Best Movies to Stream Right Now (2026): Halloween Horror Picks and New Releases

The best movies to watch this Halloween are Clayface, Whalefall and Resident Evil, the three standout horror films of the fall, followed by Weapons, Obsession, Backrooms, Evil Dead Burn, Lee Cronin’s The Mummy and The Cycle. This guide covers new horror in theatres and on streaming, the classics, funny and family picks and Canadian horror, plus the best new movies outside horror and the big releases coming before Christmas. If you’d rather have live channels and an on-demand library in one place, an IPTV Canada subscription does that.

Top 10 Halloween Movies to Watch in 2026

1. Clayface (2026). The new one to see in a theatre: DC body horror co-written by Mike Flanagan.
2. Resident Evil (2026). The best-reviewed horror movie of the fall, from Zach Cregger.
3. Weapons (2025). Cregger’s earlier hit about seventeen missing children, streaming on Crave.
4. Obsession (2026). The year’s word-of-mouth horror breakout, available to rent.
5. Halloween (1978). The original, and still the scariest movie named after the night.
6. The Shining (1980). The classic that rewards a rewatch every October.
7. Scream (1996). Smart, funny and still scary: the best pick for a group of friends.
8. Hocus Pocus (1993). The family favourite, on Disney+.
9. Shaun of the Dead (2004). The funniest Halloween movie for anyone who doesn’t like being scared.
10. Ginger Snaps (2000). The Canadian werewolf classic every horror fan should see.

Each one is covered below, along with dozens more: new releases, what’s streaming in Canada, classic, funny and family Halloween films, and Canadian horror.

1. New Horror Movies in Theatres This Halloween

The new horror movies in theatres this Halloween are Clayface, Whalefall, Other Mommy and Crawlers, with Resident Evil still playing more than a month after it opened.

Clayface (23 October) A Hollywood actor (Tom Rhys Harries) is disfigured, and the experimental treatment meant to save his face leaves him unable to hold any shape at all. James Watkins (Eden Lake) directs from a script co-written by Mike Flanagan, with Naomi Ackie and Aaron Paul. It’s rated R, properly gory and closer to The Fly than to a superhero movie. Critics are mostly positive (about 75% on Rotten Tomatoes), and early audiences like it even more.

Whalefall (16 October) Austin Abrams plays a diver who is swallowed by a sperm whale while searching for his father’s body, with Josh Brolin as the father in flashbacks. Brian Duffield (No One Will Save You) adapts Daniel Kraus’s novel. Most critics found it gripping and claustrophobic, though several thought the last act asks a lot. It’s Abrams’s second horror lead of the fall, after Resident Evil.

Resident Evil (still playing) Zach Cregger’s version is the best-reviewed video game movie ever made (96% on Rotten Tomatoes) and was still in the top ten in mid-October, with about $148 million in North America. If you only see one horror movie in a theatre this year, make it this one. Digital rental is expected in early November.

Other Mommy (9 October) Jessica Chastain plays both a mother and the thing wearing her face, in Rob Savage’s adaptation of Josh Malerman’s novel Incidents Around the House. Critics were harsh (under 20% on Rotten Tomatoes) and audiences gave it a D+ CinemaScore, yet it has made close to $80 million worldwide. Go for Chastain, not for the scares.

Crawlers (16 October) Venomous spiders take over a quarantined apartment building, one floor at a time. Matilda Lutz leads this small, gory creature feature, made for a crowd that likes to shout at the screen.

Beware Boiúna (2 October) A giant serpent from Amazonian folklore, with Canadian actor Kiana Madeira and plenty of practical effects. It may be down to a few screens by now.

Opening on 30 October: Christmas at the Kringles, a horror comedy about a family whose new neighbours celebrate Christmas every single day, with Rob Riggle and Rachel Bilson, and the mystery thriller Stiletto. For something gentler, Practical Magic 2 may still be playing near you (section 5).

2. New Horror Streaming This Week in Canada

The new horror on Canadian streaming services this week is Yaga on Crave, The Cycle on Shudder and Mike Flanagan’s Carrie series on Prime Video, with more on the way before Halloween.

