Horror is a genre that fans love to watch year-round, but there’s something special about watching a good horror movie by a jack-o-lantern for Halloween. While you can always go with a classic horror movie, it can be a real treat to watch something new when you’re not sure where the scares are coming from. That’s why we’ve compiled the best reviewed horror movies of 2022 (and where to watch them), so you can find something good to watch (if you think you’ve already seen all the Halloween TV offerings).
Some quick parameters, we’ve split some of the titles up between more traditional horror movies and those that mix in their scares with some laughs or other genre mash-ups. All of the movies also had to score a 75% or higher with more than 50 reviews on Rotten Tomatoes (the cream of the crop, if you will).
Here’s our list of 2022 new movies that are a treat for horror fans to watch this Halloween:
Best reviewed horror movies of 2022
Hellbender
Rotten Tomatoes score: 97%
Hellbender is about a teen, Izzy, and her mother (Zelda Adams and Toby Poser) who spend most of their time making metal music together. However, when a chance encounter leads Izzy to uncovering a family connection to witchcraft, their world is turned upside down.
Guardians’ Leslie Felperin said in her Hellbender review, "[T]his highly original exercise in folk horror punches well above its weight class with snappy dialogue, trippy visual effects and impressive camerawork.” RogerEbert.com’s review from Brian Tallerico wrote of the creative trio of Adams, Poser and John Adams: "These folks make daring, confident genre films, and they’re only getting better."
How to watch: streaming on Shudder in the US (available as a Prime Video and The Roku Channel premium channel) and the UK.
The Innocents
Rotten Tomatoes score: 96%
Not all horror movies go bump in the night. The Innocents takes place during the bright Nordic summer, when a group of children reveals their dark and mysterious powers when the adults aren’t looking. As the setting suggests, this is a horror import from Norway.
Wendy Ide of The Observer wrote of The Innocents, "Harnesses the terrifying malice of bored kids and blurs the line between social drama and out-and-out horror." What to Watch's The Innocents review relishes that the movie doesn't skimp on "letting the kids unleash evil."
How to watch: streaming on Shudder in the US; digital on-demand in the UK.
X
Rotten Tomatoes score: 94%
Ti West’s X has gotten a lot of attention since its spring release. The movie sees a group of young filmmakers arrive on a rural Texas farm to make an adult movie. However, the elderly couple whose land they’re using don’t know that. When it’s discovered, the cast soon finds themselves fighting for their lives.
The indie horror movie that stars Mia Goth, Jenna Ortega, Brittany Snow and Scott Mescudi (aka Kid Cudi) became a box office hit and a critical one. What to Watch’s X review called the movie a "bloody good time" that doesn’t pull its punches and is filled with plenty of great scares.
How to watch: available on the Showtime channel and app (special subscription on Hulu, Prime Video and The Roku Channel) in the US; streaming on Prime Video in the UK.
Barbarian
Rotten Tomatoes score: 92%
Barbarian, led by Georgina Campbell, Bill Skarsgård and Justin Long, has garnered a lot of fans since its release. An original idea from writer/director Zach Cregger, Barbarian centers on a woman who books an Airbnb, only to learn that it’s been double booked and the other guest is not what he seems.
It’s being said that the less you know about Barbarian the better. Even so, critics have described the movie as "one of the most bracingly effective chillers of the year," (Wendy Ide, The Observer). David Fear of Rolling Stone wrote that Cregger, "knows exactly how to conjure up dread, utilize jump scares and play the tension-and-release-and-oh-hey-here’s-even-more-tension game that characterize best-in-show creep fests."
How to watch: streaming on HBO Max in the US; not currently available online in UK.
Pearl
Rotten Tomatoes score: 90%
It didn’t take long for an X follow-up to arrive, as Pearl returns Mia Goth as the younger version of X’s villain, Pearl. The young Pearl dreams of stardom on the silver screen, but her repressive family pushes her to a breaking point.
"West and Goth created an inventive, unique slasher genre, and a movie worth rewatching several times," said Maxwell Rabb of the Chicago Reader. The duo of West and Goth are creating a horror trilogy set in this world with the upcoming MaXXXine.
How to watch: available to rent/buy on digital on-demand in US; not currently available online in the UK.
Watcher
Rotten Tomatoes score: 88%
Maika Monroe already had a horror classic in 2014’s It Follows, but has another potential one with Watcher. The movie, from Chole Okuno, sees a young woman who has moved to a new city where a serial killer is on the loose, and becomes suspicious of a stranger who watches her from across the street.
