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Is 'Longlegs' Really the Scariest Movie of the Year?
A quick check of the calendar shows that today is October 31, and since your neighborhood will soon be crawling with ghosts, devils, and vampires, we’d like to take this opportunity to recommend SCARY movies for you to watch on this All Hallows’ Eve across your favorite streaming services. Earlier today, we presented you with the 5 Best Halloween movies on Netflix, the 5 Best Halloween movies on Amazon Prime, and the 5 Best Halloween movies on Hulu, but now it’s time for premium cable scares courtesy of the Home Halloween Box Office!
No, we’re not talking about the cost of your monthly cable bill (although, let’s be real — that is truly frightening!). We’re talking about five movies that you could throw on at any point today or tonight to watch while you’re devouring all the Halloween candy you’ve amassed. Don’t stress about those calories, though, because each of these 5 films are guaranteed to get your heart beating a mile a minute (which, in our books, totally counts as exercise).
Depending on your penchant for gruesome grue, our selection includes a mix of PG-13 thrills and R-rated nastiness, and runs the gamut from creepy crawlers to scary slashers. And without further ado, we wish you an evening of spooky streaming! [Insert your best maniacal laugh here.]
The 5 Best Halloween Movies on HBO
'Arachnophobia' (1990)
Let’s start this scaredown with something that the whole family can enjoy: 1990’s Arachnophobia, starring Jeff Daniels and John Goodman. Plotwise, the movie is a pretty blatant rip-off of Kingdom Of The Spiders, but Arachnophobia improves on that schlocky ’70s B-movie with better acting, better effects, and a much bigger budget. It’s also rated PG-13, which means you’re not going to have to deal with blood, guts, and gore … but that doesn’t mean it won’t give you nightmares.
'Happy Death Day' (2017)
Groundhog Day is one of the most popular and beloved movies of the last half-century. “But what does that have to do with Halloween?”, you ask. Patience, my friend, patience. Happy Death Day is a 2017 slasher movie that dares to ask the question: What if Groundhog Day, but make it murder? Intrigued? Thought so. (Plus, it’s another PG-13 horror movie, so no real gore here, either. You’re welcome!)
'The Nun' (2018)
Sneakily, The Conjuring-verse —The Conjuring, The Conjuring 2, Annabelle, Annabelle: Creation, Annabelle Comes Home, The Curse of La Llorona and The Nun— is one of the most popular (and profitable) horror series of all-time. Both The Conjuring 2 and The Nun are currently on HBO, but we’re leaning towards recommending The Nun because it stands better on its own. Turn down the lights, turn up your surround sound, and get ready for five or six jump scares that will get you off your couch lickity-split.
'A Nightmare On Elm Street' (2010)
There are few horror movie villains more iconic than Freddy Krueger, but by the time his run of ’80s and ’90s films had reached their end, his character had transformed from an actual nightmare into more of a comedic nightmare. (Those puns!) In 2010, producer Michael Bay came up with the idea to show Freddy for what he REALLY was: Not a wise-cracking cartoon character, but a severely burnt child molester. This pivot didn’t go so well at the box office —Jackie Earle Haley did not reprise the role that Robert Englund popularized— but the movie deserves a second chance for two reasons: It certainly LOOKS fantastic, and Rooney Mara is a significant upgrade from Heather Langenkamp in the role of Nancy.
'Halloween II' (1981)
Did you think we were going to forget Halloween on Halloween? We are professionals here, people! Sadly, John Carpenter’s 1978 magnum slasher opus is not available to stream as part of your Home Box Office subscription, but the 1981 sequel —written, but not directed, by JC— is. Halloween II picks up right where the first Halloween left off … literally. It’s the day after Michael Myers terrorized Haddonfield, and Laurie Strode (THE Scream Queen herself, Jamie Lee Curtis) has been taken to the hospital to recover from nearly being knifed by the crazed killer. And, well, things don’t go so well from there. (After watching this, you won’t want to go into a hot tub for a long, long while.)
