30 Scary Movies In 30 Days! Can You Pass the Challenge?

Can you believe it’s already time for this year’s list of Scary Movies?  Time’s fun when you’re having flies!  And if you feel like maybe we’re dropping the 2023 list a little bit early, well you’re correct!  It’s STILL “30 in 30” – but we’re gonna give you a little extra time to take the edge off.  Trust me:  After watching just 5 scary movies in 72 hours, I was already getting a little twitchy!  So I understand if you need an occasional breather. Is this list scarier than previous lists?  Probably!

I spent some extra time on this year’s list!  I was thinking about you while I assembled this list of scary movies! It’s not easy to carve out time for a marathon of multiple macabre movies! But scary movies are like potato chips – once you get started, you can’t stop. And it may very well kill you.

Wherever possible, I’ve tried to link the titles to their corresponding YouTube trailers. You’re welcome!  Oh! And keep this in mind – THESE ARE NOT KIDS MOVIES!  These are genuinely scary films! Most of these are rated  ‘R’. With that said, let’s get into this year’s challenge!  Can you, faithful Eagle listener and movie fan, watch 30 Scary Movies In 30 Days?!

1. Barbarian – Just when I was getting used to the idea of staying in an AirBnB!  Ooops!  This one is super-scary! It’s on Hulu for you-lu.
2. Infinity Pool – I’m reluctant even admit that I watched this! And even more reluctant to put this on the list. It’s sick, twisted, depraved and disgusting! It’s way WAY into the ‘adult content’ end of the pool.  Be careful!  It’s also on Hulu.
3. The Shining – You should watch this movie every Halloween. Like Jimmy Stewart at Christmas, it’s an annual tradition!  When it comes to Scary Movies, the gold standard is Stanley Kubrick, right? It’s on HBO Max, the last time I checked.
4. The Dark and the Wicked – Firstly, it’s all filmed here in North Texas! So there’s that. And it stars the great Marin Ireland! It’s on Max.
5. Talk To Me – Very good!  Lots of genuine scares! Once again,. the folks at A24 bring the good stuff to the table.  You’ll probably have to plunk down $4 to stream it on Vudu or Prime, but it’s worth every nickle! 
6. Malum – This is basically a re-do of 2014’s “Last Shift” which isn’t a bad thing!  It’s $4 on Amazon Prime.
7. Clock – As in “her biological clock” so…if you’re okay with THAT, then this one’s pretty good.  It’s on Hulu.
8. Hereditary – This movie STILL scares me!  More than any of the movies on this list, THIS ONE did it!  And it’s on Max. You’ve been warned!
9. Skinamarink – Two kids, one house.  This is a great Indie fright-fest from Kyle Edward Ball. Some love it, others don’t get it. Regardless, it’s on Hulu.
10. Unfriended – If this flick looks a little “8 years ago” that’s because it was. Released in 2014, it totally holds up!  It’ll scare ya. I promise. Watch it on Netflix.
11. The Nun – This may be the FIRST “Conjuring Universe” film on this list, but it won’t be the last! And Nun II is in theaters right now!  Max
12. The Witch – Again, those cats at A24 and Blumhouse know what SCARY is all about! And this one is VERY scary. With a young Anya Taylor-Joy, before she played Chess and err’thang. Hulu
13. The Exorcist – With the original head-spinning, pea-soup-spitting yuck-fest turning 50 this year (and a new one due in theaters), it’s time to give this classic another look! It’ll scare you so fast, it’ll make your head spin! Ha!  See what I… oh, never mind. It’s currently on Max (plus listen to 100.9 The Eagle to win a free a free “50th Anniversary” download!).
14. The Conjuring – The movie that spawned an entire UNIVERSE of off-shoots and sequels. The ‘Annabelle” and ‘Nun’ movies, for starters. Director James Wan is a very, very scary dude! It’s on Max and still holds up nicely!
15. Sinister – Ethan Hawke is the kinda guy you wanna have a beer with. Which makes any movie that much more terrifying when Hawke stretches his horror muscles.  You’ll find it on Prime.
16. Insidious – This features a star and director from ‘Conjuring’ (Patrick Wilson & James Wan, respectively) and the studio currently doing better horror than anyone out there (Blumhouse).  It’s as good as you think it is, and very sequel-worthy.  You can stream it on Max.
17. It – This movie made all of us afraid of red balloons (sorry, Nena and Charli XCX, Stephen King did it first!). One of the BEST efforts at adapting a Stephen King novel!  Even the sequel is scary.  “It”….is on Max (Now! See what I did there?).
