spooky movies on youtube

The Best Free Horror Movies You Can Watch On YouTube Right Now

In his treatise on the nature of human fear, American multi-instrumentalist Andrew Gold posited that, "Spooky, scary skeletons / Send shivers down your spine / Shrieking skulls will shock your soul / Seal your doom tonight." He was right, of course — spooky scary skeletons can, as a rule, be counted on to sneak from their sarcophagi and just not let you be. But what if you're not close to a sarcophagus? What, indeed, if bags of bones are, to your eyes, a terror that's best categorized as merely semi-serious?

If that's the case, then consider this: YouTube offers a genuine smorgasbord of horror flicks, each designed to scare you and the ones you love, and each for the unbeatable price of zero dollars. The list is extensive, and runs the gamut from blood-soaked action to psychological thrillers that'll have you questioning the very nature of your existence — you know, just for fun. Here, we'll take a look at some of the best and most gruesome films that YouTube has on the menu.

On paper, "Cube" really should have turned out boring and bad. It was shot on a budget of less than half a million dollars on a Toronto sound stage and, in an especially foreboding development, involved hiring a math consultant. It had precisely no right to be good.

But here we are, nearly 25 years later, and "Cube" is still a classic of the low-budget, high-concept horror oeuvre. Written and directed by Vincenzo Natali of "Splice" fame, it tells the story of a group of strangers caught in what could best be described as a page from the Jigsaw Killer's dream journal — a maze of identical square rooms, intermittently booby trapped with all manner of unpleasantries, ranging from your boilerplate face-melting acid to a device that turns people into easily stackable segments of themselves. Typical as to what tends to happen in these situations, the argument is presented that human cube steak machines aren't the real monster — the real monster was the friends we made along the way.

Nosferatu the Vampyre

A full 40 years before he tried to kidnap Grogu, acclaimed filmmaker and amateur Henry Kissinger impersonator Werner Herzog took a swing at the legend of Dracula, reimagining 1922's "Nosferatu,"  the single most beloved piece of stone-cold plagiarism in the history of cinema.

The result: "Nosferatu the Vampyre." Released in Germany as "Nosferatu : Phantom der Nacht," the movie starts out about as unsettling as is generally considered possible, smacking viewers right in the gob with shots of very real, entirely not fake bodies of mummified children. With the tone having been set, the story continues in roughly the same direction as Bram Stoker's original novel, while taking design cues from the original "Nosferatu" and ramping up the horror thanks to Herzog's unique eye for creeping you the hell out.

"Nosferatu the Vampyre" has received near universal critical acclaim since its 1979 debut. Klaus Kinski's performance as the film's ratlike blood sucker, creepy from the get-go, becomes all the more unnerving when you realize that he's currently in your closet and there's nothing you can do about it.

Dead Snow 2: Red vs Dead

Uniformed, goose-stepping Nazis have luckily become more of a rarity to come by in the years following World War II. However in 2009's "Dead Snow,"  the plot   merged them with cinema's other favorite baddy to blow up, stab, and slap chop into pulpy bits: the humble zombie.

All of which raises a new problem: how do you up the ante on a story about undead fascists? In 2014, "Dead Snow" writer and director Tommy Wirkola gave audiences the answer: surgically attach a sentient zombie arm to the hero from the last movie. Maybe toss in an army of shambling Communist corpses, too. Also, see if Martin Starr is available, since he's literally only ever made things better.

"Dead Snow 2: Red vs. Dead" is a certifiable banger of a flick, somewhere between "Army of Darkness" and "Shawn of the Dead" in tone, with shades of "Idle Hands" and the undeniably striking image of a zombie in an SS uniform driving a tank thrown in for good measure.

The Jangsan Tiger is a well known (and very scary) urban legend in South Korea (per Asian Movie Pulse ). The white-furred and fanged creature supposedly stalks the Jangsan Mountain outside of the city of Busan, and in order to capture humans and eat them, it emits a wail that sounds like that of a woman in peril. The Mimic, a 2017 horror movie produced in South Korea and nominated for multiple South Korean film industry awards , brings the frightening tale to life in a setting grounded (ever so uncomfortably and menacingly) in reality. 

Min-ho, Hee-yeon, and their daughter Joon-hee move in with the family matriarch to care for the woman and to help Min-ho cope with the loss of her son five years hence. Mirroring a number of missing persons cases in the area, Grandmother keeps hearing the voice of her deceased sister coming from the forest. Meanwhile, little Hee-yeon finds a girl in the woods who looks and acts exactly like her daughter ... almost. Things get even more confusing and off-putting when the bodies start to pile up and it's necessary to cover all the mirrors in the house to prevent the evil from breaking through to this realm.

Jeepers Creepers 2

The phrase "Jeepers Creepers" is a cute, casual old-timey expression that means the equivalent of "my goodness," to indicate minor, pleasant shock. That sentiment is completely subverted and stretched to its absolute and ironic limits with the "Jeepers Creepers" film series, particularly the second entry in the franchise, "Jeepers Creepers 2" from 2003. Further playing with the idea of disarming the audience to induce sheer and utter terror, "Jeepers Creepers 2" is merely unsettling at first, finding and exploring the creepiness in common things. 

Set just after the first movie, a monster known as the Creeper kidnaps young Billy Taggart (Shaun Fleming), because it needs to feed. His father Jack (Ray Wise) and brother Jack Jr. (Luke Edwards) think the attack has something to do with a supernaturally monstrous scarecrow. It most certainly does, and things only get worse in terms of murder and mayhem when a school bus full of teenagers breaks down outside of town after a projectile made of bones blows up a tire. But it's nothing personal — the Creeper is only doing what comes naturally, killing to eat, thus horrifying a small farm community and some unlucky visitors.

Halloween H20: 20 Years Later

An early example of a franchise reboot that's also a legacy sequel, "Halloween H20: 20 Years Later" is the seventh entry in the horror series about the brutal (and seemingly immortal) masked murderer Michael Myers , bringing him back to his most iconic target, Laurie Strode. Released in 1998, "Halloween H20" cashed in on the late '90s teen horror boom ("Scream," "I Know What You Did Last Summer") by celebrating the 20th anniversary of the John Carpenter film from 1978 that inspired those movies while bringing in a whole new cast of young actors to continue to tell the story of Myers vs. Strode, ignoring some of the more poorly received latter sequels.

Picking up two decades after she was nearly murdered while working as a babysitter, Laurie Strode (scream queen Jamie Lee Curtis) has faked her death, changed her name, and moved to California, where she administers a private school. But Michael Myers, having broken into the home of his old psychiatrist and stolen Laurie's file, tracks her down and tries to kill her again. Halloween (the holiday) is coming, and so are the murders. Laurie will once again have to defend herself and some of her young charges (including Michelle Williams and Josh Hartnett) from very bloody murder.

Poltergeist

The '80s was a golden era for horror movies, and "Poltergeist" is one of the best. While it's got some moments of stomach-churning gore, Steven Spielberg and Tobe Hooper's film plays with the mind and soul, getting to the core of what can truly unnerve and horrify the average human being. It exploits those fears, delivering a penetratingly frightening movie about dread, loss, and feeling unsafe even in one's own home, normally a respite from the terrors of life. 

In the film's most famous line, little suburban kid Carol Anne Freeling (Heather O'Rourke) says in a sing-song voice, "They're here," announcing the arrival of ghosts trying to make contact through TV static. At first they're friendly, but they eventually kidnap her into their otherworldly realm. Terrified, panicked, and at a loss as to what to do, the family brings in quirky paranormal experts and an exorcist in their attempts to deal with a demonic presence. Nobody — and nothing — is safe in "Poltergeist."

Stephen King's career spans nearly 50 years, and his literary output has defined and shaped modern horror. He's written many classic tales of gore, fright, and darkness, among them his first major commercial success, "Carrie." It's been adapted for the screen multiple times, including the 2002 version, written for the screen by "Hannibal" creator Bryan Fuller . 

The cautionary tale of evil and dread is much the same one told by King and other filmmakers. Teenager Carrie White (Angela Bettis) is sweet and innocent to a fault, kept in the dark about the ways of the world by her overly religious and paranoid single mother (Patricia Clarkson) while enduring humiliation and abuse on a daily basis from her exceptionally cruel high school classmates. As Carrie matures, weird events recur, and she soon comes to realize she has powerful and deadly supernatural abilities. As Carrie comes into her power, both as a young woman with agency and as a force one shouldn't mess with, she'll have her revenge in a spectacular and tragic way during an unforgettable prom night.

7 Public Domain Horror Movies That Are Streaming Free on YouTube

By michele debczak | oct 13, 2022 | updated: nov 1, 2022, 12:29 am edt.

There’s no shortage of scary movies on platforms like Netflix and Hulu , but you don’t need to sign up for a streaming service to satisfy your horror craving. Some of the greatest horror films of all time are available for free on YouTube. Here are the best public domain horror movies to check out this spooky season.

1. Nosferatu (1922)

Dracula wasn’t in the public domain in Germany when F. W. Murnau made Nosferatu , which got him into legal trouble with Bram Stoker’s estate. Today both Dracula and this unauthorized silent movie adaptation are freely available to the public.

2. The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1923)

The Hunchback of Notre Dame , which stars the legendary Lon Chaney, was the movie that kicked off Universal’s monster era . The gruesome makeup in this silent movie still holds up.

3. House on Haunted Hill (1959)

No good horror movie marathon is complete without a Vincent Price appearance. This movie—about a group of people challenged to spend the night in a haunted house for $10,000—checks off that box.

4. The Little Shop of Horrors (1960)

If you’re a fan of the Howard Ashman musical , check out the cheesy B-movie that inspired it. The original Little Shop of Horrors is perhaps best known for Jack Nicholson’s early performance as a masochistic dental patient, but the rest of the film is worth checking out for connoisseurs of sci-fi schlock.

5. Carnival of Souls (1962)

Made on a shoestring budget, this movie about a woman haunted by spirits following a car accident is a must-see for fans of indie horror. It’s the only film from director Herk Harvey—unless you count his creepy Halloween PSAs .

6. Night of the Living Dead (1968)

Night of the Living Dead spawned a wave of zombie media that’s been going strong for more than 50 years. George A. Romero’s film doesn’t boast the special effects of some modern zombie movies, but it remains a high watermark of the genre.

7. Silent Night, Bloody Night (1972)

One of the newer films on this list, Silent Night, Bloody Night is an early example of holiday horror. Watch it if you loved Black Christmas (1974), which was released just two years later.

Looking for a new movie to watch, or at least a movie that's new to you? Mental Floss's new book,  The Curious Movie Buff: A Miscellany of Fantastic Films from the Past 50 Years , offers behind-the-scenes details and amazing facts about some of the greatest movies of the past half-century. And it's available now at your favorite place to buy books, or online right here .

10 Scariest Movies You Can Watch FOR FREE On YouTube Right Now

These are the horror movies you can watch for free with the press of a button.

With the world being what it is in 2020, going to the cinema isn't an option for large swaths of the global population, and so streaming has enjoyed an enormous uptick in worldwide traffic.

There are countless streaming platforms to choose from, such as Netflix, Amazon Prime, and the horror-specific Shudder, all of which of course require their own subscription fee.

But there are a number of free alternative streaming options, which while perhaps not touting the very newest releases, will nevertheless allow you to hunker down with some great horror flicks.

And there's perhaps no more democratic a video repository than YouTube, which in addition to offering its own paid movie rental service , allows distributors, rights holders, and even fans (distributor tolerance depending) to share movies on their own channels for free.

And so, scouring YouTube's platter of available horror flicks, these are unquestionably the 10 scariest you can dare subject yourself to, from pulse-racing found footage films to the undisputed, classic kings of the genre.

If you're stuck for something to watch and are in the mood to have the living bajesus scared out of you, you shouldn't give these movies a miss...

10. Grave Encounters

As much as the found footage genre might seem thoroughly played-out, it does nevertheless periodically serve as a fertile medium for low-budget filmmakers to express their scrappy creativity.

One such example is 2011's Grave Encounters, in which a reality TV crew lock themselves inside a haunted psychiatric hospital, which goes about as swimmingly as you'd expect.

If you can forgive a few dodgy CGI moments, this is one of the leaner and more effective found footage joints out there, taking a familiar formula and elevating it with slow-building suspense and an utterly nerve-jangling, dread-soaked payoff.

Making the most of its eerie central location and offering up a few unexpected twists, Grave Encounters is so much scarier than its daft title might have you believe.

The less said about the critically mauled sequel , though, the better.

Stay at home dad who spends as much time teaching his kids the merits of Martin Scorsese as possible (against the missus' wishes). General video game, TV and film nut. Occasional sports fan. Full time loon.

The best free horror movies on YouTube

Get spooked.

Eddie Strait

Posted on Nov 15, 2018   Updated on May 21, 2021, 1:37 am CDT

The free horror movies on YouTube probably won’t scare you. What you will get, however, is an education in horror.

YouTube has a slew of scary movies ready for you to watch right now. Of course, we are talking about films that are available to watch legally. The selections we found are public domain films, so they’re mostly black-and-white. But the fun part about watching films this old is the sense of discovery that comes with them. If you’re looking for something you probably won’t find on the major streaming services, you’ll find it here. These are the best free horror movies on YouTube .

