It has been a spectacular year for horror movies. Not just at the box office, either. Streaming studios and indie filmmakers also got the memo, making it mercifully easy to come up with a selection of new and exciting horror movies to stream this Halloween.
Even though it's apparently illegal to celebrate Halloween in Australia, we're scheduling a weekend of scares and spooks to stream this weekend. From very recent releases, like the remake of The Hand That Rocks the Cradle, to some of 2024's best that you might have missed, there shouldbe something to watch for every bone-afied horror fan.
We're also including some thrillers. General rule of thumb: if we think a movie will give you a good scare, it's going on the list.
The Hand That Rocks the Cradle
A remake of the iconic 1992 horror of the same name, The Hand That Rocks the Cradle details the events of an upper-class mother as she brings a new nanny, Polly, into her home. However, Polly isn't exactly the warm, maternal person she presents herself to be.
The Hand That Rocks the Cradle is available to stream on Disney Plus via Hulu.
- Christie Slayem
Creator: Michelle Garza Cervera | Cast: Maika Monroe, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Raúl Castillo
Language: English | Rating: R
Genre: Cradle-snatchin' thriller
| Inclusions | Details | |
|---|---|---|
| Disney Plus  |
|
28 Years Later
As the title suggests, 28 Years Later picks up nearly three decades after the Rage virus outbreak in 28 Days Later. While life in Continental Europe has regained some normalcy, the British Isles remain quarantined and overrun by the infected. Few survivors remain, but the community of Lindisfarne lives a quaint and isolated existence, protected from the mainland by a causeway and a few crack shot archers guarding the gates.
When 12-year-old Island Boy Spike learns of a witch doctor on the mainland, he sets out to solve the mystery of his mother’s crippling illness.
28 Years Later isn't just a great horror film; it's hands down one of the best movies of the year, in my opinion. If it hadn't been released in the same year as One Battle After Another, it would seriously be a contender for the top spot. It's not available to stream on demand yet, but it is available to rent or purchase through digital stores like Apple TV and Amazon Prime Video.
- Boodie "Graveyard" Fogg
Director: Danny Boyle | Cast: Jack O'Connell, Jodie Comer, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Ralph Fiennes
Language: English | Rating: MA15+
Genre: Zombie-horror, heart-warming coming-of-age
Heretic
Another A24 gem, Heretic joins the growing list of thought-provoking films from the distributor, such as Hereditary, Midsommar, Everything Everywhere All at Once and Ladybird.
The beloved Brit, Hugh Grant, terrifies audiences in his latest role as Mr. Reed, an enigmatic stranger who answers the door to two young missionaries intent on discussing Restorationist Christianity. But Mr. Reed has a practical lesson in mind that will put their faith, and friendship, to the ultimate test.
Heretic is streaming on Amazon Prime Video.
- Christie Slayem
Creator: Scott Beck, Bryan Woods | Cast: Hugh Grant, Sophie Thatcher, Chloe East
Language: English | Rating: MA15+
Genre: Psychological Horror
| Inclusions | Details | |
|---|---|---|
|
Prime Video
|
|
|
|
Prime Video
|
|
Sinners
Writer-director Ryan Coogler reunites with Michael B. Jordan, who takes on a dual role as twin brothers Stack and Smoke.
Returning home after working for Chicago gangsters, the WWI vets use their recent earnings to turn an old sawmill into a lively juke joint with help from family and old friends. But on opening night, the celebration is interrupted when a group of strangers, lured by the blues, show up uninvited with an insatiable appetite.
To call Sinners a horror film feels like an injustice. It has some fantastic scares, but it’s so much more than that - a story about family, honour, and the transformative power of soulful music. Despite that, it’s the perfect pick for a Halloween flick.
Sinners is streaming on HBO Max.
- Boodie "Graveyard" Fogg
Director: Ryan Coogler | Cast: Michael B. Jordan, Michael B. Jordan, Hailee Steinfeld, Wunmi Mosaku, Delroy Lindo, Jack O'Connell
Language: English | Rating: MA15+
Genre: Horror
Heart Eyes
If you enjoyed My Bloody Valentine, Heart Eyes is the latest Valentine's Day horror with a similar whodunnit twist. But rest assured, this film isn't as cheesy as you would think coming from the producers of the satirical Scream and not as silly as you would imagine coming from Dropout's Josh Ruben.
