6 new scary movies and 1 mind-bending show releasing Halloween week
By Mads Lennon
The final week of October is here, meaning Halloween night is coming up soon, so horror lovers and entertainment fans alike should plan accordingly to fit in as many new movies as possible before November.
This week, Netflix is at the top of the pack with two fitting new releases, along with a couple of horror flicks from Lionsgate and one notable new arrival on Shudder. It's hard to keep track of what's streaming where and when, so 1428 Elm has created a helpful guide to find out what's releasing this week in the lead-up to Halloween and to kick off November with a scary start.
In addition to what's listed below, the Grotesquerie finale airs this Wednesday, with the Teacup finale on Halloween day. From season 3 continues airing on Sunday nights, and the Apple TV+ psychological thriller series Before on Fridays.
Amityville: Where the Echo Lives (Oct. 29, VOD)
After her father dies, Heather becomes a paranormal investigator to try and connect with him in the afterlife. Hearing what Heather does, a troubled woman requests her help investigating her haunted house where something bad happened 20 years before.
Based on the trailer, Where the Echo Lives looks to be yet another instance of a studio slapping the "Amityville" title onto a low-budget horror film in the hopes that it will get more people to watch. There's no mention of the infamous house in the trailer or synopsis. It's not surprising this movie is going straight to digital. Keep your expectations low, and maybe you'll be pleasantly surprised.
Time Cut (Oct. 30, Netflix)
Netflix alums Antonia Gentry (Ginny & Georgia), Madison Bailey (Outer Banks), and Griffin Gluck (Locke & Key) star in this charming teen slasher film from Freaky co-writer Michael Kennedy and director/co-writer Hannah McPherson.
The plot isn't exactly a novel concept, featuring a teenager traveling back in time to save her sister from a vicious killer (similar plots played out in Totally Killer, Happy Death Day, and Final Girls), but it looks like a suitably fun thriller with a sci-fi twist, and it will make all of us '90s babies feel old with its 2003 setting. The Avril Lavigne needle drop in the trailer was a nice touch.
The Exorcism (Oct. 30, Shudder)
Last year, Russell Crowe starred in a movie titled The Pope's Exorcist, where he played Father Amorth, chief exorcist for the Vatican tasked with exorcising demons. This year, Crowe is back for another exorcism movie in... The Exorcism.
Released in theaters this past summer, The Exorcism makes its streaming debut on Shudder this Thursday. This time, Crowe plays a troubled actor struggling with addiction issues. When he's cast in a horror movie and begins to unravel on set, his daughter worries he might be falling back into old habits. Chloe Bailey also stars.
Don't Come Home (Oct. 31, Netflix)
Don't miss this new Thai limited series coming to Netflix this Halloween. Tagged "mind-bending" and "dark" by Netflix, Don't Come Home is a tense mystery thriller show following the disappearance of a young girl after she returns to her ancestral home alongside her mother.
The house at the heart of the story is known as the supposedly haunted Jarukanant house. Production constructed an actual Sino-European-inspired mansion to make the set really come alive and enhance the story.
Cellar Door (Nov. 1, VOD)
If you could have the home of your dreams for free but with one single catch, to never open the cellar door, would you do it? That's the question faced by couple John (Scott Speedman) and Sera (Jordana Brewster) in this upcoming Lionsgate thriller releasing on demand this Friday. A mysterious realtor (Laurence Fishburne) makes them an offer they can't resist.
Who would turn down a lavish home like this one? Now they just have to resist the curiosity of what lie beyond that door, made more challenging when they learn other people have lived there before them and the realtor's wife and daughter previously disappeared. You know what they say about things that appear too good to be true.
Other new horror films releasing this week include Dread's slasher film He Never Left, which releases in limited theaters on Friday before receiving a VOD release on November 5 and the vampire horror movie Portraits, coming to VOD on November 1.