Best back to school horror movies

August has faded to September. Pumpkin flavored, well, everything, has hit the shelves. That means it’s back to school season. The beginning of September is a great time to watch back to school horror movies. Here’s a list of some of our favorites, so order your PSL and enjoy these classroom chills and thrills.

Urban Legend (1998)

Looking back, it’s pretty impressive to consider the cast of Urban Legend, a movie that tried to ride the coattails of Scream’s success. The feature includes a young Jared Leto, Rebecca Gayheart, Alicia Witt, Tara Reid, Loretta Devine, Joshua Jackson, and smaller parts by horror legends Robert Englund and Brad Dourif. Though this film is a late 90s slasher with some self-awareness, it holds its own because of its stylish kills based upon urban legends. Oh, and Witt plays a pretty cool final girl named Natalie, who tries to outsmart a killer who picks off her friends one by one at a northeastern college campus. The setting, coupled with the cast, makes this stand out from other back to school horror movies. Just try to endure Jackson’s awful bleach blonde hair. Why was that look ever a thing?

Urban Legend is available to rent on major streaming platforms.

The Faculty (1998)

Director Robert Rodriguez’s The Faculty is another 90s rollicking good time. It’s a solid back to school horror entry and a very loose adaptation of Invasion of the Body Snatchers, set in an Ohio high school. The film stars a who’s who of 90s faces. Elijah Wood and Josh Harnett play two of the students, while Famke Jannsen, Jon Stewart, Salma Hayek, and Robert Patrick have roles as teachers. Even Usher has a small part. This feature also has cool nods to The Thing, especially the concept of a parasite infecting and overtaking human hosts.  It’s teachers versus students with the fate of all humanity hanging in the balance.

The Faculty is currently on Paramount Plus and available to rent on most major streaming platforms.

Carrie (1976)

Is there really any better back to school horror movie than Carrie? The adaptation of Stephen King’s first novel, which he almost trashed, is simply a classic. So many performances in Brian De Palma’s masterpiece in terror are iconic, be it Sissy Spacek’s portrayal of a tormented and bullied teenage telekinetic who gets her revenge at prom, or her bible-thumping mom, Margaret White, played by Piper Laurie. This film has so many standout scenes, be it the blood-soaked prom, or the opening when Carrie’s classmates torment her just as she gets her period. Oh, and that final scene is one of the best jump scares in horror history.

Carrie is available for free on Tubi and Pluto TV.

The Craft (1996)

Sometimes, I think The Craft spawned the plethora of Hot Topics in the late 90s. I kid, I kid. However, the film likely encouraged many high school girls to embrace their inner-weirdo and find power and agency in it. In this one, Robin Tunney stars as Sarah, a new girl at school who befriends three witches, Rochelle (Rachel True), Bonnie (Neve Campbell), and uber goth Nancy (Fairuza Balk). They teach Sarah how to cast spells and dabble in the black arts, and the powerful foursome enacts revenge against high school bullies. This one is a must watch. We are the weirdos, mister, indeed!

The Craft is currently streaming on Hulu.

Jennifer’s Body (2009)

Director Karyn Kusama’s Jennifer’s Body was overlooked upon its release, but over the last few years, it’s been reassessed. In time, it may be considered a contemporary classic when it comes to back to school horror movies. Megan Fox stars as Jennifer, a newly possessed high school cheerleader who turns into a succubus. She kills her male classmates. Over time, this one has aged especially well for what it has to say about female power and agency.  I know hating on Fox is the cool thing to do and has been for a while, but if you skipped this one the first time, give it a second chance.

Jennifer’s Body is currently streaming on Max.

Heathers (1988)

Okay, okay, I know that not everyone considers Heathers a horror movie. Some call it a comedy. Some call it a teen drama. In this writer’s humble opinion, it’s a mash-up of genres and also another classic. The film stars Winona Ryder in one of her best roles as Westerburg High student Veronica. She wants desperately to fit in with a clique of popular girls, each one named Heather. However, bad boy Jason (Christian Slater) pulls her into his murderous scheme to kill the popular kids. This one has a lot of angst and a body count.

Heathers is currently streaming in Shudder, Tubi, Prime Video, and AMC Plus.

Jawbreaker (1999)

This movie is colorful, stylish, and has a killer soundtrack. It’s also influenced heavily by Heathers. Three mean girls, Courtney (Rose McGowan), Julie (Rebecca Gayheart), and Marcie (Julie Benz), accidently kill the prom queen, Liz (Charlotte Ayanna), with a jawbreaker candy after pretending to kidnap her. They then try to hide their crimes. The cover-up is largely orchestrated by the icy and cunning Courtney. Trust me, you don’t want to mess with her. McGowan is simply great in this role, especially when she delivers my favorite line of the movie, “I killed the teen dream. Deal with it.” As far as back to school horror movies goes, this is one of my favs.

Jawbreaker is currently available to rent on most major streaming platforms.

Scream & Scream 2

The first two Screams are ingrained in pop culture, especially the original. The first largely takes place at Woodsboro High School as the Ghostface killer(s) pick off one student after the other, only to be thwarted by Neve Campbell’s stellar performance as final girl Sidney Prescott. She’s also joined by stone-cold journalist Gale Weathers (Courtney Cox), and of course, the loveable and goofy Deputy Dewey (David Arquette). Scream 2, meanwhile, follows Sidney to college and has several great scenes, including film discussions about the very nature of sequels. As far as back to school horror movies go, you can never go wrong with Scream and its initial sequel.

Scream and Scream 2 are currently streaming on Paramount Plus.