Jake Coyle of the Associated Press compared Watcher to a Hitchcock movie, while Sheila O’Malley of RogerEbert.com described it as a "chilling and elegant thriller."
How to watch: streaming on Shudder in the US; not currently available online in the UK.
Terrifier 2
Rotten Tomatoes score: 88%
Horror fans have been loving Terrifier 2, even as it has reportedly caused many to pass out or puke while watching it. The sequel to 2016’s Terrifier has Art the Clown resurrected to once again cause chills, this time to a teenage girl and her younger brother on Halloween night.
Sammy Gecsoyler of the Guardian may describe it best in his Terrifier 2 review, "Hold your nerve and your stomach: this gorefest is almost too good to pass out while watching it."
How to watch: Terrifier 2 is currently playing in movie theaters and online.
The Black Phone
Rotten Tomatoes score: 82%
Director Scott Derrickson is well known in the horror genre and his latest, The Black Phone, had the support of critics and fans alike. Mason Thames stars as a child abducted by a man only known as The Grabber (Ethan Hawke). Locked in a soundproof basement, the boy starts receiving phone calls from The Grabber’s previous victims on a disconnected phone.
Robert Daniels of Fox 10 Phoenix says The Black Phone has the potential to be considered a cult classic down the line. What to Watch's The Black Phone review called the movie horrifying, particularly praising Hawke's "phenomenally despicable role."
How to watch: streaming on Peacock in the US; via digital on-demand in the UK.
Smile
Rotten Tomatoes score: 79%
If you’ve ever been creeped out by a smile, then you can probably understand where the concept for Smile came from. In the movie, Dr. Rose Cotter experiences frightening occurrences she can’t explain, all from people with a deeply unsettling smile.
Empire Magazine’s Amon Warmann says Smile "manages to be a scary, unsettling ride that’s powered by an impressively committed" performance from star Sosie Bacon.
How to watch: currently playing exclusively in movie theaters.
Other 2022 horror-inspired movies worth checking out
While the above movies fall more into the traditional definition of a horror movie, these selections take elements of the horror genre and mix them with comedy, sci-fi and more for enjoyable viewing experiences.
When the Screaming Starts
Rotten Tomatoes score: 100%
When Norman Graysmith is invited to the home of aspiring serial killer Aidan Mendle, he thinks he's found the subject of a documentary that will save his failing career.
How to watch: streaming on The Roku Channel and Prime Video with special subscriptions in US; digital on-demand in the UK
Deadstream
Rotten Tomatoes score: 91%
After a public controversy left him disgraced and demonetized, a washed-up internet personality tries to win back his followers by live-streaming himself spending one night alone in a haunted house.
How to watch: streaming on Shudder in the US and UK.
Werewolf by Night
Rotten Tomatoes score: 91%
On a dark and somber night, a secret cabal of monster hunters emerge from the shadows and gather at the foreboding Bloodstone Temple following the death of their leader. In a strange and macabre memorial to the leader's life, the attendees are thrust into a mysterious and deadly competition for a powerful relic--a hunt that will ultimately bring them face to face with a dangerous monster.
How to watch: streaming on Disney Plus in US and UK.
Nope
Rotten Tomatoes score: 82%
Two siblings who run a California horse ranch discover something wonderful and sinister in the skies above, and the owner of an adjacent theme park tries to profit from the mysterious, otherworldly phenomenon.
How to watch: available through digital on-demand in US and UK.
Fresh
Rotten Tomatoes score: 81%
Noa meets the alluring Steve at a grocery store and — given her frustration with dating apps — takes a chance and gives him her number. After their first date, Noa is smitten and accepts Steve's invitation to a romantic weekend getaway, only to find that her new paramour has been hiding some unusual appetites.
How to watch: streaming on Hulu in the US; streaming on Disney Plus in the UK
Scream
Rotten Tomatoes score: 76%
Twenty-five years after a streak of brutal murders shocked the quiet town of Woodsboro, a new killer has donned the Ghostface mask and begins targeting a group of teenagers to resurrect secrets from the town's deadly past.
How to watch: streaming on Paramount Plus in the US and UK.
V/H/S 99
Rotten Tomatoes score: 76%
V/H/S/99 harkens back to the final punk rock analog days of VHS, while taking one giant leap forward into the hellish new millennium. In V/H/S/99, a thirsty teenager's home video leads to a series of horrifying revelations.
How to watch: streaming on Shudder in the US and UK.
