It’s Halloween—let’s watch something scary
Here’s what’s going bump in the night in the world of skele-vision for Tues-die, October 31. All times are Eastern; all recommendations spooky, scary, or some combination of the two.
The kids are trick-or-treating, the World Series is preempting, and most of your Tuesday-night shows got dressed up for Halloween last week. In the spirit of the season, here are some picks to break you out of the usual boo-tine.
Primetime killers
The Silence Of The Lambs (BBC America, 8:30 p.m.): Mads Mikkelsen got to perfect Thomas Harris’ epicurean cannibal across three seasons of Hannibal, but for many, Anthony Hopkins got Dr. Lecter just right in his first outing—his screentime in which amounts to little more than the average runtime of an Adult Swim series.
American Psycho (Cinemax, 8 p.m.): Or “The only thing scarier than the yuppie mindset as filtered through a satirical slasher movie is the yuppie mindset subjected to creeping senility and given control of the United States’ nuclear arsenal.”
Split (HBO, 8 p.m.): The M. Night Shyamalanaissance began in earnest with two daffy seasons of Wayward Pines, but it was cemented thanks to this thriller starring James McAvoy as a kidnapper with dissociative personality disorder.
Jaws (Showtime 2, 8 p.m.): Depending on where you’re reading this, it’s probably too cold to go swimming. But if you needed another reason to stay out of the water, here you go.
Run the series (into the ground) (You know, where dead bodies are buried)
Halloween (AMC, begins at 9 a.m.): Based on the listings alone, there’s no rhyme or reason to how AMC is airing the Michael Myers saga: It’s kicking off with Halloween H20, then going into Halloween II, but running chronologically through the fourth, fifth, and sixth films in the franchise this afternoon.
The Simpsons: Treehouse Of Horror (FXX, begins at 11 a.m.): Go crazy? Don’t mind if we do, FXX. The network’s airing every entry in Springfield’s annual Halloween tradition.
Saw (IFC, begins at 4 a.m.): Play a game with Jigsaw, and then play it four more times.
A Nightmare On Elm Street (Syfy, begins at 11 a.m.): Because when you’re too afraid to sleep at night, because of your fear of a child killer’s vengeful spirit, it’s very easy to accidentally conjure that spirit in your dreams before lunchtime.
These movies won’t stop playing until the sun rises, or you say “Betelgeuse three times”—whichever occurs first
Hocus Pocus (Freeform, noon): The slumber-party favorite rises for an all-day marathon.
Beetlejuice (Sundance, beginning at 1 p.m.): As does the ghost with the most, until he’s exorcised after midnight by the 2003 version of Freaky Friday.
Late, late show
House On Haunted Hill (TCM, 11:30 p.m.): The quintessential “spend the night in a haunted house and win great great gobs of cash” movie, from the quintessential schlockmeister, William Castle. Viewers who want the full House On Haunted Hill experience are encouraged to build their own Emergo skeleton at home.
Regular coverage
The Mindy Project (Hulu)
Stranger Things (Netflix)
The Flash (The CW, 8 p.m.)
DC’s Legends Of Tomorrow (The CW, 9 p.m.)
This Is Us (NBC, 9 p.m.)
American Horror Story (FX, 10 p.m.)