The 9 Best Psychological Horror Films to Stream This Halloween
Some of the most unsettling horror never needs a monster in the closet. It works by getting into your head: a grieving parent who cannot tell what is real, a newcomer who slowly realizes the people around him are not who they seem, a soldier chasing a case that keeps shifting under him. For a quiet October night, these films reward slow attention and a dark room. Each of the nine picks below is streaming in the US right now, spread across a mix of free ad-supported services and paid subscriptions, so you can likely find at least a few without opening your wallet.
Quick picks
- The Babadook (2014)
- The Others (2001)
- The Sixth Sense (1999)
- Rosemary's Baby (1968)
- Shutter Island (2010)
- Get Out (2017)
- The Shining (1980)
- The Exorcist (1973)
- Barbarian (2022)
1. The Babadook (2014)
A grieving single mother and her young son slide into paranoia when a strange children's book appears in their house. It is a story about loss and exhaustion as much as it is a ghost story, and the creature at its center grows harder to dismiss the longer you watch. Essie Davis anchors the film with a performance that makes the dread feel personal.
Directed by Jennifer Kent. Starring Essie Davis, Noah Wiseman, Hayley McElhinney, Daniel Henshall. Drama, Horror. Rated NR.
Free with ads on The Roku Channel, Pluto TV, Plex. Subscription: AMC+, Shudder, Sundance Now · Where to watch
2. The Others (2001)
Grace keeps her old house dark because her two children cannot tolerate light, and she guards them fiercely as strange events begin to pile up. Nicole Kidman plays the mother with a rigid, controlled fear that makes every shadow feel earned. The film keeps you guessing about who, or what, is actually living in the rooms.
Directed by Alejandro Amenábar. Starring Nicole Kidman, Alakina Mann, James Bentley, Fionnula Flanagan. Horror, Mystery, Thriller. Rated PG-13.
Subscription: AMC+, Shudder · Where to watch
3. The Sixth Sense (1999)
A child psychologist takes on a nine year old boy who is hiding a secret that frightens everyone who tries to help him. Bruce Willis and Haley Joel Osment carry a quiet, grief-soaked story that builds steadily toward a turn you may not see coming. It is patient, humane horror that rewards a second viewing.
Directed by M. Night Shyamalan. Starring Bruce Willis, Haley Joel Osment, Toni Collette, Olivia Williams. Mystery, Thriller, Drama. Rated PG-13.
Subscription: Netflix, Hulu · Where to watch
4. Rosemary's Baby (1968)
A young couple moves into a New York apartment building with a reputation for strange legends, hoping to start a family. Mia Farrow plays Rosemary with a growing unease that turns ordinary domestic life into something deeply wrong. The film is built on suspicion, and it asks how much a person can trust the people closest to her.
Directed by Roman Polanski. Starring Mia Farrow, John Cassavetes, Ruth Gordon, Sidney Blackmer. Drama, Horror, Thriller. Rated R.
Free with ads on YouTube. Subscription: AMC+ · Where to watch
5. Shutter Island (2010)
A U.S. Marshal investigates the disappearance of a patient from a hospital for the criminally insane, but his visions and an unsettling doctor keep blurring the case. Leonardo DiCaprio leads a Martin Scorsese film that makes you doubt the investigator as much as the island. It is a slow, layered mystery where perception itself is the puzzle.
Directed by Martin Scorsese. Starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Mark Ruffalo, Ben Kingsley, Max von Sydow. Drama, Thriller, Mystery. Rated R.
Free with ads on YouTube · Where to watch
6. Get Out (2017)
A young man visits his girlfriend's parents for a weekend and notices their overly accommodating behavior, which he first reads as nervousness. Daniel Kaluuya plays Chris with a rising sense that something is badly off, and the film tightens its grip one uncomfortable discovery at a time. Jordan Peele builds its tension from politeness, which makes it all the more disturbing.
Directed by Jordan Peele. Starring Daniel Kaluuya, Allison Williams, Catherine Keener, Bradley Whitford. Mystery, Thriller, Horror. Rated R.
Subscription: Peacock · Where to watch
7. The Shining (1980)
A writer takes a winter caretaker job at an isolated hotel, bringing his wife and son along for a season of solitude. Jack Nicholson and Shelley Duvall make the family's slow fracture feel frighteningly intimate. Stanley Kubrick turns the empty halls of the Overlook into a place where the madness seems to live inside the walls themselves.
Directed by Stanley Kubrick. Starring Jack Nicholson, Shelley Duvall, Danny Lloyd, Scatman Crothers. Horror, Thriller. Rated R.
Subscription: Max · Where to watch
8. The Exorcist (1973)
When a mysterious presence takes hold of a young girl, her mother turns to two Catholic priests for help. Ellen Burstyn gives the film its emotional core, as a parent watching her child change beyond recognition. William Friedkin's movie is grim and physical, but its most lasting horror is the helplessness of love that cannot fix what it sees.
Directed by William Friedkin. Starring Ellen Burstyn, Linda Blair, Jason Miller, Max von Sydow. Horror. Rated R.
Subscription: Max · Where to watch
9. Barbarian (2022)
A young woman arrives at a rented house late at night for a job interview, only to find it has been double-booked and a stranger is already inside. She stays anyway, and the film then shifts its shape in ways that keep you guessing at every turn. Georgina Campbell carries the story through a night that grows more unpredictable with each new room.
Directed by Zach Cregger. Starring Georgina Campbell, Justin Long, Bill Skarsgård, Richard Brake. Horror, Mystery, Thriller. Rated R.
Subscription: Hulu · Where to watch
Pick a night when you can actually sit with a film, lights low and phone out of reach, and let one of these carry you through. Streaming catalogs shift often, so check the listed service before you press play.
More movie lists
Streaming catalogs change often. Availability was checked the morning this was published. Streaming data from JustWatch via TMDB; this product uses the TMDB API but is not endorsed or certified by TMDB.
