With October being the perfect month for horror movies, it’s no surprise that the streaming services’ offerings will darken considerably in the coming weeks. However, you can also look forward to a good dose of crime, action and comedy.
The School for Good and Evil
The School for Good and Evil | USA | 2022 | Fantasy filmy | Witchcraft
Netflix is moving forward with its quest to build a big movie franchise, and the ideal subject is a story about a school where heroes and villains from fairy tales learn their craft. Two young girls are also drawn into this world, each of whom takes opposite paths. Can the good girl drag her evil friend back into the light? We’ll find out in this variation on Harry Potter on October 19, when School of Good and Evil heads to the streaming service. The film is directed by Paul Feig, who rose to fame with the comedies Spy and Women to Ourselves. But he also pissed a lot of people off with a new version of Ghostbusters with an all-female cast. Charlize Theron and Kerry Washington will appear in the lead roles.
Barbarians
Barbarians | Germany | 2020 | Historical series | Old Rome
The second series of the historical hit Barbarians will be set a year after the events in the Teutoburg Forest. General Varus’ suicide and battle fiasco will not leave Rome without a response. While the Germanic people indulged in a year of “peace and recuperation,” the Roman Empire slowly made plans for revenge. New legions are on the way! The Germanic warrior Thusnelda (Jeanne Goursaud) knows this, so she tries to warn her people. To make matters worse, Flavus (Daniel Donskoy), brother of Arminius, returns with the Roman army this time, as does the Roman general Germanicus. This bloody slaughter will premiere on October 21.
The White Lotus
The White Lotus | USA | 2021 | Comedy Series | Dramedy
Holidays in Hawaii are not for everyone, especially if you are not a privileged white American with annual sales in the millions of dollars. Last year’s satirical miniseries from the creators of the legendary Dawson’s World doesn’t mince words, and it sucks up criticism on all sides. What may initially seem like a bizarre mix of absurdist drama with family themes escalates into a brilliantly edgy comedy in which all the characters are given the opportunity to change. But few have the courage to do so. HBO is set to bring back the award-winning White Lotus on October 31, and we’ll definitely be there.
All Quiet on the Western Front
All Quiet on the Western Front | Germany | 2022 | War films
All quiet on the western front by Erich Maria Remarque is a must-read, and the new Netflix version adds impressive images to it. The sumptuous war scenes so far, however, don’t come across as wankery; instead, they constantly highlight the cruelty of the war’s rampage and the impact on the infantrymen, who alternate from one harsh moment to another in the trenches, with only the occasional glimmer of hope in their world. The film, which stars Daniel Brühl, was directed by Edward Berger, the man behind such series as Patrick Melrose and Your Honor. The film was also selected for the Toronto Film Festival and will be seen globally on Netflix on October 28.
Avenue 5
Avenue 5 | USA | 2020 | Sci-fi series | Sci-fi comedy
Guillermo del Toro’s Cabinet of Curiosities
Guillermo del Toro’s Cabinet of Curiosities | USA | 2022 | Horror | Supernatural
The ambitious horror anthology Cabinet of Curiosities will offer eight haunting tales, produced and co-written by the renowned Guillermo del Toro, author of award-winning horror dramas such as The Faun’s Labyrinth and The Face of Water, for which he even won an Academy Award. Although the anthology primarily draws attention to Del Toro, the names of directors such as Jennifer Kent (writer of the award-winning horror film The Babadook), Panos Cosmatos (director of the hallucinogenic ride Mandy – Cult of Vengeance), Catherine Hardwicke and Vincenzo Natali (director of the cult claustrophobic horror film The Cube) certainly command a great deal of respect. We should expect to see classic themes such as haunted houses, graveyards, cursed books, mysterious evil forests, in a genre-spanning mix of horror from the magical and gothic to the grotesque. Unusually for Netflix, the series will be released from October 25, two episodes each day.
The Devil’s Hour
The Devil’s Hour | UK | 2022 | Thriller series | Murder
This October 28th, we can look forward to a new Amazon release that may look like a variation on Satanic horror movies, but is actually a psychological thriller in which a young woman goes on the hunt for a serial killer while she herself is plagued by nightmares and reality often blurs with fiction. Former Doctor Who Peter Capaldi will appear as a sort of Hannibal Lecter, who pulls the strings mightily. In total, we have 6 episodes to look forward to.
Leave a Reply