‘Tis the season to draw viewing inspiration from all things Halloween, and haunted houses are one of the key staples of the holiday. And for good reason, too, as few things are as inherently terrifying as an invasion of the very place where you’re meant to feel safest: your home.
Dealing with a paranormal presence isn’t quite as easy to deal with as masked maniacs or a more tangible threat. It’s often a fear of the unknown that induces the most nerve-fraying anxiety, and a haunted house is full of unknowns. This week’s streaming picks are dedicated to one of horror’s most foundational subgenres: the haunted house movie.
These five titles range from classic haunted house fare to modern frights that reinterpret what a haunted house can be. All aim to induce maximum frights, perfect for this Halloween season.
Here’s where you can stream them this week.
For more Stay Home, Watch Horror picks, click here.
The Changeling – AMC+, Fandango at Home, Midnight Pulp, Peacock, SCREAMBOX, Shudder, Tubi
George C. Scott stars in this seminal haunted classic as a music professor attempting to start fresh after his wife and child’s death. He relocates to Seattle and moves into a historic Victorian mansion with plans to work on his music, but he experiences strange phenomena right away. The more the paranormal activity increases, the more he’s drawn into a decades-long mystery involving a child. The Changeling is a quiet chiller grounded by a fantastic lead performance and an intriguing murder mystery. Mostly, though, it’s full of dread and creepy moments – no other horror movie will make you afraid of bouncing balls quite like this one.
The Dark and the Wicked – AMC+, Hoopla, Shudder
Bryan Bertino, a filmmaker with a reputation for bleak horror, creates unrelenting dread and evil in the vacuum of loss here. His latest is rife with suffocating dread, disturbing visuals, and a haunting atmosphere. Siblings Louise (Marin Ireland) and Michael (Michael Abbott Jr.) return to their childhood home to say their final goodbyes to their dying father, much to their mother’s disappointment. She’d warned them not to come, and it doesn’t take long to figure out why; an evil presence has taken root on the family’s rural land, and it wants them all. Whether the house is haunted or the family itself isn’t important when it comes to this volatile, frightening viewing experience steeped in nihilism. Bertino takes no prisoners with his vision of haunted house horror.
The Deep House – Prime Video, MGM+
Urban explorer Ben (James Jagger) drags his girlfriend Tina (Camille Rowe) along on his latest adventure seeking a legendary house preserved at the bottom of a lake. They find it with assistance from a local but also find themselves racing against the clock when they become trapped inside. Oxygen levels aren’t the only problem; the underwater house is haunted. Inside directors Alexandre Bustillo and Julien Maury’s latest may not get that deep in terms of narrative, but their commitment to going practical makes for one eerie, atmospheric, and exhilarating new twist to the haunted house. It’s spooky and otherworldly in equal measure.
The Orphanage – Paramount+
What a debut by director J.A. Bayona (A Monster Calls, Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom). As an adult, Laura moves back into the closed orphanage where she grew up with plans to reopen it as a center for disabled children. But when her HIV-positive son learns he’s adopted and goes missing soon after, strange things begin happening within the expansive orphanage. Laura’s former friends from childhood may never have left at all. The Orphanage is haunting, it’s moving, and it takes a few unexpected turns in terms of plot. Kids in horror are creepy, but kid ghosts? Even creepier. But be sure to have tissues on standby for this one.
The Sentinel – Netflix
In horror, sometimes the perfect home chooses you. For Allison Parker, a desire to strike out on her own finds her in a gorgeous Brooklyn brownstone that’s been converted into apartments. It’s a fantastic piece of real estate, but the place is packed with bizarre neighbors and strange activity. Allison soon finds herself haunted by both memories and unwanted visitors, followed soon after by the realization that the house chose her. Religious horror collides with haunted house fare in an unusual way. The haunted house tropes are there, but it’s Catholicism, sin, and a gateway to Hell that unleashes an oppressive sense of doom and sets this haunted house tale apart. The star-studded cast includes Ava Gardner and Burgess Meredith.
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