Halloween is creeping closer—and Hulu’s ready to make this spooky season unforgettable. When you’re scrolling through endless Halloween watchlists trying to pick your next scare-fest, it can feel overwhelming. With so many ghost stories, slashers, creature horrors, and eerie thrillers, how do you even decide? Don’t worry—we’ve done the haunted homework for you. Here are the 13 best Halloween movies currently streaming on Hulu, perfect for cozy marathon nights filled with terror, tension, and plenty of popcorn. Some take place on Halloween night, while others simply radiate fall vibes. Most are R-rated, though—so if you’re looking for something milder, Disney+ might be your safer bet. Ready for the chills to begin? Let’s dive in.
1. Evil Dead (2013)
Rating: R
Director: Fede Alvarez
Cast: Jane Levy, Shiloh Fernandez, Lou Taylor Pucci
The Evil Dead franchise has worn many masks, but this 2013 reboot by Fede Alvarez resurrects the grit and gore of the original. Forget tongue-in-cheek comedy—this one is pure, blood-soaked nightmare fuel. Picture a cabin deep in the woods, autumn leaves turning sinister, and an unsuspecting group unleashing ancient evil. Jane Levy’s transformation from victim to vengeful survivor will leave you equally horrified and awestruck. It’s a love letter to Sam Raimi’s chaotic spirit, only darker and nastier.
2. Donnie Darko (2001)
Rating: R
Director: Richard Kelly
Cast: Jake Gyllenhaal, Jena Malone, Mary McDonnell, Maggie Gyllenhaal
Is it horror? Is it sci-fi? Donnie Darko blurs lines deliberately, creating an unnerving blend of surreal adolescence and existential dread. Jake Gyllenhaal stars as a troubled teen haunted by visions—or are they prophecies?—in suburban October 1988. With scenes set around Halloween, it captures the melancholy of autumn and the confusion of growing up. It may not make you scream out loud, but it’ll haunt your mind long after the credits roll.
3. A Haunting in Venice (2023)
Rating: PG-13
Director: Kenneth Branagh
Cast: Kenneth Branagh, Tina Fey, Michelle Yeoh
Kenneth Branagh returns as Hercule Poirot in this atmospheric twist on Agatha Christie’s mysteries—but here’s where it gets mysterious. This time, Poirot investigates a supposed haunting at a Halloween séance. With eerie shadows, candlelit rooms, and an undercurrent of skeptical wit, A Haunting in Venice balances chills with charm. Unlike Branagh’s glitzier earlier entries, this one feels more grounded—and spookier. It’s ideal family viewing for pre-teens moving past kiddie scares.
4. The Empty Man (2020)
Rating: R
Director: David Prior
Cast: James Badge Dale, Owen Teague, Marin Ireland
A cult favorite born out of obscurity, The Empty Man is proof that buried treasures exist in horror cinema. Initially shelved for years, this brooding supernatural mystery follows an ex-cop searching for a missing child, only to uncover something far more disturbing. Slow, strange, and unrelenting, it rewards patient viewers with unsettling revelations. If traditional jump-scares bore you, this mood-heavy, grief-laden chiller will crawl under your skin instead.
5. Blade II (2002)
Rating: R
Director: Guillermo del Toro
Cast: Wesley Snipes, Kris Kristofferson, Norman Reedus, Ron Perlman
Halloween without vampires? Unthinkable. Guillermo del Toro’s Blade II injects gothic grandeur into superhero horror, fusing slick martial arts with grotesque creature design. The mutated “Reapers” Blade hunts are horrifyingly original—mouths stretching wide like monsters from a fever dream. It’s a hyper-stylized ride that proves del Toro doesn’t just make horror; he elevates it. And yes, Hulu has the full Blade trilogy if you’re feeling extra bloodthirsty.
6. Jennifer’s Body (2009)
Rating: R
Director: Karyn Kusama
Cast: Amanda Seyfried, Megan Fox, Adam Brody, Johnny Simmons
Once dismissed, now reclaimed—Jennifer’s Body is horror’s ultimate comeback kid. Megan Fox shines as a teen cheerleader possessed by a demon, while Amanda Seyfried’s shy best friend becomes both witness and adversary. Written by Diablo Cody, the film wraps feminist rage and biting humor in gory packaging. How did critics miss it the first time? Maybe it was too ahead of its time. Either way, today it stands as one of the most iconic sleepover horror flicks ever made.
