Here are the 13 under-the-radar horror movies you must stream before Halloween
It’s almost Halloween, and that means new horror movies are flooding streaming services. This has been a great year for the genre, thanks to high-profile hits like Hereditary, A Quiet Place, and Mandy, all of which are available to rent on most digital platforms. But there are plenty of under-the-radar titles just waiting to scare you. Here are 13 of our favorites, all of which are available to stream right now.
Apostle (Netflix)
Imagine if the director of The Raid remade The Wicker Man and threw in a bunch of repulsive violence, all while pontificating on nature and God. Now open your eyes, because … it exists! Gareth Evans’s delightfully bizarre Apostle has a lot on its mind, and if you don’t mind the slow build, it’s absolutely worth the payoff, as the movie’s back half aggressively shifts from one genre to the next with reckless abandon. Michael Sheen is terrific as the villain, and Dan Stevens’s kooky performance as the Edward Woodward/Nicolas Cage stand-in is also hard to resist.
Calibre (Netflix)
The inciting incident that sets off Matt Palmer’s debut feature about two lifelong friends who embark on a hunting trip is so unexpected and upsetting, your jaw may remain on the floor for several minutes. Unfortunately for the characters in the film — and fortunately for those of us at home — every single thing that could possibly go wrong after that terrifying beginning does. There’s nothing supernatural to fear here, which makes it all the more upsetting.
The Endless (Netflix)
We already named The Endless one of the best movies of 2018 so far, but Halloween is the perfect time to remind everyone that this wildly ambitious, low-budget genre film works better than most expensive Hollywood fare. When two brothers (played by writer/director duo Aaron Moorhead and Justin Benson) revisit the cult they escaped from a decade earlier, things quickly spiral into out-there territory. The way the mystery, so to speak, resolves itself is smart, clever, and unexpected. For a truly mind-bending double bill, The Endless pairs nicely with the directors’ 2012 film Resolution.
Ghost Stories (available to rent on Amazon Prime, Google Play, and YouTube)
Let’s begin at the end, because Ghost Stories features a third-act twist that’s so good, everything that comes before suddenly snaps into place and fundamentally changes the entire viewing experience. Andy Nyman and Jeremy Dyson’s adaptation of their stage play stars Nyman as a man who has spent his entire life disproving paranormal activity and is now tasked with three unsolved cases that are said to have no real-world explanation. It’s a lot of fun and begs for an immediate re-watch once you discover the secret.
The Haunting of Hill House (Netflix)
Mike Flanagan’s 10-episode horror series plays like a 10-hour movie and is every bit as terrific as Twitter says, and then some. While the show features tons of ghosts and supernatural elements, the true beauty of it is that it also works as a harrowing family drama. All that expertly crafted character work adds serious emotional stakes, making the journey as upsetting to watch as it is frightening.
Hold the Dark (Netflix)
Green Room auteur Jeremy Saulner continues his hot streak with this remarkable mood piece that veers toward the surreal and nightmarish rather than getting too caught up in intricate plotting. When wolf expert Russell Core (Jeffrey Wright) heads to Alaska to look into the cases of several missing children, his investigation veers off the rails in record time. The movie’s deliberate pace means it won’t be for everyone, but it’ll haunt your mind for days afterward.
Incident in a Ghostland (available to rent on Amazon Prime, Google Play, and YouTube)
French filmmaker Pascal Laugier’s strongest film since his 2008 cult hit Martyrs is a clever critique of horror films that functions both as an examination of the trauma its characters face and as the purveyor of said trauma. It’s gory and thoroughly upsetting, sure, but it’s also restrained in its approach, choosing to focus on the mental state of its lead (Crystal Reed) rather than home in on her actual suffering. Some may view the film as misogynistic, but those familiar with the director’s oeuvre may be willing to view it more as a statement on misogyny in the genre than as an endorsement.
Revenge (Shudder)
The debut feature from Coralie Fargeat is an absolute bloodbath that heralds the arrival of a major horror talent. After Jennifer (Matilda Lutz) is left for dead in the desert by her lover’s creepy friends, she sets out to avenge her own presumed murder. The film is incredibly cathartic in the specific way that only revenge movies can get away with, as well as endowed with gorgeous photography and sublime sound design. Maybe Jason Blum should give Fargeat a call for the next Halloween movie.
Satan’s Slaves (Shudder)
Joko Anwar’s loose remake of an Indonesian cult classic from 1980 is a solid entry in the “watch a family fall apart due to the occult” canon newly repopularized by Hereditary. A mother passes away following a mysterious three-year illness, and it’s not long before her ghost — or something like it — returns to the house, not just to scare her children, but also to take them with her. Interestingly enough, Slaves opened in Indonesia well over a year ago, months before Hereditary became the horror favorite du jour.
Terrified (Shudder)
Terrified takes only a few minutes to prove that it means business, with an opening sequence containing some of the most jarring and frightening imagery you’re likely to see this year. On paper, the film may sound like an Argentinean cousin of James Wan’s Insidious franchise, as both feature malevolent forces at work in a domestic setting. But instead of focusing on a single family or home, director Demián Rugna explores what happens when multiple supernatural disturbances all occur within a single block in a quiet neighborhood, and the local police are forced to call in paranormal experts. There’s a specific image from the film that you won’t be able to shake — and you’ll know it when you see it.
Unfriended: Dark Web (available to rent on Amazon Prime, Google Play, and YouTube)
Superior to its very good predecessor for a few reasons, Dark Web is a sequel in name only, since the only thing it has in common with the original is its form: Both movies unfold in real time and take place almost entirely on a computer screen. But by ditching the supernatural elements (at least, for the most part) and focusing on the true-life terrors waiting for us in the dark, unpatrolled corners of the internet, this entry brilliantly exceeds all expectations and delivers a brutal warning to anyone with a Wi-Fi connection.
Upgrade (available to rent on Amazon Prime, Google Play, and YouTube)
Leigh Whannell’s Upgrade is best described as a brother of Venom (it even stars famous Tom Hardy lookalike Logan Marshall-Green), a futuristic take on Death Wish, or an R-rated remake of Jackie Chan’s The Tuxedo. Either way, the movie is absolutely worth your time, thanks to its assured execution of an otherwise perfunctory revenge story, and Marshall-Green’s hilarious screwball performance. Why can’t he be Carnage in Venom 2?
Verónica (Netflix)
The latest from Spanish filmmaker Paco Plaza — the man responsible for the highly successful [REC] franchise — may seem like just another possession flick, but its multilayered approach goes far beyond jump scares. The film is also an examination of the horrors of being a latchkey kid, one responsible not only for yourself but also for your younger siblings, and all of its supernatural horror is baked into that idea. Chillingly, Verónica is based on an actual police report, the details of which are displayed onscreen prior to the end credits. Many similar films — going back to The Exorcist — have claimed to be inspired by a true story, but this one actually brings the receipts.
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