Hello, Yahoo readers! My name is Brett Arnold, film critic and longtime Yahoo editor, and I’m back with another haunted edition of Trust Me, I Watch Everything, just in time for Halloween.
2026 has been a big year for the horror genre, with a couple of major breakout hits — namely, Obsessionand Backrooms — from young up-and-coming filmmakers. If you’re looking for something else to sink your teeth into this Halloween season, though, keep reading to get my picks for the hidden gems, bone-chilling classics, terrifying TV shows and (believe it or not) family-friendly frights that will see you through the month.
Let’s get spooky! And feel free to skip ahead:
This year’s big horror hits
Obsession: Curry Barker’s Obsession,which cost a mere $750,000 to produce, became thebox office story of the year when it kept raking in the dough week after week, eventually grossing over $500 million globally. It launched the career of breakout star Inde Navarrette, who parlayed her newfound fame into getting cast as Rogue in Marvel’s upcoming X-Menreboot. The movie itself plays like a classic Tales from the Cryptepisode stretched to feature length: After breaking the mysterious “One Wish Willow” to win his crush’s heart, a hopeless romantic finds himself getting exactly what he asked for — and soon discovers that some desires come at a dark, sinister price. Read my full review here. Now streaming onPeacock.
Backrooms:The other big box office story of the year is the wild success of Backrooms,a movie directed by then-20-year-old Kane Parsons, a YouTube phenom whose viral internet videos led him to big-screen success. In the film, a strange doorway in the basement of a furniture showroom seems to lead to an altered version of reality. It’s an impressive directorial showcase for Parsons, even if the screenplay, which he didn’t write, isn’t as strong as the visuals and the creepy vibes. Read my colleague Kelsey Weekman’s review here. Now streaming onHBO Max.
Insidious: Out of the Further: The sixth entry in this long-running franchise features some of the most memorable scare sequences in the entire series. Gemma, a young mother raising her daughter in the house where she grew up, discovers she can travel to The Further, the purgatorial realm of lost souls at the heart of theInsidiousuniverse. When something evil comes after her, Gemma discovers an ability that changes everything: She doesn’t just enter The Further; she can bring back what lives there to the real world. Once the demons realize her power, our world becomes their playground. It’s a clever standalone entry that stays true to the spirit of these movies and, more importantly, delivers spooky set pieces one after another. Read my full review here. Now available torent or buy.
Buddy:Casper Kelly, the guy famous for the viral Too Many Cooksbizarro comedysketch and the Adult SwimYule Logcomedy-horror movies, makes his leap into the mainstream with this uniquely weird movie about a killer children’s TV show mascot.The premise is essentially, “What if a kid’s show like Barney existed and Barney himself was an evil child murderer?” There are so many wild and fun ideas here, and the commitment to the bit is astounding, with incredible production design, costumes and invented characters. I appreciated how out-there and surreal it gets, and particularly loved the mascot-centric gore. Cristin Milioti and Topher Grace star, while Keegan-Michael Key voices the titular Buddy.Available torent or buy.
New, but you might’ve missed ’em
Colony:The director of the South Korean hit Train to Busan is back with a new zombie movie that does just enough with the genre to make it feel exciting again. Trapped inside a sealed building during a deadly bioterrorist attack, a desperate group of survivors must navigate growing panic and betrayal as they fight to stay alive. The novel idea here is that the zombies are a hivemind, so when one zombie learns new information about how to attack its prey, all the zombies “update” with that intel in real time. That twist, plus the idea of an evil villain controlling the zombies and starting the outbreak itself, gives it a freshness other zombie films lack. Colony also pays homage to genre classics, from George Romero to Resident Eviland The Last of Us,while charting its own path. It’s a blast!Now available torent or buy.
Faces of Death:This cleverly conceived update of the famous 1978 mondo horror film, which became a video store backroom staple and, as a character in this film describes, “the first viral video, before the internet invented them,” is far better than any movie bearing the Faces of Deathtitlethus far. It’s a genuinely insightful, dark satire about the nightmare that is our online existence and how desensitized to violence we’ve all become as a result of our algorithm-ruled lives.Read my full review here. Now streaming onShudderandAMC+.
