Mary (Hailee Steinfeld) in ‘Sinners’
Warner Bros.
Looking for a horror film worth watching?
2025 was an excellent year for horror—here’s some scary movie recommendations for this Halloween, and where to stream them.
Sinners
Michael B. Jordan and Miles Caton in ‘Sinners’
Warner Bros.
Sinners was a box office hit for good reason, a 1930’s gangster drama that gets rudely interrupted by a vampire attack.
Sinners follows twin brothers Smoke and Stack (Michael B. Jordan) who return to their hometown to make a better life for themselves, dragging the preacher’s son, Sammie (Miles Caton) into their sinful ways.
Why You Should Watch ‘Sinners’
Sinners would be a great film even without the horror elements, but the film’s take on vampirism is uniquely compelling, rooted in folkloric traditions with a modern twist.
The film proposes that there is a mystical, transcendent quality to great music, and the vampires, being parasites and all, seek to steal this gift and absorb it into their clan.
These creatures of the night are relentlessly hungry, horny and bound by an old superstition that says vampires must seek permission before entering a building. This trope is rarely used nowadays, and is used to inspire tense moments between the survivors.
Sinners is great fun—it’s a blood-spattered vampire film with great style and a sense of humor.
You can stream Sinners on HBO Max and Amazon Prime Video.
Nosferatu
Lily-Rose Depp stars as Ellen in Robert Eggers’ ‘Nosferatu’
UNIVERSAL
Like Sinners, Nosferatu is a vampire film, but the two couldn’t be more different in tone.
Nosferatu is Robert Eggers’ remake of the iconic 1922 film, considered a foundational pillar of the horror genre.
Eggers version doesn’t stray far from the plot of the original (which is really the revamped plot of Dracula), with Count Orlok fleeing Romania for Germany to spread death and disease, while trying to seduce our unfortunate heroine, Ellen (Lily-Rose Depp).
Why You Should Watch ‘Nosferatu’
Nosferatu is beautifully shot and terribly tense, each frame vibrating with foreboding.
The film is a delirious display of gnarled corpses, pale brides, crooked tombstones and lengthy shadows—like the original film, it’s all bad vibes, in the best way possible.
The film boasts a hideous, historically accurate Count Orlok, a cross between a decrepit nobleman and a demon. Lily-Rose Depp’s performance is alarmingly convincing, her Ellen plagued by terrible nightmares and repressed lust.
You can stream Nosferatu on Amazon Prime Video.
Companion
Sophie Thatcher in Companion
Neon
Companion follows an artificial girlfriend who experiences the agony of finding out she was never real, and neither was her relationship.
Sophie Thatcher plays Iris, who is trapped in the worst weekend getaway imaginable, surrounded by people who do not view her as a sentient being—it doesn’t help that she can be switched on and off.
Why You Should Watch ‘Companion’
Companion is full of increasingly unexpected twists and turns, with Iris seemingly facing impossible odds, but always finding an inventive solution.
The film isn’t quite a horror—it’s a thriller—but the story is dark and deeply unsettling, perfect for Halloween viewing.
You can stream Companion on HBO Max and Amazon Prime Video.
Weapons
‘Weapons’ directed by Zach Cregger
Warner Bros.
Weapons opens with a bizarre mystery involving an entire classroom of missing children, and soon sprints into far stranger territory.
Each chapter reveals another character’s point of view, and by the time the final piece of the puzzle falls into place, the reveal almost feels inevitable, and yet, completely unexpected.
Why You Should Watch ‘Weapons’
Weapons was a major box office hit, and the secret to its success is simple—it’s a fast-paced, wild movie, and incredibly entertaining from the first scene.
Even non-horror fans have a good chance of enjoying Weapons, as the plot is masterfully told, each breadcrumb of information adding to the intrigue, making no sense at all, until it suddenly does.
You can stream Weapons on HBO Max.
28 Years Later
Alfie Williams and Ralph Fiennes in ’28 Years Later’
Sony Pictures
A father (Aaron-Taylor Johnson) takes his son, Spike (Alfie Williams) into the zombie-infected wasteland that was once the UK, but his induction to manhood doesn’t go as planned.
Spike is forced to find his own path, as he and his terminally ill mother (Jodie Comer) resolve to go on a dangerous journey to find a cure among the infected, and stumble upon an unexpected oasis.
Why You Should Watch ‘28 Years Later’
Director Danny Boyle and writer Alex Garland reunite for their long-awaited follow-up to 28 Days Later, telling a more mature story that builds on the memorable worldbuilding of the first film.
The famously fast-paced zombies—the infected—have evolved into something more interesting than mindless brutes, and the ravaged, post-apocalyptic landscape serves as a haunting backdrop to Spike’s surprisingly philosophical journey.
You can stream 28 Years Later on Netflix and Amazon Prime Video.
The Conjuring: Last Rites
Judy (Mia Tomlinson) in The Conjuring: Last Rites
Warner Bros.
The Conjuring: Last Rites concludes the story of the Warrens, the paranormal investigators that have defined The Conjuring universe.
The endearingly odd couple and their daughter Judy (Mia Tomlinson) experience one last haunting—as a family—before the Warrens can finally retire in peace.
Why You Should Watch ‘The Conjuring: Last Rites’
Most cinemagoers have watched at least one film of this shared cinematic universe—The Conjuring, Annabelle, and the multiple spin-offs they inspired have been a constant presence in the last decade, a bit like the MCU of horror.
The sprawling franchise is loosely inspired by the real-life ghostly shenanigans of Ed and Lorraine Warren, and Last Rites bids the two an emotional farewell.
Last Rites isn’t quite as intense and inventive as the films that preceded it, but it marks the end of an era, and is worth watching.
You can watch The Conjuring: Last Rites on Apple TV, Amazon Prime Video, and in theatres.
Chainsaw Man—The Movie: Reze Arc
Denji in Chainsaw Man—The Movie: Reze Arc, voiced by Ryan Colt Levy (English) and Kikunosuke Toya (Japanese)
MAPPA
This animated film isn’t exactly horror, but it’s an outlandishly violent, dark and thrilling tale of monstrous devils and devil hunters, continuing the story of the Chainsaw Man anime series.
You don’t need to have watched the series to jump into the movie—all you need to know is that Denji is a devil hunter whose heart is imbued with the power of the Chainsaw Devil, giving him extraordinary strength, endurance and electronic blades.
Why You Should Watch ‘Chainsaw Man: Reze Arc’
Denji is torn between the long-desired woman of his dreams and the latest pretty girl in his life who happens to be paying attention to him, unaware that there are powerful devils out there who will stop at nothing to steal his heart.
Chainsaw Man is a poignant tale of doomed love, boasting the series’ signature sense of humor and extraordinarily imaginative battle sequences.
You can watch Chainsaw Man—The Movie: Reze Arc in cinema theatres now.
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