I’ve put together this resource of horror films directed and/or written by Black filmmakers, or films featuring a predominantly Black cast or with a Black lead. All films are currently available to stream, either via free platforms or through subscription. I’ve excluded movies that you have to rent (e.g., Get Out, The People Under the Stairs and Tales From the Crypt: Demon Knight are not on this list. But by all means, spend a few bucks and rent them!). There are quite a few films I’ve purposely avoided putting on this list as they are racist or at the least, problematic. So, there’s no Birth of a Nation here. I”m also using “horror” a bit liberally; some movies definitely skirt the genre. I’ve yet to watch every featured movie, but I’m working on it!
Why did I put together this list? I hope everyone reading this agrees that Black Life Matters. There are many ways to show our support to the movement. While donating and protesting is obviously important, some people cannot for various and legitimate reasons. For concrete ways to help please visit this, and if you’re white, please see this resource on being anti-racist. While you’re at home and choosing a movie to watch, you should show some support to Black voices in filmmaking and especially independent creators. You do have a choice in the media you consume and if you want diversity you will find it. These movies are out there. These filmmakers are there. Give them some love.
I’ve noted where you can find each film. I also made an accompanying list on Letterboxd, which is more comprehensive because it’s not limited to streaming availability. I currently have almost 80 movies in that Letterboxd list.
It will be pretty much impossible to maintain this list. Even if it goes obsolete and these movies are no longer available, I’m leaving it as is.
Now onto the movies. Warning, this post is VERY picture heavy!
Army of the Damned (2013)
Written & Directed by: Tom DeNucci
Where to Watch: Prime, Fawesome Horror, FilmRise Horror)
The filming of a hit reality TV show goes horribly wrong when a group of small town cops respond to a call that brings a whole new meaning to the phrase, domestic disturbance.
Attack the Block (2011)
Written & Directed By: Joe Cornish
Where to Watch: Pluto TV
A teen gang in a grim South London housing estate must team up with the other residents to protect their neighbourhood from a terrifying alien invasion.
John Boyega, “Attack the Block” 
Calvin Lockheart, “The Beast Must Die”
The Beast Must Die (1974)
Directed by: Paul Annett
Written by: Michael Winder
Where to Watch: Tubi, Beta Max
Eight people have been invited to an island estate for the weekend. One of them is a werewolf. Can you guess which one?
Blackenstein (1973)
Directed by: William A. Levey
Written by: Frank R. Saletri
Where to Watch: Prime
Eddie is a Vietnam veteran who loses his arms and legs when he steps on a land mine, but a brilliant surgeon is able to attach new limbs. Unfortunately an insanely jealous assistant (who has fallen in love with Eddie’s fiance) switches Eddie’s DNA injections, transforming him into a gigantic killer.
Blacula (1972)
Directed by: William Crain
Written by: Joan Torres, Raymond Koenig
Where to Watch: Shudder
An 18th century African prince is turned into a vampire while visiting Transylvania. Two centuries later, he rises from his coffin attacking various residents of Los Angeles and meets Tina, a woman who he believes is the reincarnation of his deceased wife.
Bones (2001)
Directed by: Ernest R. Dickerson
Written by: Adam Simon, Tim Metcalfe
Where to Watch: Tubi
Over 20 years after his death by a gunshot, Jimmy Bones comes back as a ghost to wreak revenge on those who killed him and to clean up his neighborhood.
Candyman (1992)
Directed By: Bernard Rose
Written By: Clive Barker, Bernard Rose
Where to Watch: Netflix
The Candyman, a murderous soul with a hook for a hand, is accidentally summoned to reality by a skeptic grad student researching the monster’s myth.
Captured (2019)
Written & Directed by: Johnnard Harper
Where to Watch: Prime, Vudu
Jessica has just learned that her brother has died, upon moving into his apartment to pack up his belongings, she noticed a old camera. She begins to hear and see visions only behind the camera or whenever the camera is near. Is it real? or is she hallucinating?
Chain Letter (2010)
Directed by: Deon Taylor
Written by: Deon Taylor, Michael J. Pagan
Where to Watch: Tubi, Roku Channel
A maniac murders teens when they refuse to forward chain mail.
