10 Horror Movies That Will Make You Log Off Social Media, Possibly Forever

Kurtis David Harder’s caller merchandise hits Shudder connected Friday, and as we said successful our review, it’s champion not to cognize overmuch astir it earlier you watch it. The basics, astatine least, are that it’s astir an influencer whose luxury picnic starts disconnected arsenic selfies by nan pool—but soon spirals into a cautionary communicative astir what’s existent and what’s fake, and really frighteningly easy it is for nan 2 to blur.

Filmmaking duo Julien Maury and Alexandre Bustillo (Inside, Kandisha, Leatherface) directed this 2021 movie astir telegenic YouTubers (including 1 played by James “Son of Mick” Jagger) tootling astir Europe filming themselves astatine spooky abandoned locations. After their latest target is unexpectedly overrun pinch tourists, they return their cameras and scuba cogwheel and travel a local’s proposal to research a mansion that’s been oddly preserved contempt being submerged successful an artificial reservoir decades prior. Once nan scary elements commencement to footwear in, nan social-media crippled gets pushed aside—but ‘tis nan quest for viral contented that gets nan characters location successful nan first place. Streaming connected Prime Video, Paramount+, and MGM+.

Another Shudder pick, found-footage communicative Deadstream follows a livestreamer who’s truthful hopeless to recoup followers aft a stunt gone incorrect that he locks himself into a crumbling farmhouse dubbed “Death Manor” for a daring overnight broadcast. Filmmaking squad Joseph and Vanessa Winter—Joseph besides stars—have a blast skewering scary clichés while doling retired existent scares, and besides activity successful immoderate prescient commentary astir nan perils of building one’s full personality astir an online persona.

Sophia Takal’s introduction successful Blumhouse and Hulu’s “Into nan Dark” scary movie bid follows a quartet of erstwhile high-school besties who reunite for a New Year’s Eve sleepover. This gathering is made ever much awkward by nan truth that 1 of them (Mr. Robot’s Carly Chaikin) is simply a successful online “wellness guru” who perceives nan different 3 (The Sandman’s Kirby Howell-Baptiste, Seance’s Suki Waterhouse, Melissa Bergland) arsenic contented for her followers—even going truthful acold arsenic to Instagram them without their permission, each while trying to conceal a acheronian concealed successful her past. Do things move deadly? How tin they not?

This 2014 hit—which takes spot wholly wrong nan boundaries of a machine screen, paving nan measurement for 2018's Searching and akin films—is truthfully much “internet horror” than “social media horror,” but it each originates pinch a brace of YouTube videos: 1 showing high-schooler Laura being humiliated astatine a party, and a consequent clip capturing her suicide. One twelvemonth later, personification claiming to beryllium nan dormant woman pops up online—and weaponizes Skype, Facebook, Instagram, and different sites arsenic a measurement to get vengeance connected her tormenters. Streaming connected Netflix.

Jane Schoenbrun’s intriguing 2021 indie introduces america to Casey (Anna Cobb), who opens nan movie by staring astatine a webcam and announcing “Hey guys... coming I’m going to beryllium taking nan World’s Fair Challenge.” Billed arsenic “the internet’s scariest online scary game,” nan situation is simply a viral stunt infused pinch vague malevolence; it purports to “change you,” and it takes nan lonely teen—whose only societal outlet is nan internet—to immoderate profoundly unsettling places, guided on by murky online connections she can’t move distant from. Streaming connected Max.

After head Rob Savage released Host—the shockingly effective Zoom scary movie created astatine nan tallness of nan pandemic successful 2020—he turned to different technological gimmick for his 2021 follow-up, which is evidenced by its title (his adjacent movie, Stephen King adjustment Boogeyman, is changeable successful a much accepted style). Framed arsenic a livestream, complete pinch in-picture “viewer commentary,” Dashcam—which besides has pandemic themes—follows an odious net personage (Annie Hardy) whose perpetually signaling camera captures first a terrifyingly atrocious characteristic (the protagonists’s), past gets weirder and much freakishly supernatural arsenic her roadworthy travel spirals. Streaming connected Hulu.

In this 2020 release, Stranger Things’ Joe Keery stars arsenic a societal media-obsessed ride-share driver who murders his passengers arsenic portion of his diabolical quest for viral fame. Cast very against type, Keery elevates what tin beryllium a heavy-handed crippled by infusing unsettling charisma into a feline who’s an perfectly unrepentant maniac. Streaming connected Hulu.

Alice (Madeline Brewer from The Handmaid’s Tale) has recovered immoderate occurrence moving arsenic a webcam sexpot connected a tract called “FreeGirlsLive”—but her ambitions deed a roadblock erstwhile a rival broadcaster who looks exactly for illustration her (and broadcasts from a room that looks exactly for illustration hers) takes complete her account. Identity theft is ever invasive, but it takes connected a surreal, visceral sheen successful this 2018 thriller, helped on some by its provocative mounting and Brewer’s dueling performances. Streaming connected Netflix.

This one’s a spot of a cheat because it hasn’t been released yet—it’s retired July 28—but the trailer alone is capable to request its inclusion connected this list. Read io9's reappraisal from this year’s Sundance to study more, aliases conscionable cognize that it’s astir kids who determine to participate successful a viral inclination involving demonic possession, and hole for a shriek-worthy instruction successful why you should never let societal media tempt you into doing thing involving evil spirits.