Saturday is Halloween, and we know that once they’ve seen off the trick or treaters, many SFX readers will be turning the lights off and settling down to watch some scary movies. But what to watch? We’ve taken the hard work out of it by selecting six SFX-approved classics. All are available to stream for free via the Terror on Tubi hub – with no subscription required, and no need to even sign up for an account.
8.20pm: Cult Weirdness
Your triple bill of free viewing on Tubi starts with choices that might best be watched solo, as they won’t be everyone’s cup of tea. Worried about freaking out the squares? Then invite them round later...
SFX’s main recommendation:
Messiah Of Evil
1974
1 hour 30 minutes
Click here to watch it for free on Tubi
The work of husband and wife Willard Huyck and Gloria Katz (writers of Indiana Jones And The Temple Of Doom), this eerie, dreamlike horror was abandoned, incomplete, when finances ran out, then pieced together years later with poetic narration and montage.
Set in a town on the Malibu coastline, it sees a woman searching for her father, meeting a visiting aristocrat and his companions, and slowly realising that something's very wrong… It's a zombie film of sorts, but the pale-skinned locals who feast on human flesh don’t shamble about – ominous staring is more their MO. SFX's five-star review called it "A beautifully shot film which melds horror tropes with a European sensibility."
Our secondary recommendation:
Spider Baby
1967
1 hour 25 minutes
Click here to watch it for free on Tubi
The debut of Jack Hill (later to direct blaxploitation classics like Foxy Brown) this tale of a family suffering a syndrome which causes regression to a “pre-human state”, mixes jet-black farce with dark undercurrents of cannibalism and incest. SFX said: "Guaranteed to appeal to sick-puppy goths."
10.00pm: Accessible Classics
For your main feature presentation, we’ve picked two horror movies that anyone with an interest in the genre should be able to appreciate.
SFX’s main recommendation:
Invasion Of The Body Snatchers
1978
1 hour 55 minutes
Click here to watch it for free on Tubi
It's incredibly rare for a remake of a classic movie to match the original, but Philip Kaufman’s take on Don Siegel’s paranoid tale of identity-stealing alien “pods” does just that – relocating the story from a small town to San Francisco, it remains fundamentally faithful, but has an expanded sense of scale.
A brilliant cast includes Donald Sutherland and Jeff Goldblum, who bring a quirky individuality to their characters. Images of distortion create a heightened, off-kilter vibe, and the physical effects showing the pods disgorging their replicas are memorably icky. SFX said: "A triumph in every respect."
Our secondary recommendation:
The Cabin In The Woods
2012
1 hour 35 minutes
Click here to watch it for free on Tubi
Co-written by Buffy creator Joss Whedon, this witty affair both subverts and celebrates horror movie clichés, as five kids stay in a creepy cabin, and are soon fighting for their lives. SFX gave it a five-star rating on release, calling it "Gruesome, clever and constantly surprising."
Midnight: Gory And Gruesome
If you’re still watching at this point, you’re probably ready for something stronger. So we’ve picked two titles on Tubi which are definitely not for the faint-hearted...
SFX’s main recommendation:
Maniac
1980
1 hour 28 minutes
Click here to watch it for free on Tubi
Banned by the BBFC, Maniac was only finally released uncut in the UK in 2022. This grubby, downbeat relic of a crime-racked New York City is notorious for its repugnant protagonist and Tom Savini’s effects (including a shotgun blast which causes a head to explode like a meat firework). Joe Spinell plays Frank Zito, a serial killer who takes scalps as trophies, nailing them to mannequins he keeps for company. Spinell’s almost worrying level of commitment to breathing life into this pathetic figure pays off, and some of the murder sequences are horribly tense. SFX said: "So immersive it may leave you feeling in need of a shower."
Our secondary recommendation:
From Beyond
1986
1 hour 26 minutes
Click here to watch it for free on Tubi
Based, like Re-Animator, on an HP Lovecraft short story, Stuart Gordon’s film about a device that allows people to perceive another dimension features wonderfully gooey practical effects – and a side-order of kink. SFX said: "Gloriously garish, it’s a transgressive treat."
