Watch streamers turn to screamers with new horror movies out this month
After nearly two years spent living amid a global pandemic, it’s perhaps fitting that this month’s new horror releases hitting streaming services seem to share a common theme of unity.
Several of the titles feature a group of people banding together against a common enemy, from the residents of Haddonfield, Ill., in “Halloween Kills” to the elderly patrons of a bingo hall in “Bingo Hell,” one of four new entries in Blumhouse TV and Amazon Studios’ returning “Welcome to the Blumhouse” series.
The collection of films is the second installment in the ongoing “Welcome to the Blumhouse” series, which aims to uplift emerging voices from underrepresented backgrounds, and this year’s offerings aim to please. Another “Blumhouse” title, “Black as Night,” follows a band of teenagers who fight a horde of vampires (and gentrification) in the Big Easy.
And taking the theme to heart, Shudder’s “Horror Noire” anthology unites a team of emerging and established Black talent to counteract perhaps the most pernicious threat: a lack of diversity and representation in the mainstream horror space.
Whether you’re into vampires or slashers, prefer found-footage style horrors or slow-burn psychological thrillers, here’s a list of 13 of the more interesting new horror movies hitting streaming services in time for Halloween.
“Welcome to the Blumhouse: The Manor”
In this gothic horror from director Axelle Carolyn, Barbara Hershey stars as a woman forced into a nursing home where a malevolent force stalks its residents. The film, which touches on themes of ageism and gaslighting, is one of four new releases in the second installment of the “Welcome to the Blumhouse” series. Available on Prime Video.
“Welcome to the Blumhouse: Bingo Hell”
When a shadowy businessman overtakes their local bingo hall, an elderly woman and her neighbors rally against him. From director Gigi Saul Guerrero. On Prime Video.
“Welcome to the Blumhouse: Black as Night”
This action-horror from director Maritte Lee Go follows a group of friends who band together to take down a vampire coven in New Orleans. On Prime Video.
“Welcome to the Blumhouse: Madres”
A pregnant Mexican-American woman living on a remote ranch stumbles upon a box containing a talisman and other belongings of the house’s former owner in this horror set in the farmlands of 1970s California. From director Ryan Zaragoza. On Prime Video.
“There’s Someone Inside Your House”
Adapted by director Patrick Kack-Brice from the Stephanie Perkins novel of the same name, this slasher is set at a rural Nebraska high school where students are targeted by a sadistic killer. On Netflix.
“V/H/S/94”
The fourth entry in the found-footage horror anthology follows as a SWAT team explores an abandoned warehouse formerly occupied by a cult, that contains evidence of a ritualistic mass suicide. On Shudder.
“Muppets Haunted Mansion”
This crossover between “The Muppets” and “The Haunted Mansion” is the first Muppets Halloween special and features the voices of Taraji P. Henson, Will Arnett, Yvette Nicole Brown, Darren Criss and more. On Disney+.
“Halloween Kills”
The penultimate installment of the revived slasher franchise sees Jamie Lee Curtis return as Laurie Strode, the babysitter who first crossed paths with Michael Myers in 1978. The Shape returns to Haddonfield to terrorize its already traumatized residents. Friday on Peacock.
“Night Teeth”
This horror-thriller from director Adam Randall follows a freelance chauffeur who realizes the club-hopping passengers he has been driving around are actually centuries-old vampires. On Netflix Oct. 20.
“Nobody Sleeps in the Woods Tonight Pt. 2”
This sequel to the 2020 Polish slasher from director Bartosz M. Kowalski follows a mysterious predator stalking teenagers at a technology detox camp. On Netflix Oct. 27.
“Hypnotic”
Kate Siegel stars as a woman seeking to better herself through the use of hypnotherapy in this psychological horror. On Netflix Oct. 27.
“Horror Noire” anthology
Taking a cue from the 2019 documentary, the Shudder original taps horror veterans Rachel True, Tony Todd, Lesley-Ann Brandt and Sean Patrick Thomas in a collection of six shorts from new and established Black directors. On Shudder Oct. 28.
“Paranormal Activity: Next of Kin”
The seventh installment in the long-running “Paranormal Activity” franchise centers around a young woman struggling to uncover the truth behind her mother’s mysterious disappearance. On Paramount+ Oct. 29.
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