Before he tackled The Lord of the Rings, director Peter Jackson teamed up with Michael J. Fox for this film about a local man who can see and interact with ghosts, and teams up with them to scam people. Those ghosts then start to get picked off by an evil force and everyone has to team up to stop it. The movie is super creepy and really funny, with great action and effects. It’s without a doubt an ode and update to the legacy of Ghostbusters. We dove into it here.

Where can I watch The Frighteners?

The Frighteners is currently available to rent from Amazon Prime Video, Google Play, YouTube, Apple TV, Vudu, and most other digital services. You can also buy it from those outlets, and more.

Another one of those recently released movies that time almost forgot, Love and Monsters is good enough to endure. Seven years after monsters took over the world, Dylan O’Brien (The Maze Runner) stars as a man who decides to attempt a long trek to reunite with his girlfriend. Part teen film, part rom-com, part monster movie, this has something for everyone.

Where can I watch Love and Monsters?

Love and Monsters is currently streaming for subscribers of Hulu, Paramount+, Epix, and DirectTV. You can also rent and buy it from Amazon Prime Video, Google Play, YouTube, Apple TV, Vudu, and most other digital services.

Released the exact same date as the original Ghostbusters (June 8, 1984, it’s true, look it up), Joe Dante’s horror-comedy was certainly the meaner of the two genre films released that day, but still shared much of the same DNA. In the film, a father buys his son a mysterious creature with some weird rules—rules that, when broken, begat some dangerous and terrifying creatures. Gremlins is scarier than Ghostbusters but has that same humor and heart. If you enjoy creature features with a holiday backdrop, check out Cheryl Eddy’s 11 Scariest Monsters in Christmas Movies list.

Where can I watch Gremlins?

Gremlins is currently streaming on HBO Max ( there’s an animated sequel series in the works there) and DirectTV. You can also rent and buy it from Amazon Prime Video, Google Play, YouTube, Apple TV, Vudu, and most other digital services.

Sure, we talk a lot about the brilliance that is the What We Do in the Shadows TV show but it all started with the movie. Written, starring, and directed by the team of Jemaine Clement and Taika Waititi, this mockumentary about life as a vampire is one of the funniest, smartest genre films released in years. That it gets to remain relevant thanks to the FX series is just a testament at how perfectly Waititi and Clement were able to take horror and make it funny in such a unique way.

Where can I watch the What We Do in the Shadows movie?

What We Do in the Shadows, the movie, is currently available to stream on Fubo, Hoopla, Kanopy (for free with a public library card or university login), DirectTV, and Spectrum on Demand. You can rent the film from Amazon Prime Video, Google Play, YouTube, Apple TV, Vudu, and most other digital services. You can also buy it from those outlets, and more. (The TV spinoff streams on Hulu and acts as a sequel to the movie.)

Monsters Inc. is on this list because it’s basically Ghostbusters, Gremlins, or any kind of horror/monster movie, told from the other perspective. The film is about the monsters who come into the human world to scare kids in order to gain energy for their world. It’s incredibly smart and clever while also being super funny. One of Pixar’s best, and a nice spin on the genre. Plus, obviously, 100% perfect for kids.

Where can I watch Monsters Inc.?

Monsters Inc., as well as its prequel Monsters University and sequel series Monsters at Work, are all streaming on Disney+. You can also rent and buy the original from Amazon Prime Video, Google Play, YouTube, Apple TV, Vudu, and most other digital services.

If the Avengers met the Universal Monsters, but they were kids and had way less firepower, you’d have The Monster Squad. Much like how the Ghostbusters team up to battle ghosts (which is even mentioned in the above trailer!), the Monster Squad is a group of kids forced together to defeat monsters. And not just any monsters, The Monsters: Dracula, Wolfman, Mummy, Creature, and Frankenstein is there too. It’s a quintessential 1980s kids in peril movie that I grew up with and love unequivocally. You can read a bit more about it here.

Where can I watch The Monster Squad?

The Monster Squad is currently streaming on Paramount+ (and Pluto, with ads). You can also rent or buy from Amazon Prime Video, Google Play, YouTube, Apple TV, Vudu, and most other digital services. If you like it and want to know more, there’s also a documentary called Wolfman’s Got Nards directed by the star of the film, Andre Gower, with an appearance by a certain io9 reporter whose writing you’re reading right now. I’m biased, but it’s good. This one is streaming on Hoopla, Vudu (for free, with ads), Tubi, and Pluto. It can be bought or rented at the same places as the original.

Though Buffy the Vampire Slayer became popular mostly because of the Joss Whedon show, before that it was a movie. A movie that’s way lighter and breezier than the show, which is probably why Whedon has more or less disowned it. Nevertheless, the film’s cool, hip, attitude about killing vampires feels right at home with how the Ghostbusters deal with their ghouls.

Where can I watch the Buffy the Vampire Slayer movie?

The Buffy the Vampire Slayer movie is currently available to stream on IMDB TV (with ads), and rent from Amazon Prime Video, Google Play, YouTube, Apple TV, Vudu, and most other digital services. You can also buy it from those outlets, and more. The Buffy TV show streams on Hulu and Amazon Prime Video.

