The Best Halloween Movies to Watch in 2023

You've got your bowl full of snack-sized Three Musketeers ready to hand out to young neighborhood ghosts who are trick 'r' treating, you've had "The Monster Mash" on repeat for a week, and you're sprinkling pumpkin spice on your toothpaste before brushing your teeth. You are ready for Halloween. Well, almost. You need to good scary movie to watch to get ready for Halloween. 

We've put together a list of the best horror movies to watch this spooky season. Whether it's on Prime Video, Max, Paramount+, Netflix, or somewhere else, here's where to stream classics like Scream and Beetlejuice, future classics like Barbarian, and indie gems like The Witch.

More recommendations:

• The best new Halloween movies to watch in 2023
• The best family Halloween movies for kids and teens

Halloween (1978)

It's all right there in the title: Halloween movies don't get any more iconic than the original Halloween. Jamie Lee Curtis, following in her mother Janet Leigh's scream queen footsteps, makes her film debut as Laurie Strode, a high school student whose babysitting gig goes to hell when she's stalked by an escaped killer who murdered his sister 15 years earlier. From director John Carpenter's chillingly minimalist score to Michael Myers' haunting, expressionless mask, Halloween takes a straightforward slasher premise and makes it art. The franchise was rebooted in 2018, with a new trilogy that picks up 40 years after Laurie's first encounter with Michael Myers. -Kelly Connolly [Trailer] [How to watch all the Halloween movies in order]     

Barbarian

Barbarian did something clever by releasing something of a bait and switch trailer, which makes itself out to be a standard story about a woman (Georgina Campbell) spending the night in the same house as a crazy man (Bill Skarsgård, unparalleled at playing crazy men) who lures her down into a creepy basement after they get double-booked at the same Airbnb. And that is what it's about at first, sort of, before quickly revealing that it's about something else entirely, which I won't spoil here. It might stealthily be one of the best horror movies of the year. -Allison Picurro [Trailer]

The Black Phone

This adaptation of Joe Hill's short story has all the hallmarks of his dad Stephen King's books: a clear setting and place (Denver suburbs in the late 1970s), young kids coming of age who also have weird powers, and genuinely creepy vibes. In The Black Phone, a teen boy (Mason Thames) is abducted by a creep (Ethan Hawke) but is able to communicate with previous victims through a mysterious phone. Unlike the recent horror shlock that's been massively popular, The Black Phone doesn't rely on jump scares and gore to rile up its audience. Some good direction from Scott Derrickson and likable performances have made it one of the better-reviewed horror films in recent years. -Tim Surette [Trailer]      

Trick 'r Treat

The 2008 film Trick 'r Treat, which has become a modern Halloween cult classic, is actually four short movies in one, all tied together by a creepy (and somewhat adorable) trick-or-treater who shambles through each of the tales of terror in a small town on Halloween night. It has the feel of a horror classic of the 1980s, mixing campy comedy, genuine scares, gore, and a tiny bit of gratuitous skin, making it a perfect Halloween pre-party date night flick before you generate your own mayhem on the streets. -Tim Surette [Trailer]

Scream

The slasher movie to end all slasher movies, Wes Craven's self-aware '90s classic centers around a California high school being targeted by a masked killer. There are so many reasons this movie remains iconic — that terrifying opening phone call scene, to name just one — and if you enjoy it, there are three more movies in Craven's original series, as well as two reboots of the franchise, the first of which was released in 2022 and the second earlier this year. -Allison Picurro [Trailer]      

The Witch

If your idea of getting into the Halloween mood is watching a movie so scary that you need to wear four pairs of underwear, you can't do much better than The Witch (or The VVitch, if you're cool). Robert Eggers' 2016 film is arguably the best horror film of the decade, and tops the list of A24's incredibly strong scary lineup that includes Midsommar, The Lighthouse, and Hereditary. Set in 1630, Anya Taylor-Joy (The Queen's Gambit) stars as a teenager whose family relocates to a remote countryside where a strange presence lives in the nearby forest (can you guess what it is?) and threatens to turn the family against itself. The unnerving film is a masterclass in mood, rattling viewers to their core through Eggers' impeccable direction. I LOVE this movie. -Tim Surette [Trailer]

Get Out

Jordan Peele's horror film has become a modern classic, telling the story of a young Black photographer whose white girlfriend brings him home for a weekend to meet her family, only for him to quickly discover that there's something much more sinister going on underneath the wealthy, Obama-voting surface. -Allison Picurro [Trailer]        

Ghostbusters

A trio of disgraced scientists decide to try their hand at taking out the paranormal entities terrorizing New York City -- get it? They're busting the ghosts! -- which makes them the city's only line of defense when they happen upon a doorway to an evil dimension that could destroy everything. I can't imagine there are very many people out there who haven't at least heard the Ghostbusters theme, a song absolutely impossible to escape during the month of October, but I'm sure they exist! -Allison Picurro [Trailer]    

The Shining

This adaptation of Stephen King's novel is a psychological trip, starring Jack Nicholson as a writer who accepts a job as a winter caretaker at a remote hotel, bringing along his wife and young son. As time passes, he slowly begins to unravel as the supernatural forces that exist on the property begin to make themselves known. -Allison Picurro [Trailer]     