Yaga (Crave, new episodes weekly from 23 October) A made-in-Canada witch mystery. Noah Reid plays a private investigator who comes to a small coastal town to find the missing heir to a fishing company (Hudson Williams), with Carrie-Anne Moss, Clark Backo and Sheila McCarthy. Kat Sandler adapts her own stage play into eight half-hour episodes, filmed on Vancouver Island. The finale airs on 27 November.

The Cycle (Shudder, 23 October) Deborah Ann Woll plays a woman whose father vanished decades ago, until his body turns up at a horrific crime scene. Jordan Downey (The Head Hunter) starts it as a crime procedural and lets it slide into body horror.

Carrie (Prime Video) Mike Flanagan’s new take on Stephen King’s first novel, updated for an age of camera phones and social media. Flanagan made The Haunting of Hill House, so expect it to be as sad as it is scary.

Crystal Lake (Crave, all eight episodes) The Friday the 13th prequel series, streaming in full since 15 October. Crave also added the first two Friday the 13th films, so you can watch them back to back.

Still to come: Breeder on Shudder (28 October), and R.L. Stine’s Pumpkinhead 2, Lurker and The Nun on Crave (30 October).

3. 2026’s Horror Hits to Catch Up On at Home

The 2026 horror movies to catch up on are Obsession and Backrooms, the year’s two breakout hits, plus Evil Dead Burn, Lee Cronin’s The Mummy and 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple, all on Crave this month.

Obsession Made for about $750,000 by YouTube filmmaker Curry Barker, it follows a music store worker who uses a cursed toy to make his crush fall for him. It grew week after week on word of mouth and became Focus Features’ biggest film ever. It’s available to rent or buy online.

Backrooms Kane Parsons turns the internet’s endless-empty-office-hallways legend into an A24 feature with Chiwetel Ejiofor and Renate Reinsve. It’s slow on purpose and properly eerie (86% on Rotten Tomatoes). Rent it, watch it after dark, and put your phone face-down.

Weapons (Crave) Zach Cregger’s 2025 hit, in which seventeen children from the same class run out of their homes at 2:17 a.m. and vanish. If Resident Evil made you a Cregger fan, this is the one to watch next.

Evil Dead Burn (Crave) The newest film in the Evil Dead series, streaming on Crave since 2 October, its Canadian streaming debut.

Lee Cronin’s The Mummy (Crave) From the director of Evil Dead Rise: a journalist’s daughter disappears, comes back years later, and the reunion is the start of the nightmare, not the end of it.

28 Years Later: The Bone Temple (Crave) Nia DaCosta’s sequel to last year’s 28 Years Later, with Ralph Fiennes back.

Crave groups all of this in its Creepy Cravings Halloween collection, with Primate, Immaculate, Five Nights at Freddy’s and The Last Voyage of the Demeter added in October.

4. Classic Halloween Movies Worth a Rewatch

The classic Halloween movies that still work best are Halloween, The Shining, The Exorcist, A Nightmare on Elm Street and Scream. If you only have one night, start with Halloween.

• Halloween (1978). John Carpenter’s original, the film that turned 31 October into horror’s biggest night. Ninety minutes, almost no blood, and still terrifying.
• The Shining (1980). Jack Nicholson, an empty hotel and a long winter. It rewards a rewatch more than almost any horror movie.
• The Exorcist (1973). Still the one people warn each other about.
• A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984). Freddy Krueger, Johnny Depp’s first film, and the reason you’ll want to stay awake.
• Scream (1996). The slasher that knows it’s a slasher, and still gets you anyway.
• Friday the 13th (1980). On Crave, along with Part II, and the right warm-up for Crystal Lake. The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (2003) joins them on 29 October.
• The Conjuring (2013). The haunted-house film that started a whole universe. The Nun, its spinoff, arrives on Crave on 30 October.
• Get Out (2017) and Hereditary (2018). The two modern classics most likely to start an argument after the credits.

5. Funny Halloween Movies (Not Too Scary)

The best funny Halloween movies are Beetlejuice, Shaun of the Dead and What We Do in the Shadows. For a Halloween night that’s more fun than frightening, Practical Magic 2 may still be in a theatre near you, and Beetlejuice, Shaun of the Dead and What We Do in the Shadows never miss.

