13 Scariest Horror Movies on Sling
From decades-old classics to modern horror masterpieces, here are the 13 scariest movies to watch on Sling this Halloween season.
As the temperature begins to drop, and the leaves begin to change their colors, it can only mean one thing…October is upon us. The one month of the year where the macabre becomes fashionable and the typically fear-adverse come out of their shells in search of thrills and chills. It is THE month to be watching scary horror movies, and fortunately, Sling has you covered.
We’ve highlighted 13 of the scariest horror movies to watch on Sling this month, ranked in descending order by how likely they are to keep you up at night. Whether you’re a gore-hound, a sucker for the occult, or prefer psychological torment, there’s a movie in this list for you. Apologies in advance for the nightmares.
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The Haunting (1963)
Director: Robert Wise
https://www.youtube.com/embed/AeAzGxWlEcg?si=Ur-kpZGaoZT4ZOS_
More than half a decade before Mike Flanagan adapted Shirley Jackon’s 1959 novel The Haunting of Hill House for Netflix, Robert Wise (best known for West Side Story and The Sound of Music) turned the story into one of cinema’s all-time greatest gothic horrors. The Haunting tells the story of an anthropologist and a small group of volunteers investigating the aforementioned Hill House for signs of the paranormal, only for things to go predictably south. The usual suspects of the genre are here (spooky house with a tragic backstory, strange noises in the night, creepy caretakers), but what sets The Haunting apart from others is its presentation. Every shot seems to exist in some sort of ethereal and distorted reality, thanks to an experimental camera lens that was used in a non-stop onslaught of disconcerting tracking shots and dutch angles. The interior design of the house exists firmly in the uncanny valley, with impossible shadows and angles in every corner of its overly indulgent decoration. And most notably, the use of sound conveys a horror that Robert Wise wisely (pun intended) knew would be infinitely more terrifying than any supernatural force he could have captured on film. Like so many of the other greatest horror films of all time, the real fear lies in what is implied, not seen. The Haunting is a classic that should not be missed for true fans of the genre.
Watch Now on MGM+
Pearl (2022)
Director: Ti West
One of the most delightful surprises of the last 3 years has been Ti West’s X Trilogy. Beginning in earnest with 2022’s X – a ‘70s-set, Texas Chainsaw-inspired hagsploitation slasher – it came as a surprise when West announced Pearl, its prequel, was filmed in secret and would release in the same year. Even more surprising was how little interest West had in repeating what worked in X. Set in 1918, Pearl follows the antagonist of the first film in her youth, as she yearns to escape her simple rural life for stardom. Whereas X was a grimy 1970’s throwback, Pearl is a technicolor tribute to the golden age of cinema. Mia Goth (quickly becoming one of cinema’s all-time great scream queens) gives her best performance of the entire trilogy, embodying Pearl with a clear psychosis, yet a considerable amount of pathos, which is no better demonstrated than in the movie’s standout scene where she freak-dances with a scarecrow in a deranged homage to The Wizard of Oz. But true to the trilogy, you can expect Pearl to get bloody. REAL bloody, along with a final shot for the ages. Pearl stands as a shining example of how to do a prequel and an origin story right.
Watch Now on Paramount+ With SHOWTIME
Get Out (2017)
Director: Jordan Peele
What more needs to be said about Jordan Peele’s 2017 masterpiece? Telling the story of a black man who meets his girlfriend’s white family for the first time, only to uncover their very dark secrets, Get Out was a seismic shift in the horror landscape, legitimizing and bringing to the mainstream the type of 21st century auteur-driven horror cinema that had been lurking in the shadows of independent cinema for years prior. Intelligent, funny, suspenseful, and yes, scary, Get Out signaled horror’s arrival to the grown-up’s table of film conversations, and solidified what will undoubtedly be considered one of the genre’s greatest eras. If you’ve actually managed to go this long without seeing Get Out, it should be at the very top of your list. It will live up to your expectations, and then some.
Watch Now on TBS
Late Night with the Devil (2023)
Director: Colin and Cameron Cairnes
https://www.youtube.com/embed/cvt-mauboTc?si=Z_wCpSHObREk34rX
If you’re looking for a cosmic signal to check out Late Night with the Devil, look no further than its opening weekend box office gross earlier this year of $666,666. That total should be seen as a badge of honor bestowed upon this film by the horror gods, and for good reason - Late Night with the Devil is a gem of a film that is destined to become a Halloween staple. Set on Halloween night in 1977, Late Night with the Devil is presented as the final, doomed broadcast of a late night talk show a la Johnny Carson. Right off the bat, the attention to details is immaculate. From the set design, to the commercial interstitials, to the corny late night jokes coming from David Dastmalchian’s pitch-perfect performance as the program’s host, you will truly feel as though you are watching a lost broadcast from the 70s. How the show’s ill-fated episode unfurls is best left to be experienced, but the film’s title should give you some sense of the horror that will unfold. Save this one for a dark and stormy October night.