They Will Kill You:Thisis stunningly similar to a movie released just a week earlier than it,Ready or Not 2, part of an “eat the rich” subgenre that’s so prolific right now. Luckily, this one channels its “rich people are evil Satanists who want to sacrifice you so they can keep living the high life” angle in such specific and fun ways that it actually works better than a lot of other recent attempts. It’s basically a live-action cartoon that draws as much from Kill Billas it does from Sam Raimi’s horror oeuvre. It’s a one-woman-army-style badass action movie, an occult horror flick and a splatter comedy all at once, not to mention a class-based social commentary. It’s way more fun than you’d expect.Now streaming onHBO Max.
Onslaught: Onslaughtis a delightfully unsubtle exploitation action horror movie about a U.S. government that’s controlled by Nazis, killing its own citizens and manipulating its veterans.When a rogue squad of genetically engineered super-soldiers breaks loose in the desert, a badass Army sniper (Adria Arjona) must unleash hell to protect her young daughter. The three super-soldiers are given the slasher-movie villain treatment; they’re unstoppable killing machines who act like “heat-seeking missiles” toward whatever their objective may be. Imagine The Terminator,but there are three of them! It’s a lot of fun if you’re into this sort of thing. Read my full review here.Now available torent or buy.
Hokum:When cynical horror novelist Ohm Bauman (Adam Scott) retreats to a remote Irish inn to scatter his parents’ ashes, he is consumed by tales of a witch haunting the honeymoon suite. Disturbing visions and a shocking disappearance force him to confront dark corners of his past. It sounds familiar enough, and yes, it is ultimately a horror movie that could be read as an extended metaphor for personal trauma, but it manages to transcend its traditional trappings by crafting remarkably effective jump-scare set pieces and lingering on its memorably creepy and upsetting imagery. It does this while making you laugh out loud throughout, mainly at the awful way Scott’s Stephen King-esque author treats all the people he encounters. Read my full review here. Streaming onHulu.
Primate:Primateis the best version of itself possible, thanks to killer direction from Johannes Roberts, a lean and mean sub-90-minute runtime and a love for both practical effects and incredibly nasty gore on display. It’s a low-concept, exploitation-style creature feature that exists purely as a showcase for clever filmmaking and the effectiveness of a good old-fashioned guy in a monkey suit utilized alongside animatronics and other non-CGI means. Home from college, Lucy reunites with her family, including pet chimp Ben. Ben contracts rabies during a pool party and turns aggressive. Lucy and her friends barricade themselves in a pool, devising ways to survive the vicious chimp. It’s Cujowith a monkey, and is essentially just a series of extremely tense set pieces strung together as a kick-ass ’80s synth score blares and a once-friendly-but-now-diseased pet monkey kills a bunch of people in an isolated setting. Read my full review here.Now streaming onPrime Video.
The Cycle: Centered on a daughter who unravels her father’s dark past after his body, missing for 36 years, is found at a horrific crime scene, the film plays like a feature-length episode of The X-Files,a procedural that eventually leads to something particularly spooky. Without spoiling the monstrous goods, I’ll just say that the practical effects in the back half are truly spectacular — some of the best I’ve seen in ages — from the design to the execution. The Cycle also finds a new way into a classic horror trope that I found clever and exciting. If “X-FilesCinema” is enough of a sell for you, it will deliver. Read my full review here. Now streaming onShudderandAMC+.
Scares for the kids
Nightbooks:You probably missed this one when it unceremoniously debuted on Netflix five years ago. Alex, a boy obsessed with scary stories, is trapped by a witch (Krysten Ritter) in her modern, magical New York City apartment. His hair-raising tales are the only thing keeping him safe as he desperately tries to find a way out of this twisted place. If you grew up loving GoosebumpsorThe Pagemaster,you’ll likely dig this, which is as fun and cute as it is surprisingly dark for kids’ fare. It’s got great production design and some impressive camerawork to boot.Now streaming onNetflix.