18. Amityville Horror – Which one to watch?  There’s like, SIX of ’em!  With all props going to Ryan Reynolds and Melissa George (my personal fave Amityville flick) we gotta go with the original from 1979 here! And that means James Brolin at his over-acting best, and Margot Kidder at her “I’m More Than Lois Lane” best. And come on, dude. That talking house?  Those flies? Heck yeah!  Watch it on Max. One of the best scary movies ever!
19. Texas Chainsaw Massacre – Again, we gotta tip our hat to the original 1974 version!  Tobe Hooper had ZERO budget and a van full of amateur actors and crew.  You can SMELL the ‘Indie’ here! And that makes it even more terrifying.  It’s on Peacock.  By the way, can we give a trophy to the folks at Peacock for assembling the best selection of scary movies?!  From brand new Indie to the vintage 1930s classics, Peacock has what you want!
20. Helpless – Full disclosure:  Cults scare me.  It’s a fact!  And this movie has Heaven’s Gate-Jonestown Cult-y Weirdness all over it! It’s very Indie as well, which ups the ante, horror-wise. A UFO Death Cult feels like home to 2 brothers?  Roll the ugliness! It’s on Peacock.  It’s a slow-burn, so give it time!  Trust The Doctor!
21. Antichrist – It’s time someone just said this out loud: Willem Dafoe is a creepy dude! And he’s at his malevolent creepiest in this French fright fest. You may hafta look for this one, but it’s worth it!  Try Amazon Prime.
22. Cannibal Holocaust and/or (Green Inferno) – Okay, so some movies are just WAY too grotesque.  I’ve never made it all the way through “Cannibal Holocaust”.  Maybe you can.  It’s on Peacock if you’d care to try. The good news (good?), Eli Roth did a slightly watered-down version called “Green Inferno” and that one’s on Prime.  Make sure you have the pizza BEFORE you watch either of these.
23. Cabin In the Woods – The title kinda gives this one away.  But pump the brakes!  This one is really scary.  Try it! It delivers on its promise. It’s on Max.
24. House of 1000 Corpses – I’ve never understood why this got lukewarm reviews.  I love it!  Rob Zombie tried to make this movie several times, and the result it ‘House of 1000 Corpses’!  It’s pretty creepy!  You’ll find it rotting over on Amazon Prime for $4. Totally worth it.
25. Midsommar – Once again, the folks over at A24 bring the horror!  They never fail to deliver.  This one bothered me for a few days!  You’ll find it on Showtime Anytime.  You’ve been warned!
26. Get Out – Jordan Peele had all this horror just under the surface, and he unleashed the first round of it in this tasty little horror flick! If you’ve never seen it, watch it.  If you HAVE seen it, watch it again!  It’s worth another look. On Peacock.
27. Suspiria (2018) or (1977) – In this instance, the newer version is a bit superior, but the original by the master, Dario Argento, is totally worth seeing!  It’s only the acting skills of Tilda Swinton, Chloe Grace Moretz and Dakota Johnson that hold the 2018 version slightly above the original.  You’ll find the 1977 version on Prime, and the 2018 re-do is also on Prime, with subscription.
28. The Thing – There have been at least 3 versions of this movie.  But the middle one?  It’s the best of the three!  The John Carpenter version of “The Thing” was kind of a Game Changer when it came to horror movies.  It’s on Peacock.  I re-watched it this morning!  Holds up nicely (oh sure, the effects are a bit cheesy, but so is Foreigner and we still listen to them, right?).
29. Us – Yep, I saw this alone in the theater.  Big mistake.  When the movie ended, I wanted someone to walk to my car with me.  Check it out on Peacock.
30. House of the Devil – Last-minute alert!  And let me tell you, it takes something truly special to cause your humble writer to change The List once it’s been posted!  But this is an exceptional film (yep, I used the word ‘Film’ here).  House of the Devil is shot with great care and effort to sustain the 80s-era look and feel.  Ti West wrote, directed and edited this one, and he chose to use old-school zooms instead of the more-fashionable dolly (which became industry standard in the 90s).  Greta Gerwig has a decent role in this one.  The soundtrack is perfect – The Fixx, Greg Kihn Band, etc.  And it’s very unsettling!  It’s one of the better offering on Peacock.