HBO Max Highlights 23 Horror Films for Halloween Streaming

Horror fans looking for Halloween entertainment can choose from 23 films featured in a CNET streaming guide to HBO Max, which highlights recent releases, acclaimed productions and established genre classics. The selection includes Backrooms, Sinners, It, Poltergeist and The Shining, offering viewers a range of supernatural stories, psychological scares and horror comedies. According to CNET's October 13, 2026, article, HBO Max subscriptions start at $11 per month or $110 per year.

The service also offers a bundle with Disney Plus and Hulu, giving subscribers another way to access its entertainment catalog. Among the newer titles highlighted by CNET is Backrooms, a liminal horror film developed from Kane Parsons' YouTube series. The film relies on a restrained approach to visual effects while emphasizing an unsettling atmosphere and fear of unfamiliar spaces.

Another featured release is Sinners, Ryan Coogler's Oscar-winning vampire film. CNET places the movie among the standout options for viewers seeking contemporary horror alongside older productions that have maintained their reputations over decades.

The guide also revisits Trick 'r Treat (2009), directed by Michael Dougherty. The anthology brings together multiple Halloween-themed horror stories, using the format to explore different kinds of seasonal scares. Little Shop of Horrors (1986) offers a different combination of horror and comedy. Its story follows Seymour, an awkward shop clerk whose encounter with a bloodthirsty alien plant brings the promise of success, fame and romance in exchange for human flesh.

Tim Burton's Beetlejuice adds supernatural comedy to the lineup, with Michael Keaton playing the mischievous demon. The film remains one of the guide's selections for viewers looking for a lighter alternative to more disturbing horror stories. Stanley Kubrick's The Shining is another major title in the collection.

Based on Stephen King's novel, the film took substantial creative liberties that King publicly criticized, according to CNET. Despite its initially disappointing box office performance, the adaptation developed a lasting reputation for its imagery and performances.

The Exorcist (1973) represents an influential entry in supernatural horror. CNET describes the film as a landmark that helped establish a grittier approach to the genre, with an emotional dimension that continues to resonate more than 50 years after its release. Poltergeist combines a family-centered story with supernatural events and practical effects.

Directed by Tobe Hooper and co-written and produced by Steven Spielberg, the film remains another established option in the collection. For slasher fans, A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984) features Robert Englund as Freddy Krueger. The original film presents the character as a menacing figure, before later installments developed his more recognizable, darkly humorous personality.

The Cabin in the Woods (2011) approaches familiar horror conventions through a story that begins with a recognizable cabin-in-the-woods setup and expands into a broader supernatural narrative. CNET highlights its combination of genre references and unconventional storytelling.

Brian De Palma's Carrie adapts Stephen King's novel into a stylized story of a high school prom that turns violent. The film helped establish the novel as a major work of horror fiction and remains part of the guide's selection. The 2017 adaptation of It brings King's killer clown Pennywise to the screen in a supernatural coming-of-age story centered on a group of children.

The film combines childhood friendships with a threat that transforms ordinary places into sources of fear. Ari Aster's Hereditary focuses on family trauma and disturbing supernatural developments, with Toni Collette delivering a central performance. Jordan Peele's Us (2019), meanwhile, follows a family confronted by doppelgängers known as the Tethered, who emerge from a shadow world that mirrors their own.

The selection also includes Companion, a thriller featuring Sophie Thatcher and Jack Quaid. Produced by the filmmakers behind Barbarian (2022), the film was identified by CNET as a notable horror release from 2025.

David Cronenberg's work appears in the guide through a disturbing exploration of generational trauma involving Nola, a woman undergoing controversial psychotherapy, her husband and their child. The story incorporates body horror, a recurring element in Cronenberg's filmmaking. Weapons rounds out the newer titles mentioned in the article. Amy Madigan won an Oscar for her performance in the mystery-horror film, whose central mystery involves 17 children disappearing from their homes on the same night and at the same time, with video footage appearing to show them leaving on their own.