Climax

What is it: Those prone to seasickness, look away now. Climax, the latest film from enfant terrible director Gaspar Noé spins, rolls and lurches, leaving some viewers as sick as the characters. A French dance troupe who drink a drug-spiked punch that leads them to lose their minds and embark on an odyssey of violence, mutilation and incest.

What the critics said: “Noé has made what might be his most accessible and, yes, tender film to date, teasing the idea of heavenly bliss — before heading straight to hell.“⁠—Hau Chu, Washington Post

Crawl

What is it: Just when you thought it was safe to go back into the (crocodile-infested) water, Crawl comes out. Kaya Scodelario plays a former competition swimmer who, driving to see if her father is OK in a hurricane, finds herself trapped in his house with some killer crocs in this wildly entertaining B-movie.

What the critics said: “Crawl is, exactly and unapologetically, what it is: a high-tension claustrophobic thriller that keeps raising its own creature-feature stakes.“⁠—Anton Bitel, Little White Lies

The Dead Don’t Die

What is it: Though hated by some critics, this all-star cast (Bill Murray, Adam Driver, Iggy Pop, Selena Gomez) movie is a supremely fun zombie comedy hangout, featuring Tilda Swinton in a scene-stealing turn as a mortician-turned-samurai ready to attack as the undead take over a small American town.

What the critics said: “It’s a film that lazily whistles past the graveyard as it brings that graveyard back to ravenous life.“⁠—Chris Nashawaty, Entertainment Weekly

Happy Death Day 2U

What is it: A fun slasher film take on Groundhog Day (Groundhog Slay, if you will), this sequel to 2017’s Happy Death Day adds a second time-travel twist by having Tree Glebman (Jessica Rothe) relive a different version of the same day again as a second killer goes on a rampage.

What the critics said: “This film is basically just ridiculous nonsense. I had a ton of fun.“⁠—Amy Nicholson, FilmWeek

Little Monsters

What is it: A manchild has to team up with a ukelele-playing Lupita Nyong’o as a school field trip to a farm gets overrun by zombies in this effective Australian comedy also starring Josh Gad as a foul-mouthed kids presenter.

What the critics said: “Little Monsters’ biggest charm is in the surprising humor it imbues into every moment, carefully weaving between pop culture commentary, light satire, and emotional heft.“⁠—Rosie Knight, IGN

Where to watch: In cinemas October 8 and on Hulu October 11

Midsommar

What is it: Ari Aster’s follow-up to Hereditary is a dense piece of Nordic nastiness that sees Florence Pugh and Jack Reynor head to a rural Scandinavian commune for a few days of violence, suicide and eating pubes in pies.

What the critics said: “This is a conceptual, highly visceral experience, from the graphic gore — which the camera lingers on long enough to be unsettling but without ever feeling exploitative — to the creepy tone, which relies on seeming innocuous even as something ominous lurks beneath the surface.“⁠—Matthew Rozsa, Salon

Where to watch: Available to buy on YouTube, Google Play and the Apple Store

Ready or Not

What is it: Hide-and-seek never felt so horrifying than in this recent release that sees Samara Weaving play a bride hunted by her groom’s family as part of a strange wedding tradition.

What the critics said: “Here’s another horror about grotesque family rituals — sillier and less substantial than Get Out and Midsommar, but rollicking fun.“⁠—Ed Potton, The Times

Where to watch: In cinemas now

Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark

What is it: The children’s book series that frightened 1980s and ’90s kids everywhere gets a big budget makeover produced by Guillermo del Toro, which sees a group of teens terrified after the gruesome stories they read in a book start to come true.

What the critics said: “If there ever was a case of a film adaptation improving on the original source material, this is it.“⁠—Andrea Gronvall, Chicago Reader

Where to watch: In cinemas now

Us

What is it: Following the smash hit of Get Out, Jordan Peele widens his scope for second film Us, which sees a family and their friends (including Lupita Nyong’o in the first of her two horror roles this year) terrorised by their ‘shadow selves’.

What the critics said: “With Us, Peele confirms what a master of slow-building tension he is, but he also reminds us he can be pretty funny too.“⁠—Jason Di Rosso, ABC News Australia

Velvet Buzzsaw

What is it: One of Netflix’s stranger offerings, Velvet Buzzsaw assembles a starry cast (Jake Gyllenhaal, Toni Collette and John Malkovich) for a film that may be the first ever horror film to feature semi-sentient sculptures, paintings and tattoos as its killers.

What the critics said: “Its ideas are silly, but Jake Gyllenhaal delivers them with such goofy passion that who cares?“⁠—Inkoo Kang, Slate

Where to watch: Streaming on Netflix now