OUT NOW:
‘V/H/S/94’ (Shudder)
The found footage anthology franchise V/H/S is finally back after seven long years away. V/H/S/94 is a welcome return to form for the series with some of its very best short films yet, including a news report live from some creepy sewers, a mad scientist that chops people up and puts them back together again, a cult-like militia group with a supernatural weapon, and much more. Things look as retro, scary, and imaginative as the found footage subgenre can get, making this new entry to the franchise possibly the best.
‘There’s Someone Inside Your House’ (Netflix)
Directed by Patrick Brice (Creep, Creep 2) with a screenplay from Henry Gayden (Shazam!), this new throwback slasher has some gnarly kills and an interesting angle on modern fears. Set in a small Nebraska town where everyone has their secrets, There’s Someone Inside Your House tells the story of a masked killer who begins taking out the graduating class of the local high school one by one. Besides just killing them, the assailant also exposes every victim’s darkest secrets for the whole town to see. It’s up to a transfer student named Makani (Sydney Park) and her misfit group of friends to put a stop to it.
‘Black Widow’ (Disney+)
Scarlett Johansson’s Natasha Romanoff AKA Black Widow has been a fan favorite through her many appearances in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. But despite being a main member of the original Avengers team, she never received her due with her own solo adventure, and since she sacrificed herself to help save the universe in Avengers: Endgame, a stand-alone movie for the heroine seemed unlikely. This year’s Black Widow aims to correct that and is now finally available to stream at no additional charge. Directed by Cate Shortland, the film is set between the events of Captain America: Civil War and Avengers: Infinity War. With the superhero team broken up and several in hiding, Natasha is pulled into a conspiracy that ties back to her dark past before she became an Avenger.
‘Voyagers’ (HBO Max)
Filmmaker Neil Burger has made a successful career for himself directing films like The Illusionist, Limitless, and Divergent, and his latest film, Voyagers, sees him returning to the realm of science fiction. Described as “Lord of the Flies in space”, the film is set in the near future and chronicles the odyssey of 30 young men and women who are sent deep into space on a multi-generational mission in search of a new home. The mission descends into madness, as the crew reverts to its most primal state, not knowing if the real threat they face is what’s outside the ship or who they’re becoming inside it.
‘Gonjiam: Haunted Asylum’ (Shudder)
One of the most successful and popular Korean horror films of all time, 2018’s Gonjiam: Haunted Asylum is a truly terrifying piece of work. Carrying on the found footage style, the film follows the crew of an horror-themed web series who travel to an infamous and abandoned asylum. They plan to hold a live broadcast inside the old building, and naturally end up finding much more than they ever bargained for. The story is inspired by the real life Gonjiam Psychiatric Hospital, which is said to be one of the most haunted locations on the planet.
‘Prometheus’ (Amazon Prime Video)
With a looming scale and weighty existential questions presented throughout its runtime, Prometheus, Ridley Scott’s prequel to his landmark sci-fi horror Alien, is an ambitious and often misunderstood masterpiece of the genre. The film was met with mixed reception when it hit theaters in 2012, but is very much worth a second viewing. Set on a distant and mysterious moon, a deep-space crew is on a scientific mission to explore the origins of the human race. When they discover a strange and massive structure and go in to investigate, they find terrors beyond what any of them could have imagined.
‘Bad Sport’ (Netflix)
Netflix mixes their love for true crime documentaries with their love of sports with this new series that features six stories at the intersection of sports and crime, as told by the athletes, coaches and law enforcement officials at the center of the controversies. The series is an engrossing look at the dark underbelly of sports by going into some known and lesser known crimes of the industry. It’s a true inside view of the incidents straight from the mouths of those directly involved.
‘Muppets Haunted Mansion’ (Disney+)
Disney’s The Haunted Mansion has been a staple of the Halloween season (for die-hard Disney fans, it’s a staple for every season) for decades. The attraction has continued to delight guests at the Disney parks with its timeless effects and family friendly thrills, and time has only further grown its legacy and following. The same goes for the beloved Muppets, Jim Henson’s eccentric and immortal characters that have lasted the years even after coming under the Disney umbrella. A new special from industry legend Kirk R. Thatcher is finally merging the two together for a frightfully hilarious experience. It’ll also feature guest stars that include Will Arnett, Danny Trejo, Taraji P. Henson, and many more.
