OUT NOW:
‘Bright: Samurai Soul’ (Netflix, )
2017's fantasy cop film Bright was a huge hit for Netflix, so much so that the streaming guide decided to have it launch an entire multimedia franchise. The first spin-off to be set in the same universe, Bright: Samurai Soul, sets itself apart by trading out the live action for animation. Directed by Kyōhei Ishiguro, the film is a CG anime in the style of Japanese woodblock prints and takes place centuries before the events of the original movie. In the early years of Japan's Meiji Restoration, a human Ronin must unite with an orc assassin to save an elf orphan from their common adversary.
‘The Medium’ (Shudder)
A documentary team follows Nim, a shaman based in Northern Thai, the Isan area, and encounters her niece Mink showing strange symptoms that seem to be of inheritance of shamanism. The team decides to follow Mink, hoping to capture the shaman lineage passing on to the next generation, but her bizarre behavior becomes more extreme. The Medium comes from esteemed Thai filmmaker Bangjong Pisanthanakun, who delivers a truly haunting and disturbing film that only gets more intense, massive, and terrifying as it builds to its insane conclusion.
‘I Know What You Did Last Summer (Season 1)’ (Amazon Prime Video)
The often unsung horror franchise that is I Know What You Did Last Summer hasn't had a new entry since 2006, leaving many a teenager unharmed by a vengeful fisherman for well over a decade. While plans for a new film have come and gone, Amazon Studios has gone ahead with plans to turn the franchise into a television series, following the same basic premise of teenagers being stalked by a mysterious killer a year after a fatal accident that they hold some responsibility for. The series hopes to string along viewers on a murder mystery with gruesome deaths for eight episodes. The first four are now streaming, with each new episode being released weekly.
‘Censor’ (Hulu)
Censor is inspired by the video nasty era of the UK, which saw a wave of absurdly violent and gory exploitation films flood the video cassette market. Naturally, this brought a harsh crackdown on what kind of content films should be allowed to show, and strict censorship laws swiftly followed. The film follows Enid (Niamh Algar), one of the members of the censorship board who considers her work to be an essential public service. As she pores over countless hours of graphic violence, she believes she’s protecting people from things no one should have to see. But when she views a film that brings back memories of a childhood incident, her entire world comes crashing down. Censor is an exceptionally smart horror film, one that tackles several social topics at once while still supplying plenty of bloody scares.
‘It: Chapter 2’ (HBO Max)
The second half to the saga of the Losers Club of Derry and the demonic Pennywise is often overlooked compared to Chapter 1, but there's still plenty of catharsis to be found in the adult story. Director Andy Muschietti returns and brings the characters—who’ve long since gone their separate ways—back together as adults, nearly three decades after the events of the first film confront the evil of their hometown once again. With a supremely talented cast that includes Jessica Chastain, James McAvoy, Bill Hader and more, its fears are just as poignant as the first's.
‘Just Beyond’ (Disney+)
For those looking for a bit lighter fare, there's always Just Beyond, a new horror comedy anthology series based on the graphic novel series from Goosebumps writer R.L. Stine. The eight episode first season follows journeys of supernatural self-discovery through the worlds of witches, aliens, ghosts, and alternate dimensions. The series comes from Seth Grahame-Smith, best known for his best-selling novels Pride and Prejudice and Zombies and Abraham Lincoln, Vampire Hunter as well as co-writing Tim Burton's Dark Shadows. His upcoming projects include a sequel to Burton's Beetlejuice and a television series based on DC's Green Lantern.
‘Possum’ (Shudder)
Now back to something dark and messed up. Directed by Matthew Holness, Possum follows a disgraced children’s puppeteer (Sean Harris) who must confront his sinister stepfather and the trauma and abuse he suffered in his childhood home. He must also contend with a hideous puppet he keeps hidden in a brown leather bag in order to escape the dark horrors of his past. The film is absolutely terrifying. It's the kind of psychological horror that keeps deep under your skin and finds a way to stay there for a good while. So, you know, the best kind. One of the best British horror gems to come around in awhile.
‘You (Season 3)’ (Netflix)
Based on the 2014 novel by Caroline Kepnes, You has become one of Netflix's most popular series. It follows a serial killer named Joe Goldberg (Penn Badgley) who still has to pay the bills with a day job of a bookstore manager. Joe has a bit of a nasty habit of becoming obsessed with women that he falls for, and the third season has him now married and raising a child with current obsession Love Quinn (Victoria Pedretti). It's likely to be the killer's biggest challenge yet.