Free horror movies on YouTube: 10 scary movies to watch

1) night of the living dead.

While Victor Halperin’s White Zombie is widely credited as the first zombie movie, Walking Dead fans have George Romero to thank for starting the modern zombie craze with this landmark 1968 horror film. The low-budget indie was filmed for just $114,000 and grossed $12 million in the U.S., making it one of the most profitable movies ever made , never mind an enduringly influential cult classic. Night of the Living Dead was a critique of discourses of race and social taboos, as well one of few movies in the era to cast a black actor in a lead role. While Romero’s film would launch a successful film franchise for the director (last seen in 2009’s Survival of the Dead ), this will forever be remembered as the maestro’s finest hour. — Nico Lang

2) The Lodger

In this 1944 chiller, a family unwittingly allows a serial killer to stay in their home. The eponymous lodger is not just any serial killer, but Jack the Ripper himself. As the family’s concerns about their guest grow, so does their fear for their niece’s safety. Star Laird Cregar earned much praise for his performance as Mr. Slade, the possible Ripper. Cregar’s work put him on the fast track to stardom, but that would be short-lived as he died of a heart attack a year after The Lodger ’s release. — Eddie Strait

3) Nosferatu

Nosferatu is, for my money, still the most chilling horror film to grace the big screen. For F.W. Murnau’s considerable gifts as a director—he also filmed Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans , the first movie to ever win Best Picture—the movie lives and dies on Max Schreck’s utterly incredible performance as the titular bloodsucker. Here’s the ultimate indication of just how good Schreck is here: Shadow of the Vampire , a 2000 film starring Willem Dafoe and John Malkovich, suggested that Max Schreck was an actual vampire. That film is, of course, a work of fiction, but let’s just say this: I would never have wanted to be alone in a dark alley with Schreck to find out. — N.L.

4) White Zombie

For horror movie buffs, White Zombie is unmissable. Before George Romero and The Walking Dead , this 1932 film kickstarted the zombie movie genre. Although White Zombie was very negatively reviewed upon its release (one critic called it “an unintentional and often hilarious comedy”), the early independent feature—set in Haiti—has an eerie hypnotic pull. Bela Lugosi plays a local voodoo master who transforms a visiting American woman (Madge Bellamy) into a zombie by putting her into a mysterious trance. White Zombie has none of the undead brain-eaters fans would come to associate with the generic form, but if you can get past the hammy overacting, the film succeeds on its own charms. It would become such a cult hit in the U.S. that White Zombie even became a favorite of the Nazi Party, one of the few American films that was given the Third Reich’s seal of approval. — N.L.

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5)  Silent Night, Bloody Night

This pre-slasher slasher revolves around a series of Christmas Eve murders and is set in the 1950s. The movie doesn’t have the best critical reputation, but it’s an interesting movie to consider within the context of the genre. Silent Night, Bloody Night came out five years before John Carpenter’s Halloween hit the scene, but uses many of the techniques that would become staples. — N.L.

6) Carnival of Souls

James Wan’s 2011 horror sleeper hit Insidious was famously inspired by this low-budget effort from prolific short-film director Herk Harvey. Filmed for just $20,000, Carnival of Souls has proven a major influence on directors George Romero and David Lynch, who seemed to draw on the film for his hypnotic 1997 effort, Lost Highway . The film—about a woman who finds herself haunted by an inescapable evil following a tragic car accident—is odd and hard to pin down, but that’s precisely part of its ineffable appeal. Its surreal atmospheric pleasures should be catnip for fans of better-known movies from the period—like Samuel Fuller’s Shock Corridor or Kiss Me Deadly (another Lynch favorite).— N.L.

7) The Living Ghost

More of a mystery with sprinkles of horror than an outright spookfest, The Living Ghost is creepy enough to warrant a spot on this list. After a banker, Walter Craig (Gus Glassmire), goes missing, ex-PI Nick Trayne (James Dunn) jumps back into the game. Nick walks into a house full of clues and suspects, and the road to figure out whodunit is windy. At a brisk 60 minutes, The Living Ghost offers enough scares and twists to keep you guessing to the end. — E.S.

https://youtu.be/i63Gr7jKCEc

8) House on Haunted Hil l

Between movies like House of Wax (not the Paris Hilton one), The Fly (not the Geena Davis one), and House on Haunted Hill (not the Chris Kattan one), Vincent Price carved out a niche for himself as the maestro of macabre horror. Price’s eerie yet alluring screen presence is unmatched in cinema, and this film—about a millionaire who pays a group of people to stay overnight in his spooky old house—is the perfect blend of retro horror and vintage camp. Those looking for more gems in Price’s massive filmography would be advised to check out his playing-it-straight roles in The Song of Bernadette and Laura , which gave Price a chance to show the fine actor underneath the steely kitsch. — N.L.

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9) Diary of a Madman

Movies about demonic possession have an evergreen creepy factor that permeates even the worst the genre has to offer. Diary of a Madman is a solid entry that time has rendered less scary on a superficial level, but the idea of an evil spirit, a horla , jumping bodies and wreaking havoc is still effective. Vincent Price stars as Simon, a man who has succumbed to the horla . His diary is read posthumously, and the movie flashes back to tell the story of Simon’s downfall. It’s creepy and it’s Vincent Price, and that makes it worth a watch. — E.S.

10) Cry of the Wolf

This film’s claim to fame is that it features one of the first onscreen appearances of a female werewolf. Nina Foch plays Celeste, a princess capable of turning into a wolf, a trait that runs in the family. When her family’s secret is threatened, Celeste must use her powers to protect it. Werewolf-centric horror has evolved a great deal in the 70-plus years, so the scares in Cry of the Wolf probably won’t elicit many jumps, but the desire to protect family at all costs still plays well. — E.S.

Still not sure what to watch or what service to choose? Here are the 60 best movies on Amazon Prime , 35 best movies on HBO , 50 best movies on Hulu , 105 best movies on Netflix , 15 best movies on Showtime , 25 best movies on Starz , and 45 free movies on YouTube.

Eddie Strait is a member of the Austin Film Critic Association. His reviews focus primarily on streaming entertainment, with an emphasis on Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime, and other on-demand services.

5 Free Horror Movies on YouTube You Have to Watch

Finding free films online typically involves a bit of piracy or inviting malware onto our computers. Every so often, though, free horror movies on YouTube grant us a reprieve from those threats. Whether it’s because the movies are outdated or simply terrible, studios occasionally offer them up free for everyone to enjoy.

As far as we can tell, these films were uploaded legitimately and with the studio’s permission. Don’t expect the same level of quality as The Conjuring or Texas Chainsaw Massacre – these are free, after all – but if you’ve got free time on your hands, they’re worth a watch.

1.  Entity (2012)

Of all the free horror movies on YouTube, Entity might elicit the most disagreement over its quality. It has a 4.7 on IMDb , so many fans would just look the other way. On the other hand, it’s also got a great premise. And its fans? They can’t stop lauding it. Here’s the synopsis:

“A TV crew and a psychic travel into a remote Siberian forest to investigate an old case. As they near the spot where 34 bodies were found in a shallow grave, their communication with the outside world stops, and they are not heard from again.”

Sounds fun, right? It comes in at just below an hour and a half. You can watch the film in its entirety here:

2. The Cleansing (2019)

If you can’t get enough of scary films that take us back to a distant time, The Cleansing might be right up your alley. Its basic plot is certainly something we’ve seen before, but it does have a few surprises up its sleeve. Plus, since it’s a free horror movie on YouTube, you really can’t beat the price!

Here’s the synopsis:

“In a small isolated village in 14th century Wales, sixteen-year-old girl Alice is accused of being a witch and causing the plague that took the lives of many, including Alice’s own father. An ominous figure called The Cleanser arrives in the village to clean it of disease, and Alice is forced to fight for her life.”

With a 4.1 on IMDb , you’re taking a big risk. If this sounds like something you’d enjoy, though, here’s the film in its entirety:

3. The Circle

The Kings of Horror uploaded this film on July 17, 2020. So yeah, really recently. I’ll be completely honest with you: I couldn’t even manage to find an IMDb page for this one. That means you’re on your own. The description from Kings of Horror is almost as long as a novel, so I’ll just give you the quick and easy version:

“Josh’s beloved Grandpa Joe has passed on… and they never even got to say goodbye. So, Josh’s wife, Lori plans to do a séance as part of his upcoming surprise birthday party. Despite a stern warning not to hold such a ritual during a birthday celebration, Lori invites Ina, a spiritual medium, to attend the party and conduct the séance.”

That’s legitimately only about one-third of the entire synopsis. I’d recommend not reading it in its entirety; it might just give the complete movie away. Either way, here’s the film in its entirety:

4. The Presence (2010)

Of all the free horror movies on YouTube, The Presence might have the most well-known actors. Well, actress – singular. Mira Sorvino – who you might remember from Romy and Michele’s High School Reunion – leads up the cast in this film about a woman who thinks she’s losing her mind in an isolated cabin.

No, it’s not as good as The Lodge .

In fact, you might be wondering why you haven’t heard much from Sorvino since her Romy and Michele days. It could have something to do with movies like this. It landed a 4.4 rating on IMDb , so it’s far from the best flick on this list. If you’re cruising for a bruising, though, here’s the film in its entirety:

5. Murder Made Easy (2017)

Don’t you just love murder dinner mysteries ?!? Well, if not, at least this one falls into the free horror movies on YouTube category. Murder Made Easy is one of the higher-rated films on this list – landing a 5.6 on IMDb . Here’s the synopsis:

“On the anniversary of Joan’s husband’s death, Joan and Michael host an elaborate dinner party for their closest friends, putting their lives on the line due to a dark secret that links them all.”

Quick and simple, right? Fortunately, so is the movie. At just over an hour, you can get this knocked out while you’re waiting for your pizza to get delivered. Enjoy!

Share the Free Horror Movies on YouTube You Found!

These are just a small sampling of the gratis films available on the world’s largest video platform. Of course, this means we probably missed some certifiable gems. Are there a few free horror movies on YouTube you’ve discovered on your own? Tell us about them in the comments!

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Watch Now: ‘Never Hike Alone 2’ Full ‘Friday the 13th’ Fan Film Released!

In the realm of fan films, few have garnered as much acclaim and attention as Never Hike Alone . Now, fans of the series have a new installment to watch with the release of Never Hike Alone 2 . Produced by Womp Stomp Films , this eagerly awaited sequel made its debut during Friday the 13th weekend.

While Never Hike Alone 2 stands as a fan film, its narrative seamlessly ties into the broader Friday the 13th universe. In fact, it’s being hailed as an unofficial successor to Friday the 13th Part VI: Jason Lives . One of the most exciting aspects of this release is the return of Thom Mathews, reprising his role as the beloved franchise hero, Tommy Jarvis.

The plot picks up from where Never Hike Alone (2017) and its subsequent installment Never Hike in the Snow (2020) left off. Tommy Jarvis, having nearly abandoned his quest to find the elusive Jason Voorhees, is thrust back into the fray. An emergency call to rescue an injured hiker, Kyle McLeod, sets the stage for a chilling confrontation with the ghost of Crystal Lake. As the story unfolds, viewers are introduced to Dr. Diana Hill, a mother desperate for answers about her missing son, and the skeptical Sheriff Rick Cologne, who suspects Tommy’s involvement in the mysterious events.

Behind the scenes, Vincente DiSanti takes the helm as both the writer and director of Never Hike Alone 2 . His vision for the film is clear: to craft a narrative that pays homage to the original series while offering something fresh for fans. It’s worth noting that this project is entirely fan-funded and operates on a not-for-profit basis. Moreover, it stands independent of the official Friday the 13th franchise.

Never Hike Alone 2 is more than just a fan film; it’s a testament to the enduring allure of the “Friday the 13th” series and the creativity of its fanbase. Whether you’re a die-hard fan of the original movies or new to the saga, this installment promises a thrilling ride.

Get a First Look at ‘The Strangers’ Reboot in This Taut Hitchcockian Scene

Sometimes it’s the lack of action in a scene that can make it terrifying. That is the case for this new clip from The Strangers: Chapter 1 , a reboot of the 2008 home invasion terrifier.

This latest iteration is being helmed by director and actioneer Renny Harlin whose work is considered some of the best (Cliffhanger, Deep Blue Sea) in building suspense. And you can see his skilled hand in the near-silent clip below.

In the scene, Maya, played by Madelaine Petsch, thinks that her companion Ryan (Froy Gutierrez) is knocking on the front door. When he doesn’t answer her, she becomes suspicious and looks through the peephole to find someone standing there. It’s an unnerving scene worthy of Hitchcock .

Harlin has been working on this project in Slovakia . It wasn’t just this film either; it is a trilogy. He says the shooting schedule wasn’t linear to the individual films, meaning he could be shooting a scene for Part 1 and the next day, Part 2 or 3 .

When this project was announced, some people on social media were surprised. They couldn’t believe someone would remake such a young film, and a revered one at that. And to be fair to those folks, Harlin can be hit or miss (remember The Covenant ?), but even if the script he is working with is bad, he knows how to pace action and suspense ( The Long Kiss Goodnight ). Whether or not he’s able to pull it off in a close quarters environment remains to be seen. But based on this clip, we are willing to find out.

No official 2024 release date has been specified at this time.

