Much like Aerosmith, our latest installment of “From Streams to Screams” is living on the edge (sorry, I couldn’t resist). Terrible jokes aside, psychologically driven horror movies are a great way to push my buttons as a viewer, and I love immersing myself in all kinds of mind-bending genre stories that feature characters either being driven to the brink of insanity, or those who have embraced their darker impulses and choose to revel in their madness.
So, with that in mind, here’s a look at 25 horror movies available on various streaming platforms that are the perfect way to get you ready for Halloween, and also deliver up some unexpected twists and turns along the way.
Frailty (Available on Amazon Prime & Shudder)
Years after terrorizing a small Texas community, the God's Hand Killer has returned - leaving in his wake a perplexing trail of fear and death. Convinced that he knows the killer's identity, Fenton Meiks shows up at FBI Headquarters, intent on putting an end to the murderous rampage and relieving his conscience of his family's sinister secrets.
In the Mouth of Madness (Available on Vudu)
Imagine a novel so overwhelmingly hypnotic, so tremendously horrifying that it paralyzes its audience with fear and turns even its most sensible readers insane. When the author disappears, an insurance investigator hired to find the writer discovers far more than he could ever imagine in this spellbinding thriller.
American Psycho (Available on Hulu & Shudder)
Wealthy 80s businessman Patrick Bateman spends his nights serial killing.
Carrie (1976) (Available on Amazon Prime)
Carrie, based on the novel by Stephen King, takes on new life as a teenage horror story unveils the existence of a tortured and anguished high school outcast. Carrie, a telekinetic teenager, unleashes her wrath after years of torment from an overbearing mother and constant cruelty from her classmates.
The Night Evelyn Came Out of the Grave (Available on Tubi TV)
A wealthy English lord is suffering a mental breakdown following the death of his red headed wife, Evelyn, whom he feared was cheating on him. He tours local bars and dives, scouring for lovely red heads willing to come back to his decaying castle in the country, where he seduces them, then tortures and kills them.
Excision (Available on Shudder)
A weird girl who dreams of becoming a surgeon is pushed to the breaking point.
Jacob’s Ladder (Available on Hulu & Amazon Prime)
Director Adrian Lyne (FATAL ATTRACTION) takes you on an intense, horrifying journey with a shocking ending that will haunt you forever. Tim Robbins is Jacob Singer, a man who lives in a nightmare.
Grand Piano (Available on Shudder)
A pianist is menaced by a sniper who threatens to shoot him if he plays a wrong note.
The Fall of the House of Usher (Available on Amazon Prime)
Edgar Allen Poe's classic tale of murder, madness and necrophilia in the ancient ancestral home of the tragic Usher family. Vincent Price is the last male in the ill-fated line of Ushers, haunted by the crimes of his ancestors and obsessed by the idea that only the complete annihilation of himself and his sister can end the Usher evil.
Berberian Sound Studio (Available on Hulu)
A newly hired sound engineer's work for a horror movie studio becomes a terrifying case of life imitating art.
Manhunter (Available on Shudder)
Hannibal Lecter made his first film appearance in this 80s adaptation of Red Dragon.
Emelie (Available on Netflix)
A suburban couple hires a new sitter to watch their three kids for the night, unaware that the young woman isn’t who she claims to be.
Fade to Black (Available on Amazon Prime)
A young social misfit attempts to escape his unsatisfying life by obsessive movie-going, becoming increasingly alienated from the real world. Ultimately, after being rejected by a Marilyn Monroe look-alike, he snaps and transforms into a psychotic killer costumed as classic screen characters.
Mom and Dad (Available on Hulu)
A teenage girl and her little brother try to survive a wild 24 hours during which a mass hysteria of unknown origins causes parents to turn violently on their own children.
The Shining (Available on Netflix)
Jack Torrance descends into madness, terrorizing his wife and young son, after living at a deserted and eerie hotel during its off-season.
Flatliners (1990) (Available on Amazon Prime)
Kiefer Sutherland and Julia Roberts lead a talented group of medical students on a dangerous journey to the other side of death... and back.
Road Games (Available on Hulu)
Nothing is what it seems in this terrifying thriller when a serial killer plays a game of cat and mouse with an unwitting hitchhiker who gets in the wrong car in France.
In Dreams (Available on Amazon Prime)
Claire Cooper's (Annette Bening) peaceful family life takes a chilling turn when a mysterious serial killer (Robert Downey Jr.) invades her seemingly idyllic New England town... and haunts her dreams with dark clues to his next deadly moves.
The Eyes of My Mother (Available on Netflix)
At the remote farmhouse where she once witnessed a traumatic childhood event, a young woman develops a grisly fascination with violence.
Wake in Fright (Available on Shudder)
A man on vacation stops off in a rural town filled with strange characters and become unable to leave.
Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer (Available on Amazon Prime)
One of the most harrowing American horror films of the 20th century, Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer celebrates its 30th anniversary with an immaculate new 4K presentation that cements this shocking and thought-provoking plunge into the mind of a murderer as a true cinema landmark.
Mayhem (Available on Shudder)
Derek Cho (Steven Yeun, “The Walking Dead”) is having a really bad day. After being unjustly fired from his job, he discovers that the law firm’s building is under quarantine for a mysterious and dangerous virus. Chaos erupts throughout the office as the victims of the disease begin acting out their wildest impulses. Joining forces with a former client (Samara Weaving, “Ash vs Evil Dead”) who has a grudge of her own, Derek savagely fights tooth and nail to get to the executives on the top floor and settle the score once and for all.
What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? (1991) (Available on Amazon Prime)
Long-forgotten child star Baby Jane Hudson mostly neglects her wheelchair-bound sister Blanche's needs while selfishly spending her money on an alarming amount of liquor. Blanche achieved great success as an actress, and when her popularity resurges thanks to the omnipresence of television, Jane berates and abuses her, forcing Blanche to exert every effort to save herself despite her paralysis.
The Wicker Man (Available on Shudder)
A police sergeant travels to a remote Scottish island and its pagan community, in search of a missing girl.
Scream and Scream Again (Available on Amazon Prime)
A deranged scientist, seeking to create a race of super humans by means of organic transplant, commits a series of brutal murders in order to utilize the bodies. Screen and horror legends Vincent Price, Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing star!
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Looking for more ways to get into the spooky spirit of the season? Check here to read all of our 2018 special features celebrating the Halloween season!
Heather A. Wixson was born and raised in the Chicago suburbs, until she followed her dreams and moved to Los Angeles in 2009. A 14-year veteran in the world of horror entertainment journalism, Wixson fell in love with genre films at a very early age, and has spent more than a decade as a writer and supporter of preserving the history of horror and science fiction cinema. Throughout her career, Wixson has contributed to several notable websites, including Fangoria, Dread Central, Terror Tube, and FEARnet, and she currently serves as the Managing Editor for Daily Dead, which has been her home since 2013. She's also written for both Fangoria Magazine & ReMind Magazine, and her latest book project, Monsters, Makeup & Effects: Volume One will be released on October 20, 2021.
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