If Beale Street Could Talk, 1942s Cat People, Varda by Agnes, and more are all available on Peacock Halloween this year.
In September 2022, here are 24 of the best streaming movies to be introduced to streaming platforms.
Buckaroo Banzai's 8th Dimension Adventures
W.D. Richter, an Oscar-nominated screenwriter from the 1978 film Invasion of the Body Snatchers, Big Trouble in Little China, has only directed two feature films. The first, Buckaroo Banzai, was self-produced and performed so poorly that Richter's newly formed production company folded.
Buckaroo Banzai is a delightfully strange film that only improves with time, especially as the American film industry shifts more and more heavily to franchise filmmaking. That means it thrusts you right into the middle of a long-running and (slightly confusing) series, yet it all works because of the unexpected characters and story beats.
The film follows Dr. Buckaroo Banzai, 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 make-up). John Whorfin, a charming man, is the main antagonist in the film.
Buckaroo Banzai's Adventures in the 8th Dimension is now available on Prime Video.
Army of Darkness
This is Sam Raimi's third film in his excellent Evil Dead series, which leans heavily toward horror-comedies. Bruce Campbells Ash Williams has traveled back in time to the Middle Ages, and must navigate back to the present day with his chainsaw arm (and his wiles).
Peacock has an option to stream 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 menacing film that chronicles tortured masculinity brimming with powerful, barely repressed sensuality. The trio of magnetic lead performances combined with visually striking and serene cinematography culminates in a final scene with an unwavering 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 depicts a woman (Simone Simon) who believes that if she is ever sexually stimulated, she will become a murderous monster. When she falls in love with a marine engineer (Kent Smith), she struggles to reconcile her desires and beliefs.
In this film, there is a tense scene where one character stalks another. Tourneur builds the tension to an uncontrollable high before surprising the audience with the sudden appearance of a bus. It is often considered to be the origin of the modern jump scare.
Cat People is now available on HBO Max for streaming.
Chronicle
Chronicle, a 2012 found-footage sci-fi film, 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 boys goes into a spiral of 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, got us thinking about two things: first, how wonderful it is to have sharp, economical thrillers; second, the expansive, star-studded historical adventure The Ghost and the Darkness rules.
Without the pulp-thriller intensity of the films, the characters' physical interactions with fragile human bodies would feel dry and eerie, like in Jaws, even if Hopkins and Goldman do fall into the same man-versus-nature movie trap (also seen, frankly, in Jaws) of giving their animals human-level cunning and malice.
The Ghost and the Darkness is now available for download on Prime Video.
Halloween III: Season of the Witch
This is not the first entry into the Halloween franchise to feature Michael Myers at all, instead moving the series into more of an anthology series format that was swiftly abandoned. Season of the Witch is a disturbing and fascinating meditation on the way goods are sold 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 and the film's sole screenwriter. Everything except for a guy in a William Shatner mask stalking and murdering children 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 thirst for a brutal serial murder revenge film. Lee Byung-hun (Squid Game, Joint Security Area) plays Kim Soo-hyun, a retired national intelligence officer who is on a one-man mission of vengeance to torture Jang Kyung-chul (Choi Min-sik) the serial murderer who murdered his pregnant wife.
I Saw the Devil is now available for streaming on Prime Video.
If Beale Street Could Talk
If Beale Street Could Talk, a 1974 novel by Barry Jenkins, is a touchingly tender and beautiful tale of love, hope, and freedom that has been slowed by institutional racism and the malicious disregard of the carceral state. KiKi Layne plays 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, where Tish's parents are wrongly accused of rape, is a stunning film.
Netflix has an app for streaming If Beale Street Could Talk.
Land of the Dead
Land of the Dead is a standout film from George Romeros' consistently excellent Night of the Living Dead franchise. Set in a postapocalyptic Pittsburgh led with an iron fist by Dennis Hopper in a high-rise apartment, the film follows an organized zombie assault on the city and its efforts to defend it.
Peacock has made Land of the Dead available for streaming.
Let the Right One In
This Swedish adaptation of a 2004 novel was later reimagined as a Hollywood film in 2010. It's the original you should see.
Let the Right One In is a beautiful 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 for viewing.
Road House
Jake Gyllenhaal and Conor McGregor are collaborating on a new UFC-themed Road House. That's what it's all about, but what's never changed is how amazing the original was.
James Dalton is a sensitive and pretty zen bouncer who is also a keen philosopher. Dalton's owner pays him quite a lot of money to help stabilize his business, but a local businessman (Ben Gazzara) has other plans. With incredible bar brawls and terrific leading performances from Swayze, Gazzara, and Sam Elliott, Road House is a quintessential late-80s action film.