Netflix Doc ‘Devil on Trial’ Explores The Paranormal Claims of ‘Conjuring 3’ [Trailer]

What is it about Lorraine Warren and her constant row with the devil? We may find out in the new Netflix documentary called The Devil on Trial which will premiere on October 17 , or at least we will see why she chose to take on this case.

Back in 2021, everyone was holed up in their homes, and anyone with an HBO Max subscription could stream “Conjuring 3” day and date. It got mixed reviews, maybe because this wasn’t an ordinary haunted house tale that the Conjuring universe is known for. It was more of a crime procedural than a paranormal investigative one.

As with all of the Warren-based Conjuring movies, The Devil Made Me Do It was based on “a true story,” and Netflix is taking that claim to task with The Devil on Trial . The Netflix e-zine Tudum explains the backstory:

“Often referred to as the ‘Devil Made Me Do It’ case, the trial of 19-year-old Arne Cheyenne Johnson quickly became the subject of lore and fascination after it made national news in 1981. Johnson claimed that he murdered his 40-year-old landlord, Alan Bono, while under the influence of demonic forces. The brutal killing in Connecticut drew the attention of self-professed demonologists and paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren, known for their probe into the infamous haunting in Amityville, Long Island, several years prior. The Devil on Trial recounts the troubling events leading up to Bono’s murder, the trial, and the aftermath, using firsthand accounts of the people closest to the case, including Johnson.”

Then there’s the logline: The Devil on Trial  explores the first — and only — time “demonic possession” has officially been used as a defense in a US murder trial. Including firsthand accounts of alleged devil possession and shocking murder, this extraordinary story forces reflection on our fear of the unknown.

If anything, this companion to the original film might shed some light on just how accurate these “true story” Conjuring films are and how much is just a writer’s imagination.

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15 Overlooked Horror Movies Available Free on YouTube

Hidden horror gems free online

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They might not be classics, but these overlooked horror movie gems are available free online on YouTube .

All the Colors of the Dark (1972)

Psychedelic imagery highlights this hallucinatory Italian chiller (AKA They're Coming to Get You ) about a woman recovering from a miscarriage who is tormented by a satanic cult.

Anatomy (2000)

Franka Potente ( The Bourne Identity ) stars in this polished German chiller (which later spawned a sequel) as a medical student who stumbles upon a secret society that dissects living patients.

Chasing Sleep (2000)

Unfolding like a noirish, surreal play set entirely in one house, this thriller stars Jeff Daniels ( Dumb and Dumber , Pleasantville ) as a man trying to figure out why his wife never came home from work one day.

Deathwatch (2002)

A strong cast led by Andy Serkis (the Lord of the Rings trilogy, The Cottage, ) and Jamie Bell ( Billy Elliott ) head this tense, grisly British fright flick about a group of World War I soldiers behind enemy lines who encounter a supernatural evil in a captured German trench.

Devil Times Five (1974)

A bus from the children's ward of a mental hospital crashes in the snow, killing everyone on board except for five little psycho buggers. The children (including a very young Leif Garrett) head towards a house in the hills, where they're taken in by a group of adults who think that they seem like normal enough kids. They couldn't be more wrong, though, as the crazy quintet sets up a series of grisly (yet admirably planned and executed) ambushes -- including the ol' piranha-in-the-bathtub gag.

Exhibit A (2010)

This well-acted, frighteningly realistic British "found footage" feature takes the form of a videotape found in camcorder at a murder scene, revealing the secrets of a seemingly normal ​middle-class family that implodes over the course of a few short weeks.

Frightmare (1974)

If Norman Bates ' mother were alive and as psychotic as he is, she'd turn out like the matriarch in this British production. Although she spent 18 years in the loony bin, Dorothy still has the compulsion to kill -- and sometimes eat -- with a particular fondness for ye olde electric drill.

Hide and Creep (2004)

If Clerks took place in the Deep South and featured flesh-eating zombies, it might end up a lot like Hide and Creep , an amateurish but charming horror-comedy.

Horrors of the Black Museum (1959)

This surprisingly gory British fare revolves around a series of fiendishly inventive booby trap murders (eye-spiking binoculars anyone?) that serve as something of a precursor to the modern movies.

NetherBeast Incorporated (2009)

This horror-comedy starring veteran character actors Darrell Hammond ( Saturday Night Live ) and Dave Foley ( Kids in the Hall ) is a sly parody of corporate culture set in a company secretly run by vampires.

The Nun (2006)

This English-language Spanish production about the spirit of a nun getting revenge on those responsible for her death is a fun, attractively shot, low-brow ghost story with slasher -like kills and slick special effects.

The Sadist (1963)

Ahead of its time in terms of edgy content, this tense cat-and-mouse game pits a disturbed "thrill killing" youth with a gun (based on real-life teenage killer Charles Starkweather ) against a trio of teachers whose car has broken down.

Severed: Forest of the Dead (2006)

Genetic experimentation from a lumber company leads to a forest full of walking dead in this solid zombie fare that delivers what you want from your undead features: gut-munching, headshots, and a bleak, apocalyptic outlook.

Strangler of the Swamp (1946)

Well-made, atmospheric pulp flick about an innocent swamp ferryman unjustly sentenced to hang who returns from the grave to get revenge by strangling locals with ropes.

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You Can Watch These Great Horror Movies for Free on YouTube

These are just a handful of the many memorable scary movies that can now be streamed for free on YouTube.

There are a number of channels on YouTube that have licensed a combination of established and recently released copyrighted films, legally providing subscribers with the ability to watch a magnitude of horror content predominantly live on the platform. With hundreds of free films available for the consumption of viewing purposes, the multi-billion dollar business' ability to offer free content derives from existing partnerships with acclaimed Hollywood studios.

Reinventing themselves after a previous long-term fracture with film production companies, YouTube has shifted the narrative from being viewed as a competitor profiting off of unauthorized clips, to partnering with fellow media conglomerates, offering a wide range of projects under a heavily negotiable third party alliance.

Back in 2010, YouTube first introduced its online service to only rent films, but since then, the corporation has diversified their range of services, unveiling their "free with ads" option to become a major player in the streaming and distribution market long-term. While some other streaming services offer this, such as Tubi and Pluto, nothing has name recognition like YouTube. Growing increasingly over the rise of the COVID-19 pandemic, their popularity has become significantly high among 18 to 29-year-olds, as nearly 95% of them report that they use YouTube's service regularly. Let's look at some of the most eccentric and eerie films in the horror genre, movies free to watch on YouTube's streaming service.

Updated April 14th, 2023: If you are a fan of horror movies, then you are in luck as this article has been recently updated.

9 Halloween H20: 20 Years Later

Halloween H20: 20 Years Later took place 20 years after the original massacre that ensued on Halloween night. The film saw the return of Laurie Strode, reprised by Jamie Lee Curtis, and shows that Laurie now lives under a new identity. The events of Halloween H20 sit closely with what the plot of Blumhouse's Halloween 2018 intended to follow, only in Steve Miner's version, Laurie seems to be living a much more productive life.

Related: Halloween: A Guide to Understanding the Multiverse

Halloween 2018 is much more well regarded than 1998's seventh installment to the franchise. The latest installment, Halloween Ends, is supposedly the final film of the franchise where Laurie and Michael battle it out one last time.

8 Poltergeist

Poltergeist easily stands among the greatest ghost films in the horror genre. The film's commentary on American capitalism and the nuances of cookie-cutter suburbia serve as the backdrop for a classic retelling of a family being haunted. Yet, one of the most alluring attributes that Poltergeist offers viewers is the overall likability of the Freeling family as a whole. It is easy to back this family's decisions on how they are dealing with the disappearance of their daughter Carol Anne (played by Heather O'Rourke).

Poltergeist stands among one of the many films that is believed to be cursed, due to a handful of the cast members from both the original and sequel meeting tragic endings.

7 The Mimic

Note to everyone: never take in a stray animal, and definitely never allow another person to live in your home without understanding a significant amount of their backstory. The Mimic masters a sense of alertness and paranoia, as parents of a missing child, Hee-yeon (Yum Jung-ah) and Min-ho (Park Hyuk-kwon), decide to take in a lost girl whom Hee-yeon finds in the woods (mistake number one).

She later finds that the young girl may not be human, questioning the sort of presence that has been released in the couple's lives. It's a creepy and tense horror that will make put you on guard.

6 Frightmare

After spending years locked away in an insane asylum for their grotesque crimes and cannibalistic urges, the seemingly reformed married couple Dorothy and Edmund Yates (Sheila Keith & Rupert Davies) are released back to society and settle into a remote farmhouse. It doesn't take long until their daughter Jackie begins to suspect her parents are once again back to their murderous ways and have re-discovered their love for human flesh, causing her to make chilling discoveries.

Frightmare is a 1974 British horror flick that incorporates dark humor throughout its wild and grim storytelling, and features a memorable performance by the eccentric Sheila Keith, a frequent collaborator of director Pete Walker. Full of blood and gore and lots of spine-tingling moments, the film is an underrated '70s gem that horror fans will enjoy for all its satirical glory and chaotic energy.

Any movie related to apocalyptic events have a kind of morbid curiosity to them, especially in the midst of world chaos and uncertainty. In Threads , partners Ruth (Karen Meagher) and Jimmy (Reece Dinsdale) have marriage plans and are preparing for the arrival of their baby when their lives in England become threatened after the Soviet Union and United States go to war (something unsettlingly prescient with Ukrainian events this year).

Once a nuclear attack destroys a NATO base 20 miles from their town, the country goes into mass mayhem. As the violence spreads through the region, Ruth and Jimmy become separated as Ruth fights to survive on her own.

4 The Black Hole

Instead of having the urgency to participate in time travel and space visits, how about first dealing with the numerous problems here on earth? Nonetheless, the 2006 film The Black Hole is a cool little exploration of some dark and mysterious things.

The film uses the real-life story of CERN's particle accelerator and its search for the Higgs boson (or 'God particle'), except in this sci-fi horror scenario from Tibor Takacs (who was behind the underrated horror film The Gate ), something terrible happens. A black hole is created in the particle accelerator, and a monstrous creature emerges. Judd Nelson plays a nuclear physicist and Kristy Swanson his partner in this sometimes silly but actually pretty cool little sci-fi horror gem.

3 The Last Exorcism

Found footage horror is extremely popular, and The Last Exorcism is a great example. Two filmmakers follow cleric Cotton Marcus (Patrick Fabian) as he conducts exorcisms, attempting to delegitimize its efficiencies. After years of performing them, Cotton decides to participate in this documentary chronicling his last exorcism. Once at the secluded Louisiana farm of devout Louis Sweetzer, Marcus must perform the religious ritual on Sweetzer's daughter, Nell, who is believed to be possessed.

Related: 13 Lesser-Known Possession Horror Movies That Need More Love

After his initial tactics fail, Marcus quickly realizes that he has come face to face with the devil and will have to summon all his spiritual faith in order to protect Nell, the others, and himself from the demonic powers at play. Where is Peter Popoff's Miracle Spring Water when you need it? It's a genuinely surprising and scary movie.

2 Nosferatu the Vampyre

Werner Herzog gave the groundbreaking German silent film a stylistic remake with 1974's Nosferatu the Vampyre , which stars Klaus Kinski as Count Dracula and follows the blood-craving creature as he travels to Wismar, Germany where he brings chaos and the Black Plague. When Dracula sets his sights on Lucy Harker, he must face off against her husband Jonathan and his longtime nemesis Abraham Van Helsing if he wishes to have the love he desperately craves.

Nosferatu the Vampyre paints the iconic movie monster in a more sympathetic manner, with Kinski explaining , "He is a man without free will. He cannot choose, and he cannot cease to be. He is a kind of incarnation of evil, but he is also a man who is suffering, suffering for love. This makes it so much more dramatic, more double‐edged." The reimagining was a smash hit with critics and audiences, with many praising it for its depiction of Dracula as a weary, doomed ghoul and its eerie atmosphere.

1 Paranormal Activity

Another found-footage film, Paranormal Activity arguably kicked off the second wave of good ones after years of bad attempts at Blair Witch Project magic. This low-budget little scary movie will leave any viewer afraid of the dark; that, and of Sony hand-held recorders. After moving into their suburban tract home, Katie (Katie Featherston) and Micah (Micah Sloat) become petrified by what appears to be a supernatural presence. With hopes of capturing video evidence, they install video cameras in the house but cannot fathom how out of control the demonic activity is, which grows rapidly.

Produced for just $15,000, Paranormal Activity went on to gross nearly $200 million (not mention profits from the many sequels and remakes), making it one of the most profitable returns on investment in cinematic history. As a suggestion, before moving in with a romantic partner or anyone for that matter, try visiting a psychic first.

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35 Best Halloween Movies of All Time, From Spooky to Downright Terrifying

From Halloweentown to Host , enjoy classics and brand-new favorites this October.

Spooky season is in full swing, meaning it’s time to stock up on candy , break out the Halloween decorations , and pick out the perfect movie —hopefully while sipping tea and getting cozy under a blanket. Settling on the right flick can take almost as long as watching one, so you’ve come to the right place this All Hallows’ Eve.

Whether you’re a scaredy-cat or a diehard horror fan, there’s something for everyone in this list. We’ve got the classics like Practical Magic and Halloween , but there’s plenty of new blood for those looking for a fresh experience, including cult favorites like House and newcomers like Ready or Not .

