Best horror & documentary shows on Prime Video, ranked.
Your next watch, decided. Every show ranked by quality — not popularity. No more arguing about what to watch tonight — share a WatchList with your partner.
Sign in to triage shows — WatchList, SkipList, or rank what you've seen. Triaged shows are hidden.
- #596
Man on Wire
2008 · Movie · 1h 34mDocumentary · Biography · Crime
1 OscarA look at tightrope walker Philippe Petit's daring, but illegal, high-wire routine performed between New York City's World Trade Center's twin towers in 1974, what some consider, "the artistic crime of the century".
Prime Video - #1593

Gleason
2016 · Movie · 1h 50mDocumentary · Biography
After he is diagnosed with ALS, former professional football player Steve Gleason begins making a video diary for his unborn son, as he, his wife, and their friends and family work to raise money for ALS patients as his disease pr...
Prime Video - #2192
20 Feet from Stardom
2013 · Movie · 1h 31mDocumentary · Biography · History
1 OscarBackup singers live in a world that lies just beyond the spotlight. Their voices bring harmony to the biggest bands in popular music, but we've had no idea who these singers are or what lives they lead, until now.
Prime Video - #2292
Z Channel: A Magnificent Obsession
2004 · Movie · 2h 2mDocumentary · Biography · History
The story of Z Channel, one of the first U.S. pay cable stations and its programming chief, Jerry Harvey. Debuting in 1974 in LA, their eclectic slate of movies became a prime example of the untapped power of cable television.
Prime Video - #2592
Little Dieter Needs to Fly
1997 · Movie · 1h 20mDocumentary · Biography · Drama
German-American Dieter Dengler discusses his service as a U.S. naval pilot in the Vietnam War. Dengler also revisits the sites of his capture and eventual escape from the hands of the Viet Cong, recreating many events for the camera.
Prime Video - #2992
Lost Soul: The Doomed Journey of Richard Stanley's Island of Dr. Moreau
2014 · Movie · 1h 37mDocumentary · Action
A behind the scenes chronicle of how clash of vision, bad creative decisions, lack of interest and really bad weather plagued the disastrous production of the infamous The Island of Dr. Moreau (1996).
Prime Video - #5090
Street Gang: How We Got to Sesame Street
2021 · Movie · 1h 47mDocumentary · Family · History
Take a stroll down Sesame Street and witness the birth of the most impactful children's series in TV history. From the iconic furry characters to the songs you know by heart, learn how a gang of visionary creators changed our world.
Prime Video - #5690
To Hell and Back: The Kane Hodder Story
2017 · Movie · 1h 48mDocumentary · Biography
To Hell and Back: The Kane Hodder Story is the harrowing story of a stuntman overcoming a dehumanizing childhood filled with torment and bullying in Sparks, Nevada. After surviving a near-death burn accident, he worked his way up through Hollywood, leading to his ultimate rise as Jason Voorhees in the Friday the 13th series and making countless moviegoers forever terrified of hockey masks and summer camp. Featuring interviews with cinema legends, including Bruce Campbell (Ash vs. Evil Dead), Robert Englund (Freddy Krueger), and Cassandra Peterson (Elvira: Mistress of the Dark), To Hell and Back peels off the mask of Kane Hodder, cinema's most prolific killer, in a gut-wrenching, but inspiring, documentary. After decades of watching Kane Hodder on screen, get ready to meet the man behind the mask in To Hell and Back - an uniquely human story about one of cinema's most vicious monsters.
Prime Video - #6789

