The best horror and sci-fi films to stream on Paramount+

Pre-game this year's spooky season with Paramount+'s extensive filmography of some of the best sci-fi and horror films around. These movies can plunge you into an abyss of transformers and demons, or travel out of this world on an intergalactic quest for more evolved planets. Whether you're watching solo or with a significant other, the titles on this list are sure to evoke smiles, screams, and get your heart racing. If you feel brave enough to embark on a journey into dark and unknown territories, here are the best sci-fi and horror films to stream on Paramount+.

<i>10 Cloverfield Lane</i> (2016)

Released eight years after the first Cloverfield movie attacked theaters, 10 Cloverfield Lane takes a more psychological — and minimalist — approach to the sci-fi horror franchise. Michelle (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) awakens after a car accident to find herself injured and chained to a wall inside a bunker. Her captor (or savior, depending on who you ask), Howard (John Goodman), explains that Earth has been attacked, the outside world is poisonous and uninhabitable, and the only way to survive is to remain in the bunker with him and his fellow doomsday roomie, Emmett (John Gallagher Jr.) for the next few years. Slowly, Michelle begins to adapt to life underground — until she discovers clues that suggest that Howard may not have been honest with her about the world's circumstances. The second of three films in the franchise — with The Cloverfield Paradox following in 2018 — 10 Cloverfield Lane is only tangentially related to its predecessor, but the film's lean cast and terse plot make it an entertaining addition to the series. — Ilana Gordon

Where to watch 10 Cloverfield Lane: Paramount+

EW grade: B (read the review)

Director: Dan Trachtenberg 

Cast: Mary Elizabeth Winstead, John Goodman, John Gallagher Jr.

Related content: 10 Cloverfield Lane Bradley Cooper cameo

<i>A Quiet Place</i> (2018)

The Office alum John Krasinski's blockbuster directorial and writing debut follows the Abbott family as they navigate a post-apocalyptic world where sound-motivated bloodthirsty aliens rule. Unlike most modern films, A Quiet Place employs minimal dialogue, preferring to convey story and build tension through the vacuum of silence and ambient noise that serve as the movie's soundtrack.

Well-deserving of its Oscar nomination for Best Sound Editing (and arguably overlooked for nominations in the writing, directing, and acting categories) A Quiet Place was a critical hit when it premiered in 2018, prompting the release of A Quiet Place Part II in 2021, with casting announced on a third movie in the fall of 2022. — — I.G. 

Where to watch A Quiet Place: Paramount+

EW grade: B+ (read the review)

Director: John Krasinski 

Cast: John Krasinski, Emily Blunt, Millicent Simmonds, Noah Jupe, Cade Woodward 

Related content: Stranger Things breakout Joseph Quinn will keep running from monsters in A Quiet Place spin-off

<i>Bumblebee</i> (2018)

The first film in the Transformers universe to be centered around a teenage girl's perspective, 2018's Bumblebee is the sixth installment in the long-running sci-fi action franchise. Set in California in 1987, the movie tells the story of Bumblebee who is sent to Earth by Optimus Prime to defend the planet from the Decepticons. After suffering major injuries during a battle, Bumblebee transforms into a Volkswagen Beetle — only to be discovered and repaired by Charlie Watson (Hailee Steinfeld), a teenager still reeling from the recent death of her father.

With the fate of the world resting on Bumblebee's metal shoulders, the transformer and Charlie team up to protect Earth from the Decepticons and Agent Burns (John Cena), the head of a secret agency tasked with helping to protect the planet from hostile extraterrestrials. Laden with fun '80s pop culture references and offering more humor and heart than previous chapters of the franchise, Bumblebee is half sci-fi film, half buddy cop comedy between a teenager and a transformer. — I.G.    

Where to watch Bumblebee: Paramount+

EW grade: B+ (read the review)

Director: Travis Knight

Talent: Hailee Steinfeld, John Cena, Jorge Lendeborg Jr., John Ortiz, Jason Drucker, Pamela Adlon

Related reading: A rundown of all the Transformers in that opening Bumblebee battle

<i>Galaxy Quest</i> (2000)

One of the first comedies to pay homage to the legion of sci-fi diehards that flooded the early internet, Dean Parisot's hilarious Galaxy Quest stars Tim Allen and Sigourney Weaver as the senescent stars of a bygone Star Trek-like phenomenon who are unwittingly swept up in an honest-to-god space adventure. The intergalactic Thermians, thinking Allen's Jason Nesmith and Weaver's Gwen DeMarco are truly the characters they play on TV, are relying on these conceited actors to save them from an all-too-real adversary. By positing the aliens as fans and offering these performers a real moment to be heroes, Galaxy Quest both satirizes and celebrates fandom, acknowledging the genuine impact fictional touchstones ultimately have on their most devoted consumers. — Randall Colburn

Where to watch Galaxy Quest: Paramount+

EW grade: A- (read the review)

Director: Dean Parisot

Cast: Tim Allen, Sigourney Weaver, Alan Rickman, Sam Rockwell, Tony Shalhoub, Justin Long, Rainn Wilson, Missi Pyle

Related content: Sigourney Weaver's Space Odyssey

<i>Interstellar</i> (2014)

In the year 2067, the question of "what are we going to eat tonight" becomes slightly more pressing as a famine sweeps the globe. Determined to cast a wider net in humanity's search for sustenance, a group of NASA scientists travel to space to investigate three planets that could potentially prove hospitable for humans.