Sit back, settle in, and turn out all the lights—it’s time to get into the spooky spirit.

Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark (2019)

For people of a certain age, the Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark books are just about the scariest thing in the world. This adaptation does them justice, bringing Stephen Gammell’s illustrations to life in the scariest way possible. Older kids and adults alike will find themselves covering their eyes.

Paranormal Activity (2009)

The movie that kicked off a new era in found-footage horror is still just as scary now as it was in 2009—just look at that terrified audience! Haunted houses can get cheesy fast, but with just the right amount of effects (and only two actors), the original Paranormal Activity proves that less is more.

Candyman (1992)

In an ideal world, we would have already seen Nia DaCosta’s new take on this fable, but for now we can still enjoy the classic. The story revolves around a Chicago graduate student becomes obsessed with Candyman, a mythical figure terrorizing a redlined housing project. Its razor-sharp racial commentary still cuts deep today.

Halloween (1978)

What’s Halloween without Halloween ? The greatest slasher flick of all time still satisfies over 40 years later, thanks to Jamie Lee Curtis and one of the scariest killers ever. Don’t skip the sequels, either—the second and third movies, especially, are worth a watch for their unique takes on the holiday.

Jennifer’s Body (2009)

Reviled by critics and audiences alike when it was first released, Karyn Kusama’s magnum opus is finally getting its due over a decade later. Jennifer’s Body is a scary movie by and for women, exploring gender dynamics through a demonic, man-eating Megan Fox. It’s silly, scary, and tragic—required Halloween viewing.

Hocus Pocus (1993)

At this point, it’s just not October without a rewatch of this Disney classic. On the surface, Hocus Pocus is about three child-eating witches on the hunt for their next meal—but we’re really just here to see Bette Midler, Sarah Jessica Parker, and Kathy Najimy have fun.

The House of the Devil (2009)

Ti West’s thriller is an unusual eighties homage —instead of getting pop songs or big hair, we get a facsimile of that era’s slow-burn horror movies. This one takes a while to get going, but once it does, you won’t be able to look away. (Yep, that’s Lady Bird director Greta Gerwig in a supporting role.)

Tales from the Hood (1995)

Anthology movies are an ideal Halloween treat, and Tales from the Hood is just about the best one you’ll find. Its four stories tackle real-life issues like police brutality and domestic violence, presenting a path forward through neat horror narratives. For better or worse, it’s just as relevant 25 years later.

House on Haunted Hill (1959)

Halloween doesn’t have to mean intense scares. If you’re not a fan of the scary stuff, try this lightly spooky comedy-horror that stars the one and only Vincent Price. There are ghosts and skeletons, but part of the joy of this touchstone is that you’re always able to see the strings. It’s best viewed with a cocktail in tow.

Ready or Not (2019)

It’s hard to describe such a bloody movie as “light,” but Ready or Not is a revenge story that’s just as fun as it is violent. When a woman marries into a family of rich nuts, she discovers that their intense game of hide-and-seek isn’t going to end well. Let's just put it this way: You won’t be bored

Bones (2001)

“Snoop Dogg horror movie” should be enough to sell this one, but allow us to explain how great it is. Seamlessly mixing classic blaxploitation and modern horror, Bones tackles tough issues like gentrification with some pretty amazing practical effects. It’s overdue for a reappraisal.

Parents (1989)

Something about the suburbs is so spooky, and this late 80s gem captures that manicured dread perfectly. Plagued by bad dreams, a little boy becomes convinced that his postcard-perfect parents are cannibals. Is he just going through growing pains? Or are they actually eating people? You’ll have to find out yourself.

Host (2020)

Host is the first great movie made entirely in quarantine, and it’s perfectly suited to this very weird year. Long story short, definitely don’t hold a séance over the internet—you might end up attracting the attention of a demon. (We promise you’ve never seen a scarier use of custom Zoom backgrounds .)

Halloweentown (1998)

Look, any Halloween movies roundup that doesn’t include Halloweentown shouldn’t be trusted. This Disney Channel touchstone is the perfect level of spooky for a crisp October night, and kids and adults should both find something to love about Marnie’s family of witches and their unusual hometown.

One Cut of the Dead (2017)

This one-take wonder from Japan stands out from the recent wave of zombie content with an unusual premise: It’s a horror film about the making of a horror film, and all is not as it appears. It ends up being one of the most wholesome scary movies you’ll ever watch. We won’t give away anything else.

A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night (2014)

The final girl is one of the most recognizable tropes in horror, but A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night flips that device on its head, making the girl into the killer. Combining horror with flourishes of romance and westerns, Ana Lily Amirpour’s feature debut is truly unlike anything else you’ve seen.

Relic (2020)

Dementia is scary enough on its own, but Relic takes our fears of getting older and makes them literal. Three generations of women live in a home that’’s getting more and more unfamiliar by the day, and something (or someone ) is living in the walls. Make sure you stay through the end credits—they’re beautiful.

Scream (1996)

What other movie could be confident enough to kill off Drew Barrymore in its first scene? Nearly 25 years later, Scream is still just as funny and shocking as it was first time around, even if you’ve seen Sidney unmask Ghostface more times than you can count.

Kill Baby ... Kill! (1966)

In the wonderfully named Kill Baby ... Kill! , prolific Italian director Mario Bava perfects the gothic-fleeing-beauties vibe. A skeptical investigator comes across a small Transylvanian town haunted by a ghostly girl who kills with her looks, and supernatural hijinks ensue. This one is worth a watch for the spooky lighting alone.

Prevenge (2016)

Prevenge pushes pregnancy cravings to their absolute extreme—instead of ice cream or pickles, this woman is driven to kill. It’s equally shocking and funny, meaning you probably won’t get too many nightmares afterward. Even better, writer-director-star Alice Lowe was actually pregnant when the movie was filmed.

Jake Smith, an editorial fellow at Prevention, recently graduated from Syracuse University with a degree in magazine journalism and just started going to the gym. Let's be honest—he's probably scrolling through Twitter right now.

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Truly Scary Short Films You Can Creep Out To On YouTube Tonight

The short film is one of the most underrated forms of filmmaking out there. Without the constraints of a classic three-act narrative weighing it down, a short film can do some really interesting things with the cinematic form, and horror shorts are the best genre to apply this kind of freedom. Unlike features, good short films can be hard to find, but luckily there are plenty of horror shorts you can stream for free that are really good. You might also enjoy the best horror channels on YouTube . 

The short horror films you can watch online included on this run-down hit all of the sweet spots of horror, from older pieces by masters of the genre to animated tales to straight-up bonkers pieces that keep you guessing from the moment they begin. 

Before the Internet, when a short film ended its festival run, it essentially died, but now that people can upload their films to online platforms, shorts can be enjoyed whenever you’re in the mood for something spooky. There are a lot of scary short films on YouTube:  shorts about ghosts , home invaders , serial killers , and even Cronenbergian monsters made up of your favorite '90s snack time drink.

Turn down your lights, turn up your speakers, and settle in to spend some time with these scary horror short films on YouTube. Then vote on YouTube’s best short horror films, and if there a short that you think should have been included, leave it in the comments.  

The feature-length version of this film may be somewhat problematic (and kind of depressing), but the original short boils everything down to the basic scares that come with being afraid of the dark. 

Tuck Me In is straight-up creep town. It's based on a two-sentence short story by Juan J. Ruiz, and it's going to make you rethink having children for the next decade - or until you invest in that spooky doppelgängers alarm system that you've had your eye on. 

2AM: The Smiling Man

This short (based on one of the only creepypastas that isactually creepy) could have been a paint-by-numbers short film, but the odd movements of Paul Foltz (who plays the Smiling Man) and the score by Matt Hanks sell everything about this piece. If you weren't already worried about walking alone at night - and rubbery dudes with weird faces - then you're probably completely spooked out right now. 

Sleepy Eyes

Good luck falling asleep after watching this short that turns the sound of wind chimes into one of the most frightening things ever. This piece succeeds in creating a creepy mood that many feature-length horror films never match.

It's a very bare bones approach that still manages a couple of surreal visuals that make this short piece look like a million bucks. 

The simple premise of CREAK is almost Lynchian in its mundanity, and it makes excellent use of the three shots that make up this very short piece. Out of every horror film that's ever been colored blue, this is the one that actually works.

At almost 13 minutes, it's silly to refer to this short as a slow burn, but Alone Time definitely takes its time getting to the double spit-take scare that caps off the film. If you have any heart at all, then the implications of what happens to the main character at the short's climax will sit with you far after the short has ended. 

A lot of short films - specifically, horror shorts - look like garbage. At some point in film school, all of the horror kids decided to shoot everything on whatever camera every skateboard video in the '90s was shot on, but not the filmmakers behind  Occupied . This short looks amazing, it does so much with absolutely nothing, and it manages to make going to a public bathroom even scarier. 

The Last Time I Saw Richard

This short horror film from Australia explores more than what it means when someone might be an ungodly creature that never sleeps and maybe eats people. It dives into the impossibilities of making friends in a dire situation, prescription medication, and sharing a room with someone with different sleeping habits than you. 

The Offering

The horror that comes from a father and son making an offering to an unknown entity slowly unspools itself over the short run time and forces your preconceived notions into an about-face. The most accurate genre for this piece would actually be "dread," not horror, but that's not a thing, so just watch it and get bummed out. 

The Umbrella Factory

In the first couple of seconds of this short, you wouldn't be wrong if you thought it was a bunch of kid stuff with some simple yet lovely animation. Aside from the short's gruesome and horrifying climax, the fact that there's an actual umbrella factory in this story is 100% amazing. 

Every '90s Commercial Ever

Every '90s Commercial Ever is a bit of an outlier in this collection of short horror films, but too much work was put into this piece for it to go unseen. This '90s-inspired Capri Sun-soaked short film draws from references as disparate as David Cronenberg, The Thing , and it even has a little bit of Aliens in there for good measure. This piece never stops surprising the audience, which is the most important parts of a horror film.

The reveal in Shelter is too fun to not appreciate. It kind of does that thing that a lot of horror shorts do where you wait around for the big scare and there's a thing that shouldn't be there and then boom, it's over, but the monster waiting at the end of Shelter is just so weird that you can't help but enjoy it. 

The Alphabet

In the words of Tom Cruise's friend from Risky Business , "Sometimes you got to say, what the f*ck?" That may be taken out of context , but  The Alphabet will definitely make you ask that and many more questions. If you've never seen any of Lynch's earlier work, you're in for a treat, especially if you watch this short frame by frame. Have you ever been so afraid of the letter H?

A man, a potted plant, and a hitchhiker: what else do you need in a short horror film? How about a shot of what is definitely human meat frying on a rock? Up Route is one of the weirder films in this collection, but it's exactly the kind of thing that you need to watch at the end of a very stressful short horror film fest. 

This CGI short is very, very, very cute, and it's a lovely palate cleanser to play in the middle of your short horror film marathon. This piece is packed full of more horror references than you can catch in one viewing. Play it a few times to catch the nods to  Friday the 13th , Texas Chainsaw Massacre , and maybe From Dusk Till Dawn . 

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The 75 Best Halloween Movies of All Time

Here's your one-stop-shop for all your spooky season needs!

Good news, friends! It's officially time to break out your best skeleton dance, carve up those pumpkins, and debate the merits of candy corn (ok, actually we don't have to do that last one, it's ok to like or dislike whatever candy you chose). The point is that spooky season is here at last! With Halloween on the way, now's the perfect time to brush up on your spooky, seasonal, and downright scary movies! But there's just so dang many to choose from, so to help you get your watchlist off to the right start, we put our heads together to come up with the ultimate list of the best Halloween movies of all time. From the classics to the new favorites, here are the 75 best spooky and scary movies we put on when we're in the mood for an All Hallows scream!

If you're looking for something to watch  right now , you can head over to the Best Halloween Movies on Netflix and check out which spooky movies are streaming on Disney+ right here .

