Top Horror Titles for Halloween 2025: ‘The Substance’ and ‘The Last of Us’ Dominate the U.S. Streaming Scene.
Los Angeles, October 21, 2025 — As Halloween approaches, U.S. audiences are turning to streaming platforms for their favorite thrills. Based on JustWatch streaming charts from October 1–13, 2025, horror and suspense titles have surged in popularity — with The Substance and The Last of Us emerging as this year’s most in-demand titles.
Key Insights
- The resurgence of early-2000s horror is notable this year, with 28 Days Later re-entering the top three, over two decades since its release.
- Titles blending psychological horror thrillers (The Substance, Longlegs) outperformed traditional slasher-style films.
- The Last of Us continues to blur the line between prestige drama and horror — capturing both genre fans and mainstream audiences.
- Cross-platform viewing is on the rise: more than half of the top 10 movies and shows are available across two or more streaming services, showing the fragmentation of horror consumption in 2025.
The Substance and The Last of Us Lead the Pack
- The Substance, the body horror hit starring Demi Moore and Margaret Qualley, claimed the #1 spot among movies, followed by the possession thriller Talk to Me and the apocalyptic classic 28 Days Later.
- Among TV shows, HBO’s The Last of Us continues to dominate streaming interest well into its second year, followed by From and Stranger Things, both proving that psychological and supernatural horror still reign supreme during spooky season.
Top 10 Most In-Demand Halloween Horror Titles on Streaming
Movies:
| Rank | Title | Platform |
| 1 | The Substance | FX/ Hulu |
| 2 | Talk to Me | Apple TV+ |
| 3 | 28 Days Later | HBO Max |
| 4 | Longlegs | Hulu |
| 5 | The Menu | Hulu |
| 6 | Sinners | HBO Max |
| 7 | Late Night with the Devil | FX/Hulu |
| 8 | Pearl | Netflix |
| 9 | Nope | Peacock |
| 10 | X | HBO Max |
TV Shows:
| Rank | Title | Platform |
| 1 | The Last of Us | HBO Max |
| 2 | From | MGM+ |
| 3 | Stranger Things | Netflix |
| 4 | The Walking Dead | Hulu |
| 5 | The Vampire Diaries | HBO Max |
| 6 | Evil | Apple TV+ |
| 7 | What We Do in the Shadows | Apple TV+ |
| 8 | Interview with the Vampire | Netflix |
| 9 | American Horror Story | Hulu |
| 10 | The Sandman | Netflix |
Hulu and Netflix Dominate the Horror Landscape
While horror viewing spikes every October, JustWatch catalog data shows which streamers truly cater to fans year-round:
- Hulu specializes in horror this year, holding the highest concentration of horror films and series in the S. catalog, with 20% of its movie library and 4% of its series belonging to the genre.
- Netflix follows closely, with over 3,200 horror titles — representing 16% of its total movie catalog.
- Prime Video boasts the largest total horror collection overall, with 3,400 titles, though they make up a smaller share (14%) of its extensive library.
- AMC+ and Shudder continue to appeal to niche horror audiences seeking cult favorites and indie scares.
These figures highlight that while audiences flock to streamers like HBO for prestige horror hits (The Last of Us), platforms like Hulu and Netflix provide the widest access to the genre’s ever-expanding universe of classics, slashers, and supernatural tales.
Sourcing this report:
Insights are derived from the streaming activity of more than 20 million U.S. JustWatch users. When referencing this data, please credit JustWatch and link to the U.S. Streaming Charts: https://www.justwatch.com/us/streaming-charts
Methodology
The data is based on JustWatch Streaming Charts for the United States, analyzing user activity and title engagement between October 1–13, 2025. Catalog figures represent the number and share of horror titles available on major streaming services as of October 2025.Popularity scores are calculated using JustWatch’s proprietary index, which measures daily user engagement across streaming platforms.
