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16 underrated horror movies to add to your Halloween watchlist

Key Takeaways

  • 2024 has great new horror films, but old classics like Halloween are must-watch.
  • Discover less-known horror favorites like Deep Rising and The Battery for a diverse scare selection.
  • Movies like Psycho Goreman offer a unique mix of gore and sweetness, perfect for Halloween.



Halloween is right around the corner, which means it’s time to binge-watch scary movies.

2024 has seen some great new horror films hit theaters, like Longlegs, Cuckoo, and Night Swim, but Halloween is a time when it’s great to watch old classics. Of course, there are only so many movies to watch once you make it through the must-watch classics like Halloween, Nightmare on Elm Street, and The Conjuring movies.

So, we’ve rounded up some of our less-heralded favorites that you might not have heard of. This eclectic collection of is sure to have at least one film you’ve never seen before while offering a little something for everyone, no matter what types of scares you like.

1 Deep Rising

A cruise ship heist goes horribly wrong


Deep Rising

A group of thieves plans to rob the most luxurious cruise ship in the world but find it mysteriously empty instead.

Director
Stephen Sommers

Writers
Stephen Sommers

Starring
Treat Williams, Famke Janssen, Anthony Heald

In theatres
1998

Run Time
106 minutes

Treat Williams stars as the captain of a ship that’s been hired to meet up with a state-of-the-art luxury crew ship, but when they arrive they find that all the guests on the ship have mysteriously vanished. As they investigate the ship, they learn that something else boarded the ship before them.

2 The Battery

A haunting indie zombie movie

The Battery

Two minor league baseball players get sick of one another in the zombie apocalypse.

Director
Jeremy Gardner

Writers
Jeremy Gardner

Starring
Jeremy Gardner, Adam Cronheim, Niels Bolle

In theatres
2012

Run Time
101 minutes

The Battery is more thoughtful than pretty much any zombie film I’ve ever seen, which helps imbue it with a level of terror that few zombie films ever achieve. The film follows two minor league baseball players as they struggle to survive not only the apocalypse, but each other’s company, before they find themselves surrounded by the undead.


The film was written and directed by Jeremy Gardner, who also stars in the film. He’s done the same with a few more films since The Battery came out in 2012, so if you like this movie, be sure to check out his other films.

3 Psycho Goreman

A little girl gets her own demonic alien

Psycho Goreman

Two kids gain power over a long-imprisoned, super-powerful alien deity bent on ruling the galaxy.

Director
Steven Kostanski

Writers
Steven Kostanski

Starring
Nita-Josee Hanna, Owen Myre, Matthew Ninaber

In theatres
2020

Run Time
95 minutes

Psycho Goreman follows a young brother and sister who discover a mysterious gem while digging in their backyard. The gem unleashes a dangerous alien who was imprisoned after attempting to conquer the galaxy. While the alien has no problem killing anyone he comes across, the gem the two kids found gives them power over the alien. So they name him Psycho Goreman and begin teaching him to be a little less brutal.

This movie is filled with over-the-top gore, but it’s somehow super sweet and endearing


This movie is filled with over-the-top gore, but it’s somehow super sweet and endearing. A weird combo that works surprisingly well together. If you like this film, check out director Steven Kostanski’s other film, The Void, as well.

4 Fido

Zombies are pets

Fido

An idyllic 1950’s world where humanity overcame the zombie apocalypse and domesticated the undead.

Director
Andrew Currie

Writers
Robert Chomiak, Andrew Currie, Dennis Heaton

Starring
Billy Connolly, Carrie-Anne Moss, Dylan Baker

In theatres
2006

Run Time
93 minutes

Fido tells the story of what happened after the zombie apocalypse. Zombies are mostly domesticated thanks to collars that curb their problematic cravings for humans. Meanwhile, humanity has reverted to a 1950s style society, that’s until a young boy named Timmy gets too close to his family’s pet zombie, and it begins to wreak havoc on his small idyllic town.


5 Disturbing Behavior

Perfect high schoolers aren’t what they seem

Disturbing Behavior

The new kid in town discovers that the club of preppy kids are responsible for quite a few murders.

Director
David Nutter

Writers
Scott Rosenberg

Starring
James Marsden, Katie Holmes, Nick Stahl

In theatres
1998

Run Time
84 minutes

James Marsden stars as Steve Clark, a high school senior who’s new to the community of Cradle Bay. Shortly after arriving, Clark begins noticing strange behavior from a group of students in a club known as the Blue Ribbons and the sketchy therapist who oversees them.

6 Wishmaster

Never let an evil genie grant your wish

Wishmaster

An evil genies grants wishes that have a horrible side effect on the person who asks.

Director
Robert Kurtzman

Writers
Peter Atkins

Starring
Tammy Lauren, Andrew Divoff, Robert Englund

In theatres
1997

Run Time
90 minutes

An appraiser in New York City is given an ancient gemstone which awakens an evil djinn that needs someone to cast three wishes so that he can release hell on Earth. The Djinn takes on human form, and begins to terrorize anyone who he can get a wish from.


7 Near Dark

A young guy falls for a mysterious vampire girl

Near Dark

A teenager in rural Oklahoma gets dragged into a traveling pack of vampires.

Director
Kathryn Bigelow

Writers
Kathryn Bigelow, Eric Red

Starring
Adrian Pasdar, Jenny Wright, Lance Henriksen

In theatres
1987

Run Time
94 minutes

Near Dark is a cult classic vampire film that also happens to be directed by Academy Award winner Kathryn Bigelow. It follows a young man who meets a mysterious girl one evening who turns him into a vampire and introduces him to the pack of bloodsuckers she travels with, led by Lance Henriksen’s Jesse Hooker.

