8 scary superhero movies to watch this Halloween

Chronicle

While not overtly a horror movie, Chronicle is horrifying in how it recontextualizes the classic superhero narrative in a hyper-realistic setting.

In a world where three friends can obtain superpowers through mysterious means, fun and whimsical adventures might await in the hands of someone else, but in the world director Josh Trank has created, it tells a story from the lens of a bullying and abuse victim (played marvelously by Dane DeHaan in a breakout role) who lets his emotions get the best of his powers.

The addition of making this a found footage film – released at a time where movies like Paranormal Activity were all the rage – provides an opportunity for an extra element of terror to be visually expressed. The lack of a score makes things feel extra creepy.

Brightburn

While Chronicle displays subtle horror nuances, Brightburn takes the superhero narrative into a full-blown scary movie laced with jump scares and mortifying imagery.

The selling point of this film was always that it was an anti-Superman movie – retelling the idea of an alien crash-landing on and being raised on a farm, but rather than becoming a boy scout raised on values of truth, justice, and the American way, the boy causes a rampage all across town.

Who knows maybe this could lead to more anti superhero movies.