The Kids Have Had Their Halloween. Now It’s Our Turn.

For parents looking for Halloween horror movies worth saving until the small people are safely tucked into bed, we’ve rounded up the best new releases to watch tonight. We’ve bought the costumes, carved the pumpkins, watched the kids consume an amount of sugar that would normally warrant some sort of intervention, answered the door approximately 47 times and discovered fake cobwebs in places fake cobwebs have absolutely no business being. The kids have had Halloween. Now it’s our turn.

Because once the trick-or-treaters disappear, the sugar-fuelled children finally surrender and the house goes quiet, there is something rather glorious about turning the lights down, grabbing the snacks you strategically hid from the kids and watching something you definitely couldn’t have put on at 6pm.

And this Halloween, there’s a pretty impressive line-up of new movies available to buy or rent at home, which means you don’t even have to find a babysitter. Frankly, after getting everyone through Halloween, leaving the couch feels unnecessarily ambitious. So, depending on whether you want witches, demons, heights, murderous ice cream men or simply something ridiculous enough to make you laugh rather than sleep with the hallway light on, here’s what’s waiting.

Practical Magic 2: For Those Who Like Their Halloween With Witches

Nicole Kidman and Sandra Bullock are back as the Owens sisters in Practical Magic 2, and honestly, that sentence may already be enough for anyone who remembers the original. The Owens family has been cursed to be loveless for centuries, and this time the multi-generational family of witches must confront dark secrets and make some pretty significant sacrifices if they’re going to finally break the spell.

This feels like the choice for anyone who wants their Halloween spooky and supernatural without immediately regretting every creak they hear in the house afterwards. Practical Magic 2 is available to buy or rent now.

Insidious: Out of the Further: Absolutely Not Before Bed

If your preferred Halloween experience involves voluntarily terrifying yourself in your own home, welcome back to The Further. In Insidious: Out of the Further, young mum Gemma is raising her daughter in the house where she grew up when she discovers she can travel into The Further. Unfortunately, she can also bring things back with her.

As a parent, there are already enough mysterious noises coming from various rooms in my house without introducing the possibility of something demonic being responsible for them, but each to their own. If you love the Insidious universe and want proper supernatural horror for Halloween, this is probably where you start. Insidious: Out of the Further is available to buy or rent now.

Fall 2: Deadpoint: For Anyone Who Thinks Heights Aren’t Scary Enough

There are horror movies involving ghosts and demons, and then there are movies that simply put people somewhere ridiculously high and let your own imagination do the rest. Fall 2: Deadpoint follows Jax Hunter as she bonds with her late sister Shiloh’s friend Luce and the pair take on Mount Kwan in Thailand. A rockslide leaves them trapped on a narrow plank 4,000 feet in the air, forcing Jax to face her fears if they have any chance of surviving.

Four thousand feet. Some of us get nervous standing on a chair to change a light bulb, so this one may require a particularly large glass of wine. Fall 2: Deadpoint is available to buy or rent now.

Ice Cream Man: Well, That Ruined the Ice-Cream Truck

There are certain things from childhood that should simply be left alone, and ice-cream trucks are one of them. Apparently Eli Roth disagrees. Ice Cream Man takes an idyllic summer town and introduces an ice-cream man serving children sweet treats with horrifying consequences.

That’s really all we need to know, because if you hear Greensleeves coming down the street tomorrow afternoon and suddenly find yourself locking the front door, we accept no responsibility. Ice Cream Man is available to buy or rent now.

Obsession: Be Careful What You Wish For

What could possibly go wrong when you break something called the “One Wish Willow” because you want your crush to fall in love with you? Quite a lot, apparently. Written, directed and edited by YouTube creator Curry Barker, Obsession follows a hopeless romantic who makes a wish to win his crush’s heart. He gets exactly what he asked for, only to discover that getting what you want can come with some fairly sinister consequences.

It’s supernatural horror built around that wonderfully uncomfortable idea that sometimes the thing you desperately wanted is exactly the thing you should never have had. Obsession is available to buy or rent now.

Scary Movie (2026) – Extended Cut: For Parents Who Thought They Wanted to Be Scared and Have Changed Their Minds

Perhaps you’ve reached this point and realised you actually don’t want demons, murderous ice cream men or people dangling 4,000 feet above the ground. Fair. There’s always Scary Movie.

The 2026 Extended Cut brings Cindy, Brenda, Shorty and Ray back as another masked killer enters the picture, with additional scenes and the franchise once again taking aim at horror movie conventions. This is the option for the parent who wants Halloween, wants something wildly inappropriate for the children, but would also quite like to walk down the dark hallway to bed afterwards without sprinting. Scary Movie (2026) – Extended Cut is available to buy or rent now.

So, How Scared Do You Actually Want to Be?

That is really the question. There’s witchy nostalgia with Practical Magic 2, supernatural terror with Insidious, vertigo-inducing survival in Fall 2: Deadpoint, a childhood staple being completely destroyed by Ice Cream Man, sinister wish-making in Obsession and the safety net of Scary Movie when you remember that you are an adult with responsibilities tomorrow and perhaps don’t need to spend tonight checking underneath the bed.

The best bit is that they’re all home-viewing options, so there’s no organising a sitter, no getting dressed up and no pretending you aren’t exhausted. Get the kids into bed, turn off the lights, find the snacks you didn’t hand out to the trick-or-treaters and choose your level of terror. Just remember, if you pick Insidious, you’re the one turning the lights off downstairs afterwards.

Where to Watch

The Halloween titles featured above are available to buy or rent digitally, with availability varying between individual movies and platforms. Participating home entertainment platforms include Apple TV+, Fetch, Foxtel, Google TV, Prime Video and YouTube, so check your preferred service for individual title availability.