Dirtbag: The Legend of Fred Beckey
2017 · Movie · 1h 36mDocumentary · Action · Biography
Fred Beckey is the legendary American "Dirtbag" mountaineer whose name is spoken in hushed tones around campfires. This rebel climber's pioneering ascents and lifestyle form an iconic legacy that continues to inspire generations.
Prime Video - #7888
The Universe
2007–2015 · Series · 9 seasonsDocumentary · History
This educational show explores many scientific questions and topics about the universe (Big Bang, the Sun, the planets, black holes, other galaxies, astrobiology etc.) through latest CGI, data and interviews with scientists.
Prime Video - #8288
Lucy and Desi
2022 · Movie · 1h 43mDocumentary · Biography · Comedy
2 EmmysThis film explores the rise of comedy icon Lucille Ball, her relationship with Desi Arnaz, and how their groundbreaking sitcom "I Love Lucy" forever changed Hollywood, cementing her legacy long after her death in 1989.
Prime Video - #8388
Fiddler: A Miracle of Miracles
2019 · Movie · 1h 37mDocumentary
The origin story behind one of Broadway's most beloved musicals, Fiddler on The Roof, and its creative roots in early 1960s New York, when "tradition" was on the wane as gender roles, sexuality, race relations and religion were ev...
Prime Video - #9388
Silicon Cowboys
2016 · Movie · 1h 17mDocumentary · History
Three friends dream up the Compaq portable computer at a Texas diner in 1981, and soon find themselves battling mighty IBM for PC supremacy. Their improbable journey altered the future of computing and shaped the world we now know.
Prime Video - #10287

George Carlin: It's Bad for Ya!
2008 · Movie · 1h 10mDocumentary · Comedy
It's Bad For Ya, Carlin's Emmy-nominated 14th and final HBO special from March of 2008 features Carlin's noted irreverent and unapologetic observations on topics ranging from death, religion, bureaucracy, patriotism, overprotected...
Prime Video - #10487
Swamp Dogg Gets His Pool Painted
2025 · Movie · 1h 35mDocumentary · Comedy
Cult musician Swamp Dogg and housemates Moogstar and Guitar Shorty have turned their suburban LA home into an artistic haven. They journey through the turbulent music business, forming a special friendship transcending eras.
Prime Video - #10587
Fragments of Paradise
2022 · Movie · 1h 38mDocumentary
Jonas Mekas chronicled life via diary films over 70+ years, from his 1949 NYC arrival until 2019. The Lithuanian exile shaped avant-garde cinema while building indie film institutions. "Fragments of Paradise" delves into his archives
Prime Video - #11087
This Is Not a Movie: Robert Fisk and the Politics of Truth
2019 · Movie · 1h 46mDocumentary · Action · Biography
The groundbreaking and often game-changing reporting of legendary foreign correspondent and author Robert Fisk is profiled in the latest from acclaimed documentarian Yung Chang (Up the Yangtze).
Prime Video - #11687
American: An Odyssey to 1947
2022 · Movie · 1h 42mDocumentary
In the early 1930s, Orson Welles ascends to unprecedented stardom while President Franklin Delano Roosevelt navigates a nation in crisis. As WWII begins, an American boy visits abroad, and an American soldier enlists in the army.
Prime Video - #12887
Citizen K
2019 · Movie · Russian · 2h 6mDocumentary
The strange case of Mikhail Khodorkovsky, once believed to be the wealthiest man in Russia, who rocketed to prosperity and prominence in the 1990s, served a decade in prison, and became an unlikely martyr for the anti-Putin movement.
Prime Video - #13187
Exposing Muybridge
2021 · Movie · 1h 28mDocumentary · Biography · History
Exposing Muybridge tells the story of trailblazing 19th-century photographer Eadweard Muybridge, who changed the world with his camera. Muybridge set the course for the development of cinema when he became the first photographer t...
Prime Video - #14586
Hondros
2018 · Movie · 1h 30mDocumentary · Biography · War
HONDROS follows the life and career of famous war photographer Chris Hondros by exploring the poignant and often surprising stories behind this award-winning photojournalist's best-known photos. Driven by a commitment to bear witn...
Prime Video - #15586
A.rtificial I.mmortality
2021 · Movie · 1h 14mDocumentary
If you could create an immortal version of yourself, would you? Once the stuff of science fiction, A.I. experts now see it as possible. This feature documentary explores the latest thinking and technological advancements in AI.
Prime Video - #15686
James May: Our Man in…
2020–2024 · Series · 3 seasonsDocumentary · Action · Comedy
James May embarks on a remarkable journey across Japan, from its icy north to its balmy south. He'll see the sights, meet the locals, and eat the noodles in a bid to truly understand the Land of the Rising Sun.
Prime Video - #17485
Satan Wants You
2023 · Movie · 1h 28mDocumentary · Crime · Horror
It tells the story of how the Satanic Panic of the 1980s was ignited by "Michelle Remembers", a memoir by psychiatrist and his patient. The book relied on recovered-memory therapy to uncover Michelle's abduction by baby-stealing S...
Prime Video - #18185
Valentine Road
2013 · Movie · 1h 29mDocumentary · Crime
On February 12, 2008 in Oxnard, California, eighth-grade student Brandon McInerney shot his classmate Larry King twice in the back of the head during first period. When Larry died two days later, his murder shocked the nation. Was...
MAXPrime Video - #18385
Smile 2
2024 · Movie · 2h 7mHorror · Mystery · Thriller
About to embark on a world tour, global pop sensation Skye Riley begins experiencing increasingly terrifying and inexplicable events. Overwhelmed by the escalating horrors and the pressures of fame, Skye is forced to face her past.
Paramount+Prime Video - #18485