8 The Descent

Cave-diving with monsters


The Descent

An all-female group of spelunkers gets trapped in a cave and discover a subterranean species of man-eating monsters..

Director
Neil Marshall

Writers
Neil Marshall

Starring
Shauna Macdonald, Natalie Mendoza, Alex Reid

In theatres
2005

Run Time
99 minutes

If you’re looking for a movie that will have you sleeping with the lights on for all of October, then The Descent might be just what you’re looking for. It follows a group of female cave divers who are trapped underground and discover strange creatures that begin to pick them off one by one.

9 Halloween: H20

Michael Myers finds Laurie Strode 20 years later

Halloween H20: 20 Years Later

Director
Steve Minera

Writers
Robert Zappia, Matt Greenberg, Kevin Williamson (uncredited)

Starring
Jamie Lee Curtis, Josh Hartnett, Adam Arkin

In theatres
1998

Run Time
86 minutes

Halloween: H20 might just be the best Halloween movie after the 1978 original. The movie sees the return of Jamie Lee Curtis as Laurie Strode, who faked her death and went into hiding to avoid Michael Myers. She’s now the dean of a private school in northern California that her son attends. But, unfortunately, Michael learns that Laurie is still alive, and makes the trek across the country to check in on his long-lost sister.


10 Pumpkinhead

What better way to get ready for Halloween than watching a pumpkin-headed monster terrorize teens.

Pumpkinhead

A greiving father seeks out a witch for revenge but gets more than he bargained for.

Director
Stan Winston

Writers
Mark Patrick Carducci, Gary Gerani, Stan Winston

Starring
Lance Henriksen, Jeff East, John D’Aquino

In theatres
1988

Run Time
88 minutes

This cult classic was the directorial debut of special effects wizard Stan Winston, who’s best known for working on films like Jurassic Park, Terminator 2, and Aliens. It centers around a group of teens who accidentally murder a young boy. The boy’s father goes to a witch who helps him wake up Pumpkinhead in order to carry out his vengeance on the teenagers.

11 Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors

Teenagers take the fight to Freddy


Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors

A new group of teens that are locked in an asylum are terrorized by Freddy Krueger in their dreams.

Director
Chuck Russell

Writers
Wes Craven, Bruce Wagner, Chuck Russell

Starring
Heather Langenkamp, Patricia Arquette, Robert Englund

In theatres
1987

Run Time
97 minutes

If you’re looking to watch a Freddy Krueger movie, it’s hard to beat the original, but my next favorite Nightmare on Elm Street film is the third entry in the series released way back in 1987. The movie sees Heather Langenkamp return as Nancy after surviving Freddy as a teen in the first movie. Now she’s a new therapist in a psych ward filled with teens having similar nightmares to her own.

12 Audition

A Japanese body horror classic

Audition

A film producer helps a widowed friend interview candidates for a new wife.

Director
Takashi Miike

Writers
Daisuke Tengan (screenplay), Ryu Murakami (novel)

Starring
Ryo Ishibashi, Eihi Shiina, Tetsu Sawaki

In theatres
1999

Run Time
99 minutes

This Japanese horror classic sees a man who, with the help of a film producer, auditions women for a role as his new wife, but the woman he chooses is one of the most sadistic characters in film history.


13 The Autopsy of Jane Doe

The aftermath of a possession comes to a coroner’s office

The Autopsy of Jane Doe

A smalltown father and son coroner team get a late night job in the form of a possessed corpse.

Director
André Øvredal

Writers
Ian Goldberg, Richard Naing

Starring
Brian Cox, Emile Hirsch, Ophelia Lovibond

In theatres
2016

Run Time
86 minutes

If you’re a fan of haunting or possession movies like The Conjuring or The Exorcist, then The Autopsy of Jane Doe is a great choice if you’re looking for a new scare fest. The movie follows the arrival of a body in a small-town morgue after its discovery at the scene of a mysterious homicide. The movie stars former Succession star Bryan Cox.

14 Splinter

Two couples encounter a mysterious monster at an abandoned gas station

Splinter

Director
Toby Wilkins

Writers
Ian Shorr, Kai Barry

Starring
Jill Wagner, Paulo Costanzo, Shea Whigham

In theatres
2008

Run Time
82 minutes

Splinter is a great monster movie. A young couple traveling through rural Oklahoma is abducted by an escaped convict and his girlfriend. After a flat tire, the foursome looks for help in an old gas station, but find an parasistic creature that feeds on blood.


15 Slither

An alien hive mind invades a small town

Slither

An alien slug crash lands in a small town and begins wreaking havoc on it’s inhabitants.

Director
James Gunn

Writers
James Gunn

Starring
Nathan Fillion, Elizabeth Banks, Michael Rooker

In theatres
2006

Run Time
95 minutes

Slither is one of the more well known movies on the list, in part due to being one of the early films by James Gunn who’s now in charge of making DC Comics films for Warner Bros. The film sees an alien parasite fall to Earth where it infects a resident in a small town played by Michael Rooker. From there, the alien sets about making more larvae and taking the rest of the residents under its control.

16 The Faculty

Invasion of the body snatchers meets Scream


The Faculty

Director
Robert Rodriguez

Writers
Kevin Williamson

Starring
Elijah Wood, Josh Hartnett, Jordana Brewster

In theatres
1998

Run Time
104 minutes

What if the faculty of your high school was infected by mind-controlling aliens? That’s the premise of the 1998 film, The Faculty, which sees an alien invasion begin at a small high school in Ohio. A few of the students notice the tell-tale alien invasion signs before it’s too late and set out to find the alien leader. The Faculty was written by Kevin Williamson, who wrote Scream and I Know What You Did Last Summer.

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