It’s not often that a horror film gets the seal of approval from the King of Horror himself, Stephen King, but a film released in 1971 holds that rare distinction. The decade was groundbreaking for the genre, with titles like The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Halloween, The Exorcist, and The Omen defining horror cinema, bringing horror mainstream, and laying the groundwork for decades of horror movies to come. Only a handful of those films have the distinction of being recommended by King, who since the 1976 film adaptation of his novel Carrie has helped shape the genre, and now one King-approved ‘70s horror movie is streaming for free.
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King has named Let’s Scare Jessica to Death as one of his favorite horror films. The movie, which terrified audiences in August 1971, is now streaming on Pluto TV as part of the Paramount free streaming service’s August 2025 content lineup. Directed by John Hancock in his directorial debut, the movie centers around terror and paranoia experienced by Jessica, a young woman recently released from a mental ward who moves into a country farmhouse hoping for a fresh start, only to become convinced that another strange, mysterious young woman may actually be a vampire. The film stars Zohra Lampert, Barton Heyman, Kevin O’Connor, Gretchen Corbett, and Mariclare Costello.
Why You Should Watch Let’s Scare Jessica to Death
Let’s Scare Jessica to Death stands out against other horror films of its decade. Released in the ‘70s, a period that saw horror movies pushing boundaries and becoming more explicit amid the decline of the self-regulatory Hays Code and the rise of the MPAA’s age-based ratings system, Let’s Scare Jessica to Death was tame in the fact that it featured little gore and no nudity. Instead, the film was extremely character-driven, exploring Jessica’s fragile mental state and relying on her unreliable perspective to shape the narrative and the scares. The terror, felt by the audience through Jessica, was amplified through the movie’s moody atmosphere and soundscapes, including Orville Stoeber’s soundtrack and atmospheric sounds, both of which contributed to a sense of unease and disturbing tone.
The movie received mixed reviews from critics upon its release and currently only holds a 36% critics’ score and 50% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes but has grown to be recognized as one of the most important horror films. King himself called the movie “quite simply, one of the best ghost stories ever filmed,” per Horror News, applauding it for “an intelligent script with plenty of genuine scares, a great deal of moody atmosphere, an intriguing subtext regarding 1960s drug culture, and one of the best-ever female performances in a horror film.” In 2006, the Chicago Film Critics Association even declared Let’s Scare Jessica to Death as one of the scariest films ever.
Other Horror Movies Now On Pluto TV
Let’s Scare Jessica to Death is just one of several horror films now streaming on Pluto TV as of this August. See the terrifying list of horror movies newly streaming on the platform below.
Christine (1983)
Don’t Be Afraid Of The Dark
Fright Night (1985)
From Dusk Till Dawn
My Bloody Valentine (1981)
Quarantine
Quarantine 2: Terminal
The Ring