It

A group of young kids from a small town in Maine are terrorized by a demonic entity who takes on the form of the creepiest clown you've ever seen, which is saying something. Nothing says Halloween like a good old-fashioned Stephen King adaptation. -Allison Picurro [Trailer]      

The Rocky Horror Picture Show

The best way to watch this cult classic musical about a young couple who get stranded at a mysterious mansion full of deranged characters during a storm is in a theater packed with other super fans, but you'll get plenty of enjoyment out of watching it at home too. -Allison Picurro [Trailer]     

The Fear Street movies

R.L. Stine, the guy who wrote the Goosebumps books, set his sights on a slightly older crowd with his Fear Street novel series, which are now the foundation for one of Netflix's biggest film experiments yet. The three teen-slasher horror films, which all tell the origin story of a cursed town, were each released over three consecutive Fridays in July 2021. Each film is set in a different year (1994, 1978, and 1666), culminating in a flashback to witch trials in the 1600s, and feature carryover cast members and plenty of gory deaths. Let's just say that after watching this you'll be extra careful around a bread slicer. -Tim Surette [Trailer]      

Hereditary

After the death of their secretive grandmother, a family begins to notice a series of disturbing incidents that leave them trying to escape the fate they've inherited. This is an excellent, truly horrifying movie, but the main reason to put it on is Toni Collette, who gives an absolute powerhouse performance as the mother of the family. -Allison Picurro [Trailer]       

Suspiria

Luca Guadagnino directs this remake of the 1977 Dario Argento horror classic. Dakota Johnson stars as Susie, a seemingly fresh-faced dancer who travels from Ohio to Berlin to study at an elite dance academy and is quickly named head dancer. As Suspiria unfolds, and as more students and teachers are found dead or go missing entirely, it becomes increasingly clear that something very sinister and supernatural is going on underneath the surface. Also, Tilda Swinton plays three roles, and for one of them she gets to dress up as an old man. It's kooky, it's campy, and it's also very, very scary. -Allison Picurro [Trailer]       

Jennifer's Body

Despite being utterly panned when it was first released, time has been kind to Jennifer's Body. Karyn Kusama's 2009 teen horror film earned cult classic status a few years ago, largely thanks to its voracious internet fandom, who rightfully pointed out all the ways this movie was not only very good but also very ahead of its time. Megan Fox stars as Jennifer, a high school girl who gets (spoiler) possessed and has to feed on boys in order to stay alive, with her best friend Needy (Amanda Seyfried) the only one able to stop her. It's infinitely quotable, incredibly funny, and so, so smart. -Allison Picurro [Trailer]      

Midsommar

Even if you haven't seen Midsommar, you've probably at least seen the memes or heard someone quote its most iconic line: "Do you feel held by him?" This is the break-up movie to end all break-up movies, starring Florence Pugh as a girl who, while emotionally recovering from a devastating family tragedy, tags along on a trip to Sweden with her terrible boyfriend and his terrible friends to attend a festival that only occurs once every 90 years. And because this was directed by Ari Aster, the guy whose twisted mind also brought us Hereditary, it naturally devolves into a story about a neopagan cult, flower crowns, and unspeakable horrors occurring in broad daylight. -Allison Picurro [Trailer]      

It Comes at Night

While an unidentified illness ravages the world's population, a man holes up inside his secluded home in the woods with his wife and son. Their tenuous peace is disturbed by the arrival of another family, also looking for a place to stay safe from the disease. -Allison Picurro [Trailer]    

Child's Play

A kid discovers his new doll has been possessed by the spirit of a serial killer named Chucky. While I've always found this to be one of the dumber horror franchises, it sure has endured through the years, hasn't it? -Allison Picurro [Trailer]     

The Craft

The new girl at a Catholic high school befriends three outcasts who regularly practice witchcraft. When their spells appear to be working, the four begin to go mad with power. -Allison Picurro [Trailer]     

The Conjuring

Two paranormal investigators (Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga) are called on to investigate a haunted house, quickly discovering the malevolent presence lurking around them. The weirdest part of this whole movie is that it claims to be based on a true story. -Allison Picurro [Trailer]     

Friday the 13th

The character of Jason Voorhees has been through many, many iterations throughout the decades, but this film, about a summer camp being targeted by a killer disguised behind a hockey mask, gives us his origin story. -Allison Picurro [Trailer] [How to watch all the Friday the 13th movies]    

A Nightmare on Elm Street

Much like Jason, Freddy Kreuger (Robert Englund) is at this point such a legendary film character that it's almost difficult to imagine a time when he wasn't around. This film, though, takes us back to the beginning, revolving around four teenagers who are attacked and killed by Kreuger in their dreams and in real life. -Allison Picurro [Trailer]     

What We Do in the Shadows

In this horror-comedy, three vampire roommates are the subjects of a mockumentary about the hardships and daily pitfalls of modern-day life as a member of the undead community. You should also go check out the excellent FX comedy series based on the film, which is just as much fun (if not more) as the source material. -Allison Picurro[Trailer]       

His House

A refugee couple from South Sudan find their new housing in England is not what it seems in this chilling and stylish horror movie from writer-director Remi Weekes. If you love ghosts and grief but are ready for a little more intensity, His House is a must-watch; it's a haunted house story that blends serious scares with thoughtful commentary on immigration and trauma. Plus, it's anchored by unmissable performances from stars Wunmi Mosaku and Ṣọpẹ́ Dìrísù. -Kelly Connolly [Trailer]