Celebrate the spooky season in your slippers.
Trade in your witch outfit for your gown and switch up your trick-or-treating with a home-delivery of seasonal treats. This year, the annual celebration calls for a viewing marathon that will make the hairs on the back of your neck prick up—or just add a touch of creepiness to your regular scheduling. So, if you’re not up for venturing into the apocalyptic world outdoors, allow Netflix to bring the spirit of Halloween straight to your screen.
From chilling horrors that will have your stomach in knots, to the not-so-scary classics riddled with mysterious occurrences, here are all the new and old releases to watch on Netflix this Halloween.
1. The Haunting of Bly Manor (New)
The producer of the wildly popular Netflix horror series The Haunting of Hill House (which is worth rewatching too), brings you the chilling adaptation of Henry James’ novella, The Turn of the Screw. Unlike Hill House, The Haunting of Bly Manor is less about the scares and more about the ghosts of the characters’ traumatic pasts. Settle in for an emotional rollercoaster that unfolds in a petrifying atmosphere.
2. The Witches
This wicked fantasy film is an overlooked gem. Based on the novel by Rahl Dahl, the biting script and dazzling performances from the likes of Angelica Huston have the power to traumatize just about anyone. It’s told through the lens of a young boy who has a run-in with a coven of witches plotting to rid the world of children. You’re in for a brilliant concoction of horror, imagination and comedy that’s still surprisingly creepy to watch as an adult.
3. A Ghost Story
Casey Affleck plays Rooney Mara’s deceased partner in this curious tale. While hiding under bed linen with holes cut out of it may seem like an absurd Halloween outfit, the film is centered around more serious topics like love, loss, and letting go. If you fancy an existential crisis wrapped up in really, really dry humor, then this is the alternative haunting-themed film for you.
4. Hubie Halloween (New)
The lines between Halloween tricks and real-life scares are blurred in this horror-comedy starring Adam Sandler, Noah Schnapp, Steve Buscemi and Maya Rudolph. Hubie Dubois (Sandler) spends every Halloween ensuring the Salem residents celebrate the season according to the rules. But this year, an escaped criminal and a mysterious new neighbor have Hubie on high alert. When residents start disappearing, Hubie (Sandler) has to convince everyone he isn’t just being his usual, overly cautious self—and save the day! Last year when Sandler was asked about a potential nomination for Uncut Gems, he promised to purposefully make an awful movie if it didn’t happen. You’ll have to watch it to find out if this is it.
5. Bird Box
This Netflix sensation needs no introduction, but in case there’s a small chance you haven’t seen it, then it’s probably a good time to watch this post-apocalyptic thriller, where evil attacks through sight. Anyone unfortunate enough to see the mysterious force will commit suicide. Sandra Bullock plays a mother of two, who attempts to take her children on a treacherous journey down a river to safety. And she has to do it all, um, blindfolded!
6. Train to Busan
While there is no shortage of Zombie series around, it’s been a while since the genre has seen a film that honors the classic form. In this Korean horror, a viral outbreak threatens to turn an entire nation into zombies (naturally!). The action takes place on a speeding train as a father and his young daughter frantically try to escape the contagion that rapidly spreads through the train’s cars.
7. Ratched
Sarah Paulson brings the infamous nurse Ratched from One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest to life in this thrilling new series. In this thrilling series, the creator of American Horror Story, Ryan Murphy, brings you the tale of her past experiences of working in a mental institute that led her to become a whole new breed of twisted.
8. The Babysitter: Killer Queen
Horror-comedy is having its moment and this McG-directed follow-up to The Babysitter is the perfect way to dose up on bloody theatrics and still sleep peacefully. There’ll be plenty of action and satanic shenanigans to keep you entertained.
9. His House (Available October 30)
A refugee couple from Sudan manages to escape a war-torn country, but their new home holds a different kind of horror. British writer-director Remi Weekes creates a new brand of the haunted house subgenre that has one foot grounded in reality and the other in the chilling supernatural. Just as the couple settles into their new life, they face unsettling presences both in the house and from the inhabitants outside of it.
