4 classic horror movies to watch on HBO Max this November

Halloween is behind us, and several streaming services, including HBO Max, aren't offering quite as many horror additions for November. However, the streamer still has plenty of newer genre movies to check out, including Backrooms, Weapons, Evil Dead Burn, Sinners, among others. It also has plenty of classic horror features that are worth a watch as we begin the gradual descent into the holiday season.

Here are four classic horror movies to check out on HBO Max this month

Scream (1996)

Besides The First Purge, Predator (2018), and a few other genre movies, HBO Max doesn't have a ton of new horror additions this month. However, it does have the classic 90s slasher Scream. Even if you've seen this movie, it's always worth a rewatch for its iconic lines, great characters, and maestro Wes Craven's brilliant script.

In the first movie, Neve Campbell stars as high school student Sidney Prescott. When a rash of killings upends the sleepy suburb of Woodsboro, she and her friends have to fend off Ghostface. Scream has such an iconic cast besides Campbell, including Courtney Cox as reporter Gale Weathers, David Arquette as Deputy Dewey, Rose McGowan as Tatum, Matthew Lillard as Stu, Jamie Kennedy as movie nerd Randy, and Skeet Ulrich as Billy.

The Exorcist (1973)

Like Scream, The Exorcist is another one of those movies that warrants rewatches. Director William Friedkin's 1973 film is a masterclass in tension and suspense. It stars Linda Blair as the young Regan MacNeil, who's eventually possessed by a demon, while her mother, movie star Chris MacNeil (Ellen Burstyn), tries everything to save her daughter, including painful medical tests and psychiatric exams. She eventually enlists the help of two priests to battle the demon. Like the rest of the cast, Jason Miller as Father Damien Karras and Max von Sydow as Father Merrin are fantastic in their roles.

With Mike Flanagan's The Exorcist: Martyrs releasing in March, now is a great time to revisit the initial film or watch it for the first time.

A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984)

If you're seeking another movie to pair with Scream, check out Wes Craven's earlier slasher movie, A Nightmare on Elm Street. This is the movie that introduced Freddy Kreuger (Robert Englund) to the world, along with final girl Nancy (Heather Langenkamp). In this first film, Freddy terrorizes Nancy and her friends in their dreams as payback for the fact their parents burned him alive because, well, he's a pedophile.

More than 40 years later, the practical effects in this movie really, really hold up, especially regarding Tina's (Amanda Wyss) fate and some of the other sequences, too. A Nightmare on Elm Street would spawn several sequels and eventually turn Freddy into a pop culture, MTV generation icon, but the first movie remains the best, with Dream Warriors a close second.

Eyes Without a Face (1960)

If you want a horror movie that's well, a little less American, check out the French film Eyes Without a Face. The movie focuses on a mad doctor who kidnaps young women to graft their faces onto his disfigured daughter, Christiane (Edith Scob). Even all these years later, so many scenes in this film are unsettling, especially the grafting sequence and the rigid and expressionless mask that covers Christiane's face. This movie is so dream-like and unnerving.

Hopefully, these movies will help you beat the post-Halloween blues. Happy streaming!