5 horror movies perfect for back-to-school time and where to stream them

Whether we like it or not, summer is winding down. We're losing daylight, and across the United States, school is back in session or nearing that point. At least we have spooky season to look forward to. Additionally, there are plenty of horror movies with a high school setting. Here are five of our favorites, including where to stream them.

Carrie

One of the quintessential high school movies is Carrie, Brian De Palma's 1976 adaptation of Stephen King's novel. The movie stars Sissy Spacek as an outcast who's bullied by her peers. The film's opening really underscores how much the other girls dislike Carrie, and it's a sequence that's hard to forget. Meanwhile, Piper Laurie plays Carrie's overbearing and uber-religious mother who doesn't want her daughter to have any fun, which includes going to prom.

However, while Carrie thinks she has a dreamy prom date, the event ends up turning into a horrible prank. This causes the teen to enact brutal revenge using her telekinetic powers. The movie also features a very young John Travolta in 70s attire. With Mike Flanagan's Carrie TV series set to debut this fall, now's a great time to watch the initial movie.

Carrie is currently streaming on Prime Video, Tubi, and Pluto TV.

The Craft

Like Carrie, The Craft is another movie about outcasts, in this case, four high school girls who practice witchcraft. The movie stars Fairuza Balk as Nancy, Robin Tunney as new girl Sarah, Neve Campbell as Bonnie, and Rachel True as Rochelle. Together, the girls empower each other and help each other overcome their various traumas. However, Nancy takes her power a little too far, which eventually pits her against Sarah.

The movie is a staple of the 90s and has so many quotable lines, especially, "We are the weirdos, mister." It's also a great watch at the beginning of the school year.

The Craft is currently streaming on Prime Video and PLEX. It's also available to rent on other digital platforms.

Scream

Writer/director Wes Craven's Scream is another movie with so many quotable lines. It's also one of the most influential horror movies of the last 30 years because of its meta commentary about the slasher genre. It introduced the world to Ghostface and final girl Sydney (Neve Campbell), and it spawned an entire franchise that's now seven movies deep.

The first movie deserves to be on this list because it follows a group of high schoolers in Woodsboro, California, who are terrorized by brutal murders. This also has a stellar cast that would quickly become 90s stars after this movie's immense popularity. Besides Campbell, there film's cast includes Jamie Kennedy, Matthew Lillard, David Arquette, Skeet Ulrich, and Rose McGowan, not to mention Drew Barrymore's role.

Scream is currently streaming on Paramount+, Prime Video, and Hulu. It's also available to rent on other digital platforms.

Cherry Falls

For whatever reason, Cherry Falls still flies under the radar, but it's a really fun slasher. In the sleepy Virginia town of Cherry Falls, a black-haired killer murders teens, but unlike other slasher movies, the killer's victims are virgins. It's a clever reversal of a horror trope that's long dominated the genre, especially in the 1980s.

Besides the fact that Cherry Falls is a really enjoyable movie, it also warrants a watch because it stars the late, great Brittany Murphy as Jody Marken. By this point, Murphy was already a star, thanks to Clueless, but it's a real treat to see her in a horror movie. If you haven't heard of Cherry Falls, now is a great time to give it a watch.

Cherry Falls is currently streaming on Prime Video, Apple TV, and Philo. It's also available to rent on other digital platforms.

Halloween H20

There are A LOT of Halloween movies, but Halloween H20 is on this list because it takes place at a prep school. In this sequel, Laurie Strode (Jamie Lee Curtis) returns. To hide herself from Michael Myers, she's changed her name and is the principal at said prep school. Meanwhile, Laurie's son, John (Josh Harnett), is a student at the school, and eventually, Michael returns to finish what he started with Laurie 20 years ago. The cast is rounded out by other 90s mega stars, including Michelle Williams as John's girlfriend, Molly, Josheph Gordon-Levitt as Jimmy, Jodi Lyn O'Keefe as Sarah, and hip-hop icon LL Cool J as security guard Ronny. There's even a cool cameo by Curtis' mother, Janet Leigh, who starred in Psycho.

Halloween H20 is currently streaming on Max and Hulu. It's also available to rent on other digital platforms.