Shaun the Sheep: The Beast of Mossy Bottom: Fans of Aardman Animations are in for a treat with this one, the third Shaun the Sheepmovie, which is a spinoff of Wallace and Gromit.On Halloween Eve at Mossy Bottom Farm, excitement turns to dismay when the clumsy Farmer ruins the pumpkin patch. Shaun tries fixing it with science experiments, but things go wrong when a wild beast appears in the woods. The joy here lies in discovering how the filmmakers craft a dialogue-free movie that entertains kids and adults alike, with plenty of sight gags and other clever bits. Hopefully, its strangely timed release date doesn’t keep it from still being in theaters near you as Halloween fast approaches. Available to rent or buy onApple TV,Prime Videoand other VOD platforms.
Frankenweenie:This movie never became the “rewatch it every spooky season” classic that so many other Tim Burton flicks did, but it’s a worthy entry in his oeuvre, and very cute! When a car hits his pet dog Sparky, Victor decides to bring him back to life the only way he knows how. But when the bolt-necked “monster” wreaks havoc and terror in the hearts of Victor’s neighbors, he has to convince them that Sparky’s still the good, loyal friend he was. Now streaming onDisney+.
Wendell & Wild:The director of The Nightmare Before Christmas —that’s Henry Selick, not Tim Burton, who merely produced that one —returned to the world of stop-motion animation with this forgotten Netflix flick from 2022 starring Jordan Peele and Keegan-Michael Key. Two scheming demons strike a deal with a punk rock-loving teen so they can leave the underworld and live out their dreams in the land of the living. It somehow manages to feel both overstuffed and underbaked at the same time, and maybe would’ve made for a better TV show, but it’s still worth a watch for the beautiful, hand-crafted animation. Now streaming onNetflix.
Hidden gems
Influencer(2022) andInfluencers(2025):In the globe-trotting Influencer,social media influencer Madison meets CW, who travels with ease and shows her a more uninhibited way of living. But CW’s interest in her takes a darker turn. It’s one of the first truly great social media horror movies; it’s about how the way people present themselves online is fake and how there’s a facade on both ends of the interaction. Nobody cares about your posts, and your followers aren’t your friends and wouldn’t notice if you disappeared. Imagine The Talented Mr. Ripley for the social media generation, with an absolutely terrific and terrifying lead performance and a thoroughly compelling pro-by-way-of-antagonist in Cassandra Naud’s CW. In the 2025 sequel, now set in southern France, a young woman’s chilling fascination with murder and identity theft sends her life into a whirlwind of chaos. Influencersis a genuinely great sequel that does all the things you’d hope a follow-up to a favorite would do, in that it thoughtfully expands its scope while staying true to what made the first one so fun and exciting. Bring on Influencer 3! This is my new favorite horror franchise. Now streaming onNetflixandShudder.
Green Room:Green Room is part survival horror, part siege thriller, and an all-around relentlessly badass indie that solidified writer-director Jeremy Saulnier as the real deal way back in 2015. Nearly a decade later, I was singing his praises for Rebel Ridge.In the film, a punk rock band is forced to fight for survival after witnessing an act of violence at a skinhead bar. It’s one of the last films to feature the late actor Anton Yelchin and also stars Callum Turner, who is now better known as “Mr. Dua Lipa.” <a href="https://comicvibe.com/patrick-stewart-dead-at-87/" title="Patrick Stewart Dead at 87″>Patrick Stewart is incredibly menacing as the scariest guy in the place. Read my review from way back then on Maxim. Now streaming onNetflix.
