10 Horror Movies That Will Haunt Your Halloween

Tis spooky season and it's time to scare ourselves. This Halloween, challenge yourself to watch a scary movie in the dark. In this list you'll find my personal top 10 horror movies that you can select from.

Are you ready to be scared?

Honorable Mentions

Tis spooky season and it's time to scare ourselves. This Halloween, challenge yourself to watch a scary movie in the dark. In this list you'll find my personal top 10 horror movies that you can select from.

Are you ready to be scared?

Honorable Mentions

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Beetlejuice (1988)

Beetlejuice is the first ever horror movie that I thoroughly enjoyed as a kid and yes, Beetlejuice is considered a horror movie. This Ghost with the most is an iconic character who will forever be one of my top favorites.

Gremlins (1984)

Following Beetlejuice is the adorable little mogwai Gizmo. Like Beetlejuice, Gremlins isn't typically considered a horror movie by horror movie fans, but it is still in fact a horror movie that is one of the first few I watched. Gizmo and Beetlejuice will always be a staple in my household.

Leviticus (2026)

The newest movie on my list is Leviticus, a surprisingly good movie that I saw over this summer and I have rewatched multiple times already. Leviticus follows two boys who  have to fight off a demon that takes the appearance of the other boy. If you don't have trust issues before watching Leviticus, you will now.

Primate (2025)

Another rather new movie on my list is Primate. While the plot is rather simple and can drag occasionally, what I love about Primate is how unexpected it was. Primate was brutal, gory, and downright disturbing. I'll never trust a monkey thanks to Primate.

American Psycho (2000)

This placement might shock you. American Psycho not in the top 10? American Psycho, while a classic and up there in my rankings of horror movies as a whole, just doesn't scream Halloween to me, but it's still a movie I often times find myself watching during this month.

Trick r Treat (2007)

In this small slasher, you need to experience an anthology of multiple different story lines that come together as one on Halloween night. My favorite part of this movie is one of the most iconic characters, yet somehow almost always forgotten, Sam. Sam is a little bag headed boy who, just like everyone else in this movie, is bloodthirsty. Go trick or treating or watch Trick r Treat this Halloween.

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Before we get into the top 10 list, I want to say that I love horror and that I have hundreds of horror movies that I could recommend day in and day out. These are the top 10 movies that I constantly find myself returning to every October and enjoy every time I watch them. I'll be counting down from 10th place to first place.

#10: The Mist (2007)

While Stephen King is my favorite author, out of his movies there's only one that I'm constantly going back to and that's The Mist. Many people would pick The Shining over The Mist any day, but I personally love The Mist. For anyone who hasn't seen it, the ending is what makes the movie such a masterpiece and a classic. This spooky season, if you want to scare yourself with a cosmic horror that's almost lovecraftian but also set in modern day, check out The Mist.

#9: American Mary (2012)

Next on this list is American Mary. Out of all movies on this list, this one is likely the least known. American Mary is a feminist horror movie but also has a lot of body horror and really good commentary on women in male-dominated fields. American Mary's not for the faint of heart, which is why I love it because it's not afraid to challenge certain taboos. Ever wondered what it would be like to root for black market surgeon? Watch American Mary.

#8: The Conjuring (2013)

Based on the lives of everyone's favorite paranormal investigators, Ed and Lorraine Warren, The Conjuring series, specifically the first movie, is one the best paranormal horror movies. While the movie definitely does take some liberties compared to real life, that doesn't dismiss the fact that this movie has one of the best casts and simple spine chilling scares.

#7: The Chucky Franchise (1988-2024)

Over the years, the Chucky franchise has seen a lot of ups and downs, but most importantly the Chucky franchise has maintained one solid timeline. Don Mancini, the mind behind the killer doll, not once goes back in the timeline or in the continuity to rewrite what he failed at. Most people can agree that Seed of Chucky was the worst of the Chucky films, but Mancini came back twice as hard with Curse of Chucky and proved that this franchise deserves to be as popular as the others.

#6: Sinister (2012)

You want to talk about a movie that is perfect at setting up its antagonist to continuously be unknown and scary in every scene he's in, let's talk about Sinister. This paranormal horror is one of the first movies that genuinely had me jumping out of my skin. The perfection of Sinister is curated on actual Super 8 cameras, which gives the movie a nitty gritty feel, as well as keeping you unsettled throughout the entire thing. I dare you not to jump while watching.

#5: Halloween (2018)

A classic in my household is Halloween, but specifically the 2018 version. Halloween 2018 is one of the newest revamps of the franchise. It brings a brutality to the Michael Myers character that's not as brutal and vile as Rob Zombie's Halloween. In my opinion, Rob Zombie, while an interesting director, made Michael's character in the franchise a bit too rough around the edges. 2018's Halloween undoes what Zombies Halloween did to the franchise and makes it unsettlingly brutal but doesn’t cross the line that Zombie does. Every October when I carve pumpkins, Halloween 2018 is on in the background.

#4: The Final Destination Franchise (2000-2025)

Outside of the fourth Final Destination, this is a series that doesn't have a single miss. Each installment has its own charming atmosphere and a phenomenal set of new characters that you grow to love and care for, but of course death always has different plans. I definitely recommend watching the entire franchise. My favorite is Final Destination: Bloodlines, the sixth and newest installment. They say six is a bad omen, but that's up to you to figure out by watching Final Destination and all six of its movies.

#3: The Terrifier Franchise (2011-2024)

Okay, I'll admit the Terrifier franchise at number three of my list is a bit out there. While the stories and the plot of the franchise are sloppy and hard to follow, and most of the time the movies are really just out there to get a cringe out of you with their gore, that's what makes them so high on my list. 

As a horrorhound, I am constantly watching movies with good plots and dissecting them. There's something so relaxing about getting to watch the Terrifier franchise because I don't have to sit there and understand the plot to know what's going on. But there's also a respect for the gore within the movies. The Terrifier franchise prides itself and using mainly practical effects, which is hardly heard of in today's Hollywood horror movies. The practical effects show the effort that is put behind each gruesome scene. That's what makes these movies so intriguing to watch to me because you can really see the love for the art of practical effects put into these movies.

#2: The Saw Franchise (2004-2023)

The Saw franchise, now 10 movies deep, is one of the most intriguing soap operas of the horror genre. I personally think the first movie is still the best movie out of all of them. The other movies are such a fun watch that they also need to be on this list. 

The Saw franchise is like a bag of potato chips; you watch that first movie and you're going to want to watch the others because it gets you addicted to finding out where this story could possibly go next. I can guarantee you whatever you think is going to happen is not what will actually happen.

#1: Midsommar (2019)

Now for my favorite horror movie of all time, Midsommar from the mind of Ari Aster. Midsommar is one of the most unexpected movies to watch. The entire movie is covered in bright colors, like flowers and fields, that make you feel like the main characters are safe, but the truth of it all is they aren't; that's what makes the movie so unsettling. This setting makes you think twice about the idea it could be a horror movie. Then you start getting small visual clues from the filmmakers that slowly help you pick up on how strange and how upsetting this movie is going to be. 

Midsommar will forever be one of my favorite horror movies; it has been since I've watched it seven years ago, and I've yet to watch a movie that comes close to the feelings that Midsommar made me feel.

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This Halloween, challenge yourself to a horror movie. 

On this list, you can find anything from sick and twisted to light-hearted to something that's going to have you questioning every life decision you've ever made. I recommend them all to anyone who likes the horror genre, and I also dare you to watch something that might just leave your skin crawling.

Happy Halloween!