Shuvrajit Das Biswas
Halloween is around the corner, and you know what that means. It is time for all the fun that the occasion brings, which includes buying or making scary costumes, going trick or treating, carving up pumpkins, telling ghost stories. For film aficionados, this is the perfect time to watch some scary movies, even if it means that you will be sleeping with the lights turned on afterward.
Netflix, which always aims to appeal to its viewers, has a wonderful collection of scary movies, be it thrillers, which sets the mood for Halloween or straight-up horror movies with the jump scares that will really send chills down your spine. The platform has a rich collection of originals that should be explored at a time like this when spookiness is in the air and everyone is in the mood for a good scare. Here’s our list of some really good Halloween movies on Netflix available for streaming.
10. The Witch (2015)
‘The Witch‘ is also known as ‘The VVitch: A New England Folktale’ and marks Robert Eggers directorial debut. Somehow the movie did not manage to make a name in mainstream horror circles, but critics have praised it and Eggers has successfully shown that he is a force to be reckoned with when it comes to horror movies. If you like ‘The Lighthouse‘, Eggers second movie, this is the perfect time to check out his first work.
It tells the story of a Puritan family that encounters forces of evil that seem to exist in the woods beyond their farm. The family leaves the colony in 1630s New England, over a religious dispute. Soon after they move, Samuel, who is unbaptized, gets stolen by a witch, who kills him to make a flying ointment. Devastated, the family does not realize that the troubles are far from over. Soon, Caleb and Thomasin venture into the woods, where Thomasin is knocked unconscious and Caleb finds himself seduced by a beautiful young woman, whose arms suddenly turn decrepit as she grabs Caleb.
When Caleb is found by his family, he is struggling with some unknown illness and seems to be under a spell when he dies. When the twins accuse Thomasin of witchcraft, she turns the tables and says that they were conversing with Black Phillip, the family’s billy goat. Matters only take a darker turn as the family continues to be plagued by forces of evil and deceptive visions. Eventually, the entire family is eviscerated as the billy goat takes the form of a man clad in black. Thomasin pledges allegiance to him and joins a coven of witches as the film ends.
Eggers makes a tightly packed film where the viewers are always left questioning whether the sources of evil are real or imagined until the very end when the evil bursts forth to the surface in a horrifying manner. It is definitely one of the most compelling horror films to set the mood for Halloween. (Read the full explanation of The Witch here)
9. Before I Wake (2016)
‘Before I Wake‘ is also known as ‘Somnia’ and is a dark fantasy horror movie, that explores how terrifying a situation can get when a child’s dreams and nightmares come real.
We are introduced to Cody, a young boy who is taken in by foster parents. Eventually, as the nights go on, his parents realize that whatever Cody sees in his dream becomes reality for some time. The parents, who have lost their son Sean, attempt to reconnect with him in this manner. It holds especially true for the mother, Jessie. The father does not approve of taking advantage of Cody and believes that the gifted boy should be loved unconditionally. However, some of Cody’s nightmares also begin to seep into reality, causing problems for everyone.
The most terrifying is the monster ‘Canker Man’. When one of Cody’s nightmares becomes untenable once Jessie drugs him, she is forced to call 911, who suspect domestic violence and find Cody has been drugged. Obviously, he is taken away to foster care and when he refuses to sleep, he is given a tranquilizer, despite protests. Soon nightmarish creatures begin to take over until Jessie finally gets through to him. She convinces him to let the people taken by the creatures reappear. They do so, but only as a dream. Towards the end of the movie, Cody begins to learn to control his power as he figures out what happened to his birth mother. It turns out that the ‘Canker Man’ is actually his mother, who had pancreatic cancer and Cody thought a monster had taken over her when he saw her undergo chemotherapy when he was merely three years old.
‘Before I Wake’ ends on a happy note, but there are plenty of scares before that and it proves why a child’s mind can be an innocent and dark place at the same time.
8. The Perfection (2019)
‘The Perfection‘ is a psychological horror film where nothing is as it seems. At first, Charlotte, a former member of a reputed music academy, seems to be a vengeful girl, who is attacking Lizzie out of jealousy. Charlotte drugs and amputates her. However, as the plot progresses, the darkness seems to be everywhere, particularly in the hallowed halls of the academy, as it becomes increasingly clear that Anton, who teaches them, also rapes and tortures the girls. As the plot becomes increasingly twisted, finally Charlotte and Lizzie team up with each other, to put an end to this abusive reign of Anton. The film is pushed forth by compelling performances from the lead characters and the smart thriller has a lot of twists which will leave you wanting more.
With violence bursting forth, ‘The Perfection’ manages to capture the true horror that lies in human actions. It is perfect to set the mood for Halloween and will definitely make you sit up and take notice.
Read More: Best Female Revenge Movies on Netflix
7. The Open House (2018)
‘The Open House‘ is an American horror film that tells the story of a family that is terrorized by a series of inexplicable events that might have a supernatural force acting behind it.
