Cliff Notes – The 15 most terrifying horror films set at Halloween and where to watch them
- Diverse Selection: The list features a range of horror films, from classics like Halloween to modern entries such as Late Night with the Devil, catering to various tastes within the genre.
- Thematic Relevance: Each film is either set during Halloween or incorporates Halloween elements, enhancing the spooky atmosphere ideal for the season.
- Streaming Availability: Most films are accessible on popular streaming platforms like Shudder, Prime Video, and BBC iPlayer, making it easy for viewers to enjoy them during the spooky season.
The 15 most terrifying horror films set at Halloween and where to watch them
Its that time of year agin, pumpkins and green make-up and here are a few recommendations to enjoy the spooky season with these perfectly themed horror films for the occasion.
Unless you’re a pagan who celebrates Halloween (or ‘Samhain’, as you might call it) by creating altars, performing wiccan rituals, practising divination and attempting to commune with the dead, Halloween is probably mostly just about sweets, isn’t it?
Many of us will be distracted on October 31, ensuring that the plastic cauldron outside our front door is adequately stocked enough to guarantee that next door’s kids don’t flip out during a mad sugar rush and kick over our favourite pot plant or ram a fistful of Haribo Starmix up our car’s exhaust pipe.
When we’re not doing that, Halloween’s a time for getting creeped out by horror films. There are a hellishly innumerable number of such films to pick from in the genre to stream right now. So let’s narrow them down for you.
These are the most harrowing and ghoulish horror movies actually set at Halloween…
Halloween
Michael Myers’ birthday cake cutting service proved unpopular (Picture: Alamy Stock Photo)
We have no choice here, really. We have to start this list with the most obvious – and arguably best – example of what we’re talking about.
There’s not another Halloween-set horror movie out there that quite encapsulates the terror that’s supposed to be associated with October 31.
Contrary to popular belief, John Carpenter’s seminal slasher Halloween isn’t the first of its kind, but it’s undeniably the most influential.
It launched Jamie Lee Curtis’ career. It featured a fella in a William Shatner mask painted white stabbing girls. It showcased that iconic theme tune. A true blood-soaked classic.
Where to watch: BBC iPlayer, Pluto TV, and Shudder
House of 1000 Corpses
The estate agents had warned the vendors that’House of 1000 Corpses might put some potential buyers off the property.
Former frontman of heavy metallers White Zombie, Rob Zombie made his directorial debut with this messy gorefest.
Alright, so it’s not likely to be studied in many film schools, but if you like your horror vile, violent, and totally moral-free, then this sadistic piece of grindhouse trash should be an annual watch.
Starring Sid Haig, Sheri Moon Zombie, and Bill Moseley, House of 1000 Corpses follows a group of friends who pick up a hitchhiker.
When their car breaks down, they travel to the hitchhiker’s family home, which just so happens to be close by, and find themselves imprisoned and tortured by the sadistic Firefly family.
Where to watch: Prime Video, Shudder, Plex, and Lionsgate+
Late Night with the Devil
The best horror film of 2023 takes place during a Halloween broadcast in the 1970s. Late Night with the Devil is set on a live late-night talk show, hosted by Johnny Carson-alike Jack Delroy (played by a never better David Dastmalchian).
As the show progresses, what starts as a quirky Halloween special spirals into chaos when increasingly supernatural and horrifying events begin to play out on live TV.
It’s dark, it’s clever and it’s refreshingly original. Watch Late Night… late night and it’s guaranteed to freak you out.
Where to watch: Shudder
The Blair Witch Project
It sparked a huge revival of the found footage subgenre of horror.
It might surprise anyone who remembers this coming out, but this infamous film is now 25 years old. To today’s audiences, it just looks like yet another cheap found footage film. If anything, it may even come across like a rather dreary one. Yet on its release, The Blair Witch Project was a genuine cultural phenomenon.
