My October 2025 Horror Watchlist
I am so sad that October is over! But, it was a fun 11th year doing 31 Days of Horror. Read below to find out what I watched each day in October 2025…
Week 1
October 1: Clown in a Cornfield. From the director of the excellent horror comedy Tucker and Dale vs. Evil. A solid start to the month, this slasher had a decent twist and multiple funny moments. It held my attention throughout, which I can’t say for all new horror movies.
October 2: Arcadian. This Nic Cage film has Quiet Place and Walking Dead vibes, with a whiff of The Descent. The story was interesting but the directing made it hard to understand what I was looking at some of the time, and the frequent handheld cinematography felt overused.
October 3: Oddity. This creepy Irish folk horror is the definition of a slow burn. Slow enough that I kept allowing my attention to wander, so I really didn’t understand the ending. That’s totally on me, though. BONUS: Five Nights at Freddy’s. Because I mentally checked out of Oddity, I decided to watch a second movie (to pre-emptively make up for skipping a day or two of movie-watching due to upcoming travel). As an 80’s kid who grew up going to Showbiz Pizza, this movie (with Matthew Lillard!) was a really great time. Now I’m looking forward to the upcoming sequel.
October 4: Companion. Sort of like an extended Black Mirror episode with a great cast: Sophie Thatcher, Jack Quaid, Harvey Guillén, Lukas Gage. Also, produced by Zach Cregger (Barbarian & Weapons writer/director). Some elements were predicable while others were not. Overall, as an AI hater, I really enjoyed this horror/sci-fi cautionary tale.
October 5: Bring Her Back. What a wild movie…in a really good way. I went into this film cold, and from the beginning I got an idea of what was going on. Though I could see the big picture, I really had no idea what was going to happen moment to moment. As with Talk to Me (same directors), there was some really disturbing imagery. Definitely worth watching, unless you’re sensitive about bad things happening to children, which this movie is chock full of.
October 6: Cronos. This early 90’s Guillermo del Toro film (featuring Ron Pearlman) bears some of the vibes and detailed production design that he became well known for. This is an engaging body horror film with pretty good special effects for the time. If you’re a GDT fan, it’s worth a watch.
October 7: I took the train to NYC and the WIFI sucks on the train so I didn’t get a chance to watch a film. But once I arrived I had time to squeeze in the premiere episode of The Boulet Brothers Dragula Titans Season Two. It was basically the length of a short feature film so it still counts!
Week 2
October 8: Sleepaway Camp. I’ve seen this movie multiple times but apparently never during 31 Days of Horror? This movie is a cult classic for a reason: it’s hilariously cheesy with terrible acting. Of course, the movie is also problematic because it’s from the 80’s. But the film actually has a deeper and quite interesting (though likely unintentional) subtext about gender expression.
October 9: Manhattan Baby. I love an 80’s Lucio Fulci flick. The recognizable score, gore effects, close-up shots of eyes, generous use of zoom-ins, and terrible acting are such a vibe. Plus, I was in Manhattan so I think I was legally required to watch this film that day. If you have a fear of scorpions or snakes, skip this movie.
October 10: Influencer. I knew nothing about this Shudder original but went in with low expectations. And my expectations were exceeded. This movie is pretty good; it’s definitely best if you go in cold (as with most horror).
October 11: House of Mortal Sin. I heard about this 70’s film via Bloody Disgusting’s Instagram. Turns out that a movie about a dangerous, hypocritical religious figure is right up my alley. It was a little long for a 70’s horror, but it held my attention and overall I liked it.
October 12: Strange Darling. I really liked this film, beautifully shot on 35mm. Willa Fitzgerald and Kyle Gallner both gave great performances. The production design and music, along with cinematography by Giovanni Ribisi, lent a bit of a 70’s vibe. The less you know about this film before watching, the better.
October 13: Jacob’s Ladder. I couldn’t remember if I had ever seen this 1990 film, starring Tim Robbins and featuring an uncredited Macaulay Culkin, along with Jason Alexander, Eriq LaSalle, and many more recognizable faces. Ultimately, I concluded that I had only seen clips and not the whole film. This was an engaging and moving psychological thriller with splashes of horror and gore.
October 14: The Ugly Stepsister. A Swedish Cinderella body horror with plenty of commentary on the lengths women have been conditioned to go to for the approval of men. If you’re squeamish, maybe skip this film; it contains some truly revolting scenes. This movie is brutally unhinged…and I liked it.
Week 3
October 15: Scream. I decided to revisit the OG 1996 film again. This movie (the first horror film I ever saw in a theater) is basically comfort horror for me at this point. The second Drew Barrymore’s iconic blonde bob and brown lipstick appear on screen, the nostalgia kicks in so hard.
October 16: Silent Night, Deadly Night. Obviously, this is a Christmas horror. A chunk of this 1984 film took place in a toy store, which roused childhood memories when I saw all those 80’s toys and packaging. This was a fun if pretty standard slasher.
October 17: Scream 2. I wanted to rewatch this sequel because of the nostalgia; portions of the movie were shot in Atlanta the summer after my freshman year of college there. Allegedly, Courteney Cox even worked out at my school’s gym during filming. Though I was in St. Louis that summer, the film totally takes me back to that time. A couple people that I recognize from college were extras in this movie!
