Yahoo News Netflix's Halloween Offerings: 13 Best Films And TV Shows Streaming Now
Netflix Halloween picks for 2022 (Photo: Netflix/Shutterstock)
With spooky season officially here, it’s time to decide what you’ll be watching this Halloween.
And whether you want to mark the occasion with a horror film to keep you lying awake all night, a spooky classic from your childhood to serve up some nostalgia or even a family-friendly offering, you need look no further than your own Netflix account.
The streaming service has a plethora of titles to make you jump or just tickle your funny bone, depending on your preference. Here are 13 of our top picks...
1. Cabinet Of Curiosities
(Photo: Netflix)
Brand new for 2022, this anthology series tells eight different horror stories, making it perfect for binge-watching over the weekend leading up to Halloween.
Cabinet Of Curiosities was created by Guillermo Del Toro, who previously helmed films like Pan’s Labyrinth, Hellboy, The Shape Of Water and Nightmare Alley, with the Spanish director introducing each episode in a presumed nod to The Twilight Zone.
Described by Netflix as eight “bizarre nightmares”, expect each of the completely separate episodes to deliver on chills and thrills.
2. Fear Street Trilogy
(Photo: Netflix)
First released in 2021, this fun and action-packed trilogy served as Netflix’s gift to horror devotees, with each of the three films paying homage to classic films of the genre.
The first instalment, set in 1994, references teen slashers from the late 20th century (most obviously the original Scream trilogy, which it tips its hat to on more than one occasion), while part two takes us back to a US summer camp in 1978.
Part three is the biggest throwback of the lot, though, taking place way back in 1666, the era of the Salem witch trials.
3. Scream 4
(Photo: Dimension Films/Kobal/Shutterstock)
Of course, if we’re talking about 90s slasher films, no one can does it better than the Scream franchise, with the fourth instalment available to stream on Netflix now.
Released a decade after the original trilogy came to an end, Scream 4 moves the original gang (including director Wes Craven) into the digital age, while introducing a new host of teen characters with their own oh-so 2011 issues. While Courteney Cox’s iconic fringe has sadly been ditched, there’s plenty else to enjoy, not least Emma Roberts of Scream Queens and American Horror Story’s turn as Sidney Prescott’s bratty teenage cousin.
4. The Haunting Of Hill House
(Photo: Steve Dietl/Netflix)
This seriously underrated show first came out in 2018, and we’re still having nightmares about the Bent-Neck Lady all these years later.
If you’re a fan of a spooky ghost story, The Haunting Of Hill House is definitely one for you. Across the Netflix original’s 10 episodes, the show serves up modern-day family drama interspersed with gothic horror as five adult siblings grapple with horrors that befell them in their old family home.
And if you finish, there’s also a follow-up series The Haunting Of Bly Manor, telling a completely new story with the same cast and crew.
5. Chilling Adventures Of Sabrina
(Photo: Netflix)
Don’t let those nostalgic memories of the classic Nickelodeon sitcom fool you, the good people at Netflix were not joking around when they called Sabrina Spellman’s new adventures “chilling”.
Demonic hauntings, satanic rituals and grisly nightmare sequences are all par for the course in this reimagining of Sabrina – but don’t worry, there’s also enough regular high school drama to satisfy fans of shows like Riverdale or The O.C. Just with a bit more devil-worshipping thrown in for good measure.
6. The Craft
(Photo: Columbia Pictures)
But if we’re chatting teen witches, it really doesn’t get much better than The Craft.
Not only does it work as a straight-up supernatural story about four young women exploring their supernatural abilities, it’s also a great exploration of friendship among people who feel like outcasts. It’s basically what would happen if you crossed Mean Girls and Gossip Girl with Hocus Pocus.
7. Scary Movie
(Photo: Miramax)
Looking for more of a laugh then a jumpscare this Halloween? Well, you’re in luck, as the first Scary Movie is streaming now.
Parodying the likes of Scream and I Know What You Did Last Summer, with references to The Shining, The Sixth Sense, Halloween and Friday 13th littered throughout, there’s a lot to keep horror fans busy. And while the crude humour might not be for everyone, it did spawn four sequels, so it’s obviously to some people’s tastes.
8. Midsommar
Midsommar (Photo: A24)
Anyone who’s seen (and, indeed, been traumatised by) Ari Aster’s first film Hereditary will know he’s a director who’s not afraid to take things to the darkest places imaginable.
In follow-up Midsommar, he takes that and runs with it, using relationship drama and grief as the backdrop to explore some truly disturbing imagery, set against a misleadingly bright and colourful backdrop.
Midsommar is essentially what would happen if you tasked William Castle with directing a Disney fairytale, with an undeniably epic performance from Oscar nominee Florence Pugh as a young woman grappling not just with the death of her family, but an ailing relationship. Even as things become unspeakably twisted, we defy you not to root for her.
9. Death Becomes Her
(Photo: Universal/Kobal/Shutterstock)
Alternatively, if you’re looking for a bit of camp this Halloween season, then Death Becomes Her cannot be beaten. While the comedy was originally slated upon its release, it’s become a cult classic in the decades since, with Meryl Streep and Goldie Hawn’s performance providing the inspiration for Halloween drag numbers the world over.
In the black comedy, Meryl and Goldie play two youth-obsessed frenemies who come to blows when they both drink a potion giving them eternal life, not considering the downsides of the bargain. It’s an absolute must-watch – and one you should get to quickly, too, with Death Becomes Her leaving UK Netflix on 1 November.
10. Stranger Things
(Photo: Netflix)
No, you’re not going to get any spooky ghost attacks or zombie resurrections, but there’s an eeriness that hangs over this hugely popular Netflix original series that makes it perfect for Halloween.
Its four seasons centre around dark parallel universes, scary monsters and some weird goings on in an 80s science lab, plus a mystery that only a group of teens seem to be able to get to the bottom of.
Seriously – if you still haven’t watched Stranger Things yet, this is the perfect time of year to finally get into it. Come for the 80s nostalgia, stay for the ever-so-slightly-terrifying Mindflayer. Just get ready to have Kate Bush stuck in your head until at least December…
11. Labyrinth
Labyrinth (Photo: Jim Henson Productions/Kobal/Shutterstock)
Again, Labyrinth isn’t your traditional Halloween film, but this collaboration between David Bowie and Jim Henson (of The Muppets fame) from the mid-80s is so deliciously weird it’s actually perfect for the time of year.
The movie is a coming-of-age story with amazing songs, slightly sinister undertones and a cast of weird and wonderful characters, led by Bowie himself, who nails it as the very serious Goblin King.
12. Friends (The One With The Halloween Party)
(Photo: NBC via Getty Images)
Or, for those who fancy getting in the Halloween spirit without scaring yourself half to death, the cast of Friends is here to help.
Despite loads of memorable Thanksgiving and Christmas specials, Friends actually only devoted one episode entirely to Halloween, but it’s truly got it all: pregnant Rachel refusing to dress up (“I am a woman who spent a lot of money on a dress because pretty soon, she won’t be able to fit into it”), a pink bunny/giant potato stand-off between Ross and Chandler and a stellar A-list cameo from none other than Sean Penn.
13. The Addams Family
(Photo: MGM/Universal/Kobal/Shutterstock)
Similarly, if you need something Halloween-inspired that the whole family can enjoy without giving younger viewers nightmares, we can suggest this CGI reboot of The Addams Family.
No, it never quite reaches the heights of other big-screen adaptations of the classic spooky family (Addams Family Values is a high bar to meet, in fairness) but there are still some camp performances, particularly from Charlize Theron as Morticia.
This article originally appeared on HuffPost UK and has been updated.
