The Official Streaming Guide to 2024 Halloween Horror Movies

Giphy images.

With Halloween just around the corner, I thought I’d take some time to scour the four major streaming platforms, find the best horror movies, and compile them for those of you in the holiday spirit. Here’s what I came up with:

Netflix

1. Bone Tomahawk: This film comes from one of my favorite directors, S. Craig Zahler (“Dragged Across Concrete”, “Cell Block 99”), has a killer cast (Kurt Russell, Patrick Wilson, Matthew Fox, Richard Jenkins) and features one of the most visually impaired films Sequences I have ever seen in my life. Super scary, very violent and it will leave a lasting impression on you.

2nd train to Busan: This is a Korean film that is perhaps the best zombie film of all time. Great production value, really cool concept and some very scary zombie action. If you’re even mildly interested in the genre, it’s a must-watch.

3. Pine: I don’t have to recommend anyone for one of the best films of all time. A film so good that it literally invented the summer blockbuster. A film so scary that beach tourism declined across the country. Just pure excellence and you’ll appreciate it more every time you watch it.

CLASSIC: psycho, jaw,

UNDERRATED: Pearl, Apostle, Bone Tomahawk, Creep

INTERNATIONAL: The Lamentation, Train to Busan

HORROR COMEDY: Vampires in the Bronx, Zombieland, Bride of Chucky,

SERIES: Castlevania, The Walking Dead, Fear the Walking Dead, Kingdom, The Terror,

MAX

1. The Shining: As with “Jaws,” this doesn’t require a lot of pitch. A director and two actors, all giving their best and creating the most tension you’ve ever seen.

2. Wellington Paranormal: This is a pretty fun series from New Zealand, from many of the same minds behind What We Do in the Shadows. It won’t blow you away, but the humor is very solid.

3. It comes at night: This is less of a pure horror and more of a thriller, but it rocks. Really good panic acting from one of my favorite underrated actors: Chris Abbott.

CLASSIC: A Nightmare on Elm Street, Night of the Living Dead, Poltergeist, Saw, Scanner, Scream, The Exorcist, The Shining

UNDERRATED: A ghost story, it comes at night, evil

SOLID: IT, IT Chapter 2, Midsommar, Paranormal Activity, The Conjuring, The Strangers

INTERNATIONAL: Kronos, house

HORROR COMEDY: Beetlejuice, Bodies Bodies Bodies, The Corpse Bride

SERIES: Lovecraft Country, Wellington Paranormal, The Last of Us

Hulu

1. The fly: In the age of CGI-filled horror films, there’s nothing more refreshing than a fantastic Cronenberg horror film with the sickest practical effects you’ve ever seen.

2. Fresh: This film really flew under the radar, which is a shame. It’s an extremely disturbing cannibal horror film starring two top-notch actors: Sebastian Stan and Daisy Edgar Jones. Great music too.

3. Barbarian: Another underrated film, this film is crazy as hell. It was directed by one of the members of the Whitest Kids You U’Know group, and the studios liked it so much that they hired him to direct a new big-budget film in Weapon, due out in a few years.

CLASSIC: Alien, Aliens, The Fly, Misery,

UNDERRATED: Barbarian, Bone Tomahawk, Fresh, Mandy,

SOLID: 28 Weeks Later, Doctor Sleep, The Hills Have Eyes, Immaculate, Infinity Pool, The Mist, Smile, Us,

INTERNATIONAL: The host, the skin in which I live

HORROR COMEDY: Beetlejuice, Little Monsters, Zombieland 2

SERIES: AHS

*NOTE: I have the Hulu/Max bundle and this makes it very difficult to see which platform the film is hosted on. I have done my best to ensure that the offers listed here are also available to non-bundle users.

Prime Video

1. The thing: The Thing is my first overall horror movie any day of the week. As I mentioned with The Fly, the practical effects are far more frightening than ANYTHING CGI can possibly do.

2. Hellraiser: Similarly, Hellraiser’s practical effects combined with its overall crude creature design have really stuck with me over the years. Everything in this movie is just covered in a film of blood and slime. Gross.

3. V/H/S: The VHS films are anthology horror films and as with most anthologies, some of the stories work better than others. However, the ones that work are really awesome.

CLASSIC: The Thing, An American Werewolf in London, Nosferatu, Hellraiser, Childs Play, Children of the Corn,

UNDERRATED: Barbarian, V/H/S

SOLID: DOOM, Constantine, Death Proof, The Mist (Freevee), 10 Cloverfield Lane, The Hunt (Freevee), The Witch, The Invisible Man, Suspiria, Doctor Sleep,

INTERNATIONAL: The Basket Man

HORROR COMEDY: Tucker and Dale vs. Evil, Willy’s Wonderland

SERIES: The twilight zone