We have a symbiotic relationship, you and I. I pop my head into the extra curricular writing world once a year to deliver the best gift I could possibly give (this horror movie calendar) and you follow my horror curriculum like the ghoulish student you are. Or at the very least you pick one or two of the recommended movies that interest you and call it a month. Whatever! If I can make your spooky season watching a little easier, I’ll take it. What follows is a more off the beaten path list. Any corpse of a culture rag can recommend “Obsession” or “Backrooms” but you don’t need to be told to watch those movies because you probably already have! Instead, come mine the depths of Shudder, Tubi, and FOUND.TV with me. Your hearse awaits.

October 1: “Faces of Death” (2026) (watch it on Shudder or AMC+)

For the uninitiated, this reboot explores humanity’s relationship to depravity caught on film. For those of us who spent too much time on live leak, it’s a stylish trip down memory lane. 2026’s “Faces of Death” modernizes and tames the snuff film, you could show this to a non-horror friend and they would probably be a little upset but also excited to recognize one of the “Euphoria” girls.

October 2: “Primate” (watch it on Amazon Prime)

There’s definitely something wrong with Ben! And if you like to see animals go rogue and really show a human being that the food chain can be flipped (at least temporarily), you’ve found the right movie. Featuring a group of young women who really underestimate the power of a childhood pet chimp, “Primate” is good fun even if it pulls back on the gore. Spoiler alert, the chimp barely eats anyone!

October 3: “Pulse” (watch it on Amazon Prime)

This one is for my internet horror fans. If you like screenlife movies or simply flicks that focus on the scary side of technology, you cannot miss the J-horror classic “Pulse.” This stylish and emotional film is working with some severely outdated tech (it did come out in 2001 after all), but its study in isolation still feels incredibly relevant and its heavy tone will have you on edge.

October 4: “Strange Harvest” (watch it on Hulu)

If you like your horror films a little extra messed up, like in a “The Poughkeepsie Tapes” kind of way, don’t miss out on “Strange Harvest.” Made up of mostly bodycam footage, this found footage film focuses on the crimes of Mr. Shiny, a serial killer with a strange calling card and a Jeff the Killer-esque mask. There’s some good gore in this one!

October 5: “Heresy” (watch it on Shudder or AMC+)

If you’re a folk horror fan with a busy schedule, boy do I have the movie for you. This 61 minute (clock it) Dutch film takes place in a small medieval village where the strict religious residents drive a young woman to seek refuge in the haunted woods… or are they? This is dripping with atmosphere and the main actress’s hair was so beautiful that my friends and I kept calling it “Hairesy.” You can use that joke if you want.

October 6: “Calibre” (watch it on Netflix)

A sort of thriller/folk horror hybrid, this British film follows two old friends on a hunting trip in the isolated Scottish highlands where, as you can imagine, things don’t go well. Pair this with “The Ritual” (which is also on Netflix) for two fairly different takes on a similar genre. While “The Ritual” may scare you more, the realism of “Calibre” made me feel way more anxious.

October 7: “Hostile Dimensions” (watch it on Shudder or AMC+)

I’m going to be upfront with you here and admit that the CGI in this movie isn’t the best, but you cannot deny the hustle it takes to create a small budget, DIY sci-fi horror movie. Low-fi horror house movies are a dime a dozen, but an interesting (and charming) sci-fi horror? Those are far rarer. This movie kicks into gear when a graffiti artist disappears after walking through what seems like a normal contractor grade Home Depot door, pushing two filmmakers to investigate her death and walk through some mysterious doors themselves.

October 8: “Undertone” (watch it on HBO Max)

This may be a controversial pick (and you’ll figure out why after you watch or read reviews), but “Undertone” does an incredible job at illustrating the eerie and alienating feeling of being home alone. The film follows a young woman who acts as the skeptic co-host of a paranormal podcast all while caring for her dying mother in her childhood home and it really throws a mix of audio and visual scares at you. As someone who consumes paranormal podcasts at a frightening pace, it scratched a particular itch, even if the narrative isn’t the most coherent.

October 9: “Candy Land” (watch it on Shudder or AMC+)

This movie trades in some explicitly upsetting situations, but what horror movie doesn’t? In “Candy Land” a group of truck stop sex workers with hearts of gold take in a religious young woman who has been exiled from her family and show her the tricks of the trade. All the while, a killer is on the loose and he’s targeting the truck stop. There’s a lot of love in this one, even if it’s laced with pain.

