The 11 Best New Horror Movies to Watch for Halloween
Halloween is approaching, so all the random people are asking, “What’s a good horror movie?” As much as I’d like to answer, ” Carnival of Souls ,” they’re probably not looking for the slow, black-and-white feel of 1962. People want something fresh . With that in mind, I’ve rounded up 11 of my favorite crowd-pleasing horror films from the last five years.
There’s something for everyone here: fans of vibrant pop-horror may enjoy M3GAN, while gimme-the-uncut fans may enjoy Barbarian . If you like a little wit in your horror, check out The Men or I Saw the TV Shine . The main thing is to lie on the couch and watch horror movies. Priorities, people.
Late Night with the Devil (2023)
Late Night with the Devil has a 97% fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes , so pretty much everyone loves it. This found-footage film purports to represent footage of a 1970s television talk show in which a spooky-themed Halloween episode goes horribly, demonically wrong. The pacing is tight, the performances are solid, and the period detail is absolutely perfect. It’s also scary, but in a fun way.
Where to watch: Hulu
X (2022)
I can’t say enough about Ti West’s original, brutal and ambitious Trilogy X. All three films could make any best-of list, but I’m including the first entry, X , because it was released before Pearl and MaXXXine . X tells the story of what happens to a 1970s porn film crew who decide to film a film on an isolated farm in Texas. Spoiler : Everything that happens is not good.
Where to stream: Hoopla
Black Phone (2022)
The black phone draws its power from the script we drill into children’s skulls: Don’t talk to strangers or you’ll get taken away by a bad man in a van. Its teen stars are young enough to be genuinely helpless, and Ethan Hawke’s villain, Grabber, looks like a twisted cross between London After Midnight’s Lon Chaney and real-life serial killer Richard Ramirez. Luckily, there’s a healthy dose of the supernatural to keep it all from being too depressing.
Where to watch: Starz
I Saw the TV Shine (2024)
Director Jane Schoenbrun ( We’re All Going to the World’s Fair ) continues her exploration of the fear and terror behind the pixels of the digital world in I Saw the TV Glow , a psychological horror film about a late-night TV show called I Saw the TV Glow . Pink opaque . I Saw the TV Glow , produced by A24, is one of those “elevated” horror films, so if you’re into artsy horror, give it a try.
Where to stream: Max
M3GAN (2023)
M3GAN is a ridiculously entertaining piece of work that combines social satire and scares. This is a rare example of a horror/comedy that is both legitimately funny and legitimately scary. Jenna Davis plays the title character: a life-like artificial intelligence doll designed to be little girls’ best friends. As you might have guessed, things don’t go as planned.
Where to watch: Starz
Talk to me (2023)
Earning a 94% fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoe and a legion of fans, Talk to Me has become one of the most original and unrelenting horror films in years. Australian directors Danny and Michael Philippou bring the supernatural scares back to life, carefully creating a terrifying mood and sparing no violence. But Talk to Me isn’t just a horror film; it’s also a clever technique that makes interesting observations about the consequences of the choices we make.
Where to watch: Apple TV+, Paramount+, Fubo.
Platform (2020)
I went into the Platform completely cold, accidentally clicking on it during the interminable portion of the Covid pandemic going on indoors, and haven’t stopped thinking about it since. This high-concept Spanish import takes place in a nightmarish prison tower where people on the top floor feast on gourmet meals while people on the next floor eat leftovers and everyone hundreds of floors below eats leftovers. I think it’s a metaphor or something.
Where to watch: Netflix
Color Out of Space (2020)
There are exceptions, but Lovecraft generally doesn’t translate well to screen – how do you visually represent HP’s idiosyncratic purple prose? Director Richard Stanley understood this. “Color Out of Space” is filled with terrifying, nightmarish imagery, enhanced by Nicolas Cage’s performance as a New England farmer whose family and farm are ruined by a mysterious color emanating from a meteorite.
Where to watch: AMC+.
Slax (2021)
I love horror movies that make funny premises feel half-scary, like Slacks , a dark horror-comedy about a pair of killer jeans. Evil Jeans, born out of unscrupulous practices at a fashion company, are threatening the employees of a clothing boutique. It’s hard to believe a movie like this would work, but somehow it does – it’s perfect if you want a little absurdity instead of gut-wrenching horror.
Where to watch: Shudder, AMC+.
Barbarian (2022)
In The Barbarian , Georgina Campbell plays Tess, who rents a house in Detroit for a job interview only to find Bill Skarsgård busy at the same time. Instead of heading home immediately, as she should, Tess decides that they can both stay there. After that, things go full steam ahead, but not in the way you think—it’s much worse. The Barbarian travels in unexpected directions with complete confidence. It’s a bloody, brutal and merciless film, but it’s not stupid.
Where to watch: Prime, Apple TV+
Men (2022)
I love films that take a strong stance, even if they risk alienating a huge portion of their potential audience. In Men, the monster is men, all of them. To highlight this, actor Rory Kinnear plays almost every male character in the film, each of whom confuses, stalks, pursues and attacks the main character in different ways, even though she just wants to be left alone.
Where to stream: Max