The Addams Family (1991)

Bringing big dark gothic energy to a film that plays so well for young children is a feat for which Barry Sonnenfeld definitely deserved Oscar consideration. The first film about a spooky family living its best life in modern-day America, featuring unforgettable performances by the perfectly-cast Raul Julia and Angelica Huston as well as a young Christina Ricci and the always wonderful Carol Kane and Christopher Lloyd ... wait, is this entire cast perfect? Yes, yes it is. The only non-positive thing I have to say about The Addams Family is that its sequel is the rare example of a film that surpasses the original — which, is to be clear, a net positive. - Liz Shannon Miller

The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad (1949)

Technically only half of this svelte, 69-minute Disney package film will interest those celebrating Halloween. But the “Legend of Sleepy Hollow” section of  The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad  contains some of the spookiest, most iconic imagery in Disney Animation and it’s still a total Halloween treat. Adapted from the classic  Washington Irving  story, “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow” follows hapless schoolteacher Ichabod Crane as he battles a potential supernatural evil in upstate New York. All of the notes from the original story are hit, exceptionally well, too – Crane crossing a creaky bridge while the Headless Horseman, Jack o’ lantern ablaze, is truly terrifying stuff. It’s a moment that has been recycled in countless Disney specials and one that was borrowed liberally for  Tim Burton ’s live-action version of the tale. And if you haven’t watched it in a while (and, really, you should – it’s on Disney+), it’s probably a lot more fun than you remember (although, admittedly, it takes a little while to get going).  Bing Crosby is great as the crooning narrator (who also provides some voices) and the animation is absolutely superb. It can’t be Halloween without this version of “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow.” --  Drew Taylor

Army of Darkness (1992)

The third installment in Sam Raimi ’s Evil Dead trilogy sheds almost all of the genuine horror of the previous two films and steers completely into Three Stoogian slapstick absurdity. Endlessly quotable and inspiringly over-the-top, Bruce Campbell ’s adventure battling hordes of the undead in medieval Europe is so gleefully unserious that it’s hard to believe a major studio put it in theaters. It feels a little strange recommending a horror movie that does not approach actually being scary for one second of its breezy runtime, but then I remember this is Army of Darkness we’re talking about. If for some mind-boggling reason you’re here reading this list about Halloween movies and you’ve never seen it, stop what you are doing and watch it now. It’s like a grotesque Looney Tunes cartoon in which a man outfits a Delta 88 with helicopter blades and it deserves your consideration and attention. --  Tom Reimann

Beetlejuice (1988)

Before he had  Johnny Depp , director  Tim Burton ’s go-to guy was — checks notes — stand-up-comedian-turned-

serious-actor  Michael Keaton . And oh, what a great odd couple it was. The team’s great collab is 1988’s Beetlejuice which sees Keaton transform into the thoroughly odious yet very charming (and possibly bangable??) “bio-exorcist” Betelgeuse. Ol’ Beetleboy offers his services to the recently-deceased Maitlands ( Alec Baldwin  and  Geena Davis ), who find their home is now occupied by the Deetzes — Charles ( Jeffrey Jones ), Delia ( Catherine O’Hara ), and goth icon Lydia ( Winona Ryder ). Lydia is a quick ally of the Maitlands and starts working to get her family to move out of the seemingly haunted house.  Beetlejuice  is a pretty incredible early Burton entry if only because it so clearly establishes the director’s aesthetic and narrative interests early on, seeking to expose the grotesquerie of suburban life and the idiosyncrasies of the nuclear family through Gothic-leaning visuals. It’s also just a hella fun movie and, if you have any doubts about that, might I direct you to this scene . And this one . --  Allie Gemmill

Bram Stoker’s Dracula (1992)

There are few horror films as lavishly produced and deeply romantic as  Francis Ford Coppola ’s bold  Bram Stoker’s Dracula . The film, which kicked off a mini resurgence of big budget prestige horror movies like  Wolf ,  Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein  and  Mary Reilly , luxuriates in its opulence – from the incredible make-up effects, to the optical effects which Coppola wanted to achieve through old-school techniques, to the costumes by  Eiko Ishioka  that are still being ripped off today, to the brilliantly over-the-top score by  Wojciech Kilar . Everything is ornate and highly detailed and even if you know the story, you never have seen it presented in such a way, with a movie that is equal parts bloodbath and bodice-ripper. The cast, which includes  Gary Oldman  as the titular vampire and  Anthony Hopkins  as Van Helsing, is uniformly excellent, with great performances by  Winona Ryder  (seemingly making up with Coppola after the debacle of  Godfather, Part III ) and future Rocketeer  Billy Campbell . (Sadly,  Keanu Reeves  is a weird dud.) It’s hard to pick a favorite version of Bram Stoker’s immortal tale, but this one is a solid contender. It’s a bloody blast.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1992)

I'm not going to sit here and argue that the 1992 film directed by Fran Rubel Kuzui is on the same level as what Joss Whedon would eventually transform his screenplay into for television. Those seven seasons are more than able to speak for themselves. However, to totally discount the film is to totally overlook Kristy Swanson 's spirited performance as a teenager who also happens to slay vampires, the incredibly charming way in which Luke Perry leant into his role as, ultimately, a dude in distress, and Paul Reubens hamming it up as a vamp henchman. And that, quite frankly, is bogus. Also, baby Ben Affleck makes an appearance. Buffy the TV show, of course, better represents Joss Whedon's intentions for the original premise. But even in this rough form, the idea is wonderful and supported with some great performances. - Liz Shannon Miller

The Blair Witch Project (1999)

The modern wave of found-footage horror begins, arguably, with  The Blair Witch Project Looking at it now, it’s hard to believe a movie starring three unknowns at the time ( Josh Leonard  would eventually breakout into bigger projects) would become one of the biggest movies of 1999, grossing nearly $140.5 million domestic on a $60,000 budget. But we don’t just remember  The Blair Witch Project  for its box office impact; we remember it for the way it profoundly changed the found-footage game. From the premise to the execution to the final gut-punching shot,  The Blair Witch Project  knows how to worm its way deep into your psyche and prey on you. The story of three college students traveling to a rural Maryland town to document (and possibly experience) the local legend of the Blair Witch quickly transforms into a horrifying survival story. There are no special effects, no flashy gimmicks — just shaky camera footage of three grown adults slowly losing their minds as a 100-year-old witch preys on them in the dark. It’s easy to point to  The Blair Witch Project ’s thoroughly affecting finale sequence as the reason the movie now lives in horror movie infamy. However, I’d also like to submit the consistent and insidious psychological torture the Blair Witch enacts on her prey as she keeps moving the landscape around to get the lost, leads one member of the group to destroy their map, and quickly assembles dozens of weird stick figures for the trio to discover in the daylight as some of the reasons  The Blair Witch Project  just keeps working and makes it a truly great Halloween movie. --  Allie Gemmill

Candyman (1992)

One of the greatest modern gothic ghost stories, Candyman is often unfortunately mislabeled as a slasher movie. I love slasher movies, but that's not exactly giving the film credit for the literary nuance and well-implemented tradition it so richly deserves. Inspired by a story by Clive Barker and repurposed with a story rooted in America's great national sin of slavery, Candyman absolutely holds up as a still-relevant reinvention of a gothic tragedy. Trading the gothic mansion for the projects and embracing the gothic genre's focus on the vengeful oppressed, Candyman stars Tony Todd as the imposing, elegant spirit who returns from an unspeakable past to exact his justice and revenge. Candyman doesn't often get the credit it deserves as one of the all-time greats, carried by Todd's magnetic and commanding performance, and executed with classy precision, from Todd's regal poise to Philip Glass ' hypnotic score. -- Haleigh Foutch

Casper (1995)

Casper   was telling tweens it was okay to think a ghost was cute boyfriend material long before Netflix’s  Julie and the Phantoms.  A blend of horror, drama, and comedy,  Casper  is the perfect movie to entertain kids with frothy Halloween thrills and thoroughly depress their Millennial parents with Casper’s grim backstory. What is that backstory? Well,  Casper  follows Kat ( Christina Ricci ) and her dad, Dr. Harvey ( Bill Pullman ). The father-daughter duo finds themselves entwined with a spoiled heiress ( Cathy Moriarty ) who has inherited a decrepit manor inhabited by Casper (voiced by  Malachi Pearson , embodied by  Devon Sawa ) and Casper’s three awful uncles ( Joe Nipote ,  Joe Alaskey , and  Brad Garrett ). Casper — who is very much a dead child — and his uncles have been trapped in said mansion since their untimely demise and it is Dr. Harvey’s job to exorcise them from said mansion. And while Harvey is busy doing that, Kat and Casper become close friends and, uh, a couple. Kinda. Look,  Casper  is a total trip  and  a wonderful trip down memory lane. It’s the kind of throwback Halloween movie that’ll positively tickle Millennials and probably weird out Gen Z’ers. Then again, who cares! Casper the Friendly Ghost is #AnIcon and so is  Casper the live-action movie. --  Allie Gemmill

The Conjuring (2013)

Sometimes to go forward, you gotta go back. From its imposing “based on a true story” opening title crawl to its literal period setting, The Conjuring is here to tell you, in ways both subtly classy and muscly blunt, that our golden age of 1970s filmmaking has plenty of influential meat on the bones. James Wan , whose Saw is also a perennial favorite in my Halloween household (yes, I have a different household for Halloween; yes, I am doing poorly financially), directs the absolute hell out of this sucker, using long lens, long take, Steadicam-aided photography to absolutely play his audience like a damn fiddle. Combine these expertly rendered haunted house thrills with atypically emotional performances from folks like Patrick Wilson and Lili Taylor , and you’ve got a crowd-pleasing horror flick you’ll wanna revisit again and again. --  Gregory Lawrence

Coraline (2009)

For my money, Coraline is the spookiest animated kids' movie out there. I was a full-grown adult when I saw it for the first time and those button-eyed folks from the Other realm still got all the way under my skin. Directed by The Nightmare Before Christmas helmer Henry Selick with the incredible artists at Laika providing groundbreaking stop-motion animation, Coraline is gorgeous and stylishly made, pulling from Neil Gaiman’ s dark fantasy novella to build an immersive and unnerving parallel world. Dakota Fanning lends her voice as the title character, a young girl who discovers a door to another world, where she finds an idealized version of her life… almost. While Other Mother ( Terri Hatcher ) seems like a dream at first, there are sinister and strange overtones lingering in every frame, and when Coraline realizes she could get stuck there forever, she has to fight for the real family she took for granted. – Haleigh Foutch

The Craft (1996)

A newcomer’s arrival at a Catholic prep school leads her down some strange and wondrous roads in The Craft .‘90s icons  Robin Tunney ,  Fairuza Balk ,  Neve Campbell , and  Rachel True  make up the awe-inspiring quartet of high schoolers at the center of this teen movie with a twist and live on as one of the most powerful groups of onscreen witches in recent memory.  The Craft  blends a traditional high school-set story with its various teen dramas — a popular boy who turns out to be a snake, the pretty blonde who’s really a bully, the outsiders looking to reclaim their power — with the supernatural. The result is four young women who not only discover their magic but learn how to wield it both effectively and not-so-effectively when it comes to getting revenge on the people traumatizing them. Watching  The Craft  during the Halloween season is an instant level-up. From the soundtrack to the performances — Balk is especially enjoyable because she truly gives no fucks and lets it all hang out — to the ways in which the movie depicts magic,  The Craft  is eminently watchable and very much a product of the mid-90s. I mean, what’s not to love? --  Allie Gemmill

The Crow (1994)

The Crow is technically the very first movie you should watch on Halloween, because it actually takes place the night before on Oct. 30 -- Devil's Night. I typically watch it every year on that night around 11 pm so it doesn't end until after midnight and I can start the holiday on a high note. Based on the violent yet poetic graphic novel by  James O'Barr , the gothic action film follows a musician who is murdered along with his fiancee, and is brought back to life one year later by a mystical crow to avenge their deaths and "put the wrong things right."  Brandon Lee  was tragically killed during filming, and that accident has hung like a dark cloud over The Crow's legacy, but the film itself is hugely influential, and I believe that Lee would be one of the biggest stars in the world today had he survived -- that's how charismatic he is as Eric Draven. Director  Alex Proyas  does a fantastic job behind the camera, and the supporting cast is incredibly memorable, from  David Patrick Kelly 's T-Bird and  Michael Massee 's Fun Boy to their boss, Top Dollar, played by the great  Michael Wincott . The soundtrack is a standout of the '90s, with early tracks from Nine Inch Nails, Stone Temple Pilots and Rage Against the Machine, not to mention The Cure's epic song "Burn" and "Color Me Once" by Violent Femmes.  The Crow  has endured as a vigilante superhero, and fans still paint their faces and throw on a black trench coat every Halloween in tribute to Lee's memory. The sad truth is that in real life, there are no mystical birds that resurrect the dead, but at least for one night, we're allowed to believe it's possible. Don't miss that opportunity this year. -  Jeff Sneider

Creature from the Black Lagoon (1954)

The Creature from the Black Lagoon is sometimes considered the ugly stepchild out of the classic Universal Monsters, seeing as how it debuted three decades after Phantom of the Opera and is, uh, literally about an extremely ugly fish monster who can’t say real human words. But you simply cannot throw a monster mash without inviting the Gill-Man, inarguably one of horror’s most iconic creatures. The film follows a team of scientists who board the steamship “Rita” for exploration deep into the Amazon jungle, hoping to discover the remains of a human/amphibian hybrid. Instead of a skeleton, the crew finds a whole-ass river-creature, who becomes horrifically infatuated with scientist Kay Lawrence ( Julie Adams ). Has time and technology dated the Gill-Man suit a bit? Sure, but there’s also something both timeless and inimitable about the creature design by Millicent Patrick , plus the underwater footage from cinematographer Ted Kent remains dreamlike and mesmerizing almost 70 years later.

