Halloween movies 2023: best horror films in cinemas and streaming this October from Saw X to Exorcist Believer

Horror fans rejoice, Halloween is around the corner, which means that this year’s hottest horror films are about to be released in cinemas and on streaming platforms just in time for spooky season.

This year two of the biggest horror franchises of all time, Saw, and The Exorcist, get a sequel, whilst three intriguing original films are also coming out. 

For those of a more delicate temperament, Disney’s Haunted Mansion remake is likely to be a safer bet than the films on this list, and you can also check out our full list of family friendly Halloween offerings. 

For the rest of you, whether an over the top gore-fest is your thing, or you’re looking for an escape room flick, we’ve got you covered with five very different horror movies coming out in the month leading up to Halloween 2023.  

Saw X - In cinemas 29 September

This prequel to the gruesome Saw franchise sees the return of Tobin Bell as John Kramer, who last appeared on screen in Saw III, but appeared posthumously in later instalments. Saw X is set between the events of Saw and Saw II, and sees a terminally ill Kramer travel to Mexico in hopes of finding a miraculous cure for the colon cancer that is killing him.

Kramer plans to undergo an experimental and risky medical procedure, but discovers that the operation is a scam designed to defraud desperate and vulnerable people, with no chance of helping them. Kramer decides to use his infamous traps to turn the tables on the people who planned to con him. 

Woman in the Maze - In cinemas 6 October

This supernatural thriller stars Meredith VanCuyk as Gabbi Reynolds, the eponymous woman who rents a cursed home in America’s largest ghost town, and finds herself trapped inside it. The property is full of deadly traps and, when she passes the threshold, it transforms into a maze that is seemingly impossible to escape from.

Gabbi realises that she must solve the mystery of this sinister house and survive the hidden dangers that lurk throughout within, or become its latest victim. 

The Exorcist: Believer - In cinemas 13 October 

50 years after seminal horror classic The Exorcist terrified audiences, a new sequel trilogy will reset the franchise. Two young girls and best friends both begin to show signs of demonic possession, forcing single father Viktor to call on a woman who has experience of this horrid phenomenon. 

Ellen Burstyn reprises her role as Chris MacNeil, the desperate mother of the possessed Regan from the first movie for the first time in half a century. MacNeil uses her tragic experience to help Viktor and the young girls. The Exorcist: Believer will be followed by two more sequels; Deceiver, and as yet untitled third movie.

Five Nights at Freddy’s - In cinemas 27 October

Based on the 2014 video game series of the same name based around the fictional Freddy Fazbear's Pizza franchise and its animatronic bear mascot, the film has been eight years in the making.

The supernatural horror movie, starring Josh Hutcherson, Elizabeth Lail, Piper Rubio, and Matthew Lillard, will follow troubled security guard Mike (Hutcherson) on his first night shift at Freddy Fazbear's Pizzeria. He discovers four animatronic mascots that come alive and kill anyone still on the premises after midnight. 

Sister Death - On Netflix 27 October

As the success of The Exorcist proves, there’s nothing like a religious horror movie. Spanish language horror, Sister Death, set in post-war Spain, follows Narcisa, a young novice with supernatural powers, who comes to a former convent that has been converted into a girls school to work as a teacher.

It soon becomes clear that there is more to the school than meets the eye, and Narcisa is tormented by a series of bizarre and paranormal goings on that drive her to investigate a dark force at the heart of the former convent that haunts its inhabitants.