A film by Christopher Nolan, Interstellar is a sci-fi drama that doubles as a love story between a father (Matthew McConaughey) and his daughter (played at different points by Mackenzie Foy, Jessica Chastain, and Ellen Burstyn). In the grand Nolan tradition, Interstellar fools around with time and space, but it's the film's visuals that prove most revelatory. "Christopher Nolan would be derelict if he didn't take gargantuan risks," EW's reviewer writes. "It's good for us that he does." — I.G.

Where to watch Interstellar: Paramount+

EW grade: B- (read the review)

Director: Christopher Nolan

Talent: Matthew McConaughey, Anne Hathaway, Jessica Chastain, Bill Irwin, Ellen Burstyn, Mackenzie Foy, Michael Caine

Related reading: The stars of Interstellar get quizzed on all things outer space in 'True or False'

<i>Mimic</i> (1997)

Entomophobics beware: Mimic is a living recreation of your nightmares, only with a better plot. The B in this B-movie stands for bugs, the kind created by entomologist Dr. Susan Tyler (Mira Sorvino) in an attempt to cure a deadly disease plaguing New York City's children. Three years after the illness has been eradicated and the bugs have allegedly died out, Dr. Tyler discovers they are in fact still alive, thriving in tunnels under the city. In even worse news, the bugs have mutated in such a way that they are capable of mimicking human behavior — making them more than a match for their above-ground prey. Working alongside her husband Dr. Peter Mann (Jeremy Northam), director of the CDC, Dr. Tyler must find a way to keep the creepy crawlies from continuing to breed, or risk the elimination of the entire human species. — I.G.

Where to watch Mimic: Paramount+

EW grade: B+ (read the review)

Director: Guillermo del Toro 

Cast: Mira Sorvino, Jeremy Northam, Josh Brolin, Giancarlo Giannini, Alexander Goodwin, F. Murray Abraham, Charles S. Dutton

Related content: Burning question about Mimic

<i>Paranormal Activity</i> (2009)

A low-budget horror film that spooked audiences and provided Paramount/DreamWorks with an outsize return on investment, the success of Paranormal Activity was a happy surprise for everyone involved. Katie and Micah (Katie Featherston and Micah Sloat) are a young couple in the process of moving into a new house in sunny San Diego. But no matter where she moves, Katie can't seem to rid herself of the paranormal activity that has dogged her since childhood.

Shot on a home video camera with no script, no camera crew, and very little production design or visual movement, Oren Peli's direction strives for realism, which makes the scares that much more potent. Since the film's initial release in 2007, audiences have been treated (or cursed) with seven sequels, with an eighth (The Other Side) scheduled for release in October 2023. As an EW critic writes, "Paranormal Activity scrapes away 30 years of encrusted nightmare clichés. The fear is real, all right, because the fear is really in you." — I.G.

Where to watch Paranormal Activity: Paramount+

EW grade: A- (read the review)

Director: Oren Pell

Talent: Katie Featherston, Micah Sloat, Mark Fredrichs, Amber Armstrong, Ashley Palmer

Related reading: Jason Blum says Paranormal Activity franchise needs to end: 'It has been enough already'

<i>Paranormal Activity 2</i> (2010)

The original Paranormal Activity mined more than its fair share of jump scares and screams out of its $11,000 budget and frozen camera set up. Paranormal Activity 2, a prequel released a year after the first film premiered, is a carefully measured blend of shock and suspense, providing new context around the original story while also reframing the ending.

Katie Featherston and Micah Sloat return for round two with many new actors, who portray Katie's sister Kristi, her husband, and his teenage daughter from a former marriage. Also returning —but received with far less enthusiasm — is the demon from the first film, whose supernatural antics suddenly make a lot more sense. Those with a lower fear tolerance might consider watching with the lights on, as EW's critic writes, the film "made me jump, sweat, and chew my fingernails." — I.G.