(Note: Black Lagoon spawned a few sequels, but only one, The Creature Walks Among Us , features the Gill Man hilariously wearing a tracksuit.) -- Vinnie Mancuso

Creepshow (1982)

Directed by the great George Romero from an original screenplay by Stephen King himself (who also delivers one of his few film performances here), the 1982 horror anthology Creepshow is a campy, loving homage to the pulpy pages of EC Comics that's witty, weird, and willing to be very silly in all the best ways. Featuring a cast that includes Adrienne Barbeau , Hal Holbrook , and Leslie Nielsen , Creepshow features spot-on effects from Tom Savini and is easily one of the best horror anthology movies out there. The result is a film that feels like settling 'round the campfire for some spooky tales, topped off with an added flourish of cinematic showmanship. -- Haleigh Foutch

Dracula (1931)

If you’re curious to know what a “serve” is defined as, may I point you in the direction of  Bela Lugosi ’s performance in Dracula ? Redefining romance with its February 14, 1931 release, Universal’s  Dracula  is also responsible for making audiences fall in love with movie monsters. Dracula is one of the great daddies of horror movies, with Lugosi’s version in particular inspiring sequels, riffs, remakes, spinoffs, and dang near anything worthy of being through into the  Dracula  cinematic canon. Lugosi’s performance as the immortal Transylvania bloodsucker may seem quaint nowadays, but he’s inspirational for generations of Drac’s who’s follow in his footsteps. The calm, cool, collected, dare I say sexy Dracula you see in the 1931 movie (the first of many great entries in Universal’s “Monsterverse”) is one of the biggest and best reasons to check out this Halloween classic ASAP. Yeah, you might not get a true fright by 1931 horror standards, but you will get a thrill. --  Allie Gemmill

E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982)

Did you forget that Steven Spielberg ’s sci-fi classic E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial is also a bona fide Halloween movie? Because it most certainly is. While this heartbreaking tale of a young boy befriending a stranded alien orphan is certainly science-fiction in nature, the action all takes place against the backdrop of fall in the Californian suburbs. The Halloween costumes, the leaves, the bike rides in costume – it’s all there, it just takes a backseat to the humor and emotional turmoil that are probably front of mind when you think of E.T. But truly this movie is a great Halloween watch if you want something more treats than tricks. The spook factor on E.T. is low, but it’s got that Halloween vibe all the same. It’s also, you know, one of the greatest movies ever made. – Adam Chitwood

The Evil Dead (1981)

Sam Raimi and Bruce Campbell brought a bunch of their friends into a cabin in the Tennessee woods and emerged with a low-budget horror masterpiece. The Evil Dead is a jolt to the system, a gnarled, rotted, nasty piece of horror that unleashes a book of the dead and all its demons among a hapless group of teens (and one helluva chin). And yet, despite its noticeable nastiness, the first Evil Dead remains fun, audacious, and stuffed to the gills with bravura energy. It’s an ideal Halloween movie for the roller coaster it takes you on; you’ll be laughing uneasily one moment and earnestly shocked to your core the next. A horror classic that will cast its spell on anyone who watches it. --  Gregory Lawrence

The Faculty (1998)

"We don't need no education!" Oh, but it seems some of you  do , as I learned during an alarming Slack exchange here at the virtual office this week. Apparently, there are people out there who don't like  The Faculty ! Are they hooked on scat or something? I don't really know the difference between a cult classic or a camp classic, but I suspect that  The Faculty  is actually both. Playing like a teenage take on  Invasion of the Body Snatchers  had it starred the kids from  The Breakfast Club , this throwback film follows a bunch of high school outcasts who come to discover that their teachers are being controlled by parasites and trying to infect the entire student body.  The Faculty  made  Josh Hartnett  a star, led to  Elijah Wood 's role in  Sin City , and marked early turns from  Jordan Brewster ,  Clea DuVall ,  Shawn Hatosy  and  Usher Raymond . Director  Robert Rodriguez  has always been a talent magnet, and teachers lounge is packed with stars ranging from  Jon Stewart  and  Salma Hayek  to  Robert Patrick ,  Piper Laurie  and  Bebe Neuwirth .  The Faculty  may get a little goofy in its third act, but it's mostly a blast, and the kind of fun sci-fi movie that studios just don't make anymore. Oh, and the soundtrack boasted major bands such as The Offspring, Creed, Oasis, Garbage, Sheryl Crow and Soul Asylum, but the best tracks are "Maybe Someday" by Flick and "It's Over Now" by Neve, and you'll just have to trust me on that. -  Jeff Sneider

Frankenstein (1931)

Another prong in the legendary Universal “Monsterverse” is 1931’s Frankenstein . Given its early release and its impact on the horror genre, having spawned more sequels, spinoffs, riffs, homages, remakes, and more over the years,  Frankenstein  is one of the granddaddies of Halloween movie category. Adapted from the 1927  Peggy Webling  play which was, in turn, adapted from  Mary Shelley ’s 1818 novel  Frankenstein; or The Modern Prometheus ,  Frankenstein  is simply iconic. This is mostly thanks to Karloff’s legendary performance of the reanimated antihero made of spare parts sprung from the grave and made living thanks to the wonders of lightning and Dr. Victor Frankenstein’s (Clive) genius. It seems only right  Frankenstein  would be a trendsetter and gold standard for horror movies in the ensuing years; Shelley’s work was equally as impactful on the horror and science fiction genres upon release in the early 19th century. Seeking out  Frankenstein  today means you’re seeking out horror history. Sure, you may not be scared in the way you’re used to, but you might be fascinated to see what  did  pass for a scary, even transgressive, movie nearly 90 years ago.  --  Allie Gemmill

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13 movies that define the spoopy canon

More silly skeletons than scary slashers

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With Halloween just around the corner, many are on the hunt for the perfect horror movie to usher in the spooky season. But as much as we like being scared, there’s another staple of the Halloween movie canon to consider: the Spoopy Movie.

Spoopy originated from a (now-defunct) Tumblr post from 2011, which aggregated an even older Flickr photo of a misspelled Halloween sign . Instead of the word “spooky,” skeleton bones spelled out “spoopy.” The goof blew up, with other users sharing their own spotted misspelled Halloween phrases. Eventually, the term became associated with Halloween, specifically the part of Halloween that indulges the fun and spooky, without ever being too scary.

The term captures the nostalgia-tinged Halloween of childhood, filled with trick-or-treating, buckets of candy, and movies that tickled that holiday itch (but were not traumatically scary). Spoopy movies embrace macabre aesthetics, without being too graphic, and tell scary stories, without being too traumatizing. They’re a cartoonishly giant skeleton instead of a rotting corpse, one with a smile and a quippy joke instead of an insatiable hunger for flesh.

Beyond celebrating the off-kilter Halloween aesthetic and presenting scary stories that kids can also enjoy, spoopy movies serve another vital purpose. Many of them also follow misfits — specifically outcast kids who struggle to find a place where they belong. And many of them end with said kids finding a community of their own, be it through other weirdos, supernatural beings, or realizing their own worth.

This list is far from comprehensive, but in the spooky spirit of Halloween, here are 13 quintessential spoopy movies that define this particular subgenre.

The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad (1949)

Where to watch: Disney Plus

… specifically The Legend of Sleepy Hollow section. Sure, there are some autumnal scenes in the Wind in the Willows part, but Walt Disney Animation’s retelling of an iconic staple of American folklore is pretty legendary. Bing Crosby narrates this spooky tale, and the Hudson Valley setting is gorgeously rendered in swathes of autumnal color. It’s a great little entry into not just spoopy movies, but also the Headless Horseman lore. This version is actually one of the most faithful to Washington Irving’s original story!

Beetlejuice (1988)

Where to watch: Max

“I myself am strange and unusual,” proclaims Lydia Deetz, as played by Winona Ryder, in Tim Burton’s 1988 horror comedy. And it’s a sentiment that young goths, emo kids, and other alt-outcasts everywhere would cling to. Beetlejuice is equally about the misfit teenager making deals with the titular unhinged stripe-clad demon as it is about a couple (played by Geena Davis and Alec Baldwin) navigating the perils of the afterlife. Beetlejuice ’s bold, bright sets put a colorful and zany spin on the dark and dreary afterlife, but it’s Lydia fearlessly going head-to-head with Beetlejuice that makes the movie memorable. By the end, the demon is vanquished, but the weirdness remains, and Lydia feels more at home in this new town than she did before.

The Addams Family (1991) and The Addams Family Values (1993)

Where to watch: Paramount Plus

Every iteration of the creepy and kooky Addams family makes for a spoopy time, but the live-action movies of the early 1990s are particularly iconic. Part of it is the superb casting. Every actor just embodies their designated Addams family member. Christina Ricci’s Wednesday is so definitive that Netflix brought her back for the Wednesday TV show in a separate role. Anjelica Huston is the perfect macabre matriarch, and Raul Julia caputes Gomez like no other. Christopher Lloyd’s batty Uncle Fester is just the icing on this spoopy cake. The first sequel continues this trend, with Joan Cusack sliding in as a scheming Black Widow killer. As a franchise, The Addams Family celebrates the joy in being weird, and that’s one of the tenements of a good spoopy flick.

The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993)

When you think of spoopy movies — movies that embrace dark Halloween aesthetics without ever being too scary for children — you probably think of The Nightmare Before Christmas .

The stop-motion flick has been a hallmark of Halloween ever since the movie came out 30 years ago. And with its infectious music, enduring characters, and distinct visual style, it’s very easy to see why. Directed by Henry Selick — who would go on to direct James and the Giant Peach , Coraline (on this list), and Wendell & Wild (an honorary member of this list) — Nightmare Before Christmas was a beacon to budding counter-culture youths everywhere , misfits drawn to the dark aesthetic and who perhaps identified with wallflower outcast Sally or restless Jack Skellington.

There’s silly debate about whether it’s a Christmas movie or a Halloween movie, but considering by the end, Pumpkin King Jack Skellington realizes that he does love Halloween and wants to embrace it fully, I firmly believe it’s a perfect Halloween movie.

Hocus Pocus (1993)

… and this is the other movie you probably think of when you think of a spoopy movie. Apparently 1993 was the year in the spoopy canon! Hocus Pocus follows Max, an edgy teenager, freshly moved to Salem, Massachusetts from California, who thinks he’s too cool for Halloween. He reluctantly agrees to bring his little sister trick-or-treating, and then, in order to impress a popular pretty girl, he accidentally summons the Sanderson Sisters, three child-eating witches. Bette Milder, Kathy Najimy, and Sarah Jessica Parker absolutely commit to the bit as three out-of-time witches bent on feasting on children in order to preserve their immortality. Seeing their wacky interactions with modern day (well, 1990s) life is hilarious. But Max’s evolution from Too-Cool-For-School to someone fiercely protective of his little sister is also sweet. Also! There’s a talking black cat! What more could you want?

Halloweentown Quartet: Halloweentown (1998), Halloweentown II: Kalabar’s Revenge (2001), Halloweentown High (2004), Return to Halloweentown (2006)

There are plenty of spoopy Disney Channel Original Movies , reliably providing few staples for every generation that grew up with the family-friendly network. (After all, by virtue of being on the Disney Channel, the movie will never be too scary.) But the Halloweentown Quartet reigns supreme. It wasn’t the first Halloween-themed DCOM, but it spanned four movies, right as the channel was coming into its own, and thus really solidified the general tone of DCOM spoopiness.

The movies take place in a world where witches, goblins, ghouls, and more live in a realm called Halloweentown. Misfit Marnie Piper has always felt a call towards all things dark and spooky, even though her mother doesn’t approve. But she discovers that her quirky grandmother (played by the legendary Debbie Reynolds), who only ever visits on Halloween, is actually a witch — and ends up learning about her own latent powers and the world of Halloweentown, which she saves time and time again across the four movies. It’s some very fun world-building, though time spent in the titular Halloweentown varies from film-to-film.

Casper (1995)

Where to watch: Netflix

Christina Ricci is truly the undisputed queen of 1990s Spoopy Fare.

In Casper, she plays Kat Harvey, the daughter of a quirky ghost therapist (who is… a psychiatrist who believes he can talk to ghosts). She and her father move into a dilapidated mansion in an effort to help the ghosts cross over, after the young lonely ghost who lives there (the titular Casper) watches a TV special about them and conspires to bring them to him, longing for a friend. While the older, bigger ghosts mess around with the ghost doctor, Casper and Kat start to bond, and try to figure out who Casper was before he died. Two kids trying to solve the mystery of how one of them died is pretty macabre fare, but it never gets overly scary or depressing.

If you prefere vampires over ghosts, The Little Vampire — starring 1990s It kid Jonathan Lipnicki — has a similar story of a misfit kid moving to an old haunted mansion and befriending a supernatural creature.

Scooby-Doo! and the Witch’s Ghost (1999)

Where to watch: VOD

Basically any Scooby-Doo movie is spoopy fare, since the whole premise involves a group of teenagers and their talking dog investigating rumors of supernatural creatures. The 2000s live-action films — where young actors from popular horror franchises play the main cast — are a particularly fantastic time, and there’s also a whole trove of direct-to-home-video animated movies, direct-to-TV live action flicks, and a 2020 CG animated film. But the spoopiest of them all is probably Scooby-Doo and the Witch’s Ghost. It is the most Halloween-y of all the Scooby-Doo movies, by virtue of centering around autumn festivities in a tiny New England town.

Witch’s Ghost introduced the iconic Hex Girls , the eco-goth musical trio whose pop culture legacy has eclipsed every other Scooby-Doo side character (they’ve since reappeared in multiple other Scooby-Doo animated movies). Like many spoopy movies, Witch’s Ghost follows a witch put to death in the not-exactly-Salem-but-still-a-town-in-New-England witch trials, and her haunting legacy as it affects said picturesque New England town.

