streaming guide
Many babysitting horror movies originate from the “babysitter and the man upstairs” urban legend: a babysitter who receives threatening phone calls only to realize that the calls are coming from inside the house.
Creepy Catalog obsessively tracks the best horror movies streaming on Netflix, Prime Video, Max, Hulu, Shudder, Peacock, Paramount+, and Tubi. You can check our individual guides for our selections from each platform. This streaming guide is a weekly round up of new releases and the best hidden gems streaming each weekend with an aim to include mostly free content already included in streaming services you may already have:
I mean, should we really be rewarding Meg Ryan’s intense stalking?
Need a reminder of this classic? Tom Hanks plays Sam, a widower whose son calls in to a self-help radio show for advice about how to help his grieving father. Annie (Meg Ryan) falls in love with Sam when he gets on the show and bares his soul to the host. She hires a private investigator and uses her contacts from work to track down Sam and even flies across the country to show up at his house.
Parasocial relationships occur when someone feels a one-sided connection to a celebrity or public figure. In Sleepless in Seattle, Annie is one of hundreds of women who heard one 15-minute radio segment and fell in love with a man they don’t know.
That’s the danger with parasocial relationships: fans can feel like they have a real relationship with someone when it’s really only one-way.
In 2025, the dangers of parasocial relationships are even more prevalent. With smartphones in our pockets and apps like ChatGPT, TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube, we see even more of our favorite actors, musicians, and influencers. Fans will find out where their favorite YouTubers live and just show up at their homes.
Meg Ryan’s Annie falling in love with Tom Hanks’ Sam shows how easy it can happen. And the fact that her plan to lure him and his son to the Empire State Building works and they end up hand-in-hand? It could be the proof a weirdo needs to justify their obsession.
Still, do we penalize Sleepless in Seattle for how gross this situation would be in real life? Do we admonish the stalking and the inappropriate fan relationship, relegating this rom-com classic to the dumpster of forgotten films? Or do we love it for what it really is: A fantasy that shows how important it is to find someone who makes your heart race when you finally brush hands?
Let’s leave the conclusion to Meg Ryan and Rosie O’Donnell’s characters toward the end of the movie:
Here are the movies and shows that should be on your radar this weekend (2/23):
Dark Harvest (2023). Streaming on Prime Video. This spooky scarecrow movie takes place on Halloween night as teens in a small farming community come together for their annual attempt to stop a demon named Sawtooth Jack from wreaking havoc on their town.
History of Evil (2024). Streaming on Shudder. A family of outlaws in a near future police state take refuge at a safe house with a dark history. Premieres on Shudder Friday, Feb. 23.
Prey for the Bride (2024). Streaming on Tubi. A Tubi original slasher movie about a group of girlfriends celebrating a bachelorette party at a remote home in Napa Valley. Someone wearing a wolf mask stalks and terrorizes the women, setting out to even the score regarding a secret from their past. Read our review here.
Mea Culpa (2024). Streaming on Netflix. New on Netflix is this steamy Tyler Perry thriller stars Kelly Rowland as a lawyer who takes on the controversial defense of an artist accused of killing his girlfriend.
The Tourist (2022-2024). Streaming on Netflix. Stephen King tweeted about his love for this drama thriller series. Jamie Dornan stars as a man in Australia who wakes up from a car crash with no memory of who he is. Season 1 is on Netflix now and season 2 will be added next week on 2/29.
The Swerve (2020). Streaming on Prime Video. This horror drama follows Holly (Azura Skye), a depressed and overworked mother who begins to lose her grip on reality.
Troll Hunter (2010). Streaming on Prime Video. A surprisingly scary Norwegian found footage horror movie about a trio of college students attempting to document the activities of a suspected bear poacher named Hans. After the group is attacked by a troll, the man admits he is actually a troll hunter. They decide to continue following Hans and hope to capture video evidence of the troll.
This week in horror news:
- The second trailer for Alex Garland’s upcoming Civil War looks even better than the first.
- Jenna Ortega says her character in the upcoming Beetlejuice 2 is Lydia Deetz’s daughter.
- True Detective has been renewed for another season.
- Julia Fox will be in Monkeypaw’s next horror movie.
- Full list of upcoming horror movies.