• Practical Magic 2. Sandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman back as the Owens sisters. Reviews are mixed, but if you loved the original, you’ll want to see them again. The 1998 Practical Magic is the perfect double bill.
• Beetlejuice (1988) and Beetlejuice Beetlejuice (2024). Tim Burton at his most Halloween, thirty-six years apart.
• Shaun of the Dead (2004). The zombie apocalypse as seen from the pub.
• What We Do in the Shadows (2014). Vampire roommates arguing about the dishes. Funnier every year.
• Edward Scissorhands (1990). Spooky, sweet and on Crave since 16 October.
• Christmas at the Kringles. Out on 30 October, for anyone who wants Halloween and Christmas in the same night.

6. Best Family Halloween Movies, by Age

The best family Halloween movies are Hocus Pocus, The Nightmare Before Christmas, Coraline and Hotel Transylvania. The right pick depends on age: G and PG films for little kids, the spookier PG ones from about 8, and PG-13 for teens. For kids who scare easily, stay with the first group.

For little kids, toddlers to age 7 (G and PG)

• Room on the Broom (2012). A kind witch, a lost hat and a half-hour running time. Made for preschoolers.
• It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown (1966). The original Halloween special, 25 minutes long and not scary at all.
• Monsters, Inc. (2001). Rated G: the monsters are the ones who are afraid.
• Hotel Transylvania (2012). Rated PG. Dracula as an overprotective dad, for the youngest monsters in the house.
• Casper (1995). Rated PG. The friendly ghost, for a first not-so-scary ghost story.

For kids 8 to 12 (PG)

• Hocus Pocus (1993) and Hocus Pocus 2 (2022). Rated PG. The Sanderson sisters, every October, on Disney+.
• The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993). Rated PG. The one film that works for Halloween and Christmas, also on Disney+.
• Halloweentown (1998). The Disney Channel movie a whole generation grew up with, now on Disney+ and a nostalgic pick for parents too.
• Coraline (2009) and ParaNorman (2012). Rated PG. Laika’s stop-motion films, spooky enough to feel like Halloween without keeping anyone up.
• Monster House (2006). Rated PG. The house across the street is alive, and it’s hungry.
• Goosebumps (Seasons 1 to 4). R.L. Stine’s stories as a series, on Crave from 21 October.

For teens (PG-13)

• Five Nights at Freddy’s (2023). Rated PG-13. Jump scares with animatronic mascots, on Crave since 16 October.
• Beetlejuice Beetlejuice (2024). Rated PG-13. Spooky, silly and easy to share with parents.
• Happy Death Day (2017). Rated PG-13. A slasher stuck in a Groundhog Day loop: a perfect first horror movie.
• The Others (2001). Rated PG-13. Nicole Kidman in a quiet ghost story with one of the great twists.
• A Quiet Place (2018). Rated PG-13. Real tension without gore, and great for a family that likes a scare.

Not a Halloween movie, but the best new family film in theatres right now is Forgotten Island, DreamWorks’ magical-island adventure.

Before movie night, set a profile and a PIN so nobody opens Backrooms at 6 p.m. by accident. Our parental control guide takes five minutes.

7. Canadian Horror for Halloween

Canada has made some of the best horror movies ever, from Black Christmas, which helped invent the slasher, to Ginger Snaps, Cube and Pontypool.

• Black Christmas (1974). Bob Clark’s Toronto sorority chiller came out four years before Halloween and set the rules for every slasher that followed.
• The Changeling (1980). George C. Scott in a grieving composer’s haunted house. A slow, elegant ghost story that still unsettles.
• Scanners (1981) and The Fly (1986). Toronto’s David Cronenberg, the master of body horror. If Clayface is your thing, start here.
• Cube (1997). Vincenzo Natali’s puzzle-box nightmare: strangers wake up in a maze of deadly rooms.
• Ginger Snaps (2000). Two outsider sisters, a suburb and a werewolf bite. John Fawcett later co-created Orphan Black.
• Pontypool (2008). Bruce McDonald sets an outbreak inside a small-town Ontario radio station, where the infection spreads through words.
• Skinamarink (2022). Made in Edmonton for about $15,000, it became a viral hit and divides every room it plays in.
• In a Violent Nature (2024). A slasher shot in the Ontario woods, told from the killer’s side.

