Spooky season is almost here, which means it’s time to start looking for the best scary movies to watch. Hulu already has some great choices, including The Monkey, Would You Rather, Late Night with the Devil, and Jennifer’s Body. And during October, the streaming platform is adding even more great horror flicks for Huluween. These movies span a wide range of subgenres, from comedy to action, and cover the Halloween spectrum from dark and twisted to, well, even darker and more twisted.
Excitingly, all of these movies will be available to stream before October 31st. So, you can make a day out of watching all of them or cycle through them in the weeks leading up to the holiday.
‘Barbarian’ (2022)
Tess Marshall (Georgina Campbell) travels to Detroit for a job interview but soon realizes her Airbnb is in a bad part of town. Worse, she’s sharing it with a stranger, played by Bill Skarsgård, and someone (or something) else is living there, too. Things only get creepier when property owner AJ Gilbride (Justin Long) arrives to inspect the house and learns more of its haunting history.
Dark and Disturbing
At first, Barbarian gives off the feeling of a RomCom, but that quickly changes when Tess and the stranger discover a mysterious room. From there, the movie is a sinister take on everything from rape culture to corrupt police. One of the scariest modern horror movies, Barbarian is a must-add to your Halloween list when it streams on Hulu on October 1st.
‘The Hills Have Eyes’ (2006)
A remake of Wes Craven’s 1977 horror masterpiece, The Hills Have Eyes focuses on Bob Carter, his wife, Ethel, and several of their family members. The group is traveling to San Diego to celebrate Bob and Ethel’s anniversary. When their car crashes, the family goes to find help, but what they find instead is a family of violent, cannibalistic mutants.
Another Sequel
Along with The Hills Have Eyes, The Hills Have Eyes 2 is also coming to Hulu on October 10th. While reception to the sequel was far less enthusiastic, it’s still a good addition for a haunted movie night.
‘The Hand That Rocks the Cradle’ (1992)
After reporting her obstetrician, Dr. Victor Mott (John de Lancie), for sexual assault, Claire Bartel (Annabella Sciorra) is trying to move on with her life with her husband, daughter Emma, and newborn, Joey. But Dr. Mott’s widow (Rebecca De Mornay) vows revenge, and she disguises herself as a nanny in order to infiltrate and destroy Claire’s happy home.
An Upcoming Remake
The original The Hand That Rocks the Cradle is uncomfortable, twisted, and chilling. While this version is coming to Hulu on October 1st, the streaming platform is also releasing a 2025 version on October 22nd. If it’s anything like the original, we’re sure it’ll be worth adding to your spooky watch list.
‘Blade’ (1998)
The dark superhero film Blade focuses on the titular vampire hunter (Wesley Snipes), who is a vampire-human hybrid with all the strengths of a vampire and only one of their weaknesses: a need to drink blood. But when his own blood is needed to summon the “blood god” La Magra, the hunter becomes the hunted.
Cult Classic
Considered one of Marvel’s best movies, Blade is one of the quirkier additions to this list. Although it may not be the scariest scary movie out there, Blade and its sequels have plenty more to offer when they come to Hulu on October 1st.
‘The Rule of Jenny Pen’ (2024)
Directed by James Ashcroft, The Rule of Jenny Pen is based on a short story by Owen Marshall and stars Geoffrey Rush and John Lithgow. The movie focuses on a retirement home where resident Dave Crealy (Lithgow) begins playing a creepy game, “The Rule of Jenny Pen,” with a hand puppet. Fellow resident and former judge Stefan Mortensen (Rush) tries to stop him, but the more he learns about the game, the more disturbing it becomes.
A Classic in the Making
The Rule of Jenny Pen is one of Stephen King’s favorite horror movies, and we can see why. A classic in the making, join the terrifying game when it comes to Hulu on October 7th.
‘Saw’ (2004)
Do you want to play a game? That’s the horrifying question at the heart of Saw, which finds two confused strangers trapped in a bathroom. As time ticks down, they must unravel how they got there, why they were taken, and whether they have the will to survive what comes next.
Spooky Sequels
Watching Saw is a Halloween treat all its own. But watching Saw and its sequels is even better. Excitingly, these sequels are also coming to Hulu on October 1st, making it the perfect movie franchise to binge on Halloween or in the nights leading up to it.
‘The Cabin in the Woods’ (2012)
Produced by Joss Whedon, The Cabin in the Woods follows five friends who fittingly find themselves in a cabin in the woods. What starts off as a fun group vacation soon becomes a nightmarish battle to survive a family of zombies. Worse, the odds are stacked against them, since they’ve all been chosen as part of a ritualistic sacrifice.
Reinventing Horror
The Cabin in the Woods is funny, smart, terrifying, and so worth a watch when it hits Hulu on October 16th. This isn’t just a great Halloween movie, but an all-around phenomenal horror movie that needs a sequel.
‘The Sixth Sense’ (1999)
Dr. Malcolm Crowe (Bruce Willis) is a troubled psychologist tasked with helping the equally (if not more) troubled Cole Sear, played by Haley Joel Osment. When Cole reveals, “I see dead people,” Malcolm is initially skeptical, but soon starts to believe him. But as Malcolm tries to help Cole communicate with the ghosts, his own haunted past catches up with him.
First-Rate Horror
The twist in The Sixth Sense is among the most famous in horror movie history. But that’s only the first of many reasons to watch when the movie comes to Hulu on October 3rd.
‘Sinister’ (2012)
Elison Oswald (Ethan Hawke) is a true-crime writer who is determined to uncover the mystery behind a snuff film (…and write a good book based on it). But when he and his family move to the victims’ home to search for clues, supernatural events threaten to give their story a similar ending.
Aptly Titled
Sinister is just plain sinister, and scientifically, it’s arguably the scariest movie of all time. It might take a few attempts to make your way through it, but luckily, viewers have plenty of time, since it’s coming to Hulu on October 1st.
‘Scream’ (1996)
A Wes Craven classic, Scream focuses on Sidney Prescott (Neve Campbell), a high-school student whose mother was horrifically killed the year prior. Already shaken by the anniversary, things only grow worse when a mysterious masked figure named Ghostface starts killing others in town. Uncertain who to trust, Sidney must uncover the murderer’s identity while trying to survive her real-life horror movie.
Turning Horror on Its Head
Scream is often credited as the horror movie that reinvented horror movies. Playing into and subverting tropes, it draws attention to the very qualities that make the genre so great. Along with Scream, two of its sequels will be coming to Hulu on October 1st. And with Scream 7 being released next year, Halloween is the perfect time to (re)watch the entertainingly haunting franchise.
