October is one of the best months for movies and TV shows. You have titles, such as Gilmore Girls and Buffy the Vampire Slayer, that are perfect for getting you into the autumnal spirits, but I've also watched countless horror movies this month, making this roundup of my favorite watches very difficult to dwindle down.
Of course, I've included Halloween classics, like Hocus Pocus (1993) and my favorite slasher movie Scream (1996), but I've also added a number of new movies to my list, including the '80s cult classic Vampire's Kiss (1989) and the most popular Netflix movie right now KPop Demon Hunters (2025) – even though it's not a horror!
KPop Demon Hunters (2025)
Directors: Maggie Kang and Chris Appelhans
Age rating: PG
Runtime: 99 minutes
Where to stream: Netflix (US, UK and AU)
I never imagined kick-starting my October streaming marathon with KPop Demon Hunters, but I'm so glad I did. Now I see why it's still in the top spots of the Netflix charts – it's a visually-striking animation with a simple but powerful storyline, not to mention it has one of the most infectious soundtracks.
In every generation, three female pop singers are chosen to hunt and fight demons to stop them from entering the human world. When they're not on stage, Rumi, Mira, and Zoey of the band HUNTR/X are responsible for protecting the lives of humans around them, using their musical strengths to wear off evil forces.
The girls meet their match when a rival Kpop boy band Saja Boys come on the scene and climb the charts. But they're hiding a secret; all the band members are demons with a plan to unleash the rest of their kind and sinister leader into the human world.
Scream (1996)
Director: Wes Craven
Age rating: R
Runtime: 111 minutes
Where to stream: Hulu, Paramount+, Peacock, Fubo, Hoopla (US); Netflix, Paramount+, BBC iPlayer (UK); Paramount+, Foxtel Now, Stan, Binge (AU)
It wouldn't be October if I didn't watch my favorite slasher, even if I have seen it more times than I can count. I've said it many times before, but Scream has one of the best opening scenes in my opinion. From the moment Drew Barrymore answers that eerie anonymous phone call, you know you're in for an eventful ride.
In what was once a peaceful California town, fear and shock ignites among the locals when two high school students are brutally murdered and a masked serial killer roams the area. This includes student Sidney Prescott (Neve Campbell) who, on the anniversary of her mother's murder, is targeted by the killer.
As more of Sidney's fellow students are targeted by the sinister killer, a town-wide curfew is instated, leading Sidney, ambitious news reporter Gale Weathers (Courteney Cox), and local cop Dewey (David Arquette) take it upon themselves to find the killer, which results in an epic final showdown at a high school party.
Coraline (2009)
Director: Henry Sellick
Age rating: PG
Runtime: 100 minutes
Where to stream: Tubi (US); ITVX (UK)
Coraline is one of the main animated movies you should be watching during this time of year, and it was very difficult for me to wait until October before pressing the play button. Its impressive stop-motion animation never fails to amaze me after all these years, but its the sinister wrath of the Other Mother that keeps me coming back every autumn.
Eleven-year-old Coraline Jones (Dakota Fanning) starts a new life in her new home, where she finds herself being constantly bored and fights for her parents' attention as a result. But her boring new life is suddenly lit up when she uncovers a secret door that leads her to an alternate version of her reality, where everything is better and everyone has buttons for eyes.
Her Other Mother (Teri Hatcher) is unlike Coraline's real mother; she's overly loving, fun, and showers Coraline with gifts. Coraline finds more happiness in the other world than her own, but all is not what is seems to be and Coraline soon discovers that the other world is a trap so that the Other Mother can lure children in and eat their souls.
Labyrinth (1986)
Director: Jim Henson
Age rating: PG
Runtime: 101 minutes
Where to stream: Paramount+, Peacock, Fubo, Tubi, PlutoTV, Plex (US); Prime Video, Plex, PlutoTV, ITVX (UK); Plex (AU)
As a kid, I ate, slept, and breathed Jim Henson from The Muppets and Bear in the Big Blue House, so you can rightly imagine that I also adored Labyrinth. It's the best example of dark fantasy, putting a unique spin on the classic fairy tale structure with David Bowie front and center in all his majesty.
The movie follows 15-year-old Sarah (Jennifer Connelly), who is a childish teenager living in her own imaginary world of fairy tales. Frustrated with having to babysit her brother once again, she wishes for him to be taken away, but is shocked when her request comes true and he's taken by the Goblin King (Bowie) and his army.
To rescue her brother, she embarks on a journey through the Goblin King's complex labyrinth and find his castle at the center, but she only has 13 hours to navigate the labyrinth's unpredictable twists before her brother becomes one of the goblins forever.