For something new and homegrown, start Yaga on Crave (section 2).

8. Best New Movies Beyond Halloween, the Year’s Biggest Hits and Canadian TV

Outside horror, the best new movies in theatres right now are Heart of the Beast, Sense and Sensibility and Primetime, with Street Fighter and Verity as the crowd-pleasers. The 2026 movies to catch up on are Spider-Man: Brand New Day, The Odyssey, Project Hail Mary, Toy Story 5 and Michael.

New movies in theatres this month

• Street Fighter (16 October). The fighting game in live action, with Noah Centineo as Ken, Andrew Koji as Ryu, Callina Liang as Chun-Li and David Dastmalchian as M. Bison, plus wrestlers Roman Reigns and Cody Rhodes. It won the box office on 16 to 18 October with $31 million. Critics were lukewarm (about 40% on Rotten Tomatoes), audiences much kinder.
• Sense and Sensibility (16 October). Daisy Edgar-Jones and Esmé Creed-Miles as the Dashwood sisters, with George MacKay, Caitríona Balfe and Fiona Shaw. Georgia Oakley’s new Jane Austen adaptation has warm early reviews and is the date-night pick of the month.
• Verity (2 October). Anne Hathaway and Dakota Johnson in the Colleen Hoover thriller: a struggling writer is hired to finish an injured bestselling author’s books and finds far more than notes. It opened at No. 1 and has passed $115 million worldwide. Critics were cool, but Hoover fans turned up, and it’s expected at home soon.
• Heart of the Beast. Brad Pitt survives a seaplane crash in Alaska with his combat dog and has to cross the wilderness on foot. Critics like it (87% on Rotten Tomatoes), it was still in the top ten in mid-October, and Canadian viewers will spot Anna Lambe from North of North.
• Primetime. Robert Pattinson plays Chris Hansen in A24’s story of how To Catch a Predator came to be. Uncomfortable on purpose, with one of the most talked-about performances of the fall. It may still be playing near you.
• The Social Reckoning (9 October). Aaron Sorkin’s follow-up to The Social Network, with Jeremy Strong as Mark Zuckerberg, Mikey Madison and Jeremy Allen White. Reviews are mixed and it struggled at the box office, so catch it before it leaves theatres.
• Digger (2 October). Tom Cruise in Alejandro González Iñárritu’s dark comedy, with Riz Ahmed, John Goodman and Sandra Hüller. Critics are split down the middle and audiences stayed away, but the cast gets the praise.

The year’s biggest movies

Spider-Man: Brand New Day is the year’s top earner, at about $2.45 billion worldwide, with The Odyssey second.

• The Odyssey. Christopher Nolan, Matt Damon as Odysseus, and the first feature shot entirely on IMAX film cameras. Nine of the 41 theatres worldwide that can show it in true IMAX 70 mm are in Canada.
• Spider-Man: Brand New Day. Peter Parker alone in New York after a spell erases his identity. The most grown-up Spider-Man yet, and the year’s biggest film.
• Project Hail Mary. Ryan Gosling wakes up on a spacecraft with no memory and a planet to save. The year’s most crowd-pleasing science fiction.
• Toy Story 5. Now at home, and every family with kids has watched it at least twice.
• Mayday. Ryan Reynolds and Kenneth Branagh in a light, funny Cold War action-comedy, one of the biggest new streaming movies of the fall.

Canadian TV this fall

Canadian TV is back too: Heated Rivalry (season 2), Shoresy (season 6), North of North (season 2), Murdoch Mysteries and Heartland (both in season 20), Sullivan’s Crossing (season 5) and the final season of Son of a Critch. To binge something finished, Schitt’s Creek, Letterkenny, Kim’s Convenience, Orphan Black and Cardinal are the ones people keep recommending. And watch for La Bola Negra, winner of TIFF’s 2026 People’s Choice Award, over the winter.

9. Coming Soon: Late October to December 2026

The two biggest movies left in 2026, Avengers: Doomsday and Dune: Part Three, both open on 18 December. Before that, Halloween weekend brings a Christmas horror comedy, and November brings Dr. Seuss, the Hunger Games prequel and the Focker family.