Buzzfeed Unsolved: True Crime
2016–2021 · Series · 8 seasonsDocumentary · Comedy · Crime
Conspiracy theory enthusiast Ryan deep-dives into mysteries surrounding notorious unsolved crimes, in order to convince his dubious friend Shane that, sometimes, the evidence isn't always as it seems.
HuluPrime Video - #18884

Antarctica: A Year on Ice
2013 · Movie · 1h 31mDocumentary · Action · Biography
A visually stunning chronicle of what it is like to live in Antarctica for a full year, including winters isolated from the rest of the world, and enduring months of darkness in the coldest place on Earth.
Prime Video - #19584
Hollywood Dreams & Nightmares: The Robert Englund Story
2022 · Movie · 2h 14mDocumentary
A classically trained actor and director, Robert Englund has become one of the most revolutionary horror icons of our generation. Throughout his career, Englund starred in many well-known movies, but shot to super-stardom with his...
Prime Video - #19684
All or Nothing
2016– · Series · 1 seasonDocumentary · Sport
For the first time in history, Amazon and NFL Films present an unprecedented inside look at the lives of players, coaches and owners of a franchise over the course of an entire NFL season. Witness the real life, behind the scenes ...
Prime Video - #19784
The House of the Devil
2009 · Movie · 1h 35mHorror · Mystery
In 1983, financially struggling college student Samantha Hughes takes a strange babysitting job that coincides with a full lunar eclipse. She slowly realizes her clients harbor a terrifying secret, putting her life in mortal danger.
Prime Video - #20084

Boogie Man: The Lee Atwater Story
2008 · Movie · 1h 26mDocumentary · Biography
The Murrow, Polk, and IDA Award-winning documentary Boogie Man is about Lee Atwater, a blues-playing rogue whose rise from the South to Chairman of the GOP made him a political rock star. He mentored George W. Bush and Karl Rove w...
Prime Video - #20284
Luke Bryan: My Dirt Road Diary
2021– · Series · 1 seasonDocumentary · Biography
Multi-platinum country music superstar and recent Academy of Country Music Awards "Entertainer of the Year" recipient, Luke Bryan, as he experiences the ups, downs, triumphs and tragedies along the road to unprecedented success.
Prime Video - #20584
The Wolfpack
2015 · Movie · 1h 30mDocumentary · Biography
Confined in an apartment from a New York housing project, the six Angulo brothers learned everything they know about the world through watching films and spend their time reenacting their favorite movies with intricate homemade co...
Prime Video - #21284
Code Black
2014 · Movie · 1h 18mDocumentary · Drama
A notorious trauma bay in an inner-city E.R. earns its keep as the 'hurt locker of medicine' as new, idealistic and adrenaline-seeking doctors train in an environment akin to a war zone. When the hospital moves to a swank new buil...
Prime Video - #21384

