From Dakota Fanning’s new psychological chiller and Hugh Grant’s latest sinister incarnation to Tim Burton’s gothic comedy and a handful of time-honoured cult classics, here is our edit of films worth streaming, renting or catching at the cinema this Halloween.
New Nightmares
Vicious
Dakota Fanning’s performance in her new psychologically intense thriller will scare you silly. When she receives a mysterious box with a terrifying mandate, the line blurs between dream and waking nightmare. The cursed box demands she must sacrifice and place inside it something she needs, hates and loves. Failure to do so in time will have devastating consequences.
Scare level: Disturbing and slow-burning. Not for the faint-hearted. 16+. Watch it.
Black Phone 2
The trauma of the first film has not been forgotten as Ethan Hawke returns in the sequel to 2021’s supernatural smash hit. Four years on, Finn, now 17, struggles with life after prison when the black phone rings again – this time, in his sister’s dreams. Unexpectedly emotional. Watch it.
Scare level: Tense, gory and violent in parts. Haunting more than horrifying. 16+.
Sinners
Among this year’s most talked about horror hits is this ambitious vampire musical (yes, musical, no less) directed by Ryan Coogler and starring Michael B Jordan. Set in the 1930s Jim Crow-era South, the bloodsucking film follows twin brothers returning to their hometown. They plan to set up a jukebox joint, only for its grand opening to be derailed by something supernaturally monstrous. Watch it.
Scare level: Bloody in moments, but not relentless. 15+.
The Monkey
Dim the lights and brace yourself. Based on Stephen King’s short story, this gleefully gruesome horror is as darkly funny as it is chilling. When twin brothers unearth their father’s cursed wind-up monkey in the attic, a new wave of killings start again. As disturbing as it sounds. Watch it.
Scare level: Creepy with moments of shock. Manageable for mature teens. 14+.
Heretic
Our one-time heartthrob Hugh Grant swaps his nice guy image to play pure evil. He is chillingly persuasive as a recluse loner who manipulatively traps two young Mormon women inside his house in a sinister test of their faith. While showcasing Grant’s razor-sharp comic timing, the theological thriller interrogates belief systems and ideologies. Watch it.
Scare level: Morally dark and psychologically harrowing. 18+.
Cult Classics That Never Die
Beetlejuice
Prefer your horror with humour? Tim Burton’s 1988 gothic cartoon-like comedy remains as delightfully weird and oddly touching as ever. A recently deceased couple attempt to haunt and reclaim their home from the living with the help of an unhinged ‘bio-exorcist’ called Beetlejuice – with hilarious consequences. Watch it.
Scare level: Playfully spooky, never frightening. Suitable for 10+.
The Nightmare Before Christmas
Part fairytale, part existential musical, this stop-motion masterpiece has been a family favourite for over thirty years. It’s the heartfelt story about Jack Skellington, the Pumpkin King, who bores of Halloween and so swaps pumpkins for presents and kidnaps ‘Sandy Claws’ in the process. The cult classic straddles both Halloween and Christmas, meaning you can justify watching it twice a year. Watch it.
Scare level: Whimsical with a gothic twist. Suitable for all ages.
Hocus Pocus
This 1993 comedy horror film is ideal for a Halloween night in with children. Three hundred years after being sentenced to die in Salem, a trio of 17th-century witch sisters are accidentally bought back to life in modern-day Massachusetts. They set out to cast a spell on the town and reclaim their youth. Bette Midler and her coven are gloriously over the top. Watch it.
Scare level: Mostly giggles and glitter, rather than gore. Suitable for 8+.
Black Mirror
For deeply unsettling Halloween watching, stream Charlie Brooker’s 2016 anthology of near-future nightmares on Netflix. The real world, it turns out, is far more disturbing than any ghosts or vampires. This series will change the way you look at the world around you and the technology you’re hooked on. Your smartphone may just be plotting against you.
Scare level: Be afraid, very afraid. 16+. Watch it.
It
Nearly a decade on, Pennywise the Clown is back to ruin your sleep pattern. Andy Muschietti’s 2017 adaptation of Stephen King’s novel still has us hiding behind a cushion and glancing at the shadows in the room. A group of children are terrorised by an evil and seemingly invincible clown in this story that is as much about friendship as fear. You’ll never look at a red balloon in the same way again. Watch it.
Scare level: Properly terrifying at times. Best for teens and adults. 15+.
