9 shows and films to watch this Halloween (whether you love spooky season or not)

This week, Helen Bownass and Kayleigh Dray have joined forces to bring you the ultimate Halloween film and TV guide (whether you're into all things spooky or want to avoid them entirely)…

5 shows to watch this weekend if you love Halloween (and 4 for if you don't)

"Anyone who knows me will know I become giddy around this time of year, because 'tis the season to be spooky," says Kayleigh. "To help you hit all the right notes, these are the Halloween shows and films to watch… alongside Before and Agatha All Along, of course."

FAMILY PACK
Personally, I love a good horror-comedy (all hail Tucker & Dale vs Evil), so it should come as no surprise that I'm going to eat up this Jean Reno treat. Much like Jumanji, it sees an old card game come to life and send an unsuspecting French family back in time to a medieval village… overrun by werewolves, no less. Watch on Netflix

THE DEVIL'S HOUR: SEASON 2
Peter Capaldi and Jessica Raine return in this darker-than-dark supernatural thriller, but this time the serial killer and social worker have formed an uneasy alliance to unravel the riddles of their recurring past lives, hunt down an elusive monster and prevent an unspeakable tragedy. No biggie. Watch on Prime Video

GENERATION Z
If The Last Of Us left you hungry for undead flesh, you're in luck; there's a new breed of zombie on the menu in Generation Z, which sees infected elderly Boomer zombies get a taste for Gen Z meat, sparking an inter-generational culture clash. Consider me sold. 9pm, 27 October; Channel 4

TIME CUT
You know what's scarier than a high school student travelling back in time to stop a bloodthirsty serial killer? The fact that it presents the 00s as prime nostalgia fodder. Heartbreaking, sure, but still my kind of teen slasher, quite frankly – especially as it stars Madison Bailey and David Harbour. 30 October; Netflix

HERETIC
It is a truth universally acknowledged that Hugh Grant is at his best when he's being bad, and he's diabolically so in Heretic. In it, Mr Reed (Grant) traps two young missionaries in his home and torments them – forcing them to rely wholly on their faith to not just escape, but survive. 1 November; UK cinemas

"I love the fancy dress bit of Halloween – and the eating sweets part – but the whole spooky movie/TV series chunk is absolutely not my vibe," says Helen. "So here are my picks of the best new shows and films without a possessed doll or creepy clown in sight."

THE ENGLISH TEACHER
I kept seeing Americans I follow talk about The English Teacher, so when I happened across it on Disney+, I dove in. The eight-part sitcom is about a gay English teacher, Evan Marquez, working in Austen, Texas, who is full of good intentions, but is regularly dragged down by the establishment. It's sharp and irreverent, and while it's not new this week, it's new this week to me, and highly recommended. Watch now on Disney+

MARTHA
Martha Stewart, the darling of the American food scene and Snoop Dogg's best pal, fronts this intriguing documentary. It follows her life from her time as a young model to becoming the country's first self-made female billionaire – as well as touching on her five-month prison sentence for fraud. 30 October; Netflix

DIPLOMAT: SEASON 2
Politics might seem quite horrifying, particularly a week before the election in the US, but there's much to love about the return of this Netflix thriller. Keri Russell returns as the reluctant US diplomat to the UK, who was on the verge of divorcing her husband, Hal (Rufus Sewell), until he got caught in the crossfire of a politically motivated car explosion. 31 October; Netflix

ANORA
If you make one trip to the cinema this week, make it to see Anora. The film stars Mikey Madison as a sex worker living in Brooklyn who impulsively marries Ivan, the son of an oligarch. But their romance goes sour when Ivan's parents head to the US to get the marriage annulled. It's rare for films to sit in the unique spot between gritty realism and romcom, but Anora does it in a brilliantly compelling style. 1 November; UK cinemas