31 Horror Films You Might Not Have Seen (But Can Stream This Spooky Season)
October is almost here, and that means it’s time to break out the plastic pumpkins, heat up those ghost-shaped cookies, and put together your horror movie playlists for spooky season viewing.
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But if you’re tiring of watching the same ol’ scary stuff year after year, I’ve got you covered, as I’ve assembled 31 underrated and overlooked terror titles that you can watch to freshen up your macabre media diet before All Hallows' Eve arrives.
1.Stake Land
With a grim, grounded take on a post-apocalyptic horror story akin to The Walking Dead, this gruesome fright flick follows a group of nomadic humans who must rely on one another to survive a world overrun by vampires.Watch Stake Land on Peacock here.
2.The Eyes of My Mother
From visionary filmmaker Nicolas Pesce, The Eyes of My Mother follows a young woman who indulges in bizarre and violent behavior while coming to terms with a traumatic childhood event.Watch The Eyes of My Mother on HBO Max here.
3.The Deep House
Two scuba divers discover a haunted house at the bottom of a lake in France in this breathtaking and terrifying found footage film unlike anything the genre has previously produced.
Watch The Deep House on Paramount+ here.
4.Charismata
An intuitive police officer examines a series of bizarre murder scenes that might have potentially supernatural ramifications in this eerie mash-up of Se7en and Sinister.
Watch Charismata on Tubi here.
5.Gonjiam: Haunted Asylum
In this found footage frightener, a group of young filmmakers searching for viral video fame decide to set up a night shoot at an infamous abandoned asylum, but nothing could prepare them for the heart-stopping horror that awaits behind the walls at Gonjiam.Watch Gonjiam: Haunted Asylum on Amazon Prime here.
6.Butterfly Kisses
Directed by the late Erik Kristopher Myers (who also appears in the film), Butterfly Kisses surrounds an obsessive documentarian who attempts to find the truth behind a supposed student film about a local legend called “The Blink Man,” who appears closer and closer to his victims every time they blink.Watch Butterfly Kisses on Paramount+ here.
7.Offseason
Tonally similar to classic chillers like Messiah of Evil and Dead & Buried, Offseason is the latest from horror wunderkind Mickey Keating, who tells the tale of a woman who returns to the desolate island town where her mother had died only to discover the town itself has other plans for her.Watch Offseason on Shudder here.
8.Let Us Prey
A police station is infected from within by the appearance of a powerful vagabond with bad intentions in this bloody and brutal horror offering starring Game of Thrones actor Liam Cunningham.
Watch Let Us Prey on Peacock here.
9.The Witch in the Window
A father attempts to repair his strained relationship with his young son while renovating an old, remote home, only to find that they might not be the only ones in the house in this pulse-pounding modern ghost story.
Watch The Witch in the Window on Shudder here.
10.The Pit (1981)
A young boy is manipulated by his evil teddy bear to bring strangers to a pit in the forest containing flesh-eating monsters in this bonkers Canadian cult classic.Watch The Pit on Peacock here.
11.The Seventh Day
A cross between Training Day and The Exorcist, this chiller follows a young priest who is taken under the wing of a grizzled veteran exorcist as he trains to effectively battle demonic possession.Watch The Seventh Day on Netflix here.
12.Anything for Jackson
A pair of grieving grandparents go to unthinkable lengths in order to resurrect their late grandchild in this nightmarish horror offering.Watch Anything for Jackson on Shudder here.
13.Patchwork
From the filmmaker behind the modern cult favorite Tragedy Girls, Patchwork is a twisted contemporary take on Frankenstein following three young women who awake from a night of partying to find themselves pieced together as one monster, causing their conflicting personalities to clash as they search for answers behind their petrifying predicament.
Watch Patchwork on Tubi here.
14.The Nightmare
15.Come True
With one of the more controversial endings in recent memory, this wicked flick from rising filmmaker Anthony Scott Burns is a waking nightmare worth watching for yourself and surrounds a desperate teenager who partakes in a sleep study with potentially sinister undertones.Watch Come True on Hulu here.
