The spooky month of October is here and now it is time for you to watch all the eerie films that were catching dust in your watchlist. We have curated a perfect list of movies that will send chills down your spines. Don’t worry there are plenty of them which cater to a wide range of interests. So, let’s dive right into it!
1. Corpse Bride (2005)
The horror classic film, Corpse Bride, is often the film which kicks off the Halloween season for many cinephiles. The film revolves around a shy man who unknowingly gives life to a dead woman. While practicing his wedding vows near a grave, he confuses the corpse into believing that he’s her husband. Naturally, the trouble ensues.
2. Sweeney Todd (2007)
Directed by Tim Burton, Sweeney Todd, tells the story of Benjamin Barker who is a barber and a serial killer. His victims are usually his customers. Barker’s sole purpose behind the murders is to find the man who is behind his false conviction and wife’s death. Helena Bonham Carter and Johnny Depp’s phenomenal acting do justice to the script.
3. M3GAN (2023)
The mix and match of Artificial Intelligence and humane capabilities can turn into a disaster. This has been shown perfectly in M3GAN. The movie revolves around M3GAN, which is an artificially programmed doll that assists a child and parent both. As the movie is a blend of horror and comedy, you’ll have a good time watching it.
4. The Shining (1980)
Jack Torrance, Wendy, and Danny are a family of three. Their lives take an unexpected turn when they start seeing supernatural events. Offering mystery and horror both, The Shining is not for the weak-hearted viewers as it can get pretty eerie at times. Directed by Stanley Kubrick and co-written with novelist Diane Johnson, the movie is perfect to keep you scared you for weeks.
5. A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984)
The American supernatural slasher film, A Nightmare on Elm Street, revolves around the notorious Freddy Krueger who after tormenting teens in their dreams eventually murders them. The next unfortunate group of teenagers happen to be Nancy and her friends. However, now they must strive hard to solve the mystery or they’ll be the next unfortunate victims.
6. A Quiet Place (2018)
A Quiet Place is a sci-fi film which also treads into the horror genre. It tells the tale of a family living in an area surrounded by entities that are blind but are extremely sound sensitive. As they are out for blood, the humans should remain alert at all times. The film is set in a post-apocalyptic world.
7. Barbarian (2022)
Zach Cregger’s directorial debut, Barbarian revolves around a young woman in search of a rental home. The rental home is already occupied by a stranger, but given her current circumstances she decides to spend a night there. This bad judgement initiates a chain of unfortunate events.
8. Hocus Pocus (1993)
Looking for a family-friendly horror movie? Hocus Pocus is your perfect pick!
The movie is about 3 witches who resurrect after 300 years. Their main goals are to take revenge while simultaneously terrorizing a young boy Max who after moving back to Salem, lights the cursed Candle of Black Flame.
9. Scream (1996)
When Halloween comes to one’s mind, watching the Scream franchise is the immediate second thought. However, there’s no better installment than the first one itself. Scream tells the tale of an unfortunate girl Sidney who receives a mysterious phone call. Soon she discovers that people close to her might be in danger due to a potential killer out on a spree.
10. Hereditary (2018)
Annie and rest of the family are miserable due to her mother’s death. While going through a troubled phase another tragedy falls on the family when they uncover Annie’s ancestry. It is an extremely dark and a creepy horror movie with a lot of gore. Hence, Hereditary can be more disturbing than an average horror movie.
11. The Ring (2002)
The Ring tells the story of a newspaper reporter Rachel Keller (Naomi Watts). A mysterious video tape is packed with dark images that eventually lead to a phone call predicting the death of receiver in exactly one week. 4 such teenagers fall for the trick and lose their lives. As the story sounded unbelievable the reporter ends up watching the video tape as well. Now she has exactly 7 days to unravel the mystery and save her life.
12. Insidious (2010)
Josh and Renai are hoping for a fresh start in their lives after moving to a new house. But they get trapped in more complicated events when their son Dalton falls into a coma and starts experiencing strange events in the house. Now the family must look for ways to protect their son from the evil spirits which are out to get him.
Insidious has more parts so you’ll be booked for the entire week if you plan on watching the entire franchise.
13. The Sixth Sense (1999)
The Sixth Sense revolves around Cole Sear who is a troubled child. Cole is gifted with a strange ability that allows him to converse with the dead. In hopes of being freed from this burden he reaches out to Dr. Malcolm Crowe. But the twist is that he is also an equally troubled psychologist. As both try to unravel the mystery, they are faced with dark events.
14. Friday The 13th (1980)
Despite Crystal Lake’s dark history of murders, the counsellors still agree on setting a summer camp there. Even though they are warned by the aged locals, the young people pay little attention to their concerns. Eventually Jack, Alice, Bill, Marcie and Ned pay the price for their carelessness. One by one they are brutally hunted down by a ruthless killer.
