Horror movie marathon: 21 films for October
Weekly collection in the app for the week of October 2, 2026.
October is horror month for a lot of film fans, and Hooptober, the informal challenge of watching a run of horror films across the month, often 31 of them, is how many of them mark it. This collection goes past the usual suspects: Scott's Alien and Cronenberg's The Fly next to Bong Joon-ho's The Host, Jennifer Kent's The Babadook and Coralie Fargeat's The Substance.
These 21 films ran as the weekly theme in the I Like Movies Discover tab for the week of October 2, 2026, featuring Alien, timed for the start of Hooptober. The spread runs from a 1935 Universal sequel to 2024 body horror, through Japanese ghost stories, a Persian-language vampire western, a wartime Tehran haunting and an Australian mock documentary.
The collection
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Alien 1979 Scott The crew of a commercial space tug answers a distress signal on a dead planet and brings back something that hunts them through the ship; the film that made Sigourney Weaver's Ripley an icon. Cast: Tom Skerritt, Sigourney Weaver, Veronica Cartwright -
The Fly 1986 Cronenberg A scientist tests his teleportation pods on himself without noticing a housefly inside, and his body begins a slow, grotesque transformation; Cronenberg turns body horror into a tragic love story. Cast: Jeff Goldblum, Geena Davis, John Getz -
Jaws 1975 Spielberg A great white shark preys on swimmers off a New England resort island, and the police chief, an oceanographer and a grizzled shark hunter go out to kill it; the first summer blockbuster. Cast: Roy Scheider, Robert Shaw, Richard Dreyfuss -
Dawn of the Dead 1978 Romero As the dead rise across America, four survivors barricade themselves inside a suburban shopping mall and briefly live the consumer dream; Romero's gory zombie sequel doubles as satire. Cast: David Emge, Ken Foree, Scott H. Reiniger -
The Evil Dead 1981 Raimi Five college friends at a remote cabin in the woods play a tape of ancient incantations and wake demons that possess them one by one; Sam Raimi's frantic, gleefully gory low-budget debut. Cast: Bruce Campbell, Ellen Sandweiss, Richard DeManincor -
A Nightmare on Elm Street 1984 Craven Teenagers on one suburban street are stalked and killed in their dreams by a burned man with bladed fingers, so staying awake becomes survival; the film that introduced Freddy Krueger and Johnny Depp. Cast: Heather Langenkamp, Johnny Depp, Robert Englund -
Hellraiser 1987 Barker A puzzle box summons the Cenobites, and the man who escaped their realm needs the blood his lover lures home to rebuild his body; Clive Barker directing his own novella. Cast: Andrew Robinson, Clare Higgins, Ashley Laurence -
Bride of Frankenstein 1935 Whale Dr. Pretorius pressures Henry Frankenstein into building a mate for the Monster, who has learned to speak and longs for a friend; James Whale's witty, tender sequel to his own 1931 film. Cast: Boris Karloff, Colin Clive, Valerie Hobson -
Ring 1998 Nakata A journalist looking into her niece's sudden death finds a cursed videotape that kills its viewers seven days after they watch it; the Japanese ghost story that carried J-horror abroad. Cast: Nanako Matsushima, Hiroyuki Sanada, Rikiya Ôtaka -
The Host 2006 Bong Joon-ho A creature born of chemicals dumped into Seoul's Han River snatches a young girl, and her bumbling family sets out to rescue her; a monster movie that is equal parts comedy and political satire. Cast: Song Kang-ho, Byun Hee-bong, Park Hae-il -
28 Days Later 2002 Boyle A bicycle courier wakes from a coma in an empty London, four weeks after a rage virus has turned most of Britain into frenzied killers; Danny Boyle shot the apocalypse on digital video. Cast: Cillian Murphy, Naomie Harris, Brendan Gleeson -
The Babadook 2014 Kent A widowed mother, worn down by grief and her difficult young son, reads him a sinister pop-up book that will not stay gone; Jennifer Kent's debut about grief that refuses to leave the house. Cast: Essie Davis, Noah Wiseman, Hayley McElhinney -
It Follows 2015 Mitchell After a sexual encounter, a teenager is pursued by a slow, shape-shifting presence that only she can see and that walks straight toward her wherever she goes; dread built on patience and a synth score. Cast: Maika Monroe, Keir Gilchrist, Daniel Zovatto -
The Descent 2005 Marshall Six women on a caving trip in the Appalachians end up trapped in an uncharted cave system and discover they are not alone down there; claustrophobia first, then the creatures. Cast: Shauna Macdonald, Natalie Mendoza, Alex Reid -
The Substance 2024 Fargeat A fading TV fitness star injects a black-market serum that splits off a younger, better version of herself, with strict rules for sharing one life; Coralie Fargeat's body horror satire starring Demi Moore. Cast: Demi Moore, Margaret Qualley, Dennis Quaid -
A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night 2014 Amirpour In a desolate Iranian ghost town called Bad City, a lonely vampire in a chador stalks the men who prey on others; a black-and-white, Persian-language vampire western shot in California. Cast: Sheila Vand, Arash Marandi, Marshall Manesh -
Under the Shadow 2016 Anvari In 1988 Tehran, during the War of the Cities, a mother and her young daughter are haunted by a djinn as missile strikes empty their apartment building; Babak Anvari's debut. Cast: Narges Rashidi, Avin Manshadi, Bobby Naderi -
Saint Maud 2020 Glass A newly devout young nurse becomes convinced she must save the soul of her dying patient, a former dancer, and her faith curdles into something dangerous; Rose Glass's debut. Cast: Morfydd Clark, Jennifer Ehle, Lily Frazer -
His House 2020 Weekes A refugee couple who fled war in South Sudan are granted probationary asylum in an English town, and the run-down house they are given holds something that followed them; Remi Weekes' debut. Cast: Ṣọpẹ́ Dìrísù, Wunmi Mosaku, Malaika Wakoli-Abigaba -
Kill List 2011 Wheatley An ex-soldier turned contract killer, short of money, takes one more job with a list of targets, and the work turns stranger and darker with every name; Ben Wheatley's genre-switching nightmare. Cast: Neil Maskell, MyAnna Buring, Harry Simpson -
Lake Mungo 2009 Anderson An Australian family starts recording strange happenings at home after their teenage daughter drowns, and the footage uncovers secrets she kept; a mock documentary about grief, built on stillness. Cast: Rosie Traynor, David Pledger, Martin Sharpe
Keep your place
Thirty-one days is a lot of films to keep straight. Save this collection to your watchlist in I Like Movies, tick each film off as you watch it, and rate it so the app learns which kind of horror works for you. Every Friday the Discover tab gets a new themed collection.
Questions people ask
What horror movies should I watch for Hooptober?
Hooptober has no official list: the challenge is simply to watch a run of horror films through October, often 31. A balanced start is one classic (Bride of Frankenstein, Alien), one modern debut (The Babadook, Saint Maud, His House) and one film from outside Hollywood (Ring, The Host, Under the Shadow).
Is Alien a horror film or science fiction?
Both. It is set on a spaceship, but its structure is a horror film: a small crew trapped in a confined space and picked off one by one by a creature they barely see. Its sequel, Aliens (1986), leans further into action.
The week before: Western movies: 21 essential films. The week after: Film noir: 21 essential films. See every weekly theme, or browse every guide, watch order and comparison.