Johnnard Harper, filmmaker 
Deon Taylor, filmmaker 
Pam Grier and Snoop Dogg, “Bones”
Crazy as Hell (2002)
Directed by: Eriq La Salle
Written by: Jeremy Leven, Erik Jendresen
Where to Watch: Tubi, PlutoTV
Psychiatrist Ty Adams doesn’t believe in using drugs, but the head of Sedah State Hospital does, then ‘Satan’ arrives ~ walk-in patient extraordinaire… From there it’s a full-on freaky ride.
Da Sweet Blood of Jesus
Written & Directed by: Spike Lee
Where to Watch: Tubi, Vudu, Hulu, Prime
Dr. Hess Green becomes cursed by a mysterious ancient African artifact and is overwhelmed with a newfound thirst for blood. Soon after his transformation he enters into a dangerous romance with Ganja Hightower that questions the very nature of love, addiction, sex, and status.
Dead of the Nite (2013)
Written & Directed by: S.J. Evans
Where to Watch: Tubi
When a group of ghost hunters investigate the infamous Jericho Manor, they soon realise it’s not just ghosts that go bump in the night! As people get murdered, the survivors need to discover who or what’s killing them before it’s too late.
Dead Tone (2007)
Directed by: Brian Hooks, Deon Taylor
Written by: Vashon Nutt, Brian Hooks, Deon Taylor
Where to Watch: PopcornFlix
As another semester draws to a close at the University of Dreyskill, a simple game dreamt to help students avoid studying becomes a bloody battle for survival.
Def by Temptation (1990)
Directed and Written by: James Bond III
Where to Watch: Fawesome, Film Rise Horror
An evil succubus is preying on libidinous black men in New York, and all that stands in her way is a minister-in-training, an aspiring actor, and a cop that specializes in cases involving the supernatural.
Dr. Black, Mr. Hyde (1976)
Directed by: William Crain
Written by: Larry LeBron
Where to Watch: Prime
When a scientist develops a formula to regenerate dying liver cells, it accidentally turns him into an albino vampire with a taste for prostitutes.
Eve’s Bayou (1997)
Written & Directed by: Kasi Lemmons
Where to Watch: HBO
Summer heats up in rural Louisiana beside Eve’s Bayou, 1962, as the Batiste family tries to survive the secrets they’ve kept and the betrayals they’ve endured.
The Foreign Exchange Student (2018)
Written & Directed by: Jonathan Milton
Where to Watch: Tubi, PopcornFlix
A foreign exchange student with a secret past, paints her new town red.
Ganja & Hess (1973)
Directed and Written by: Bill Gunn
Where to Watch: Prime, PopcornFlix [you may have to search Blood Couple to find it]
After being stabbed with an ancient, germ-infested knife, a doctor’s assistant finds himself with an insatiable desire for blood.
The Girl With All the Gifts (2016)
Directed by: Colm McCarthy
Written by: Mike Carey Writers:
Where to Watch: Netflix
In the future, a strange fungus has changed nearly everyone into a thoughtless, flesh-eating monster. When a scientist and a teacher find a girl who seems to be immune to the fungus, they all begin a journey to save humanity.
Holla II (2013)
Written & Directed by: H.M. Coakley
Where to Watch: HBO
After narrowly escaping with her life at the hands of her mentally ill sister Veronica, Monica, with the help of her Mother, Marion, has taken great measures to ensure her safety, including changing her face and relocating to the South. Six years has past and now she finally believes she is safe from Veronica. Little does she know that death and betrayal still await her and her friends on the eve of her wedding at a southern plantation house rumored to be haunted by 13 murdered slaves. This time no one is safe and everyone is a suspect as killing becomes addictive.
Horror Noire: A History of Black Horror (2019)
Directed by: Xavier Burgin
Written by: Ashlee Blackwell, Danielle Burrows, Robin R. Means Coleman
Where to Watch: Shudder
The untold history of Black Americans in Hollywood through their connection to the horror genre, delving into a century of genre films that by turns utilized, caricatured, exploited, sidelined, and finally embraced them. Robin Means Coleman’s seminal book presents the living and the dead, using new and archival interviews from scholars and creators.
