Universal Pictures
Home is where the haunt is, although we can’t remember the last time that anyone had a haunted swimming pool like the one in Night Swim. The new horror thriller by writer and director Bryce McGuire stars Wyatt Russell and Kerry Condon as Ray and Eve Waller, with Amélie Hoeferle and Gavin Warren as their children, Izzy and Elliot Waller. Apparently, the Waller’s new home is a real fixer-upper, at least in the supernatural department. But they may want to stay out of the water if their pool really does have a ghost in it.
While there aren’t a lot of films with the exact same premise as this one, there are a lot of movies like Night Swim that share thematic similarities. There’s always something bumping in the night in these horror flicks, so you may want to watch them at home with the lights on.
Evil Dead Rise (2023)
New Line Cinema
Evil Dead Rise is not a typical haunt since the decrepit apartment building isn’t filled with ghosts or spirits. Or at least it wasn’t until young Danny (Morgan Davies) brought home a demonic book called The Naturom Demonto, which had been hidden away in a sealed-off area below the building’s parking structure. Once Danny plays a recording from the book, all hell breaks loose, and the Deadites return to Earth.
Danny’s mother, Ellie (Alyssa Sutherland), is the first to fall under the Deadite’s influence, and she relentlessly tries to slaughter her children and her sister, Beth (Lily Sullivan). Now, Beth and her nieces and nephew are trapped in the building by a literal demon, and Ellie’s final form is one of the most unsettling things in any of the Evil Dead flicks.
Watch Evil Dead Rise on Max.
The Boogeyman (2023)
20th Century Studios / 20th Century Studios
Stephen King’s The Boogeyman came to theaters last year, and this creature has a habit of following his victims home. Poor Lester Billings (David Dastmalchian) lost his entire family to the monster, and when he shared his story with his psychiatrist, Will Harper (Chris Messina), the creature latched on to him to continue its reign of terror.
Will’s youngest daughter, Sawyer (Obi-Wan Kenobi‘s Vivien Lyra Blair), is the first to notice that something evil has been lurking in her home. But it won’t be long before her older sister, Sadie (Yellowjackets‘ Sophie Thatcher), realizes the creature is also real. The question now is simple: How can the Harpers escape the fate of the Billings family when there’s nowhere safe to run?
Watch The Boogeyman on Hulu.
The Evil Next Door (2020)
Magnolia Pictures
Have you ever noticed that ghosts and demons tend to target children before they prey on adults? The Swedish horror film, The Evil Next Door, keeps that tradition alive when young Lucas (Eddie Eriksson Dominguez) is targeted by something evil. First, it pretends to be Lucas’ friend after he and his father, Fredrik (Linus Wahlgren), move into a home with Fredrik’s new wife, Shirin (Dilan Gwyn).
Shirin struggles to be a good stepmother to Lucas, but she doesn’t know what to think when Lucas claims that he’s made a friend in the duplex next door…which is the same home that’s been empty for years. Soon enough, Shirin will discover that the entity next door wants Lucas, and it may take a miracle to save this family.
Watch The Evil Next Door on Hulu.
Talk To Me (2022)
A24 / A24
One of the cardinal rules that’s often broken in horror movies is people go poking around in things that are beyond their comprehension. In Talk To Me, a group of teens led by Hayley (Zoe Terakes) and Joss (Chris Alosio) are in possession of an embalmed hand that offers a direct connection to the spirits of the afterlife. By allowing the spirits to enter their bodies and quickly breaking the connection, the teens experience a new kind of high. This proves to be enticing to Mia (Sophie Wilde), who isn’t over her mother Rhea’s death (Alexandria).
When Mia allows her best friend’s younger brother, Riley (Joe Bird), to use the hand, her desire to reconcile with her mother leads to disaster when the connection isn’t broken in time. Now, the spirits are in Riley, and they won’t leave his body without a fight.
Talk To Me is Available to rent or buy on Prime Video or other digital outlets.
Things Heard & Seen (2021)
Netflix
There are hauntings in Things Heard & Seen, but the Claire family has a lot more to fear than the things that live in the dark. Catherine (Amanda Seyfried) and her husband, George (James Norton), move into a home with their young daughter, Franny (Ana Sophia Heger). Soon after, Catherine is drawn to a ring that belonged to the home’s previous owner. Something supernatural is in play, even though Catherine can’t define it by herself.
As their marriage falls apart through mutual affairs with other people, Catherine loses faith in George. And when George’s secrets are threatened, he may prove to be more dangerous than any spirit could be.
Watch Things Heard & Seen on Netflix.
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