What’s New to Stream on Netflix for October 2020

Some people spend their days arguing over the merits of Netflix, but the rest of us are too busy enjoying new movies, engaging series, and fun specials. It’s just one more way to re-watch the movies we already love and find new ones to cherish, and this month sees some of both hitting the service. The complete list of new movies and shows hitting (and leaving) Netflix this month — October 2020 — is below, but first I’m going to highlight a few that stand apart from the bunch… and yes, this being October, they do all scream horror.

Netflix Pick of the Month for October 2020

His House

It’s rude of me to make my monthly pick a film that doesn’t even land on Netflix until the end of the month, but it’s worth the wait. His House opens its doors on October 30th, and it makes for perfect Halloween-time viewing. It’s a haunted house tale, of sorts, that approaches themes of guilt and ambition through a cultural lens far removed from the genre’s norm. The film follows a Sudanese couple, refugees hoping to start a new life in the UK after leaving the war behind, who find supernatural terror in their government-provided home. The scares are legit and numerous, and the emotional payoff is fantastic. Like some of the best horror films that have gone on to find wide acclaim, His House blends rich character and thematic weight in with its horrors, and the result is something special.

High Profile Streaming Originals!

Rebecca

Netflix continues to develop, produce, and release a growing number of films and shows each month, and October 2020 sees them leaning heavily into the darkness. A handful of smaller titles are below, but there’s a trio of big titles hitting this month that will be getting most of the attention. October 7th brings a new Adam Sandler joint in the form of Hubie Halloween. You already know if it’s for you, but while he’s not usually my scene I’m intrigued enough by this tale of an oddball forced to step up and save his town from evil that I’ll be giving it a spin. The Haunting of Bly Manor opens its doors just two days later on October 9th, and creator Mike Flanagan returns along with some of his cast from the brilliant 2018 series The Haunting of Hill House. This time around it’s the fiction of Henry James that gets adapted and explored in a more “modern” setting, and both terror and emotion are on deck. The last of the big three is Ben Wheatley’s new adaptation of Daphne du Maurier’s Rebecca, which premieres on October 21st. It will obviously be viewed by most as a remake of Alfred Hitchcock’s classic film, but here’s hoping it stays true to both the source novel and Wheatley’s own sensibilities.

More New Netflix Horrors!

Vampires vs. the Bronx

While His House is the best of this month’s new Netflix Films in the horror genre, it’s far from the only one. Italy used to be known for its horror films, but those days are long gone. The Binding, which unravels starting October 2nd, hopes to reverse that trend by offering up a homegrown chiller involving some cultish locals with demonic antics on their mind. Vampires vs. the Bronx also arrives on October 2nd, but it looks to bring a lighter, more energetic sensibility to its tale of horror as a group of kids fights off some bloodsuckers trying to gentrify their neighborhood. Cadaver comes alive starting on October 22nd and sees a Norwegian family trying to survive a crumbling post-apocalyptic society. They descend on a hotel in search of food but find something far less appetizing instead. And lastly, October 28th brings a new Polish horror film called Nobody Sleeps in the Woods Tonight about a group of teens sent into the forest as rehab from social media. Good times ensue, I’m sure.

Non-Netflix Horrors!

Paranorman

I get it. You want to watch some horror, but you’re not looking for new productions made by/for a streaming giant. You are content watching older films on said streaming giant, though… so, happily, you have a few new arrivals to choose from. Rob Zombie’s House of 1000 Corpses (2003) arrives on October 1st, and while I’m not a fan, I know many of you are, so enjoy! Unfriended (2014) clicks its way into your nightmares starting October 16th, and again, I may prefer the sequel, but I know I’m in the minority on that count. Finally, October 18th brings a delightfully spooky, family-friendly adventure in the stop-motion form of ParaNorman (2012). It remains a joy.

The Complete Netflix List for October 2020

Follow all of our monthly streaming guides.