If Beale Street Could Talk, 1942s Cat People, Varda by Agnes, and more are all available for streaming on Peacock Halloween.
In September 2022, here are 24 of the best streaming movies to launch on streaming platforms.
Buckaroo Banzai's 8th Dimension Adventures
W.D. Richter, an Oscar-nominated screenwriter for 1978s Invasion of the Body Snatchers and Big Trouble in Little China, has only directed two feature films. The first, the eccentric sci-fi film Buckaroo Banzai, was self-produced and performed so poorly that Richter's newly formed production company folded.
Buckaroo Banzai is a delightfully odd film that only gets better with time, especially as the American film industry shifts more heavily towards franchise films. That means it puts you right in the middle of a long-running and (slightly confusing) mystery, but it all works because to the unconventional characters and the movie's delightful sense of humor.
Dr. Buckaroo Banzai (Peter Weller), a world-famous rock star, physicist, neurosurgeon, and pilot, who joins him in his adventures (including a young Jeff Goldblum as New Jersey, a doctor who wears cowboy outfits) must unite to save the day against the evil John Whorfin (John Lithgow, who is a wonderful character).
Buckaroo Banzai's Adventures in the 8th Dimension is now available for streaming on Prime Video.
Army of Darkness
This is the third film in Sam Raimi's excellent Evil Dead series that leans heavily towards horror-comedy comedy. Bruce Campbells Ash Williams has gone back in time to the Middle Ages, and must use his chainsaw arm (and his wiles) to navigate back to today.
Peacock has access to Army of Darkness.
Beau Travail
Denis Lavant (Holy Motors) plays Galoup, a French Foreign Legion officer serving in Djibouti, who is disturbed by a promising young recruit named Gilles Sentain (Gregoire Colin).
Beau Travail is a beautiful and moving film that tells a story of tortured masculinity brimming with powerful, barely repressed sensuality. The trio of dynamic lead actors coupled with visually stunning and serene cinematography culminates in a final scene with an unbridled display of pure emotional bliss that will leave you in awe.
Beau Travail is now available to stream on HBO Max and Criterion Channel.
Cat People
A dark and sexy 1942 horror film by Jacques Tourneurs follows a woman (Simone Simon) who believes that if she is ever stimulated sexually, she will become a murderous panther. When she falls in love with a marine engineer (Kent Smith), she finds it difficult to reconcile her desires and beliefs.
In this film, there is a tense sequence where one character stalks another. Tourneur allows the tension to grow to an unbearable high before surprising the audience with the sudden appearance of a bus. It is often thought to be the originator of the modern jump scare.
Cat People is now available for HBO Max subscribers to watch.
Chronicle
Chronicle, a 2012 found-footage sci-fi picture, stars Dane DeHaan (The Amazing Spider-Man 2), Alex Russell (Unbroken) and Michael B. Jordan (Black Panther) as three high school friends who gain superpowers after discovering an extraterrestrial object hidden underground. One of the children becomes consumed with sociopathic rage, forcing his friends to join together to stop him.
Chronicle is now available on Hulu for streaming.
The Ghost and the Darkness
Beast, a recent creature feature by Idris Elba, prompted us to think about two things: first, how nice it is to have sharp, economical thrillers, and second, how important The Ghost and the Darkness is to us.
Without the pulp-thriller energy of the movies, which lays a visceral, urgent atop the Bridge on the River Kwai-style literary ambitions, Stephen Hopkins uses real lions whenever possible, and their physical interactions with fragile human bodies are realistic and graphic. Even if Hopkins and Goldman do fall into the familiar man-versus-nature film trap (also seen, frankly, in Jaws), the lions' belief that they are actually demons begins to make sense.
The Ghost and the Darkness is now available on Prime Video.
Halloween III: Season of the Witch
Season of the Witch is a disturbing and haunting meditation on how goods are distributed to children, with a haunting score by John Carpenter.
