3 Best Movies To Watch On HBO Max This Weekend (October 31-Nov 1)

Image credit: Daniel Smith/©Warner Bros./courtesy Everett Collection Published Oct 30, 2026, 9:08 PM EDT Felipe Rangel is a Movie and TV Journalist ScreenRant. He has been writing about movies and TV since 2021. Felipe joined ScreenRant in 2022, working across different teams, covering everything from breaking news to features to reviews and more. Felipe is a writer who is an avid film and TV fan, with superhero movies and series being his biggest passion. He graduated from college in 2019, having studied Journalism. Before college, he spent a month studying at the Oxford English Centre. His superhero knowledge expands to the comics, with his undergraduate thesis being "Politics Reflected In American Comics." Sign in to your ScreenRant account HBO Max subscribers have two exciting horror movies to watch this Halloween weekend on the streamer, and they are accompanied by a mystery hit from a director who is having a massive year in 2026. On last weekend's HBO Max movie recommendations, I talked about the classic horror crossover between two legends Freddy vs. Jason, the sensual dramedy The Invite, and the R-rated rom-com Anyone but You. At the time of writing, all three of those movies continue to trend on HBO Max's Top 10 Movies chart in the United States. Sydney Sweeney and Glen Powel's rom-com, Anyone But You, is the lowest one on the list at 8th. Right above it was last weekend's lonely horror movie on HBO Max, Freddy vs. Jason, as the streamer's 7th biggest film. At the top of the chart as HBO Max's most-watched movie in the US right now is Olivia Wilde's The Invite. I looked at the chart to pick an exciting horror movie for HBO Max subscribers who are looking to celebrate Halloween in style with a scary release this weekend. It is also not alone when it comes to genre releases. There is another horror movie on our new HBO Max weekend recommendations, and it is a timely release both due to how it arrives on the streamer this weekend, but also due to how this classic slasher franchise is a fan-favorite for Halloween season. The only non-horror movie on the list is a detective action film helmed by a genre master. These are the best movies to watch on HBO Max this weekend: 3 Evil Dead Burn (2026) Evil Dead Burn is the only movie that is currently trending on HBO Max in the United States, being the 10th most popular film on the streaming service. Burn was released in theaters on July 10, being the latest addition to the horror franchise created by prolific director and producer Sam Raimi. That said, it was not helmed by Raimi, but by up-and-coming director Sébastien Vaniček. Evil Dead Burn focuses on Souheila Yacoub's Alice as she tries to heal from her husband's death through a family reunion. However, once the Price family members slowly begin to be turned into Deadites, the horror franchise's term for beings possessed by demons. Evil Dead Burn also stars Netflix fan-favorites Hunter Doohan (Wednesday) and Luciane Buchanan (The Night Agent). 2 Scream (1996) The final horror movie on our HBO Max recommendations this Halloween weekend is the original Scream. Few horror movies come close to the slasher's iconic status as the first entry in one of the biggest movie franchises of all time, especially when it comes to the horror genre. Scream introduces the Ghostface killer with stars like Neve Campbell, Courteney Cox, Matthew Lillard, Skeet Ulrich, and more. Scream is one of the many movies being released on HBO Max in November. The smash hit slasher arrives on HBO Max on Sunday, November 1. Anyone looking for a mysterious horror movie with plenty of stars, an interesting concept, and a lot of blood will find one of the most entertaining horror films in the form of 1996's Scream. 1 Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows (2011) Finally, Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows is the only non-horror movie on our HBO Max weekend recommendations. For those looking for a different type of project this Halloween, Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows offers an action-packed adventure with the most popular detective ever, with Robert Downey Jr. playing Sherlock and Jude Law as John Watson. Guy Ritchie directed the sequel to 2009's Sherlock Holmes. There are a few reasons why the movie, which sees Holmes and Watson try to stop Jared Harris' Professor Moriarty across Europe, is a timely option. First, like Scream, Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows releases on HBO Max on November 1. Additionally, Downey will return in a big way as Doctor Doom in December's Avengers: Doomsday, so watching the movie is a way to help in the wait. Finally, Ritchie was one of the key creatives behind Prime Video's Young Sherlock series this year, so his Sherlock Holmes movie continues that streak on HBO Max. Evil Dead Burn 7/10 Release Date July 7, 2026 Runtime 110 minutes A widow seeks solace at her in-laws' secluded residence, only to witness their transformation into Deadites. Cast Tandi Wright, Souheila Yacoub, Hunter Doohan, Luciane Buchanan, Erroll Shand, Maude Davey, George Pullar, Greta van den Brink, Keanu Karim, Victory Ndukwe, Alain Chabat, Michael Hurst, Tapiwa Soropa, Shyamal Singh, Isis De Souza, Rosalie Button, Lara Macgregor, Toby Langdon, Coco White, Keagan Carr Fransch, Florine Silva, Justin Benn, Ezra Shnayderman, Zoë Brunton, Alyssa Sutherland Director Sébastien Vanicek Scream Release Date December 20, 1996 Runtime 112 minutes Wes Craven flipped the horror-slasher genre on its head with his 1996 film Scream, which would be the first in a long-running franchise. As the town of Woodsboro is beset by a series of murders committed by a dangerous ghost mask-wearing killer with an obsession for classic horror movies, a ragtag group combines forces to thwart him with lessons learned from the genre. Cast Neve Campbell, David Arquette, Courteney Cox, Matthew Lillard, Rose McGowan, Skeet Ulrich, Jamie Kennedy, W. Earl Brown, Joseph Whipp, Liev Schreiber, Drew Barrymore, Roger L. Jackson, Kevin Patrick Walls, David Booth, Carla Hatley, Lawrence Hecht, Lois Saunders, Lisa Beach, Tony Kilbert, C.W. Morgan, Frances Lee McCain, Troy Bishop, Ryan Kennedy, Leonora Scelfo, Nancy Anne Ridder Director Wes Craven Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows 7/10 Release Date December 16, 2011 Runtime 129 minutes Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows is a 2011 mystery action film featuring Robert Downey Jr. as detective Sherlock Holmes. The story follows Holmes and his companion Dr. John Watson as they confront their formidable adversary, Professor Moriarty, whose schemes threaten to alter the course of history. Cast Robert Downey Jr., Jude Law, Noomi Rapace, Jared Harris, Rachel McAdams, Eddie Marsan, Kelly Reilly, Stephen Fry, Paul Anderson, Geraldine James, William Houston, Wolf Kahler, Iain Mitchell, Jack Laskey, Patricia Slater, Karima McAdams, Richard Cunningham, Marcus Shakesheff, Mark Sheals, George Taylor, Michael Webber, Mike Grady, Alexandre Carril, Victor Carril, Thorston Manderlay Director Guy Ritchie