Monster House (2006)

Where to watch: Hulu

Everyone goes off about Coraline being the scary animated film that first terrified them (more on that in a bit), but Monster House is up there in family-friendly scares that lean on allusion and metaphor to convey what could be graphic imagery!It’s literally about an anthropomorphic house that eats anyone who gets too close! The three main kid characters attempt to subdue the dilapidated house, so it can end its reign of terror on the neighborhood. They delve deeper into the creepy house, and learn more about how it came to be that way, a story that’s actually pretty chilling and heartbreaking. The house itself is a uniquely designed monster — architectural structures are body parts, like the jagged fence turned teeth and the lashing rug tongue.

Coraline (2009)

Coraline proves that you can have a spoopy movie without the fall atmosphere — so long as you completely commit to the sheer terror. Laika’s stop motion film is famously scary, without actually being explicit in the moment-to-moment frights. As my colleague Nicole Clark puts it in her reflection on Coraline , the filmmakers depict the terror through “insinuations of gore and dialed-up theatricality.” Based on Neil Gaiman’s book of the same name (which is just as scary, especially the original accompanying illustrations ), Coraline follows the titular heroine, who discovers a strange world that almost mirrors her own — save for the fact that everyone has buttons for eyes. Initially drawn into the vibrant other world, Coraline soon realizes that the Other Mother, the black button-eyed creature who took on the appearance of Coraline’s own mother, has sinister intentions. Coraline must save herself, her parents, and the souls of the other children that the Other Mother preyed on.

Paranorman (2012)

A recurring trope in many of these movies is a witch from colonial times who died in a trial coming back in some way shape or form. Paranorman, however, cleverly deconstructs this trope in the second half of the movie. The first half is played pretty straight, though it hits all the quintessential spoopy movie marks. Norman is a young boy who can see ghosts, which alienates him not just from his family but the whole town of Blithe Hollow — except for Neil, a fellow victim of the school bullies who takes a liking to Norman and decides to befriend him. Laika once again flexes its stop motion skills, rendering an impressive world with wonderfully tactile little details, like rotting zombie flesh and graffitied school lockers.

The House With A Clock in Its Walls (2018)

Jack Black adds a certain zest to spoopy projects. He played children’s horror author R.L. Stine in the 2015 Goosebumps movie, but it’s 2018’s The House With A Clock in Its Walls that snags the entry on this list. For one, Black and Cate Blanchett have excellent banter as neighboring warlocks. For another, it really pushes just how scary and unsettling a spoopy movie can be without actually being super duper scary and unsettling. Those clockwork puppet creatures! The animatronic baby Jack Black ! Also, much of this one hinges on the idea of Found Family, and the young boy at the center learning about his own powers and finding a place where he belongs. And that’s just the spoopy way.

Muppet Haunted Mansion (2021)

There should be a Haunted Mansion movie on this list, because the Haunted Mansion is one of the best — and certainly the spookiest — Disney attractions. However, I cannot in good faith put the 2003 movie or the 2023 movie on here, since they’re both fundamentally okay . (Nostalgia might fuel the Eddie Murphy movie , while the wacky cast mostly keeps the 2023 one afloat in a sea of mediocrity). Thank goodness that someone out there looked at the Haunted Mansion’s legacy and fully understood that the attraction would work best with the Muppets. Muppets Haunted Mansion sees Gonzo and Pepe journey to a haunted mansion, where they encounter the ride’s grim grinning ghosts — only this time, in Muppet form. It’s a perfect marriage of two goofy properties and celebrates both in spooktacular Halloween fashion.

The Halloween Countdown: 31 days of horror to watch

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The 80 Best Spooky Movies to Watch for Halloween

One of the best things about Halloween month (the way all mature adults refer to October) is the fact that it coincides with the official start of Cozy Season. When the leaves start to fall and Rite Aid rolls out the ghost and skeleton costumes , there’s nothing better than curling up in a blanket or 12, sipping a seasonal beverage— Pumking ale , anyone?—and freaking the living hell out of yourself with a horror movie .

To celebrate all things Halloween-adjacent, we’ve put together a master list of the very best scary (or scary-ish) movies to watch in the coming month.

M3GAN (2023)

Not since the early days of Jordan Peele’s Get Out fame has a horror movie embedded itself in the pop-cultural zeitgeist quite like M3GAN , as this Saturday Night Live sketch proves. Come for Allison Williams as a roboticist, stay for the weird robot-doll dancing.

How to watch: Stream on Prime Video or YouTube .

The Offering (2023)

Oliver Park’s directorial debut is based on the Jewish folktale about the female demon Abyzou, which (believe it or not) happens to be perfect fodder for a horror film set at a Hasidic funeral home in Brooklyn. 

How to watch: Stream on Apple TV , Hulu , Prime Video , or YouTube .

Run Rabbit Run (2023)

Succession fans will go crazy for this film, which stars Sarah Snook (a.k.a. Shiv Roy!) as a fertility doctor whose young daughter’s strange behavior hints at the reemergence of a ghost from the past. 

How to watch: Stream on Netflix .

Talk to Me (2023)

Zoe Terakes, Miranda Bird, Joe Otto, and others star in this Australian horror film about a group of friends who learn they are able to contact spirits from another realm using a mysterious embalmed hand. Good news for fans of this one: A sequel is in development.

How to watch: Stream on Apple TV , Prime Video , or YouTube .

Bodies Bodies Bodies (2022)

Okay, this one is more comedy-horror than actual horror, but it’s still most definitely worth watching, if only to hear Rachel Sennott deliver the immortal line: “Your parents are UPPER. MIDDLE. CLASS.” (Plus, it was adapted from a Kristen Roupenian story, so it’s got literary cool points.)

How to watch: Stream on Apple TV , Paramount+ , Prime Video , or YouTube .

Don’t Worry Darling (2022)

This isn’t a horror movie, per se, but the highly scrutinized film’s much-talked-about twist most definitely classifies it as “spooky,” to say the least. Florence Pugh shines as a seemingly happy housewife whose reality is a little more, um, complicated than it initially appears in this Olivia Wilde-directed thriller that also stars Harry Styles . 

How to watch: Stream on Max , Netflix , Prime Video , or YouTube .

Huesera: The Bone Woman (2022)

A young woman expecting her first child is cursed by a malevolent entity in this spine-tingling Spanish-language horror film that’s honestly probably best skipped if you’re pregnant (unless it’s really, really hard to scare you).

How to watch: Stream on AMC+ , Apple TV , or YouTube .

The Invitation (2022)

Family trauma is the name of the game in this horror film about a young woman who meets members of her long-lost family for the first time in the wake of her mother’s death, only to discover that they carry some pretty dark and terrifying secrets with them. 

Nope (2022)

In Jordan Peele’s neo-Western sci-fi horror film Nope, Daniel Kaluuya and Keke Palmer star as siblings trying to prove the existence of a UFO—and if a supernatural, bloodthirsty extraterrestrial creature named “Jean Jacket” doesn’t scare you, well, hats off. 

Pearl (2022)

This incredibly meme-friendly horror movie stars Mia Goth as a 1918-era young woman on the brink of madness who will stop at nothing in her pursuit of stardom.

Skinamarink (2022)

This Canadian experimental supernatural horror film follows two young children who wake up to discover that their father is missing, along with the windows and doors in their house, and it only gets scarier from there. Social media was key to getting eyeballs on this film when it first came out, although it eventually received a theatrical release.

By Fernanda Pérez Sánchez

By Audrey Noble

By Alexandra Macon

The Night House (2021)

In a haunted house on a lake in upstate New York, a grieving widow (played by the inimitable Rebecca Hall) encounters her dead husband —and enters into a looking-glass version of her marriage that utterly unravels her. Directed by the new horror-auteur David Bruckner, this one has jump scares like you wouldn’t believe. 

Saint Maud (2021)

The story of an isolated, introverted hospice nurse played by Morfydd Clark ( insanely good ) who is hired to care for a once-famous dancer named Amanda (Jennifer Ehle, sexy, imperious) dying of cancer. An episode of religious ecstasy in a depleted, soggy, English seaside town spirals toward violence—and culminates in one of the best endings in recent horror. 

The Swarm (2021)

A locust breeder in southern France who happens to be a single mother is trying to raise two children and make ends meet—so why not experiment with bloodletting and insect husbandry? This supremely modern and sophisticated thriller ratchets up into vampire-locust horror, in the best way possible. 

The Invisible Man (2020)

Elisabeth Moss stars in this terrifying film about a woman who’s convinced she’s being stalked by the invisible ghost of her abusive boyfriend. 

La Llorona (2019)

Directed by Jayro Bustamante, this Guatemalan horror movie focuses on the trial of a fictional dictator on trial for a brutal genocide who starts being haunted by dark magic and ghostly apparitions of his victims until he can no longer ignore the severity of his crimes. 

How to watch: Stream on Apple TV , or YouTube .

The Lodge (2019)

A snowbound chamber piece about two kids spending a winter holiday in a cabin with their father’s mysterious new girlfriend, Grace (Riley Keough). Directed by the Austrian pair Veronika Franz and Severin Fiala, The Lodge is a slow-burn genre exercise that exerts the pressure of a steel vise. 

How to watch: Stream on   Apple TV , Max , Prime Video , or YouTube .

Midsommar (2019)

A bizarre Swedish death cult attempts to reel in a group of horrified American students in this psychological thriller . 

Ready or Not (2019)

Ninety minutes of hilariously grotesque mayhem. Samara Weaving plays a bride named Grace marrying into an eccentric, board game-fortune family. The wedding held at the family estate concludes with a ritualized family initiation—a deadly round of hide and seek with the family hunting Grace with guns, crossbows, axes, and the like. 

How to watch: Stream on Apple TV or Prime Video .

Nobody does horror like Peele, and Us —which features a family terrorized by a set of doppelgängers—is no exception. 

How to watch: Stream on Apple TV , Prime Video ,  or YouTube .

Apostle (2018)

A British horror film, set in 1905 and starring Dan Stevens and Michael Sheen, about a drifter who sets out to save his sister from a religious cult. 

Hereditary (2018)

If you’re still craving the work of Ari Aster after Midsommar , check out this 2018 horror-tragedy film in which Toni Collette truly shines. 

How to watch: Stream on Apple TV , Max , Prime Video , or YouTube .

Malevolent (2018)

Florence Pugh stars in this horror movie about a paranormal detection racket that gets a very real assignment. 

A Quiet Place (2018)

This post-apocalyptic sci-fi horror flick follows John Krasinski and Emily Blunt as they try to get their family through the end times. 

** What Keeps You Alive ** (2018)

This Canadian psychological horror film, which premiered at SXSW and was directed by Colin Minihan, follows a young married couple celebrating their anniversary at a remote cabin whose trip…goes awry. 

How to watch: Stream on Apple TV or YouTube .

Get Out (2017)

Daniel Kaluuya and Allison Williams give memorable performances in this Jordan Peele film, which will make you think twice about meeting the parents.

A Ghost Story (2017)

David Lowery’s supernatural drama is less a scary movie than a moving meditation on grief and the ever-shifting sands of time…but, as its title suggests, it wouldn’t be out of place in a Halloween movie marathon. 

You’ll never look at clowns the same way again after watching this film. 

Not for the faint of heart is Julia Ducournau’s coming-of-age horror film about a young vegetarian veterinary student who begins to crave the taste of flesh after trying meat for the first time, but if you have a strong stomach (or are willing to close your eyes at certain key points), it’s definitely worth seeing. 

The Witch (2015)

Before she was Emma Woodhouse or Beth Harmon, Anya Taylor-Joy was Thomasin, a girl in 17th-century New England whose family suspects her of being a witch.

What We Do in the Shadows (2015)

What We Do in the Shadows is Taika Waititi and Jemaine Clement’s tale about a group of vampire roommates who are hundreds of years old and trying to adapt to life in the 21st century. 

The Babadook (2014)

A brilliantly crafted, deeply unsettling exploration of motherhood, grief, and guilt is the real terror that lingers well past the final scene. 

Citizenfour (2014)

This 2014 documentary about the NSA spying scandal is more terrifying than many fictional efforts. 

A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night (2014)

Billed as “the first Iranian vampire Western,” this film—which was written and directed by Ana Lily Amirpour —features a protagonist known simply as The Girl, an antihero vigilante who uses her vampire status to roam the streets at night, alone and unbothered. “A vampire is so many things: serial killer, a romantic, a historian, a drug addict—they’re sort of all these things in one,” Amirpour has said. 

It Follows (2014)

There’s a distinctly feminist lean to this horror flick chronicling a fatal curse passed through a group of teenagers via sexual intercourse.

Oculus (2013)

This psychological thriller—which follows a young woman who becomes convinced that an antique mirror is haunting her family—cranks the fear-o-meter up a few notches. 

Drive (2011)

While most people would classify Drive as a thriller, at moments it can be positively chilling. 

How to watch: Stream on   Apple TV , Prime Video , or YouTube .

Sound of My Voice (2011)

If you fear cults above all else, give this Brit Marling–led film a wide berth—or watch it for exposure therapy. 

All Good Things (2010)

How scary could a Ryan Gosling movie be, anyway? Turns out, very. Kirsten Dunst’s performance is not to be missed. 

Black Swan (2010)

Terrifying in a deep, dark, psychological way, despite being set in the beautiful world of ballet. 

Jennifer’s Body (2009)

Is it campy? Sure, but this Megan Fox/Amanda Seyfried black comedy is a cult classic for very good reason.