October 18: Scream 3. I figured I might as well continue rewatching this franchise. I wasn’t as familiar with the third installment as the first two. This one felt a little long and exposition heavy, but I think the main draw here was the all-star cast (including Patrick Dempsey, Parker Posey, Scott Foley, Lance Henricksen, and a super random cameo from Jay and Silent Bob). BONUS: One Cut of the Dead. I’ve seen this before but wanted to watch it with John, because I thought he’d like it. We both laughed our way through the film. What a gem!
October 19: Scream 4. The next film in this slasher franchise, which I also didn’t remember well. The meta commentary about the desire to be internet famous holds up surprisingly well for a movie that’s almost 15 years old, pre-dating our current influencer/creator culture. It even featured a character who was into live streaming, which I didn’t recall being a thing when this film was released in 2011.
October 20: Rabid. My first time watching this 1977 David Cronenberg film starring adult film actress Marilyn Chambers. Which is perfect, because his brand of body horror often leans into the “horror as a metaphor for sex” concept. I love gory 70’s horror films, and this stands as a good example. Plus, I’m a sucker for movies with scenes in a 70’s or 80’s mall. There’s also a martial law element that’s highly relevant to today’s U.S. politics.
October 21: Boulet Brothers Dragula Titans: I was feeling crappy, so all I could muster was the newest episode of this season (episode three). I only say “all I could muster” because the episodes are shorter than a feature length movie…I’m really enjoying season two so far!
Week 4
October 22: Scream (2022). A return to Woodsboro about 25 years after the orignal. This was my second time watching this “requel,” as Randy’s meta-expositioner niece describes in the film. I enjoyed it again and appreciated it more this time since I recently rewatched the others. Feels like they struck the correct balance of new vs. legacy characters here.
October 23: Misery. Technically I watched this 1990 Stephen King classic on the 24th, as the 23rd was a road trip day down to North Carolina so I had no time for a movie. Though I’ve read the book and have seen clips of Misery, I had never seen the film in its entirety. It was high time I remedied that!
October 24: Scream VI. Had to close out the franchise with the most recent installment! These movies are even more fun when you watch them back to back; it’s obviously easier to appreciate the lore that way. The only thing that bothers me about this Scream movie is that it’s set in NYC but is clearly not filmed there. And it’s the only movie from the franchise with a total lack of Sidney Prescott (Neve Campbell declined due to not being offered payment in line with her value to the franchise).
October 25: Villains. I only got to watch the first third of this, as it was John’s birthday and we were in North Carolina for his first half Iron Man that day. So I finished it on the 26th. Starring horror icons Maika Monroe and Bill Skarsgård, along with Kyra Sedgewick and Jeffrey Donovan (of Blair Witch 2). More of a dark comedy with horror elements, but I did like it.
October 26: Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Next Generation. My first time watching this TCM film, starring two future Oscar winners: Renée Zellweger and Matthew McConaughey (who are, obviously, the best part). This movie is chaotic, grimy, and weird in a “so bad it’s funny” kind of way…and involves…*checks notes*…the Illuminati? LOL.
October 27: Speak No Evil. I watched the American remake of this Dutch-Danish film sometime this past year, so I figured I should also watch the original. The versions were pretty similar, but if I remember correctly, they diverge in the final act. Both were good, but the original’s ending was much darker. Bonus: It: Welcome to Derry, episode one. A really solid first episode and I’m excited for the second episode, which comes out early…on Halloween!
October 28: The Third Saturday in October. I never see folks talk about this 2022 film. Yet, I could see it eventually gaining a cult following. It does a good job of capturing a Lucio Fulci-inspired vibe, with a grainy picture (I’m guessing digitally), zoom-ins, 70’s Italian horror-esque music, and amateurish acting (maybe on purpose?). It has cuts that seem to mimic breaks for commercials, so I wonder if they intended for it to appear to be a tv movie. There were some overly long scenes but overall the 70’s atmosphere and weirdness was enjoyable. Bonus: Boulet Brothers Dragula Titans, episode 4. This season continues to be WILD.
Week 5
October 29: Together. I had been wanting to see this film since the SDCC 2025 Neon horror panel featuring Alison Brie and Dave Franco, who were there to promote it. I enjoyed this body horror, which had solid performances and an unsettling atmosphere. Its weakest points were the special effects (I believe they used both practical and CGI…neither of which looked all that spectacular).
October 30: Ghostwatch. A British TV movie crafted in a documentary style that apparently had some viewers convinced they were watching a real, live broadcast of a paranormal investigation, à la Orson Welles’ War of the Worlds radio broadcast. Pretty inventive for the early 90’s, I will say, and especially well done for a TV movie.
October 31: Green Room. This 2015 movie was slightly ahead of its time in terms of the far right, rural militia at the center of the narrative. Patrick Stewart lent gravitas as their leader. This film starred Anton Yelchin in, sadly, one of his final roles before his untimely accidental death in 2016.
Horror by the Decade
I had a couple days where I watched new episodes of Dragula Titans season two in lieu of a film, so I didn’t count those in my tally. To make of for missed movie days, I doubled up on films. So I still ended up watching 31 horror movies this month.
- 1970’s: 2
- 1980’s: 3
- 1990’s: 7
- 2000’s: 1
- 2010’s: 4
- 2020’s: 14
My previous years’ watch lists:
I hope you had a wonderful Halloween!!
