charwai messenger shines
Karmen Mcarthun
Mike Flanagan had already built a reputation as a rock-steady horror filmmaker by 2016, but the sense of "holy crap, this guy can do anything" became set in stone once he took on a prequel to a critically-derided movie about an evil ouija board and made one of the scariest movies of the last decade. Ouija: Origin of Evil takes us to the 1970s, where fake psychic Alice Zander (Elizabeth Reaser) and her two daughters, Lina (Annalise Basso) and Doris (Lulu Wilson), perform seances for paying customers in the wake of Alice's husband dying. Doris, the youngest, spices up the act with the introduction of a ouija board, but the cursed item makes things all too real when it not only sends a dark spirit into the girl's body but exposes the deep-seated evil ingrained in the Zander's house. There is, to be very clear, absolutely no reason for Ouija: Origin of Evil to be good at all, so it's a downright shock that it's this horrifying and effective. And, because it's Flanagan we're talking about here, there's also a potent dramatic heart beating underneath all those bumps in the night. --Vinnie Mancuso
It's a common trope: a little kid has a crush on their sexy teenage babysitter. But Netflix's original flick The Babysitter turns that on its head, by making the hot babysitter also happen to be part of a Satanic cult. The cult - who has brought their ceremony into young Cole's house - will stop at nothing to prevent Cole from spreading their secret. It's not really a "scary" horror film; it's more goofy, super gory, and a kind of throwback to the campy horror of the 1980s. - Alyse Wax
The first installment of Netflix's Fear Street trilogy of films is an absolute blast from start to finish. Very much drawing influence from Scream, this R-rated slasher takes place in the town of Shadyville, where people going back decades have a habit of going on violent killing sprees. Rumors swirl that it's all to do with a witch's curse from the 1600s (which is covered in the third movie), and in this 1994-set film a group of teenagers find themselves the target of a bevy of masked killers as the try to figure out what's going on and how to survive it. At the center of the story is a queer romance that sets this apart from many other slashers of its ilk, and there's enough comedic relief to keep this from being bogged down as a horror film of the self-serious type. Again the Scream comparisons are apt, so if you're in for a spooky good time that also sets up a mythology that is concluded in the next two Fear Street movies, give Fear Street Part One: 1994 a whirl. - Adam Chitwood
It's tempting to loop all of the Fear Street films into one entry because they're such a satisfying (you might even say limited series-like) whole, but they're also so stylistically distinct and uniquely effective, they're worth singling out on their own. As for the second installment, 1978 takes audiences back to another Shadyside massacre, this time inspired by the summer camp horror trend of the 70s and 80s. Anchored around the story of two estranged sisters finding their way back to each other despite their differences, 1978 unleashes the Nightwing killer scene in the first film while investigating the story behind how he became a cursed mass murderer and deepening the established mythology and character work in the process.
I wouldn't recommend watching them out of order on your first watch but if you're looking to head back into fear Street and don't have time to watch the whole trilogy, 1978 is easily the most self-contained of all three, but good luck not immediately hitting play on the next one. - Haleigh Foutch
The final film in the trilogy, Fear Street Part Three: 1666 brings it all together by traveling to the origins of the curse, so if you're looking for a bit of period horror with a big action payoff, this is your best bet. It's stunning how writer-director Leigh Janiak created a distinct language for each installment, not just cinematically, but in the horror traditions she employs. In keeping, 1666 is the darkest of the three, delving into the rotted core of society behind the Shadyside curse. But Janiak keeps a tight tonal command, never fully abandoning the fun spirit that makes her trilogy such a treat.
Hulu started life as a joint venture between ABC, NBC and Fox. Since Disney (ABC's parent) absorbed most of the Fox Entertainment properties, however, it's been buying out its remaining partners and converting Hulu to more of a Disney Plus for adults. As such, you can watch the movies below with their full, R-rated gore intact. The baseline subscription includes commercials, and you can also bundle this with Disney's other online properties, Disney Plus and ESPN Plus.
Netflix hardly needs an introduction, but the biggest streaming service out there remains a mixture of TV shows and movies, including content licensed from other studios and a growing stable of originals.
