The 5 Best 2026 Movies To Watch This Halloween

Published Oct 9, 2026, 7:37 AM EDT

David is a Senior Editor at Collider focused primarily on Lists. His professional journey began in the mid-2010s as a Marketing specialist before embarking on his writing career in the 2020s. At Collider, David started as a Senior Writer in late 2022 and has been a Senior Editor since mid-2023. He is in charge of ideating compelling and engaging List articles by working closely with writers, both Senior and Junior, as well as other editors. Occasionally, David also reviews movies and TV shows and writes episode recaps. Currently, David is also writing his second novel, a psychological horror satire that will, hopefully, be picked up for publication sometime next year.

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Spooky season is officially upon us, and what better way to celebrate it than by watching a great movie? Halloween immediately brings to mind thoughts of horror, and indeed, many timeless classics of the genre have become must-watches during the holiday. However, many other movies from different genres can be just as enjoyable during the season of the witch, especially during Halloween itself.

2026 has already given us many great movies that can be enjoyed on Halloween. It's been a remarkable year for horror, so expect at least two of the genre's hottest offerings on this list. However, a few unexpected choices would make for a very entertaining way to spend your Halloween, including an animated gem and a rather unexpected pick. No matter the genre, these 2026 movies are perfect ways to spend your Halloween, whether you're looking for plans before a big costume party or you're choosing to stay in for a spooky night at home.

'Obsession'

Image via Focus Features

One of the year's biggest movie sensations, Obsession is already a modern classic, and it's no exaggeration. Curry Barker's horror stars Michael Johnston as Bear, a young man who wishes that his best friend, Nikki (Inde Navarrete), would love him more than anyone else in the world. However, his dream turns into a nightmare when Nikki becomes dangerously fixated, putting him and everyone else in danger.

What Obsession lacks in originality, it more than makes up for in confidence. Barker's steady hand guides a classic tale of a wish gone wrong and turns it into a refreshing mix of gore, humor, and psychological dread that ranks among the new millennium's finest horror offerings. A lot of that comes from Johnston and Navarrete's committed, intense performances, further proving that horror has some of the best on-screen work of any genre. Obsession has become a certified cultural sensation, turning it into the must-watch movie this Halloween season. Whether you saw it during its initial theatrical run or will be experiencing it for the first time, the movie is a horror banger.

'The Sheep Detectives'

Image via Amazon MGM Studios

Now on to something a lot less intense. The Sheep Detectives is a delightful mystery comedy about a group of sheep who unite to solve the mystery of their beloved shepherd George's (Hugh Jackman) murder. Meanwhile, a hapless small-town cop (Nicholas Braun) tries to solve the murder himself, aided by an ambitious would-be reporter (Nicholas Galitzine). The supporting cast also includes Hong Chau, Molly Gordon, and Emma Thompson, with Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Chris O'Dowd, and Bryan Cranston as the voices of the sheep.

Who would've thought that a movie featuring talking sheep solving a murder would be so funny, clever, heartfelt, and emotionally intelligent? Yet, against all odds, The Sheep Detectives is just that. It offers a classic whodunit mystery, plenty of humor, and a powerful message about letting go, grief, and loss. It's all packed in an autumnal feel, set in a little English village and featuring warm cinematography that evokes all the coziness associated with the season. Is it scary? Not at all. But as I said, a movie doesn't need to be horror to be an enjoyable watch on Halloween. If you're looking for something lighter that still has an edge, then this one is for you.

'Batman: Knightfall - Part 1'

Image via Warner Bros. Animation

Batman movies are a dime a dozen, especially in animation. However, they are mostly great, partly because the character is so versatile, and partly because his storylines are usually darker and more complex than the average superhero fare. This year, we got Batman: Knightfall, an animated adaptation of the eponymous storyline in which Batman's spine is broken by the juggernaut villain, Bane.

Knightfall succeeds on the back of stellar animation, a gritty tone that greatly enhances the source material's themes, incredible voice work from a talented cast, and a willingness to go all-out on the possibilities allowed by its new R-rating. The film is one of the best Batman animated movies, offering a classic take on the Dark Knight that respects his lore but offers enough refreshing elements to still be relevant in 2026. Few superheroes are better suited for Halloween than the Caped Crusader, and Knightfall would make for an excellent choice to watch during the year's spookiest holiday.

'The Odyssey'

Image via Universal Pictures

The Odyssey is one of 2026's biggest movies, a grand, thrilling, intelligent epic from the man who is undoubtedly the single greatest director of the 21st century. Cleverly updating Homer's classic poem, the film stars Matt Damon as Odysseus, following his ten-year journey from the Trojan War back to Ithaca, where his son, Telemachus (Tom Holland), and wife, Penelope (Anne Hathaway), await him while dealing with countless suitors hoping to earn her hand and the island's throne.

