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Favorite candies and memorized autumn movies are an essential part of the October season. Horror classics like John Carpenter's Halloween and family favorites such as Hocus Pocus and The Nightmare Before Christmas are required viewing, even if it's the millionth time, but there's something special to be said about unwrapping a flavor of candy--or movie--that you've never experienced before. When you've found yourself surrounded by your annual pile of Reese's Cup wrappers, or whatever the candy is that you already know you love, then it just might be time to pair a new kind of candy with one of these ten obscure Halloween favorites you've never seen before. These pieces of obscure Halloween media cover a few subgenres under the Halloween streaming umbrella so there's a little bit of variety. If you're looking for something specific, like a sinister and scary movie, then we've got a selection of must-watch slow-burn horror films that are sure to keep you warm, deep into the night. If you're cool and looking for something with teeth, we've got a list of essential queer stories in the horror subgenres that pack a different kind of message about the world that would make Rod Serling proud. Here are 10 of our Halloween favorites that are a bit more obscure than you may be used to. There's no Michael Myers or Jason Voorhees to be found here. And, thankfully, they're able to be streamed at home!
1. Perfume: The Story of a Murderer (2006)
Perfume: The Story of a Murderer is about Jean-Baptiste Grenouille: an outcast in society, a man without a family or a history, and an emptiness carved deep into the tattered center of his soul that he spends his entire life trying to fill, right until his last breath. Perfume: The Story of a Murderer is based on Das Perfum, a 1985 novel by German author Patrick Süskind, a richly detailed tapestry that unwinds down to the end of a man who's always loved the world around him but never felt like anything other than an outsider. Jean-Baptiste does not possess a scent of his own, but he can smell everyone around him. He isn’t able to see himself as being a normal part of this world at all, even after becoming a skilled creator of perfumes beloved by high-class society and all of those around him. He just never feels like he belongs. In the end, the only way he is able to feel like he can exist naturally in society is to give himself up until he is completely gone, when he no longer has anything to give, after creating the best perfume he’s ever made – before his last breath. Perfume: The Story of a Murderer isn't supernatural or hard to understand. We all know what it is like to feel like we do not belong here and have been made to feel like we shouldn't belong here at least. What makes Perfume unique and sad, alongside its horrors, is how hard Jean-Baptiste tries to feel real, before giving up and deciding that creating beautiful art was all he could ever do. Kurt Cobain of Nirvana managed to find catharsis in the story of Perfume, keeping a copy of Patrick Süskind's novel with him while traveling on tours, and even going on to use the story as inspiration for the pained lyrics of "Scentless Apprentice," a track from the album In Utero (1993), which just turned 30. Perfume is a must-see for everyone, because we all know what it's like to feel like we're intruding into everyone else's world. Perfume: The Story of a Murderer is available to stream on Pluto TV.
2. The Innkeepers (2011)
The Innkeepers is a film about an inn during its last week of business and its two bored employees, who are both trying to pass the time. The establishment has a history and might be haunted, which gives the two something to talk about before they say goodbye and move on to another job. Business is slow and the two both believe in ghosts, so they keep trying to catch things on film for a website about paranormal happenings. The Innkeepers will feel familiar to anyone who's ever spent more time thinking of ways to entertain themselves than working because there's simply nothing else to do. That's the case here until a guest checks in, right before the inn closes, with a very specific check-in request: a room on a floor no longer in use. He even insists after being told there is no TV or amenities on that entire floor. Everything has been stripped. The man says he just wants one more stay in a room he has a history with. The Innkeepers is available to stream on Tubi and Pluto TV.
3. The Autopsy of Jane Doe (2016)
The Autopsy of Jane Doe is a story about two men working at a morgue who need more help than they realize. An unmarked cadaver and casket arrive, unclaimed with no apparent history, and that's when mysterious things start happening. The two men are just trying to do their jobs, processing the body for proper burial, never realizing that they may in fact require an exorcist. The Autopsy of Jane Doe is available to stream on Tubi.
4. Altered (2006)
Altered is about a group of men who just want to make things right in the only way they know how: by capturing the monster that changed all of their lives when they were just boys. Coming from the co-director of The Blair Witch Project, the tension and noises of Altered follow four men seeking revenge against an alien who ruined everything for them when they were young. Nearly 20 years prior to the events of the movie, the group was on a hunting trip when they were abducted by aliens and subjected to experiments, traumatizing all of them and resulting in the death of one in the group. The paranoia and pain each of them suffered was great, but nothing could feel heavier than the blame they each collectively share, after everyone assumed they all had something to do with the death of their friend And now with the alien they've captured and held hostage in their garage, they believe everything can be made better through vengeance and the proof that something otherworldly for that horrifying hunting trip, all those years ago. Altered is available to rent digitally on Prime Video and other services.
