For those of you with Amazon Prime benefits, you may or may not have realized just how many great, free horror movies the site’s streaming service has to offer for members (something I sadly didn’t realize until late last year myself). I recently spent a few hours combing through their entire library and came up with this list of 31 horror movies (spanning several different sub-genres) that are sure to make for fun and fright-filled ways to get you ready for Halloween.
Scouts Guide to the Zombie Apocalypse (2015)
When their peaceful town is ravaged by a zombie invasion, three scouts and one badass cocktail waitress will fight for the badge of a lifetime and put their scouting skills to the test to save mankind from the undead.
Interview with a Vampire (1994)
Box office superstar Tom Cruise ("A Few Good Men," "The Firm") stars in the hotly anticipated adaptation of Anne Rice's gothic novel.
Tales From the Darkside: The Movie (1990)
From Stephen King (Pet Sematary), Michael McDowell (Beetlejuice), George A. Romero (Night of the Living Dead) and Arthur Conan Doyle (creator of Sherlock Holmes), comes Tales From The Darkside: The Movie, an all-star horror anthology packed with fun and fright.
The Mist (2007)
Following a violent thunderstorm, artist David Drayton and a small town community come under vicious attack from creatures prowling in a thick and unnatural mist.
The Others (2001)
Screen sensation Nicole Kidman delivers an utterly unforgettable performance in this scary and stylish thriller! While awaiting her husband's return from war, Grace (Kidman) and her two young children live an unusually isolated existence behind the locked doors and drawn curtains of a secluded island mansion.
1408 (2007)
Renowned horror novelist Mike Enslin (John Cusack) believes only in what he can see with his own two eyes. But after a string of bestsellers discrediting paranormal events in the most infamous haunted houses and graveyards around the world, he has no real proof of life...afterlife. But Enslin's phantom-free run of long and lonely nights is about to change forever when he checks into suite 1408 of the notorious Dolphin Hotel for his latest project, "Ten Nights in Haunted Hotel Rooms."
The Witch (2016)
In this exquisitely made and terrifying new horror film, the age-old concepts of witchcraft, black magic and possession are innovatively brought together to tell the intimate and riveting story of one family's frightful unraveling in the New England wilderness circa 1630.
Disturbing Behavior (1998)
The new kid in town stumbles across something sinister about the town's method of transforming its unruly teens into upstanding citizens. In HD.
Phantom of the Opera (1943)
A crazed composer (Claude Rains) transforms into a masked phantom who schemes to make a young soprano the star of the opera and wreak revenge on those who stole his music.
Stir of Echoes (1999)
Ever since Tom Witzy (Kevin Bacon) was hypnotized by his kooky sister-in-law (Illeana Douglas), he's had terrifying visions of a horrible crime.
Southbound (2016)
On a desolate stretch of desert highway, weary travelers are forced to confront their worst fears and darkest secrets in a series of interwoven tales of terror and remorse.
The Faculty (1998)
This hip and edgy thriller from the director of Machete and writer of Scream sizzles with a hot young cast including Elijah Wood (The Lord Of the Rings trilogy), Josh Hartnett (30 Days of Night) and R &B superstar Usher Raymond.
Goodnight Mommy (2015)
In this terrifying thriller, twin boys play a dangerous game of make-believe that blurs the line between nightmare and reality as they start to doubt whether their mother, recovering from cosmetic surgery, is really who she says she is.
The Craft (1996)
Four female misfits connect with a higher power that enables them to rock and rule their high school.
Don’t Go Into the House (1980)
A disturbed young man who was burned as a child by his sadistic mother stalks women with a flamethrower. Donny Kohler, a young man who was abused as a child, is terribly changed by the death of his mother. A long dormant psychosis is brought to life and he prepares his vengeance for his tormented childhood. One by one he lures beautiful young women into his ancient house and takes his revenge!
Asylum (1972)
Widely regarded as one of the best horror anthology films ever made, this serpentine chiller takes you deep inside the psyches of the patients of an experimental asylum. Under the guidance of a controversial psychiatrist who engages in some very strange practices, the patients of the Archway Community are forced to look inward for the answers to the dark secrets that bind them.
An American Werewolf in London (1981)
Two American students encounter horror while backpacking through England.
Carrie (1976)
Based on a Stephen King novel, Carrie is the story of a girl brought up, almost in isolation, by her psychotically religious mother Margaret.
Don’t Look Now (1973)
On a trip to Venice, a young couple whose daughter has just died meet a psychic who leads them into a frightening and suspenseful experience. Based on a novel by Daphne Du Maurier.
Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956)
Something evil has taken possession of the small town of Santa Mira, California. Hysterical people accuse their loved ones of being emotionless impostors; of not being themselves. At first, Dr. Miles Bennell (Kevin McCarthy) tries to convince them they're wrong...but they're not. Plant-like extraterrestrials have invaded Earth, replicating the villagers in giant seed "pods" and taking possession of their souls while they sleep.
Soon the entire town is overwhelmed by the inhuman horror, but it won't stop there. In a terrifying race for his life, Dr. Bennell escapes to warn the world of the deadly invasion of the pod people! Remade in both 1978 and 1997, this chilling combination of extraterrestrial terror and anti-conformity paranoia is considered one of the great cult classics of the genre.
The Collector (2009)
Desperate to repay his debt to his ex-wife, an ex-con plots a heist at his new employer's country home, unaware that a second criminal has also targeted the property, and rigged it with a series of deadly traps.
House on Haunted Hill (1959)
The sinister Vincent Price invites his enemies to spend the night in his decaying, old, creepy mansion with a violent past. He offers them $10,000 each if they can spend the whole night there. He gives each one a tiny coffin with a gun enclosed and then comes up with all sorts of devices to cause them to use the guns on each other.
Don’t Look in the Basement (1973)
A new nurse comes to work at an institution for the criminally insane, and after the head of the institution is murdered by a psychotic killer with an ax, the inmates take over the asylum.
Little Witches (1996)
Six girls at a Catholic high school become mixed up with the occult after a Satanic temple is discovered underneath the local church.
Deadly Blessing (1981)
Set in Amish Country, a woman's husband is mysteriously killed by his own tractor in a contemporary community that is not far from another community that believes in ancient evil and curses. It stars Ernest Borgnine, Maren Jensen (in her last screen appearance) and Sharon Stone in an early screen appearance. Directed by the legendary Wes Craven.
Burn, Witch, Burn (1961)
A college psychology professor sets out to debunk the occult, only to find himself under attack by a practitioner of the supernatural. In HD.
Absentia (2012)
After having declared her missing husband 'dead in absentia', Tricia and her sister begin to link an ominous tunnel to a series of disappearances.
Season of the Witch (1973)
Unhappy and bored, a suburban housewife gets involved in witchcraft leading to murder.
The Ghoul (1933)
Egyptologist Boris Karloff is buried with a rare jewel that is supposed to give its owner eternal life. When it is stolen, he rises from the dead to get it back. In HD.
House on Sorority Row (1983)
Seven sorority sisters throw a graduation party and play an innocent prank that goes horribly wrong. Winding up with a dead body, they panic and try to hide it. But someone witnessed the crime and begins to stalk and murder them, one by one, in this cult classic.
The Devil’s Advocate (1997)
Keanu Reeves and Oscar-winner Al Pacino star in this sexy thriller about temptation and ambition. Co-starring Charlize Theron, Emmy-winner Craig T. Nelson.
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In case you missed them, check out Heather's previous seasonal special features with great ideas to get you in the Halloween spirit:
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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