From Cozy To Spooky and Everything In Between: 30+ TV Shows and Movies To Watch This October
Shows and movies for the coziest and spookiest time of the year, from 'The Conjuring' to 'Gilmore Girls'
When it comes to months, October, to me, is the coziest. It’s something to do with the way it gets darker earlier each day, how overcast it often is, how the rain pours regularly but never torrentially. Add a Halloween celebration, a trick-or-treating escapade around the village costumed by whatever show or film or pop culture icon that’s caught my fancy that year, and I’m all set.
One of my favorite things to do during this month is watch and rewatch autumn-themed TV and movies ranging from cozy to spooky and everything in between. Here, a round-up of 30+ shows and films that you can put on in the evening after work—nightcap optional, but complete darkness and a swathe of blankets required.
The Cozy Selections: Movies and TV shows that feel warm yet make us want to swim in a sea of blankets; stories that take place under overcast skies and against firs and spruces; moments that would never happen without a rugged, well-worn sweater.
The Cozy Selections
The Cozy Selections
Gilmore Girls (2000–2007, on Netflix)
In Gilmore Girls, Amy Sherman-Palladino’s slice-of-life comedy-drama about a young woman and her relationship with her daughter and her mother, it feels like it’s perpetually fall, even when it’s explicitly not. The show, which is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year, is marked by characters wearing soft, comfy-looking sweaters and cardigans, and scenes are often punctuated — or highlighted — with sumptuous sips from (decidedly empty) coffee cups.
Trinkets (2019–2020, on Netflix)
Trinkets, Netflix’s two-season adaptation of the novel of the same name by Legally Blonde and 10 Things I Hate About You’s screenwriter Kirsten Smith, is set in Portland, Oregon. The show follows three teens — Elodie, Moe, and Tabitha — who meet in Shoplifter’s Anonymous and become friends. Because of the city it’s filmed in, Trinkets feels especially cozy and autumnal to me, thanks, if anything, to the amount of sherpa jackets in the show, close enough to rival Jughead Jones in Riverdale.
The Half of It (2020, on Netflix)
Coming-of-age film The Half of It follows Ellie Chu and Paul Munsky in a tender, unlikely team-up reminiscent of Edmond Rostand’s Cyrano de Bergerac, as the latter asks for Ellie’s help in trying to woo the popular girl in their school, Aster Flores. Set in fictional Squahamish in the state of Washington, The Half of It offers no shortage of cedars, firs, and spruces, and certainly not cardigans, sweaters, and denim jackets.
Parenthood (2009–2015, on Amazon Prime)
Parenthood, an emotional family drama that follows the multi-generational Braverman family for six years may not be set in autumn all season long, but a lot of its standout episodes, especially in the first few seasons, occur during Thanksgiving and Halloween.
This Is Us (2016–present, on Amazon Prime)
This Is Us, the spiritual successor of Parenthood, feels just as cozy, but more emotionally devastating. But hey, there’s a lot of Thanksgiving celebrations! Following the Pearson family throughout different moments of their lives, This Is Us often straddles the line between melodramatic and understated while still allowing viewers’ hearts to feel warm and fuzzy even in the bleakest of episodes.
Friends (1994–2004, on Netflix)
Few shows are known for their Thanksgiving episodes; Friends, of course, is one of them. The show, which is comfort TV for a majority of people, is consistently cozy — perfect to just throw on in the background as you complete errands or finish up work, especially now during indefinite quarantine.
Big Fish (2003, on Apple)
Tim Burton is big on the cozy, autumnal vibes. From Edward Scissorhands to the Corpse Bride, he’s made a livelihood out of that very specific feeling, and Big Fish, his 2003 oeuvre, is no exception to that fact. Based on the novel of the same name, Big Fish follows Will Bloom at his father’s deathbed as he tries to decipher which is fact and which is fiction in his father’s life.
The Spooky Selections: Movies and TV shows that aren’t excitingly terrifying, but aren’t all too calming either; stories that have to do with the weird and the wonderful, the uncanny and the spine-tingling; moments that make you want to scream or at least press your legs really close to your chest, because you want to look away but you can’t.
The Spooky Selections
The Spooky Selections
The Haunting series (2018–present, on Netflix)
The Haunting anthology, which currently includes 2018’s The Haunting of Hill House and this year’s The Haunting of Bly Manor, finds the heart of ghost stories and runs with it. Each season is a sublime deep-dive into the lives of the show’s characters, from the oft-ignored Nell Crain to the commanding Hannah Grose. The Haunting series is terrifying and tender, perfect viewing with the people you love most.
Beetlejuice (1988, on Netflix)
Another Tim Burton entry makes it to the list—this time, it’s Beetlejuice, a dark comedy following a deceased couple whose attempts at scaring away a family prove to be futile, who then begrudgingly enlist the help of “bio-exorcist” Betelgeuse. In the end, it’s a lovely portrait of found family, with iconic, laugh-out-loud moments that have all to do with the great Catherine O’Hara, and none at all with Betelgeuse’s character.
American Horror Story (2011–present, on Netflix)
From ghosts, to serial killers, to alien abductions, to witches, to freak shows, and whatever else this anthology inspires, American Horror Story is the perfect sort of fare if you’re looking for something eerie and sinister, but never anything too frightening. (Take it from me — I’m not a big horror person, and yet I can handle this and The Haunting.)
Ratched (2020, on Netflix)
Sarah Paulson’s newest collaboration with Ryan Murphy puts her at the forefront; this time, she is definitely the show’s star, and it shows. An origin story to one of literature’s most menacing villains, Ratched follows Mildred Ratched’s descent into madness, humanized by Paulson just enough to keep viewers interested.
