Halloween is around the corner and spooky season is upon us. The pumpkin lattes are brewing, we’re wrapping up in cozy jumpers and, of course, Halloween is just around the corner. To get us into the spooky spirit, we’ve compiled the ultimate list of Halloween movies – a total of 31 to get you through October! Whether you watch one a day, or have a binge weekend, we’ve got your back. From The Nightmare Before Christmas to the Saw series, let’s do this!
Disclaimer: I’m guessing if you’re reading this you like horror, but please watch movies with your own caution. Appropriate age ratings per the BBFC will be included with each movie.
1. Smile
Smile was one of the biggest horror movies last year – and rightly so! After witnessing a bizzare and traumatising patient death, psychiatrist Rose starts experiencing horrifying occurences. As terrifying as it is, Smile is a great way to kick off this Halloween season.
Ages 18+
Available on Paramount+.
2. Freaky
For a more lighthearted and comedic slasher, check out Freaky. A preppy high school student accidentally switches bodies with a middle-aged serial killer. They must reverse this in 24 hours or they’ll be stuck in each other’s bodies forever.
Ages 15+
Available on Netflix.
3. Bones and All
Bones and All, starring Timothy Chalament and Taylor Russell, follows the story of a young girl who practices cannibalism. When she meets a like-minded boy, they fall in love but life soon falls apart due to their lifestyle.
Ages 18+
Available on Pime.
4. The Nightmare Before Christmas
We just had to include some kids films to keep things light between all this darker recommendations. The Nightmare Before Christmas is our first Tim Burton work of this list and it’s just oh-so iconic. Jack Skellington is from Halloween Town and upon finding Christmas Town, he is fascinated. Can these two worlds really collide?
Age: PG
Available on Disney+.
5. Hotel Transylvania
Horror’s iconic Count Dracula is reimagined in kids film Hotel Transylvania. He runs a high-end resort for monsters, where he lives with his daughter. When a human stumbles upon the hotel and wants to stay, things are turned upside down.
Age: PG
Available on Netflix.
6. Old
Old was all the rage on social media a few years ago and it’s certainly worth a watch. A family on a tropical holiday decide to venture out to an isolated beach with a group of other holiday-makers. After a few hours, they realise they are aging much quicker than usual.
Ages 15+
Available on Netflix.
7. Insidious
This five-part franchise started off with the horrifying hauntings of the first film, Insidious. In a classic haunting house tale, parents Josh and Renai try their hardest to save their family and their home.
Ages 15+
Available on Netflix.
8. Scooby Doo (Film)
If you loved Scooby Doo as a kid, I’m sure you’ve seen this film! The team reunite after a bitter breakup to investigate some weird happenings at a resort on Spooky Island. This live-action brings the characters to life in the most beautifully spooky way.
Age: PG
Available on Now or to buy on Prime and Apple TV.
9. The Shining
The Shining is one of Stephen King’s best film adaptations. When Jack and his family move into an isolated hotel with a weird history, weird things start to happen – duh! Jack slowly begins to lose his mind and turns against his family.
Ages 15+
Available to buy on Prime and Apple TV.
10. Fear Street Trilogy
This may be my top recommended piece of work of all time. If you love Stranger Things, this will be right up your street (get it?). This trilogy focuses on a brutal series of murders and haunting over three different time periods – 1994, 1978 and 1666.
Ages 18+
Available on Netflix.
11. Corpse Bride
In this animated Tim Burton film, a young man is practicing his wedding vows in a graveyard and accidentally brings a dead woman into his life. The trouble is, she now thinks they’re married.
Age: PG
Available to buy on Prime and Apple TV.
12. Midsommar
If you haven’t heard of Midsommar, you’ve been living under a rock for the last few years. Grieving and haunted Dani joins her boyfriend and friends on a trip to Sweden where they quite literally accidentally join a cult. For femine rage and sweet revenge, this is a must-watch.
Ages 18+
Available to buy on Prime and Apple TV.
13. Hostel
Hostel gives very similar vibes to the Saw movies, with its tortue-esque themes. There are three movies in the series, but the first is, of course, the best. Three travellers are backpacking across Europe when they find themselves wrapped up in a pretty terrifying sitiuation.
Ages 18+
Available to buy on Prime or Apple TV.
14. In The Tall Grass
For a modern adaptation of a Stephen King novel, In The Tall Grass is a must-watch. A sibling duo enter a field of tall grass to save a young boy, but soon discover it was a trap. They can’t leave and are surrounded by evil lurking within the grass.
Ages 15+
Available on Netflix.
15. Beetlejuice
Tim Burton’s Beetlejuice is an incredible Halloween watch for the ultimate creepy yet lightearted vibes. When a family move to a new home, the deceased couple who used to live there haunt them in a bid to scare them away. After many unsuccesful attempts, they recruit the iconic Betelgeuse to help them out.
