October is easily my favorite time of year. The weather gets colder, the nights get darker, and there’s truly nothing better than settling in with a good horror movie and letting the immaculate Halloween vibes take over. I love this time of year for plenty of reasons, but the excuse to revisit old favorites and discover something new to watch is definitely high on the list.
This article is part of Trick or Stream, a seasonal series where Tom's Guide writers share their favorite horror movies and thrillers.
Thankfully, Netflix has plenty of movies to help get you into the spooky spirit, whether you’re looking for something genuinely terrifying, a tense thriller or a Halloween favorite that’s a little easier to watch with the lights off. So, I’ve rounded up some of the best Halloween movies currently streaming on Netflix, so you can spend less time scrolling and more time watching.
‘Ready or Not’ (2019)
![READY OR NOT | Red Band Trailer [HD] | FOX Searchlight - YouTube](https://img.youtube.com/vi/ZtYTwUxhAoI/maxresdefault.jpg)
Starting with a horror movie that was such a hit when it was released that it eventually spawned a sequel this year, “Ready or Not” is a great choice for Halloween. It’s one of those movies that manages to be genuinely funny while still delivering plenty of brutal and surprisingly tense moments. I love how it never takes itself too seriously, especially when it comes to the ridiculous behavior of the people hunting Grace. It also gave us Samara Weaving in one of her most memorable roles, cementing her as a modern scream queen.
Grace (Samara Weaving) marries Alex Le Domas (Mark O'Brien), the heir to a wealthy family whose members have an unusual wedding-night tradition. After the ceremony, Grace draws a card from a mysterious game box and is told to play hide-and-seek. She soon discovers that this is no ordinary game, as her new in-laws arm themselves and begin hunting her throughout their sprawling mansion. With the clock ticking toward sunrise, Grace must find a way to escape the estate while Alex attempts to help her. The film also stars Adam Brody, Henry Czerny, and Andie MacDowell.
🎃 Stream on Netflix
‘The Witch’ (2015)
If you prefer your Halloween horror on the seriously dark side, “The Witch” is definitely one to add to your watchlist. Written and directed by Robert Eggers in his feature directorial debut, the movie helped put both Eggers and Anya Taylor-Joy on the map. It’s a slow-burning folk horror movie that gets increasingly unsettling as it goes, and it played a big part in the resurgence of this style of horror during the 2010s. I also have to mention the score by Mark Korven, which is genuinely one of the creepiest I’ve heard in a horror movie and somehow makes the whole thing even more disturbing.
Set in 1630s New England, William (Ralph Ineson), his wife Katherine (Kate Dickie) and their five children are banished from their settlement and build a farm beside a remote forest. Their newborn son suddenly disappears while Thomasin (Taylor-Joy) is watching him, leaving the family devastated. Soon, their crops begin to fail, their animals behave strangely and Caleb (Harvey Scrimshaw), Thomasin’s younger brother, vanishes while exploring the woods. When he returns in a disturbing condition, the family becomes increasingly convinced that something supernatural is responsible.
🎃 Stream on Netflix
‘Oculus’ (2013)
One of the horror movies I’m rewatching this year, because it’s been a while, is “Oculus,” and the timing couldn’t be better now that it’s on Netflix. Directed by Mike Flanagan, this supernatural horror movie is a seriously unsettling experience that stays with you. Its most defining quality is the way it jumps between the past and present, often making the two feel like they’re happening at the same time. It becomes increasingly difficult to tell what’s real and what isn’t, both for the characters and for you watching at home. It’s a clever and surprisingly emotional horror movie.
Siblings Tim (Brenton Thwaites) and Kaylie Russell (Karen Gillan) reunite after Tim is released from a psychiatric hospital, where he spent years following the deaths of their parents. Kaylie believes an antique mirror called the Lasser Glass was responsible for what happened and sets out to prove it. She brings the mirror back to their childhood home, surrounding it with cameras and a device designed to destroy it. As the siblings investigate, strange events begin occurring and their memories of the past become increasingly difficult to separate from what is happening in the present.
🎃 Stream on Netflix
‘Ghostbusters’ (1984)
Of course, not everyone wants to spend Halloween watching something genuinely scary, which is why “Ghostbusters” is the perfect choice if you want something spooky but still very funny. The 1984 classic became an instant hit and it’s easy to see why it became such a huge success. Made for around $30 million, the movie went on to make nearly $230 million domestically during its original theatrical run and eventually grew into a massive franchise spanning movies, TV shows, video games and plenty of merchandise. So if there’s somethin’ strange in your neighborhood, just watch “Ghostbusters.”
Three Columbia University parapsychologists, Peter Venkman (Bill Murray), Ray Stantz (Dan Aykroyd) and Egon Spengler (Harold Ramis), lose their jobs and decide to start their own ghost-catching business in New York City. Armed with homemade proton packs and a converted firehouse headquarters, they quickly find themselves dealing with a growing number of supernatural cases. After investigating strange activity in Dana Barrett’s (Sigourney Weaver) apartment, they discover that something much bigger is happening and team up with Winston Zeddemore (Ernie Hudson).
🎃 Stream on Netflix
‘The Black Phone’ (2021)
One of the best horror movies of the past five years has to be “The Black Phone,” a seriously creepy throwback to late-’70s horror. The movie is based on the 2005 short story by Joe Hill, the acclaimed horror writer and son of Stephen King, and it’s one of those adaptations that really knows how to create an unsettling atmosphere. A huge part of that comes from The Grabber’s terrifying mask, which was created by legendary special effects artist Tom Savini. It’s no surprise the character became such a memorable modern horror villain and eventually returned for last year’s sequel.
13-year-old Finney Blake (Mason Thames) is abducted by a masked killer known as the Grabber (Ethan Hawke) and locked inside a soundproof basement. With no obvious way to escape, Finney discovers an old, disconnected telephone on the wall that begins ringing. On the other end are the voices of the Grabber’s previous victims, who give Finney clues about the basement and advice on how to survive. Meanwhile, his younger sister Gwen (Madeleine McGraw) begins experiencing visions that could help police locate her missing brother.
🎃 Stream on Netflix
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