I am a stone-cold wimp when it comes to horror movies, and it’s an affliction I’ve been trying to address for a while now. After all, I am a cinephile, and the idea that I can’t watch an entire film genre because of a deep-rooted fear instilled in me from watching Nightmare on Elm Street when I was 6 is unacceptable.

So four years ago, I started a new tradition. Every Halloween afternoon (not night, because, again, I am a coward), I watch a horror movie or two. For my first-ever selection, I watched Hereditary, and for days after, I would wake up in a cold sweat thinking that Toni Collette was crawling around on my bedroom ceiling. But I pushed on, and now I’m able to watch horror movies during non-Halloween times (during the daytime).

For this deliciously gothic holiday, I figured I’d share some of my faves with you, along with where you can watch ‘em. I’ll be watching Train to Busan tonight, but I hope you enjoy one of these selections for your own spooky celebration.

1. Ju-On by Takashi Shimizu

Personal anecdote: I watched this movie in 2003, and it freaked me out so much that I didn’t even want to drive my car home. I have no idea if it has aged poorly, and I’m still not in the headspace to rewatch because I’m genuinely getting creeped out again just looking at the picture above. If this movie were a hot sauce, it would be slathered on the final wing on Hot Ones and would have a name like “Nuclear Insanity.”

Premise: Ju-On starts with a brutal series of murders in a Tokyo house: a husband kills his wife, their young son, Toshio, and their friggin’ cat. The rage left behind turns into a curse that sticks to anyone who walks through the door. From there, we watch as social workers, cops and rando visitors all meet their doom in terrifying ways.

It’s the movie that inspired The Grudge, but Ju-On makes the US version look like a haunted house ride at Disneyland. The scares are simple and weird and effective. Try not to shudder as Kayako crab-walks down the stairs like a possessed yoga instructor. And Toshio popping up in corners meowing like a deranged cat is still somehow terrifying. Prepare to cover your eyes a lot if you’re horror-sensitive like moi.

Where to watch: Unfortunately, you’ll have to pay $4 to rent this one because it’s not on any streamers. 

2. Thelma – Joachim Trier

Personal anecdote: Before his breakout acclaimed hit The Worst Person in the World, director Joachim Trier was cooking on the psychological horror side of things with Thelma. I’d never heard of the film, but a friend recommended it a few years back, and I’ve since become obsessed. 

Premise: Part coming-of-age story, part possession film, Thelma follows a young woman from a strict religious family who moves to Oslo for college, falls for another girl and starts to realize her seizures are something more like psychic eruptions. It’s a story about how power can be a gift and a curse, and how fear of desire can haunt you in its own creepy way. It’s Carrie + Saint Maud, with the “something ain’t right” stillness of Let the Right One In. I didn’t have to sleep with the lights on after this, but it definitely left an imprint on me.

Where to watch: Kanopy for free!

3. The Descent – Neil Marshall

Personal anecdote: There are three things certain in my life: death, taxes and me never stepping past the entrance of a cave. But I do love watching those animated TikTok reenactments of cave dives gone wrong, then scrolling straight to the comments where my people—the judgmental, claustrophobic anti–cave-divers—come together to analyze the psychology of anyone willing to risk their life to wedge themselves into the buttcrack of a cavern. And this movie proves why it’s an endeavor of diminishing returns.

Premise: The Descent follows a group of six women on a caving trip that’s supposed to be a fun, healing adventure after a shared tragedy. But, of course, things go wrong with the quickness. They end up trapped in an uncharted cave system with collapsing tunnels and no way out. But that’s not all! They soon realize they’re not alone when pale, humanoid cave creatures start hunting them one by one. It’s a very 2005 movie, but the chills are very much there.

Where to watch: Tubi for free!

4. The People Under the Stairs – Wes Craven

Personal anecdote: I watched this 1991 cult classic on repeat as a kid, mostly because I had a crush on Brandon Adams, but also cuz I secretly wished to have a friend who lived in the walls. And fun fact: Jordan Peele is producing a remake of this movie (which I’ll watch, but also gripe about because I’m protective of my childhood faves).

Premise: A resourceful kid named Fool breaks into his landlords’ house, hoping to find enough money to keep his family from getting evicted. What he walks into is a nightmare of locked doors, hidden passageways and a couple whose version of domestic bliss involves torture and control. Roach, a runaway kid living in the walls (BFF material), becomes his guide, who also tries to steer him away from trouble. Aside from that one Freddie film where he turns that chick into a giant roach, this is maybe one of Wes Craven’s strangest films.

Where to watch: Peacock

5. Antiviral – Brandon Cronenberg

Personal anecdote: 2025 was the year I fell down the Caleb Landry Jones rabbit hole, and this film really cemented him as one of my faves to ever do it. It also happens to be the directorial debut of Brandon Cronenberg. It’s such a smart and twisted take on a dystopian future that I can’t believe I’d never heard of it before. (My beloved Malcolm McDowell is in too!) If you haven’t seen this one yet, fix that immediately.

Premise: In Antiviral, celebrities have become so worshipped that fans literally buy their illnesses from a world-renowned clinic. Caleb Landry Jones plays Syd, a clinic employee who secretly injects himself with the clinic’s patented celeb infections so he can sell them on the black market. When he contracts something fatal from a famous client, he has to trace the virus’s source before it kills him, and my goodness, does it try so hard to kill him. The film is super sterile and a bit disturbing. It’s a perfect mash-up of body horror and celebrity culture that only someone with the surname Cronenberg could dream up.

Where to watch: Kanopy for freeee

6. Raw – Julia Ducournau

Personal anecdote: Julia Ducournau is one of my fave working directors—her mind! After watching her sophomore effort, Titane, a French body horror about a serial killer who gets impregnated by a Cadillac and goes on the run, I was hooked. Please understand, nothing has ever thrilled me more than watching the MC give birth to an oil-covered moto-baby. Raw is her directorial debut, and it’s a cannibal coming-of-age tale that grossed me out at times and made me a little emotional. Tres confusing stuff.

Premise: The film follows Justine, a straight-laced vegetarian starting her first year at veterinary school. During a hazing ritual, she’s forced to eat raw meat for the first time. Soon after, she starts craving more than cafeteria chicken cordon bleu. As her hunger grows, she finds out that her older sister, already a student there, might understand that appetite a little too well. (bwhahahahaha!)

Where to watch: Unfortunately, you’ll have to shell out a few bucks to check this out because it’s not on any streamers. But it’s worth it!