Halloween is right here, and one of the best ways to rejoice is by watching some good scary films.
The draw back to having 1000’s of flicks out there to observe at house is that it’s robust to know what you need to watch or skip.
Watch With Us is right here to assist. We’ve curated a listing that features classics like The Texas Chain Noticed Bloodbath and up to date hits like 2025’s Weapons.
These films can be found to stream on main streaming companies like Netflix, Prime Video and extra, so it doesn’t matter what you’re subscribed to, you need to discover one thing to observe on All Hallows’ Eve.
Netflix
‘The Strangers’ (2008)
Whereas enjoyable at a good friend’s remoted cabin, an estranged couple — James (Scott Speedman) and Kristen (Liv Tyler) — are menaced by three masked strangers. There’s not a lot else to The Strangers, however there doesn’t have to be since director Bryan Bertino generates sufficient rigidity and scares by depicting his protagonists’ rising realization that they’re trapped with little probability of escape. When Kristen asks one of many feminine strangers why they picked them to torture, she responds with an all-time chilling reply: “Since you have been dwelling.”
‘Smile’ (2022)
Is there something extra unsettling than a stranger smiling at you? That’s the essential premise behind Smile, the 2022 horror hit that sees Dr. Rose Cotter (Sosie Bacon) cursed by an entity that possesses individuals who smile unusually earlier than killing themselves in entrance of her. Rose should discover a approach to break the curse earlier than she too falls prey to this supernatural pressure.
Smile is a relentless horror film — the kills hold coming, and poor Rose doesn’t seem like a last woman who will make it to the sequel. The movie’s bleak ending someway makes room for future follow-ups, however like each nice horror franchise, the primary stays the most effective.
‘The Texas Chain Noticed Bloodbath’ (1974)
There’s a motive why it is a basic and why the entire sequels, reboots and half-hearted remakes have did not mimic its success. The straightforward story, a couple of group of hippie teenagers who come across a Texas farmhouse populated by a sadistic household of cannibals, is straightforward, with no convoluted origin plot or deep psychology. This household is simply unhealthy, and so they wish to eat individuals. Interval.
By far essentially the most disturbing scene is nearly cold, with poor Sally (Marilyn Burns) strapped to a eating room chair and compelled to attend a dinner from hell. The Texas Chain Noticed Bloodbath is likely one of the few films ever made that makes you are feeling you’ve simply seen what true evil seems to be like.
Prime Video
‘The Descent’ (2005)
A cave expedition goes horribly fallacious in The Descent, a monster film with a number of tips up its sleeve. When Sarah (Shauna Macdonald) joins her pals for an all-female weekend of spelunking, she’s initially excited — till they encounter a gaggle of underground monsters who need to slaughter them. As they steadily fall prey to those creatures, Sarah and what’s left of her pals should determine a manner out of the caves they’re caught in — in the event that they don’t kill one another first.
There’s no different streaming platform to get you higher prepped for Halloween than Shudder. Shudder is the one-stop store for movies with spooky vibes, and whereas the streamer peddles largely in horror, it does supply up an eclectic banquet of sub-genres starting from paranormal thrillers to fantasy musicals and extra oddball picks. Thank You! You […]
The Descent has loads of blood and viscera to appease style followers, however what elevates it’s the consideration to character and element that’s not frequent in photos like this. Not everybody likes one another, and when the monsters assault, it brings out all kinds of secrets and techniques and resentments that make the scenario worse. The movie’s unique ending (which isn’t included on this model, however you possibly can watch it on YouTube) is likely one of the nice fakeouts in horror film historical past and can persuade anybody by no means to go spelunking.
HBO Max
‘Weapons’ (2025)
Seventeen kids have disappeared and nobody is aware of why. Lots of people blame Justine Gandy (Julia Garner) for the reason that solely connection the youngsters have with one another is that all of them belonged to her elementary class. However is she responsible? And why was one youngster, Alex Lilly (Cary Christopher), spared?
Weapons begins as a thriller, however as extra secrets and techniques are revealed, it winds up changing into one of the vital unsettling horror films in fairly some time. Director Zach Cregger has a expertise for conjuring up eerie imagery, and he’s aided by an excellent forged that features Josh Brolin as a grieving father and Amy Madigan as an aunt with horrible vogue sense.
