{"id":214148,"date":"2025-10-10T11:29:12","date_gmt":"2025-10-10T11:29:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/214148\/"},"modified":"2025-10-10T11:29:12","modified_gmt":"2025-10-10T11:29:12","slug":"the-7-best-horror-movies-on-hbo-max-in-october-2025","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/214148\/","title":{"rendered":"The 7 Best Horror Movies on HBO Max in October 2025"},"content":{"rendered":"

October has begun. Halloween is just a few weeks away now, which means it\u2019s time to either start rewatching some of your favorite horror movies or seeking out some that you have never seen before. Fortunately, HBO Max has a strong selection of horror films, both new and old, including some of the genre\u2019s greatest and most acclaimed entries and some lesser-known gems.<\/p>\n

Here are the seven best horror movies streaming on HBO Max right now.<\/p>\n

\"\"\u201cSinners\u201d (Warner Bros.)<\/p>\n

\u201cSinners\u201d (2025)<\/p>\n

\u201cSinners\u201d<\/a> is a horror film made with astonishing style and welcome bite. Written and directed by Ryan Coogler, this period thriller follows a pair of outlaw twin brothers (both played by Michael B. Jordan) who return to their Mississippi hometown in 1932 with the hopes of opening their own drink and music joint. Their plans are disrupted when they come face to face with an immortal vampire (Jack O\u2019Connell) who wants to add to his flock.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cSinners\u201d caught on wi<\/a>th moviegoers earlier this year, and for good reason. There are few contemporary horror movies as immersive, entertaining, bloody and thoughtful as it. If you have yet to check it out, then the start of this year\u2019s Spooky Season is as good a reason as you could possibly need to do so.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\""The\u201cThe Shining\u201d (Warner Bros.)<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Shining\u201d (1980)<\/p>\n

If \u201cThe Shining\u201d<\/a> is available, then no list about a streaming service\u2019s best horror movies would be complete without it. An adaptation of Stephen King\u2019s 1977 novel of the same name, Stanley Kubrick\u2019s \u201cThe Shining\u201d is a supernatural horror film of practically unholy power. The film follows a recovering alcoholic novelist (Jack Nicholson) as he takes on the job of winter caretaker at a remote, mountainside resort hotel. While there, he and his family are mercilessly plagued by the hotel\u2019s ghosts, which feed on the tensions between Nicholson\u2019s Jack, his wife Wendy (Shelley Duvall) and son Danny (Danny Lloyd) as part of an effort to violently add them to their hive.\u00a0<\/p>\n

A terrifying psychological thriller and heartbreakingly blunt family drama, \u201cThe Shining\u201d drops you into an uncanny and hostile world. The malevolence of the Overlook Hotel is felt in every one of the film\u2019s frames. \u201cThe Shining\u201d will, consequently, leave you looking over your own shoulder out of both fear and paranoia. Horror movies just do not get better or more effective than this.<\/p>\n

\""A\u201cA Nightmare on Elm Street\u201d (New Line Cinema)<\/p>\n

\u201cA Nightmare on Elm Street\u201d (1984)<\/p>\n

\u201cA Nightmare on Elm Street\u201d is not only one of horror\u2019s most iconic films, but it also features one of the genre\u2019s most terrifying creations: Freddy Krueger (Robert Englund). Set in a sleepy American suburban town, the film follows a group of oblivious, naive teenagers who find themselves stalked and attacked in their dreams by Englund\u2019s Krueger, an undead and deformed child killer hell bent on unleashing as much brutal cruelty as he can on his victims.<\/p>\n

Made with director Wes Craven\u2019s signature, deranged sense of humor and overflowing with imaginative, striking horror images, \u201cA Nightmare on Elm Street\u201d has not lost any of its power in the 41 years since its release. It is a film that viscerally tears away the facade of suburban safety that America once believed in, delivering a nightmare that feels inescapable \u2014 to both its characters and its viewers.<\/p>\n

\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"\"\t\t\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n

