With so many different streaming services and so much to choose from, sometimes it’s really tough to pick something to watch. Even when you have it narrowed down to one genre, it can be quite daunting to sift through it all. If you’re looking for something spooky to watch for Halloween, I sifted through a lot to put together a list with variety of stylistic choices.
Sleepy Hollow (1999)
Directed by Tim Burton
Story by Washington Irving, Screenplay by Andrew Kevin Walker & Kevin Yagher
Starring: Johnny Depp, Christina Ricci, Miranda Richardson, Christopher Walken
Set in 1799, a detective is sent to the town of Sleepy Hollow to investigate the beheading of several townspeople. Tim Burton was at the height of his powers when he teamed up with Johnny Depp for the third time to retell Washington Irving’s classic. The production value is great and the overall tone finds that perfect sweet spot between frightening and entertaining. It’s not “scary” per se, but the style and presentation are perfect. This is definitely one you can watch with the whole family. (Edit* Okay, so the R-rating is appropriate here due to the beheadings, but it’s nowhere near the level of gore as some of the other on this list.)
Evil Dead (1981)
Written & Directed by Sam Raimi
Starring: Bruce Campbell, Ellen Sandweiss, Betsy Baker, Theresa Tilly
A group of friends travel to a small cabin in the woods but stumble upon the Book of the Dead and accidentally unleash hell. This B-movie turned cult classic put Raimi and Campbell on the map for its unique blend of hyper-gore and humor. This movie changed the horror genre forever when it released in the early 80s and spawned an unlikely franchise that includes two sequels, a remake and a TV series (Ash vs Evil Dead) that came nearly 30-years down the line. I didn’t realize it came with an NC-17 tag, but don’t let that dissuade you. If you can handle the over-the-top gore, it’s a great choice.
Poltergeist (1982)
Directed by Tobe Hooper
Written by Stephen Spielberg, Michael Grais, & Mark Victor
Starring: Craig T. Nelson, JoBeth Williams, Beatrice Straight, Zelda Rubenstein
This was one of the movies that helped make Spielberg a household name. The trailer is a little dated and doesn’t really do this movie justice. The practical scares throughout the film are fantastic and indicative of what Hollywood horror was all about in the 80s. Very rarely can you find a horror movie that’s made with the whole family in mind, but this ones PG and is a great entry point into the genre for all ages.
House of 1000 Corpses (2003)
Written & Directed by Rob Zombie
Starring: Sid Haig, Sheri Moon Zombie, Rainn Wilson, Walton Goggins, Chris Hardwick, Bill Moseley
This is B-movie mayhem at it’s bloody finest. It’s campy as hell but the cast really elevates this movie well into the realm of entertaining. This was Rob Zombie’s directorial debut and you can see how unpolished the movie is, but that’s a big part of the charm. You can see the passion for the horror genre and him wanting to put his specific stamp on it and he parlayed that into a successful career as a filmmaker. Even if this isn’t your style of horror film, Zombie deserves to make this list.
Cargo (2017)
Directed by Ben Howling & Yolanda Ramke
Written by Yolanda Ramke
Starring: Martin Freeman, Simone Landers, and Susie Porter
A couple aims to find refuge for their daughter during a zombie outbreak in Australia. There had to be at least one zombie movie on the list, but this is about as far outside the norm as you can get. The vast majority of zombie films seem to focus on the sheer volume of the pursuit of a cure, but this was a much more narrow and personal story. Freeman’s performance is notably heartfelt and sincere which helps to set it apart from other zombie flicks. It certainly skews more adult, but it’s not something that’s excessively profane or gratuitously violent.
Autopsy of Jane Doe (2016)
Directed by André Øvredal
Written by Ian Goldberg and Richard Naing
Starring: Brian Cox, Emile Hirsch, Olwen Catherine Kelly
Death is just part of the family business for a father-son team of coroners who begin to unravel the story of a Jane Doe whose autopsy is loaded with spiritual energy. It’s not neatly defined as a murder-mystery or a ghost story but Cox and Hirsch give convincing performances that help the haunting play out. This is a movie that sets its sights on an unsettling kind of fear and does a good job of getting the audience there. It’s heavier in tone and theme than others on this list but still effective. Probably smart to leave the kids out of this one.
Green Inferno (2013)
Directed by Eli Roth
Written by Eli Roth & Guillermo Amoedo
Starring: Lorenza Izzo, Ariel Levy, Aaron Burns
Surviving a plane crash is bad enough but when their plane goes down in a remote part of the Amazon, a group of student activists finds out the hard way that the local tribespeople aren’t so welcoming. Tourist horror is its own sub-genre, something about being lost, desperate, and vulnerable in a foreign environment is pretty scary, and that’s something that Roth tapped into with great success in Hostel. He’s not shy about viscera so you need a strong stomach. It’s not his best movie, but it’s definitely effective when it comes to the squirm factor and Roth deserves to be on this list as well.
Green Room (2015)
Written and Directed by Jeremy Sauliner
Starring: Anton Yelchin, Alia Shawkat, Imogen Poots, Patrick Stewart
An indie punk rock band stumbles across a small venue and begrudgingly agrees to play a show. It turns out to be a neo-Nazi bar and the group must fight to survive after witnessing a murder. Sauliner’s brand of fear is both tangible, brutal, and relentless. The cast responds to that intensity with strong performances that leave you unsettled. It’s situational horror at it’s finest. This one isn’t for the faint of heart as the fear elements resonate with a fierce realism, but it’s an excellent choice if you can handle it.
Splice (2009)
Directed by Vincenzo Natali
Written by Vincenzo Natali, Antoinette Terry Bryant, & Doug Taylor
Starring: Adrein Brody, Sarah Polley, Delphine Chanéac
Nothing ever goes wrong when trying to play God, right? That’s a lesson learned the hard way as a pair of genetic engineers skirt the ethical and moral boundaries of science in order to achieve their goal of creating a new lifeform. I like that Natali took the uncommon approach in deciding not to have a protagonist. A horror movie without someone or something this cheer for can be offputting, but it doesn’t fail to entertain. Regardless of their moral ambiguity, Brody and Polley give well-informed performances that help you overlook some of the genre cliches. It’s one of the more unique stories on this list and a solid piece of sci-fi horror that isn’t afraid of its R-rating.
Nobody Sleeps in the Woods Tonight (2020)
Directed by Bartosz M. Kowalski
Written by Bartosz M. Kowalski, Jan Kwiecinski, and Mirella Zaradkiewicz
Starring: Julia Wieniawa-Narkiewicz, Michal Lupa, Wiktoria Gasiewska, Stanislaw Cywka, Gabriela Muskala, Sebastian Dela
Rounding things out with a movie that’s recent and foreign, this one is the epitome of the sleepaway camp genre. I know it has all the cliches, but it’s also self-aware in that regard. It doesn’t try to fool the audience but rather leans into its influences and embraces the style. Kowalksi is clearly a fan of 80s American horror and it’s nice to see that style embraced and interpreted in a slightly different way. The characters are all exactly who you’d expect, but the performances were solid and the slasher elements were solid. If you’re a fan of Friday the 13th there’s no reason to think you wouldn’t enjoy this one.
Happy Halloween!