If you want to watch horror this spooky season, you have a ton of streaming platforms to choose from. So why should you spend time sifting through HBO Max?
HBO Max is an excellent choice for scary movies. In October, it added new flicks like Bring Her Back and The Substance to the 20 outstanding options you'll find below. The streaming service starts at $11 per month or $110 per year, and you can also get it free with a DoorDash DashPass annual plan.
A24 Hereditary (2018) This is one you shouldn't watch alone. Ari Aster's feature directorial debut about what a family uncovers after the death of its matriarch may be the scariest entry on this list. If you're up for a disturbing flick with great performances, venture cautiously into Hereditary.
Warner Bros. Pictures Weapons (2025) It's not hard to find the premise of this one intriguing: 17 kids go missing on the same night at the same time, and no one knows where they went or why. Video footage seems to show that children left their houses on their own. Weapons follows shaken members of the community, including the students' teacher (Julia Garner) and a parent (Josh Brolin).
Warner Bros. A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984) You can't go wrong with A Nightmare on Elm Street. The iconic '80s slasher from Wes Craven is streaming on HBO Max along with most of its sequels, so a marathon may be in order. The first film follows teenager Nancy Thompson and her friends who begin to dream about the same man -- a disfigured, sweater-wearing villain who wields blades on one hand. Get your binge on, and good luck trying to sleep tonight.
Cara Howe/Warner Bros. Companion (2025) Companion is a scary movie you should boot up and watch without much pre-Googling. It's clever, unsettling and thrilling, with great performances from Sophie Thatcher of Yellowjackets and Jack Quaid of The Boys. Produced by the filmmakers behind 2022's Barbarian, Companion sets the bar high for 2025 horror films.
Screenshot by CNET The Witch (2015) This historical horror movie pretty much guarantees nightmares. The disturbing film centers on a family in 1630s New England and marks Anya Taylor-Joy's film debut. Over the 90-minute flick, strange and shocking things happen to a farmer, his wife and their five children who've relocated to a remote area on the edge of a forest.
Warner Bros. Pictures The Shining (1980) If you're still on the hunt for a horror movie, you can't go wrong with The Shining, the excellent Stanley Kubrick-directed movie starring Jack Nicholson and Shelley Duvall. In this adaptation of a Stephen King novel, a writer (Nicholson) staying in a remote hotel with his family exhibits some troubling changes in behavior. This one will absolutely satisfy your horror cravings.
A24 Heretic (2024) The inclusion of Hugh Grant may draw you into this religious horror movie, but once you hit play, there's no escaping the creepiness of his character, Mr. Reed. Watch this one if you want to see if a pair of young missionaries are able to outwit their evil captor.
Csaba Aknay/A24 Midsommar (2019) Horrors take place in broad daylight in this haunting film from Ari Aster. Set at a midsummer festival in a remote Swedish village, Midsommar has plenty of disturbing surprises in store for its guests. Prepare for some shocking scenes and a gripping performance from Florence Pugh.
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