‘The Endless’ (Shudder)
Filmmaking duo Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead have been contributing to the world of genre horror for years, having produced works like After Midnight, She Dies Tomorrow, as well as writing and directing a segment for V/H/S Viral and several episodes of Marvel’s upcoming Moon Knight series. Their 2017 sci-fi hit The Endless tells the story of two brothers (Benson and Moorhead) who visit an alleged cult they formerly belonged to after receiving a mysterious video tape. As the members of the cult prepare for the coming of a mysterious event, the brothers race to unravel the seemingly impossible truth before their lives become permanently entangled with the cult.
‘Night of the Demons’ (Shudder)
Ten teenagers party at an abandoned funeral parlor on Halloween night. When an evil force awakens, demonic spirits keep them from leaving and turn their gathering into a living hell. 1988’s cult classic Night of the Demons is a perfect choice for the spooky season. With low-budget thrills and genuinely scary moments, the film proves that two sequels and a 2009 remake still don’t hold a candle to the wild charm of the original.
CONTINUED WEEKLY EPISODES:
‘What If…?’ (Disney+)
The very first animated series from Marvel Studios, What If…? runs wild and plays loose with the sprawling cinematic universe that everyone knows. The series dives into the multiverse to show a variety of different timelines where major moments from the MCU play out differently, such as Agent Carter receiving the super soldier serum instead of Steve Rogers, Killmonger rescuing Tony Stark before he’s ever kidnapped by terrorists, and even an episode that involves superhero zombies. With a gorgeous cel-shaded animation style and aFilmmaker Neil Burger has made a successful career for himself directing films like The Illusionist, Limitless, and Divergent, and his latest film, Voyagers, sees him returning to the realm of science fiction. Described as “Lord of the Flies in space”, the film is set in the near future and chronicles the odyssey of 30 young men and women who are sent deep into space on a multi-generational mission in search of a new home. The mission descends into madness, as the crew reverts to its most primal state, not knowing if the real threat they face is what’s outside the ship or who they’re becoming inside it.n infinite amount of exciting and weird directions the show can go in, it’s sure to be a hit for Marvel fans. All nine episodes of the first season are now streaming.
‘Only Murders in the Building’ (Hulu)
A wonderfully timely take on our nation’s ongoing obsession with tr With some incredible performances from Michael Fassbender, Logan Marshall-Green, and Noomi Rapace, Prometheus follows a deep space exploration crew that are in search of the origins of mankind. What they end up discovering is far more terrifying than anything they could have prepared for. With a massive, fascinating and existential scale and some horrifically disturbing sequences of extraterrestrial horror, Prometheus is basically a sci-if masterpiece.e 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 eight 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 six 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 three episodes are now streaming.
Also streaming now:
Netflix - ‘Escape the Undertaker’, ‘Ella Fitzgerald: Just One of Those Things’, ‘The Blacklist (Season 8)’
Hulu - ‘The Rocky Horror Picture Show’, ‘Cannabis Evolution’
Shudder - ‘Witchboard’, ‘The Mutilator’
Disney+ - ‘Among the Stars’
COMING THIS WEEK:
Netflix - ‘Insidious: Chapter 2’, ‘Occupation: Rainfall’, ‘Going in Style’, ‘Shameless (Season 11)’, ‘Bright: Samurai Soul’, ‘Sivaji’, ‘The Movies That Made Us (Season 3)’, ‘You (Season 3)’
Hulu - ‘G.I. Joe: Retaliation’, ‘Gunda’, ‘Censor’, ‘A Murder to Remember’, ‘Cheer Canp Killer’, ‘Sleepwalker’
Shudder - ‘The Medium’, ‘Nosferatu, The Vampyre’, ‘Nosferatu in Venice’, ‘Possum’, ‘Wake Wood’, ‘House’, ‘House II’, ‘The Autopsy of Jane Doe’
HBO Max - ‘It: Chapter 2’, ‘Teen Titans Go!’, ‘In the Line of Fire’, ‘Point Break’
Amazon Prime Video - ‘I Know What You Did Last Summer (Season 1)’
Disney+ - ‘Just Beyond’, ‘Lost Cities with Albert Lin: The Great Flood’, ‘Apollo: Back to the Moon’
