Horror movies to ensure you have a scream this Halloween

Oct. 23 was National Horror Movie Day (they have a day for everything), but really, all of Halloween week, even all of October, is a good time to watch a horror movie — why limit it to a single day?

If you’re a horror fan and you haven’t yet subscribed to Shudder, the streaming service for all things horror and genre films — you’re missing out. They have two new films launching this week on the service, “When Evil Lurks,” an Argentinian demonic possession movie directed by Demián Rugna that has been hailed one of the best horror movies of the year, and “Suitable Flesh,” a Lovecraftian erotic thriller from director Joe Lynch, starring Heather Graham and Barbara Crampton.

But if you’re in the need for even more deep cut thrills and chills, the streaming service from Arrow Video has you covered when it comes to horror and cult films. They’ve programmed channels including “Shocktober 31,” to cover all your bases with 31 days of horror movies in October, but they also drill down into more specific genre channels like “J-horror legends,” “New Cult,” and “Tooth and Claw” to meet the unique needs of horror fiends.

But the mainstream streaming services also have underrated horror films in their collections, so here are some selections to help you stop the scroll and get watching faster with these hidden horror gems.

On Netflix, check out the Richard Shepard’s disturbing and unpredictable “The Perfection,” starring Allison Williams and Logan Browning as two superstar violinists dueling for the top spot at a prestigious school. This film takes twists and turns you will never suspect, and cemented Williams as one of our finest scream queens between “Get Out” and “M3GAN.” While you’re there, stream “Lights Out,” the debut feature of “Shazam” director David F. Sandberg. The film centers around a spirit that can only be seen when the lights are off, and it’s an ingenious premise for this efficiently spooky movie.

On Max, check out two wildly different under-the-radar horror movies. The first one, “House,” sometimes called “Hausu,” is a 1977 Japanese cult film by Nobuhiko Obayashi about a supernatural house that eats young schoolgirls. The tone of “House” is more experimental horror comedy, but this wacky movie is required viewing if you’ve never seen it. For something on the bloodier and more brutal end of the spectrum, Jeremy Saulnier’s “Green Room” is an unforgiving horror flick set in a neo-Nazi punk club in the Pacific Northwest. It features a standout performance from the late, great Anton Yelchin alongside Imogen Poots, Alia Shawkat and Patrick Stewart.

On Peacock, cue up the “Tales From the Crypt” classic “Demon Knight,” starring Billy Zane and Jada Pinkett Smith. This 1995 horror comedy directed by Ernest Dickerson is a blast. Then check out the South Korean zombie epic “Train to Busan,” one of the most emotional and suspenseful zombie movies of all time.

Over on Hulu, there’s a wealth of indie horror, including the insouciant feminist dating app revenge flick “Fresh,” directed by Mimi Cave, written by Lauryn Kahn, and starring Daisy Edgar-Jones and Sebastian Stan. There’s also the incredibly creative and stylish British horror flick “Censor,” directed by Prano Bailey-Bond and starring Niamh Algar, set during the 1980s hysteria about “video nasties” in Britain. Rounding out the trio of daring feminist horror is “Hatching,” a fantastical Finnish creature feature about a young girl and her egg, directed by Hanna Bergholm.

Kanopy, the streaming site you can access for free with a library card, features a great selection of unique horror films. Check out “The Wind,” a psychological horror Western directed by Emma Tammi, the director of the upcoming “Five Nights at Freddy’s.” Along those same lines, “The Other Lamb,” is a horror film set in a polygamist cult in the European wilderness, directed by Polish filmmaker Ma?gorzata Szumowska. For more folk horror, Ben Wheatley’s “In the Earth” combines the COVID-19 pandemic with folk horror tropes to create a film that’s truly sinister and disturbing, set in the woods of England. Something a bit more playful and stylized — but no less sinister — is Peter Strickland’s campy “In Fabric,” about a deadly dress. Stream all these movies on Kanopy for free.