Friday The 13th is directed by Sean S. Cunningham.
15. Coraline (2009)
Coraline is an animated film telling the tale of an 11-year old curious girl who discovers a secret door in her home. Being inquisitive she walks through it only to find a mysterious version of her ‘frustrating home.’ Additionally, she also finds out that is hides a bunch of sinister secrets.
The stop-motion horror film is directed by Henry Selick.
16. Sleepy Hollow (1999)
Directed by Tim Burton, Sleepy Hollow is a gothic supernatural film about a police constable Ichabod Crane who is relocated to the upstate Dutch hamlet of Sleepy Hollow. Upon his arrival the locals explain the brutal murders to him and insist that it has been committed by a dark spirit. While investigating the case he comes across several events that change him as a person.
17. Us (2019)
Adelaide Wilson along with her family returns to her childhood beachfront home. Being constantly reminded of the past traumatic event, Adelaide develops a hunch for something bad that is about to happen with them. Her fears unfortunately turn into a dark reality and four masked strangers start terrorizing their families. Hell breaks loose when they realize that the strangers have the same faces as them.
‘Us‘ is directed by Jordan Peele.
18. Malignant (2021)
Malignant is about a young woman, Madison, who is troubled with the visions of strangers’ murders. As she realizes that her dreams are terrifying realities she decides to protect the victims.
Directed by James Wan, the film stars Annabelle Wallis as Madison Mitchell and Mckenna Grace as young Madison.
19. The Cabin in the Woods (2012)
To find something new and unique to do, a group of 5 friends visit a remote cabin. They were visiting for having fun but the trip turns into a nightmare when they start getting killed one by one. Eventually they come to learn that the cabin hides a dark secret.
The Cabin In The Woods is science fiction comedy horror film.
20. Nope (2022)
Daniel Kaluuya and Keke Palmer play horse-wrangling siblings in ‘Nope.’ The duo is adamant on capturing evidence of an unidentified flying object in Agua Dulce, California. OJ and Emerald Haywood’s father died due to random objects falling from the sky. Hence, they must gather enough proof for it. They are assisted by tech salesman Angel Torres and documentarian Antlers Holst in this mission.
21. Candyman (1992)
Candyman revolves around Helen who is intrigued by local legends. Soon she gains knowledge about one-armed Candyman (Tony Todd), who is a knife-wielding figure of urban legend that some of her neighbors believe to be responsible for a recent murder. After gaining this information, Helen feels like she’s being stalked by someone who appears to be a lot like Candyman. These events lead her to believe in the urban legend.
22. Saw (2004)
- image Credit IMDB
Saw directed by James Wan tells a disturbed story of Adam Stanheight and Lawrence Gordon who wakeup chained in a filthy bathroom. Soon they realize that they have been trapped by the serial killer ‘Jigsaw.’ Now in order to preserve their lives they must follow the issued instructions to be ready to face death.
23. The Witch (2015)
Set in New England, 1630, the film explores witchcraft and black magic. It all starts when the farmer decides to move with his wife and 5 children to a remote land infested with evil entities. Strange events start taking place. All this leads to them framing their teenage daughter Thomasin of witchcraft. The Witch also depicts sensitive family relations.
24. Smile (2022)
Dr. Rose Carter finds her life crippling after witnessing a traumatic incident with a patient. Soon after she starts experiencing frightening events which she finds difficult to explain. The only solution ahead of her is to face her past and untangle it. Smile is scary and graphic as well!
25. The Haunted Mansion (2003)
The supernatural horror comedy, The Haunted Mansion unravels the story of a realtor who along with his family becomes trapped in the frightening building. Precisely, Jim and Sara are approached by Edward Gracey who is willing to sell his mansion. Eventually they discover that the building hides dark beings.
It stars Eddie Murphy, Terence Stamp, Wallace Shawn, Marsha Thomason and Jennifer Tilly.
26. It (2017)
The Pennywise clown targets a group of children who are already troubled with their current lives. What makes ‘It‘ more horrifying is that the clown is shape-shifting and feeds on children. Will the seven children escape from the grip of Pennywise? Watch the film to find out!
27. The Addams Family (1991)
If you loved the Netflix series, Wednesday it is obligatory for you to watch the original The Addams Family.
The supernatural black comedy film explores the Addams family who apparently reconnect with their long lost relative, Fester Addams, who happens to be Gomez’ brother. In this quest of searching for Fester and then eventually finding him the family goes through a bunch of events.
28. Edward Scissorhands (1990)
Edward Scissorhands is another Johnny Depp horror classic film which also stars Winona Ryder. It focuses on Edward who is troubled with scissor hands. After the death of Edward’s inventor a kind lady Peg takes him in. However, this is the beginning of his unfortunate life as soon he gets framed for a crime he never committed.