‘The Autopsy of Jane Doe’ (Shudder)
It's just another night at the morgue for a father (Brian Cox) and son (Emile Hirsch) team of coroners, until an unidentified, highly unusual corpse comes in. Discovered buried in the basement of the home of a brutally murdered family, the young Jane Doe - eerily well preserved and with no visible signs of trauma - is shrouded in mystery. As they work into the night to piece together the cause of her death, the two men begin to uncover the disturbing secrets of her life. Soon, a series of terrifying events make it clear: this Jane Doe may not be dead. From Trollhunter director Andre Ovredal, this horror flick is a scarily unpredictable, supernatural shocker that never lets up.
‘Occupation: Rainfall’ (Netflix)
Bursting with spectacular special effects and exhilarating action sequences, Occupation: Rainfall unfolds two years into an intergalactic invasion of Earth, as survivors fight back in a desperate ground war. While casualties mount by the day, the resistance-along with some unexpected allies-uncovers a plot that could bring the war to a decisive end. Now, with the alien invaders hell-bent on making our planet their new home, the race is on to save mankind. Classic B-movie goodness, folks.
CONTINUED WEEKLY EPISODES:
‘Only Murders in the Building’ (Hulu)
A wonderfully timely take on our nation’s ongoing obsession with true crime, Only Murders in the Building has been receiving glowing reviews since its first episodes aired. The series stars Steve Martin (who created it alongside John Hoffman), Martin Short and Selena Gomez as three strangers who share an obsession with true crime and suddenly find themselves wrapped up in one. When a grisly death occurs inside their exclusive Upper West Side apartment building, the trio suspects murder and employs their precise knowledge of true crime to investigate the truth. Perhaps even more explosive are the lies they tell one another. Soon, the endangered trio comes to realize a killer might be living among them as they race to decipher the mounting clues before it’s too late. The first nine episodes are now streaming with the finale coming next week.
‘Y: The Last Man’ (Hulu)
Adapted from the hit comic book series of the same name by Brian K. Vaughan and Pia Guerra, this series from Eliza Clark expands and even challenges the source material to create something even greater. Set in a post-apocalyptic world, a man named Yorick Brown (Ben Schnetzer) is the last surviving male human on the planet. The series follows Yorick as he traverses the new world, as its survivors struggle with their losses and attempt to restore world society—led by Yorick’s mother, who is the new U.S. President Jennifer Brown (Diane Lane). The first seven episodes are now streaming.
‘Creepshow (Season 3)’ (Shudder)
The classic horror anthology series by Stephen King and George A. Romero was finally brought back from the dead in 2019 thanks to Shudder, delighting fans and capturing the spirit of the original films. Executive produced by showrunner Greg Nicotero, who is best known for his work on The Walking Dead, Creepshow’s third season features all new horrifying tales. A comic book comes to life in a series of vignettes, exploring terrors ranging from murder, creatures, monsters, and delusions to the supernatural and unexplainable. You never know what will be on the next page. The first four episodes are now streaming.
Also streaming now:
Netflix - ‘Insidious: Chapter 2’, ‘Going in Style’, ‘Shameless (Season 11)’, ‘The Movies That Made Us (Season 3)’
Hulu - ‘G.I. Joe: Retaliation’, ‘Gunda’, ‘A Murder to Remember’, ‘Cheer Camp Killer’, ‘Sleepwalker’
Shudder - ‘Nosferatu, The Vampyre’, ‘Nosferatu in Venice’, ‘Wake Wood’, ‘House’, ‘House II’
HBO Max - ‘Teen Titans Go!’, ‘In the Line of Fire’, ‘Point Break’
Disney+ - ‘Lost Cities with Albert Lin: The Great Flood’, ‘Apollo: Back to the Moon’
COMING THIS WEEK:
Netflix - ‘The Wonderful: Stories from the Space Station’, ‘In for a Murder’, ‘Night Teeth’, ‘Cowboy Bebop’, ‘Flip a Coin’, ‘Adventure Beast’, ‘Locke & Key (Season 2)’, ‘The Raincoat Killer: Chasing a Predator in Korea’
Hulu - ‘The Evil Next Door’, ‘Gaia’
Shudder - ‘Pulse’, ‘Children of the Corn’, ‘Blood and Black Lace’
HBO Max - ‘Succession (Season 3)’, ‘The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It’, ‘Dune’
Amazon Prime Video - ‘Cowboys & Aliens’, ‘Wanderlust’