16.The Hunger
This moody and macabre arthouse vampire flick from the late, great Tony Scott showcases some incredible makeup SFX as well as a brooding soundtrack and spectacular performances from Catherine Deneuve, David Bowie, and Susan Sarandon.Watch The Hunger on HBO Max here.
17.WNUF Halloween Special
18.In the Tall Grass
This mind-bending adaptation of Joe Hill and Stephen King’s surreal and scary short story from Cube filmmaker Vincenzo Natali surrounds a pair of siblings who venture into a field of tall grass where space and time appear to be boundless.Watch In the Tall Grass on Netflix here.
19.Censor
Niamh Algar is stunning as Enid, a film censor in the 1980s who becomes obsessed with a new film that seems to curiously reflect a traumatic event from her childhood in this incredible mindf*** of a movie.
Watch Censor on Hulu here.
20.Two Pigeons
This darkly comedic revenge tale about a predatory real estate agent and a vindictive “housemate” is guaranteed to send your gag reflex into overdrive.
Watch Two Pigeons on Paramount+ here.
21.Would You Rather
A group of desperate individuals come together for a mysterious dinner party with the promise of financial rescue but later find themselves immersed in a deadly game in this wickedly wonderful creepshow starring Brittany Snow, Robin Lord Taylor, and Jeffrey Combs.Watch Would You Rather on AMC+ here.
22.Southbound
From the producers of V/H/S as well as the filmmakers behind The Night House and Scream (2022), Southbound assembles five interconnected horror stories taking place in a remote desert town that invites the sinful and sinister to face their inner demons.Watch Southbound on Hulu here.
23.Don't Knock Twice
Katee Sackhoff headlines this spine-tingling film about a former drug addict who welcomes her estranged daughter into her home and life, unaware that the latter had invoked the wrath of a demonic urban legend.Watch Don’t Knock Twice on AMC+ here.
24.Possum
A disturbing horror story crafted by British comedy mainstay Matthew Holness, Possum follows a disgraced puppeteer who must return to his decrepit childhood home, where he is frequently tormented by his spider-like marionette and his sadistic uncle.
Watch Possum on Shudder here.
25.Pledge
Three young men find themselves in a fight for their lives when a fraternity hazing turns into something far more malevolent in this jaw-dropping independent fright flick.
Watch Pledge on AMC+ here.
26.Apartment 212
After escaping from her abusive ex-husband, a young woman suspects that she is not alone in her new apartment when she begins to wake up with strange bite marks.
Watch Apartment 212 on Paramount+ here.
27.Ruin Me
A young woman is invited by her husband to join him for “Slasher Sleepout,” an immersive forest-bound horror movie experience that blurs the lines between reality and nightmare, in this twisty and oh-so-creepy horror-thriller.Watch Ruin Me on Shudder here.
28.The Djinn
A mute boy discovers a book of spells in his father’s new apartment that transforms his night alone into a living hell in this intense and suspenseful cavalcade of chills.Watch The Djinn on Showtime here.
29.Watcher
Maika Monroe once again kills it in the horror genre as a woman who moves to Bucharest alongside her husband, but immediately descends into paranoia amid a series of nearby serial killings and a neighbor whom she suspects of watching her from across the street.Watch Watcher on Shudder here.
30.Wrong Turn (2021)
Turning the backwoods horror franchise a full 180 degrees from its origins, this impressive remake follows a group of young people who veer off course from a hiking trip through the Appalachian Trail only to face unimaginable consequences.Watch Wrong Turn (2021) on Showtime here.
31.Haunt (2019)
Quickly emerging as a contemporary classic among horror fans, this ultraviolent slasher film from the writers of A Quiet Place surrounds a group of young people who come across an enigmatic haunted attraction that offers something more menacing than just cheap thrills.Watch Haunt (2019) on Shudder here.
