10 Horror Movies on Netflix for Halloween Viewing- While it may seem like everyone in the world has sexy, bacchanalian plans for Halloween, not everyone's been invited to a Super Spooktacular HellaRave hosted by Tupac's Hologram (thank you for that one, NBC's Marry Me). No, some folks actually like spending time indoors, lights out, scaring the wits out of themselves with horror flicks. And while we here at IGN already listed all the new October movies on both Netflix and Amazon Prime, there's a fairly sweet back catalogue of horror available for streaming other than the films that were released this month.
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So this one goes out to everyone stuck in their homes handing out fun-size candy this year. Those looking to watch a few good scary movies to watch before succumbing to a sugar coma. Maybe you'd like to catch something new or revisit something old. Here's 20 horror movies available on Netflix for your Halloween viewing pleasure.
Throwback Horror
-The Fly (1958): While Cronenberg's 1986 remake is an awesome watch, you can catch the original Fly flick from the 50s right now and see where and how this tale of science gone horrifyingly wrong all started. Based on a short story, the viewer here is shown, in flashback, the sad story of a scientist and his experimental "matter transporter" device.
House on Haunted Hill (1959)-: Forget the 1999 remake and throw a little OG Vincent Price into your holiday with this influential original. Price plays an eccentric millionaire who invites five people to attempt to spend the night at his ghoul-ridden estate for the chance to walk away with ten grand.
Classic Horror
Night of the Living Dead (1968): More than 40 years after George Romero invented an entire horror genre, a grizzly, gory zombie show is currently the number one show on TV. Well, if you want to know where it all started (not discounting the voodoo origins and 1932's White Zombie, but acknowledging the "living dead apocalypse" as its own carnage-filled category) then check out the low-budget black and white original featuring a group of people holed up in a rural farmhouse during a mysterious night when the dead rise up from their graves and seek out living victims.
Rosemary's Baby (1968): This horrifying "Neighbors from
Hell" psychological screamer taps into the fear of being pregnant,
afraid, and alone in one's suspicions. Often duplicated (or even remade)
but never surpassed, this film, directed by paranoia-maester Roman
Polanski, has had viewers on the edge of their seats for decades.
Meta Horror
The Cabin in the Woods (2012): From Joss Whedon and
Drew Goddard, Cabin in the Woods took horror tropes and spun them around
like a top as we learned that the world was being controlled by a
secret society who maliciously maneuvers archetypical hero characters
into archetypical scare zones. Hilarious, observant, and scary, this
film is a must-watch for horror lovers.
Scream (1996): As the first film to prove that you can
reap maximum fear while also acknowledging fright flick cliches, Wes
Craven's Scream was a phenomenon. It still holds up as a fun, crazy
masterstroke of slasher hysteria and satisfying swerves. Its many
sequels are also a good time too, for the most part. But the original
still stands tall, especially the insta-classic "What's Your Favorite
Scary Movie?" opening.
Cult Horror
Shivers (1975): Also known as They Came From Within
when it was first released, Shivers is one of David Cronenberg's first
feature films - showcasing just about everything the deranged director
would come to be known for: science, sex, disease, skin horror,
confinement, and paranoia. Watch as an apartment complex is taken over
by a parasitic contagion that turns its hosts into sex-crazed mutants.
Re-Animator (1985): Adapted from the H. P. Lovecraft
story "Herbert West–Reanimator," this disturbingly out-there '80s stew
of demented gore stars Jeffrey Combs as a scientist who develops a neon
green formula that brings life back to dead corpses. Provided that he
doesn't give them the wrong amount, causing nauseating side-effects.
The Town that Dreaded Sundown (1976): If you're curious
to watch the original cult film before the remake/quasi-sequel, you can
check it out now on Netflix. It's low-budget '70s horror so it's got
wonky music, a jumbled tone, and a weird docu-style narrator, but it's
based on an actual series of murders that rocked the town of Texarkana
in the mid-1940s. It's influences stretch far and wide to - from Friday
the 13th Part 2 to Scream.
Horror Masters
Candyman (1992): Based on the short story "The
Forbidden" by Clive Barker, Candyman stars Tony Todd as a ghostly
bee-filled, hook-handed urban legend-style killer who arrives on the
scene whenever someone says his name five times in a mirror. Two sequels
eventually followed, but it's the original that still gives us chills.