10. Dexter
The delicious Showtime serial killer series is set to return to our screens in 2021, so there couldn’t be a better time to rewatch the blood-splatter analyst do what he does best—give into his homicidal tendencies without leaving a trace.
11. Evil Dead (1981)
If there were ever a true horror film, this would be it. It’s easily one of the most imitated horrors of the last 4 decades, which will become evident once you watch it—if you haven’t already. It’s the classic story of college students heading out to the woods for a relaxing trip, only to fall victim to demonic possession.
12. The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina
Although Netflix cut the show, there are still four seasons worth of viewing offering you an escape into the life of a half-witch figuring out her dual life in Greendale.
13. Unsolved Mysteries Season (New season available October 19)
This gripping docuseries will leave you with an insatiable appetite for true crime. And there’ll be a second season coming to Netflix on October 19. While the shocking real-life murders and mysterious disappearances aren’t for everyone, those that binge-watched the first revival season will want to set a reminder for the new season’s premiere.
14. American Murder: The Family Next Door
This tragic account of the gruesome Watts murders uses archival footage and social media posts of one of the victims to create a haunting narrative of a relationship’s breakdown. It’s not the usual sensationalized storytelling of the genre but instead, it’s an eerie portrayal of how removed a life online can be from reality.
15. Evil
Forensic psychologist Kristen Bouchard partners with a catholic priest to investigate mysterious “demonic possessions” in this CBS series. It takes the two perspectives, one of a skeptic and that of a true believer, to pose the question of science versus the supernatural.
16. Cold Case Files Classic
The reboot of the Emmy-nominated true-crime series is truly terrifying. The streaming platform has only released season one of the A&E’s original Cold Case Files series but this examination of long-standing cases gives you a brilliant insight into forensic science and criminal psychology used by elite detectives.
17. Sleepy Hollow
This is an absolute must for Burton fans—or Depp fans for that matter. The Spooky adaption of the Headless Horseman brings all the quirks of Tim Burton’s style to life through incredible cinematography. It’s hard to imagine a Halloween movie marathon without this in the mix.
18. Stranger Things
Rewatching the entire Netflix cult series will satisfy all your 80s nostalgia needs in anticipation of the new season and get you geared up for the Stranger Things Drive-Into Experience coming to L.A. this month.
19. The Addams Family
Speaking of nostalgia, what would a Halloween movie marathon be without Wednesday, Uncle Fester and the rest of the eccentric family? This macabre classic is dripping with sarcasm and all the spooky delight you could ask for in one film.
20. Goosebumps (1995)
Relive your teens with the 90s horror fiction series based on R. L. Stine’s best-selling books. There’ll be all the familiar monsters and grim happenings that used to haunt you throughout your school days.
21. Scream (TV Series)
This MTV series brings you all the slasher thrills of the hit horror franchise and infuses it with the dilemmas that plague modern life like viral cyberbullying.
22. Charmed (2018 TV Series)
If you were broken-hearted when the original show was removed from the platform this month, you can still get your fill of dark magic surrounding the trio of sister witches. If anything, it’s worth watching to find out why Rose McGowan claimed it “sucks.”
23. The Platform
This Spanish horror film hits a little harder in the midst of a pandemic. It’s set in a dystopian prison, where a slab of food descends from floor to floor. But there are merely scraps left to fight over by the time it reaches the bottom floor, leaving nothing more than fellow inmates for the main course. It’s social commentary oozing with gruesome scenes.
24. Children of the Corn
The name Stephen King is basically synonymous with horror and it would be a crime to have a Halloween movie list without at least one film based on his work. This sinister tale centers around a rural town and an unnerving group of children. It’s just as chilling as it was when it first came out in 1984, maybe more so.
25. The Babadook
“Do you want to die?” is the question Samuel asks his widowed mother Amelia. As she tries to help her tormented son overcome his irrational fears of monsters, she’s faced with a supernatural presence that has escaped the pages of a children’s book. If you’re up for psychological horror, this Australian is worth a watch.
[Featured Image: Screenshot from The Haunting of Bly Manor via Netflix]