These films blew up the box office. Now you can finally watch them at home

In the words of Mean Girls’ Gretchen Wieners, horror is so fetch right now. From YouTuber breakouts like Obsession and Backrooms to nostalgic blockbuster hits like Scream 7, the genre is firing on all cylinders, especially among Gen Z. It has massively boosted the box office, contributing more than $1.82 billion in the US alone, just shy of last year’s record of $2.02 billion. And the year’s not over yet.

With Halloween just around the corner, it’s the perfect time to catch up on the buzziest horror offerings – many of which are now available to stream at home. Grab the popcorn and prepare to be spooked.

Obsession (HBO Max)

This year delivered several stellar horror titles, but Obsession arguably led the pack. Directed by 27-year-old YouTuber Curry Barker, the film follows Bear (Michael Johnston), a typical “nice guy” who can’t get over a crush on his co-worker Nikki (Inde Navarrette). So, naturally, he wishes on a cheap novelty toy, asking it to make her love him more than anything in the world. This, of course, goes horribly wrong. The once self-assured Nikki turns into what can only be described as a psychotic love monster – one who will go to any lengths, even inflicting violence upon herself and others, to make Bear happy.

After making waves at last year’s Toronto International Film Festival, the movie quickly picked up steam at the box office, grossing more than $739 million globally off a tiny $1.06 million production budget. Critics gushed over the film’s timely take on gender relations, and suggested Barker (along with Backrooms′ Kane Parsons) heralded a YouTuber horror revolution. It did so well, in fact, that Barker already has three upcoming features in line, including Anything But Ghosts starring Breaking Bad’s Aaron Paul and a Texas Chainsaw Massacre remake for A24. It also made Navarrette an overnight star, one potentially worthy of Academy attention.

Backrooms (Stan*)

Just over a week after Obsession came Backrooms, another horror from a former YouTuber that left audiences both stunned and energised. Directed by 21-year-old Kane Parsons, the film adapts the director’s popular online series, which in itself was inspired by a viral creepypasta about an infinite, yellow liminal space. A down-and-out furniture store owner (Chiwetel Ejiofor) stumbles into this mysterious realm, leading his therapist to follow in an attempt to save him. Unnerving, claustrophobic and anxiety-inducing, the film developed solid word-of-mouth, especially among younger audiences, eventually becoming A24’s highest-grossing release of all time.

Send Help (Disney+)

Finally, Sam Raimi (The Evil Dead) has returned to his unhinged comedy-horror roots. Send Help takes a genuinely terrifying premise – crash-landing on a remote jungle island with your pompous nepo baby boss – and turns it into a darkly hilarious tale that eventually has you begging the characters to just eat each other. Starring Rachel McAdams (The Notebook) and Dylan O’Brien (Teen Wolf), this film may not have blown the box office away, but it still delivered some of the best dark comedy performances of the year, especially from McAdams who proved herself a surprisingly solid scream queen.

Exit 8 (Amazon Prime Video)

Horror films based on popular video games can be hit-and-miss, but Exit 8 was definitely a hit. Its simple premise follows a man who becomes trapped in an endless underground station and must use any anomalies in the environment to help guide him out. Beyond its respect for the source material, audiences praised the film for its use of eerie liminal space and its deeper exploration of personal guilt. Despite only receiving a limited release, the Japanese film’s average earnings per-theatre became the third-highest of any movie in the US top 10, even surpassing the buzzy Zendaya and Robert Pattinson film The Drama. Once again, it was Gen Z who flocked to cinemas to see it.

Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma (Mubi)

After her 2024 film I Saw the TV Glow, anyone with an interest in surrealist horror had their eye on Jane Schoenbrun. The director’s latest release somehow got even weirder, placing Hannah Einbinder (Hacks) and Gillian Anderson (Sex Education) in an abandoned summer camp where their characters, both actors, attempt to reboot an indie slasher. It’s bloody, dreamlike and slightly meta, paired with pertinent underlying messages around desire and queer identity. In other words, it’s peak Schoenbrun.

Hokum (Rent or buy on YouTube, Apple TV or Amazon Prime Video)

A supernatural folk-horror starring Adam Scott and a creepy bunny man? It’s a recipe for success. Damian McCarthy’s tale sends a jaded horror writer (Scott) on a journey to Ireland where he plans to scatter his parents’ ashes. However, his hotel is haunted by a 400-year-old witch who he eventually confronts while searching for a missing hotel employee. Somehow both cosy and terrifying, this film creates slow burn dread like few others, building to some of the most frightening jump scares I’ve seen in a while. It also helps that Scott (Severance) is a master at playing a grumbling anti-hero.

28 Years Later: The Bone Temple (Amazon Prime Video)

No horror list would be complete without a zombie flick – and this one just happens to be utterly brilliant. Following last year’s 28 Years Later, Nia DaCosta’s instalment of the acclaimed franchise focuses on a cult led by the megalomaniacal psychopath Jimmy (Jack O’Connell), who’s intent on offering uninfected people as satanic sacrifices. It’s incredibly grisly, crushes your faith in humanity (as all good zombie movies should) and offers one of the most twisted villains in contemporary horror history. It also contains a scene in which Ralph Fiennes rocks out to an Iron Maiden song while pretending to be the devil. Cinematic gold.

Leviticus (HBO Max from October 30)

One of the best horrors of the year was made on our own doorstep. Leviticus is Australian director Adrian Chiarella’s debut feature about a closeted country boy who outs his love interest in a jealous rage, resulting in a sick form of conversion therapy that inadvertently summons an evil entity that mimics those you desire most. The film quickly became a breakout hit, developing major word-of-mouth buzz for its handling of queer trauma and religious repression. But unlike other recent films critiquing religious dogma, this one has much more heart.

Scream 7 (Paramount+)

Nostalgia is still alive and kicking. Scream 7 brings Ghostface back to terrorise the residents of Pine Grove, including original scream queen Sidney Prescott (Neve Campbell) and her teenage daughter. To keep it fresh, the killer uses AI deepfakes to manipulate its victims. How timely. Though far from a critical hit, the film smashed the box office, grossing nearly $309 million worldwide – the highest earnings in the franchise’s 30-year history.

Undertone (Amazon Prime Video)

This eerie debut film from director Ian Tuason offers a horrific spin on the current deluge of podcasts. Undertone follows a pregnant paranormal podcaster who discovers 10 anonymous audio recordings which piece together a disturbing story involving a folklore demon that preys on infants. Having originally been conceived as an immersive 250-page audio-cue script, some critics claimed this was the scariest movie they’d ever heard. Audiences clearly agreed, with the film grossing 43 times its production cost globally.

*Stan is owned by Nine, the publisher of this masthead.

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