October is always a tough month to catch up on your watchlists. Football season is in full swing. The autumn leaves start to change colors—and you need to see that before it gets too cold. Then before you know it, there’s a Halloween party and you don’t have a costume yet. But if you’re looking for something scary to watch, or just need to save a little time scrolling through the tiles on your TV, here are ten movies and TV shows we recommend checking out this weekend.
In Theaters
Street Fighter
If I told you a new Street Fighter reboot is actually a ton of fun, would you believe me? Sure-you-can! (Sorry.) Andrew Koji, Noah Centineo, and newcomer Callina Liang star in this hard-hitting, high-energy rendition of Capcom’s arcade phenomenon. Koji and Centineo star as fighters Ryu and Ken, respectively, who enter a martial arts tournament—hosted by the evil M. Bison (David Dastmalchian)—while secret agent Chun-Li (Liang) works to topple Bison’s operation. Street Fighter is a bombastic bash that feels like Bloodsport meets Kung Fu Hustle in the best way possible. You really can’t ask for much more than Cody Rhodes, as Guile, yelling “Flash Kick!” while doing, well, a flashy kick.
Whalefall
It’s been an amazing year for horror movies, but nothing will scare you more than a movie where one poor bastard gets caught in a whale’s throat. Whalefall stars Austin Abrams as a deep-sea diver who is swallowed up by a massive sperm whale and races against time—his dwindling oxygen tank—to make it out alive. Whalefall is a sadder movie than you might assume going in, but it’s still one of the gnarliest survival thrillers in recent memory. What, you don’t think the ocean is scary? Let Whalefall show you the real terror lurking in the deep.
You Can See Everything
Those lucky enough to see Nathan Fielder’s documentary about Theranos fraudster Elizabeth Holmes during its festival circuit run last month hailed it as a Best Picture contender with zero hesitation. That’s rare for a documentary—as in, the Academy has yet to nominate one for Best Picture in its nearly 100-year history. The same goes for Fielder, whose awkward and deadpan humor in HBO’s The Rehearsal hit with audiences but has yet to win over mainstream critics. Who knows if it will happen! But I’ll see the film this weekend as it premieres in theaters, and it looks very much like a first-of-its-kind experience.
Ken Russell’s The Devils
One of the most in-demand movie theater tickets of 2026 is for a film that came out in 1971. That should tell you a bit about the quality of Ken Russell’s The Devils, a film about a 17th-century Catholic priest accused of witchcraft in France, as well as the sexually repressed nuns who incite the chaos. The once-banned film received an X rating in the U.S. due to its graphic content, and this latest 4K restoration is also Russell’s original director’s cut. If you’re in for something truly wild this weekend, look no further.
Regal’s 31 Screams on Screens
Throughout October, Regal Theaters is screening one-night-only horror classics across the country for just $7.99 a ticket. It’s for an event they’re calling “31 Screams on Screen,” with the schedule including films like Poltergeist, Candyman, A Nightmare on Elm Street, In the Mouth of Madness, and many more. Tickets are selling out fast, but there’s still some openings! It’s a great chance to see your favorite horror movie on the big screen.
On Streaming and TV
Crystal Lake
You don’t need an eight-hour origin story for Jason Voorhees—the first Friday the 13th spelled out his tragic backstory plain as day. But if the streaming era means every franchise gets a series prequel, Crystal Lake on Peacock is a rather impressive effort that gets by on Linda Cardellini as Jason’s mother, Pamela, the first real “villain” of the saga. Set before the first movie (while following a new timeline, set in the 1970s), Cardellini plays Pamela just after her son Jason drowns at his summer camp due to negligent—and hormonal—teenage counselors. While outrunning the ghosts from her own past, Pamela tries to prove to everyone that her baby boy might still be alive. Months after her outstanding turn in DTF St. Louis, the Cardellini-sance is officially in full swing.
Clown Panic
Remember 2016? You know, the mannequin challenge, bottle flipping, The Chainsmokers, Stranger Things season 1, Pokémon Go, and an election we were sure would have a different result? Good times. But that summer also saw a bizarre uptick in, wait for it, evil clown sightings. What was up with that? Was it viral marketing for a Hollywood film, or was it something else? Finally, the stories (plural) behind all those damn clowns are told in Clown Panic, a sordid true crime documentary from Ed Perkins and streaming on Hulu. While the sightings made headlines nationwide, Clown Panic zeroes in on a small South Carolina town that found the situation anything but funny.
Jennifer’s Body
Just in time for Halloween, the cult classic Jennifer’s Body from Karyn Kusama is back on Pluto TV to raise hell. Set against a suburban high school, meek teenager Needy (Amanda Seyfried) learns that her popular, sexy best friend Jennifer (Megan Fox, at the height of her Transformers fame) has become a demonic succubus. While it was dismissed by critics back in September 2009, Jennifer’s Body has enjoyed reassessment as a black comedy gem and a piece of queer feminist horror that practically foresaw #MeToo.
On Friday, October 16, Pluto TV will stream Jennifer’s Body with the new movie Vampires of the Velvet Lounge as part of its Double Feature Fridays. The movies will play at 8 p.m. ET on Pluto TV Spotlight before joining the on-demand collection.
The Texas Chain Saw Massacre
I’ve never seen The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. I know. It’s embarrassing. There’s just something about the combination of chainsaws and massacres that always convinces me to keep on scrolling when I’m looking for something scary to watch around Halloween. But Tobe Hooper’s 1974 slasher is one of the greatest horror movies of all time, and it’s currently streaming on Prime Video. Let’s finally take the plunge together.
Heat
I never need a reason to rewatch Michael Mann’s Heat. Oh, Heat is streaming on Netflix now? There you go.