Where to watch Paranormal Activity 2: Paramount+

EW grade: B+ (read the review)

Director: Tod Williams

Cast: Katie Featherston, Micah Sloat, Sprague Grayden, Brian Boland, Molly Ephraim

Related content: Paranormal Activity 2: An EW Exclusive Q & A with the movie's Katie Featherston

<i>Scream</i> (1996)

Individual characters in horror movies may die, but the universes they exist in will live forever. Such is the case for Scream — the self-aware '90s slasher film  — which debuted in 1996 and is still chugging along on a track made of stalking, maniacs, and murder. In the franchise's first film (which we rated the highest on our list of Scream rankings) a teenage Sidney Prescott (Neve Campbell) finds herself the target of Ghostface, a killer whose interest in her is creepily aligned with the anniversary of her mother's murder.

Directed by Wes Craven, Scream gives its characters the gift of understanding the genre's tropes, giving them the chance to subvert these conventions in a last-ditch effort to stay alive. Also featuring big names from the decade, including Courteney Cox, David Arquette, Skeet Ulrich, and Drew Barrymore, the original Scream might not look as fancy as the Scream released in 2022, but it will always have a place in genre history and in our (non-stabbed) hearts. — I.G.

Where to watch Scream: Paramount+

EW grade: A (read the review)

Director: Wes Craven

Talent: David Arquette, Neve Campbell, Courteney Cox, Matthew Lillard, Rose McGowan, Skeet Ulrich, Drew Barrymore

Related reading: The Scream movies, ranked

<i>Significant Other</i> (2022)

Love can feel like an alien experience — but when you add anxiety and actual aliens to the equation, all bets are off. Ruth and Harry (Maika Monroe and Jake Lacy) are a young couple backpacking in the Pacific Northwest when they encounter a series of unusual situations that test their six-year relationship and love for each other.

Lacy (The White Lotus) has proved himself to be a master of roles that have you questioning whether his professed "good guy" act is actually a front for something much more sinister, and in Significant Other, he manages to deliver another performance that starts out earnest and ends somewhere more evil — with a few laughs thrown in for good measure. A sci-fi horror film that examines love, relationships, and how the traumas we endure in life can hold us back or empower us to survive, Significant Other is a B movie with something to say. — I.G.

Where to watch Significant Other: Paramount+

Director: Dan Berk, Robert Olsen

Cast: Maika Monroe, Jake Lacy, Matthew Yang King

Related content: Significant Other helmers on why the sci-fi thriller is the 'best anti-date movie'

<i>Smile</i> (2022)

Frowning gives you lines, but grinning can be deadly. Enter Smile, a supernatural horror film starring Sosie Bacon as a clinical psychiatrist named Rose Cotter who works in a public hospital and witnesses a patient's baffling suicide. Soon after, Rose finds herself haunted by a entity that takes control of people and forces them to complete horrifying acts while smiling like maniacs. Concerned she has been cursed, Rose attempts to track down the origin of this deadly pattern, hoping to free herself from its clutches, and avoid passing it on.

Scaredy cats need not apply: Smile offers up "sadistic jump scares" and a story so freaky, EW's critic warns "you might need a bucket of bleach (and several hours of TikTok kitten videos) to cleanse your brainpan afterward." Directed by Parker Finn with the intention of making audiences feel like they're experiencing a "sustained panic attack," and featuring some of the most effective movie marketing in recent history, Smile will not put a grin on your face, but it will strike fear in your heart. — I.G.

Where to watch Smile: Paramount+

EW grade: B (read the review)

Director: Parker Finn

Talent: Sosie Bacon, Jessie T. Usher, Kyle Gallner, Kal Penn, Rob Morgan

Related reading: A restroom offers no rest from terror in Smile deleted scene

<i>The Blair Witch Project</i> (1999)

— I.G.

Where to watch The Blair Witch Project: Paramount+

EW grade: B (read the review)

Director: Daniel Myrick, Eduardo Sánchez 

Cast: Heather Donahue, Michael Williams, Joshua Leonard 

Related content: The Blair Witch Project: 5 things you didn't know about the scariest low-budget horror movie ever

<i>The Dead Zone</i> (1983)

Another sci-fi thriller adapted from a Stephen King novel — this one published in 1979 — The Dead Zone follows Johnny Smith (Christopher Walken), a teacher who awakens from a coma to discover that the car accident that stole five years of his life also gifted him with psychic powers. The more Smith comes to understand his new aptitudes, however, the more responsibility he feels to weaponize his powers for good and to use the visions he sees to affect change — even at the cost of his personal sanity and safety.

Not to be confused with The Dead Zone TV show — also based on the novel — which starred Anthony Michael Hall and aired on the USA Network for six seasons beginning in 2002, the filmic version of The Dead Zone is considered one of director David Cronenberg's most essential films and one of Christopher Walken's best roles. — I.G. 