Creep:This sneakily influential, no-budget indie horror film spawned a sequel and a spinoff TV series, which just finished its third season. Looking for work, Aaron comes across a cryptic online ad: “$1,000 for the day. Filming service. Discretion is appreciated.” Low on cash and full of naiveté, he decides to go for it. He drives to a cabin in a remote mountain town where he meets Josef, his cinematic subject for the day. Josef is sincere, and the project seems heartfelt, so Aaron begins to film. But as the day goes on, it becomes clear that Josef is not who he says he is, and his intentions are not at all pure. It features career-best work from Mark Duplass, and its sequel may be even better. The recent TV series The Creep Tapes is a brilliant way to continue the story, with each episode focusing on a single tape, aka victim, from Josef’s collection. Now streaming onNetflix.
The House of the Devil:Ti West may not be a household name quite yet, but his recent trilogy at A24 (X, Pearland MaXXXine), along with his upcoming Johnny Depp comeback vehicle, Ebenezer, has seen his star rise. But The House of the Devilwas the moment I became a huge fan — a slow-burn experience that masterfully builds tension. A young college student who’s struggling financially takes a strange babysitting job coinciding with a full lunar eclipse. She slowly realizes her clients harbor a terrifying secret, putting her life in mortal danger. Jocelin Donahue stars, but Tom Noonan steals the show. The film also features an early appearance from future Barbiefilmmaker Greta Gerwig, and let’s just say you’ve never seen her quite like this before or since. Now streaming onPrime Video,TubiandPluto.
All-time greats
Videodrome:David Cronenberg’s 1983 masterpiece is arguably the most prescient work of sci-fi and horror of all time. As the president of a trashy TV channel, Max Renn (James Woods) is desperate for new programming to attract viewers. When he happens upon Videodrome, a TV show dedicated to gratuitous torture and punishment, Max sees a potential hit and broadcasts the show on his channel. However, after his girlfriend auditions for the show and never returns, Max investigates the truth behind Videodrome and discovers that the graphic violence may not be as fake as he thought. The idea of reality being what we see on TV vs. actualreality is so incredibly ahead of its time. Now streaming onPrime Video.
The Texas Chain Saw Massacre:It may not be as gory as you remember, but it remains arguably the most upsetting horror film of all time, and one that is incredibly of its time and a perfect time capsule capturing the end of one era and the start of another. Five friends head out to rural Texas. On the way, they stumble across what appears to be a deserted house, only to discover something sinister within — something armed with a chainsaw. None of the sequels came anywhere near the level of this classic, though I do have a soft spot for the ’80s excesses and bizarre satire of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2. The gritty documentary feel made it read more like a snuff film than a polished Hollywood production, one of many elements that are incredibly influential in the genre. Do I really need to sell anyone on The Texas Chain Saw Massacre?!Now streaming onNetflix,theCriterion ChannelandPeacock.
The Night of the Hunter:Actor Charles Laughton only directed a single movie, and it just so happened to be one of the greatest of all time. In Depression-era West Virginia, a serial-killing preacher hunts two young children who know the whereabouts of a stash of money. It’s an American film awash in German expressionist style, wildly experimental in form for its era, and featuring one of the all-time great screen performances from Robert Mitchum. Even if you think you might be bored by a black-and-white film from 1955, I assure you that you won’t be. Now streaming onMGM+.
The Thing:John Carpenter’s masterpiece, or at least one of them, only gets better with age. It features some of the best, most jaw-dropping and genuinely freaky practical effects ever put onscreen and is one of the best depictions of paranoia, isolation, mistrust and other uniquely human ideas ever filmed. A research team in Antarctica is hunted by a shape-shifting alien that assumes the appearance of its victims. I still get full-body chills from some of the practical-effects shots; it’s insane that this movie can still scare me the 30th time I’ve watched it. There’s simply nothing else like it. I used to wonder, “How the hell did this fail so spectacularly that it derailed Carpenter’s career for a while?” but now all I can picture are the traumatized faces of unsuspecting moviegoers who showed up opening weekend. It’s a bleak and brutal experience!Now streaming onAMC+.