The Mist (2007)

This Stephen King adaptation stars Thomas Jane, Marcia Gay Harden and Andre Braugher and tells the story of a small group of people in Bridgton, Maine who meet in a supermarket to find supplies after a thunderstorm and start to notice an eerie mist cloaking the presence of monsters among them. Warning: the movie is actually darker than the book. 

Pan’s Labyrinth (2006)

Guillermo del Toro’s grim fantasy is terrifying, beautiful, and—against the backdrop of Franco-era Spain—a little bit true. 

Hard Candy (2005)

A young girl flips the script and goes full vigilante, taking prisoner an adult man who has been flirting with her online (and whom she suspects of being a sexual predator) in this chilling and highly suspenseful psychological thriller. 

House of Wax (2005)

Is this movie technically good? No. Does it star Paris Hilton and Chad Michael Murray? Yes, and for that reason alone, this slasher flick about a group of teens who gets stuck in a fright-filled wax museum should be required viewing—if nothing else, at least for Bad Movie Night. 

Gore to the max, if you like that sort of thing. Definitely avoid it if you don’t. 

Signs (2002)

After watching this one, you might keep seeing aliens on top of buildings and hallucinating visions of Joaquin Phoenix. 

How to watch: Stream on Apple TV , Prime Video , Signs , or YouTube .

Unfaithful (2002)

Richard Gere and Diane Lane star in a story involving an affair, and the lengths that people will go when seeking revenge. 

Ginger Snaps (2000)

This Canadian supernatural horror film is a bizarre one, focusing as it does on two teenage sisters whose relationship gains a whole new dimension when one of them transforms into a werewolf shortly after she begins menstruating. Hey, at least a woman wrote the script? 

How to watch: Stream on Apple TV , Prime Video , Tubi , or YouTube .

Requiem for a Dream (2000)

This complex portrait of the hell of addiction will stay with you long after you’ve finished the film. 

What Lies Beneath (2000)

Amber Valletta looks eerily like Michelle Pfeiffer in this campy movie, which will give you pause every time you wipe down a steamed-up mirror in the bathroom. 

The Blair Witch Project (1999)

The flashlight-lit fake documentary that pioneered the “found footage” horror flick still manages to be scary, even in 2022.

How to watch: Stream on Apple TV , Paramount+ , or Prime Video .

Halloweentown (1998)

A Disney Channel original movie from the era before they were all about tweens becoming pop stars. 

How to watch: Stream on Disney+ , Prime Video , or YouTube .

Practical Magic (1998)

You’ll want to become a witch after watching this ’90s cinematic staple. Sandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman star as witchy sisters navigating love, death, and magic. 

Ringu (1998)

The Ring is horrifying, but the Japanese original is even creepier on a deep psychological level. 

How to watch: Buy on Apple TV , Tubi , or YouTube .

Sabrina the Teenage Witch (1996–2003)

If you were into the sexy Sabrina reboot, revisit the quirky original. You won’t be disappointed. 

How to watch: Stream it on Apple TV , Paramount+ , Prime Video , YouTube ,

The Craft (1996)

A new girl with a troubled past moves to Los Angeles and becomes friends with three students who aren’t exactly popular, but are far more interesting than they seem. 

How to watch: Stream on   Apple TV , Hulu , Prime Video , or YouTube .

Casper (1995)

No, not the millennial mattress brand; it’s the Christina Ricci joint, the one that launched a thousand debates about whether Casper the human being cute makes Casper the ghost automatically cute, too. Prepare to rehash. 

Double, Double, Toil and Trouble (1993)

Before there was The Row , there were the Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen movies, and Double, Double is one of the Olsens’ most compelling dramatic turns.

Hocus Pocus (1993)

Bette Midler, Kathy Najimy, and Sarah Jessica Parker (as the Samantha of the Sanderson sisters) make this the definitive Halloween throwback. 

How to watch: Stream on Apple TV , Disney+ , Prime Video , or YouTube .

The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993)

The best of both holiday worlds—you can watch this one now and in December! It’s a little spooky, sure, but mostly adorable. 

The Hand That Rocks the Cradle (1992)

Your next movie night will be complete with this ’90s psychological thriller starring a vengeful nanny attempting to destroy a former boss’s life. 

How to watch: Stream Apple TV , Prime Video , or YouTube .

Misery (1990)

An oldie but a goodie, this Stephen King classic stars Kathy Bates as the scariest obsessive fan in history. 

Fatal Attraction (1987)

An ’80s classic: Michael Douglas and Glenn Close battle it out as an errant (married) businessman and the fling who won’t go away quietly. 

Ms .45 (1981)

This Abel Ferrara cult classic follows a mute seamstress who goes on a revenge rampage after being attacked twice in one day on the streets of New York. 

The Shining (1980)

A family of influencers moves into a remote hotel only to find out that #SponCon isn’t all it’s cracked up to be (just kidding). An aspiring writer and recovering alcoholic (Jack Nicholson!) accepts a position as the off-season caretaker of a historic hotel and moves his wife (Shelley Duvall!) and son in with him. Things go badly very quickly. 

The Watcher in the Woods (1980)

Don’t be fooled by the fact that it’s from Disney—this Bette Davis movie is guaranteed to freak you out. 

How to watch: Buy it on Prime Video .

The Amityville Horror (1979)

More houses, more murder, this time with 1979 James Brolin. Even more alarming: The story is based on a real house . 

Watership Down (1978)

Watership Down ’s psychedelic animated film about bunnies in distress has led to many sleepless nights of rabbit-related terror. 

Suspiria (1977)

The 2018 Guadagnino remake got all the attention, but the 1977 original about a haunted dance academy is well worth your time. 

How to watch: Stream on Tubi .

Carrie (1976)

The original Mean Girls , but with pig’s blood. This film is truly the stuff of teen-outcast nightmares. 

How to watch: Stream on Apple TV , Max , or YouTube .

Young Frankenstein (1974)

With its brilliant cast—Gene Wilder, Peter Boyle, Marty Feldman, Cloris Leachman, Teri Garr, Madeline Kahn—and incredibly funny script, Mel Brooks’s Young Frankenstein turns Mary Shelley’s classic story totally on its head. 

How to watch: Stream on Max .

The Exorcist (1973)

A scary movie with a scarier real-life history . 

How to watch: Stream on Max , Prime Video , or YouTube .

Rosemary’s Baby (1968)

Rosemary’s Baby is still matchless for sheer psychological terror, but don’t let Mia Farrow and John Cassavetes’s Satanic neighbors ruin New York City for you. 

How to watch: Stream it on Apple TV , Paramount+ , Prime Video , or YouTube .

Wait Until Dark (1967)

Audrey Hepburn plays a blind woman who manages to thwart intruders by shutting off all the lights in her apartment. The audience is put into her shoes, only able to decipher what is going on by listening to the men banging around the house trying to kill her. 

The Birds (1963)

There are the violent scares, yes: birds gouging people’s eyes out and children being chased, even if they might pale in comparison to more recent nightmares like Freddy Krueger. But the existential fear in The Birds is way worse. 

Psycho (1960)

Is there a more famous—or more terrifying—shower scene in all of cinema? Alfred Hitchcock crafted the perfect horror movie with Psycho , employing clever camera tricks and a wonderfully disquieting performance from Anthony Perkins to iconic effect. 

Dracula’s Daughter (1936)

This classic black-and-white vampire horror film stars Gloria Holden as Marya Zaleska, the also-vampiric daughter of Count Dracula, and is well-known for its not-so-subtle lesbian undertones , which should be reason enough to watch it.

Freaks (1932)

This 1932 pre-Code horror film remains truly terrifying, even after all this time. 

Nosferatu (1922)

A standard-bearer in the horror genre (particularly where vampires are concerned), F. W. Murnau’s Nosferatu: A Symphony of Horror was a hit when it premiered 1922, praised for its moody visuals and poetic screenplay. “Here is the story of Dracula before it was buried alive in clichés, jokes, TV skits, cartoons and more than 30 other films,” remarked Roger Ebert decades later. 

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Iron Lung Trailer Revealed for YouTube Star Markiplier’s Horror Directorial Debut

By Neil Bolt

YouTube star Markiplier has released a trailer for his feature-length directorial debut Iron Lung , based on the indie horror game of the same name.

Mark’s the Iron (Lung) Man

The Iron Lung trailer shows Markiplier (Mark Fischbach) emerging from a sea of blood as a narration by Mick Lauer plays over an ominous score by Andrew Hulshult.

Iron Lung the game is a short indie horror title from developer Dave Szymanski (DUSK). Set in a post-apocalyptic future where an event known as The Quiet Rapture caused all known stars and habitable planets in the universe to disappear, a convict is sent to search an ocean of blood discovered on a desolate moon, using a midget submarine nicknamed the Iron Lung. The convict discovers the crimson deep may hold something deadly.

When creating the blood ocean, Markiplier claimed this would have the most blood of any horror movie ever. That was a claim given some weight when the YouTuber went to hospital in April after getting too much claret in his eyes.

The movie stars Mark Fischbach (who also writes the screenplay), Elle LaMont, Caroline Kaplan, and Seán McLoughlin (Jacksepticeye). Its soundtrack will be composed by Andrew Hulshult, and the producers are Mark Fischbach, Will Hyde, and Jeff Guerrero.

Markiplier wrote that Iron Lung would be coming soon, but gave no definitive release date. It will get a theatrical release, which will be a first for the director who has created various shorts and series on YouTube.

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The Best Horror Movies on Prime Video to Watch Right Now

Prime Video offers recently released horror flicks like Nope, Smile and M3GAN.

Prime Video has a lot to offer horror fans, including recent releases like Smile, Halloween Ends, Nope and M3GAN. While it's going to  start showing ads next year , you can still enjoy your spooky content without ad interruptions for now. 

Here are some top-notch horror flicks to satisfy your cravings. Dim the lights, grab the popcorn and let the nightmares begin.

Nope is available for streaming on Peacock Premium

Nope (2022)

That's right, Jordan Peele's third film is now streaming on Prime Video. The sci-fi horror movie stars Daniel Kaluuya and Keke Palmer as siblings who run a horse ranch in Southern California. They learn something large and mysterious is occupying the sky, leading to a quest to capture it on camera. 

M3gan Blumhouse

M3GAN (2022)

M3GAN the killer doll gained attention earlier this year for her unnatural dance moves, and now you can watch the rest of her story. In the movie, she's given to a young girl as a companion, but things don't work out as planned.

Totally Killer (2023)

Want to revisit the 80s? Kiernan Shipka time-travels to the decade and takes on a killer in this new Prime Video slasher comedy. Randall Park and Julie Bowen also make appearances.

Dave Bautista looms in horror movie Knock at the Cabin.

Knock at the Cabin (2023)

M. Night Shyamalan's Knock at the Cabin is based on the novel The Cabin at the End of the World by Paul G. Tremblay. A family is vacationing at a remote cabin when Dave Bautista and a band of strangers show up with an impossible demand: the three cabin-dwellers must choose to save humanity or their family.

Smile (2022)

An unnatural grin can be utterly terrifying. This recent release takes full advantage of that. Dr. Rose Cotter (Sosie Bacon, actor and daughter of Kevin Bacon) goes on a horrific journey after she witnesses a traumatic incident involving a patient.

Candyman (2021)

Jordan Peele and Nia DaCosta are at the helm of this gripping slasher. A sequel to the 1992 film of the same name, Candyman tackles issues such as gentrification and police brutality. Prepare for blood, swarming bees and people making the unfortunate decision to recite Candyman's name in front of a mirror.

Don't eat anything crunchy while you watch this. 

A Quiet Place Part II 

A Quiet Place Part II (2020)

The sequel to John Krasinski's runaway hit, A Quiet Place Part II revisits the Abbott family as they're forced to leave their home and travel into the unknown. With a brand new baby in tow, the journey is perilous and tense, as younger members of the family have to step up and take the lead.

Nanny (2022)

Nanny is an increasingly unnerving movie about a mother working in the US and separated from her son in Senegal, whom she hopes will soon join her. The powerful, chilling, 97-minute film -- led by a captivating Anna Diop -- takes viewers through her difficult, haunting wait.

Suspiria (2018)

If you like your horror films interspersed with a bit of contemporary dance (and who wouldn't!) then Suspiria is definitely the one for you. It tells the story of a supernatural dance academy run by a coven of witches and features themes like motherhood, guilt and abuse of power. An homage to the original 1977 film, Suspiria stars Dakota Johnson and Tilda Swinton. 

Prepare to be mindblown by 2013's Coherence.

Coherence (2014)

Coherence is a huge favorite here at CNET  and it's a terrifying watch. Not necessarily in the traditional, gory, horrific sense but more in terms of the concepts. It's a multiverse movie released before multiverses were cool and it's not what you expect. Coherence is the kind of movie you'll finish and immediately rewatch to try and rewire your brain. It's a fantastic achievement. A must watch.

Trust us, this is a must-watch. 

ICULT FESTIVAL DE SITGES 2016 PELICULA TRAIN TO BUSAN

Train To Busan (2016)

If you're looking for a seriously impressive zombie film, look no further. Train To Busan is an action horror about a family stuck on a train amidst a horrifying zombie outbreak. Not only is it gripping and intense, it's also surprisingly human for a movie about zombies. Well worth a watch!

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