Now that we’re in the depths of spooky season, everyone is looking for streaming content that gets them in a Halloween kind of mood. Paramount+ has been a bit of an undersung streaming service since it debuted, and it has plenty of gems that will get you into a perfectly spooky spirit.
Whether you’re looking for a horror movie or an entire series filled with scares, we’ve got you covered with the very best of what Paramount+ has to offer for Halloween.
The Ring (2002)
115m
Genre
Horror, Mystery
Stars
Naomi Watts, Martin Henderson, David Dorfman
Directed by
Gore Verbinski
It may have been a remake of a Japanese horror movie, but America acted like it had never seen anything like The Ring when that movie first hit theaters. Telling the story of a cursed videotape that kills you seven days after you watch it, The Ring was terrifying because of what it depicted, and because of everything, it left unsaid. Plenty of movies have tried to evoke The Ring in the years since it was released, but the fact that few have succeeded speaks to just how difficult it is.
Scream (1996)
112m
Genre
Crime, Horror, Mystery
Stars
David Arquette, Neve Campbell, Courteney Cox
Directed by
Wes Craven
Wes Craven’s horror-comedy is so genuinely smart about the tropes of the slasher film that it still feels like a revelation more than 25 years later. The movie follows Sydney Bristow, a young girl who becomes the obsession of the town’s resident serial killer. The twist here is that the serial killer is a horror movie buff, and he’s intentionally orchestrating his kills to line up with the tropes of the genre. Thanks to a wonderful lineup of performers, Scream is genuinely hilarious, but the movie’s genius is that it’s also got plenty of scares.
Evil (2019)
3 Seasons
Genre
Drama
Cast
Katja Herbers, Mike Colter, Aasif Mandvi
Created by
Michelle King, Robert King
Few shows are as twisted and gonzo as Evil, and that’s what has consistently made it such a thrill to watch. The show follows a team of investigators who work to solve paranormal mysteries on behalf of the Catholic Church. Evil really sings, though, when it tackles what evil means in the 21st century. It’s an explicitly political show that can also be genuinely terrifying, and that brilliant combination, along with the performances of its ensemble cast, make it one of the most frightening things you can watch week to week.
Saint Maud (2020)
85m
Genre
Drama, Horror, Mystery
Stars
Morfydd Clark, Jennifer Ehle, Lily Frazer
Directed by
Rose Glass
Morfydd Clark has proven that she’s a star on Rings of Power, but before that, she was the titular character in Saint Maud. The film follows an at-home nurse who becomes increasingly convinced that she can speak to God, and simultaneously comes to believe that the wealthy woman she’s looking after is being possessed. The movie is not actually supernatural, but Maud is so genuinely unpredictable that she can feel like a spirit. Saint Maud is one of the great horror movies of the last few years, and its final moments will leave you scarred for life.
Jennifer's Body (2009)
107m
Genre
Horror, Comedy
Stars
Megan Fox, Amanda Seyfried, Johnny Simmons
Directed by
Karyn Kusama
Jennifer’s Body isn’t scary, exactly, but the movie has undeniable Halloween energy. Telling the story of a popular girl in high school who gets possessed by a demon, she begins to prey on the kinds of men who are intimidated by her beauty. As the demon satisfies its lust, Jennifer’s friend Needy decides that she has to be the one to save her town from her former best friend. Jennifer’s Body is great because of the way it uses Megan Fox and the leering eye that cameras have often trained on her to prove that she’s actually a better actress than anyone thought.
Yellowjackets (2021)
2 Seasons
Genre
Drama, Mystery
Cast
Melanie Lynskey, Tawny Cypress, Ella Purnell
Created by
Bart Nickerson, Ashley Lyle
Cannibalism really hits the spot around Halloween, and Yellowjackets is premium cannibalism content. This show tells the story of a girl’s soccer team that gets stranded in the Canadian wilderness with no hope of rescue. Eventually, we discover that the girls began to eat one another in order to survive, and we also track several of them in the present day, as they deal with the fallout of what they went through. Yellowjackets is an excellent show about teenage girls and a great horror show on top of that.
The Twilight Zone (2019)
2 Seasons
Genre
Sci-Fi & Fantasy, Mystery, Drama
Cast
Jordan Peele
Created by
Simon Kinberg, Rod Serling, Jordan Peele, Marco Ramirez
Whether it’s the reboot or the original flavor, Paramount+ has plenty of Twilight Zone to keep you entertained. These tight, episode-long stories are often both thought-provoking and horrifying. Although the episodes tackle a wide array of subject matter, the best episodes focus on stories that remain as startlingly relevant today as they were when they initially came out. You’re entering a world of sight and sound, and when you leave, you’ll be a different person, or at the very least a much more creeped-out version of the person you already are.
Orphan: First Kill (2022)
99m
Genre
Horror, Thriller
Stars
Isabelle Fuhrman, Julia Stiles, Rossif Sutherland
Directed by
William Brent Bell
No one really thought we needed a prequel to Orphan, but the one we got exceeded expectations. When Esther escapes from a psychological facility in Estonia, she comes to America and poses as the missing daughter of a wealthy family. What initially seems like some easy murder work for Esther gets complicated, though, when she realizes that her new mother will do anything to protect her family. First Kill is smarter than you might expect it to be, and it’s got more than enough thrills and scares to prove worthy of its predecessor.
Dexter (2006)
8 Seasons
Genre
Crime, Drama, Mystery
Cast
Michael C. Hall, Jennifer Carpenter, Geoff Pierson
Created by
James Manos, Jr.
If you’re into serial killers, there may be no better show than Dexter. Although it famously goes haywire in its final few seasons, Dexter‘s initial run is very fondly remembered, thanks in large part to a brilliant central performance from Michael C. Hall. The series tells the story of a forensic specialist who moonlights as a serial killer. He justifies his obsession with murder by only murdering those who have killed someone, but, as you can imagine, the morality of the enterprise gets murky fairly quickly.
Annihilation (2018)
115m
Genre
Science Fiction, Horror
Stars
Natalie Portman, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Gina Rodriguez
Directed by
Alex Garland
Annihilation isn’t a horror movie, per se, but it is terrifying in a totally different way. Telling the story of a group of scientists who are recruited for a mission to investigate a mysterious biological phenomenon. Once they enter “The Shimmer,” they discover that it consumes and transforms everything within it, and they’re ultimately attacked by a wide variety of horrors, including a bear that can imitate human voices. Annihilation is terrifying, but just as much because of what it implies as what it depicts.
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