7. Barbarian (2022)
Rating: R
Director: Zach Cregger
Cast: Georgina Campbell, Bill Skarsgård, Justin Long
The less you know about Barbarian, the better. What starts as a simple lodging mix-up at an Airbnb spirals into jaw-dropping madness. Director Zach Cregger crafts a rollercoaster of suspense, flipping expectations every fifteen minutes. It’s horrifying, hilarious, and totally unpredictable—a modern horror masterpiece. Want a movie that keeps you saying “what just happened?” long after? This is the one.
8. Scream (1996)
Rating: R
Director: Wes Craven
Cast: Neve Campbell, Skeet Ulrich, Rose McGowan, Matthew Lillard
Wes Craven didn’t just revive the slasher genre—he reinvented it. Scream is both a nail-biting horror film and a smart satire of horror films themselves. The rules of surviving a scary movie? They’re spelled out loud and clear here… and then mercilessly broken. It’s sharp, meta, and still as bloody fresh today as it was nearly three decades ago.
9. Halloween (2018)
Rating: R
Director: David Gordon Green
Cast: Jamie Lee Curtis, Andi Matichak, Judy Greer, Will Patton
No Halloween season is complete without Michael Myers. In this direct sequel to John Carpenter’s 1978 classic, Laurie Strode (Jamie Lee Curtis) gears up for one final face-off against her longtime tormentor. Director David Gordon Green mixes nostalgia with modern brutality, giving new depth to an old nightmare. Some fans debate the trilogy’s merit—but let’s be honest, these sequels did the boogeyman proud.
10. Longlegs (2024)
Rating: R
Director: Osgood Perkins
Cast: Maika Monroe, Nicolas Cage, Blair Underwood
When early buzz called Longlegs “the scariest movie in years,” horror fans were skeptical. But here’s the twist—it might actually live up to the claim. Maika Monroe plays an FBI agent chasing a serial killer (a chilling Nicolas Cage) through a maze of occult clues and psychological terror. Think Silence of the Lambs meets The X-Files, with a sense of dread that never lets go.
11. The Sixth Sense (1999)
Rating: PG-13
Director: M. Night Shyamalan
Cast: Bruce Willis, Haley Joel Osment, Toni Collette
Few supernatural dramas carry this much quiet weight. The Sixth Sense isn’t about gore—it’s about grief, and how the living and the dead can both lose their way. Haley Joel Osment delivers one of cinema’s most haunting child performances, while Bruce Willis grounds the story with tenderness. The twist may be legendary, but the film’s emotional resonance is what makes it timeless.
12. The Babadook (2014)
Rating: R
Director: Jennifer Kent
Cast: Essie Davis, Noah Wiseman
If grief were a monster, this is what it would look like. The Babadook turns familiar horror tropes—a troubled child, a mysterious book, a late-night disturbance—into something psychologically harrowing. It’s not just a ghost story; it’s an exploration of motherhood under emotional siege. Some call it “metaphorical horror,” but make no mistake: this movie will make your heart race and your skin crawl.
13. The Fly (1986)
Rating: R
Director: David Cronenberg
Cast: Jeff Goldblum, Geena Davis, John Getz
Long before CGI monsters, David Cronenberg gave us one of cinema’s most grotesque transformations. The Fly combines brainy science fiction with gut-wrenching body horror, as Jeff Goldblum’s scientist slowly mutates into something inhuman. It’s tragic, terrifying, and weirdly touching—all the things great horror should be. Maybe if more viewers stream gems like this, Hulu will dig even deeper into classic horror archives. Don’t you agree?
New to Hulu? You can explore all this horror goodness with a 30-day free trial on the ad-supported plan—after that, it’s $9.99 a month. Want ad-free chills? That’ll run $18.99 monthly. Or, if you’d rather bundle your scares with Disney+ or Max, there are packages starting at $10.99 per month.
So, which of these terrifying titles tops your must-watch list? And tell us—do you prefer psychological horror or full-on gore when Halloween rolls around? Let’s get the spooky debate started in the comments.
