{"id":316081,"date":"2025-10-19T13:24:18","date_gmt":"2025-10-19T13:24:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/316081\/"},"modified":"2025-10-19T13:24:18","modified_gmt":"2025-10-19T13:24:18","slug":"these-five-movies-like-pet-sematary-should-be-halloween-staples","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/316081\/","title":{"rendered":"These Five Movies, Like Pet Sematary, Should Be Halloween Staples"},"content":{"rendered":"

When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission.<\/p>\n

\"<\/p>\n

Credit: Paramount<\/p>\n

Every October, like most fans of the greatest horror movies<\/a>, I scroll through the best streaming services<\/a> hunting for the next great spooky-season watch. I love Halloween movies that have nothing to do with the holiday<\/a> just as much as I love the classics \u2014Halloween, The Exorcist, A Nightmare on Elm Street, all the usual suspects. But, if Pet Sematary (the 1989 version, of course) taught me anything, it\u2019s that fall horror should leave a mark. The best ones don\u2019t just scare you, but hang around.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s why these five films, underrated, often overlooked, and deeply unsettling, belong in the same conversation. They might not be your go-to seasonal rewatches yet, but they should be. Here’s why.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

Credit: IFC Films<\/p>\n

The Babadook (2014)<\/p>\n

The Babadook is a critically acclaimed film \u2014 Glenn Kenny of RogerEbert<\/a> gave it a 3.5 out of 4-star review, and we gave it a glowing review<\/a> as well. Since the 2014 release, its titular character has become a queer icon<\/a>, an arthouse favorite, and, yes, the movie that scared your therapist. At the time, it felt like a reset button for horror. It proved you didn\u2019t need gore or haunted houses when the scariest place was already your own mind.<\/p>\n

The premise sounds straightforward: a grieving mother and her anxious son are stalked by a disturbing children\u2019s book and the creature it conjures. However, the longer it plays, the clearer it becomes that what Mr. Babadook really is <\/a>isn\u2019t just a monster, but is a stand-in for depression, post-partum, and unresolved grief. It\u2019s the thing you try to bury that never stays buried.<\/p>\n

There are multiple ways for you to enjoy The Babadook this season, so be sure to check your favorite streaming service. But, if you want to watch it for free, it’s one of the best horror movies streaming on Tubi<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"Gage<\/p>\n

Credit: Paramount Pictures<\/p>\n

Pet Sematary (1989)<\/p>\n

The 1989 adaptation of Pet Sematary<\/a>, a book-to-screen adaptation<\/a> of a Stephen King novel of the same name, still hits like a shovel to the chest. Yes, the acting is stilted in places. Yes, Zelda still scars people for life. But it\u2019s that bleak, unrelenting tone that makes it essential Halloween viewing.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s no real mystery to solve here. Louis Creed buries his dead son in cursed ground. The kid comes back wrong. Things go downhill from there. Unlike your average zombie plot, Pet Sematary isn\u2019t about survival; it\u2019s about inevitability. You know from the jump this is going to end badly, and it still somehow manages to go worse than expected.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a horror movie that doesn\u2019t flinch or let you hope, and that\u2019s its strength. October watchlists should be about confronting fear, not escaping it, and Pet Sematary gives you nowhere to hide. You can watch Mary Lambert\u2019s terrifying original flick, and the pretty uneven 2019 remake<\/a>, with a Paramount+ subscription<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"Young<\/p>\n

Credit: BBC Films, T\u00e9l\u00e9film Canada<\/p>\n

The Reflecting Skin (1990)<\/p>\n

If Terrence Malick ever directed a vampire movie, you\u2019d end up with something like The Reflecting Skin. It’s one of those forgotten ’90s films<\/a> that\u2019s too weird for mainstream and too disturbing for cult comfort, which makes it perfect for Trick-or-Treat Time.<\/p>\n

Set in 1950s rural America, the film follows a young boy whose reality is crumbling. His father sets himself on fire. His brother returns from war with a haunted stare, and the widow next door may or may not be a vampire. None of it feels supernatural in the way horror usually does, but it all feels wrong.<\/p>\n

