Halloween 2023: The scariest new movie and TV releases to ring in spooky season this year
Halloween 2023 looks better than ever, or excuse us, horrifying than ever, when it comes to some spooky new movie and television releases.
Yes, that's right, with each year that passes, the horror genre keeps getting better and better and makes us want to cosy up under the covers with the lights dimmed while challenging ourselves to see how much of a scare we can handle. Whether it's a possessed child in dire need of assistance, an old curse being unleashed in a small town, a good ol' slasher or the next instalment of our favourite horror movie franchise, we are so ready.
"The trailer brings back unsettling memories of sterile rooms and masked male doctors."
First of all, nothing says Halloween more than the new Exorcist movie, which stars the brilliant Ellen Burstyn, who was in the original 1973 movie. Then we have the tenth instalment of the Saw movie, and we need to catch up with what Jigsaw has been up to. But if you find it challenging to stay up to date with movie franchises, then there's a whole load of new movies, such as Five Nights at Freddy's, which will ensure that we'll never sign up for a late shift ever. Then there are some great teen offerings, such as Totally Killer on Prime Video and the new Goosebumps reboots.
Mike Flanagan also returns to Netflix's horror scene with his new limited series The Fall of the House of Usher, or if you're looking for something a bit different, i.e., the extraterrestrial, catch Kaitlyn Dever in Disney+'s No One Will Save You. Or, for something a bit lighter, Kim Kardashian stars alongside Emma Watson in the new season of American Horror Story.
So carve out the pumpkins, light the candles, and get comfortable for the best nine new film and show releases for Halloween 2023.
Universal PicturesThe Exorcist: Believer
Cast: Ellen Burstyn, Leslie Odom. Jr, Ann Dowd, Jennifer Nettles, Norbert Leo Butz, Lidya Jewett, Olivia Marcum
Plot: The original Exorcist movie in 1973 terrified the living daylights out of us, and so we're more than thrilled that the sixth instalment of the movie franchise, which also serves as a direct sequel to the first movie, will be here just in time for the spooky season. In this new terrifying flick, single father Victor Fielding is forced to seek help from Chris MacNeil, the only person alive who can truly assist him, when his daughter, Angela, and her friend Katherine show signs of demonic possession.
Release: 13 October in cinemas
HuluAmerican Horror Story: Delicate
Cast: Emma Roberts, Kim Kardashian,
Plot: The 12th instalment of Ryan Murphy's brilliant horror series will be female-heavy, with Emma Watson taking on the lead role of a Hollywood actor who is expecting a baby but begins to suspect that other forces are trying to interfere with her pregnancy. Kim plays her manager, Siobhan Walsh, so move over Kris Jenner!
Release: Yet to be confirmed. But it will air on Disney+
DisneyGoosebumps
Cast: Justin Long, Rachael Harris, Zack Morris, Isa Briones, Miles McKenna, Ana Yi Puig, Will Price
Plot: The new Goosebumps reboot, which is based on R.L. Stine's bestselling book series, will follow a group of five high schoolers as they embark on a horrifying journey to investigate the tragic passing of teen Harold Biddle, who died three decades earlier. Along the way, they unearth many dark secrets about their parents' past that help them get to the bottom of the mystery.
Release: 13 October on Disney+
JAMES DITTIGERTotally Killer
Cast: Kiernan Shipka, Olivia Holt, Julie Bowen
Plot: The infamous "Sweet Sixteen Killer" returns to town on Halloween night, 35 years after the shocking murder of three local teens. With the killer out to hunt down his fourth victim, 17-year-old Jamie ignores her overprotective mother to come face to face with the manic. However, in doing so, she accidentally time-travels back to 1987, the year of the original killings.
Release: 6 October on Prime Video
Alexandro Bolaños Escamilla/LionsgateSaw X
Cast: Tobin Bell, Shawnee Smith, Synnøve Macody Lund, Steven Brand, Michael Beach
Plot: Can you ever get tired of Jigsaw's game? No, but the answer would probably be much different for his unfortunate victims. In the tenth (yes, tenth!) instalment of his popular and long-running horror franchise, John Kramer, aka Jigsaw, heads to Mexico for a risky and experimental medical procedure that has been hailed as a miracle cure for his cancer. However, when he finds out the entire operation is a scam, he turns the tables on the con artists...
Release: 29 September in cinemas.
Universal PicturesFive Nights at Freddy’s
Cast: Josh Hutcherson, Elizabeth Lail, Piper Rubio, Kat Conner Sterling, Mary Stuart Masterson, Matthew Lillard
Plot: Ever worked a night shift? It's long and lonely, but we bet you've never had to fight for your life during it! For troubled security guard Mike Schmidt, when he accepts a night-time job at Freddy Fazbear's Pizza at a once-successful family entertainment centre, he soon learns that his shift won't be easy to make it through as he meets the centre's deadly four animatronic mascots – Freddy Fazbear, Bonnie, Chica, and Foxy.
Release: 27 October in cinemas
COURTESY OF VMI WORLDWIDEPiper
Cast: Elizabeth Hurley, Mia Jenkins, Tara Fitzgerald, Jack Stewart
Plot: This is the ultimate creepy tale of children having to pay for the sins of their parents. In Piper, Liz and her daughter Amy start fresh after relocating to a small town in Germany. However, things quickly take a dark turn when a local girl dies in horrifying circumstances. At the same time, a dark secret from Liz's past awakens an evil entity named Piper, who seeks redemption by taking the children of those parents who have done wrong. That is when Liv knows that Mia is in grave danger.
Release: 16 October on digital
20th Century StudiosNo One Will Save You
Cast: Kaitlyn Dever
Plot: We'd watch anything starring Kaitlyn Dever, including the upcoming science fiction horror thriller. In this Brian Duffield film, the actress takes on the role of Brynn, a woman living a life of solitude in her childhood home when unearthly intruders suddenly pay her a visit.
Release: 22 September on Disney+
The Fall of the House of Usher
Cast: Kate Siegel, Rahul Kohli, Carla Gugino, T'Nia Miller
Plot: Mike Flanagan, the man who brought us The Haunting of Hill House and The Haunting of Bly Manor, is now back with this new limited horror series, The Fall of the House of Usher, based on the short story of the same name and other works by Edgar Allan Poe. The series centres on siblings Roderick and Madeline Usher, who have built a pharmaceutical company into an empire of wealth, privilege, power, and also corruption. However, they are soon forced to confront their troubling paths when their children start dying in mysterious and brutal ways.
Release: 12 October on Netflix