The Heart Eyes killer is a psycho with a schedule, only targeting couples on The Most Romantic Day of the Year. Nothing brings couples closer together than fighting to escape and unmask a mysterious slasher.
Heart Eyes is available to watch on Binge.
- Christie Slayem
Director: Josh Ruben | Cast: Alex Walker, Lauren O'Hara, Latham Gaines
Language: English | Rating: MA15+
Genre: Horror, Thriller, Mystery, Romance, Comedy
| Inclusions | Details | |
|---|---|---|
| Binge  |
|
Strange Darling
Strange is an understatement! This year's Strange Darling sort of flew under the radar, and that itself is a crime. The less said, the better, but in short, Strange Darling's non-linear story begins (chronologically) with a boozy, drug-fuelled one-night-stand between a mysterious couple credited as the Lady (Willa Fitzgerald) and the Demon (Kyle Gallner). The opening shot of the film, however, is of the Lady fanging it down a country road with the Demon in chase. So it's not a spoiler to say their little tryst doesn't end on an amicable note.
Strange Darling is beautifully shot (with cinematography by Giovanni Ribisi, yes that Giovanni Ribisi) and genuinely features one of the most compelling movie villains of the decade.
Strange Darling is streaming on Amazon Prime Video.
- Boodie "Graveyard" Fogg
Director: J.T. Mollner | Cast: Willa Fitzgerald, Kyle Gallner
Language: English | Rating: MA15+
Genre: Psychological thriller
| Inclusions | Details | |
|---|---|---|
|
Prime Video
|
|
|
|
Prime Video
|
|
Final Destination: Bloodlines
If you can believe it, it's been over a decade since we got a new entry to the Final Destination franchise but after nearly fifteen years, Death is back with Final Destination: Bloodlines. The sixth film in the series brings back horror legend Tony Todd (in his final role before his death) as William Bludworth, the creepy coroner and series mainstay.
As is tradition, Bloodlines follows a protagonist with grisly premonitions of a major disaster except this time, there's a twist: the disaster— a collapsed apartment building— was prevented way back in 1969, disrupting Death's design across multiple generations. As you can imagine, Death really has its work cut out for it this time.
Final Destination: Bloodlines is streaming on HBO Max.
- Boodie "Graveyard" Fogg
Director: Zach Lipovsky and Adam Stein | Cast: Kaitlyn Santa Juana, Teo Briones, Richard Harmon, Brec Bassinger and Tony Todd
Language: English | Rating: MA15+
Genre: Horror
Longlegs
Maika Munroe stars in yet another horror, but this time as an FBI agent on the hunt for a serial killer known as Longlegs. Longlegs taunts the police much like the Zodiac Killer, leaving behind a cryptic trail of demonic occult breadcrumbs to follow.
Praised for its incredible acting performances (Nic Cage has to be seen to be believed), Longlegs gives viewers a solid mystery and one genuinely disturbing villain.
Longlegs is streaming now on Amazon Prime Video and Binge.
- Christie Slayem
Creator: Osgood Perkins | Cast: Maika Monroe, Nicolas Cage, Blair Underwood
Language: English | Rating: MA15+
Genre: Horror, Crime, Mystery, Thriller
Smile 2
I'll admit that the first Smile didn't really do it for me. It just wasn't scary or weird enough, plain and simple. Despite that, I still took a chance on Smile 2, and I'm glad I did. It had me grinning from ear to ear.
Precisely six days after the events of the first movie, Joel (Kyle Gallner) goes about trying to rid himself of the Smiling Entity and inadvertently passes it on to a drug dealer. Meanwhile, pop star Skye Riley (Naomi Scott) is planning a comeback tour after her history of substance abuse made headlines. You can probably see where this is heading.
The stakes are higher, the smiles are creepier, and the Smiling Entity is fully realised in one of the best horror climaxes of recent memory.
Smile 2 is streaming on Paramount Plus and Binge.
