These New Spooky Movies Are Must-Watches This Halloween

Going out in costume with your friends is definitely a highlight of Halloween, but honestly, one of the best ways to celebrate spooky season is to have everyone over for the ultimate scary movie marathon. Once you put up all your haunting decorations and lay out your fave watch-party snacks, the most important part of any Halloween movie night is picking the perfect lineup of terrifying flicks. Some people will always want to go with the classics that everyone’s already seen a million times, but if you really want to get some screams, then these new 2022 Halloween movies should definitely be in consideration.

There’s no denying 2022 has been a ~killer~ year for horror movies. From Jordan Peele’s genre-pushing sci-fi thriller Nope to long-awaited sequels of campy classics like Hocus Pocus 2, the new scary or scary-adjacent movies that came out this year truly run the gamut, so there’s something for everyone. If you can handle something truly horrific, then the nightmare-inducing Smile could be the perfect pick for you. Or, if you are a self-proclaimed scaredy cat, then there are tamer options like Bodies Bodies Bodies or Wendell & Wild. Whatever your poison, here are all the new spooky movies that came out in 2022 that would make for perfect Halloween watches.

1. Nope

Probably the buzziest horror movie of the year, Jordan Peele’s mysterious follow-up to Get Out and Us hit theaters over the summer, long before Halloween. But if you still haven’t seen Nope, then spooky season is the perfect time to check it out. The horror movie will keep you guessing at every turn, as a mysterious alien rains bloody carnage on a horse ranch. It’s full of suspense that’s sure to keep you on the edge of your seat, but not too scary that your squeamish friends wouldn’t be able to enjoy it as well.

2. Hellraiser

The 1987 supernatural horror film Hellraiser is a terrifying classic, and now it’s being rebooted for a whole new generation. The new Hellraiser, which stars Sense8 breakout Jamie Clayton as the iconic Cenobite leader Pinhead, promises to add a whole new flair to the horror classic about a race of sadomasochistic demons who emerge from a cursed puzzle. It begins streaming on Hulu on Oct. 7.

3. Halloween Ends

It’s just not Halloween without Michael Myers, is it? The slasher icon is back for yet another killing spree this year, and as the title of Halloween Ends suggests, the thirteenth movie in the Halloween saga will finally show Laurie Strode and Michael Myers’ final battle. The gory last chapter of the decades-spanning franchise will hit theaters and stream on Peacock beginning Oct. 14.

4. Smile

If you’re looking for something extremely creepy that will almost definitely give you nightmares, Smile already looks like 2022’s most unsettling movie. The psychological horror follows a doctor who begins to witness terrifying events after people around her brandish a sinister-looking smile. After it hits theaters on Sept. 30, it’s expected to stream on Paramount+ in time for Halloween.

5. Hocus Pocus 2

The original 1993 Hocus Pocus has been a Halloween classic for nearly three decades, and now the Sanderson Sisters are finally back to run amok once again and make Halloween 2022 truly spellbinding. The new sequel will see Bette Midler, Sarah Jessica Parker, and Kathy Najimy reprising their iconic roles as the witchy Sanderson sisters, along with a new cast of Salem residents to terrorize. This is the perfect scary movie if you can’t handle too much horror, and it will stream on Disney+ beginning Sept. 30, so you can watch it all October long.

6. Pearl

At the beginning of 2022, the slasher X wowed horror fans, but the biggest surprise of all was the revelation that a prequel movie would be arriving just in time for Halloween. Pearl provides the origin story for X’s brutal killer, flashing back to 1918 when a young Pearl dreamed of becoming a movie star... by any means necessary. The murder-fest began when Pearl hit theaters on Sept. 16, and it’s not going to stop, because a sequel called MaXXXine has already been picked up.

7. The Invitation

If glamorous vampire dramas are your thing, you’ll definitely want to sink your teeth into The Invitation. In the movie, an unsuspecting waitress discovers she has a wealthy extended family in England, but is quickly unsettled when she arrives at their mysterious wedding celebration. Because it turns out... she’s the bride! Things only get bloodier and more twisted from there. The Invitation hit theaters on Aug. 26.

8. Wendell & Wild

If you can’t get enough of stop-motion Halloween classics like The Nightmare Before Christmas, Coraline, and Corpse Bride, then you’re going to want to add the spooky new addition to that genre to your watchlist this year. Not only does Netflix’s Wendell & Wild come from stop-motion icon Henry Selick, but it also marks the long-awaited reunion of comedy duo Key & Peele, with Keegan-Michael Key and Jordan Peele playing a pair of demon brothers trying to sneak into the land of the living. The movie will hit Netflix on Oct. 28, just in time for your Halloween movie night.

9. Prey for the Devil

Nothing is scarier than when horror movies go full satanic, and this year, Prey for the Devil is the religious possession-fest that will haunt your nightmares. The movie centers on a nun training to be an exorcist, only to be confronted with the demon she believes once tortured her own mother. If you love classics like The Exorcist, then check out Prey for the Devil when it hits theaters on Oct. 28.

10. Orphan: First Kill

Back in 2009, Orphan shocked everyone with one of the wildest twists in horror history, and now Esther’s origin story has finally arrived. This year’s Orphan: First Kill finally peels back the twisted layers behind the original movie’s unsettling lead, flashing back to the events that made Esther into who she became. Get ready for a psychological rollercoaster when you press play on Orphan: First Kill, which is streaming now on Paramount+.

11. They/Them

Nothing is more horrific than a conversion camp... except make a conversion camp that’s being preyed upon by a serial killer. They/Them is truly a slasher made for the modern age, as LGBTQ+ youth have to survive both archaic conversion therapy and a mysterious murderer. The movie is streaming on Peacock.

12. The Black Phone

Be sure to turn your phone on silent before you press play on The Black Phone, because each call you get afterwards is sure to send shivers down your spine. The nightmare-inducing thriller centers on a masked child abductor known as “The Grabber,” as his latest victim tries to piece together clues from his past victims to try to escape his lair. It’s streaming on Peacock, if you think you can handle the creepiness.

13. Bodies Bodies Bodies

Do you prefer to scream with laughter rather than from terror? Don’t worry — you can still get in the spooky season mood without watching anything too scary by checking out Bodies Bodies Bodies. The slasher is more of a satirical comedy about entitled young people than a horror flick, although it still has a fair share of jumpscares to keep you on your toes. The star-studded movie hit theaters back in August.