George Carlin: Doin' It Again
1990 · Movie · 1hDocumentary · Comedy
George Carlin brings his comedy back to New Jersey and this time talks about Offensive Language, Euphemisms, They're Only Words, Dogs, Things you never hear, see or wanna hear, Some people are stupid, Cancer, Feminists, Good Ideas...
Prime Video - #22083
The Coming War on China
2016 · Movie · 1h 53mDocumentary · History
From award winning journalist John Pilger, reveals what the news doesn't - that the world's greatest military power, the United States, and the world's second economic power, China, both nuclear-armed, may well be on the road to war.
Prime Video - #22183
Randy Rhoads: Reflections of a Guitar Icon
2022 · Movie · 1h 25mDocumentary
Randy Rhoads one of the greatest guitar players who ever lived was taken too soon and his story remains a mystery. We experience the life of Randy Rhoads from his time with Quiet Riot to becoming an icon with Ozzy Osbourne.
Prime Video - #23383
What We Left Behind: Looking Back at Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
2018 · Movie · 1h 56mDocumentary · Sci-Fi & Fantasy
A documentary exploring the legacy of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, the reasons it went from the black sheep of Star Trek to a beloved mainstay of the franchise, and a brainstorm with the original writers on what a theoretical eighth season of the show could look like.
Prime Video - #24882
1
2013 · Movie · 1h 52mDocumentary · Action · History
Set in the golden era of Grand Prix Racing '1' tells the story of a generation of charismatic drivers who raced on the edge, risking their lives during Formula 1's deadliest period, and the men who stood up and changed the sport f...
Prime Video - #25282
The Thief Collector
2022 · Movie · 1h 36mDocumentary · Crime
In 1985, Willem de Kooning's "Woman-Ochre," one of the most valuable paintings of the 20th century, was cut from its frame at the University of Arizona Museum of Art. 32 years later, the painting was found hanging in a New Mexico ...
Prime Video - #25582

Klitschko
2011 · Movie · German · 1h 58mDocumentary · Biography · Sport
A documentary encompassing the lives of world heavyweight boxing champions, Vitali & Wladimir Klitschko. The first time in history two brothers have shared all the heavyweight world titles, this film explores their humble beginnin...
Prime Video - #26182
He Dreams of Giants
2019 · Movie · 1h 25mDocumentary
The culmination of a trilogy of documentaries that have followed film director Terry Gilliam over a 25 year period. Charting Gilliam's final, beleaguered quest to adapt Don Quixote, this documentary is a potent study of creative o...
Prime Video - #26282
Trumbo
2007 · Movie · 1h 36mDocumentary · Biography
Through a focus on the life of Dalton Trumbo (1905-1976), this film examines the effects on individuals and families of a congressional pursuit of Hollywood Communists after World War II. Trumbo was one of several writers, directo...
Prime Video - #26382

Fresh Dressed
2015 · Movie · 1h 30mDocumentary · History
Fresh Dressed chronicles the history of Hip-Hop <> Urban fashion and its rise from southern cotton plantations to the gangs of 1970s in the South Bronx, to corporate America, and everywhere in-between. Supported by rich archival m...
Prime Video - #26781
I Am Richard Pryor
2019 · Movie · 1h 32mDocumentary · Biography
I Am Richard Pryor tells the story of the legendary performer and iconic social satirist, who transcended race and social barriers by delivering his honest irreverent and biting humor to America's stages and living rooms until his...
Prime Video - #27081

Call Me Lucky
2015 · Movie · 1h 46mDocumentary · Biography · Comedy
Barry Crimmins is pissed. His hellfire brand of comedy has rained verbal lightning bolts on American audiences and politicians for decades, yet you've probably never heard of him. But once you've experienced Bobcat Goldthwait's br...
Prime Video - #27381

