There are some holidays that have become synonymous with major live events — a parade or perhaps a ball drop — but Halloween belongs to the streamers. This year, Hulu’s Huluween, now in its fifth year, and Disney+’s Hallowstream celebration make the Disney Bundle a destination for every kind of Halloween viewer, whether you’re looking for scares, sass, or even sports.
HULUWEEN
Hulu will kick off its iconic Huluween celebration with the premiere of Huluween Dragstravaganza, a hilarious drag variety show hosted by fan favorites Ginger Minj and Monét X Change.
The two superstars are trapped in the TV, and the only way out is to host a hilarious Huluween TV special with a troupe of iconic queens (and a major special musical guest) who take the stage in original musical numbers, sketch comedy, and more!
The one-hour show will stream exclusively on Hulu beginning October 1, and the hair (and heel!)-raising scream-worthy teaser premiered today. You can watch it below.
The Huluween hub will continue to serve as the go-to streaming destination for every type of Halloween content, including recent buzzworthy film releases Prey, No Exit, Hatched and Abandoned (10/21), anticipated premieres like A Sinister Halloween Scary Opposites Solar Special (10/3), Hellraiser (10/7), The Paloni Show! Halloween Special! (10/17), Antlers (10/11), and legendary favorites like The Rocky Horror Picture Show (10/1), The Sixth Sense (10/1), Monster House (10/1), and the Blade trilogy (10/1).
Chilling, can’t-miss TV series include American Horror Stories, The X-Files, Stephen King’s Storm of the Century, SurrealEstate (10/6), the hilarious What We Do in the Shadows, and many more.
This year also marks the anniversaries of unforgettable classics such as Predator (35th Anniversary), The Hand that Rocks the Cradle (30th Anniversary, streaming 10/1), Hotel Transylvania (10th Anniversary), and the Buffy the Vampire Slayer series (25th Anniversary).
The Huluween celebrations won’t stop at the screen. This year, Huluween enthusiasts can revel on both coasts, with Hulu taking part in Salem, Massachusetts’ annual Haunted Happenings celebration on October 31 and LA’s terrifying Haunted Hayride from October 19-31 (ex. 10/24).
Also premiering on October 1 is the third season of Bite Size Halloween, featuring 21 brand-new shorts that explore different areas of the horror genre and provide a platform for exciting up-and-coming filmmakers.
Viewers should be on the lookout for some familiar faces, including Tatiana Maslany, Misha Osherovich, Brigette Lundy-Paine, David Costabile, and more.
As previously announced, several of the Bite Size shorts have been developed into feature films, and this year Hulu will release Grimcutty on October 10 and Matriarch on October 21.
HALLOWSTREAM ON DISNEY+
This fall, Disney+ will host its third annual Hallowstream‘ celebration. With Halloween traditions like Hocus Pocus, The Nightmare Before Christmas, and The Simpsons Treehouse of Horror Collection, eerie episodes from WandaVision, Glee, and Even Stevens, and further frights like Halloweentown, Muppets Haunted Mansion, and Zombies 3, the Halloween Collection on Disney+ offers tricks and treats for all ages.
Hallowstream 2022 brings brand-boo releases including the return of the iconic Sanderson sisters in Hocus Pocus 2 (9/30), and Marvel Studios’ first-ever special presentation Werewolf by Night (10/7). Families can also pick up their mics to new Sing-Along releases of fan-favorite films, including The Nightmare Before Christmas Sing-Along (9/30) and Into the Woods Sing-Along (10/4).
Hallowstream fans in Los Angeles can check out some of the collection’s most wicked offerings on the big screen at one of LA’s oldest cemeteries — the legendary Hollywood Forever Cemetery — with fan-favorite screenings on Friday, October 7 and Saturday, October 8. Bites and treats will be available for purchase from Smorgasburg.
ESPN+
Sports fans will enjoy a ghost-busting Halloween, too, when Peyton and Eli’s Spooky Adventure: A Places Universe Special debuts on ESPN+ on October 23. Join brothers Peyton and Eli Manning in the Places Universe as they look for the ghost of Notre Dame’s most legendary football player.
For other chilling stories centered around sports, the ESPN+ True Crime collection includes titles like The Life & Trials of Oscar Pistorius, OJ: Made in America, The Two Escobars, and more.
