Autumn and horror naturally pair well together. The cooling weather, changing leaves, pumpkin patches, and, of course, Halloween ensure that, for the horror fan, it’s difficult to separate the two. This week’s streaming picks are dedicated to horror movies that embrace an Autumnal atmosphere, with many set around Halloween proper.
These picks leave off some of the more prominent Fall horror movies, like Sleepy Hollow (Max) or The Blair Witch Project (Paramount+), to pad your watchlists with less obvious choices.
Here’s where you can stream them this week.
For more Stay Home, Watch Horror picks, click here.
Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers – AMC+, Shudder
After sitting out the previous entry, Halloween III: Season of the Witch, Michael Myers returns to Haddonfield once more on All Hallow’s Eve with murder on his mind. This time, the Boogeyman targets his telepathically linked niece, Jamie Lloyd (Danielle Harris). Not only does the fourth entry have a great final girl in Rachel (Ellie Cornell), but its Autumnal atmosphere grabs you from the opening credits and never lets go. What’s a Fall horror list without a Halloween entry, anyway?
The House of the Devil – AMC+, freevee, Peacock, Plex, Redbox
Ti West’s ’80s set cult horror movie sees a young college student, Samantha, taking on an unusual babysitting gig. She’s so desperate for money that she ignores all the signs, including that it’s the night of a lunar eclipse. Poor Samantha realizes far too late that her eccentric clients have ritualistic plans for her. West’s fantastic slow burn brings the atmosphere, allowing its shocking bursts of violence and terrifying imagery to pack a powerful punch.
The Ritual – Netflix
Director David Bruckner established his ability to instill unsettling dread and unspool imaginative mythology with Netflix’s The Ritual. Based on Adam Nevill’s novel, The Ritual follows a group of old friends embarking on a trek to honor a lost loved one. A series of bad luck and strange circumstances lead them further into the forest, where they soon find themselves stalked by a menacing presence. The crisp Fall air and thick woods scream Fall, and that’s before the horror kicks into high gear. It’s gorgeous, eerie, and captivating.
Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark – Hulu, Peacock, Prime Video
On Halloween 1968, Stella (Zoe Margaret Colletti) and her two friends meet drifter Ramon (Michael Garza) while fleeing bullies. They invite Ramon to explore a local haunted house, where Stella discovers a mysterious book containing horror stories that seem to write themselves in real-time. Director André Øvredal brings the nightmarish illustrations by Stephen Gammell and stories by Alvin Schwartz to life. Harold the scarecrow, the Pale Lady, the Big Toe corpse (Javier Botet), and the Jangly Man (Troy James) terrorize Mill Valley’s teens in this recent Halloween treat. It’s the perfect October movie full of chills for the older kid or kid at heart, with Mill Valley a picture-perfect vision of Fall.
The Stepfather – Fandor, Kanopy, Peacock, Plex, Roku Channel, SCREAMBOX, Vudu
Terry O’Quinn stars as the titular Stepfather, a serial murderer who targets single mothers, hoping to find his perfect family. When it doesn’t work out, he murders his new makeshift family, changes his appearance, and skips town to begin anew. Loosely based on mass murderer John List, The Stepfather brings the intensity thanks to a bone-chilling turn by O’Quinn. His reign of terror is set against a crisp Fall backdrop that only adds to the chilly atmosphere.
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