Five Spooky Movies for Halloween You Probably Haven't Seen

I love spooky movies so much that I watch them year-round, regardless of whether it's close to Halloween or not. But I realize that I am a deeply disturbed and broken man, and only ever truly feel alive when getting the pants scared clean off of me, while most people prefer a level of peace and calm I’ve only ever heard about in romantic comedies and daytime TV.

A good majority of fright flicks are only ever screened in October, and those are, historically, just the usual suspects.

There’s nothing wrong with going back to the well and watching creepies like “Halloween,” “The Exorcist,” “Trick ‘r Treat,” “Hocus Pocus” and other classics, but if you feel like expanding your palate into some new and disturbing directions, here are several scary movies I predict will be future Halloween viewing classics.

The Guest (2014): Set during the weeks leading up to Halloween, “The Guest” follows David Collins (a never better Dan Stevens), a veteran fresh out of the army who shows up at his deceased best friend Caleb’s family’s house to spend time with them and tell them how much Caleb meant to him. As he builds friendships with Caleb’s younger sister and brother and almost becomes another son to Caleb’s grieving mother, the entire family will slowly realize there’s something incredibly wrong with David and it might be too late to do anything about it. Equal parts “The Terminator,” “Rambo,” and "Halloween,” this seamlessly blends action and horror in a deliriously entertaining way. Perfect to show to a rowdy room full of friends.

The Descent (2005) -- Still one of the scariest movies ever made. “The Descent” follows a group of women on a spelunking adventure vacation that becomes lost in a massive cave system filled with terrifying creatures. There are sequences in this film that are so intense and frightening that they’ll live rent-free in your head for the rest of your days. I’m not saying these two things are related, but I haven’t been in a cave since the first time I watched this one. Perfect for showing to your extreme athlete friends.

Ravenous (1999) -- My favorite cannibal movie of all time follows Guy Pearce, Robert Carlyle and a murderers row of brilliant character actors as a group of military men at a remote military outpost in the Sierra Nevadas during the Mexican-American War. When a disturbed man arrives at the gates and says his wagon train was murdered by a cannibal, the soldiers will follow him into the true heart of evil. What I love about this one is it’s equally funny, scary and exciting with an all-time classic score by Damon Albarn. If you haven’t seen this one, treat yourself to an absolute classic. Perfect for showing to your significant other at like 2:00 am.

The Empty Man (2020) -- Released during COVID and while Fox was selling to Disney, “The Empty Man” was taken from director David Prior by the studio and released without his approval. To this day, he considers the version that was released a rough cut and not remotely what would have been his final edit. It’s amazing how strong the film is in its flawed, unfinished form, so much so that it still works as a modern horror classic. One part folk horror, one part detective thriller, “The Empty Man” is such a singular vision that it keeps you nailed to your seat for the entire 137-minute thrill ride. Perfect for watching alone, late at night, with headphones on.

Cure (1997) -- This slow-burning Japanese nightmare maker from master filmmaker Kiyoshi Kurosawa doesn’t seem scary while you’re watching it, but then by the time the pulse-pounding final 15 minutes land, you’ll realize you’ve been holding your breath for an hour. What initially seems like a serial killer procedural thriller slowly morphs into a disturbing look into the liminal spaces we can’t make out from the corner of our eyes. It’s strange, disturbing and ultimately horrifying. Perfect for watching with that one friend who likes the same weird s*** you do.

With so many modern horror classics from which to choose it’s almost impossible to make a list like this. If the aforementioned movies don’t strike your fancy, try the gooey body horror of “The Substance,” the jaw-dropping originality of “Weapons” or the Oscar-worthy “Hereditary,” watch something spooky this season for me!