Hello, Yahoo readers! My name is Brett Arnold, film critic and longtime Yahoo editor, and I’m back with a haunted edition of Trust Me, I Watch Everything, just in time for Halloween.
As a horror aficionado, I’m all in on the genre year-round. I also recognize that horror is such a broad term; people can consider themselves diehard fans while still actively avoiding the types of movies that make their skin crawl. Maybe you’re into the supernatural, but the “this could really happen” subgenre is a bridge too far. Maybe you can’t stomach gore but love a good jump scare.
Whatever variety of shocks you’re seeking, I’ve compiled a list of must-watches for every shade of terror. I hope it helps you find the perfect flick for a Halloween viewing.
Read on, because there’s always something for everyone!
For the gore-hounds and sickos
Watch if: You’ve already seen Art the Clown eviscerate people in the Terrifier trilogy.
The Perfection: When troubled musical prodigy Charlotte (Allison Williams) befriends the new star pupil of her former school, the relationship sends both musicians down a sinister path. This movie starts grounded enough but eventually shifts into unhinged territory. The less said about the true nature of its terror, the better. Now streaming on Netflix.
Bone Tomahawk: This revisionist Western is sneakily a nasty horror movie with some of the most unforgettable and upsetting sequences of gore in recent memory. When a group of cannibals kidnaps settlers from the small town of Bright Hope, an unlikely team of gunslingers, led by Sheriff Hunt (Kurt Russell), sets out to bring them home. Now streaming on Hulu and Disney+, as well as Tubi, Pluto, Philo and the Roku Channel.
Bug: This underrated chiller, directed by the late William Friedkin and written by Tracy Letts, stars Ashley Judd and Michael Shannon as a pair bunking in a hotel room where the line between reality and delusion gets blurred after they discover a bug infestation. It’s a disturbing psychological thriller about our modern conspiracy-addled, paranoid world, which feels extremely prescient in 2025. Now streaming on the Criterion Channel.
Watch on the Criterion Channel
Scare your pants off
Watch if: You’ve seen the classics like The Exorcist and The Shining and are wondering, what else is out there?
The Empty Man: This terrific and creepy debut feature from David Prior has garnered a cult following after its nonexistent release during the COVID-19 pandemic. In it, an ex-cop (James Badge Dale) who’s on the trail of a missing girl, comes across a secretive group attempting to summon a terrifying supernatural entity. You’ll be absolutely hooked from the opening sequence. Fans of Twin Peaks should check it out. Now streaming on Hulu.
Hush: In the nine years since Hush debuted, Mike Flanagan has become a horror staple, adapting several Stephen King projects as well as the works of Shirley Jackson with his The Haunting of Hill House series on Netflix. This 2016 original project is a simple home invasion setup with a twist: The protagonist is deaf. It’s suspenseful and cleverly staged. Now streaming on Peacock and Philo and Tubi.
The Autopsy of Jane Doe: This unexpectedly scary and tense psychodrama is anchored by great performances from Emile Hirsch and Brian Cox as father and son coroners employed at the same morgue. When an unidentified corpse shows up with no external signs of trauma, they discover that the body’s internal organs tell a different story. The autopsy itself makes up the majority of the film, and it’s as intense as can be, thanks to André Øvredal’s clever, patient direction. Now streaming on Paramount+ and Philo.
Scares for all ages
Watch if: Your family has seen Beetlejuice a dozen times and you still like getting spooked together.
Ouija: Origin of Evil : This 2016 sequel doesn’t require you to have seen the underwhelming 2014 original, and uses the spooky board game as a way in to a clever period-piece, kid-centric horror flick. In 1967 Los Angeles, a widowed mother unwittingly invites evil into her home by adding a new stunt to bolster her séance scam business. When the merciless spirit possesses her youngest daughter, the family must confront unthinkable fears to save her. It’s way better than it has any right to be! Now streaming on Peacock.
The Witches: Decidedly adult filmmaker Nicolas Roeg’s adaptation of the Roald Dahl children’s book is so memorably disturbing that it scarred an entire generation of kids who grew up watching it, myself included! Anjelica Huston is terrifying, as are the makeup effects that turn the performers into monstrous, hideous witches. The tactile, handmade 1990 craft of it all makes it the one to watch. Now streaming on Howdy via Roku.
Monster House: This animated modern classic manages to be as entertaining for kids as it is for adults, as it balances laughs and scares pretty equally. In it, no adults believe three kids’ assertion that a neighboring residence is a living creature that means them harm. With Halloween approaching, the trio must find a way to destroy the structure before innocent trick-or-treaters meet ghastly ends. Now streaming on Peacock.