Road House is now available for Netflix users to watch.
Rob Zombies Halloween II
Although Season of the Witch shies away from Michael Myers, this list contains two films from the Halloween franchise that go all the way in, telling a horrifying tale of loss and survival that is one of my favorite movies of the 21st century. Please see the director's cut, which is the superior version of the film.
Peacock has made Rob Zombies Halloween II available to stream.
Rosetta
The award-winning Dardenne brothers are among the most popular European filmmakers of their generation, and their Palme dOr-winning film Rosetta may be their finest work.
Rosetta is a tender story about a young lady (Emilie Dequenne, who won Best Actress at Cannes for her performance on the film) who is living in poverty with her mother and her quest to secure a job and personal freedom. Dequennes' powerful performance will remain with you long after the film's release.
Rosetta is now available on HBO Max for streaming.
Prince of Darkness
It's tough to pick out favorite John Carpenter films because, with a few exceptions, they all rule, and this is one of two of him (They Live, which also rules but is not on this list, is also on Peacock).
Prince of Darkness is the second entry in the Carpenters Apocalypse Trilogy, joining The Thing (more on that later) and In the Mouth of Madness. Its about a Catholic priest (Donald Pleasance, reuniting with Carpenter after Halloween) who discovers a strange vat of goo in a monastery, and a group of quantum physics students who are asked to assist him in discovering what it is. Nightmares are unleashed.
For the first time during the Halloween season in 2021, I have seen Prince of Darkness, and there has not been a week that has passed since that I have not considered it.
On Peacock, Prince of Darkness is available for streaming.
Pulse
Is there a better modern horror filmmaker than Kiyoshi Kurosawa? Pulse says not.
Pulse, a masterclass in disturbing imagery with an underlying sense of terror, is a standout entry into the genre of internet horror. It's one of the most frightening movies of the century, and is a must-see for any horror enthusiast.
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 wife Elvira, and is cast in one of the most powerful roles in America's history.
Scarface is now available to stream on Netflix.
The Silence of the Lambs
The Silence of the Lambs, a 1991 horror film starring Jodie Foster, is a smart but unexperienced FBI cadet who encounters Evil Incarnate in the form of Dr. Hannibal Lecter (Anthony Hopkins), an elusive serial killer known for killing his young female victims.
On Prime Video, you may stream The Silence of the Lambs.
The Social Network
This month is just bursting with some of the greatest films of the 21st century, right?
The Social Network is a meticulously constructed tale of Mark Zuckerberg's rise to power and fame with the founding of Facebook, which is arguably a David Finchers (and Aaron Sorkins) masterpiece.
Clayton Ashley made this point during our roundtable discussion of the greatest films of the 2010s:
The Social Network, by chance or by design, has become one of the most popular movies of the decade. Full of snappy Sorkin conversations, gorgeous Fincher direction, and the decades first immensely catchy Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross soundtrack, its still as engaging as ever. But after almost a decade of watching Facebook move fast and break things, such as news websites, social video, politics, etc., the films tangible sense of tension can easily be reinterpreted as foreboding for what follows you make billion
The Thing
God, the Thing is the rule. A masterclass in character development, tension-building, and the unmatchable value of exceptional practical effects, it is a stunning entry into a long-running tradition of a group of individuals get stuck in a bad creature situation. Although poorly received at the time, it has since developed a huge cult following and is rightly considered one of the greatest American horror films ever.
On Peacock, the Thing is available for viewing.
Varda by Agnes
Agnes Vardas' last film is a reflection on the journey that brought her to this country. I highly recommend seeing her other great films, including Faces 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 comparison of the greatest movies ever made, and for good reason. Vertigo was groundbreaking in its use of techniques, such as dolly zooms, and has inspired films such as Mulholland Drive.
Peacock has a streaming version of Vertigo.
Videodrome
The splatterpunk horror of David Cronenberg's own Scanners has secured his reputation as the leading practitioner of body horror film. James Woods plays Max Renn, a shady television programmer known for producing theatrically staged snuff films. As Renn attempts to learn more about the broadcast for his own purposes, he is quickly caught in a deadly conspiracy that threatens to blur the lines between reality and humanity's most horrific fantasies. Long live the new flesh.
Peacock has a videodrome available for streaming.
Were All Going to the Worlds Fair
HBO Max has released one of the best movies of 2022, a creepypasta-influenced debut film by writer-director Jane Schoenbrun. The participants in the online challenge create strange, disturbing videos (Schoenbrun collaborated with real YouTube creators) while establishing new identities.
HBO Max is streaming Were All Going to the Worlds Fair.
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