While way less funny than most of the movies on this list, anytime I can bring up Colossal I’m going to. Directed by Nacho Vigalondo, the film stars Oscar winner Anne Hathaway as a woman who, when drunk, can control a monster on the other side of the world. It’s an entertaining, surprising, but poignant and powerful blend of genres that will surprise you to no end. Bonus: Ted Lasso himself, Jason Sudekis, plays a huge role. Here’s a review.

Where can I watch Colossal?

Colossal is currently streaming on Hulu and Kanopy (for free with a public library card or university login). You can also rent and buy the original from Amazon Prime Video, Google Play, YouTube, Apple TV, Vudu, most other digital services, and AMC Theaters on demand.

From Fred Dekkar, the same man who directed The Monster Squad, comes this hugely underappreciated horror film with elements of comedy, sci-fi, and lots of kick ass action. It’s got a dense mythology but basically, it’s about a few college kids and a cop fighting monsters. Think The Evil Dead (another great one for this list, though maybe a bit too gory to be linked to Ghostbusters) but with more 1980s cheese. We wrote about it a lot here.

Where can I watch Night of the Creeps?

Night of the Creeps is currently available to rent from Amazon Prime Video, Google Play, YouTube, Apple TV, Vudu, and most other digital services. You can also buy it from those outlets, and more.

Growing up, few films creeped me out as much as Beetlejuice. The vivid, dark world created by director Tim Burton where a gross pervert of a ghost can be summoned to do dirty work for other ghosts just left me feeling very uncomfortable. Of course, that’s the point and as I’ve gotten older, that this film has that element to it along with all the absurdity and humor has made it a personal favorite and iconic genre-busting ghost comedy. Plus that cast? Michael Keaton, Winona Ryder, Catherine O’Hara, Alec Baldwin, and Geena Davis just to start? Incredible.

Where can I watch Beetlejuice?

Beetlejuice is currently available to rent from Amazon Prime Video, Google Play, YouTube, Apple TV, Vudu, and most other digital services. You can also buy it from those outlets, and more.

Men in Black is fascinating. Of course, it’s a really entertaining summer blockbuster starring Will Smith as a man who joins a secret agency that protects the world from aliens and weird happenings. It’s got tons of visual effects, jokes, set pieces, etc., but it’s technically also a Marvel movie (it’s based on a series created by Lowell Cunningham and Sandy Carruthers), Steven Spielberg produced it, and it’s under 100 minutes. It’s so many things put together you almost forget how well it all works. Thankfully, we wrote about it at this link.

Where can I watch Men in Black?

Men in Black is currently streaming on Spectrum on-demand, and available to rent and buy from Amazon Prime Video, Google Play, YouTube, Apple TV, Vudu, and most other digital services.

Shaun of the Dead is zombie movie. And a comedy. And a romance. And that it’s all of those things and more is why it’s so good. Edgar Wright directed and co-wrote with the film’s star Simon Pegg which resulted in a film that’s ultra-aware of what it is, but also feels wholly unique and original. Shaun is a film made by people who grew up loving movies like Ghostbusters (and the George Romero zombie movies it’s clearly also inspired by) that defies classification beyond just “amazing.”

Where can I watch Shaun of the Dead?

Shaun of the Dead is currently available to rent from Amazon Prime Video, Google Play, YouTube, Apple TV, Vudu, AMC Theaters on demand, and most other digital services. You can also buy it from those outlets, and more.

Oh, Tim Burton, you did it again. Much like Beetlejuice, Mars Attacks takes just a jaw-dropping collection of stars (including Jack Nicholson, Glenn Close, Michael J. Fox, Natalie Portman, Sarah Jessica Parker, Danny DeVito, Pierce Brosnan, and many more) and slaps them into an off-beat world mixing science fiction, horror, humor, and more. A truly weird blend of what we love about movies.

Where can I watch Mars Attacks?

Mars Attacks is currently streaming on Netflix. It’s also available to rent from Amazon Prime Video, Google Play, YouTube, Apple TV, Vudu, and most other digital services. You can also buy it from those outlets, and more.

Yes, we had to throw a curveball in here to wrap this list up. While many people—including some Ghostbusters fans—don’t like this 2016 Paul Feig film, we stand by the fact that it’s really funny and really smart. Even Jason Reitman, the director of Ghostbusters: Afterlife and son of original Ghostbusters director Ivan Reitman, says it’s important. “I thought the 2016 movie was extraordinarily brave, inventive, and really laid the groundwork so that I can make this movie,” Reitman told io9. “Paul Feig did the heavy lifting of broadening the concept of what a Ghostbusters movie could be.” And so we had to end the list here. It’s literally a Ghostbusters movie, what better way to follow up the new one?

Where can I watch Ghostbusters: Answer the Call?

Ghostbusters: Answer the Call is currently available to rent from Amazon Prime Video, Google Play, YouTube, Apple TV, Vudu, and most other digital services. You can also buy it from those outlets, and more.

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