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In honor of Halloween approaching, at the 2026 TIME100 Next Gala on Oct. 29 in New York City, TIME asked attendees about their deepest fears and favorite spooky films to set the mood for the season’s haunts.
Some named horror classics: Actor Cooper Hoffman recommended Rosemary’s Baby, and actor Dominic Sessa said Resident Evil.
Paapa Essiedu, an actor set to star in the upcoming HBO adaptation of Harry Potter, went with a modern horror pick: Obsession. “It’s terrifying, it’s entertaining, it’s a brilliant, brilliant, brilliant movie,” he said.
Curry Barker, Obsession’s breakout filmmaker, showed off his encyclopedic horror knowledge, with picks across generations including A Nightmare on Elm Street, the original Texas Chain Saw Massacre, The Invisible Man, Weapons, Hereditary, and Midsommar. Barker is now working on a new film project, Anything But Ghosts, coming out next May.
Chloe Fineman, comedian and former SNL cast member, had a more existential take. For her, the scariest thing to watch is the news, the world, and social media: “Instagram kind of is my horror movie,” she said.
Musician Conan Gray went with a more wholesome approach, naming the more cozy than outright scary Practical Magic as his must-watch movie. TIME followed up with Joey King, who appeared in sequel Practical Magic 2, to ask if she’s tapped into any witchy senses since her experience with the iconic story. “I do feel like there’s a bit of a thin veil with the afterlife. I’ve had some scary stuff happen, I’ve had some sweet stuff happen, but the scary stuff scared the s*** out of me when I was younger so I muted that part of myself, but I feel like I embrace it more,” she said. “I’ve always wanted to see a medium but I’m too scared. I don’t want to know what’s going to happen to me. I don’t want to know what my future holds.”
The TIME100 Next Gala was presented by Rolex, Toyota, American Airlines, Danantara, Project Management Institute, and Target.
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