In our Halloween movies countdown for 2021, Toussaint put it this way:
Halloween III: Season of the Witch is a film directed by Tommy Lee Wallace, a long-time collaborator and friend of John Carpenter, who is also the film's sole screenwriter. Everything, with the exception of a man in a William Shatner mask stalking and murdering teenagers with a knife.
TV It rots your brain! PV
Peacock has released Halloween III: Season of the Witch.
I Saw the Devil
I Saw the Devil is the answer to your search for a brutal serial murder revenge film. Lee Byung-hun (Squid Game, Joint Security Area) plays Kim Soo-hyun, a National Intelligence Service officer who undertakes a one-man effort of vengeance to torture Jang Kyung-chul (Choi Min-sik) the serial killer responsible for killing his pregnant wife.
I Saw the Devil is available for viewing on Prime Video.
If Beale Street Could Talk
If Beale Street Could Talk, a 1974 novel by Barry Jenkins, is an achingly tender and beautiful tale of love, hope, and freedom deferred by institutional racism and the malicious indifference of the carceral state. KiKi Layne stars as Clementine Tish Rivers, a young woman who falls in love with her childhood friend Alonzo Fonny Hunt (Stephan James) and becomes pregnant with his child.
If Beale Street Could Talk, the couple's hopes for the future are ruined when Fonny is falsely accused of rape and condemned to jail. Presented by Regina King and Colman Domingo as Tish's parents, it's a remarkable production of cinematic excellence.
Netflix has a subscription to If Beale Street Could Talk.
Land of the Dead
Land of the Dead, a standout entry in George Romeros' consistently excellent Night of the Living Dead franchise, tackles class conflict head on. Set in a postapocalyptic Pittsburgh ruled with an iron fist by Dennis Hopper in a high-rise apartment, the film follows an organized zombie assault on the city and the efforts to protect it. PV
On Peacock, Land of the Dead is available for streaming.
Let the Right One In
This Swedish adaptation of a 2004 novel was later reimagined into a Hollywood film in 2010. The original is one you should watch.
Let the Right One In is a gorgeous modern classic about a 12-year-old boy who becomes best friends with a girl he discovers is a vampire.
On Prime Video, Let the Right One In is available to stream.
Road House
Jake Gyllenhaal and Conor McGregor are developing a new UFC-focused Road House. That's what it is, but what it doesn't change is how fantastic the original is.
James Dalton is a sensitive and very zen bouncer who is adept at his job and a keen observer of philosophy. Dalton's owner pays him a lot of money to help stabilize his small business, but a local businessman (Ben Gazzara) has other plans. Road House is a quintessential late-80s action film.
Road House is now available on Netflix.
Rob Zombies Halloween II
The second Halloween film from the Halloween franchise is even more powerful, revealing a shocking tale of horror and survival that is one of my all-time favorite films of the 21st century. Check out the director's cut, which is the superior version of the film.
On Peacock, Rob Zombies Halloween II is available for streaming.
Rosetta
The Dardenne brothers are among the most well-known European filmmakers of their generation, and their Palme dOr-winning film Rosetta might be their finest work.
Rosetta is a tender story about a young girl (Emilie Dequenne, who won Best Actress at Cannes for her work on the film) living in poverty with her mother, and her attempts to find a job and some personal freedom long after the credits.
Rosetta is now available for HBO Max users to watch.
Prince of Darkness
It's tough to pick favorite John Carpenter films. With only a few exceptions, they all rule, and this is one of two of his films on the list (They Live, which also rules but is not on this list, is also on Peacock).
Prince of Darkness is the second entry in Carpenters' Apocalypse Trilogy, coming out between The Thing and In the Mouth of Madness. It's about a Catholic priest (Donald Pleasance, reuniting with Carpenter after Halloween) who discovers a mysterious vat of goo in a monastery, and a group of quantum physics students who are asked to assist him discover what it is. Nightmares are unleashed.
