Being in the midst of a pandemic doesn’t mean you can’t embrace the spooky season while staying at home. From bloody slashers to suspenseful flicks with a hint of comedy, here are seven new Netflix horror shows that have been released this year, just in time for Halloween.
Midnight Mass
Released just last month, Midnight Mass is a seven-episode series directed by Mike Flanagan, well known for his previous works such as The Haunting of Hill House and The Haunting of Bly Manor. The story takes place on Crockett Island, an isolated, run-down island with a population of 127. It follows the main character, Riley, who returns to his hometown after being in prison for four years for killing a woman in a drunk driving accident. His return coincides with the arrival of Father Paul, a charismatic yet mysterious priest who has been sent to replace a man named Monsignor Pruitt. The plot is ominous, emotional, and prompts you to question your own beliefs about religion and the idea of life and death.
No One Gets Out Alive
Based on a novel by Adam Nevill, No One Gets Out Alive is a movie directed by Santiago Menghini that explores the real-life horror of how undocumented immigrants are exploited and abused. The film follows Ambar, an undocumented immigrant from Mexico who moves into a run-down boarding house to chase the American dream. Although her landlord Red seems rather suspicious, the rent is cheap and Ambar is desperate. Ambar is consistently creeped out by strange noises in the boarding house late at night, and later discovers that Red and his brother are sacrificing the tenants of the boarding house to a monstrous creature in the basement that Ambar has seen in her visions whenever she falls asleep. If you’re looking for a dark and suspenseful horror movie, this one might be for you.
Escape The Undertaker
Escape The Undertaker is a 30-minute interactive choose-your-own-adventure special that follows WWE stars The New Day consisting of Kofi Kingson, Xavier Woods, and Big E, as they visit the Undertaker’s eerie mansion in order to steal his urn which contains supernatural abilities. Will they survive? It is up to the viewer to decide their fate. Though the film contains ominous elements, it is ultimately more fun, thrilling and suspenseful rather than scary, and is definitely one that can be enjoyed by the whole family—even the younger ones! If you’re a parent who loves horror but also wants your kids to get in on the spooky action, this is a great movie to watch together. Try watching it multiple times and making different choices to see what happens!
There’s Someone Inside Your House
Night Teeth
Night Teeth tells the story of Benny, a college student who covers his brother’s shift as a chauffeur and picks up two attractive but mysterious women, Blair and Zoey, for a night of party-hopping across Los Angeles. When he discovers that they are not humans, but vampires with bloodthirsty intentions, Benny fights to stay alive while protecting the rest of the people living in the city. Though Night Teeth is less of a horror movie and more of a thriller, it’s still very much Halloween-esque and fitting for the spooky season.
Hypnotic
Released just a couple of days ago, Hypnotic is a psychological horror-thriller directed by Matt Angel and Suzanne Coote that touches on the topics of mental illness and hypnosis. The movie begins with Jenn, the main character, inside a lift, visibly overwhelmed by anxiety as she thinks that the walls of the lift are about to crush her, thereby alluding to the fact that she is suffering from an anxiety disorder. Jenn then seeks help from a renowned hypnotherapist named Dr. Collin Meade. Her first few sessions go well, but quickly begin to take a dark turn when she starts losing control of her body and having no recollection of recent events. Later, Jenn learns that past patients of Dr. Meade have died from extreme fear. As she tries to track down Dr. Meade with the help of Detective Wade Rollins in order to end her misery, she discovers that the hypnotherapist is practically a ghost, and now finds herself a part of his sick mind game.
Nobody Sleeps in the Woods Tonight 2
Another Netflix Original released on 27 October is Nobody Sleeps In The Woods Tonight 2, a sequel to the first Polish slasher film directed by Mirella Zaradkiewicz and Bartosz M. Kowalski. Part one of Nobody Sleeps In The Woods Tonight was released last year, and tells the story of a group of technology-addicted teenangers who try to escape two monstrous mutant brothers hunting the teens for food in the woods after being sent to an offline camp by their parents. The sequel follows Adaś, a young, insecure policeman who has to overcome his fears to stop further killings. According to the synopsis, “the film is a perverse, ironic, grotesque and bloody story about looking for love and discovering one’s own self in a world that divides us more than it unites us.”