Peeping Tom:Before Powell and Pressburger, there was simply Powell. Michael Powell’s 1960 classicPeeping Tomkinda-sorta invented the slasher film template, a mere two months before Psychodebuted. The plot: Loner Mark Lewis works at a film studio during the day and, at night, takes racy photographs of women. He’s also making a documentary on fear, which involves recording the reactions of victims as he murders them. The film famously uses a subjective POV shot, essentially placing the audience directly in the killer’s role. It’s also an early example of a horror movie about the documentation and consumption of violence, another element that makes it feel eons ahead of its time. Now streaming onTubi.
For the true sickos only
Martyrs:Make sure you’re watching the 2008 French original and not the lame 2015 American remake of this insane, horrifically violent and sort of profound horror flick. Two young women who were both victims of abuse as children embark on a bloody quest for revenge, only to find themselves plunged into a living hell of depravity. It’s one of the most memorable films of the New French Extremity movement, a blunt-force object that transcends its genre to become a more psychological treatise on death and suffering with some very big and very transgressive ideas. It’d be no fun to spoil, but let’s just say it’s probably headier than you’re expecting.Available torent or buy.
Angst:Horror filmmakerZach Cregger cited this 1983 Austrian film as a major influence on Barbarian,and indeed, it’s a masterclass of anticipation and dread.A killer is released from prison and breaks into a remote home to kill a woman, her disabled son and her pretty daughter. It’s an insane arthouse slasher movie that will rattle you, and one of the most unnerving and unsettling depictions of a killer onscreen ever. Now streaming onMidnight Pulp
Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer:This is one of those movies that really feels like you shouldn’t be watching it, much like Angstabove. These aren’t just feel-bad movies; they’re feel-awful ones. Arriving in Chicago, Henry moves in with ex-con acquaintance Otis and starts schooling him in the ways of the serial killer. Michael Rooker’s performance as the title character is absolutely terrific andterrifying, and the film essentially forces the viewer to confront the bleak reality of violence vs. Hollywood’s usual glorified depiction of it. Now streaming onPrime Video,Tubi,PlutoandPlex.
Anguish:American actors Michael Lerner and Zelda Rubinstein star in this completely deranged Spanish movie from 1987. An ophthalmologist’s assistant with an unhealthy interest in human eyeballs goes on a killing spree to collect more peepers for his overbearing mother’s collection. Reality soon takes a bizarre turn for both the characters and the audience. Its “film within a film” structure gives the film a meta quality that functions as a critique of the audience watching it, a trend I’m noticing in several of my picks here.Now streaming onFull Moon via Prime Video.
Will actually make you jump
The Descent:Neil Marshall’s 2005 creature feature still holds up as a peak “no thank you, I would not like to be put in this situation” movie. A year after a severe emotional trauma, Sarah (Shauna Macdonald) goes to North Carolina to spend some time exploring caves with her friends. After descending underground, the women find strange cave paintings and evidence of an earlier expedition, and then learn they are not alone: underground predators inhabit the crevasses and have a taste for human flesh. It’s claustrophobic and scary in its own right withoutthe cave-dwelling monsters, but don’t worry, there are also monsters, and they’re scary as hell too. Ignore the straight-to-video sequel. Now streaming onAMC+.
Sinister:Scott Derrickson’s 2012 horror flick with Ethan Hawke still gets mentioned whenever people are seeking out particularly scary mainstream horror flicks. And for good reason! It is quite unsettling. A true-crime writer is in a slump; he hasn’t had a bestseller in more than 10 years and is becoming increasingly desperate for a hit. So, when he discovers the existence of a snuff film showing the deaths of a family, he vows to solve the mystery. He moves his own family into the victims’ home and gets to work. However, when old film footage and other clues hint at the presence of a supernatural force, he learns that living in the house may be fatal. It’s got abrupt jump scares and a spooky, monstrous figure; the snuff film feel adds to the griminess. It’s good stuff, but the 2015 sequel disappoints.Now streaming onHuluandPeacock.
Oddity:Before Hokum, Irish horror director Damian McCarthy made this one-of-a-kind chiller featuring one of the best cold opens in recent memory. After the brutal murder of her twin sister, Darcy goes after those responsible by using haunted items as her tools for revenge. It’s a bit obtuse at first, but your patience and attention will be rewarded with an incredibly satisfying, spooky tale that is idiosyncratic enough to lodge itself deep in your brain. Now streaming onShudderandAMC+.