Watch Now on Shudder
Hostel (2005)
Director: Eli Roth
Hostel has earned a very unfair reputation over the years. Eli Roth’s 2005 thriller has long been dismissed as sadistic “torture-porn,” which has turned off countless viewers. And while yes, torture and gore are a significant part of this movie’s third act (but are actually relatively tame by today’s standards), to focus on them diminishes just how fun of a movie Hostel is. The film tells the story of a group of friends backpacking through Europe, who end up in a Slovakian hostel before they mysteriously start disappearing one-by-one. What people forget about in regards to Hostel is how much of a blast it is when there is nothing gory or horrific happening (the bulk of the movie). The film is actually wildly funny, with immensely captivating lore and worldbuilding that are a blast to piece together. Even once the bloodbath starts, Roth still continues to flesh out (poor word choice?) the crazy world his characters inhabit. There’s a good chance you’ve intentionally been avoiding Hostel all these years, but it’s absolutely worth re-considering.
Watch Now on STARZ
Mandy (2018)
Director: Panos Cosmatos
It’s no secret that Nicolas Cage has been in the midst of a massive career resurgence over the last decade. Films like Pig, The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent, Colour Out of Space, and Longlegs have re-established Cage as one of Hollywood’s most interesting and dynamic actors. But where did the Cage-aissance begin? This writer believes it was 2018’s psychedelic fever trip, Mandy. Cage is unforgettable in this ultra-violent, hyper-stylized hallucinatory masterpiece from madman director Panos Cosmatos. Telling a remarkably simple (but wonderfully absurd) story about a lumberjack who enacts a blood-filled revenge mission against a cult leader, his followers, and a cannibalistic-demonic biker gang, Mandy is one of the most stylized horror films ever made. The entire movie unfolds and presents itself as though it’s the embodiment of a 1980’s acid trip, with a hypnotic pace that is accentuated by its fantastically graphic bursts of violence. Mandy has to be seen to be believed, and should be a must-watch for any fan of horror or Cage’s more gonzo roles.
Watch Now on Shudder
Related: 10 Best Horror Movies on Sling Freestream
Event Horizon (1997)
Director: Paul W.S. Anderson
https://www.youtube.com/embed/2nlkEY-3CMI?si=EqxFMegNYv0g5HME
Going back as far as Mary Shelly’s Frankenstein, horror and science-fiction have gone together like peanut butter and jelly. From classic films such as The Thing and The Fly to Predator and Signs, there’s a rich cinematic history of the genre mashup. But with the very notable exception of Alien, there are incredibly few well-known horror films that are set in outer space. Enter Event Horizon. This 1997 cult classic was panned upon release, but has since rightfully become beloved by horror diehards. Telling the story of an astronaut crew sent on a rescue mission to find a missing spaceship, the movie quickly devolves into a cosmic horror extravaganza, led by an admirably committed performance by Sam Neil, whose character spirals down one of cinema’s all-time greatest descents into madness. Along the way, the crew experiences disorienting horror that may spawn from hell itself, all amidst production design for the ages. In space, no one is able to hear you scream…but hopefully they can see the big grin on your face while you watch Event Horizon.
Watch Now on Paramount+ With SHOWTIME
Saint Maud (2019)
Director: Rose Glass
Religion has always played an interesting role in horror. The Devil is simply the perfect horror antagonist; misanthropic, sadistic, anarchic - plainly the embodiment of pure evil that has had a presence in many of the greatest horror movies of all time. It’s rarer, however, for horror to explore the man upstairs. 2019’s Saint Maud – the debut film from director Rose Glass – tells a deeply unsettling story of a devout nurse who believes it is God’s will for her to save the soul of the elderly woman she is assigned to care for, and just how far she will go to impose that will. Blending some of the finest psychological horror this century along with some truly squirm-inducing body horror, Saint Maud is a revelatory first feature from an incredibly promising new director (who continued to impress with this year’s Love Lies Bleeding). And it all builds up to one of the most striking final images from a movie, horror or otherwise, ever put to screen.
Watch Now on MGM+
Jacob’s Ladder (1990)
Director: Adrian Lyne
It’s one thing to simply watch a horror movie, but it’s another thing to experience one. Few horror films fully immerse you into the mental state of their protagonists quite like Jacob’s Ladder. Adrian Lyne’s 1990 thriller follows a Vietnam veteran (played by an excellent Tim Robbins) who becomes besieged by horrific visions and hallucinations. Are the visions real? Is he having a full mental breakdown? Is he even alive? You, the viewer, know as little as the character, and the effect is one of the most disorienting film-viewing experiences you will ever have. And when I say horrific, I mean HORRIFIC. The visions often are something straight out of H.P. Lovecraft, spewing with cosmic horror, with the centerpiece being the most vile, demented scene to ever take place in a hospital. If you’re looking to test your sanity this Halloween, look no further than Jacob’s Ladder.
