What's New To Streaming In October 2024
What should you watch in October? You can't go wrong with our picks for this month.
Hey there, DYLA readers. Due to travel and work, we have been slacking on the usual recommendations from this newsletter over the past month. But we’re ready to make it up to you with a couple of bangers in today’s newsletter on what’s new to streaming this month, including a recent horror hit to start your October and a classic 90s comedy. Enjoy!
Drew recommends…
Barbarian
How to recommend a movie like Barbarian without giving too much away? It’s the constant dilemma when writing or talking in a non-spoiler fashion about a twisty horror movie. And Barbarian is a doozy of that genre. Released just two years ago, this modestly budgeted horror-thriller from writer-director Zach Cregger (in his solo directorial debut) became a word-of-mouth hit at the box office and among horror fans.
Maybe the premise will convince you to check it out: Tess (Georgina Campbell) arrives in Detroit for a job interview and goes to check into her Airbnb. But, surprise, it’s been accidentally double-booked by a vaguely creepy-looking dude (Bill Skarsgård). The effective part of this opening is that we are with this woman every step of the way, wondering to ourselves what we would do in her situation.
Maybe the clever casting will convince you to see Barbarian. Skarsgård plays Pennywise in the It movies, so with that knowledge you are watching him with extra suspicion and fear, despite his regular guy presentation. Also, Cregger brilliantly cast Justin Long, known mostly for his comedic work. Long’s presence wrongfoots the audience and also injects some dark humor into the proceedings.
Or maybe it's Barbarian’s wildly unpredictable story that will convince you to finally watch it. In fact, don’t even watch the trailer. That’s what I did before going to see it and it was one of the most fun in-theater experiences I’ve had in a long time. There’s smart writing, sly misdirection, and a few jaw-dropping moments of shock and terror. What more can you ask for in a time of safe and predictable storytelling?
Streaming on Hulu and Amazon Prime Video
Billy recommends…
Mrs. Doubtfire
One of those classic movies growing up that has such a high concept and you don’t realize how absurd it is until you are an adult. Daniel Hillard (Robin Williams) probably shouldn’t have contact with his kids after the shenanigans he pulls, but the charm is nonetheless there. This movie popped into my mind recently because Substack creator
was talking about their favorite line readings. Fully expecting them to mention the “impressions” scene where Robin Williams is creating characters with all of his classic manic impressions using dinosaur toys, but they pointed out the scene where it is revealed that Daniel is Mrs. Doubtfire. Miranda Hillard (Sally Field) is dealing with trauma and shock from the reveal. She repeats in three hilarious versions of, “The whole time? The whole time! THE WHOLE TIME!”This made me realize that this isn’t just a movie I love because of Robin Williams. The three main adult leads (Pierce Brosnan as Stu) being the third are cooking unlike many comedies are able to achieve. Daniel Hillard is in a spiral, Miranda is unsurprisingly thriving, and Stu is suave/attractive/a good guy. There is no one here to root against. A bold structure from director Chris Columbus and writer Leslie Dixon. But they knew that Robin was the reason to come see the movie. So any horrible, but good-hearted behavior from Daniel isn’t going to completely turn the audience.
You have Kramer vs. Kramer, Scenes from a Marriage, and Marriage Story as the notable examples of divorce dramas. But Mrs. Doubtfire does the almost impossible to merge comedy with an always complicated scenario that creates obvious drama. None of that conflict is lost in this lighter look at divorce. Chris Columbus, Robin Williams, and Sally Field had all dealt with divorce at the time of shooting this movie. An original script had them getting back together, but they took the realistic ending where there is amicable parenting with an acceptance of loss. It is my mission in life to ruin innocent comedies from my youth and try to explain the truth within them. I hope I did that a bit for this one. But more importantly, here is a reminder that Robin Williams had an absolute fucking cannon.
Streaming on Hulu and Disney+
New To Streaming In October 2024
Netflix
21 Jump Street
Boyz n the Hood
Bridesmaids
Cinderella Man
Halloween (2018)
IT: Chapter Two
Kung Fu Panda
Psycho
Salt
Scarface
The Birds
Unfriended
You’re Next
Scream (2022) (October 11)
A Quiet Place: Part II (October 12)
Selma (October 16)
Amazon Prime Video
Animal Kingdom
Bruce Almighty
Clueless
Crawl
Don’t Worry Darling
Dressed to Kill
Elvis
Ex Machina
Galaxy Quest
Lost in Translation
Mad Max
One False Move
Pain and Glory
The Big Short
The Breakfast Club
The Last Picture Show
The Raid: Redemption
The Thing
The Witch
True Romance
Wonder Woman
Monkey Man (October 15)
Hulu
Birdman
Edward Scissorhands
The Empty Man
The Fly
Long Shot
Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl
The Princess Bride
The Purge
Ready or Not
The Rocky Horror Picture Show
Sideways
Signs
The Sixth Sense
Late Night with the Devil (October 19)
HBO and Max
A Nightmare on Elm Street
Doctor Sleep
Interview with the Vampire
Lawrence of Arabia
Poltergeist
Practical Magic
The Conjuring
MaXXXine (October 18)
Trap (October 25)
DYLA Podcast
The Ringer broke down which director had the best four-film run since the 1970s, which reminded us to share our recent miniseries on the same topic! In case you missed it, check out every episode of “Four For Four,” where we discussed four directors who made four consecutive great movies.