The House Invictus (2020)
Written & Directed by: Uche Aguh
Where to Watch: Prime
A selected group of ambitious young black men are invited into an upstanding Fraternal Society House with great promise. What they come to learn and find out about the place, and themselves will perpetually haunt them for the rest of their lives.
Kayode Akinyemi, “The House Invictus” 
Jarius Sowells, “The House Invictus” 
The cast of “The House Invictus”
JD’s Revenge (1976)
Directed by: Arthur Marks
Written by: Jaison Starks
Where to Watch: Prime
A docile black law student is possessed by a 1940’s mobster in mid 1970s New Orleans, Louisiana. The mobster seeks revenge upon the people who killed him and his sister.
Killjoy (2000)
Directed by: Craig Ross, Jr.
Written by: Carl Washington
Where to Watch: Tubi [All the Killjoy series films are on Tubi]
Three youngsters encounter an evil clown.
Lake on Clinton Road (2015)
Written & Directed by: DeShon Hardy
Where to Watch: Tubi
When six friends from Massachusetts travel to the jersey shore, they end up on Clinton road at a house on a lake. They’re not alone, one by one they disappear, who will survive.
Leprechaun 5: In the Hood (2000)
Directed by: Rob Spera
Written by: Doug Hall, Jon Huffman
Where to Watch: Cinemax
When three rappers want to get even with a pimp, they accidentally unleash a leprechaun who goes on a killing rampage in tha ‘hood.
Leprechaun 6: Back 2 tha Hood (2003)
Written & directed by: Steven Ayromlooi
Where to Watch: Cinemax
When Emily Woodrow and her friends happen on a treasure chest full of gold coins, they fail to heed the warnings of a wise old psychic, who had foretold that they would encounter trouble with a very nasty and protective Leprechaun.
Little Monsters (2019)
Written & Directed by: Abe Forsythe
Where to Watch: Hulu
A washed-up musician teams up with a teacher and a kids show personality to protect young children from a sudden outbreak of zombies.
Lord Shango (1975)
Directed by: Ray Marsh
Written by: Paul Carter Harrison
Where to Watch: Prime
A tribal priest returns from the dead to take his revenge on non-believers.
Ma (2019)
Directed by: Tate Taylor
Written by: Scotty Landes
Where to Watch: HBO
A lonely woman befriends a group of teenagers and decides to let them party at her house. Just when the kids think their luck couldn’t get any better, things start happening that make them question the intention of their host.
Night of the Living Dead (1968)
Directed by: George A. Romero
Written by: John A. Russo, George A. Romero
Where to Watch: Tubi
A group of people try to survive an attack of bloodthirsty zombies while trapped in a rural Pennsylvania farmhouse
Duane Jones, “Night of the Living Dead” 
Duane Jones and Marlene Clark,
“Ganja & Hess”
Jovan Adepo, “Overlord” 
Overlord (2018)
Directed by: Julius Avery
Written by: Billy Ray, Mark L. Smith
Where to Watch: Prime, Hulu
A small group of American soldiers find horror behind enemy lines on the eve of D-Day.
Petey Wheatstraw (1977)
Directed by: Cliff Roquemore
Written by: Rudy Ray Moore, Cliff Roquemore
Where to Watch: Tubi
Petey Wheatstraw (Rudy Ray Moore) is a candidate to become the devil’s son-in-law. The storyline is a scaffolding on which Rudy Ray Moore’s standup humor can be unfolded. Beginning life as the afterbirth to a watermelon, the young Wheatstraw becomes a martial artist, but is unable to best the evil comedy team of Leroy and Skillet, who also indulge in wholesale murder. Satan restores the comedians’ victims to life, and charges Petey with the task of marrying his clock-stoppingly ugly daughter to giving him a grandchild. When Petey attempts to default on the deal, he is pursued by the devil’s henchmen.
Scream Blacula Scream (1973)
Directed by: Bob Kelljan
Written by: Joan Torres, Raymond Koenig, Maurice Jules
Where to Watch: Tubi, Shudder
After a dying Voodoo queen chooses an adopted apprentice as her successor, her true heir is outraged. Seeking revenge, he buys the bones of Blacula the vampire off of a dealer, and uses voodoo to bring the vampire back to do his bidding. In turn, Blacula turns him into a vampire and makes him his slave. Meanwhile, a police officer with a large collection of African antiques and an interest in the occult investigates the murders caused by Blacula and his vampire horde.