Watch Now on MGM+
Hell House LLC: The Director's Cut (2015)
Director: Stephen Cognetti
https://www.youtube.com/embed/aXtth85ttQY?si=fYf_3YZrzSqupH-u
The last decade of horror has largely been associated with the rise and emergence of auteur-driven, high-polish, richly thematic horror films that are (rightfully) spoken about in film circles with the same reverence as prestige dramas. However, these films can sometimes be heavier than what you’re really craving. Fortunately, at the same time that “serious” horror movies have been growing, there has been a mostly under-the-radar renaissance of a long-misunderstood sub-genre: found footage. Long seen as a genre that peaked with 1999’s brilliant The Blair Witch Project, found footage has been embraced by a new generation of filmmakers that have realized its potential for inducing sheer and unforgiving terror.
One of the best of the bunch is 2015’s Hell House LLC. The first installment of a franchise that’s now four entries deep, the film follows the recovered footage of a young group of entrepreneurs who hope to open a walk-through haunted house attraction on Halloween in the ruins of an abandoned hotel with a dark history. The story never goes much further than that premise, but once the scares start, they progress at an unrelenting pace. Featuring some of the scariest horror sequences in recent memory, this is a movie that’s almost guaranteed to have you watching from between your fingers. Part of that is from the sheer variety of fears and horror staples that the movie touches upon. Ghosts, clowns, demons, hell itself: it’s all here, and it’s a blast. If there is one movie on this list guaranteed to get you into the Halloween spirit, it’s Hell House LLC.
Watch Now on Shudder
The Autopsy of Jane Doe (2016)
Director: André Øvredal
Brian Cox has had such an incredible and diverse career in his five decades of acting, that it can be easy to overlook his horror bonafides. From small but memorable roles in modern classics like The Ring and Trick r’ Treat, to playing Hannibal-freaking-Lector, there are some horror gems in his filmography. But none – and I repeat NONE – are scarier than 2016’s The Autopsy of Jane Doe. Telling the story of father-and-son coroners performing an autopsy on an unidentified woman, André Øvredal’s chiller is every nightmare you’ve ever had about a morgue, realized. And while the scares are frequent and terrifying, what makes the film so effective is the mystery at the center of it. Who is this woman? How did she die? It is an absolute blast watching the two leads try to answer these questions as all manner of horrors unfold around them. Try to resist the urge to turn the lights on for this one.
Watch Now on IFC Films Unlimited
The Babadook (2014)
Director: Jennifer Kent
50 years from now, when people are gathering in social circles to debate the golden era of horror films, that conversation will undeniably turn towards the mid-to-late 2010s. Few other periods in film history produced as many INSTANT classics as this one. It’s so oversaturated with game-changing masterpieces such as Get Out, Hereditary, It Follows, The Witch and Midsommar that it can be easy to forget the absolute nightmare of an Australian film that played a massive role in setting it all in motion. 2014’s The Babadook is the quintessential 2010’s “elevated horror” movie, blending genuine scares with mature, richly thematic storytelling. It tells a gut-wrenching parable of parental grief through either the psychological or physical manifestation of a haunted children’s book character - the aforementioned Babadook. Jennifer Kent’s film is equally as emotionally devastating as it is terrifying, and MAN, is it terrifying. There is NOTHING good lurking in the shadows of this movie, and the titular monster (with its exaggerated features and creaking voice) is as iconic as any in the rich history of the genre. There is an above average chance you’ll be sleeping with the lights on after watching this one.
Watch Now on IFC Films Unlimited
Kill List (2011)
Director: Ben Wheatley
https://www.youtube.com/embed/b3Zbh4ImF9g?si=jmyXH9q6TkdDnbFT
Of all the films on this list, Ben Wheatley’s 2011 masterpiece is most likely the one you are the least familiar with. Dear reader, allow us to introduce you to your new favorite horror movie. But be warned: the person you are before seeing Kill List is not the same one who comes out. Telling the story of two British hitmen hired by a mysterious client to perform three increasingly disturbing assassinations, Kill List is a slow-burn descent into Hell that grabs you by the jugular and forces you to endure some of the most evil and upsetting filmmaking ever put to screen. Simply put, there are images and moments in this movie that will stay with you forever, especially in its all-time great gonzo finale. If this doesn’t sound appealing, let me assure you that to a true horror fan, it is a blast, albeit a deranged one. If you are looking for real thrills without any guardrails this Halloween, Kill List is where you should start. But don’t say you weren’t warned.
Watch Now on IFC Films Unlimited