Bones Brigade: An Autobiography
2012 · Movie · 1h 30mDocumentary · Sport
When six teenage boys came together as a skateboarding team in the 1980s, they reinvented not only their chosen sport but themselves too - as they evolved from insecure outsiders to the most influential athletes in the field.
Prime Video - #27581
Ukraine Is Not a Brothel
2013 · Movie · 1h 18mDocumentary
Ukraine's topless feminist sensation Femen has created a media frenzy across Europe, but before they take the world by storm, these bold and beautiful women must confront the dark and perverse forces that power their organisation.
Prime Video - #27881
Alligator
1980 · Movie · 1h 31mHorror · Sci-Fi & Fantasy · Thriller
A pet baby alligator is flushed down a toilet and survives in the city sewers. Twelve years later, it grows to an enormous size thanks to a diet of discarded laboratory dogs injected with growth hormones. Now, humans have entered ...
PeacockPrime Video - #28381
Time Warp Vol. 2: Horror and Sci-Fi
2020 · Movie · 1h 23mDocumentary · Horror · Sci-Fi & Fantasy
The greatest cult horror and science fiction films of all-time are studied in vivid detail in the second volume of Time Warp. Includes groundbreaking classics like "Night of the Living Dead," and "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre," and sc
Prime Video - #28681
Food Chains
2014 · Movie · German · 1h 23mDocumentary
There is so much interest in food these days yet there is almost no interest in the hands that pick that food. In the US, farm labor has always been one of the most difficult and poorly paid jobs and has relied on some of the nati...
Prime Video - #28880
The Wrecking Crew
2008 · Movie · 1h 41mDocumentary · History
A celebration of the musical work of a group of session musicians known as "The Wrecking Crew", a band that provided back-up instrumentals to such legendary recording artists as Frank Sinatra, The Beach Boys and Bing Crosby.
NetflixPrime Video - #29180
Once Were Brothers: Robbie Robertson and the Band
2020 · Movie · 1h 40mDocumentary · Biography · History
A confessional, cautionary, and occasionally humorous tale of Robbie Robertson's young life and the creation of one of the most enduring groups in the history of popular music, The Band.
Prime Video - #29480

Monty Python: Almost the Truth (The Lawyer's Cut)
2009– · Series · 1 seasonDocumentary · Biography
A documentary on the history on British comedy group Monty Python. Features interviews with the five surviving members plus other comedians and artists whose careers they have influenced.
Prime Video - #29980

Heaven Adores You
2014 · Movie · 1h 44mDocumentary · Biography · Drama
Heaven Adores You is an intimate, meditative inquiry into the life and music of Elliott Smith. By threading the music of Elliott Smith through the dense, yet often isolating landscapes of the three major cities he lived in -- Port...
Prime Video - #30980
Phantasm
1979 · Movie · 1h 29mHorror · Sci-Fi & Fantasy
Newly orphaned teenager Mike Pearson, his older brother Jody, and their friends face off against a mysterious grave robber known as the Tall Man, who employs a lethal arsenal of unearthly weapons in their southern California town.
PeacockPrime Video - #32279

George Carlin: Again!
1978 · Movie · 1h 21mDocumentary · Comedy
Performing at the Celebrity Star Theater in Phoenix on July 23, 1978, Carlin mesmerizes his audience in the second of his 12 HBO specials. The show was originally planned as part of a concert/sketch movie, The Illustrated George C...
Prime Video - #32479

Living in the Future's Past
2018 · Movie · 1h 40mDocumentary
What kind of future do we want to live in? Jeff Bridges presents this beautifully photographed 4K tour de force of original thinking on who we are and the life challenges we face. This film upends our way of thinking and provides ...
Prime Video - #33079
Hell House LLC
2015 · Movie · 1h 33mHorror · Mystery
Five years after an unexplained malfunction causes the death of 15 tour-goers and staff on the opening night of a Halloween haunted house tour, a documentary crew travels back to the scene of the tragedy to find out what really ha...
Prime Video - #33179