Ages 12+
Available to buy on Prime and Apple TV.
16. Ghostbusters
‘Who you gonna call? Ghostbusters!’ Let’s throw it back to the 80s with this absolute classic. Ghostbusters is certainly less gory and horrifying than other movies on this list – it’s a little more light hearted and fun! For some good old fashioned ghost hunting, this is a must-see this October.
Ages 12+
Available to buy on Prime and Apple TV.
17. Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark
Based on a 1980s book by Alvin Schwartz, this Halloween horror follows a group of teens who explore a haunted house and find a series of scary stories written by a long-dead child from a weathly family.
Ages 15+
Available to buy on Prime and Apple TV.
18. Scream (series)
How could we not mention the Scream franchise? Scream (1996) is a classic slasher film where the lead character is trying to figure out who’s committing all these murders. As the franchise continues, we see the main characters finding themselves in the same situation over and over again.
Ages 18+
Available on Paramount+ or to buy on Prime and Apple TV
19. Hereditary
Hereditary is a brilliant blend between gory and supernatural horror. When Annie’s mother passes away, she and her family are learning to live with the grief. As the plot develops, we learn more horrifying and spooky details about their family history.
Ages 15+
Available to buy on Prime and Apple TV.
20. mother!
Jennifer Lawrence gives an incredible performance in arguably one of the most chaotic and overwhleming (in the best ways) horror film I’ve seen in a long time. A family are living a seemingly peaceful life until an uninvited guest enters their home and a chaotic series of events begin to unfold.
Ages 18+
Available to buy on Prime.
21. The Invisible Man
Loosely inspired by the 1933 film of the same name, The Invisible Man is an incredibly moving horror film that highlights abusive relationships and gaslighting. A woman’s ex-boyfriend fakes his death and becomes invisible in order to torment and stalk her.
Ages 18+
Available to buy on Prime and Apple TV.
22. The Blair Witch Project
This iconic 90s horror film follows three filmmakers as they hike through the words in an attempt to dicover a local myth, the Blair Witch. The mockumentary style is incredibly horrifying and often leaves you forgetting all of these events are fictional.
Ages 15+
Available to buy on Prime.
23. Saw (series)
I can’t stress enough how big of a fan of the Saw movies I am. Over the course of the ten movies, serial killer ‘Jigsaw’ traps victims in this life or death games where they must fight to get out alive.
Ages 18+
Available on Netflix.
24. Halloween (series)
In the late 70s, Jamie Lee Curtis starred in the iconic Halloween, which led to a never-ending franchise of incredible slasher films. I mean, how many times can Michael Myers keep coming back? But we can’t complain, we love these movies!
Ages 18+
Available on Lionsgate+
25. Monster House
For a fun children’s Halloween film, check out Monster House. When a group of children discover their neighbour’s house is actually a monster that hates children, they – of course – have to enter.
Age: PG
Available on Netflix.
26. Get Out
How could we put together this list without mentioning Jordan Peele’s incredible projects? Get Out, to me, is legendary in horror. Chris, an African-American, goes to visit his Caucasian girlfriend’s family and soon discovers some horrifying acts of racism and prejudice.
Ages 15+
Available to buy on Prime and Apple TV
27. Us
Jordan Peele stuns again with his second horror film, Us. When a family are attacked by a group of strangers wearing red, they come to realise that these people are the family’s lookalikes. Going back and forth between the lead characters’ childhood and adulthood, we learn how this incident took place.
Ages 15+
Available to buy on Prime and Apple TV
28. Final Destination (series)
The Final Destination movies are a must-watch this October. For those who don’t know, the movies centre around this idea that you really can’t cheat death. Characters can predict lethal incidents and try to avoid them – but death always catches up to them.
Ages 15+
Available on Prime
29. Tusk
I watched Tusk recently due to all the hype over social media and it was disturbing to stay the least. Based on a real-life idea, a podcaster travels to interview an infamous fan and discovers his obsession with walruses becomes a sinister reality.
Ages 15+
Available on Prime.
30. Coraline
Coraline may just be one of the creepiest kids’ films I’ve seen, but it’s so incredible. A young girl walks through a secret door into a parallel universe and finds an idealised yet creepy version of her family.
Age Rating: PG
Available to buy on Prime.
31. Halloweentown
Last, but not least, we have Disney Channel’s classic Halloweentown. When kids intrigued by magic follow their grandma back to Halloweentown, they discover the wonderful mysteries of this charming yet spooky little town.
Ages 7+
Available on Disney+.
Happy spooky season! Look after yourselves and enjoy binge-watching this Halloween.
with love,
becky
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