Do you feel it in the air? It’s Spooky Season, arriving this week as October announces it’s autumnal arrival. Which means it’s time to get the Spooky Season watchlist in order, and there’s no better place to start than with the best horror movies of 2026 that you may have missed out on so far.

Start with the Gen Z horror and box-office sensations that kicked off the summer and became two of the biggest movies of the year. Curry Barker’s “Obsession” is the tale of a wish gone wrong and a toxic love story gone horrific, and don’t count out breakout star Inde Navarrette in the best actress race this year. Stream it on Peacock. And Kane Parsons’ “Backrooms” is an eerie, truly original unpacking of psychological trauma and the places we hide our deepest secrets, starring Renate Reinsve and Chiwetel Ejiofor. Stream “Backrooms” on HBO Max.

Damien McCarthy’s “Hokum” sees Adam Scott embracing horror, in the tale of a novelist who uncovers a terrible mystery, steeped in folklore at an inn in Ireland, executed with meticulous style and genuinely gut-wrenching scares. Rent “Hokum” on iTunes or Prime Video.

Ian Tuason turns to the element of sound to elicit terror with his inventive “Undertone,” about a horror podcaster caring for her dying mother who uncovers a terrifying recording and tries to solve the mystery. It’s almost like “The Ring” but with audio only, and the lead performance by Nina Kiri is fantastic. Stream it on HBO Max.

Australian indie horror film “Leviticus” is like a queer “It Follows,” about a clandestine relationship between two teenage boys who become haunted by a demon that takes each other’s form. The performances by Joe Bird and Stacy Clausen make this worth the watch. Rent it on iTunes or Prime Video.

French director Sébastien Vaniček takes a long-running American horror franchise and gives it a New French Extremity spin with the incredibly gnarly “Evil Dead Burn.” This is one of the most inventively shot and edited horror movies of the year, and it does not skimp on the gore or body horror, so this is for advanced horror hounds only. Rent it on iTunes or Prime Video.

Sam Raimi may have started “Evil Dead” back in the ‘80s, but he brings his signature sense of humor to his latest project, the survivalist odd couple horror comedy “Send Help” starring Rachel McAdams and Dylan O’Brien, about a woman stranded on an island with her terrible boss after a plane crash. In his signature Raimi way, he blends comedy with scares in a truly delightful fashion. Stream it on Hulu.

If you’ve ever wanted to see Ralph Fiennes dance with the devil in the pale moonlight, well “28 Years Later: The Bone Temple” is for you. Nia DaCosta’s installment in the zombie franchise is wild, weird and very bloody, but Fiennes' performance as Dr. Kelson is not one to be missed. Stream it on Netflix.

Of the movies about sisters escaping a murderous cult this year, “They Will Kill You,” starring Zazie Beetz and directed by Kirill Sokolov, is the superior offering. A woman (Beetz) cons her way into an NYC apartment building to find her sister, and finds a lot more than she bargained for. The style is inventive and eye-popping, and Beetz wields a sword with panache. Stream it on HBO Max.

Finally, Maggie Gyllenhaal’s “The Bride!” a “Frankenstein” riff starring Jessie Buckley, isn’t entirely successful, but as a spooky, feminist vibe, it can’t be beat, and that might just be what the doctor ordered right now — a woman that’s wild and full of rage. Stream it on HBO Max.

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