George Carlin: On Campus
1984 · Movie · 1hDocumentary · Comedy
In his New York City grammar school, George Carlin was known as a "disruptive influence in the classroom." With this concert, the ultimate class clown is back at school at UCLA, making another generation of students roar with laug...
Prime Video - #33879
Never Surrender: A Galaxy Quest Documentary
2019 · Movie · 1h 35mDocumentary
Filmmakers and stars discuss the filming and social effects of Galaxy Quest, a comedic take-off of Star Trek, with brilliant commentary not only on the Star Trek series but on the real-life actors themselves.
Prime Video - #34279
Skin: A History of Nudity in the Movies
2020 · Movie · 2h 10mDocumentary · History
The story chronicles nudity's evolution in cinema from silent era through #MeToo, examining moral shifts, gender dynamics, artistic intent vs. exploitation, and nudity's role in storytelling amid proliferation of compelling content.
Prime Video - #34679
A Cook's Tour
2002–2003 · Series · 2 seasonsDocumentary
The #1 food writer and television host in the world, Anthony Bourdain reinvented the food travel genre. In his groundbreaking first series, Bourdain travels around the world indulging his taste for local cuisine and eccentric char...
Prime Video - #35978

Edwardian Farm
2010–2011 · Series · 1 seasonDocumentary · Action
In this 12-part documentary series of Edwardian Farm, archaeologists Alex Langlands and Peter Ginn and historian Ruth Goodman go back in time to the early 1900s to live the lives of Edwardian farmers for a full calendar year.
Prime Video - #36078
Stop at Nothing: The Lance Armstrong Story
2014 · Movie · 1h 44mDocumentary · Biography · Sport
This documentary is an intimate but explosive story about the man behind the greatest fraud in sporting history. Lance Armstrong enriched himself by cheating his fans, his sport and the truth.
Prime Video - #36978
Ash and Bone
2022 · Movie · 1h 37mHorror · Mystery · Thriller
Cassie is a rebelling teen and with a new stepmom it escalates and her father Lucas decides to take her and his new wife Sarah out of the city for some bonding and quality time together. What they find instead is the McKinley's an...
Prime Video - #37078
Carlin at Carnegie
1983 · Movie · 1hDocumentary · Comedy
Taped before a sold-out house at New York City's Carnegie Hall, the performance represents a creative resurgence for Carlin, following a heart attack earlier that year. He ignites the stage with unique perceptions and his outrageo...
Prime Video - #37578
Reclaiming the Blade
2009 · Movie · 1h 30mDocumentary
The Medieval and Renaissance blade, a profound and beautiful object handcrafted by master artisans of old. An object of great complexity, yet one with a singular use in mind- it is designed to kill. The truth of the sword has been...
Prime Video - #37678
Undaunted: The Forgotten Giants of the Allegheny Observatory
2012 · Movie · 1h 2mDocumentary
This film tells the surprising story of how the Allegheny Observatory has been a world leader in the study of the stars since the 1860s. Self-educated, and often facing unrelenting hardships, the people associated with the Alleghe...
Prime Video - #37878

From Beyond
1986 · Movie · 1h 25mHorror · Sci-Fi & Fantasy
A group of scientists have developed the Resonator, a machine which allows whoever is within range to see beyond normal perceptible reality. But when the experiment succeeds, they are immediately attacked by terrible life forms.
Prime Video - #38178
The Portrait
2023 · Movie · 1h 26mHorror · Mystery · Thriller
After her husband is devastated by a tragic accident, a devoted wife obsesses over a mysterious portrait that resembles him as he was; but when it starts to terrorize her, she must decide if it's possessed or if she's losing her m...
Prime Video - #38677

Sebastian Maniscalco: Aren't You Embarrassed?
2014 · Movie · 1h 3mDocumentary · Comedy
Sebastian Maniscalco returns home to Chicago to perform in front of a live sold-out audience in this all-new comedy event. With his inimitable delivery, he burns modern-day society through the lens of his old-world Italian-America...
NetflixPrime Video - #39377
American Greed
2007–2023 · Series · 15 seasonsDocumentary · Crime
Documentary series focusing on history's largest financial crimes ranging from Ponzi schemes, murder, card counting, generating fake currency and goods, extortion, online dating, identity theft, drug distribution, and insider trad...
PeacockPrime Video - #39877

Crips and Bloods: Made in America
2009 · Movie · 1h 33mDocumentary · Crime
With a first-person look at the notorious Crips and Bloods, this film examines the conditions that have lead to decades of devastating gang violence among young African Americans growing up in South Los Angeles.
Prime Video



















































































































