The 10 best Halloween movies you can stream right now

Halloween (Franchise)

Where to stream: AMC+, Peacock, Paramount+, Tubi

It’s the iconic choice for the season, but it’s that way for a reason. There’s just something about watching Michael Myers walk through Haddonfield leaving one mangled corpse after another in his wake. The original movie is hardly a must see every Halloween but there are actually reasons to enjoy the entries in the franchise (yes, even that one) so if you want to get into the Halloween spirit there are no better movies to pull off.

Even when the movies sink to their lowest point, there’s always something interesting to watch Myers do his thing and Laurie Strode or whoever his unlucky target is trying to get away with. Simply put – it feels like a perfect franchise.

Obsession

Where to Stream: Peacock

The fears in “Obsession” speak for themselves. Escape hit​​​​​​2026, Curry Barker’s “careful what you wish for” story about a man who wants more than anything for his friend to have feelings for him that quickly go south when she becomes – you guessed it – completely obsessed with him. Many of the scares in the film are due to Inde Navarrette’s outstanding performance as Nikki. There is a physicality in the way she moves, screams and even just goes still and looks that is bone chilling from the jump. Furthermore, she grieves the character, who is forced to feel this way against her will, which can be more soothing than when she is at her worst and most depressed.

Also, the movie might have to be watched on Halloween just for the sheer number of people who might be dressing up as Nikki on the big night.

hereditary

Where to stream: Hulu, Disney+, Tubi

Is “Hereditary” the best modern horror film? The questions were asked right after Ari Aster’s film landed in 2018 and, now, most agree that it might be. The film just stresses you out from the moment it starts to the brutal end. There are very few jump scares in “Inherited” – instead it goes for the suffocation – but when it decides to turn the volume on those scares it’s extremely effective and uncertain. And Toni Collette? She should have featured in many more awards and accolades than she received for her role in the film.

Alien

Where to stream: Netflix

“Alien” has been terrorizing horror fans and horror commentators for decades. It has become a tentpole horror film and as the years go by it still holds up. Sigourney Weaver’s Ellen Ripley fights for survival against a brutal new organism aboard her spaceship as the rest of her crew are picked off one by one.

Few horror films capture the sense of place and beauty as “Alien” does. The once futuristic look has evolved into a retro-futuristic vibe that has become a staple for the franchise. The film clearly has a lasting legacy and is always worthy of a watch or repeat.

Trick ‘R Treat

Where to stream: HBO Max

There’s something about the anthology format that just works so well with the horror genre and “Trick’ R Treat” has more than earned its place as one of his best ever. The film weaves through 5 stories that are all set on Halloween and just exudes the vibe of the holiday itself rather than just being another story about a killer who falls on the day. Each of the stories captures something different about why people love this spooky holiday and I’d ask you to just try not to fall in love with Sam – the demonic little pumpkin-headed mascot at the heart of the film.

The Clarity

Where to stream: HBO Max

Stanley Kubrick’s horror classic has been scrutinized and thought about to death since its release in the 1980s but it remains a terrifying take on one of the author’s most famous novels. Shooting the film about a struggling writer and alcoholic who brings his family to a Colorado hotel to be a babysitter for the winter was grueling – especially for Shelley Duvall – but the results are the results.

It’s interesting, it’s tense, exciting and beautifully shot. Not only is it easily the best adaptation of “The Shining” it may forever remain the best adaptation of King’s work.

Friday the 13th (Franchise)

Where to stream: Netflix, Paramount+, Peacock, Tubi

As with “Halloween,” if you really want to roll up your sleeves with the classics it’s best to just go full measure with a franchise binge. “Friday the 13th” is one of the best slasher films of all time and the camp setting for many of the entries adds a fun element that spawns its own subgenre. The hockey-masked killer Jason Voorhees is another slow-moving, everywhere-at-once guy that makes the slasher genre such a fun watch or replay. And where the stories may fall in the “Friday the 13th” movies, rest assured that the kills always deliver.

Backrooms

Where to stream: HBO Max

“Backrooms” was one of the smash hits of the summer, and it’s finally streaming. The film was directed by 20-year-old Kane Parsons and expanded on his popular YouTube series exploring the lore and concepts of the titular back rooms – a place apart from reality where things and people are captured and slowly moved. The film is light on plot and heavy on vibrations and those vibrations are difficult. If you want a steady pit in your stomach for the duration of a run, try “Backrooms.”

Texas Chainsaw Massacre

Where to stream: Netflix, Peacock, Tubi

“The Texas Chainsaw Massacre” director Tobe Hooper was directly inspired by Ed Gein and his crimes. With a villain called Leatherface, some of that inspiration is pretty obvious. Gein made skin suits and masks from the bodies he excavated from cemeteries and Leatherface also wears the skin of his victims as masks. The film is brutal even for the time and does not hold the audience’s hand that little.

Go for this one if you want to feel hunted and pampered.

Hocus Pocus

Where to stream: Disney+

Not all of these Halloween movies have to be a scary moment. The season is as much about a cozy Healthy vibe as it is a bloody kill and there’s no more iconic choice for that than “Hocus Pocus.” In the film’s small town setting, the goofy Sanderson sisters, all the practical effects come together for something that will hit whether you carry tons of nostalgia for the film or are coming to it for the first time. If you want all the energy of a great Halloween movie without any of the blood, “Hocus Pocus” is your choice.