Unlike Pet Sematary and The Babadook, this one is told from a child\u2019s point of view, and the horrors are filtered through that fractured lens. Death isn\u2019t clean or heroic, but is instead a confusing, shameful, and buried under layers of denial. If you want your Scare Season bleak and beautiful, this is your ticket. Just don\u2019t expect closure\u2014or catharsis.<\/p>\n

The Reflecting Skin is another great horror movie you can catch for free with a Tubi subscription<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"Robert<\/p>\n

Credit: Heyday Films, Fox 2000 Pictures, 20th Century Fox<\/p>\n

Ravenous (1999)<\/p>\n

Sometimes Halloween calls for a horror movie with a bit of bite\u2026 literally. Ravenous is part cannibal movie, part war satire, part fever dream, and all criminally underseen. It came out in 1999, was barely marketed, and tanked at the box office. Classic.<\/p>\n

Set in a remote 19th-century military outpost, the film plays like a gothic Western with a growing appetite for human flesh. Guy Pearce plays a soldier with a coward\u2019s past. Robert Carlyle steals the movie as a guest who brings more than just bad weather. The Wendigo myth, often misused in horror, is finally given the treatment it deserves.<\/p>\n

What makes Ravenous Halloween-worthy isn\u2019t just the gore (though it\u2019s there, and it\u2019s gross in all the right ways). It\u2019s the tone. The film walks this razor-thin line between absurd and deeply unsettling. It knows cannibalism is horrifying \u2014 but also darkly funny, in that “what if survival turned you into a monster?” kind of way.<\/p>\n

Like Pet Sematary, it\u2019s a story about crossing lines you can\u2019t uncross. Where King\u2019s story is somber, Ravenous laughs in your face while draining your blood. Perfect All Hallows\u2019 Eve energy.<\/p>\n

\"Kevin<\/p>\n

Credit: Artisan Entertainment<\/p>\n

Stir Of Echoes (1999)<\/p>\n

1999 was loaded with genre-defining movies \u2014The Matrix, Fight Club, Office Space, American Beauty, and The Sixth Sense. You could throw a rock that year and hit a classic. But while The Sixth Sense grabbed all the headlines, another horror gem quietly slipped through the cracks. Stir of Echoes didn\u2019t get the attention it deserved, but it absolutely earns a spot in your October lineup.<\/p>\n

Kevin Bacon, in one of his best performances<\/a>, plays a regular guy who, after being hypnotized at a party, starts seeing ghosts. At first, it’s your standard \u201cdead girl with a secret\u201d setup. Then the film quickly delves into deeper, darker territory \u2014 class resentment, neighborhood rot, and the things people agree not to see.<\/p>\n

Where The Sixth Sense is about empathy and healing, Stir of Echoes is about being forced to care. Bacon\u2019s character doesn\u2019t want a gift. He just wants peace. But once the door to the other side opens, it doesn\u2019t close.<\/p>\n

What ties it to Pet Sematary is that creeping realization that the horror isn\u2019t just external, but inside the home. It’s in the people you thought you knew. That unease is what makes it such a solid Halloween watch. It’s scary in a way that feels just a little too plausible, and you can revisit it (you guessed it) with a Tubi subscription.<\/p>\n

\"Jud<\/p>\n

Credit: YouTube<\/p>\n

Why You Should Make Room On The Shelf For These Picks<\/p>\n

Everyone has their comfort picks for spooky season, and the classics are all fine picks. But the creepy crawly season isn\u2019t just about screaming at shadows. It\u2019s about the quiet dread that builds, the choices that haunt, and the slow rot beneath the surface.<\/p>\n

These five films aren\u2019t just scary, but unnerving. They hang around in your mind long after the movie ends, which is precisely what a good Halloween staple should do. So, this season, why don’t you press play and sleep later?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. Credit:…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":316082,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[171,17810,154028,100552,53,15329,158906,158907,67,132,68],"class_list":{"0":"post-316081","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-movies","8":"tag-entertainment","9":"tag-halloween","10":"tag-halloween-movies","11":"tag-horror-movies","12":"tag-movies","13":"tag-paramount","14":"tag-pet-sematary","15":"tag-the-babadook","16":"tag-united-states","17":"tag-unitedstates","18":"tag-us"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115401055889703479","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/316081","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=316081"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/316081\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/316082"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=316081"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=316081"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=316081"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}