‘The Exorcist’ (1973)
What number of horror films over 50 years outdated nonetheless have the facility to terrify? An Oscar-nominated basic, The Exorcist particulars younger Regan’s (Linda Blair) unexplained bodily and psychological deterioration. At first, her mom, Chris (Ellen Burstyn), thinks she’s mentally sick, however she steadily realizes she’s possessed by a demon. Can Father Karras (Jason Miller) and Father Merrin (Max von Sydow) save the younger woman’s physique and soul with out being possessed themselves?
Satan possession photos are normally corny, however The Exorcist someway convinces you {that a} younger woman actually is being managed by evil supernatural forces. You already know a horror film is efficient when a random shot of an outdoor set of stairs is chilling.
‘Carnival of Souls (1962)
Earlier than there was Night time of the Dwelling Useless, there was Carnival of Souls. Director Herk Harvey’s seminal basic stars Candace Hilligoss as small-town organ participant Mary, a latest automobile accident survivor who’s stalked by unusual apparitions of the undead. Is Mary hallucinating because of her PTSD? Or are these undead monsters actual and ready for the fitting time to pull her to the underworld?
Infused with odd, poetic visuals, Carnival of Souls is an unsettling, black-and-white masterpiece and a key affect for all of the zombie movies to come back. The final 20 minutes redefine the phrase “creepy,” with a denouement that also packs a wallop after 60 years.
Hulu
‘In a Violent Nature’ (2024)
This gory 2024 indie movie does one thing few horror films do — it follows the killer’s POV as he stalks his prey within the Canadian wilderness. Because of this, there’s not a lot to the plot or characterizations: Jason Voorhees stand-in Johnny (Ry Barrett) quietly roams round, kills one or two individuals and strikes on with none actual motive.
When you can’t discover a horror film to stream in October, then you need to not be making an attempt very arduous. They’re in every single place this time of yr. Discovering the good horror films, nevertheless, generally is a problem. Thank You! You may have efficiently subscribed. Subscribe to newsletters Please enter a legitimate e-mail. Subscribe By signing up, I agree […]
However there’s an unsettling sense of menace the movie conjures that makes it stand out, and the kills, together with a brutal evisceration of an harmless yoga practitioner, are actually disturbing. It’s a bit skinny, however In a Violent Nature is one fashionable horror film that can make you cowl your eyes in concern and disgust.
Paramount+
‘Jacob’s Ladder’ (1990)
How are you going to inform if you happen to’re actually alive — or only a spirit who doesn’t notice it’s useless? Jacob’s Ladder toys with that concept by chronicling the unusual journey of Jacob (Tim Robbins), a Vietnam Conflict vet who begins hallucinating unusual issues in his Brooklyn neighborhood.
Is Jacob nonetheless affected by trauma because of his wartime experiences? Or is he truly haunted by ghosts who’re vengeful as a result of he escaped sure loss of life within the jungle? The ending makes it clear what’s taking place to Jacob, however that doesn’t make the movie any much less haunting.
Peacock
‘The Factor’ (1982)
At an remoted outpost in Antarctica, a gaggle of males in a army base make a surprising discovery: An alien is amongst them, and it might mimic any residing factor it comes into contact with. Gruff helicopter pilot R.J. Macready (Kurt Russell) has to determine who amongst his crew is admittedly “the factor” in query earlier than it consumes and takes over all of them — and perhaps the world.
A remake of the 1951 sci-fi basic, The Factor amps up the horror with its groundbreaking sensible results, which present in graphic element how “the factor” kills its prey and evolves into an virtually unstoppable creature. Directed by John Carpenter, the movie boasts one of many bleakest endings of the ’80s. There’s no completely happy conclusion right here — solely a distant hope that the world is protected from a creature that seemingly can’t be killed.
Led by Senior Editor and skilled critic Jason Struss, Watch With Us’ crew of writers and editors sees virtually each film and TV present from the distant previous to the current to find out what’s value your money and time. Our numerous hours of multimedia consumption — mixed with years of expertise within the leisure trade — assist us decide the most effective films and TV exhibits try to be streaming proper now.
To be thought-about “the most effective,” these movies and sequence might be visually participating, intellectually stimulating or just simply enjoyable to observe, however the one trait they should have is that they’re all, indirectly, entertaining. We then test which platform they’re streaming on and how one can entry them as a subscriber. No algorithm nonsense or paid endorsements right here — our suggestions are primarily based purely on our love and curiosity for the movies and exhibits we love.