October 10: “Frogman” (watch it on Tubi or FOUND.TV)

Sometimes a DIY/amateur film can hit so much harder than anything with a mainstream budget or prestige. This summer, that movie for me was “Frogman.” Join a group of friends as they roadtrip to Loveland in search of the frogman cryptid and attempt to unravel the mystery of the weird town. This movie is so charming and fun it made me want to buy a t-shirt (you’ll know which one I’m talking about when you watch it). There’s also a “Frogman 2” but I cannot vouch for its quality. I’m waiting for the right moment to press play (which is how you know I really liked the first one).

October 11: “Cure” (watch it on The Criterion Channel)

You could argue that this movie is the end all be all of 90’s J-horror, and I would be hard pressed to disagree. Starring a hardboiled detective investigating a series of increasingly strange murders, “Cure” is haunting, bleak, and mesmerizing, but stunning to behold. This is the kind of movie you watch when you want to be overcome by the artform.

October 12: “Lowlifes” (watch it on Tubi)

When I’m not stealing movies I’m watching them on Tubi, so I had to throw in the best Tubi Original. This fun (and kind of steamy) flick follows a family enjoying some vacation time in their RV, that is until they clash against the redneck locals. Every character in this movie is an absolute trip and it’s just as fun to root for them as it is to root against them. It’s kind of a perfect horror comedy.

October 13: “The Long Walk” (watch it on HBO Max)

It’s not spooky season without a dose of Stephen King. Sure, you could pop on “Carrie” or “Salem’s Lot” or “It” or “The Shining,” but then you’d be missing out on the desolate dystopian action packed into “The Long Walk.” This is a great gateway film to watch with any of your friends or loved ones who don’t want to put on a haunted house movie, but would like to watch something unnerving and horror-adjacent in October.

October 14: “Birdeater” (watch it on Shudder or AMC+)

As with “Calibre,” this movie belongs in the problematic friends horror subgenre, but this one feels so much weirder. In a cursed move, a bride-to-be (who you may recognize from “The Pitt”) is invited to join her future husband’s bachelor party in the middle of the Australian outback and the isolated atmosphere drives the group to let out some feral appetites. You will cringe and you will feel anxious. That’s the Kaylee guarantee.

October 15: “Terror Train” (watch it on Hoopla)

Is this a good movie? No! Does it feature a frat house hosting a party on a train? Yes! Is there a magician? Yes! The bodies pile up but the train just keeps on rolling. Choo choo. Impress your friends with your offbeat ‘80’s slasher taste by throwing on this movie, then sit back and laugh your way through the ridiculous plot points.

October 16: “Man Finds Tape” (watch it on Kanopy)

I am personally obligated to watch every creepypasta adjacent horror movie and if it’s found footage? Well then that’s even better. This trippy movie starts with a creepy childhood tape and ends with an even creepier tape (or maybe less creepy if you like your horror movies more traditionally spooky than weird) and that’s all I can tell you without spoiling its many twists and turns. It was produced by the duo Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead, and if you like strange horror that probably means something to you.

October 17: “Hagazussa” (watch it on Tubi)

Because I haven’t packed enough atmospheric folk horror on this list (I watched a lot of it this year, okay?), let’s talk about “Hagazussa.” This quiet, winterclad movie is made for a dark night. Light a candle, pour a glass of wine, and escape into the life of a 15th century witch.

October 18: “RATS!” (watch it on Shudder or AMC+)

This may be the most idiosyncratic movie on this list and I need more people to see it. “RATS!” follows the adventures of Raphael as his life spins out of control after being arrested for tagging a decrepit telephone booth in the completely real town of Pfresno, Texas. The horror here is mostly in the gross out gore and satanic references, but think of this as a breath of fresh air before you dive back into more straight forwardly scary movies. There’s also a From First To Last needledrop that means a lot to me!

October 19: “Bring Her Back” (watch it on HBO Max)

This movie was released with less fanfare than “Talk To Me,” but the Philippou brothers did manage to do it again. In this arguably even more fucked up movie, they continue their haunted object study by focusing on a tape that contains the instructions for a mysterious and unnerving ritual. What happens with that tape, and who ends up completing the ritual, is for me to know and for you to find out. This movie has a grossout moment that I still think about.

October 20: “The McKinney Family Home Videos” (watch it on FOUND.TV)

I don’t have a habit of including movies I actively did not enjoy on this list, but I did not enjoy this movie. I was extremely bored for large swathes of it. And yet, there’s something about “The McKinney Family Home Videos” that has lodged itself in my brain like a parasite or a curse. This very experimental and abstract film is for the “Skinnamarink” fans reading this. Art isn’t always about having fun.

