Halloween

Best horror movies: 10 thrilling, chilling films to watch for Halloween 2021

USA TODAY

I scream, you scream, we all scream because it's October again, and unlike last year, it looks like Halloween is going to be a thing again. (Be sure to wear your masks – and your masks!)

You've got a few weeks to pick out the right costume, but all month long, there are plenty of thrillers and chillers to watch in movie theaters and at home. Michael Myers is back – after a COVID-19 delay – and even the Muppets are getting into the spirit of the spooky season, so you know it's going to be a special one.

So break out your calendar, guys and ghouls: Here are 10 treats to get you in a Halloween state of mind.

Horror movies:25 films to watch before you DIIIIIIIIIIIIE

Xavier Woods (from left), Kofi Kingston and Big E run afoul of a WWE legend in the Netflix interactive special "Escape the Undertaker."

'Escape the Undertaker' (Netflix, streaming now)

Wrestling fans and horror fiends alike will appreciate this interactive special, a choose-your-own-adventure creep show that follows WWE supergroup The New Day – Kofi Kingston, Xavier Woods and Big E – as they venture into the Undertaker's freaky mansion to grab his iconic urn and run afoul of the legendary grappler.

The Undertaker:WWE legend looks back on 30 years, his 'humbling' legacy and being a wrestling fan

Burkely Duffield (from left), Sydney Park, Asjha Cooper, Jesse LaTourette and Dale Whibley star as youngsters menaced by a masked killer in "There's Someone Inside Your House."

'There’s Someone Inside Your House' (Netflix, streaming now)

The slash-happy adaptation of Stephanie Perkins' young-adult novel centers on Makani (Sydney Park), a teen girl from Hawaii now living in a rural Nebraska town and hiding a big secret. She and her classmates are targeted by a mysterious killer whose calling card is wearing a mask of his or her intended victim's face.

A mad scientist attempts to create a biomechanical creature in a gory short from "V/H/S/94."

'V/H/S/94' (Shudder, streaming now)

The fourth film in the found-footage horror anthology series is '90s-themed with a bunch of new tales, including a news crew investigating the urban legend of a sewer-dwelling Ratman; a right-wing militia planning to use a supernatural creature to invade a federal building; an overnight wake gone very wrong; and a mad scientist turning humans into machines.

Tenoch Huerta and Ariana Guerra star as a Mexican-American couple who find some unusual artifacts in "Madres."

'Madres' (Amazon Prime, Friday)

Horror guru Jason Blum's "Welcome to the Blumhouse" series, featuring a new crop of diverse scary-movie filmmakers, returns for its second year. The freakiest of the four films is a 1970s-set tale about an expecting Mexican-American couple (Tenoch Huerta and Ariana Guerra) who discover a strange talisman at their new residence.

Gonzo has to survive a night surrounded by 999 spooks and specters in "Muppets Haunted Mansion."

'Muppets Haunted Mansion' (Disney+, Friday)

For those not ready to go on the classic Disney theme-park ride – because of COVID-19, or you just scare really easy – the Muppet-filled musical comedy captures all its ghostly, family-friendly vibes. Gonzo and pal Pepe accept a challenge to survive a night in the Haunted Mansion, with an all-star supporting cast, including Will Arnett and Taraji P. Henson.

Laurie Strode (Jamie Lee Curtis, left) and daughter Karen (Judy Greer) are left reeling after their last run-in with Michael Myers in the sequel "Halloween Kills."

'Halloween Kills' (in theaters and on Peacock, Oct. 15)

The bloody follow-up to 2018's hit "Halloween" finds Michael Myers on the loose in Haddonfield after escaping a fiery trap set by Laurie Strode (Jamie Lee Curtis). While Laurie recovers in a local hospital, loved ones and neighbors form a vigilante mob to end the masked boogeyman's reign of terror once and for all.

Jorge Lendeborg Jr. plays a college student who drives around a couple of vampires (including Lucy Fry) in "Night Teeth."

'Night Teeth' (Netflix, Oct. 20)

The LA-set thriller stars Jorge Lendeborg Jr. as a college student moonlighting as a chauffeur who agrees to drive two young women (Debby Ryan and Lucy Fry) around for a night of partying. They turn out to be a couple of real bloodsuckers, and our hero gets thrown into the chaos of a secret war between rival vampire tribes and human protectors.

Kate Siegel stars as a woman in need of help whose hypnotism sessions go very wrong in "Hypnotic."

'Hypnotic' (Netflix Oct. 27)

Netflix's resident horror queen Kate Siegel ("Midnight Mass") plays a woman seeking to improve herself who reaches out to a renowned hypnotist (Jason O'Mara) for help. She undergoes some very intense sessions and quickly begins to realize that things are getting much, much worse instead of better.

Keri Russell plays an Oregon middle-school teacher looking into appearances by a dark ancestral beast in the thriller "Antlers."

'Antlers' (in theaters Oct. 29)

In the folklore horror flick produced by Guillermo del Toro, an Oregon boy (Jeremy T. Thomas) encounters a dark and mysterious ancestral beast and turns to his middle-school teacher (Keri Russell) and her sheriff brother (Jesse Plemons) for help with his chilling situation.

Young fashion designer Eloise (Thomasin McKenzie, right) is transported back to the 1960s and comes into contact with her idol, singer Sandie (Anya Taylor-Joy), in Edgar Wright’s psychological thriller "Last Night in Soho."

'Last Night in Soho' (in theaters Oct. 29)

Directed by Edgar Wright, the psychological thriller stars Thomasin McKenzie as a fashion student in present-day London who's transported at night to the 1960s – and into the body of an up-and-coming singer (Anya Taylor-Joy). But the younger woman's fantastical dreams get all too real and become a nightmare in her waking life.

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