OUT NOW:
‘Dune’ (HBO Max)
Frank Herber’s 1965 science fiction epic Dune has been inspiring artists and storytellers for decades, but hasn’t seen a new film adaptation since David Lynch gave it a go in 1984. Denis Villeneuve has proven himself to be one of the exciting and visually striking filmmaking working today, especially in the world of sci-fi with Arrival and Blade Runner 2049, and his adaptation of Dune - intended to be the first part of a two-part story - looks to be his grandest and most important movie yet. Paul Atreides (Timothée Chalamet), a brilliant and gifted young man born into a great destiny beyond his understanding, must travel to the most dangerous planet in the universe to ensure the future of his family and his people. As malevolent forces explode into conflict over the planet's exclusive supply of the most precious resource in existence, only those who can conquer their own fear will survive.
‘Night Teeth’ (Netflix)
Directed by Adam Randall, Night Teeth follows a college student moonlighting as a chauffeur (Jorge Lendeborg Jr.) who picks up two mysterious women (Debby Ryan & Lucy Fry) for a night of party-hopping across LA. However, when he uncovers their bloodthirsty intentions and their dangerous, shadowy underworld, he must fight to stay alive. The film is a sexy and stylish vampire flick with plenty of its own fun lore for audiences to sink their teeth into.
‘Invasion’ (Apple TV+)
Simon Kinberg is best known for writing a large number of Fox's X-Men films as well as other blockbusters like Mr. and Mrs. Smith and 2009's Sherlock Holmes starring Robert Downey Jr. and Jude Law. So it may sound funny to say that Invasion, a new ten episode series for Apple's streaming service, feels like his most ambitious work yet, but it certainly is. The series follows the events of an extraterrestrial invasion of Earth as told from the perspectives of various different people around the planet. Things play out more or less in real time as we watch characters from Japan to Alabama to Afghanistan to London to Long Island and more experience and react to the world-changing events.
‘Blood and Black Lace’ (Shudder)
From Screen Crusades’ Ryan J. Downey: A particularly enchanting entry in the filmography of Italian horror master Mario Bava (Black Sunday, The Girl Who Knew Too Much, Black Sabbath), the appropriately titled Blood and Black Lace is a murder mystery set in the world of high fashion. It’s an erotic horror flick made in Europe in 1964, so it’s full of gorgeous scenery, stunning cinematography (courtesy of frequent Bava collaborator Ubaldo Terzano), and beautiful people. Primary among them is Eva Bartok, a Hungarian-British actress who rose from a painful childhood during the Second World War to the silver screen, in perhaps her best-known role. Bartok confessed to an affair with Frank Sinatra, and it’s easy to see why ole’ Blue Eyes would be taken with her. Cameron Mitchell, a Broadway and MGM player who later starred in exploitation films in the seventies, is the male lead. The opening sequence introduces us to the mysterious killer, whose stark white and featureless mask is the stuff of nightmares, and the grisly murder of a model named Isabella. Isabella kept a diary, full of lurid and potentially incriminating details about the Christian Haute Couture staff. Cocaine, pills, sex, murder… Everyone is beautiful and everyone is a suspect.
‘Succession (Season 3)’ (HBO Max)
HBO has knocked it out of the park once again with Succession, a show that tracks the lives of the Roy family as they contemplate their future once their aging father (Brian Cox) begins to step back from the media and entertainment conglomerate they control. The first two seasons of the series quickly garnered praise for being one of the best new shows on television and has been showered with awards. The third miraculously looks like it's only getting better as the Roys continue to vie for their father's assets.
‘Locke & Key (Season 2)’ (Netflix)
Created by Joe Hill, son of horror and literary icon Stephen King, and Gabriel Rodriguez, Locke & Key follows three siblings who, after the murder of their father, move to their ancestral home only to find the house has magical keys that give them a vast array of powers and abilities. With danger lurking closer than they know, Tyler (Connor Jessup), Kinsey (Emilia Jones) and Bode (Jackson Robert Scott) unlock more family secrets as they dig deeper into the power and mystery of the keys in the series' second exciting season.
‘The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It’ (HBO Max)
James Wan’s The Conjuring series – along with one of his other horror franchises, Insidious – brought back the old school style scares of haunted houses and demonic possession. The series follows the bizarre and terrifying real-life cases of Ed and Lorraine Warren (played by Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga), a pair of paranormal investigators. The original 2013 film kicked off an ongoing universe that includes three Annabelle movies, 2018’s The Nun and the following year’s The Curse of La Llorona. Thankfully, the connections are pretty loose, so you only need to watch the first two Conjuring films before watching The Devil Made Me Do It. The new film has the Warrens wrapped in a murder trial where the defendant claims to have been possessed by a demon. It’s based on the infamous 1981 trial of Arne Cheyenne Johnson in Connecticut, and it’s yet another frightening feature full of ghosts and holy warfare.
‘Gaia’ (Hulu)
Directed by South African filmmaker Jaco Bouwer, Gaia is a visually stunning ecological horror that takes place in an eerie forest. An injured forest ranger (Monique Rockman) on a routine mission is saved by two off-the-grid survivalists. What is initially a welcome rescue grows more suspicious as the son (Alex Van Dyk) and his renegade father (Carel Nel) reveal a cultish devotion to the forest. When their cabin is attacked by a strange being, it’s clear there is a far greater threat in this unrelenting wilderness. Shot in South Africa's Garden Route region, Gaia is timely, well-executed and offers some pretty incredible effects.
‘Flip a Coin’ (Netflix)
Watched worldwide simultaneously by over 110,000 fans, “Field of Wonder” was ONE OK ROCK’s first no-audience online live stream. Flip a Coin is a documentary that offers an inside look into the band’s private footage and the preparations involved musically for this historical project from 3 months until the performance. ONE OK Rock is one of Japan's greatest bands and if you have yet to check them out, now is definitely the time.
‘Children of the Corn’ (Shudder)
Don't think we've forgotten about the Halloween season! It's always important to take a look back at classic horror and October is the perfect month for it, so this week we recommend checking out 1984's Children of the Corn. Based on the short story by Stephen King, the film was an instant cult favorite and has spawned numerous sequels. As physician Burt Stanton (Peter Horton) and his girlfriend, Vicky (Linda Hamilton), drive across the Midwest to his new job, their trip comes to a sudden halt when they encounter the body of a murdered boy in the road. In trying to contact the authorities, Burt and Vicky wander into a small town populated only by children, followers of sinister young preacher Isaac Chroner (John Franklin). Soon the couple is fleeing the youthful fanatics, who want to sacrifice them to their demonic deity.
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. All ten episodes are now streaming.
‘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 eight 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 five episodes are now streaming with the finale premiering next week.
Also streaming now:
Netflix - ‘The Wonderful: Stories from the Space Station’, ‘In for a Murder’, ‘Cowboy Bebop’, ‘Adventure Beast’, ‘The Raincoat Killer: Chasing a Predator in Korea’
Shudder - ‘Pulse’
Amazon Prime Video - ‘Cowboys & Aliens’, ‘Wanderlust’
COMING THIS WEEK:
Netflix - ‘We Steal Secrets: The Story of WikiLeaks’, ‘King Arthur: Legend of the Sword’, ‘Hypnotic’, ‘Army of Thieves’
Hulu - ‘The Marksman’, ‘Silent Night’, ‘Come Away’, ‘For Madmen Only’, ‘First Date’
Shudder - ‘Horror Noire’, ‘The Addiction’, ‘Just Before Dawn’, ‘Rituals’
Paramount+ - ‘Paranormal Activity: Next of Kin’
