Spooky season comes to a close this week. Pour one out for all those horror fans who have been planning their house decorations and costumes for months, as this weekend will mark the culmination of all that hard work. And because Halloween happens to fall on Saturday this year, Hollywood has decided to take it easier, holding back any big movie releases until next month.
Also, on the TV side, there are only a few new releases to pick from, as the fall season is already well underway. But that’s not to say this week is lacking any promising watches, as most of us will be at home this Saturday guarding that candy bowl and maybe flipping on the TV for a good scare.
So, in advance, have a safe and happy Halloween. Just remember, the real monsters this week are the ones who hand out raisins and black licorice instead of tasty sugar-filled candy.
🎥 In Theaters This Week
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🎥 Breeder
(Wed, Oct 28th — limited release)
A broke college student agrees to help a mysterious poodle breeder with her research. What could possibly go wrong? Well, plenty. In this twisted horror thriller, Daniel Doheny plays a student lured to a remote ranch by the promise of easy money. Trouble is, the breeder (Dot-Marie Jones) has apparently moved on from dogs to human subjects. And guess who’s her newest stud? Maddie Phillips and Tanaya Beatty co-star in writer-director Alex Goyette’s feature debut, where the pursuit of science takes a rather perverted turn.
🎥 Closure
(Wed, Oct 28th — limited release)
In Michał Marczak’s documentary, desperate father Daniel Dymiński searches Poland’s Vistula River for his missing teenage son. Evidence suggests the boy jumped from a bridge, but Daniel still believes there’s a chance he survived. As the search drags on, the uncertainty weighs heavily on him. He wants answers, but he isn’t ready to accept the worst. And as painful as the search has become, giving up may be even harder.
🎥 The Mongoose
(Fri, Oct 30th — wide release)
Liam Neeson is back in the driver’s seat in this over-the-top action thriller that puts his particular set of skills to the test. Playing a former Special Forces soldier accused of murder after defending his ex-wife (Marisa Tomei) from her abusive husband, Neeson hits the road in a red race car, sparking a nationwide police chase. With Ving Rhames and Michael Chiklis co-starring, it seems the only thing more dangerous than Neeson with a loaded gun is Neeson behind the wheel of a fast car.
🎥 Everest: The Other Side
(Fri, Oct 30th — wide release; IMAX)
Some mountains are meant to be climbed. Others are meant to test just how far people are willing to go. From Free Solo directors Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin comes a documentary following expert mountaineers and skiers Hilaree Nelson and Jim Morrison as they attempt something never done before: climbing and skiing Everest’s direct North Face. For the pair, it’s more than a daring feat. It’s a lifelong dream they’re determined to pursue together.
🎥 Christmas at the Kringles
(Fri, Oct 30th — wide release)
Christmas comes early in this twisted holiday horror comedy from Willy’s Wonderland director Kevin Lewis. Ron Livingston and Rachel Bilson star as a suburban couple whose secretly psychotic neighbors (Thomas Lennon and Arden Myrin) take their year-round Christmas obsession a little too far. When they’re invited over for a supposedly friendly Christmas dinner, the night quickly turns into a holiday nightmare. With Rob Riggle playing an unconventional Santa’s helper, this festive gathering promises more blood, mayhem, and madness than Christmas cheer.
🎥 The Only Living Pickpocket in New York
(Fri, Oct 30th — expands)
John Turturro stars as Harry Lehman, an old-school pickpocket trying to get by in an increasingly cashless and digital-driven New York City. But when a stolen wallet turns up a valuable USB drive, Harry finds himself on the run from a crime family determined to get it back. Co-starring Giancarlo Esposito, Steve Buscemi, Tatiana Maslany, and Jamie Lee Curtis, this crime comedy-drama from writer-director Noah Segan offers a warts-and-all love letter to New York and its disappearing breed of old-school thieves.
🎥 The Mosquito Bowl
(Fri, Oct 30th — limited release)
Friday Night Lights director Peter Berg returns to the football field, only this time it’s in the middle of World War II. Based on a true story, this Netflix war drama follows a group of former college football stars (Nicholas Galitzine, Bill Skarsgård, Ray Nicholson, and Tom Francis) serving as Marines in the Pacific. Ahead of the bloody invasion of Okinawa, they organize a football game on Guadalcanal, offering a brief escape from war before returning to battle.
🎥 Gentle Monster
(Fri, Oct 30th — limited release)
How well do you really know the person you love? Léa Seydoux stars as Lucy, a concert pianist who moves her family to the countryside, hoping to help her husband (Laurence Rupp) recover from burnout. But when police suddenly arrest him and seize his computers, their peaceful new life falls apart. From Corsage director Marie Kreutzer comes a psychological drama about a woman forced to question everything she thought she knew about her husband.