With a sprawling cast featuring a who's who of Hollywood heavyweights, impressive production values, and a larger-than-life approach to filmmaking, The Odyssey is nothing short of a masterpiece. The film cleverly reinterprets the source material for a new audience, with Nolan questioning everything from the nature of heroism, the true behind myth, and the way legends take shape. The Odyssey is a perfect blend of artistry and spectacle, a three-hour throwback to the classic age of filmmaking, when epics were big, bold, and important. The box office suggests you probably already saw it at least once, but what better time to rewatch than on Halloween, when the somber, ancient tone will be most fitting?

Collider Exclusive · Oscar Best Picture Quiz Which Oscar Best Picture
Is Your Perfect Movie? Parasite · Everything Everywhere · Oppenheimer · Birdman · No Country

Five Oscar Best Picture winners. Five completely different visions of what cinema can be — and what it can do to you. One of them is the film that was made for the way your mind works. Ten questions will figure out which one.

🪜Parasite

🌀Everything Everywhere

☢️Oppenheimer

🐦Birdman

🪙No Country for Old Men

FIND YOUR FILM →

01

What kind of film experience do you actually want? The best movies don't just entertain — they leave something behind.

ASomething that pulls the rug out — that makes me think I'm watching one kind of film and then reveals I'm watching another entirely. BSomething overwhelming — funny, sad, absurd, and genuinely moving, all at once. CSomething grand and weighty — a film that makes me feel the full scale of what I'm watching. DSomething formally daring — a film that pushes what cinema can even do. ESomething lean and relentless — pure tension with no wasted frame.

NEXT QUESTION →

02

Which idea grabs you most in a film? Great films are driven by a central obsession. What's yours?

AClass, inequality, and what people are willing to do when desperation meets opportunity. BIdentity, family, and the chaos of trying to hold your life together when everything is falling apart. CGenius, moral responsibility, and the catastrophic weight of a decision you can never take back. DEgo, legacy, and the terror of becoming irrelevant while you're still alive to watch it happen. EEvil, chance, and whether moral order actually exists or if we just tell ourselves it does.

NEXT QUESTION →

03

How do you like your story told? Form is content. The way a story is shaped changes what it means.

AGenre-twisting — I want it to start in one lane and migrate into something completely different. BMaximalist and genre-blending — comedy, action, drama, sci-fi, all in one ride. CEpic and non-linear — cutting between timelines, building a mosaic of cause and consequence. DA single unbroken flow — I want to feel like I'm living it in real time, no cuts to safety. ESpare and precise — every scene doing exactly what it needs to do and nothing more.

NEXT QUESTION →

04

What makes a truly great antagonist? The opposition defines the protagonist. What kind of opposition fascinates you?

AA system — invisible, structural, and almost impossible to fight because it has no single face. BThe self — the ways we sabotage, abandon, and fail the people we love most. CHistory — the unstoppable momentum of events that no single person can stop or redirect. DThe industry — the machinery of culture that chews up talent and spits out irrelevance. EPure, implacable evil — a force so certain of itself it becomes almost philosophical.

NEXT QUESTION →

05

What do you want from a film's ending? The final note is the one that lingers. What do you want it to sound like?

AShock and inevitability — a conclusion that recontextualises everything that came before it. BEarned emotion — I want to cry, laugh, and feel genuinely hopeful, even if the world is a mess. CDevastation and grandeur — an ending that makes me sit in silence for a few minutes after. DAmbiguity — something that leaves enough open that I'm still thinking about it days later. EBleakness — an honest refusal to pretend the world is tidier than it actually is.

NEXT QUESTION →

06

Which setting pulls you in most? Where a film takes place shapes everything — mood, stakes, what's even possible.

AA gleaming modern city with a hidden underside — beauty masking rot, wealth masking desperation. BA collapsing suburban life that opens onto something infinite — the multiverse of a single ordinary person. CThe corridors of power and science at a world-historical turning point — where decisions echo for decades. DThe grimy, alive chaos of New York and Hollywood — fame as both destination and trap. EVast, indifferent landscape — desert and highway where violence arrives without warning or reason.

NEXT QUESTION →

07

What cinematic craft impresses you most? Every great film has a signature — a technical or artistic element that makes it unmistakable.

AProduction design and mise-en-scène — every frame composed to carry meaning beneath the surface. BEditing and tonal control — the ability to move between registers without losing the audience. CScore and sound design — music that becomes inseparable from the dread and awe of what you're watching. DCinematography as performance — the camera not recording events but participating in them. ESilence and restraint — what's left unsaid and unshown doing more work than any dialogue could.

NEXT QUESTION →

08

What kind of main character do you root for? The protagonist is the lens. Who you choose to follow says something about you.

ASomeone smart and resourceful who makes increasingly dangerous decisions under pressure. BSomeone overwhelmed and ordinary who turns out to be capable of something extraordinary. CA brilliant, tortured figure whose gifts and flaws are inseparable from each other. DA self-destructive artist whose ego is both their superpower and their undoing. EA quiet, principled person trying to make sense of a world that has stopped making sense.