5. The Blackcoat's Daughter (2015)
The Blackcoat's Daughter is about something sinister lurking inside the shadows of both loss and grief, waiting for the space to fully unfold. The isolation and cold of a quiet holiday break at a private school allows the devil to be in the details for a few girls who stayed behind. Nearly everyone from Bramford Academy, a private Catholic boarding school, has gone home for two weeks except some nuns, a few priests, and two girls. One girl stays because she might be pregnant and is unsure of how to deal with her parents and all the associated religious guilt that will inevitably be packed like cold snow into that conversation. The Blackcoat's Daughter is about what happens when we only talk about the devil, instead of the demons that we all deal with, but the devil may also be within the details. The Blackcoat's Daughter is available to stream on Max.
6. The Wacky Adventures of Ronald McDonald - "Scared Silly" (1998)
Animation studio Klasky-Csupo gave us Rugrats, Rocket Power, and many other iconic cartoon treasures from the '90s, but McDonald's also contracted the studio to create a series of stories meant to sell more Happy Meals. The cartoon adventures of Ronald McDonald and friends included live-action segments setting up the characters (and brand recognition) before diving into animated adventures that brought anyone that bought a VHS tape while visiting the chain into the lore of McDonaldland In "Scared Silly," the first of the six episodes produced, Ronald McDonald, Grimace, Hamburglar, and other big name McDonaldland characters try to escape the anxieties of the big city, only to end up inside a haunted house, when a mysterious storm rains down on their camping trip. Is this going to be as bone-chilling as some of the other entries on this list? Absolutely not, but it's a really fun little piece of nostalgia. What's more, it's got a catchy chorus of songs and some surprisingly big names in voice acting, including Bill Farmer and Tara Strong. The Wacky Adventures of Ronald McDonald - "Scared Silly" is available to watch on YouTube, or alternatively, used copies can be found online for a relatively low price.
7. Picnic at Hanging Rock (1975)
Picnic at Hanging Rock is about a group of girls who mysteriously go missing on an otherwise normal dThe disappearance of the girls shakes the community and nearby town, calling into question the reputation of the private school that was once trusted, with no one really sure what kind of sinister mystery is lurking in the shadows. An ambiguous ending may prove frustrating for some, but the deep mysteries of Picnic at Hanging Rock, and the way it explores themes of repression nature, have influenced storytelling in and outside of the horror genre, including Sofia Coppola’s The Virgin Suicides and Damon Lindelof’s The Leftovers. Picnic at Hanging Rock is available to stream on Max.
8. Hell House, LLC (2015)
Hell House, LLC is just as much about the supernatural as it is about the pitfalls of capitalism and what happens when we lose ourselves in our work. The movie follows a group of friends putting together an interactive haunted house, which is easier said than done. Everyone is excited at first, as the friends all do the work in getting ‘Hell House’ open, until it’s actually haunted and better than anyone could have imagined. For much of the film, the characters are dismissive of the very real horrors happening around them, in an attempt to convince themselves that all the stories about their real-estate purchase aren't true, until there's no denying what's happening in front of their eyes. This denial emphasizes what audiences know is happening on screen when it starts to feel like building a haunted house inside a haunted house wasn't such a good idea. Hell House, LLC is available to stream on Prime Video, Shudder, and Tubi.
9. 9 (2009)
9 is about a group of little knitted creatures trying to stay alive in a post-apocalyptic wasteland, ravaged and torn apart by nuclear war. Machines wielding death are nearly all that's left in this imaginative, computer-generated film starring the voice of Elijah Wood as 9, a curious little guy who finds others made out of yarn and scattered parts, and starts to wonder if another world and way of life could be possible, provided they all stick together. 9 is based on a unique short film that was expanded into something bigger, and it paid off, culminating in a tight story about appreciating life and each other when it feels like death could come at any moment. 9 is available to rent digitally on Prime Video and other services.
10. The Skeleton Dance (1929)
The Skeleton Dance is a five-and-a-half-minute musical story, the first in Disney's Silly Symphony line of shorts, about skeletons dancing and partying in a graveyard. Notably, it was directed by Walt Disney himself. An owl with big eyes, screeching black cats, dogs howling at the moon, and other Macabre imagery are the stars of this musical piece of spooky Disney history. It's a great example of the kinds of media that's been made more widely available with Disney+ and the streaming age. It's also cool seeing that people have always thought silly, spooky skeletons were fun, even nearly a hundred years ago. The Skeleton Dance is available to stream on Disney+.
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