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Davis Journal

The Movie Guru: Spooky and sweet Halloween streaming options

Nov 01, 2021 10:03AM ● By Jenniffer Wardell

Halloween is one of the most adaptable holidays out there. Some people go scary with their celebrations, while other people keep it mostly sweet. No matter which kind of Halloween you decide to enjoy this year, there’s a streaming Halloween movie marathon that will work perfectly. 

Scary

If you’re looking to give yourself chills this Halloween, there’s no better way to do it than some of the most well-known horror movies ever made. Peacock has an entire collection of them, including such well-known staples of the genre as “Friday the 13th,” “Nightmare on Elm Street,” and “Night of the Living Dead.” They also include more classic haunts like the 1931 “Dracula” and “Creature from the Black Lagoon.” (They also have a host of spooky sequels, but like with most genres horror sequels are often a case of diminishing returns.)

Those aren’t the only iconic horror movies ready to stream. The original “Jaws” is available on Netflix, while Paramount+ gives you access to the original “Psycho” and “Child’s Play.” Over on AMC+, there’s an entire streaming collection devoted to horror called Shudder. That’s where you’ll find the original “Halloween,” “Invasion of the Body Snatchers,” and “The Exorcist,” along with a host of other titles. Though it’s not with Shudder, you can also get the original “Alien” on AMC+.

Sweet

If you’re looking for a family-friendly Halloween movie marathon, there are also plenty of options. Disney has some time-honored kids’ Halloween classics, including “The Nightmare Before Christmas” and “Hocus Pocus.” They also have some new offerings, including the silly but fun “Muppets Haunted Mansion.” “It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown,” which used to air on broadcast TV every year, is now exclusively available on AppleTV+.

Netflix’s collection of spooky kid offerings may be less familiar, but are just as good. In “Monster House,” a group of kids try to save a haunted house from itself. In Laika Studio’s “ParaNorman,” a boy who can talk to ghosts must save his town from a centuries-old curse. “Nightbooks,” where two kids face off against a witch, is the spookiest entry on this list. Still, it’s safe for both kids and adults. Laika’s first big movie, Coraline, is a stop-motion masterpiece where a girl has to battle the monstrous Other Mother. Though it’s sadly not on any subscription streaming service right now, it can still be rented from various platforms.

An extra treat

If you’re in a really unusual mood, head over to Netflix for the documentary series “The Movies That Made Us.” The series talks about the creation of several well-known movies, with each episode following a particular movie’s creation process from beginning to end. The recently released season 3 is tailor-made for the holiday, with episodes focusing on the original “Halloween,” “Friday the 13th,” “The Nightmare on Elm Street,” and “The Nightmare Before Christmas.”

Jenniffer Wardell is an award-winning movie critic and member of the Utah Film Critics Association. Find her on Twitter at @wardellwriter or drop her a line at [email protected].