So itâs the week of Halloween and youâre in a spooky mood, on the hunt for some scary movies to watch. Youâve come to the right place.
Rather than overwhelm you with every good horror film ever, Iâve broken the genre down into 10 categories: ghosts, zombies, vampires, witches, slashers, aliens, demons, cults, body horror, and serial killers, so you can pick what kind of scare youâre looking for.
Each category has a few recommendations, including one classic film (đď¸); one gold standard within the subgenre (đ); and one unusual or somewhat lesser known example (đą) for viewers wanting to go a bit deeper.
And accompanying each recommendation is a link to where you can stream, rent, or buy the film. Sweet dreams!
Ghosts

đď¸: The Shining. If youâve never seen it, your horror binge must start with this Stanley Kubrick classic. (Netflix, Amazon)
đ: The Sixth Sense. This was one of the first horror movies I ever watched, and I still have nightmares about it. Itâs M. Night Shyamalan at the height of his powers. (Netflix, Amazon, YouTube)
đą: The Others. This super stylish and atmospheric mishmash of horror conceits features one of countless stellar Nicole Kidman performances. (Hulu, YouTube)
A couple more: Paranormal Activity (the film that launched the found-footage craze); The Frighteners (years before Peter Jackson directed The Lord of the Rings, he made this goofy ghost dramedy).
Zombies

đď¸: Night of the Living Dead. This is the first modern zombie film. (YouTube, Google Play)
đ: 28 Days Later. By the letter of the law, this may not technically have zombies (theyâre not undead humans, theyâre just inflicted with a virus that makes them zombielike), but itâs still the most compelling zombie movie made this century. (Amazon, YouTube)
đą: Pontypool. A wildly inventive film, based on the novel Pontypool Changes Everything, about an infection spread not through bites or blood, but through language. (iTunes)
A couple more: Shaun of the Dead (a hilarious satire of the zombie genre); Train to Busan (one of the genreâs best, by Korean filmmaker Yeon Sang-ho).
Vampires

đď¸: Nosferatu. The original vampire. (YouTube)
đ: Let the Right One In. A terrific Swedish film about a young boy who befriends a vampire girl in the 1980s. The American remake is surprisingly good as well. (Hulu, Amazon)
đą: Interview with the Vampire. One of Tom Cruiseâs truly under-appreciated roles. (Netflix, YouTube)
A couple more: I Am Legend (Will Smith is great in this post-apocalyptic thriller); 30 Days of Night (an Alaskan town in the midst of a monthlong darkness is invaded by bloodthirsty vampires, death ensues).
Witches

đď¸: The Blair Witch Project. Three students head into the woods with a camera to document the legend of a local witch. Some viewers thought it was a real documentary when it first came out. (Hulu, Amazon)
đ: The Witch. My favorite horror movie of the decade: the story of a Puritan family in 1630s New England banished to the wilderness, where they encounter an unpleasant interloper. (Netflix, Amazon)
đą: Suspiria. A bold, bewitching, downright strange remake of the Dario Argento cult classic. Itâs already out in theaters in New York and Los Angeles and will get a much wider release on Nov. 2.
A couple more: Hocus Pocus (the weirdly quotable cult classic you can watch with the whole family); The Crucible (sure, these are not real witches, but this is an all-time great Daniel Day-Lewis moment).
Slashers

đď¸: Psycho. Alfred Hitchcockâs legendary film is probably the first true âslasherâ in existence. (Amazon, YouTube)
đ: Halloween. So good, they had to redo it 10 more times. The recent reboot made a gazillion dollars at the box office. (Amazon, iTunes)
đą: The Cabin in the Woods. This one could probably fit in a few different categories. An elaborate, ridiculous deconstruction of horror clichĂŠs, itâs one of the most purely entertaining movies on the list. (Amazon, YouTube)
A few more: A Nightmare on Elm Street (Freddy Krueger still haunts my dreams);Â The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (this 1974 classic introduced a lot of famous slasher tropes we know well today).
Aliens

đď¸: The Thing. Not long after he made Halloween, John Carpenter directed this seminal sci-fi horror film about an alien entity that can imitate other lifeforms. (Amazon, YouTube)
đ: Alien. The title alone tells you that Ridley Scottâs masterpiece is the quintessential alien film. (Amazon, YouTube)
đą: Annihilation. A gorgeous and terrifying nightmare in a mysterious uninhabited biome, based on the wonderful book by Jeff Vandermeer. (Amazon, YouTube)
A few more: 10 Cloverfield Lane (this little gem in the âCloverfieldâ film universe snuck up on us in 2016); War of the Worlds (this remake is one of Steven Spielbergâs most underrated films).
Demons and possession

đď¸: The Exorcist. It still holds up, 45 years later. (Amazon, YouTube)
đ:Â The Conjuring. The various sequels and spinoffs havenât been as good, but this original 2013 haunting by director James Wan is extremely effective horror. (Netflix, YouTube)
đą: Hereditary. This is another one that could be placed in more than one category, though whatever you decide to call it, Hereditary is a deeply unsettling, finely acted descent into familial madness. (YouTube, Google Play)
A few more: This Is the End (worth watching for the exorcism scene alone); The Evil Dead (among the best cult horror films ever made).
Cults

đď¸: The Wicker Man. Christopher Leeâs turn as pagan ritual leader âLord Summerisleâ is one of cinemaâs great villains. The 2006 remake with Nicolas Cage is also good for a hearty laugh or ten. (Amazon, YouTube)
đ: The Leftovers. Though not a film, this transcendent HBO series about society attempting to move on after 2% of the worldâs population disappears into thin air is a chilling, poignant depiction of what really moves someone to join a cult. (HBO, Amazon, iTunes)
đą: Kill List. This superb effort by director Ben Wheatley about two British contract killers quickly devolves into something much more horrific. (Amazon, YouTube)
A few more: The Invitation (a great little-known movie by Karyn Kusama about a dinner party gone wrong); Martha Marcy May Marlene (Elizabeth Olsen is great as a woman under the spell of a cult ran by a very creepy John Hawkes).
Body horror

đď¸: Eraserhead. David Lynchâs first feature film set the stage for the years of glorious WTFs that followed. (Amazon, iTunes)
đ:Â The Fly. David Cronenbergâs film, starring Jeff Goldblum as a scientist slowly morphing into a horrid human-fly hybrid after an experiment, is legendary for its makeup and creature design. (Hulu, Amazon, YouTube)
đą: Upgrade. A better âVenomâ film than Venom. (Amazon)
A few more: Antiviral (the feature film debut of Cronenbergâs son, Brandonâlike father, like son); Split (without giving too much away, we think this M. Night Shyamalan thriller counts as body horror).
Serial killers

đď¸: The Silence of the Lambs. Every serial killer thatâs come after it owes The Silence of the Lambs an enormous debt. (Amazon, YouTube)
đ:Â Zodiac. David Fincherâs depiction of the decades-long search for the Northern California âZodiac Killerâ is a masterclass in simmering tension. (Amazon, YouTube)
đą:Â American Psycho. Christian Bale is tremendous as a psychopathic Wall Street investment banker in this cult black comedy. (Amazon, Youtube)
A few more: Frailty (a great performance by the late Bill Paxton as a man in the throes of a violent religious delusion); Creep (a sneaky good found-footage film starring Mark Duplassâthe sequel is also highly recommended).