Being a gothic romantic film it is a perfect watch for the Halloween season.
29. Practical Magic (1998)
Two sisters are grief-stricken after the deaths of their parents. Having no caretakers left they are advised to move in with their relatives. Left alone in the world, they find practical magic to be their savior which protects them from the obstacles in life. They inherit this gift of practical magic from the deceased parents.
Practical Magic stars Sandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman!
30. The Purge (2013)
Starring Ethan Hawke and Lena Headey, The Purge, focuses on James Sandin and his family as they spend a night in their California home. Soon the family is troubled by an intruder which results in the purge; a 12-hour period during which all criminal activities become legalized. Now the family must survive against all odds.
31. The Blair Witch Project (1999)
Intrigued by the Blair Witch incidents, 3 students decide to explore the Mary backwoods to get more information. But in strange turn of events their map goes missing and things start going in the wrong direction.
The Blair Witch Project is directed by Daniel Myrick and Eduardo Sanchez.
32. Death Becomes Her (1992)
Death Becomes Her follows the overlapped stories of Madeline, a Broadway actress, and Helen, a hardworking actor. Both of them are rivals and simultaneously fall in love with the same man. Being blinded by the love for their youth they drink a potion which was said to prolong youth. However, it results in them becoming immortal.
33. Hellraiser (1987)
Hellraiser tells the dark tale of Frank who somehow opens a portal to hell unleashing gruesome beings which tear him apart. A while after this when Frank’s brother and his wife visit their ancestral home they end up accidentally bringing Frank back to life. However, in order to regain his true form, he asks his brother’s wife to assist him in luring back men so that he can feed on them.
34. The Babadook (2014)
The Babadook is a psychological horror movie about a young boy, Sam who gets concerned about monsters’ presence in his home. Due to disturbing visions his condition deteriorates making his single mother’s life more miserable. Consequently, she falls into a state of paranoia.
35. Trick ‘r Treat (2007)
Trick ‘r Treat is a perfect Halloween film to watch as its core plot revolves around Halloween itself. It relates Halloween horror stories which all have something in common; a principal with secret life, group of kids pulling a prank, a virgin on lookout, a woman hating Halloween, and an old man meeting a strange trick or treater.
36. The Conjuring (2013)
Set in 1970, The Conjuring explores paranormal investigators and demonologists who try to help Carolyn and Roger and their five daughters. The family recently moved to a secluded house. Soon after this, strange supernatural activities start hindering their lives. The events escalate once the house’s dark past is revealed.
37. The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993)
The Nightmare Before Christmas is an animated movie which follows Jack Skellington and his misadventures. Jack is a being from Halloween Town. Strangely, he discovers the Christmas Town and is enchanted by what he sees. His obsession crosses all boundaries when he abducts Santa Claus.
38. Child’s Play (1988)
Halloween season is not complete without the mandatory watch of Child’s Play. The film follows story of Karen who buys her son Andy a used doll ‘Chucky.’ Soon things start to deteriorate for the family as they realize that the doll is possessed by a ruthless spirit of a serial killer.
39. Get Out (2017)
When Chris decides to visit his Caucasian girlfriend’s parents during a weekend getaway, he discovers horrors beyond his imagination. In the beginning he dismisses the behavior as nothing strange but later on he realizes that something isn’t right.
Directed by Jordan Peele, Get Out features Daniel Kaluuya, Allison Williams, Bradley Whitford, and more.
40. Beetlejuice (1988)
Following their death, Barbara and Adam Maitland find themselves trapped inside their residence. When another family finally purchases the house, the deceased couple tries to scare them away. But their plan does not yield any success. Instead their efforts attract, a spirit Beetlejuice whose help tends to harm the new family and Maitlands.
After the 1988 version you can also watch the recent Beetlejuice 2 (or Beetlejuice Beetlejuice) starring Winona Ryder and Jenna Ortega.
41. Poltergeist (1982)
The Freelings find themselves troubled by strange events. In Poltergeist, the ghosts try to converse with the family through the television set. Initially, the events are not harmful or strange. However, with passage of time things start becoming dark as a five-year-old Carol Ann goes missing.
42. Nosferatu (1922)
Nosferatu is a blast from past. The movie is about a vampire who preys on his estate agent’s wife (Greta Schröder). In this quest he ends up bringing the plague to their town. It is a 1922 silent German Expressionist vampire film directed by F. W. Murnau.
43. Five Nights at Freddy’s (2023)
Five Nights at Freddy’s is about a security guard (Mike) who recently starts working at Freddy Fazbear’s Pizzeria. On his first night duty, he soon realizes that the job will be much harder than it seems because of the restless spirits that haunt the area. Mike must deal with the paranormal activities in order to keep his job. Every night duty is going to bring forth a new terrifying experience.
Well, that’s the end of the list. Stay tuned, for more such movies-related articles!