October 21: “Lord of Misrule” (watch it on Hulu)

This slice of folk horror feels more like a Wickerman knock off than any of my other folk horror picks, but it features the actor with the incredibly deep voice from “The VVitch” and a great creepy jester mask. It’s folk horror fall, baby!

October 22: “The Dead Thing” (watch it on Shudder or AMC+)

Sometimes horror movies are sexy and fill you with an insatiable and unforgettable romantic longing. “The Dead Thing” is one of those times! This is a stylish and twisty little film about getting stuck in a romantic rut and breaking through to the other side. Watch it on a date.

October 23: “The Devil’s Doorway” (watch it on Shudder or AMC+)

In many ways “The Devil’s Doorway” is a bog standard creepy religious found footage movie. But if crosses flipping upside down and a creepy order of nuns living in a former Magdalene Laundry is what sets you off, this movie packs all those cliches in and so much more. Like most horror fans, sometimes I crave a priest in distress.

October 24: “Dangerous Animals” (watch it on Shudder or AMC+)

Everyone loves a shark movie. From the high highs of “Jaws” to the low lows of “47 Meters Down: Uncaged”, you can’t deny the fear-inducing power of those pointy-toothed underwater missiles. “Dangerous Animals” takes that primal fear and winds it into a “SAW” trap. 

October 25: “MaXXXine” (watch it on Hulu)

So this is the third movie in the Ti West and Mia Goth X collab and while it was largely hated, I loved it. Is it as good as “Pearl?” No, of course not, but it’s a fun, seedy, and weird as hell catwalk through ‘80’s LA. You should technically watch the first two movies before you throw this one on, but don’t let that stop you.

October 26: “Companion” (watch it on HBO Max)

This twist that drives this film has probably already been spoiled for anyone reading this, but just in case it hasn’t, “Companion” is a horrifying exploration of modern love. It’s funny and murderous. Let’s keep it at that.

October 27: “House on Eden” (watch it on Shudder or AMC+)

I love to recommend a shorter movie that you can pop on anytime for a dose of spooky. Clocking in at just 77 minutes, “House on Eden” explores all of your favorite creepy house in the middle of the woods tropes. It stars some well known TikTok personalities, but that’s pretty easy to ignore if you don’t know who they are. Still, it’s got some unnerving scenes.

October 28: “The Rule of Jenny Pen” (watch it on Shudder or AMC+)

I watched a lot of good horror movies in 2025, but I think this movie might have been my favorite. Taking place in a small nursing home, “The Rule of Jenny Pen” follows a judge who is recuperating after a stroke as he’s terrorized by the local elderly bully, who is played by a psychotic and frightening John Lithgow. This movie made me laugh, it made me cry, and it kept me on the edge of my seat. If elder abuse upsets you, you may want to skip this one as it’s essentially Elder Abuse: The Movie.

October 29: “Night of the Reaper” (watch it on Shudder or AMC+)

You can never watch enough slashers, especially when October roles around. Like all the best slashers, this movie follows a babysitter back at home from college whose night goes from bad to worse. This movie may have premiered in 2025, but it’s grasping for the ‘80’s.

October 30: “V/H/S/MIXTAPE” (watch it on Shudder or AMC+)

I’ve watched 99% of the movies on this list, but I can’t help but make an exception for the yet to be released (at least as I’m writing this) “V/H/S/MIXTAPE.” It seems like every October for the last few years the V/H/S team has dropped a new scary, weird, and unforgettable horror anthology. They’re truly doing the horror gods work. If you’re unfamiliar with this horror series, you’re in for a treat (or trick), queue them all up and get immersed in some of the finest horror shorts you’ve ever seen.

October 31: “The Exorcist” (watch it via a cursed VHS)

To me, there is no such thing as a perfect horror movie. I love all of my children equally. But when it’s Halloween and the trick or treaters have been scared and the party is winding down, there’s only one movie I want to watch from the comfort of my D.C. home, “The Exorcist.” Probably, maybe, definitely the perfect horror movie.

Photograph by Nicholas Karlin, drawing by Daniel Knox

This piece is in Recommend If You Like The Spooky Issue Fall 2026. You can find physical copies in bars, cafes and stores in Chicago and Washington, D.C. The newspaper is available for purchase here.  

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