Where to watch The Dead Zone: Paramount+

Director: David Cronenberg

Talent: Christopher Walken, Brooke Adams, Tom Skerritt, Herbert Lom, Anthony Zerbe, Colleen Dewhurst, Martin Sheen

Related reading: David Cronenberg says there is 'no such thing as body horror'

<i>The Gift</i> (2000)

Small town Georgia has plenty of secrets — and only one person is gifted enough to see them. Annie Wilson (Cate Blanchett) is a young widow and mother of three who supports her family by offering psychic readings. But when a local girl (Katie Holmes) goes missing and Annie starts experiencing harassment at the hands of one of her clients' abusive husbands (Keanu Reeves), her visions become increasingly violent and her safety more and more precarious.

With a script co-written by Billy Bob Thornton and Tom Epperson, and inspired by Thornton's mother's work as a psychic, The Gift is a Southern Gothic film that benefits deeply from its all-star cast and direction by Sam Raimi. Tune in for the movie's carefully plotted twists and turns, and relish in Reeves villainous performance, acted with, as EW's critic describes it, "excellent undead malevolence." — I.G.    

Where to watch The Gift: Paramount+

Director: Sam Raimi

Talent: Cate Blanchett, Giovanni Ribisi, Keanu Reeves, Katie Holmes, Greg Kinnear, Hilary Swank

Related reading: Every Sam Raimi film, ranked

<i>The Ring</i> (2001)

Maybe it had something to do with the fear surrounding the new millennium, but the early aughts produced a number of horror movies that hold up, even two decades and several cultural and technological metamorphoses later. The Ring, an American film released in 2002 and based on the 1998 Japanese movie Ringu, is one such example. Directed by Gore Verbinski (Pirates of the Caribbean), The Ring stars Naomi Watts as a journalist searching for answers after her teenage niece mysteriously dies seven days after watching a cursed videotape.

Featuring all the best fear-provoking tropes from the early 2000's (urban legends, creepy kids, demonic possession, having to answer a phone call), The Ring also features NCIS star Pauley Perrette and The O.C.'s Adam Brody, making it something of a Y2K treasure trove. Despite being directed by a man named Gore, the film is light on blood and guts and heavy on jump scares, making it an ideal choice for viewers with weak stomachs who don't mind a good adrenaline workout. — I.G.

Where to watch The Ring: Paramount+

EW grade: B (read the review)

Director: Gore Verbinski

Talent: Naomi Watts, Amber Tamblyn, Martin Henderson, Brian Cox, Pauley Perrette, Adam Brody

Related reading: You could soon be able to terrorize others as The Ring ghost in wild new video game

<i>Transformers: Dark of the Moon</i> (2011)

Michael Bay is back with the third film in the Transformers franchise, and this time he's shooting for the moon. As always, it's Autobots facing off against Decepticons in a battle for dominance over Earth, with Sam Witwicky (Shia LaBeouf) along for the ride. Megan Fox has moved on, and Sam has a new girlfriend, Carly (Rosie Huntington-Whiteley), along with some space-age secrets with which to contend.

With an impressive ensemble cast and plot points that involve everything from Buzz Aldrin to "Space Bridges," Transformers: Dark of the Moon moves fast and covers a lot of ground. While not the strongest of all the Transformer movies — let's face it, Dark of the Moon usually falls right in the middle of most people's rankings — the film is still a great way to satisfy your Autobot cravings until you can get your hands on the seventh movie, Rise of the Beasts, which premiered in June 2023. — I.G.

Where to watch Transformers Dark of the Moon: Paramount+

EW grade: B (read the review)

Director: Michael Bay

Talent: Shia LaBeouf, Josh Duhamel, John Turturro, Tyrese Gibson, Rosie Huntington-Whiteley, Patrick Dempsey, Kevin Dunn, Julie White, John Malkovich, Frances McDormand

Related reading: What winged beast is in the Transformers: Dark of the Moon spot?

<i>World War Z</i> (2013)

When you take away a zombie's one weakness — its tendency towards slow motion movement — you get World War Z, a zombie film in which the villains don't so much stagger as swarm. Brad Pitt stars as Gerry Lane, a former UN Investigator with the skills and connections necessary to save his wife and two young daughters — but only if he agrees to identify the origin of the outbreak, and help humanity survive a planet-wide zombie apocalypse. EW says the film may be "the most entertaining and accomplished zombie thriller since George A. Romero's Dawn of the Dead," and if that's not incentive enough, you get to see Pitt in a role that has him exemplifying "feral grace under pressure." Run — don't walk — to your nearest screen to check it out. — I.G. 

Where to watch World War Z: Paramount+

EW grade: A- (read the review)

Director: Marc Forster

Cast: Brad Pitt, Mireille Enos, James Badge Dale 

Related content: World War Z & more alternate endings