scott Cooper | Runtime: 130 minutes
Based on: The Pale Blue Eye (2006) by Louis Bayard
Though it is more of a detective movie than a horror movie, the specifics of the crimes in The Pale Blue Eye veer it in the direction of horror at times.
8. No One Gets Out Alive (2021)
Director: Santiago Menghini | Runtime: 87 minutes
Based on: No One Gets Out Alive (2014) by Adam Nevill
An undocumented immigrant, Ambar (Cristina Rodlo) finds there is no escape from the horror, both supernatural and disturbingly human, when she begins her stay at a haunted boarding house.
9. The Influence (2019)
Director: Denis Rovira van Boekholt | Runtime: 102 minutes
Based on: The Influence (1988) by Ramsey Campbell
In The Influence, Alicia (Manuela Vellés) and her family move into her childhood home to help her sister take care of their dying mother. As Alicia struggles in this new phase of her life, she also struggles with her family’s history which includes witchcraft.