🎥 Queen at Sea
(Fri, Oct 30th — limited release)
Growing old is hard enough, but deciding what’s best for an aging parent can be even harder. Juliette Binoche stars in Lance Hammer’s emotionally charged family drama as a daughter struggling to care for her elderly mother (Anna Calder-Marshall), whose worsening dementia leaves her unable to make important decisions. But when she clashes with her stepfather (Tom Courtenay) over her mother’s care, the family must face some painful choices.
🎥 Wild at Heart: 4K Restoration
(Fri, Oct 30th — re-release)
David Lynch’s wonderfully bizarre road movie returns to theaters in a new 4K restoration, 36 years after its original release. Nicolas Cage and Laura Dern star as two young lovers on the run from her controlling mother and the killers she sends after them. With Willem Dafoe, Diane Ladd, Isabella Rossellini, and Harry Dean Stanton along for the ride, this twisted love story is packed with sex, violence, Elvis, The Wizard of Oz, and all the weirdness you’d expect from Lynch.
🎥 V for Vendetta: 20th Anniversary
(Sun, Nov 1st & Thurs, Nov 5th — re-release, via Fathom Ent.)
“Remember, remember the fifth of November.” 20 years after its original release, this cult film adaptation of Alan Moore and David Lloyd’s graphic novel returns to theaters for two nights only, just in time for Guy Fawkes Night. Hugo Weaving dons the iconic mask as the mysterious revolutionary V, while Natalie Portman stars as Evey Hammond, as they join forces to fight back against a totalitarian regime. And considering how relevant its themes still feel today, the timing couldn’t be more appropriate.
🎦 Streaming This Week
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🎦 The One About Matthew Perry
(Tues, Oct 27th — premiering on Netflix)
Matthew Perry made millions laugh as Chandler Bing on Friends, but behind the humor was a man struggling with addiction. In this three-part documentary from Quiet on Set director Mary Robertson, Perry’s closest friends and family remember the man they knew beyond the television screen. Through their stories, we get a more personal look at his life, his struggles with drugs and alcohol, and his efforts to help others facing the same battles.
🎦 Kordell Stewart: Slash & Burn
(Tues, Oct 27th — premiering on HBO)
Nicknamed “Slash” for his ability to play multiple positions, former Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Kordell Stewart was one of the NFL’s most exciting players of the 1990s. But while he was making headlines on the field, a damaging rumor about his personal life threatened to overshadow his career. Featuring interviews with Stewart, former coach Bill Cowher, and teammate Jerome Bettis, this HBO documentary revisits his football legacy and the lasting toll of a rumor that refused to go away.
🎦 Drive: The Pretenders
(Wed, Oct 28th — streaming on Prime Video)
Love and racing don’t always mix in this German romantic drama inspired by Tamara Lush’s novel Drive. Lisa-Marie Koroll stars as an aspiring mechanic who dreams of managing a professional racing crew. But when a scandal-plagued racing star (Amin Baahmed) offers to help her career in exchange for posing as his fiancée, things get complicated when their convenient arrangement turns into something more real than either expected.
🎦 Minions & Monsters
(Wed, Oct 28th — streaming on Peacock)
The Minions are making a monster movie, which means the biggest disaster may be happening behind the camera. Pierre Coffin returns to direct and voice the yellow chaos machines as they hunt for the perfect creature to star in their kaiju-sized production. But once Hollywood gets involved, their big-screen dream quickly turns into pratfalls, gibberish, banana-fueled mayhem, and complete cinematic chaos. Zoey Deutch, Jesse Eisenberg, Jeff Bridges, Allison Janney, and Christoph Waltz also lend their voices.
🎦 Apocalypse Z: New World
(Fri, Oct 30th — premiering on Prime Video)
The zombie apocalypse goes international in this sequel to Spain’s Apocalypse Z. With the Canary Islands serving as Europe’s last safe haven, dwindling supplies force a group of survivors, including Roberto (Carlos Alcaide), to venture back onto the infected mainland. But between hordes of zombies and fellow survivors who can’t be trusted, staying alive becomes a fight on more than one front.
🎦 SCTV: The Greatest Show You’ve Never Heard Of
(Fri, Oct 30th — premiering on Netflix)
Before Canadian comedy stars like Martin Short, Catherine O’Hara, John Candy, Eugene Levy, and Rick Moranis became Hollywood favorites, there was SCTV. This beloved Canadian sketch comedy series gave Saturday Night Live a run for its money in the late ’70s and early ’80s, launching some of comedy’s biggest names. Now Netflix is bringing the surviving cast members back together to revisit the show, share memories, and remind us why this wonderfully weird comedy classic still deserves our attention.