The film follows three filmmakers – Heather, Josh and Mike – who venture into the Black Hills Forest in Maryland to document the legend of the Blair Witch.
Instead of showing monsters and gore, the film focuses on the eerie atmosphere of the forest, strange occurrences and the mounting psychological tension among the group.
The film’s style really does add to the feeling that this is a genuine account of a supernatural encounter. While it’s not directly tied to the Halloween season, the story is set in late October 1994 and that’s not a coincidence. The setting adds even more to the overall sense of the ominous that haunts this low-budget classic.
Where to watch: Lionsgate+ via Prime Video
Creepshow
Quicksand used to be a thing, didn’t it? You don’t tend to hear much about the dangers of quicksand anymore.
With Stephen King on scribing duties and zombie film director* George A. Romero behind the camera, this fun camp romp of a horror anthology has five chilling tales that expertly blend horror and humour.
The film opens and closes with a young lad reading a spooky comic book, with the stories inside forming the basis for the movie. Its cartoonish, comic-book style adds to the festive atmosphere, giving viewers a playful yet eerie seasonal thrill.
It really is perfect for Halloween night horror marathons, even if its Halloween setting is fairly subtle.
*We mean he’s a director of zombie films, not a film director who’s a zombie
Where to watch: Available to rent and buy on Apple TV+ and the Sky Store
Ginger Snaps
This is easily the best horror film on this list named after a biscuit (Picture: Moviestore/REX/Shutterstock)
While not exactly the most terrifying of entries on this list, Ginger Snaps is still a fun and lively horror flick that blends coming-of-age drama with all sorts of werewolf lore. And before Twilight did too.
It follows two teenage sisters, Ginger and Brigitte, who are obsessed with death and face high school alienation.
After Ginger gets bitten by a werewolf, she undergoes a terrifying transformation into, well, you can guess. The film is set in a suburban town during Halloween, which enhances its dark and eerie atmosphere quite nicely.
It’s one for a slightly younger audience but still packs a punch (with a big hairy paw).
Where to watch: Prime Video and Plex
The Little Girl Who Lives Down the Lane
Jodie Foster was only 13 when she filmed this low-key horror flick, by which time she’d already starred in some eight other movies… (Picture: Zev Braun/Icl/Filmedis-Filmel/Kobal/REX/Shutterstock)
This creepy low-key thriller centres on Rynn, a mysterious 13-year-old girl (played by a young Jodie Foster) who is living alone and hiding dark secrets from her nosy neighbours.
Set around Halloween, the film’s unsettling atmosphere adds to its overall spooky vibe. It’s a bit of a slow burn, but the eerie suspense and Foster’s brilliant performance make it worth watching if you’re into odd, unsettling tales rather than jump scares.
Co-starring Martin Sheen, it’s definitely more of a cult horror offering than a stone-cold classic. But it’s worth checking out for Jodie Foster’s performance alone.
Where to watch: Prime Video and Shudder
More horror films to stream right now.
Terrifier
“What can I getcha, hun?”
With a fourth film on its way, what better time to sit down and catch up on the Terrifier franchise?
One word of advice: Only book Art the Clown for a kid’s birthday if they’ve been really, really naughty.
The first Terrifier film follows two women on their way back from a Halloween party who, when their car has its tires slashed, are preyed upon by the maniacal clown.
The second Terrifier film is also set at Halloween and once again sees Art hack and slash his way through Miles County one year after the terrifying attack in the first film.
All Hallows Eve, the first film that we see Art appear in, is also streaming now, an anthology tied together by the character.
Where to watch: Prime Video, Shudder, Paramount+, and Plex
Ghostwatch
Alright, so we’re cheating here a little bit. But it’s a shame not to feature Ghostwatch when talking about terrifying things set at Halloween.
Originally put out by a very ambitious and brave BBC back in ‘92, this TV special can better be described, perhaps, as a feature-length TV mockumentary.
