The Strangers and 20 best Halloween movies and shows to watch on Netflix (plus 12 to skip) in 2023

Nightbooks

We’ve already mentioned a few family-friendly Halloween movies on Netflix to help parents looking for something spooky to watch with their kids as they settle down from their post-trick-or-treating sugar high. Nightbooks is another often overlooked Netflix movie that belongs among the list of annual Halloween rewatches.

Jessica Jones star Krysten Ritter is excellent as the evil child-stealing witch Natacha who has taken Yasmin (Lidya Jewett) and Alex (Winslow Fegley) hostage inside her reality-bending home that seems to travel on a whim through time and space.

In a twist on the classic “Hansel and Gretel” fairytale, Natacha forces her captives to tell her scary stories every night. If they run out of material or fail to entertain her, she transforms them into macabre figurines adorning her shelves.

This dark fantasy film may be too scary for children under ten. Natacha is a terrifying witch, and she doesn’t get sanitized for young viewers, as is sometimes the case in these types of movies. She might look beautiful with her glittery eyeshadow and stylish fashion sense, but don’t be fooled.

Nightbooks is an excellent movie and introduction to the horror genre. It also boasts some dazzling creative production designs and is a joy to watch.

VERDICT: Watch

Add Nightbooks to your Netflix watchlist