5 Best Movies To Watch On Prime Video For Halloween

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Hosting a horror movie marathon is a Halloween tradition right up there with costumes, pumpkin carving, trick-or-treating, and decorating with spooky (but often silly) yard decorations.

Creating the ultimate Halloween horror movie marathon is now simpler than ever. With so many streaming services available, and each offering a huge selection of scary movies – both old and new – it’s easy to find exactly what you’re looking for. Prime Video is a great example, with plenty of titles to satisfy any horror fan this Halloween.

As a movie buff, I’ve been digging around on Prime Video and found some real gems. There’s this wonderfully strange, almost forgotten 80s horror film that blends body horror with that eerie Lovecraftian vibe. And if you’re into classic monsters, they have a Universal picture that apparently inspired one of my favorite modern directors! Beyond that, there’s a surprisingly serious sequel to a 70s horror classic, and also a really underrated early slasher film – the main villain is genuinely terrifying. It’s a great mix of stuff if you’re looking for some interesting horror to watch.

From Beyond (1986)

H.P. Lovecraft’s stories are famously hard to bring to the screen. While computer effects have made it simpler to show his famous monster, Cthulhu, it’s still incredibly challenging to capture the unsettling, existential dread that makes his horror so unique.

Stuart Gordon is a filmmaker who arguably succeeded in creating truly unique horror. His incredibly gory and bizarre film, Re-Animator, is still considered one of the best horror comedies of the 1980s. In his next film, From Beyond, Gordon reduced the comedic elements and instead concentrated on disturbing and strangely sexual body horror.

Gordon reunited Jeffrey Combs and Barbara Crampton, the stars of Re-Animator, and returned to ideas from the original film. This new installment is less comedic and much more focused on disturbing science, the dangers of playing God, and unsettling sexual themes.

While Re-Animator is generally considered the stronger film, From Beyond perhaps captures the spirit of H.P. Lovecraft’s stories more effectively (without the problematic racial elements). Fans of impressive, hands-on special effects will find plenty to enjoy thanks to the work of John Carl Buechler and John Naulin.

Frankenstein (1931)

Guillermo del Toro’s new film, based on Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, is now in theaters and will be available on Netflix starting December 7th. It’s no surprise that the Academy Award-winning director credits the 1931 Frankenstein movie as a major inspiration, not just for this film, but for all of his work.

Though it once terrified even the minds behind beloved creations like those of Guillermo del Toro, Mel Brooks, and Franken Berry cereal, the film doesn’t shock audiences much anymore. However, the infamous scene where the monster, played by Boris Karloff, throws a young girl into a lake—watching her initially appear to float gently before tragically drowning—still deeply disturbs viewers.

Artists like Del Toro aren’t drawn to the shocking aspects of Frankenstein; they’re fascinated by the Monster himself. Boris Karloff’s portrayal of Victor Frankenstein’s creation isn’t scary, but rather deeply pitiable.

James Whale’s Frankenstein is sometimes dismissed as simply a campy classic, but it’s a valuable film for those interested in movie history, or fans of Guillermo del Toro’s Frankenstein looking for more context. However, the real reason to watch this almost century-old Gothic drama is Boris Karloff’s iconic performance.

Texas Chainsaw Massacre II (1986)

The original Texas Chain Saw Massacre was a gritty, classic horror film, but its 1986 sequel leans heavily into over-the-top, shocking theatrics. Director Tobe Hooper revisits the cannibalistic Sawyer family, including the infamous Leatherface, in a wild movie that’s both terrifying and surprisingly funny.

With a proper budget for the first time, Hooper really leaned into the horror, bringing in special effects master Tom Savini to create incredibly gruesome effects. He also dramatically upgraded the Sawyer family’s home, transforming it from a run-down shack into an eerie, abandoned amusement park that feels like a mix of ‘Mad Max’ and the unsettling world of Ed Gein.

The Sawyer family is already completely insane, and then Hooper adds Dennis Hopper to the mix, making things even more chaotic. While the film doesn’t feature a huge number of chainsaw killings, Hopper spends a lot of time destroying the Sawyers’ house, literally trying to make it collapse around them.

Drayton Sawyer and Chop-Top are both wildly crazy, but the standout character in the movie is Leatherface. This is the first time in the Texas Chainsaw series that Leatherface feels like a fully developed person. He’s more like King Kong than a silent killer, as he starts to care for the resilient heroine, Stretch, and even tries to protect her.

If you enjoy classic 1980s comedy-horror films like Evil Dead 2 and Re-Animator, you’ll definitely want to see Texas Chainsaw Massacre II. It’s also a great watch for fans of Rob Zombie, as you can clearly see its influence on his horror style.

The Exorcist III (1990)

The Exorcist is a famous horror film that also launched a long-running series of movies. The idea of exorcism – dealing with demonic possession – remains a popular theme in horror even now, though truly well-made examples are rare.

Despite its title, 1990’s The Exorcist III isn’t really an exorcism movie. The director, William Peter Blatty, added the exorcism scenes at the very end only because the studio worried about releasing a sequel to The Exorcist that didn’t actually feature one.

Although a director’s cut of Exorcist III fully realizing William Peter Blatty’s original, exorcism-free concept may one day surface, the current version released in theaters remains a compelling and genuinely frightening film.

Though connected to the first Exorcist film by the returning characters of Detective Kinderman and Father Dyer (played by George C. Scott and Ed Flanders), The Exorcist III focuses on Kinderman’s investigation of a string of disturbing murders. It’s less about possession and more of a police procedural about a serial killer.

Mostly, The Exorcist III is a dramatic story focused on the character of Kinderman, and Scott delivers a typical performance as a troubled man. While it does include a famously startling moment and an eventual exorcism, the film is primarily character-focused.

The real unsettling part of The Exorcist III isn’t the horror itself, but the quiet desperation of the character Kinderman. This is surprisingly captured in a memorable scene where he describes a fish trapped in a bathtub.

Alice, Sweet Alice (1976)

Everett Collection

Creepy kid horror movies have been consistently popular since classics like The Bad Seed and Village of the Damned, and that trend continues with recent successes such as Hereditary and Abigail. While not as well-known, Alice, Sweet Alice is a film that deserves more recognition.

Alfred Sole’s 1976 horror film, while largely remembered as Brooke Shields’ first movie, is particularly notable for Paula Sheppard’s performance. Though she was 19 during filming, Sheppard convincingly portrayed the troubled 12-year-old killer, Alice Spages, largely because she appeared much younger.

Brooke Shields delivers a remarkably unsettling and believable performance in Alice, Sweet Alice, a gritty, gothic horror film from 1976. Though it didn’t reach a wide audience initially, the film impressed critics like Roger Ebert and has since become a favorite among horror fans, including Eli Roth.

Beyond being one of the first slasher films and a genuinely scary movie for kids, Alice, Sweet Alice foreshadows Candyman by using a decaying city as a source of horror. It also shares similarities with The Exorcist, The Omen, and other religiously-focused horror movies of the 1970s.

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2025-10-28 21:32