There are just 52 days until Halloween, and that means more horror movies being released to theatres and VOD platforms than at any other time of year. October is also the month that your non-horror obsessed buddies might consider joining you for a scary movie. We’ve made a list of some of the major upcoming releases around Halloween 2015, and some exciting independent ones too. Let us know which ones you’re planning to see.

Scouts Guide to the Zombie Apocalypse

On the eve of their last camp-out, a group of Boy Scouts are forced to defend their town from zombie invasion in this horror-comedy. While we’re not getting it until after Halloween here in the UK, the US will see ‘A Scouts Guide to the Zombie Apocalypse’ released on the 30th October. It stars Tye Sheridan, David Koechner, Logan Miller, Halston Sage, Joey Morgan, Patrick Schwarzenegger, and Cloris Leachman.

We’ve seen many zombie crossovers, mashups and reboots over the past decade, but this seems to be the only major zombie film of the Halloween season this year, and based on the trailer contains some very satisfying death scenes.

Paranormal Activity: The Ghost Dimension

We may be rapidly losing count of the ‘Paranormal Activity’ sequels, but they have become something of a Halloween staple over the last few years. This one is a 3D found-footage film, and according to producer Jason Blum, it will answer all of the questions that the series’ mythology has posed up to this point. The Ghost Dimension will follow a brand new family who discover a box of tapes in their new home. When they watch the tapes, they begin to recognise the ghostly activity happening around them.

Set for major US release on the 23rd October, the sixth instalment in the franchise has been confirmed to be the last. “It’s coming to an end. This is it, the finale,” Blum told USA Today. “We’re saying it before the movie opens. We’re not going to grind this horror franchise into the ground. This will keep Paranormal Activity as part of this culture and this particular time in a really fantastic way.”

Crimson Peak

Guillermo del Toro concieved the idea for ‘Crimson Peak’ shortly after the release of ‘Pans Labyrinth’ in 2006. The long awaited horror-romance is set for release on the 16th October and will star Mia Wasikowska, Tom Hiddleston, Jessica Chastain, Charlie Hunnam, and Jim Beaver.

The film is set in Cumbria, in a crumbling mansion where a young woman discovers dark secrets surrounding her new husband. It’s a polar opposite type of horror film from something like ‘Paranormal Activity’ and is probably the Halloween release for fans of old school horror such as Hammer. Del Toro has described the film as “a very set-oriented, classical but at the same time modern take on the ghost story” and explained “I think people are getting used to horror subjects done as found footage or B-value budgets. I wanted this to feel like a throwback.”



Goosebumps

Also set for a 16th October release is the family-friendly horror adaption of R.L Stine’s ‘Goosebumps’ series. A movie based on the popular children’s book series has been in the works since 1998, and will star Jack Black, Dylan Minnette, Odeya Rush, Halston Sage, Amy Ryan, Ryan Lee, and Jillian Bell.

Earlier this year, it was revealed which of the book’s antagonists would be making appearances in the movie. At Comic-Con, Slappy the Dummy, The Lord High Executioner from ‘A Night in Terror Tower’, the Giant Mantises from ‘A Shocker on Shock Street’, Murder the Clown from ‘When Ghost Dogs Howl’ and The Horror at Chiller House, The Mummy of Prince Kho-Ru from ‘Curse of the Mummy’s Tomb’, and The Scarecrows from ‘The Scarecrow Walks at Midnight’ were all confirmed to be included.

The Final Girls

‘The Final Girls’ is getting a limited theatrical release on October 9th in the US, but it’s received high praise within the horror community so this is probably one to seek out. It’s a horror-comedy in the vein of ‘The Cabin in the Woods’ which focuses on a teenager who is transported into the world of an 80s horror movie. Justin Lowe of The Hollywood Reporter explained: “Genre enthusiasts will get a kick out of Todd Strauss-Schulson’s creative homage to classic slasher movies, which respects familiar horror conventions while introducing a sly contemporary perspective.”

The film stars Taissa Farmiga and Malin Åkerman as the final girls, and was described by it’s director as: “”It’s Pleasantville in a trashy horror movie from the 80s with a little Back to the Future thrown in, and a spoon full of Terms of Endearment with a dash of Scream and two dollops of Purple Rose of Cairo for good measure.” It’s done very well on the festival circuit, having its world premiere on March 13, 2015 as one of the opening night films at South by Southwest and screening at the Stanley Film Festival as the closing night film on May 2, 2015, where it won the Audience Award for Feature Film.

Knock Knock

Knock Knock is a 2015 Chilean-American home invasion film directed by Eli Roth, who co-wrote the script with Guillermo Amoedo and Nicolás López. We had a limited release here in the UK over the Summer, but US audiences will see Knock Knock released on the 9th October, shortly after Roth’s other release this year – ‘The Green Inferno‘.

The film stars Keanu Reeves as a family man who falls into temptation and Lorenza Izzo and Ana de Armas as sadistic seductresses who wreak havoc upon his life. As well as a theatrical release, the film will be available on VOD platforms on the same date.

Honeyspider

This one’s a DVD release, but it’s one of our favourite indie horrors of the last few years. Honeyspider is the first feature length movie from independent filmmakers Josh Hasty and Kenny Caperton. It’s set on Halloween night 1989, and focuses on a young student on her 21st birthday who falls prey to a mysterious power as people around her turn up dead.

We had high praise for this film when we reviewed it earlier in the year, but we can’t stress enough how awesome the Halloween vibe is in this movie. Featuring vintage decorations, Jack-O-Lanterns, the Monster Mash, cheesy masks; its a film for Halloween night! It set for DVD release on October 6th, and you can pre-order it on Amazon.

Tales of Halloween

We have a special appreciation for horror anthologies, and there’s one set to be released in a limited capacity on October 16th. The film consists of ten segments, taking place in a small American town, terrorised by ghouls, aliens, and killers one Halloween night. Each section has a different director, and they include Neil Marshall, Lucky McGee, and Mike Mendez.

The film has had a good response from the horror community, with Horror Movies Uncut explaining: “Tales of Halloween is truly for horror fans, with hundreds of references to other horror films. The directors don’t give two shits if its palatable to a mainstream audience and have made films out of love for the genre and by doing so have breathed new life into the horror anthology film.”