NEW FILMS, SERIES AND SPECIALS
Super/Natural (Disney+ Original Series, September 21) – Executive produced by James Cameron and narrated by Academy Award-nominated and BAFTA Award-winning actor Benedict Cumberbatch (“Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness,” “Power of the Dog”), this spine-tingling documentary series from National Geographic will utilize the latest scientific innovations and leading-edge filmmaking technology to reveal the secret powers and super-senses of the world’s most extraordinary animals.
The series invites viewers to see and hear beyond normal perception to witness nature in its eerie wonder — from vampiric jumping spiders with a lust for blood and glow-in-the-dark squirrels to the super-skills and magical forces of both the hunters and the hunted.
Hocus Pocus 2 (Disney+ Original Movie, September 30) – A Disney+ Original movie debuting September 30, 2022, exclusively on Disney+, the live-action comedy “Hocus Pocus 2” is a haunting sequel to the Halloween classic which brings back the delightfully wicked Sanderson sisters for more comedic mayhem.
“Hocus Pocus 2” stars Bette Midler (“The First Wives Club,” “Beaches”), Sarah Jessica Parker (“Sex and the City,” “Divorce”), and Kathy Najimy (“Sister Act,” “Younger”), and is directed by Anne Fletcher (“Dumplin,’” “The Proposal”).
It’s been 29 years since someone lit the Black Flame Candle and resurrected the 17th-century sisters, and they are looking for revenge. Now it is up to three high-school students to stop the ravenous witches from wreaking a new kind of havoc on Salem before dawn on All Hallow’s Eve.
“Hocus Pocus 2” also stars Sam Richardson (“The Tomorrow War”), Doug Jones (“The Shape of Water”), Hannah Waddingham (“Ted Lasso”), Whitney Peak (“Gossip Girl”), Belissa Escobedo (“American Horror Stories”), Lilia Buckingham (“Dirt”), Froy Gutierrez (“Teen Wolf”), and Tony Hale (“Veep”).
The film is produced by Lynn Harris (“King Richard,” “The Shallows”), with Ralph Winter (“Hocus Pocus,” “X-Men” franchise), David Kirschner (“Hocus Pocus,” “Chucky”), and Adam Shankman (“Disenchanted,” “Hairspray”) serving as executive producers.
Under Wraps 2 (New to Disney+, September 30) – “Under Wraps 2” picks up Marshall (Malachi Barton), Gilbert (Christian J. Simon), and Amy (Sophia Hammons) are getting ready to attend Amy’s father’s Spooktacular Halloween-themed wedding. However, plans soon go awry when the three friends discover their mummy pal Harold (Phil Wright) and his beloved Rose (Rryla McIntosh) may be in danger.
Sobek (T.J. Storm), an evil mummy with a 1000-year-old grudge against his best friend-turned-bitter-rival Harold, is unexpectedly awakened and out for revenge. With help from his hypnotized lacky Larry (Jordan Conley), Sobek kidnaps Rose. Gilbert, Marshall, Buzzy (Melanie Brook), and Harold must use their skills once again to save her and get back in time to attend the wedding.
The Nightmare Before Christmas (Sing-Along Version) (New to Disney+, September 30) – Sing along with your favorite songs with on-screen lyrics as you watch “Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas.”
Huluween Dragstravaganza Variety Show (October 1) – Two world-famous drag superstars, Ginger Minj and Monét X Change, are trapped in the TV – and the only way out is to host a hilarious variety show. Our drag hosts and a troupe of queens and kings – including Mo Heart, Jujubee, Manila Luzon, Lady Bunny, Jackie Beat, Selene Luna, Landon Cider, and Mario Diaz – take the stage in original musical numbers, sketch comedy, and more.
With a special A-list musical guest and surprise cameos to delight horror fans, this is going to be a Huluween Dragstravaganza to remember.
A Sinister Halloween Scary Opposites Solar Special (Hulu Original, October 3) – Sometimes alien life can be spooky. The Solar Opposites do a Halloween Special!
SurrealEstate: Complete Season 1 (Hulu Original, October 6) – Realtor Luke Roman and an elite team of specialists handle the cases that no one else can: haunted and possessed houses that literally scare would-be buyers away.
Hellraiser (Hulu Original Film, October 7) – A new take on Clive Barker’s 1987 horror classic in which a young woman struggling with addiction comes into possession of an ancient puzzle box, unaware that its purpose is to summon the Cenobites, a group of sadistic supernatural beings from another dimension.
The ensemble cast includes Odessa A’zion (Grand Army), Jamie Clayton (The L Word: Generation Q, Sense8), Adam Faison (Everything’s Gonna Be Okay, Yes Day), Drew Starkey (Outer Banks, The Devil All the Time), Brandon Flynn (Ratched, 13 Reasons Why), and Aoife Hinds (The Long Call, Normal People).