🎦 Collision Course
(Fri, Oct 30th — premiering on Netflix)
What happens when the cops investigating a bank robbery are the very ones who pulled it off? That’s the setup for this Spanish action thriller from director Daniel Sánchez Arévalo. Laia Costa, Karra Elejalde, and Luis Zahera star in this crime caper about corrupt officers whose carefully planned heist goes sideways after a brutal getaway crash. Now, with their own investigation underway, keeping their secrets buried might be harder than getting away with the money.
🎦 Ali G: Who Iz I?
(Fri, Oct 30th — streaming on Prime Video)
Sacha Baron Cohen dusts off his infamous wannabe gangster Ali G for his feature directorial debut. After twenty years of doing next to nothing, Ali discovers that his longtime girlfriend Julie (Morgana Robinson) is eight months pregnant. With fatherhood just around the corner, he heads to America hoping to revive his career and make a few bucks before the baby arrives. Naturally, that means more awkward encounters with unsuspecting people and plenty of Ali G’s usual ridiculous antics. Whether the joke still works after all these years is another question. Respek!
🎦 Big Baby
(Fri, Oct 30th — streaming on Shudder)
Brandon Scott stars as a struggling screenwriter whose visions of a baby-masked murderer begin feeding his latest horror script... until the killings start happening for real. Directed by rocker-turned-horror filmmaker Spider One and executive produced by Cher and Chaz Bono, this indie slasher thriller follows a writer racing to protect those he loves as the line between creation and reality is slashed apart.
🎦 The Gentleman Thief
(Fri, Oct 30th — streaming on Hulu / Disney+)
Retirement refuses to stick for master thief Mason Goddard. John Travolta returns for the third installment following Cash Out and High Rollers, with Mason lured back into action to steal a priceless painting, only to discover that a ruthless kingpin has turned the assignment into a deadly trap. Lukas Haas and Quavo return alongside Sam Asghari and DJ Khaled as one final impossible score demands every trick Mason has left.
🎦 The Isolate Thief
(Sun, Nov 1st — streaming on Amazon’s MGM+)
The frontier gets a bit colder when gold enters the picture. Mackenzie Foy stars as a lone caretaker at an isolated Civil War-era Union outpost whose quiet survival routine explodes after stolen treasure lands in her hands. When outlaws led by Sean Bean secretly targets her, endurance becomes her only weapon. Co-starring Odeya Rush, Jack Kesy, and Joe Pantoliano, this Western thriller turns winter, greed, and isolation into a brutal standoff.
✅ On VOD This Week
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✅ The Dog Stars
(Tues, Oct 27th — on VOD/Digital)
Jacob Elordi follows his Oscar-nominated turn as Frankenstein’s Monster by facing the end of the world in Ridley Scott’s post-apocalyptic survival drama. Here, Elordi plays Hig, a young pilot living alongside Josh Brolin’s hardened survivalist, Bangley. When a mysterious radio transmission suggests there may be life beyond their isolated homestead, Hig ventures into a ruined world filled with dangerous scavengers. With Margaret Qualley, Allison Janney, Benedict Wong, and Guy Pearce, this adaptation of Peter Heller’s novel asks what makes survival worth fighting for.
✅ Verity
(Tues, Oct 27th — on VOD/Digital)
Dakota Johnson stars as struggling ghostwriter Lowen Ashleigh, who moves into the remote home of recently paralyzed, celebrated mystery author Verity Crawford (Anne Hathaway) in the hope of completing her latest book. But after discovering an unpublished autobiography filled with disturbing confessions, Lowen can no longer tell where fiction ends and manipulation begins. Josh Hartnett co-stars as Verity’s husband in Michael Showalter’s adaptation of Colleen Hoover’s psychological thriller, where the pen may be mightier than the sword, but the author just might be deadlier than both.
✅ The Stunt Driver
(Tues, Oct 27th — on VOD/Digital)
Wild stunt driver Ken Carter doesn’t just want to break a record. He wants to launch himself into the history books. Jay Baruchel portrays this real-life ’70s Canadian daredevil whose obsession with rocketing a car across the St. Lawrence River puts nearly everything in his life at risk. Ben Foster co-stars as Ken’s American counterpart, Evel Knievel, with Goon director Michael Dowse helming this true-story comedy-drama about one spectacularly crazy dream.
