Wondering what to watch for Halloween? Here are top horror films to send a chill down your spine

As the air gets cooler, pumpkins roll out and costumes get thrown on it is the perfect time to get comfortable and dive into spine-chilling horror movies that set the mood for the spooky season. Be it jumpscares, thrillers or psychological horrors, the time is right for a dose of scary cinematic flicks.

Before going back to the past, one can go ahead and stream Halloween movies from 2026 itself for the chilling experience. From the famed Nasty Nikki in Curry Baker’s ‘Obsession’, the body horror of ‘Clayface’ in cinemas to the quiet chaos of the ‘Backrooms’ which adapts the viral internet horror phenomenon and leaves you looking out for walls. You can also dive into the latest ‘Resident Evil’ edition by Zach Cregger or revisit his last film ‘Weapons’.

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What should you watch for Halloween?

Here is a list of horror films compiled from the internet film database IMDb and the social film cataloguing platform, Letterboxd to give you the fright and sure to keep you up at night.

• The Exorcist

Up first on the list and a sure shot classic is the 1973 film ‘The Exorcist’. The film follows a 12 year old as she starts communicating with a spirit through a Ouija board. Her mother, concerned with the sudden behaviour change is prompted to seek help from a skeptical priest. The film is rated 8.1 stars on the platform.

• Psycho

This Alfred Hitchcock film offers a gory and thrilling time as you follow the story of a secretary on the run with a wad of cash. Her life turns upside down after she ends up at the Bates Motel and encounters the manager Norman Bates and his mother.

• The Shining

The film directed by Stanley Kubrick is perfect for those who love a claustrophobic thriller. It follows an aspiring author Jack Torrance as he takes a caretaker job at the Overlook Hotel and must live with his wife and son in isolation.

• Rosemary’s Baby

In yet another haunted building, this 1968 film by Roman Polanski takes you to a New York apartment building with Rosemary and Guy. The mood sets in as Rosemary starts suspecting her neighbors have sinister intentions for her pregnancy.

• Cure

In case you are into foreign films this Japanese film from the 1990s is the perfect blend of crime and horror. As a series of gruesome murders take place in Tokyo, the only clue is the X carved into the bodies. The horrifying twist is that a murderer is found near each body, but does not remember anything.

If you want newer releases, you can draw the curtains and dive into the Paranormal Activity series, The Orphan, Insidious or The Conjuring series. For those who have an affliction to horror but still want to participate, they can watch Laika Studios’ Coraline or Corpse Bride.