- Boodie "Graveyard" Fogg
Creator: Parker Finn | Cast: Naomi Scott, Rosemarie DeWitt, Lukas Gage, Ray Nicholson and Kyle Gallner
Language: English | Rating: MA15+
Genre: Horror
| Inclusions | Details | |
|---|---|---|
| Binge |
|
Together
One thing the Home and Away theme song doesn't tell you is that there are limits to being together forever and ever, and it's ultimately Channel Seven's fault that we ended up with the body horror flick Together in 2025.
Alison Brie and Dave Franco star as Millie and Tim, long-time partners who move to the countryside together. While exploring their new stomping ground, the happy-ish couple falls into an underground cave where there seems to be something in the water. Upon returning home, Tim can't seem to keep his hands off (or out of) Millie. What follows gives a new meaning to physical attraction.
Together isn't currently available on-demand but you can rent or buy it on Apple TV and Amazon if you're into that sort of thing. Just be sure to clear it with your better half.
- Boodie "Graveyard" Fogg
Director: Michael Shanks | Cast: Dave Franco, Alison Brie, Damon Herriman, Mia Morrisey
Language: English | Rating: MA15+
Genre: Cronenbergy Body Horror for Lovers
Nosferatu
When Robert Eggers (The Lighthouse, The Norseman) put his name to the remake of the classic German expressionist horror Nosferatu, it seemed like an obvious match. So too was the decision to cast Bill Skarsgård as the gangly Count Orlok after such a memorable prosthetic-heavy performance as Pennywise in It Chapter One and Two. But the most inspired choice was to cast Lily-Rose Depp in the lead role of Ellen Hutter, a woman plagued by terrible visions of the titular Nosferatu.
Despite following most of the same beats as the original film, Eggers' Nosferatu runs for over two hours and can start to feel a little long in the tooth in the second half. But that doesn't stop it from being one of the most compelling and beautifully shot horror films of the year.
Nosferatu is streaming on Netflix, Foxtel and Binge.
Director: Robert Eggers | Cast: Lily Rose Depp, Bill Skarsgård, Nicholas Hoult, Willem Dafoe
Language: English | Rating: M
Genre: Horror
| Inclusions | Details | |
|---|---|---|
| Binge |
|
|
AMC+ Bundle
TV7-day free trial
From
$8.99/mth
or $83.88/yr
|
|
Disney+
From
$9.99/mth
or $179.99/yr
|
|
Amazon Prime Video
TV + movies + more30-day free trial
From
$9.99/mth
or $79/yr
|
|
Netflix
From
$9.99/mth
|
|
Binge
TV + movies + sport7-day free trial
From
$10.00/mth
or $79/yr
|
|
Crunchyroll
TV + movies7-day free trial
From
$11.99/mth
or $119.99/yr
|
|
Apple TV
TV + movies7-day free trial
From
$15.99/mth
or $129/yr
|
|
Kayo Sports
Sport7-day free trial
From
$29.99/mth
|
|
DAZN
From
$31.99/mth
or $149.99/yr
|
|
Foxtel Now
TV + movies + sport10-day free trial
From
$35/mth
|
|
Paramount+
TV + movies + sport7-day free trial
From
$7.99/mth
or $70.99/yr
Link not supplied
|
|
Stan.
TV + movies + sport
From
$9.99/mth
Link not supplied
|
|
HBO Max
TV + movies
From
$11.99/mth
or $119.99yr
Link not supplied
|
|
BritBox
TV7-day free trial
From
$13.99/mth
or $139.99/yr
Link not supplied
|
|
MUBI
Movies7-day free trial
From
$14.99/mth
or $119.88/yr
Link not supplied
|
More streaming deals
Looking for something to stream tonight but don't want to pay full price? We've rounded up the best deals from Australia's major streaming services.
- Binge deals: From $4 per month
- Kayo deals: $1 for one month or seven days free
- Netflix deals: Bonus Netflix with Optus NBN
- Foxtel packages and deals: Save up to $55 per month
Christie Graham
Digital Content Editor
Related Articles
Find a Better Pay TV Package
Compare options from Foxtel, Fetch TV, Netflix, Stan and more.