The movie sees Naomi and Logan, her teenage son, move to her sister’s secluded mountain chalet until it is sold. The two have to vacate the premises during the open house when potential buyers can come and check out the property. Soon after this, the two begin to notice strange things in the house. The pilot to the water heater is turned off, objects appear to have moved or disappeared. The erratic behavior of the neighbor adds to their troubles. Although the old lady is shown to suffer from Alzheimer’s, Naomi and Logan’s problems are far from over. They find that the house has been broken into and someone has set up a candlelit dinner. However, the cops cannot find any signs of an intruder. Since the two cannot afford a hotel, they are forced to stay on in the house.
Finally, the evil decides to show itself, and it turns out to be a malevolent stranger who has been stalking them and is bent on killing them. Although the movie has a chilling sequence of events where Naomi and Logan try their best to avoid getting killed, the stranger has his way and the movie ends on an even more frightening note when the stranger is shown driving off towards the next open house.
‘The Open House’ is the kind of horror movie where you are not certain if the perpetrator is supernatural or not. The movie keeps you guessing till the end, and then leaves you horrified, making it perfect for the Halloween season.
6. 1922 (2017)
Halloween is incomplete without Stephen King. ‘1922‘ is a movie based on his novella of the same name. It follows a farmer who confesses to crimes he committed that year.
It turns out that he and his wife have an argument about what to do with some newly inherited land. She decides to leave him and take the son. The farmer convinces the son to help him kill the wife and they dump the body in a well, where it is eaten by rats. Thus rats start to become a recurring horrifying theme in the movie. A rat bites the farmer’s arm, infecting it, while his son runs away with his girlfriend. The two begin to commit robberies, and ultimately, after the girlfriend is killed, the son kills himself. Plagued by rats even now, the farmer confesses. By the time he is done writing the confession, his room is overrun by rats and the apparitions of the people who died appear. The son threatens that his death will be quick.
King’s story is not exactly horrifying due to the jump scares, but the gradual rot that eats away at the perpetrator makes this a movie to watch.
5. The Silence (2019)
‘A Quiet Place‘ started the trend of a new kind of monster that hunts by sound. ‘The Silence‘ offers much more of the same, as we see creatures called ‘vesps’, who seem to be attracted to the loudest sound. Horror unfurls as the creatures begin attacking the human population and the outbreak continues to spread.
Halloween is a time for good scares and if you are subscribed to the streaming platform, you should definitely check out ‘The Silence’, which packs a lot of intensity in it, as it tells a gripping tale that demands silence from the viewers and the characters in the movie.
4. Bird Box (2018)
‘Bird Box‘ is a post-apocalyptic thriller and accordingly, the horror in the movie comes from a sense of despair that seems to color every scene. The film is set in a world that is overrun by supernatural entities, and if you look at them, you are driven insane and end up killing yourself. However, birds seem to be aware when the entities are nearby and can raise an alarm. In this setting, a mother tries to get two children to safety. In flashbacks, the entire adventure is narrated and there are highly intense moments as we come to the realization that humans are now being hunted.
However, towards the end of the movie, they seem to find a safe community, which suggests that the people there might be able to help them. ‘Bird Box’ is based on Josh Malerman’s 2014 novel of the same name. The movie has immense potential and though some of you might walk away feeling it could have done better, there is an atmosphere of chilliness that is created all throughout, which permeates the strong performances, making this movie ideal for a Halloween watch.
Read More: Best Indie Movies on Netflix
3. The Ritual (2017)
‘The Ritual‘ is based on Adam Nevill’s novel of the same name. It is a supernatural horror movie that has the same vibes as ‘The Blair Witch Project‘. Here, a group of men decides to take a shortcut through a forest, when one of their members hurts his leg during a hike. In the forest, things take an unexpected turn, as they are plagued by hallucinations and the signs of danger only increase the deeper they go into the woods. Finally, it appears as though there is a supernatural entity in the forest and a cult offers it human sacrifices. Over time, the entire group falls prey to the entity or members of the cult. However, one of them, Luke, who is marked to become immortal and a member of the cult, finally manages to find a way out of the forest and escapes the entity’s grasp.
The Scandinavian setting adds an aura of darkness to this horror story and you would definitely want to watch this before Halloween.
2. Eli (2019)
‘‘Eli‘ is an American horror story that tells the tale of a young boy of the same name. He undergoes treatment for a rare disease at a secluded clinic. However, what is supposed to be a place of healing, soon turns into a nightmarish situation as the boy discovers that it is a haunted prison with no way out.
‘Eli’ is slated to release on October 18, 2019, in perfect time for you to watch as Halloween is just around the corner.
1. In the Tall Grass (2019)
‘In the Tall Grass‘ is a horror drama that is based on Stephen King and Joe Hill’s novel of the same name. The story focuses on a brother and sister who follow a young boy’s cries for help into a field of tall grass in Kansas. Unfortunately for them, they soon find that there might not be any way out.
The movie is slated to release on October 4, 2019. Stephen King’s horror and Halloween goes perfectly hand in hand, so you do not want to miss this.
Read More: Best Student-Teacher Movies on Netflix
