The best horror movies for you to watch at home this week include Day of the Dead, Cure, and Orphan.
Your time is precious, and your options are endless. The good news: We watch it all so you don’t have to. Polygon’s What to Watch highlights the best, the funniest, the scariest, and the most exciting in movies, TV, and everything in between. Stop scrolling, start watching!
In late September, we put out a call for readers looking for specific horror movie recommendations. It’s an offshoot of our Dear Polygon series, where we answer questions and give recs to readers like you. To our delight, hundreds of you responded. This is the fourth and (for now) final entry answering those requests, hand-picking a horror movie to watch just for you. You can catch up with the first entry here, our second one here, and our third one here.
Let’s dig in.
[Ed. note: Some questions have been slightly edited for clarity.]
Dear Polygon,
I want to watch something with good practical effects (body horror is a bonus!). Subgenre doesn’t matter much to me, I’ll watch anything 🙂 I especially love body horror as a means to explore themes about identity, society, whatever (Cronenberg is always fun). Make it gory and make me think!
–Michael
Michael — I’m totally with you. I love good practical effects, especially when they’re coupled with strong social themes. I’m likewise drawn to Cronenberg’s movies, but for me, you can’t beat George Romero in this category. I’ve got a movie for you that, while often ignored in favor of the more famous earlier entries in the “of the Dead” franchise, it’s my personal favorite (and I love them all). —Pete Volk
What’s it like? It’s a George Romero zombie movie! That means in addition to gnarly zombie effects, there’s a lot of trenchant social commentary. This time around, rather than the horrors of capitalism, Day of the Dead focuses on a conflict between scientists and the military, who are enclosed in a bunker together after the zombie apocalypse.
What flavor of horror is it? Plenty of practical effects-heavy gore, with a few sparse jump scares and plenty of shambling zombies. Also lots of human-to-human tension.
Who made it? Zombie maestro George Romero wrote and directed it, of course, with effects and award-winning makeup by frequent Romero collaborator Tom Savini.
Who’s in it? Lori Cardille (whose father, Bill, was in Night of the Living Dead) plays the hyper-competent scientist Dr. Sarah Bowman, while Joseph Pilato is the aggressive soldier Capt. Henry Rhodes.
How long is it? 100 minutes on the nose.
Where can I watch? Available to stream on Peacock and FuboTV, for free with a library card on Kanopy, and for free with ads on Tubi, Pluto TV, and Crackle. It is also available for digital rental or purchase via Amazon, Apple TV, Google Play, and Vudu.
Dear Polygon,
I’m looking for a horror deep cut from any era that has a good combination of body horror and psychological horror. Nothing is too extreme for me, but I love a horror film that has some purpose in its depravity, that’s communicating something to its audience, whether that be a theme, a message, or a feeling.