(Also available on HBO Max.) This film was so scary that I still can't bring myself to watch any of the sequels or prequels! But if you are interested in watching The Conjuring 2, it's available on HBO Max.
Already subscribe to HBO? You can probably get HBO Max at no extra charge. Think of it as (wait for it) "HBO Plus" -- everything on HBO, plus a bunch of additional back catalog and exclusives from Warner's catalog, as well as some nice licensed exclusives like Doctor Who and the Studio Ghibli library.
You know... for kids! It's probably not the first thing that comes to your mind when you think of "horror," as nothing here eclipses PG-13 scares. But it also has the full libraries for everything from Marvel, Star Wars, Pixar and The Simpsons, to name just a few of the big content silos you'll find here. As with Hulu, you can subscribe to this solo, or as a Disney/Hulu/ESPN bundle.
Peacock is NBCUniversal's streaming app that includes several free movies and TV shows. Paying customers can unlock the platform's full library of content, and can also pay a little more to go ad-free.
This ad-supported network offers a range of free TV shows and movies. It's available on devices including Roku and Amazon Fire TV, as well as on Android and iOS. You won't need an account to watch content, but creating one enables you to save favorites and resume playback when switching between devices.
Existing Showtime cable subscribers can access all of its content on the Showtime Anytime app on most major app platforms. But you can also get it as a straight streaming app for a monthly fee. (Disclosure: Showtime and CNET are owned by the same parent company, ViacomCBS.)
Prime Video is thrown in "for free" for anyone subscribing to Amazon's membership program, which otherwise guarantees delivery of a wide array of products in two days or less at no additional charge. It's got a ton of movies and TV shows from third-party studios, and a growing list of Amazon exclusives, too. Note, however, that only the first few selections are available via Prime; the rest are available as 48-hour rentals at a pay-per-view cost.
(Also available on HBO Max, Peacock and Hulu.) We know, the found footage gimmick is tired, but do you actually remember how scary this movie was? An entire generation couldn't go camping for like a decade after it came out.
(Available to rent.) If you plan on watching Saw, we also recommend checking out our interview with screenwriter Leigh Whannell. He tells us about his 5-year-old's bedtime story demands and let's just say, twisted storytelling definitely runs in the family.
(Available to rent.) We refuse to fact-check this, but Get Out is possibly the only Oscar winner on this list. That's inaccurate. Ruth Gordon won an Oscar for Rosemary's Baby. And The Silence of the Lambs won like 5 Academy Awards too. Are you happy? Get Out is fantastic, though.
In one of the Oscar winner's best roles, Jamie Foxx dazzles in this rousing, real-life dramedy as Willie Gary, a showboat Florida attorney hired by the cash-strapped owner (Tommy Lee Jones) of a Mississippi funeral home business to take on a corporate "deathcare" behemoth.
Eight-year-old Peter (Woody Norman) is bullied at school but finds no sanctuary at home, either: Constant taps arise from inside his bedroom wall. When a strange presence begins talking to him, Peter acts out and starts to think his parents (Lizzy Caplan and Antony Starr) are hiding something in this effective family horror show.
A psychosexual thriller with modern sensibilities, director Chloe Domont's feature film debut casts Phoebe Dynevor and Alden Ehrenreich as Wall Street co-workers who hide their romance. After getting engaged, she gets a promotion he was hoping for and their personal and professional relationships veer off course.
Chuck E. Cheese and his pizza-party posse were a lot freakier back in the day than the villains of this low-scare horror flick. A security guard (Josh Hutcherson) has to keep his little sister safe from the animatronic killers of an '80s family restaurant in a PG-13 video-game adaptation that's best for teens and tweens. (Gen Xers, watch Nic Cage's "Willy's Wonderland" for a better nostalgia play.)
John Carney's latest musically satisfying, feel-good drama stars Eve Hewson (aka Bono's daughter) as an Irish single mom who makes a close connection with her Zoom guitar teacher (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) and discovers a new way to bond with her rebellious teen son (Orn Kinlan).
The sweet and quirky sci-fi romantic comedy casts Zo Chao and Anthony Mackie as a pair of astronauts who've been stuck in space for three years with the skeleton of their crewmate and an inoperable nav system. The pair wonder if they should have sex for the heck of it, and their decision results in a parade of life changes for both.
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