Also on board are Jason Liles (Stereoscope, Rampage), Yinka Olorunnife (The Transporter), Selina Lo (Boss Level, Q8 Unleashed), Zachary Hing (Halo), Kit Clarke (Leonardo), with Goran Visnjic (The Boys, Timeless) and Hiam Abbass (Succession, Blade Runner 2049).
Marvel Studios’ first Special Presentation: Werewolf by Night (Disney+ Original Special, October 7) – On a dark and somber night, a secret cabal of monster hunters emerge from the shadows and gather at the foreboding Bloodstone Temple following the death of their leader. In a strange and macabre memorial to the leader’s life, the attendees are thrust into a mysterious and deadly competition for a powerful relic—a hunt that will ultimately bring them face to face with a dangerous monster.
Inspired by horror films of the 1930s and 1940s, the chilling special aims to evoke a sense of dread and macabre, with plenty of suspense and scares along the way as we explore a new corner of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
“Werewolf by Night” is directed by Michael Giacchino and stars Gael Garcia Bernal, Laura Donnelly, and Harriet Sansom Harris.
Grimcutty (Hulu Original Film, October 10) – In this modern creature feature, a scary internet meme called Grimcutty stirs up panic amongst all the parents in town, convinced it’s making their kids harm themselves and others. When a real-life version of Grimcutty starts attacking teen Asha Chaudry (Sara Wolfkind), her parents believe that she’s cutting herself as part of a challenge.
With her phone taken away and no one who believes her, Asha has to figure out how to get through to her parents and stop the Grimcutty once and for all. Grimcutty is written and directed by John William Ross and stars Shannyn Sossamon (Wayward Pines, Sleepy Hollow), Usman Ally (A Series of Unfortunate Events, Veep), Alona Tal (Seal Team), and newcomer Sara Wolfkind.
Into the Woods Sing-Along Version (New to Disney+, October 14) – Sing along with your favorite songs with on-screen lyrics as you watch “Into the Woods.”
The Paloni Show! Halloween Special! (Hulu Original, October 17) – From creator Justin Roiland (Solar Opposites, Rick and Morty), The Paloni Show! Halloween Special! premieres October 17, 2022, on Hulu. In this special, Leroy, Reggie, and Cheruce Paloni have been given the opportunity of a lifetime to be the hosts of an unforgettable Halloween Special full of “spooky” shorts from a group of up-and-coming animators. The Paloni Show! Halloween Special!, executive produced by Roiland and Ben Bayouth, comes from 20th Television Animation.
Abandoned (Hulu, October 21) – Directed by Spencer Squire, Abandoned follows Sara (Emma Roberts), her husband Alex (John Gallagher Jr.), and their infant son as they move into a new home, which harbors a dark, tragic past. As their home’s history is revealed, the mother’s postpartum depression escalates to a state of psychosis that jeopardizes her own safety and that of her newborn son.
Matriarch (Hulu Original Film, October 21) – After an overdose nearly takes her life, Laura Birch (Jemima Rooper, The Girlfriend Experience, Flowers in the Attic: The Origin) escapes from the high-stakes pressure of the advertising world to return to her roots. Accepting an invitation home from her estranged mother (Kate Dickie, Game of Thrones, The Green Knight), Laura hopes the time away in the secluded English village will help calm the demons raging inside of her.
She soon discovers that the locals of the town are all protecting an unspeakably dark secret—a secret that involves not only her mother but her own terrifying destiny as well. Matriarch is from writer/director Ben Steiner and is a thematic successor to Steiner’s 2018 20th Digital short Urn. The film also stars Sarah Paul, Franc Ashman, and Keith David Bartlett.
Peyton and Eli’s Spooky Adventure: A Places Universe Special (ESPN+ Original, October 23) – When two Irish football players see the ghost of Notre Dame’s most legendary football player, head coach Marcus Freeman calls in Peyton, Eli and Jerome Bettis for a ghost busting Halloween adventure.
Dancing with the Stars (Live on Disney+, Every Monday) – Every week, look forward to themed episodes with spectacular new costumes and dances culminating in the ultimate haunted ballroom on October 31.
Mirko Parlevliet has been reporting on the entertainment industry since 1998 and founded Vital Thrills to provide the latest news on streaming, movies, and TV shows. He previously created the websites ComingSoon, SuperHeroHype, and ShockTillYouDrop.