With many horror movies to choose from, it can be tricky to decide which ones are worth your time, especially in the lead-up to everyone's favorite holiday, Halloween.
After all, it's the one genre that's the most inconsistent in terms of quality, which is why we've compiled some of the best horror films worth watching on Amazon Prime in the lead up to Halloween - or you can watch all of them on the day if you have the time!
And we've got a great mix too. If you're looking for a wide variety that includes deadly post-marital games of hiding and seeking creepy underground doppelgangers that look like crazed barbers, or an alien so evil it makes the xenomorph look like E.T., you've come to the right place!
Here are the best horror films you need to watch on Amazon Prime this Halloween...
Doctor Sleep (2019)
Sequel to Stephen King's The Shining, whether you're talking about the book or Stanley Kubrick's film adaptation, Doctor Sleep follows Danny Torrance as he struggles with his demons - both personal and literal. But when he starts to rebuild his life, using his 'shine' to help those who pass on feel at ease, he meets Abra, a young girl with the same gift, who learns of a gang of deadly individuals who are preying on people just like them. Tense, terrifying, and thrilling from start to finish, Mike Flanagan's follow-up is a worthy successor to The Shining and proves that sequels needn't follow the already-walked path of the original.
Halloween (2018)
David Gordon Green's revival of Michael Myers, the most iconic slasher-killer in history, retcons every single entry since John Carpenter's 1978 original, doing away with the fact that Laurie Strode and the masked madman are siblings. Instead, this time Strode is obsessed with Michael, waiting for his inevitable return with an arsenal of weapons at her disposal. And while her lifelong trauma has affected both her daughter and granddaughter, it's nothing compared to what the bogeyman has in store for them. It's great fun to see Jamie Lee Curtis back in Haddonfield, but it's James Jude Courtney who really shines as 'The Shape'. The sequel Halloween Kills is now out in theaters.
Ready Or Not (2019)
If you thought wedding dinners and after-parties were awkward, you ain't seen nothing yet. Samara Weaving plays a newlywed bride in this brutal tongue-in-cheek horror, in which she's forced to play a game of hide-and-seek with her new in-laws. And if that didn't sound bad enough already, imagine said-family are a bunch of raving lunatics who believe that if they don't play, their ancestor who started the tradition will murder each of them from beyond the grave! If you're looking for a horror that doesn't take itself too seriously, and with a twist so hilarious - and pretty smart at the same time - Ready Or Not will definitely catch you by surprise.
The Invisible Man (2020)
Leigh Whannell directs this remake of the movie of the same name (as well as 2000's Hollow Man starring Kevin Bacon), and boy does it deliver. When Cecilia decides to flee her abusive billionaire scientist husband in the middle of the night, she thinks she's about to start anew. But when strange things start to happen in her runaway home, she begins to suspect that her former partner - who has apparently committed suicide in the wake of her departure - is using a ground-breaking 'optical technology' to terrorize her and watch and control her every move. A horror movie hasn't scared its viewers so much using virtually nothing since The Blair Witch Project in 1999.
A Quiet Place: Part 2 (2020)
John Krasinski's long-awaited follow-up to his 2018 film sees the return of Emily Blunt as the mother of three children, living in a post-apocalyptic America, in which creatures that rely solely on sound dominate the land. This time, the family is forced to abandon their home when it's no longer safe and wind up being separated when they meet Cillian Murphy's Emmett. While most sequels tend to either be worse or better than their predecessors, A Quiet Place: Part 2 is actually on par with the first one - it's so tense you'll end up going out of your way to make sure you don't rustle your bag of popcorn. And just like Part 1 (and a bag of popcorn), it leaves you wanting more.
Life (2017)
Jake Gyllenhaal, Rebecca Ferguson, and Ryan Reynolds lead an all-star cast in this interstellar horror that feels so much like a love letter to Ridley Scott's Alien. After recovering an organic sample from Mars, the crew of the ISS soon regret their decision to study the specimen, when it begins to grow rapidly and show alarming signs of intelligence. And 'Calvin' is a force to be reckoned with, making the deadly xenomorph pale in comparison, largely because it seems to want to relentlessly hunt down its victims. In space, no one can hear you squirm.
Cloverfield (2008)
Before the series decided to go down the anthology route, Cloverfield offers up a pretty basic premise, and one that's scarily realistic (as realistic as such a film can be, of course). This post-9/11 sci-fi horror movie sees the city of Manhattan plunged into terror as an enormous beast from the deep lays waste to skyscrapers, military tanks, and countless civilians. Matt Reeves' found-footage monster movie is the first of its kind and was a huge hit upon its release, and is perhaps comparable with The Blair Witch Project in both its found-footage style and genius viral marketing.
Related: Best Horror Movies to Watch This Halloween on Netflix
The Purge (2014)
The original Purge might just be one of the perfect movies to enjoy on Halloween night. Not only is the concept a brilliant recipe for a horror movie, but the idea of a family barricading themselves in their home on a night in which masked maniacs hit the streets, looking to break into anyone's home and cause murder and mayhem, is something that will send chills down your spine on October 31 of all nights. While it's not the best in the series, it's easily the scariest, and the concept is frightening for many reasons besides the one we've mentioned.
These are among the most worthwhile horrors you'll find on Amazon Prime, so be sure to check them out this Halloween. Oh, and be afraid - be very afraid...