Ginger Snaps (2000)
Director: John Fawcett
Age rating: R
Runtime: 108 minutes
Where to stream: Tubi, Fubo, Shudder, Plex (US); Prime Video, Plex (UK)
Ginger Snaps is another new watch for me this month, and it immediately caught my attention when I came across it on Prime Video. It's not your typical werewolf movie where they're walking around with their shirts off like Twilight – it's much darker and gruesome, with incredible SFX.
In this analogy of blossoming womanhood, sisters Ginger (Katharine Isabelle) and Brigitte (Emily Perkins) are two edgy high school girls obsessed with the macabre, spending most of their time creating and photographing fake death scenes.
On the night of her first period, Ginger is attacked and bitten by a rabid werewolf, and things take a turn for the worse when her behavior becomes more animalistic. Desperate to help her sister, Brigitte teams with fellow high schooler Sam (Chris Lemche) in a race to find a cure, but Ginger's appetite grows more vicious.
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974)
Director: Tobe Hooper
Age rating: R
Runtime: 83 minutes
Where to stream: Netflix, Prime Video, Peacock, Pluto TV, Plex, Tubi (US) Shudder (UK); Brollie (AU)
What started as an independent movie on a budget evolved into one of the most famous horror flicks of all time, serving as inspiration for modern slasher movies such as Ti West's X (2022). It also just happens to have one of the best movie endings ever.
In 1974, a group of friends hit the road to travel to their grandfather's grave through the backroads of Texas. They find themselves stopping at an abandoned, boarded-up house in hopes of finding gas, but none of them are prepared for what lies inside; a murderous cannibalistic family.
One by one each of the friends meet their gruesome fate at the hands of Leatherface, but it's Sally who finds herself being the guest of honor at a very unsettling dinner party. Will she manage to escape into the night and flee?
Death Becomes Her (1992)
Director: Robert Zemeckis
Age rating: PG
Runtime: 104 minutes
Where to stream: Netflix (US); ITVX (UK); Paramount+, Foxtel Now, Binge (AU)
Who would've thought that this over-the-top, camp, and unserious black comedy about female competitiveness would come from the mind that gave us Back to the Future (1985). There's just something about people falling down the stairs that sends me into a chaotic laughing fit – and it's great to watch at this time of year.
Novelist Helen (Goldie Hawn) has been good friends with actress Madeline (Meryl Streep) for years, but Helen is struck with hatred when Madeline steals her fiancé Ernest (Bruce Willis), which sends her into a mental breakdown.
Years later, the three are reunited and to Madeline's surprise, Helen has had a miraculous glow-up, sparking Madeline's insecurities with her own aging appearance. Now that she's recovered, Helen vows to take back her husband and kill Madeline, but when they both find out that the other has taken a magical elixir that reverses aging, they must face the grave consequences of their choices.
Vampire's Kiss (1989)
Director: Robert Bierman
Age rating: R
Runtime: 103 minutes
Where to stream: Prime Video (US, UK and AU)
I went into Bierman's '80s cult classic with no expectations, so you can imagine my shock when I ran into that Nicholas Cage meme – if you know, you know.
For publishing executive and native New Yorker Peter (Cage), there are two things that are most important to him; making tons of money, and being with as many women as he possible can. But his narcissism gets the best of him when he meets a mysterious woman named Rachel (Jennifer Beals), who reveals she's a vampire when she sink her fangs into his neck while they're in bed – now Peter is convinced he's turning into a vampire.
Descending into madness, his behavior becomes more erratic as his hallucinations grow and his treatment of women becomes dangerous – and life-threatening at times.
Hocus Pocus (1993)
Director: Kenny Ortega
Age rating: PG
Runtime: 95 minutes
Where to stream: Disney+ (US, UK and AU)
One movie that's bound to resurface every October is Hocus Pocus, and rightly so. Despite not being a huge success at the time of its release, it's popularity has grown exponentially over the past 30 years, earning it's well-deserved cult classic status – we love you, Bette Midler.
When a trio of witches called the Sanderson sisters are executed for their witchcraft practices, lead sorceress Winifred (Midler) casts a spell that will resurrect them when the black flame candle is lit again.
Flash forward 300 years to present day Salem, new student Max (Omri Katz) is forced to take his little sister Dani (Thora Birch) trick or treating on Halloween night, but their night gets more eventful when they stumble upon the old Sanderson house and he lights the black flame candle, bringing the sisters back as well their thirst for immortal life.
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