New Horror Movies to Watch this Halloween Season

This year is loaded with a wide variety of horror movies, from a movie about a killer Winnie the Pooh,  to a direct sequel to 1973’s “The Exorcist.” As the years go by, more studios are starting to focus on more horror movies after they saw how successful they could be. For example, after Paramount Pictures saw the success of last year’s “Smile,” grossing a total of $217 million worldwide while only having a $17 million budget, they launched a new horror division called 18hz Productions.

With all these new horror movies releasing, it may be hard to keep track of all of them, but here are a few of the many horror movies that released in 2023.

First off, there is “M3GAN,” which was released in January earlier this year. “M3GAN” is about a life-like robotic doll meant to be a child’s greatest companion, named Megan. When something goes wrong with Megan’s hardware, it goes to extreme lengths to keep her companion safe. “M3GAN ” was originally going to be rated R when the first trailer was released. The trailer featured Megan performing a dance in the hallway, and this dance went viral on social media platforms. The studio behind the film, Blumhouse, saw this and made the decision to make the film PG-13. This decision seemed to work out tremendously for Blumhouse because the film grossed $181 million on a $12 million budget. “M3GAN” released Jan. 6, 2023 and a sequel is currently in the works titled “M3GAN 2.0” and is set to release Jan. 17, 2025. As of now it is currently streaming on Amazon Prime.

At the beginning of 2022, Winnie the Pooh became public domain. The only catch is, it’s the one from the original book, which means that means no red shirt and some characters aren’t included. Shortly after, a Winnie the Pooh horror movie was announced. “Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey” was announced, which caused a huge uproar among parents. Most parents were upset that the beloved Disney character would be turned into a murderer. But there was also another portion of people who were excited about what they would do. “Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey” released Feb. 15, 2023 in theaters and it was perceived as horrendous. Currently the film stands at 3 percent on Rotten Tomatoes and a 2.9/10 on IMDB. A sequel is currently in the works and is set to release in 2025. As of now, it is currently streaming for free on Peacock.

“Scream” has been a fan-favorite horror franchise since the release of the first movie in 2000. “Scream” is a murder mystery comedy and it follows Ghostface as they wreak havoc upon their victims. Since 2000, there have been five sequels, including “Scream IV” which was released March 10, 2023. “Scream (2022)” was the first new “Scream” movie since 2011 and served as a soft reboot of the franchise. “Scream IV” is a direct sequel to “Scream (2022)” and is the first “Scream” film to take place in New York City. “Scream IV” was met with good reviews and became the highest grossing Scream movie in the entire franchise. “Scream IV” is currently streaming on Paramount Plus.

“The best way to go into it is to not go into the movie expecting it to be a scary movie, but to go into it expecting it to be a comedy and you’ll have a good time,” said senior Noah Dawley. 

 “Scream 7” has been announced with the director of “Happy Death Day,” Chirstopher Landon, set to direct.

Another iconic horror franchise that got another movie this year is The Evil Dead franchise. “The Evil Dead” came out in 1981 and was directed by the now legendary Sam Raimi. The film was controversial when it came out because the film didn’t hold back on violence or any other heavy material, causing it to receive an NC-17 rating. Regardless, the film spawned two direct sequels that were released in 1987 and 1992. These sequels were toned down so they would receive an R rating. A reboot was also made in 2013 and was met with mixed reactions. “The Evil Dead Rise” is more of a spin-off than a sequel or reboot. The film doesn’t follow any previous characters but is set in the same continuity as the first three movies. “The Evil Dead Rise” was originally going to the streaming service HBO Max, but a decision was made to put the film in theaters on April 21, 2023. This turned out to be a wise decision because the film grossed $146 million at the worldwide box office.

“One of the best technical movies of the year, a lot of the special effects but in particular the cheese grater scene was pretty great and adds to the overall experience.” stated Dawley.

 “The Evil Dead Rise” is currently streaming on MAX.

“Talk to Me” is directed by Danny and Michael Philippou and is also their directorial debut. The Philippou brothers are known for their skits on their YouTube channel “RackaRacka.” These skits went viral, gaining millions of views. Their YouTube channel currently has 6.8 million subscribers. 

“I’ve grown up with RackaRacka and watching their skits like the Ronald McDonald skit, which I still find hilarious and really well made,” said Dawley

“Talk to Me” is about a group of friends conjuring spirits with a dismembered hand but one of them accidentally unleashes terrifying supernatural forces. “Talk to Me” was met with astonishing reviews, both critically and from audiences. It was also a financial hit, grossing $70 million on a $4.5 million budget. A sequel and a prequel are currently in the works, the Philippou brothers are also set to direct the upcoming “Street Fighter” movie based off the hit video game series by the same name. 

“The Nun II” is the latest installment in The Conjuring franchise. “The Conjuring” was released in 2013 and was directed by James Wan. “The Conjuring” franchise includes nine films including the main “Conjuring” trilogy, a trilogy based on the character “Annabelle,” a spin-off on the character “La Llorona,” and two movies based on the “The Nun” character. The Nun is a character that first appeared in “The Conjuring 2” and has been a fan favorite character ever since. “The Nun (2018)” was met with mixed reviews but was a financial success so Warner Bros. decided to move forward with a sequel. “The Nun II” follows the same characters from the previous film as they battle the titular Nun again. It once again received mixed reviews, but not as negative as the first Nun movie. “The Nun II” was also a financial success for Warner Bros., grossing $231 million in the world wide box office. A “Conjuring” television series and “Conjuring 4” are currently in the works.

“The Exorcist” released in 1973 and has since been regarded as one of the greatest horror films of all time, so it’s not an easy task to make a sequel, but  “The Exorcist: Believer” is going to attempt to succeed. “The Exorcist” currently has two sequels and two prequels if you exclude “The Exorcist: Believer,” all of them have been ridiculed by fans and critics alike. Even the director of the original film, the late William Friedkin, has criticized its sequels.

“The worst motion picture I’ve seen in almost eight years on the job” stated Friedkin when talking about “The Exorcist II: Heretic” in an interview in an episode of the podcast “The Movies That Made Me.”

“The Exorcist: Believer” is being produced and directed by the people that made the “Halloween Sequel Trilogy,” which was met with positive to mixed reviews. “The Exorcist: Believer” released October 6, 2023. 

“I just want to see a new take on the franchise that already has a decent amount of movies in it,” stated Dawley. 

The studio has already announced that two more sequels are being made, with the next one titled “The Exorcist: Deceiver” releasing April 18, 2025.

“Five Nights at Freddy’s” is an indie horror game made solely by Scott Cawthon while he was working at a Dollar General. Now FNAF is a multi-million dollar franchise including multiple entries in the franchise, and now a feature length film. The game is about a security guard working a six hour shift at a worn-down pizzeria as they try to survive the night from animatronics that come to life. The “Five Nights at Freddy’s” movie was announced in 2015 but has since had multiple rewrites, studio changes, and director changes. But now Blumhouse is producing the FNAF movie with Emma Tammi directing the film. The movie hired ‘Jim Henson’s creature shop’ to make real life animatronics so the film could look as authentic as possible. The film stars Josh Hutcherson, Mathew Lillard, Elizabeth Lail, and Piper Rubio.  The film also includes YouTuber “CoryxKenshin.” “The “Five Nights at Freddy’s” movie was releases October 27, 2023 which releases in theaters and on Peacock on the same day.

These are just a few of the horror movies that you are able to watch this Halloween season if you want to get a good scare.