This haunted house investigation went out as though it were real, however, featuring as it did three famous faces from BBC TV: Sir Michael Parkinson, Sarah Greene, and Craig Charles.
We now know that it was pre-recorded and fake, but precious few Brits at home realised at the time, and it goes down as an incredible hoax and piece of Entertainment.
Watch it back now, and we know the provenance, so it feels like watching a movie. But to anyone from the UK of a certain age, this was nightmare fuel for decades…
Where to watch: Available to buy on Apple TV+ and the Sky Store
The Guest
Along with It Follows, The Guest is one of the movies that set Maika Monroe up as bona fide scream queen.
You could argue that this excellent Adam Wingard film is more of a thriller than a horror, but there are more than enough creepy vibes on display to make an argument that this Maika Monroe and Dan Stevens-starring cracker is at least part-horror.
It’s certainly set over Halloween, as the brutal and tense final set piece in a haunted house set up at a high school Halloween party proves.
Come for the sexy leads and creepy atmos, stay for one of the best goth-tinged synth-pop movie soundtracks ever.
Where to watch: Prime Video and Plex
Trick ‘r Treat
Is that… quicksand?!
Another anthology that intertwines multiple stories, and, as its name suggests, this creepathon is set on Halloween night.
Each tale reveals dark secrets behind the not particularly festive holiday, from deadly pranks to sinister traditions.
Watch it with a bingo card of ‘weeny tropes and you’ll have them all ticked off in no time.
Trick ‘r Treat has fast become a modern classic, and it’s an essential watch this spooky season.
Where to watch: Available to rent on Prime Video, Rakuten TV, and the Sky Store
Donnie Darko
Luckily there’s no one behind them. Only there’s always a giant evil rabbit in front of us when we go to the cinema.
The surreal modern classic Donnie Darko isn’t the first film you think of when you start drawing up a list of horror films, whether they’re set at Halloween or not.
And while Richard Kelly’s debut isn’t entirely set at Halloween, it does play quite a significant role in the thing. The film’s climax occurs around a Halloween party, for instance, with characters all dressed in costumes.
The eerie atmosphere and, of course, Frank the Rabbit’s truly unsettling presence both fit quite nicely into the spooky Halloween vibe.
Where to watch: Arrow and Plex
V/H/S: Halloween
V/H/S: Halloween has something for every horror fan.
The latest installment in found footage anthology franchise V/H/S is set entirely around Halloween.
From high schoolers enjoying one last night of trick-or-treating to a cursed Halloween party and a terrible crime linked to the holiday season, the latest collection of V/H/S tapes has something for every horror fan.
And the talent behind the shorts has never been more exciting, with Bryan M. Ferguson, Anna Zlokovic, Paco Plaza, Casper Kelly, Alex Ross Perry, and Micheline Pitt-Norman and R.H. Norman all contributing to the film.
Where to watch: Shudder
Haunt
Many of us this Halloween season will be heading to scare attractions to enjoy a horror film in the flesh.
But you may think twice if you watch 2019’s Haunt.
Cruising around on Halloween night, a group of friends comes across an ‘extreme’ haunt attraction and decides to take part.
However, it soon becomes apparent the blood and guts they witness are very, very real – and the danger they’re in is far from fictional.
Where to watch: Lionsgate+ via Prime Video
The Exorcist
Tch. Bloody KIDS.
We end on the mic drop of horrors. Billy Friedkin’s cinematic masterpiece, arguably the most controversial movie ever made. It’s The Exorcist.
While it’s not exactly a central plot point (the family of Regan MacNeil has got bigger things to worry about), it is actually Halloween during some of the major events of this demonic possession chiller.
The iconic horror film centres on Chris as she desperately tries to help daughter Regan when she exhibits increasingly erratic and dangerous behaviour.
When science fails them, Chris turns to the church, who believe that Regan has been possessed by a demon and requires an exorcism to save her soul, and her life.
Where to watch: NOW TV and Sky