Horror throwbacks
Watch if: You prefer your frights with early aughts flair.
What Lies Beneath: The selling point of the Robert Zemeckis supernatural horror-thriller was that it starred Michelle Pfeiffer and Harrison Ford, and that it was as sexy as it was scary. When Claire Spencer (Pfeiffer) starts hearing ghostly voices and seeing spooky images, she wonders if an otherworldly spirit is trying to contact her. All the while, her husband (Ford) tries to reassure her by telling her it’s all in her head. But as Claire investigates, she discovers that the man she loves might know more than he’s letting on. Do you remember the twist? Now streaming on the Criterion Channel.
Watch on the Criterion Channel
The Others: Nicole Kidman stars as Grace, a religious woman who lives in an old house kept dark because her two children have a rare sensitivity to light. When the family begins to suspect the house is haunted, Grace fights to protect her children in the face of strange events and disturbing visions. It’s a lovingly made and beautifully looking classic candlelit ghost story. Now streaming on the Criterion Channel.
Watch on the Criterion Channel
Sleepy Hollow: One of only a handful of R-rated films from the macabre Tim Burton, Sleepy Hollow sees the unique visual stylist at the top of his game. Based on the well-known short story, Constable Ichabod Crane is sent to the tiny village of Sleepy Hollow, where a headless horseman is leaving a trail of decapitated bodies. The material is a perfect fit for Burton, and the expressionist visuals and overall rare “this is a movie for adults” energy from him are a joy to behold. Now streaming on Paramount+ and Hulu.
Watch if: You want something off the beaten path.
Pontypool: This lo-fi chiller is the most original and exciting horror movie of the 2000s. When disc jockey Grant Mazzy reports to his basement radio station in the Canadian town of Pontypool, he thinks it’s just another day at work. But when he hears reports of a virus that turns people into zombies, Mazzy barricades himself in the radio booth and tries to figure out a way to warn his listeners about the virus and its unlikely mode of transmission: the English language. It’s a brilliant twist on a zombie movie that finds a unique way in to a fairly stale concept. Now streaming on Shudder.
Anything for Jackson: Go check the IMDb page for Justin G. Dyck. Yes, the man behind a handful of Hallmark-y Christmas movies with titles like A Puppy for Christmas, My Dad Is Scrooge and Operation Christmas List is the director of Anything for Jackson, a darkly funny, but also totally terrifying horror film about how far seemingly “normal” people are willing to go to save someone they love. The film has been described as Misery meets Rosemary’s Baby, and it’s every bit as deranged and demented as that sounds… not to mention twice as fun. Now streaming on Shudder.
Haunt: The writers of A Quiet Place go behind the camera with the under-the-radar Haunt, where a group of teens goes to an “extreme” haunted house and — you guessed it! — discovers that the fake scares are actually real. Despite its generic premise, the movie is an absolute blast. Credit goes to the directing team for great atmosphere, unique villains and above-average performances. Now streaming on Shudder.
Latest and greatest
Watch if: If you missed these recent releases on the big screen.
Weapons: The biggest horror hit of the year is now available to watch at home. Zach Cregger’s follow-up to Barbarian has a killer premise: When all but one child from the same class mysteriously vanish on the same night at exactly the same time, 2:17 a.m., a community is left questioning who or what is behind their disappearance. It’s a dark and twisted fairy tale with as many unexpected laughs along the way as there are supereffective jump scares. Now streaming on HBO Max.
Smile 2: The rare sequel that improves upon the original, Smile 2 takes its premise to the next level and sports an incredible lead performance from Naomi Scott as a put-upon pop star dealing with the stresses of the job and also a curse. Frankly, I’m just delighted that this ends the exact way I had envisioned it would from the moment the premise was revealed. Bring on Smile 3, which I hope has the guts to pick up where this one leaves off. Now streaming on Paramount+.
In a Violent Nature: The best Friday the 13th movie is actually this completely unrelated minimalist and experimental horror flick that aims to not quite subvert but simply deconstruct the slasher, invigorating it with new life. Turns out, you don’t actually need Jason Voorhees to make a killer Jason movie. Now streaming on Shudder and Hulu.
We’ll see you for our regularly scheduled movie date on Friday. If you want even more horror, check out my podcast The New Flesh.
Looking for more recs? Find your next watch on the Yahoo 100, our daily-updating list of the most popular movies of the year.
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