\""Carnival\u201cCarnival of Souls\u201d (Herts-Lion International Corp.)<\/p>\n

\u201cCarnival of Souls\u201d (1962)<\/p>\n

Perhaps the greatest of all horror B-movies, \u201cCarnival of Souls\u201d was made on an incredibly tight, low budget in the 1960s and nonetheless managed to transcend its financial limitations. This starkly photographed black-and-white film follows a young woman (Candace Hilligoss) who survives a deadly car accident and subsequently relocates to a new city.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Once there, however, she finds herself haunted by the ghosts of a nearby, abandoned carnival pavilion, who gradually pull her further and further into their ghostly world. Before long, director Herk Harvey has blurred the lines between life and death to the point of terrifying incomprehension. Punctuated by a number of striking images and dreamlike sequences, \u201cCarnival of Souls\u201d is a disorienting masterpiece, one that slowly but surely wraps you up in its cold, hazy embrace.<\/p>\n

\""Drag\u201cDrag Me to Hell\u201d (Universal Pictures)<\/p>\n

\u201cDrag Me to Hell\u201d (2009)<\/p>\n

After leaving the horror world for many years to make mainstream blockbusters like 2002\u2019s \u201cSpider-Man\u201d and 2004\u2019s \u201cSpider-Man 2,\u201d director Sam Raimi made a smashing return to the genre with 2009\u2019s \u201cDrag Me to Hell.\u201d A savage, delightfully wicked horror comedy, the film follows a young loan officer (Alison Lohman) who makes a decision, under pressure from her boss, to deny an elderly woman\u2019s mortgage extension. <\/p>\n

In retaliation, the woman places a curse on her that comes with the promise of being ultimately dragged to the depths of Hell, but only after she is tortured by increasingly violent, mean-spirited supernatural forces for three days first. Directed with macabre glee by Raimi, \u201cDrag Me to Hell\u201d boasts the same blend of assaultive horror and caustic humor that defined his initial, breakout films. It is an unforgettable horror experience, and there are very few films you will ever see like it.<\/p>\n

\""Get\u201cGet Out\u201d (Universal Pictures)<\/p>\n

\u201cGet Out\u201d (2017)<\/p>\n

2017\u2019s \u201cGet Out\u201d is a horror film made with razor-sharp precision and cleverness. Writer-director Jordan Peele\u2019s unexpected-at-the-time shift to horror follows a young black man (Daniel Kaluuya) whose trip to meet his white girlfriend\u2019s (Allison Williams) family takes a nightmarish turn when he finds himself at the center of a malevolent conspiracy. For as surprising of a mid-career switch-up as the film may have been, \u201cGet Out\u201d sees Peele\u2019s sketch comedy background transfer beautifully to the horror space.<\/p>\n

\u201cGet Out\u201d is funny in all the right places and crackles with the spontaneity and control of a trained, accomplished comedian. It knows how to keep you on your toes and how to command your attention, and it was so immediately respected when it was released that \u201cGet Out\u201d pulled off a rare feat for a horror movie: winning the Oscar in 2018 for Best Original Screenplay.<\/p>\n

\""It\u201cIt Follows\u201d (RADiUS-TWC)<\/p>\n

\u201cIt Follows\u201d (2014)<\/p>\n

Speaking of contemporary horror classics, director David Robert Mitchell\u2019s \u201cIt Follows\u201d is an ingenious and striking supernatural and psychological thriller. The film follows a young woman (Maika Monroe) who finds herself stalked by a murderous supernatural entity that others cannot see, and which can only be shaken if its target passes its curse onto another by sleeping with them.<\/p>\n

Both a winking, metatextual nod to the treatment of sex in 1980s horror films and a loving ode to the style and creativity of that decade\u2019s genre offerings, \u201cIt Follows\u201d is an unnerving, tense and dread-filled cinematic ride. In 2015, it was the rare horror film that felt like an immediate classic, and it has not lost that status at all in the 10 years since then.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"October has begun. Halloween is just a few weeks away now, which means it\u2019s time to either start…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":214149,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[52],"tags":[88,22523,1010,206,5135],"class_list":["post-214148","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-movies","tag-entertainment","tag-halloween","tag-hbo-max","tag-movies","tag-what-to-watch"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/214148","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=214148"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/214148\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/214149"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=214148"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=214148"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=214148"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}