Canadian release dates usually match the US dates, but check your local theatre, since dates can move. At home, Resident Evil is expected to arrive for digital rental in early November.

For live sport alongside all this (hockey season is under way), our live sports streaming guide covers watching the games.

10. How to Watch All of It, and Get the Best Picture

Theatres get new releases first. Digital rental follows a month or two later, and streaming services a few months after that. Watching everything on this list at home the usual way means juggling several separate apps, which can easily top $100 a month in Canada.

• One subscription instead of six. An IPTV subscription with a movie and series library, plus live channels, puts most of it in one place. Our guide on choosing the right IPTV service covers whether it’s worth it for your household, and an IPTV free trial lets you check the library before paying.
• Pick a licensed provider. A licensed service holds the rights to what it streams. Our guide on whether IPTV is legal in Canada explains how to tell.
• Weekly shows on your schedule. For series like Murdoch Mysteries and Heartland, our guide to recording live TV with IPTV means the shows wait for you.
• 4K done properly. The Odyssey and Dune deserve 4K. Plan for 50 Mbps for a smooth 4K stream (25 Mbps for HD), use an Ethernet cable rather than Wi-Fi, and see our internet speed guide for the numbers. If something stutters, our buffering fixes help.
• Setup guides for the devices most people use: Fire Stick, Samsung TVs, Apple TV and Android TV.

Frequently Asked Questions

What are the top 10 Halloween movies to watch in 2026?

Clayface, Resident Evil, Weapons and Obsession for something new; Halloween, The Shining and Scream for the classics; Hocus Pocus for the family; Shaun of the Dead for laughs; and Ginger Snaps for a Canadian pick. The full list is at the top of this page.

What are the best new horror movies to watch this Halloween?

In theatres, Clayface and Whalefall are the new picks, and Resident Evil is the best-reviewed horror film of the fall if it’s still playing near you. At home, rent Obsession or Backrooms, or stream Weapons on Crave.

What are the best new movies in theatres right now?

For horror, Clayface and Whalefall. Outside horror, Heart of the Beast and Sense and Sensibility have the best reviews, while Street Fighter and Verity are the box office crowd-pleasers.

What horror movies are in theatres right now?

Clayface (from 23 October), Whalefall and Crawlers (from 16 October), Other Mommy (from 9 October) and Resident Evil. Christmas at the Kringles and Stiletto open on 30 October.

Where can I stream Halloween movies in Canada?

Crave has the most, in its Creepy Cravings collection: Weapons, Evil Dead Burn, Lee Cronin’s The Mummy, the Friday the 13th films and the new Crystal Lake series. Shudder has The Cycle and Breeder, Prime Video has Mike Flanagan’s Carrie, and Disney+ has the family classics like Hocus Pocus and Halloweentown.

What are good Halloween movies for 5-year-olds?

Room on the Broom, It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown, Monsters, Inc. and Hotel Transylvania. They’re short or gentle, with nothing that will keep a young child up at night.

What are some funny Halloween movies?

Beetlejuice, Shaun of the Dead, What We Do in the Shadows and Hocus Pocus. For teens, Happy Death Day mixes laughs and scares.

What are the classic Halloween movies everyone should see?

Halloween (1978), The Shining, The Exorcist, A Nightmare on Elm Street and Scream. For a Canadian classic, add Black Christmas, which came out four years before Halloween.

What are the best Canadian horror movies?

Black Christmas, Ginger Snaps, Cube, Pontypool and The Changeling, plus David Cronenberg’s The Fly and Scanners. For something recent, try Skinamarink or In a Violent Nature.

What is the best movie of 2026 so far?

Project Hail Mary and The Odyssey top most lists, and Resident Evil is the best-reviewed release of the fall. For pure popularity, Spider-Man: Brand New Day is the year’s biggest movie.

Conclusion

This Halloween, see Clayface or Whalefall on a big screen, catch up on Obsession and Backrooms at home, and save one night for a classic: Halloween, The Shining or Scream. For the kids it’s Hocus Pocus and Coraline, and for a Canadian double bill, Black Christmas and Ginger Snaps. After that, the dates to circle are Avengers: Doomsday and Dune: Part Three on 18 December. We’ll keep this list updated as the charts change.

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