Mr. Harrigan’s Phone, Luckiest Girl Alive and 8 best Netflix movies to watch in October 2022
By Mads Lennon
Somehow September has flown by and we’re almost into October. The good news is it’s time for lots of new spooky Netflix movies and shows as Halloween inches closer.
This October, new Netflix movies include a Stephen King adaptation, Luckiest Girl Alive starring Mila Kunis, a serial killer thriller featuring Jessica Chastain, and a new stop-motion horror comedy film from Coraline director Henry Selick. There is a lot to be excited for this October as Netflix pulls out all the stops to deliver a great lineup of thrills and chills.
Whether you’re looking for something truly terrifying or a movie fit for the whole family to enjoy, the following list outlines the best Netflix movies to watch this October.
Best Netflix movies to watch in October 2022
Mr. Harrigan’s Phone, Oct. 5
Mr. Harrigan’s Phone is the latest in a seemingly continuous string of Stephen King adaptations (not that we’re complaining). This movie is based on the novella of the same name included in King’s If It Bleeds collection.
Part coming-of-age story and part horror film, Mr. Harrigan’s Phone follows Craig (It star Jaeden Martell), an outcast teenager that forms an unlikely bond with reclusive billionaire Mr. Harrigan (Donald Sutherland). When Craig’s companion passes away, he finds a way to keep in touch from beyond the grave—with unintended consequences.
Luckiest Girl Alive, Oct. 7
You might notice a trend with the Netflix movies arriving in October; many of them are based on books. Mila Kunis stars in Luckiest Girl Alive, which is adapted from Jessica Knoll’s best-selling novel of the same name.
Kunis plays Ani FaNelli, a New York Times writer who seems to have it all until she’s approached by a filmmaker planning to create a documentary on her high school. The documentarian threatens to bring up dark secrets of Ani’s past that cause her carefully constructed world to crumble around her.
The Curse of Bridge Hollow, Oct. 14
Fans of movies like Hocus Pocus and Halloweentown won’t want to miss out on The Curse of Bridge Hollow. This family-friendly holiday movie stars Stranger Things actress Priah Ferguson and comedian Marlon Wayans as a father-daughter duo that team up to defeat a mischievous spirit that starts bringing Halloween decorations to life.
The School for Good and Evil, Oct. 19
Move over Hogwarts; another enchanted school is coming our way in the highly-anticipated book adaptation of The School for Good and Evil.
Director Paul Feig (Spy, Ghostbusters) is bringing this movie to life, and it has an all-star cast that includes Charlize Theron, Kerry Washington, Laurence Fishburne, Michelle Yeoh, and more. Best friends Sophie and Agatha find themselves on opposing sides when they’re taken to a magical school where heroes and villains are trained to protect the balance between good and evil.
The Good Nurse, Oct. 26
The Good Nurse is based on the true story of serial killer Charles Cullen (played by Eddie Redmayne). Cullen is considered to be the most prolific serial killer in recorded history, but his killings were more sporadic than the average killer, and thus his motives were murky at best. He killed at least 40 patients and possibly more across his 16-year career as a nurse.
The film is adapted from The Good Nurse: A True Story of Medicine, Madness, and Murder by Charles Graeber, which Netflix is also using as the basis for an upcoming documentary Capturing the Killer Nurse. In The Good Nurse, Jessica Chastain plays a nurse in the movie. Her character becomes suspicious of her colleague after a string of mysterious patient deaths and risks her life to uncover the truth.
Hellhole, Oct. 26
If you’re looking for a more traditional horror movie to watch in October, Hellhole is a Polish film from the creators of Nobody Sleeps In The Woods Tonight. Set in a monastery in 1987, Hellhole follows the monks there who run a clinic to aid people who have been possessed. A police officer investigating mysterious disappearances infiltrates the remote monastery and discovers a dark truth about its clergy.
All Quiet on the Western Front, Oct. 28
Grimme Award winner Edward Berger directs this epic anti-war drama based on the classic, best-selling novel by Erich Maria Remarque. Part of why Berger was interested in doing another cinematic version of the book is to showcase the film from a German perspective, as Remarque was a German WWI veteran.
In 1917 Germany, Paul Bäumer lies about his age so he can enlist in the war along with his friends, all of whom have very romanticized notions of what it means to be a soldier. When the reality of war settles in, Paul finds himself in over his head with little training.
Wendell and Wild, Oct. 28
Scheming demon brothers (voiced by Keegan Michael-Key and Jordan Peele) convince a 13-year-old girl named Kat to help summon them to the Land of the Living in this highly-anticipated stop-motion horror comedy film from Coraline director Henry Selick based on a screenplay he wrote with Peele.
Which of the Netflix movies on this list are you most excited to watch in October?