Slenderman (2018)
Directed by: Sylvain White
Written by: David Birke
Where to Watch: Starz
In a small town in Massachusetts, a group of friends, fascinated by the internet lore of the Slender Man, attempt to prove that he doesn’t actually exist – until one of them mysteriously goes missing.
Slice (2018)
Written & Directed by: Austin Vesely
Where to Watch: Prime
When a pizza delivery driver is murdered on the job, the city searches for someone to blame: Ghosts? Drug dealers? A disgraced werewolf?
Son of Ingagi (1940)
Directed by: Richard C. Kahn
Written by: Spencer Williams
Where to Watch: Prime
A newlywed couple is visited by a strange old woman who harbors a secret about the young girl’s father.
Street Tales of Terror (2004)
Directed by: J.D. Hawkins, Corey Shields
Written by: Franklin J. Anderson, J.D. Hawkins, Corey Shields, Ya’Ke Smith
Where to Watch: Watch Free Flix
A homeless man who witnesses a murder is forced to entertain his tormentors with three tales of murder, revenge, and terror.
Sugar Hill (1974)
Directed by: Paul Maslansky
Written by: Tim Kelly
Where to Watch: Brown Sugar, Shudder
When her boyfriend is brutally murdered, after refusing to be shaken down by the local gangsters running their protection racket, Sugar Hill, decides not to get mad, but BAD! Calling upon the help of aged voodoo queen Mama Maitresse, Sugar entreats her to call upon Baron Zamedi, the Lord of the Dead, for help in gaining a gruesome revenge. In exchange for her soul, the Dark Master raises up a zombie army to do her bidding. The bad guys who thought they were getting away clean are about to find out that they’re DEAD wrong.
Sweetheart (2019)
Directed by: J.D. Dillard
Written by: J.D. Dillard, Alex Hyner, Alex Theurer
Where to Watch: Netflix
Jenn has washed ashore a small tropical island and it doesn’t take her long to realize she’s completely alone. She must spend her days not only surviving the elements, but must also fend off the malevolent force that comes out each night.
Tales From the Hood (1995)
Directed By: Rusty Cundieff
Written By: Rusty Cundieff, Darin Scott
Where to Watch: Starz
A strange funeral director tells four strange tales of horror with an African American focus to three drug dealers he traps in his place of business.
Clarence Williams III. “Tales From the Hood” 
Kendrick Cross, “Tales From the Hood 2”
Tales From the Hood 2 (2018)
Written & Directed by: Rusty Cundieff, Darin Scott
Where to Watch: Netflix
Mr. Simms returns to tell more eerie, unsettling tales involving dolls, psychics, possession and ghosts.
Teeth & Blood (2015)
Directed By: Al Franklin, Pamela J. Richardson
Written by: Amina Ali, Al Franklin, Glenn Plummer, Pamela J. Richardson
Where to Watch: Urban Movie Channel
A diva actress is murdered on a set film. Meanwhile, the city’s blood supply is mysteriously being depleted. Dets. Mike Hung and Sasha Colfax go undercover to crack the toughest mystery of their lives in a vampire-infested studio.
Thriller (2018)
Directed by: Dallas Jackson
Written by: Dallas Jackson, Ken Rance
Where to watch: Netflix
A childhood prank comes back to haunt a clique of South Central Los Angeles teens when their victim returns home during their high-school Homecoming weekend.
Tom Savini’s Night of the Living Dead (1990)
Directed by: Tom Savini
Written by: John Russo, George Romero
Where to watch: Prime
In this remake of the original classic film, a group of people are trapped inside a farmhouse as legions of the walking dead try to get inside and use them for food.
Us (2019)
Written & Directed by: Jordan Peele
Where to Watch: HBO, HBO Max
Husband and wife Gabe and Adelaide Wilson take their kids to their beach house expecting to unplug and unwind with friends. But as night descends, their serenity turns to tension and chaos when some shocking visitors arrive uninvited.
Vamp (1986)
Written & Directed by: Richard Wenk
Where to Watch: Tubi
Two fraternity pledges travel to a sleazy bar in search of a stripper for their college friends, unaware it is occupied by vampires.
