9 Black Horror Movies (And Where You Can Stream Them)
If the Black character always dies first in a horror movie, what happens when all the main characters are Black?
February is Black History Month and there’s no better way to celebrate any holiday than watching horror movies. This list compiles some of the best Black horror movies and where you can stream them in February 2025.
Candyman (1992)
Streaming on: Peacock
Description: Chicago grad student Helen (Virginia Madsen) is researching urban legends and stumbles across the legend of the “Candyman,” an entity who is said to appear if you say his name in front of a mirror five times. Residents of the Cabrini-Green housing project report sightings of the Candyman and when Helen investigates she learns that gangs use the legend as a way to intimidate people. When Helen discredits the Candyman myth, the real Candyman appears to her and says he now needs to kill again in order to keep the legend alive.
Tales from the Hood (1995)
Streaming on: Starz
Description: A horror comedy anthology about police corruption, domestic abuse, systemic racism and gang violence. Each of the stories are told through narration by a mortician, Mr. Simms (Clarence Williams III), who tells scary stories to three drug dealers at his funeral home.
Get Out (2017)
Streaming on: video on demand (buy/rent)
Description: This psychological horror movie was written and directed by Jordan Peele in his directorial debut. Chris (Daniel Kaluuya) and Rose (Allison Williams), an interracial couple, travel to Upstate New York to visit Rose’s family for the first time. While Chris notices that Rose’s family and friends seem strange, he is polite and just tries to make it through the trip. Unfortunately, Rose’s family has other ideas.
Us (2019)
Streaming on: video on demand
Description: Oscar-winner Lupita Nyong’o stars as the matriarch of a vacationing family who are attacked and pursued by their doppelgängers, known as the “Tethered”. The doppelgängers wish to murder their counterparts and commandeer their lives. This movie was another critical and commercial success for Jordan Peele, Us made $256 million against a budget of $20 million.
His House (2020)
Streaming on: Netflix
Description: This Netflix horror movie directed by Remi Weekes follows refugee couple Rial (Wunmi Mosaku) and Bol (Sope Dirisu). They relocate to Britain following a treacherous journey from South Sudan. Though the home they are given is dilapidated and the couple faces racism in their neighborhood, they must stay quiet or face deportation. The couple begin to see apparitions of their deceased daughter and a man in their home but are not believed by their case worker.
Candyman (2021)
Streaming on: Prime Video
Description: This spiritual sequel to Candyman (1992) was directed and co-written by Nia DaCosta with Jordan Peele co-writing and executive producing. The story picks up in 2019 Chicago where the legend of Candyman endures — though Cabrini Green has now been gentrified into a luxury apartment building. Artist Anthony McCoy (Yahya Abdul-Mateen II) explores the Candyman urban legend through his art.
Master (2022)
Streaming on: Prime Video
Description: Regina Hall stars in this psychological drama horror movie as Gail Bishop, the first black master (a kind of head of house at some colleges) at an elite New England university. With the legend of a witch’s ghost haunting the school, a new freshman, Jasmine Moore (Zoe Renee), seems to suffer both from a haunting in her dorm room and grudge from a professor. Gail observes Jasmine’s troubles and makes an unsettling discovery about her colleague and the school as a whole.
Nope (2022)
Streaming on: video on demand
Description: Nope is a masterful bit of storytelling from Jordan Peele about a brother and sister, OJ (Daniel Kaluuya) and Em (Keke Palmer), who inherit a failing family ranch near Los Angeles. While struggling to stay afloat, the two notice a UFO and make a plan to get rich by capturing evidence of the UFO and selling it to a reputable outlet like Oprah. A neighboring ranch owned by former child star Ricky “Jupe” Park (Steven Yeun) has also noticed the UFO and hosts shows for guests to see the “spectacle”.
The Blackening (2023)
Streaming on: Starz
Description: The Blackening is a slasher comedy that asks the question: If the Black character always dies first in a horror movie, what happens when all the main characters are Black? The story is about a group of friends getting together for a reunion while celebrating Juneteenth at an isolated cabin in the woods. After discovering a… questionable board game in the basement of the cabin, the friends find themselves in a fight for their lives as they are questioned, stalked, and attacked throughout the night by an unknown killer.