Train to Busan, Kingdom, #Alive (on Netflix)
If zombies are more your thing, consider the trifecta of Korean zombie media: Train to Busan, the 2016 blockbuster chronicling a zombie outbreak in South Korea; Kingdom, a 12-episode drama about a mysterious plague spreading across Korea during the Joseon period; and #Alive, a film focusing on a video game streamer’s survival during a zombie apocalypse in Seoul.
Train to Busan, Kingdom, #Alive (on Netflix)
If zombies are more your thing, consider the trifecta of Korean zombie media: Train to Busan, the 2016 blockbuster chronicling a zombie outbreak in South Korea; Kingdom, a 12-episode drama about a mysterious plague spreading across Korea during the Joseon period; and #Alive, a film focusing on a video game streamer’s survival during a zombie apocalypse in Seoul.
Train to Busan, Kingdom, #Alive (on Netflix)
If zombies are more your thing, consider the trifecta of Korean zombie media: Train to Busan, the 2016 blockbuster chronicling a zombie outbreak in South Korea; Kingdom, a 12-episode drama about a mysterious plague spreading across Korea during the Joseon period; and #Alive, a film focusing on a video game streamer’s survival during a zombie apocalypse in Seoul.
It, It Chapter Two (2017, 2019, on Apple)
The films based on Stephen King’s 1986 novel are more than just your typical horror films: You’ll find yourself caring about the characters and not just the plot itself. The It movies center on seven children — Bill, Ben, Bev, Richie, Stanley, Mike, and Eddie — who form the Losers’ Club, and are forced to face their worst nightmares brought upon by Pennywise, an evil shape-shifting clown.
Us (2019, on Apple)
In Us, the Wilson family contends with attacks brought about by another family, with each member looking exactly like them. Us is thrilling and exhilarating, not exactly “spooky,” but it’s impossible not to recommend, anyway.
Ready or Not (2019, on Apple)
Ready or Not’s star, Samara Weaving, describes the film as an “absurd thriller,” and she couldn’t be more correct. In it, she plays Grace, a newly-married woman who is hunted by her husband’s family as part of their wedding night ritual for Satan. Yes, you read that right.
The Craft (1996, on Apple)
This list would not be complete, of course, without The Craft. The 1996 horror film has reached cult fave status, loved most of all by witches and witchy women — especially adolescent girls just learning about themselves and the world for the first time. The Craft is about four high school girls who practice witchcraft, and the disastrous consequences that follow.
Lore (2017–2018, on Amazon Prime)
Lore is based on Aaron Mahnke’s wildly successful podcast of the same name, in which he tells the stories behind terrifying real-life events, from the speculated real-life inspiration for Bram Stoker’s Dracula to Elizabeth Báthory, the Countess of Blood, known for killing young girls to keep herself youthful.
The Fear Street Trilogy (2021)
Based on R. L. Stine's books of the same name, The Fear Street Trilogy follows a group of teens who work to break the curse that has been over their town for hundreds of years.
The Conjuring series (2013, 2016, 2021)
The Conjuring films follow paranormal investigators, Ed and Lorraine Warren, as they assist families and individuals possessed by demonic spirits. It's the perfect scary film for those looking for more than just thrills and screams.
A Little Bit of Both: Movies and TV shows that find themselves in between spooky and cozy, or are a delectable mix of both.
A Little Bit of Both
A Little Bit of Both
Practical Magic (1998, on Apple)
Practical Magic is based on the Alice Hoffman’s 1995 novel of the same name, and follows the Owen sisters, Sally and Gillian, as navigate their lives as witches living with a cursed bloodline: the men they fall in love with are doomed to die untimely deaths. In their adulthood, they must battle everything and everyone that has grown to scorn them, including, of course, the family curse.
Spirited Away (2001, on Netflix)
Anything by Hayao Miyazaki sits prettily on the border between cozy and spooky, and Spirited Away is no exception. In this animated feature, 10-year-old Chihiro and her parents find themselves in what they believe is an abandoned amusement park. The only thing is, it’s not abandoned — after her parents transform into pigs, Chihiro must work at the park to free herself and her parents.
The Addams Family and Addams Family Values (1991, 1993, on Netflix)
A list like this isn’t all together spooky until The Addams Family finds itself on it. This series of films following the eponymous family is an essential part of many childhoods; so much so that it is enough to transcend generations. It’s the epitome of cozy–spooky—after all, what isn’t comforting about a macabre, morbid, and aristocratic family that loves one another so deeply?
Stranger Things (2016–present, on Netflix)
Stranger Things, at this point in time, needs no introduction, but if you’re one of the uninitiated: Set in the 1980s, neighborhood kids in a small town begin experiencing supernatural events, prompted by the disappearance of Joyce Byers’ son, Will.
Hocus Pocus (1993, on Apple)
In this beloved family classic, three witches are inadvertently resurrected by a teenage boy in Salem, Massachusetts on Halloween night, who must then try to live life in the 20th century. It’s a riotous time all around, perfect for candlelit viewings on October 31st.
Chilling Adventures of Sabrina (2018–present, on Netflix)
Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, a witchy coming-of-age story darker than what we’re used to on Sabrina, the Teenage Witch, is confoundingly absurd but no less entertaining to watch. It follows Sabrina, a half-witch, half-mortal teen, dressed impeccably in cardigans and sweaters, going through the motions of adolescence and high school, while battling evil along the way.
Photos from Netflix and IMdB
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