Vampire in Brooklyn (1995)
Directed by: Wes Craven
Written by: Charlie Murphy, Michael Lucker, Chris Parker
Where to Watch: Starz
Maximillian, the lone survivor of a race of vampires, comes to Brooklyn in search of a way to live past the next full moon. His ticket to survival is Rita, a NYPD detective who doesn’t know she’s half vampire – and Maximillian will do whatever’s necessary to put her under his spell.
Vampire in Vegas (2009)
Directed by: Jim Wynorski
Written by: Nicholas Davidoff
Where to Watch: Prime, Fawesome, FilmRise Horror, Roku Channel, Tubi
When a 300-year-old vampire hires a genetic scientist to research a cure, she inadvertently unleashes a scourge of vampires upon unsuspecting party-goers in Las Vegas.
The Vault (2000)
Directed by: James Black
Written by: Douglas Snauffer, Carl Washington
Where to Watch: Tubi
A teacher and four students visit an old high school that is set to be demolished. They discover the school was a place they use to hold slaves. They discover a basement with a mysterious vault that lies the ultimate evil.
VooDoo Curse: The Giddeh (2006)
Directed by: Glenn Plummer
Written by: Jean-Claude La Marre (story), Kira Madallo Sesay (story), Glenn Plummer
Where to Watch: Prime
A group of college teens are plunged into a nightmare when they awaken an evil spirit.
Filmmaker and Actor Glenn Plummer
West of Hell (2018)
Where to Watch: Tubi, Watch Free Flix, Roku Channel
A gunslinger, a vengeful ex-slave, and a runaway board a midnight train to Atlanta. They discover that the train is haunted by a sinister force, and must fight to survive the night.
Tony Todd, “Candyman” 
Tony Todd, “Night of the Living Dead” (1990)
Tony Todd
Tony Todd is a horror icon, appearing in a crazy number of horror films. I haven’t seen most of them, but I’m working through his filmography. I put together this list of horror movies featuring Todd available currently to stream (subscription or free):
- #FromJennifer (available on Tubi, Roku Channel)
- Are You Scared 2 (available on Prime, Tubi, FilmRise Horror)
- Bram Stoker’s Shadowbuilder (available on Prime)
- Candyman: Farewell to the Flesh (available on Pluto TV)
- Candyman 3 (available on Movie Sphere and Roku channel)
- Captured Hearts (available on Prime)
- Disciples (available on Prime, Vudu, Tubi)
- The Family (available on Tubi)
- Frankenstein (2015) (available on Fawesome, Plex, and Roku)
- Hatchet (available on Plex and Vudu)
- Hatchet II (available on Prime)
- Minotaur (available on Tubi, Movie Sphere, and Roku Channel)
- Penance (available on Prime and Midnight Pulp)
- Shadow Puppets (available on Prime, Plex, Yuyu, Tubi, and Watch Free Flix)
- Vanish (available on Prime)
Platforms referenced in this post
I have a Roku TV so these are all channels that I added. But almost all of these can be accessed through your computer.
- Brown Sugar – subscription
- Cinemax – subscription
- Fawesome TV – free
- FilmRise Horror – free
- HBO / HBO Max – subscription
- Hulu – subscription
- Movie Sphere – free
- Netflix – subscription
- Plex – free
- Pluto TV – free
- PopcornFlix – free
- Prime – subscription
- Shudder – subscription
- Starz – subscription
- Tubi – free
- Urban Movie Channel – subscription
- Vudu – free
- Watch Free Flix – free
- Yuyu – free
Other resources:
Early on in the month, horror website Bloody Disgusting started a great Twitter thread seeking replies from Black horror creators. Check it out and follow/support the artists who replied!
I got a lot of movie ideas for this list from around the Internet. Please do some more researching, but here are links to get you started:
- We’re in a golden age of black horror films This article is written by the author of Horror Noire, Robin R. Means Coleman.
- Of course, I’d be remiss to exclude the fantastic website Black Horror Movies.
- Eleven Essential Black Horror Classics to Watch Right Now
- A timeline of the most influential Black horror films and filmmakers
I link to Letterboxd throughout. If you’re on Letterboxd, feel free to add me. I log every movie I watch.
This post was last updated 6/13/2020.
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