Where does the time go? In a blink, October sped by, and Halloween is already arriving this week. That means it’s time to cram in every last bit of Halloween celebration as humanly possible; or, perhaps, inhumanly possible. Halloween season belongs to monsters, ghouls, ghosts, witches, and all things that go bump in the night, […]
Where does the time go? In a blink, October sped by, and Halloween is already arriving this week. That means it’s time to cram in every last bit of Halloween celebration as humanly possible; or, perhaps, inhumanly possible. Halloween season belongs to monsters, ghouls, ghosts, witches, and all things that go bump in the night, after all.
So, this week’s streaming picks are dedicated to creature features set around Halloween. These five titles bring the creature mayhem and fun but with a Halloween twist. From werewolves to carnivorous slugs, these five titles find different ways to ring in the best holiday of the year.
Macabre and death-obsessed teens Brigitte (Emily Perkins) and Ginger (Katharine Isabelle) are outcasts in their suburban neighborhood, making them inseparable. Then Ginger gets her first period, attracting a werewolf that’s been stalking the area. Puberty takes on a whole new meaning as the werewolf’s bite transforms Ginger into something far more monstrous. Ginger Snaps is a werewolf favorite that stands on its own, but Halloween plays a prominent role in party form in the third act, setting the stage for Ginger to let her inner killer roam free.
House II: The Second Story – Arrow, Hoopla, Pluto TV, Tubi
For those in the mood for festive, silly fun, this sequel should do the trick. Skipping any continuity from the first film, this sequel takes a kitchen sink approach with its spooky house. Jesse (Arye Gross) inherits his family’s old mansion and discovers that the rooms act as various portals to different places across time and space, and a certain Aztec crystal skull is the key. Dinosaurs, cavemen, wild west gunslingers, an undead grandpa, and a cute caterpillar puppy round out this wacky horror comedy. The best part? It takes place over Halloween, with a Halloween party factoring into one big chase scene.
Neon Maniacs – Pluto TV, Tubi
This ‘80s monster fest features a group of homicidal monsters that live under the Golden Gate Bridge by day but come out at night to slaughter. When a teen escapes their clutches, they spend the rest of the film hunting her down and killing anyone in their path. Each monster has a personality and costume of his own, from samurai to mad doctor, which makes their final battle set during the high school Halloween dance a perfect cover. Creatures, silliness, and an ‘80s synth score make for a perfect Halloween party.
Night of the Demons – AMC+, freevee, Midnight Pulp Peacock, Pluto TV, the Roku Channel, SCREAMBOX, Shudder, Tubi
In what is arguably the quintessential Halloween creature feature, Angela Franklin (Amelia Kinkade) and her best bud Suzanne (Linnea Quigley) decide to throw their Halloween party at Hull House, an abandoned mortuary with a dark past. Sure enough, an evil presence awakens after a séance, and their group is trapped inside Hull House while demonic spirits prey on them. Night of the Demons offers a spooky, fun title sequence, cool demon FX, a memorable villainess, and a wide embrace of horror iconography- right down to a bookended trick-or-treating tale. It’s a holiday cult classic that embraces Halloween at every turn.
Slugs – Hoopla, Tubi
This slimy, gory creature feature about toxic waste-spawned slugs is from the mind of Pieces’ Juan Piquer Simon. These killer slugs are downright gruesome in their kills, making for some really fun surprises. This small town has no clue what’s happening, and only health worker Mike Brady is on the case. The kills are much more isolated and spread apart at first, but they really ramp up their attack on Halloween, when everyone is out and about in costume. The holiday theming may be light, but the gory kills make this another perfect Halloween watch.
