The best Halloween films on Amazon Prime Video
With Halloween just around the corner, here’s our pick of the top 10 must-watch films on Amazon Prime Video this year
Unlike previous years, Halloween this year will mostly be an indoor affair, which is hardly surprising given the spooky time we’re living in. To help you get into the Halloween spirit, we’ve selected the best Halloween films on Amazon Prime Video.
While the streaming service from the retail giant has tons of movies to choose from, finding the scariest ones can often be daunting, so we’ve narrowed down the list to the top 10 Halloween films to watch this year. Apart from spine-tingling chillers, cult classics and cliche horror flicks, you’ll also find a few comedy horror movies that you can enjoy with your entire family.
Amazon Prime Video has the added advantage of acting as a gateway to a vast reservoir of movies to purchase, so if there’s something you really want to see that isn’t included with Prime the chances are it can be yours for a few pounds. For the purposes of this list, we’ve only included films that come with Prime.
An Amazon Prime membership costs just £7.99 a month, and includes unlimited one-day delivery and exclusive deals as well as access to Prime Video and Prime Music. But if you don’t want to commit to a membership to get your fill of scares this Halloween, a free 30-day trial is available.
Read on for our picks of the best Halloween films on Amazon Prime Video.
The best films on Amazon Prime this Halloween
Midsommar (2019)
From director Ari Aster (who also brought us Hereditary), comes this frightening flick. Grieving Dani joins her boyfriend Christian and his friends on a trip to the picturesque Swedish village of Hårga, where traditional festivities turn out to be more than anyone could reasonably bargain for. Equal parts horror and breakup movie, don’t let the bright blue skies and colourful flowers deceive you.
The Babadook (2014)
One for all the struggling mothers out there. Young Samuel is convinced that the Babadook – a creature from a mysterious storybook – is coming after him and his mother. The movie excellently depicts what happens when the line between a child’s obsession with ‘the monster under the bed’ and reality become blurred. Australia has some truly great indie horror films to offer, and this one from Jennifer Kent is one of the best.
Suspiria (1977)
While Luca Guadagnino’s reinterpretation of Suspiria can also be found on Amazon Prime, it’s difficult to beat Dario Argento’s 1977 original. Suzy, a promising young ballet dancer, travels to Germany to attend a prestigious dance academy – only to uncover something far more sinister behind its urbane veneer. With an intoxicating use of colour and an iconic soundtrack, this is one unmissable horror classic.
Shaun of the Dead (2004)
If you’re after something a bit more lighthearted Edgar Wright’s Shaun of the Dead is a stylish, funny and surprisingly emotional take on the zombie genre that transfers George A. Romero tropes to modern-day London. With fantastic performances from its who’s-who cast of British comedy actors (not just from the classic Simon Pegg-Nick Frost pairing), this is a fun watch with some truly iconic scenes. You’ll never be able to listen to Queen’s Don’t Stop Me Now in the same way again.
Cabin in the Woods (2011)
This film begins with a premise cliche almost as old as horror movies themselves: A group of college friends go to spend an innocent weekend in, well, a cabin in the woods. Full of tongue-in-cheek horror tropes, Cabin in the Woods turns out to be a lot more original than it lets on, and equally enjoyable for some Halloween viewing.
Evil Dead (2013)
From a semi-parody of the ‘cabin in the woods’ genre to one of the franchises that started the trend off. This modern day adaptation of Sam Raimi’s 1981 cult classic gets much more gruesome thanks to modern special effects and a bigger budget, without neglecting to pay homage to the originals. Groovy.
The Blair Witch Project (1999)
Three film students visit a small town to investigate the local legend of the Blair Witch, but things take a turn when the group gets lost in – you guessed it – the woods. Many movie-goers were deeply disturbed at what they took to be all-too real when The Blair Witch Project came out in 1999. Without going into the myriad of paranormal activity movies that now exist, it’s pretty fair to say that the ‘found footage’ movie has become more of a cliche in the 21 years that have passed. Nevertheless, you can witness The Blair Witch Project – one of the genre’s progenitors – in all its glory on Prime Video this Halloween.
Children of the Corn (1984)
Adapted from the novel by Stephen King, Children of the Corn is a schlocky horror based on a short story about malevolent children in a rural farming town. What is it that makes the cornfields in this remote place grow so tall? It’s not sensible farming practices, I can tell you that much.
The Shining (1980)
Another Stephen King adaptation, Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining is well-deserving of its reputation as one of the best horror movies of all time. When Jack Torrance and his family are left to look after a vast hotel over winter, it seems like an easy job. But left alone, Jack begins to lose his mind, and his son Danny is haunted by the evil things lurking around the hotel’s corridors. Full of memorable scares and quotable moments (‘Here’s Johnny!’), you can’t go wrong with The Shining this Halloween.
Corpse Bride (2005)
Tim Burton is the man to turn to for family-friendly spooks, and while The Nightmare Before Christmas might be – in my opinion at least – his best animated flick, it’s best to wait a couple of months for that one. Corpse Bride, on the other hand, is perfect for Halloween. Victor (voiced by Johnny Depp) is soon to be married to his fiance Victoria. But while practicing his wedding vows, the young corpse bride rises from the dead, thinking he has married her. Funny, charming, and just that tiny bit scary, this is a great choice for a family Halloween night in.