Prince of Darkness was introduced for the first time during the 2021 Halloween season, and there hasn't been a week since that I have not considered it. PV
Prince of Darkness is available for streaming on Peacock.
Pulse
Is there a better modern horror film than Kiyoshi Kurosawa? Pulse suggests not.
Pulse is a towering entry in the genre of internet horror that is a must-see for any horror enthusiast. Check out Kurosawas Cure and Creepy. PV
Pulse is now available for streaming on Prime Video.
Scarface
Scarface, a 1932 gangster drama, is transported from 1920s gangland Chicago to the sun-kissed beaches of Miami, Florida, circa 1980. Pacino plays Tony Montana, who later married Michelle Pfeiffer, who played Tony's mistress and later wife, and is arguably one of America's finest crime dramas.
Scarface is now available for Netflix viewing.
The Silence of the Lambs
The Silence of the Lambs, a 1991 horror film by Jonathan Demmes, stars Jodie Foster as Clarice Starling, a gifted yet inexperienced FBI cadet who finds herself confronted with Evil Incarnate in the form of Dr. Hannibal Lecter (Anthony Hopkins), a cannibalistic psychologist who loves to murder his young female victims. As Clarice meets Lecter in hopes of uncovering Buffalo Bill, an elusive serial killer who has drawn her ever
The Silence of the Lambs is available for viewing on Prime Video.
The Social Network
This month is just bursting with some of the greatest movies of the 21st century, right?
The Social Network, an elaborately constructed tale of Mark Zuckerbergs' rise to power and fame following the founding of Facebook, is undisputed by David Finchers (and Aaron Sorkins) as a masterpiece.
Clayton Ashley put it in our roundtable discussion of the best films from the 2010s: "We've made a lot of movies."
The Social Network, whether by accident or by design, has become one of the most impactful films of the decade. Full of wacky Sorkin conversations, superb Fincher direction, and the decades first immensely catchy Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross soundtrack, it's still as engaging as ever. However, after almost a decade of watching Facebook move fast and break things, including news websites, social video, politics, etc., the films tangible sense of tension can easily be reinterpreted as foreboding for
The Thing
God, The Thing is the ruling book in American horror films. A masterclass in character development, tension-building, and the unmatchable value of excellent practical effects, it is a superb entry into the long-running tradition of a group of people getting stuck in a bad place with a terrible creature film. Although poorly received at the time, it has since developed a large following and is rightly considered one of the finest American horror films ever made.
On Peacock, the Thing is available to stream.
Varda by Agnes
Agnes Vardas' last film is a reflection on the journey that brought her to this country. She leaves a heartfelt and funny farewell message on her website, and her other great films include Fade Places (available on Tubi and Kanopy), Uncle Yanco (the Criterion Channel), and her documentary Black Panthers (HBO Max and the Criterion Channel).
Agnes' Varda is now available on HBO Max.
Vertigo
Alfred Hitchcock's paranoid thriller is often compared to Citizen Kane in the best films ever made, and for good reason. Vertigo was groundbreaking in its use of tools, like dolly zooms, and has inspired films such as Mulholland Drive.
On Peacock, Vertigo is available for streaming.
Videodrome
Max Renn, a sleazy television programmer well-known for broadcasting theatrically staged snuff films, is ensnared in a deadly conspiracy that threatens to blur the lines between reality and humanity's most terrifying fantasies with 1983s Videodrome. Long live the new flesh.
Peacock's Videodrome is now available for viewing.
Were All Going to the Worlds Fair
HBO Max has released one of the best movies of 2022, a creepypasta-influenced debut feature by writer-director Jane Schoenbrun. The participants in the online challenge make strange, disturbing videos (Schoenbrun collaborated with real YouTube artists) while discovering new self-expression through the unique opportunities and spaces of the internet.
HBO Max has released Were All Going to the Worlds Fair.
Polygon's Top Things: A Weekly Roundup
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