Small-screen screams
Carrie:Mike Flanagan has become something of a Stephen King whisperer as of late, adapting everything fromDoctor Sleepto the more low-key Netflix adaptation of Gerald’s Game,and even attempting a more award-season play with The Life of Chuck. Now he’s taking on Carrie,one of King’s most iconic works, and a property that has already been adapted several times, most famously in 1976 by Brian De Palma, one of the great filmmakers of our time. Flanagan ushers Carrieinto the modern age with a take that pits Carrie against a new foe: social media bullying. It sounds silly on its face, but there’s an earnestness here that totally works, and fans of Flanagan are really in for a treat. Imagine Carrieset in the world of Mean Girls,but taking place in the charged social-media environment of Eddington.It both feels exactly like Carrieshould and does plenty to stand apart. Even if some of its biggest swings don’t connect — Flanagan has said he wants this to go for three seasons, and the way they go about making that viable is a bit much — Carriedoes more than enough right to recommend for fans of King and newcomers alike. All eight episodes are now streaming onPrime Video.
Chucky:When I tell you that this very silly TV series that aired on USA Network and the Syfy channel features some of the most disgusting and impressive practical gore I’ve ever seen, I am not exaggerating. It’s not just a lot for the Child’s Playseries or Chucky; these kills are often so jaw-dropping that they rival anything I’ve ever seen in R-rated or even NC-17-rated material. After a vintage Chucky doll turns up at a suburban yard sale, an idyllic American town is thrown into chaos as a series of horrifying murders begins to expose the town’s hypocrisies and secrets. Meanwhile, the arrival of enemies and allies from Chucky’s past threatens to expose the truth behind the killings, as well as the demon doll’s untold origins as a seemingly ordinary child who somehow became this notorious monster. There’s no other horror franchise that has remained as consistent as Chucky, and that’s because creator Don Mancini has been involved from the beginning. Mancini’s creation is unique in that Chucky works just as well in pure-horror mode as he does as a wisecracking doll. You simply won’t believe the wacky places this series goes. I do recommend watching every movie first, as they are all canon, except for that weird remake a few years ago with Mark Hamill.Now streaming onPeacock.
Widow’s Bay:You’ll laugh as much as you scream watching this critically acclaimed and Emmy-winning show from Apple. The show follows a New England mayor trying to boost tourism on his island while also navigating strange events suggesting the place might be cursed. The humor comes from the obvious horrors that everybody would rather ignore, and it’s laugh-out-loud funny throughout thanks to terrific work from the cast, from Matthew Rhys in the lead role to Stephen Root and Dale Dickey in supporting ones. The spooky stuff is also well-handled, even if I could’ve done without that one flashback episode. I can’t wait for Season 2! Now streaming onApple TV.
Someone’s Watching Me!:This TV movie, directed by John Carpenter, came out the very same year as Halloween. A young woman (Lauren Hutton) moves to a high-rise apartment building and soon begins to be tormented by an unknown stalker who seems to know her every move. It’s essentially Carpenter doing Alfred Hitchcock, and it’s every bit as delightful as that sounds. It’s impressively tense and very creepy, and you can see Carpenter figuring out how to create suspense in real time. It’s got enough atmosphere to make the clichés go down smoothly. Shout out to the Criterion Channel for unearthing this forgotten gem. Now streaming on theCriterion Channel.
When a Stranger Calls Back:This 1993 flick has to be theGodfather IIof TV movie sequels. Made 14 years after the original, it opens with a terrific, masterfully directed sequence that is both scary and tense, predating the “home invasion” horror genre by quite a while. The way this movie deals with violence (both domestic and sexual) against women is also ahead of its time, a pre-#MeToo movie that is unfortunately still just as relevant today. I really love this deranged movie, which is far better than the 1979 original. The big reveal at the end is unbelievable. Now streaming on theCriterion Channel.