NEXT QUESTION →

09

How do you feel about a film that takes its time? Pace is a choice. Some films sprint; others let tension accumulate slowly, deliberately.

AI love a slow build when I know the payoff is going to be seismic — patience for a devastating reveal. BGive me relentless momentum — I want to feel breathless and emotionally spent by the end. CEpic runtime doesn't scare me — if the material demands three hours, give me three hours. DI want it to feel propulsive even when nothing is technically happening — restless energy throughout. EDeliberate and unhurried — I want dread to accumulate in the spaces between the action.

NEXT QUESTION →

10

What do you want to feel walking out of the cinema? The best films leave a mark. What kind of mark do you want?

AUnsettled — like I've just seen something I can't fully explain but can't stop thinking about. BMoved and energised — like the film reminded me what actually matters and gave me something to hold onto. CHumbled — like I've been in the presence of something genuinely important and overwhelming. DExhilarated — like I've just seen cinema doing something it's never quite done before. EHaunted — like a cold, quiet dread that stays with me for days.

REVEAL MY FILM →

The Academy Has Decided Your Perfect Film Is…

Your answers have pointed to one Oscar Best Picture winner above all others. This is the film that was made for the way your mind works.

Parasite

You are drawn to films that operate on multiple levels simultaneously — that begin in one genre and quietly, brilliantly migrate into another. Bong Joon-ho's Parasite is a film about class, desire, and the architecture of inequality that manages to be darkly funny, deeply suspenseful, and genuinely shocking across a single extraordinary running time. Your instinct is for cinema that hides its true intentions until the moment it's ready to reveal them. Parasite is exactly that — a film that rewards close attention and punishes assumptions, right up to its devastating final image.

Everything Everywhere All at Once

You want it all — and this film gives you all of it. The Daniels' Everything Everywhere All at Once is one of the most maximalist films ever made: action comedy, multiverse sci-fi, family drama, existential crisis, and a genuinely earned emotional core that sneaks up on you amid the chaos. You are someone who responds to ambition, who doesn't want cinema to choose between being entertaining and being meaningful. This film refuses that choice entirely. It is overwhelming by design, and its overwhelming nature is precisely the point — because the feeling of being crushed by infinite possibility is exactly what it's about.

Oppenheimer

You are drawn to cinema on a grand scale — films that understand history not as a backdrop but as a force, and that place their characters inside that force and watch what happens. Christopher Nolan's Oppenheimer is a film about the terrifying gap between what we can do and what we should do, told with the full weight of one of the most consequential moments in human history behind it. You want your films to feel important without feeling self-important — to earn their ambition through sheer craft and the gravity of their subject. Oppenheimer does exactly that. It is enormous, complicated, and refuses easy comfort.

Birdman

You are drawn to films that foreground their own construction — that make the how of the filmmaking part of the what it's about. Alejandro González Iñárritu's Birdman, shot to appear as a single continuous take, is cinema examining itself through the cracked mirror of a fading actor's ego. You respond to formal daring, to the feeling that a film is doing something that probably shouldn't be possible. Michael Keaton's performance and Emmanuel Lubezki's restless camera create something genuinely unlike anything else — a film that is simultaneously about creativity, relevance, self-destruction, and the impossibility of ever truly knowing if your work means anything at all.

No Country for Old Men

You are drawn to cinema that trusts silence, that refuses to explain itself, and that treats dread as a form of meaning. The Coen Brothers' No Country for Old Men is a film about the arrival of a new kind of evil — implacable, arbitrary, and utterly indifferent to the moral frameworks we use to make sense of the world. It is one of the most formally controlled films ever made, and its controlled restraint is what makes it so terrifying. You want your films to haunt you, not comfort you. You are not interested in resolution if resolution would be dishonest. No Country for Old Men is honest in a way that most cinema never dares to be.

↻ RETAKE THE QUIZ

'Resident Evil'

Image via Sony Pictures Releasing / Courtesy Everett Collection

To end, let's go back to horror with Zach Cregger's Resident Evil. A heavy reinterpretation of the long-running Capcom video game franchise, the film stars Austin Abrams as Bryan Hodukavich, a medical courier who finds himself caught in the midst of a zombie outbreak in Raccoon City. The film is meant to act as a reboot of the franchise, following two decades of movies starring Milla Jovovich.

Resident Evil hints at a promising start to this new era of live-action movies based on the popular video games. Like Cregger's previous efforts, it offers a perfect balance between genuine horror and dark humor, with plenty of gore, guts, and blood splattered in between. Abrams is a delightful leading man, perfectly fitting Cregger's singular vision through his boyish, everyman persona. If you're looking for a thrilling and purely horrific movie for Halloween, there's no better choice than Resident Evil. The film is a classic zombie movie that will keep you on the edge of your seat, whether you watch it at home (if it's already available for rent or purchase) or, better yet, at the movie theater.