Since it’s mid-October, the atmosphere is even more spooky with Halloween just two weeks away. There’s no better time than now to prepare for a horror movie marathon. We’ve put together a list of scary movies you can watch this spooky holiday season when you’re not trick-or-treating.
ALSO READ: 5 Best Halloween Recipes to Try During This Spooky Time of Year
hereditary
Hereditary is a psychological horror film directed by Ari Aster as his directorial debut in 2018. Critics around the world have called the film one of the scariest horror films of all time. The official synopsis for the film reads: “When the head of the Graham family dies, her daughter and grandchildren begin to unravel the mysterious and increasingly terrifying secrets of their origins as they try to escape the sinister fate they have inherited.”
The film has an IMDb rating of 7.3 and a 90% on Rotten Tomatoes. The A24 horror film is produced by Kevin Frakes, Lars Knudsen and Buddy Patrick. Starring Toni Collette, Alex Wolff, Milly Shapiro, Ann Dowd and Gabriel Byrne.
Exorcist of the Pope
The Pope’s Exorcist is a 2023 horror film that follows “Father Gabriel Amorth, the Vatican’s chief exorcist, as he battles Satan and innocents possessed by demons.” The film, starring Russell Crowe, is “an intimate portrait of a priest who performed more than 100,000 exorcisms in his life.” Directed by Julius Avery and produced by Doug Belgrad. In addition to Crowe, the film stars Daniel Zovatto, Alex Esso and Franco Nero.
Midsommar
Midsommar is a 2019 folk horror film starring Florence Pugh, Jack Reynor, William Jackson Harper, Vilhelm Blomgren, Ellora Torchia, Archie Madekwe and Will Poulter. The film was written and directed by Ari Aster (“Hereditary”). The film’s synopsis reads: “A couple travels to Northern Europe to attend Sweden’s legendary midsummer festival in their rural hometown. What begins as an idyllic retreat quickly turns into increasingly brutal and bizarre competition from a pagan cult.”
The film is often cited as one of the “most disturbing” films of all time. It has an IMDb rating of 7.1 and 83% on Rotten Tomatoes.
Witch
The 2015 fantasy horror film revolves around “A family in 1630s New England torn apart by the forces of witchcraft, black magic and possession.” “The Witch,” written and directed by Robert Eggers, has received labels such as “terrifying,” “disturbing” and “the scariest.” The film stars Anya Taylor-Joy, Ralph Ineson and Kate Dickie. It has an IMDb rating of 7.0 and a Rotten Tomatoes rating of 90%.
Evil Dead: Rise
The official synopsis for the gory 2023 horror film reads: “The reunion of two estranged sisters is interrupted by the emergence of flesh-possessed demons, drawing them into a primal battle for survival as they encounter the most nightmarish version of family imaginable. “It is written and directed by Lee Cronin and distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures. The film stars Lily Sullivan, Alyssa Sutherland, Morgan Davis, Gabrielle Echols and Nell Fisher.