✅ Forgotten Island
(Tues, Oct 27th — on VOD/Digital)
The idea of lifelong friends gets harder to hold onto as you get older. DreamWorks Animation turns that feeling into a supernatural fantasy inspired by Filipino folklore, with Liza Soberano and H.E.R. voicing childhood friends Raissa and Jo. Transported to the mysterious island of Nakali, they’ll have to rediscover what made their friendship so strong before growing up pulls them apart.
✅ Shaun the Sheep: The Beast of Mossy Bottom
(Tues, Oct 27th — on VOD/Digital)
A simple attempt to fix the pumpkin patch goes very wrong when Shaun and the flock accidentally unleash a mysterious creature on Mossy Bottom Farm. With Halloween fast approaching, strange things start happening, the Farmer disappears, and Shaun has to lead the others through eerie woods and unexpected dangers to put things right. Aardman Animations brings its trademark stop-motion charm to this adventure, where even a little farmyard mishap can turn into a full-blown monster problem.
✅ Mum, I’m Alien Pregnant
(Tues, Oct 27th — on VOD/Digital)
Pregnancy can be scary enough without throwing mysterious aliens into the equation. In this bizarre New Zealand sci-fi horror comedy from filmmaking duo THUNDERLIPS, Hannah Lynch stars as a young woman who finds herself pregnant after an unusual encounter with a suspected humanoid alien (Arlo Green). Now she’s stuck dealing with skeptical doctors, an utterly useless baby daddy, and an oversharing mother, all while trying to figure out what the hell is growing inside her.
✅ The Lost Ones
(Tues, Oct 27th — on VOD/Digital)
Henry Golding and Laura Haddock star in this suspense thriller about a couple who move their family into a secluded home deep in the woods. But their fresh start takes an unsettling turn when they invite their mysterious, creepy neighbor (Alex Pettyfer) over for dinner. Turns out, moving to the middle of nowhere might not have been such a great idea after all.
✅ Free Fall
(Tues, Oct 27th — on VOD/Digital)
In space, no one can hear you scream... or call for help. In this Russian cosmonaut survival thriller, a spacecraft repairman (Alexander Kuznetsov) finds himself stranded and floating in orbit after a catastrophic proton storm cuts him off from his crew. With only a voice over the radio to guide him, he must find his way back before time runs out. Houston, we have... Oh, scratch that! Moscow, we have a problem!
✅ Ghost in the Cell
(Tues, Oct 27th — on VOD/Digital)
What scares the worst of the worst? Try being a hardened criminal trapped inside a high-security prison where inmates are being brutally murdered by something they can’t even see. From filmmaker Joko Anwar and starring Abimana Aryasatya, Almanzo Konoralma, and Aming Sugandhi, this blood-soaked Indonesian supernatural thriller pits violent prisoners against an invisible killer they can’t intimidate or fight. Turns out being locked up with something they can’t see is a whole different level of prison hell.
✅ Bloody Tennis
(Tues, Oct 27th — on VOD/Digital)
Tennis demands physical and mental discipline, but how far would you go for a competitive edge? Sandra Guldberg Kampp stars as Sophie, a young player admitted to an elite academy in Southern Europe where everyone is willing to push themselves to the limit, even if that means drinking human blood. Nikias Chryssos writes and directs this horror thriller that turns tennis into a literal blood sport.
✅ Never After Dark
(Tues, Oct 27th — on VOD/Digital)
The dead have rules. The living are another problem entirely. In this supernatural horror-thriller, Moeka Hoshi stars as Airi, a wandering medium who helps restless spirits move on with help from her dead sister, Miku. But when a job at an isolated country house reveals an apparition unlike anything she’s encountered before, Airi uncovers a secret that puts her in danger from something far more human.
✅ Concessions
(Tues, Oct 27th — on VOD/Digital)
There’s nothing sadder for movie lovers than watching a local theater close, but this indie comedy-drama would rather have a little fun with the heartbreak. First-time feature filmmaker Mas Bouzidi spends one final night inside the Royal Alamo Cinema with its jaded employees, eccentric regulars, desperate owner, and movie-obsessed oddballs. Steven Ogg, Josh Hamilton, Ivory Aquino, and Michael Madsen, in one of his final performances, lead the ensemble.
✅ Filipiñana
(Tues, Oct 27th — on VOD/Digital)
Paradise looks a little different when you’re the one keeping it pristine while everyone else gets to enjoy it. Rafael Manuel’s Sundance-winning debut follows Isabel, a 17-year-old from rural Philippines who takes a job at an exclusive country club outside Manila, where every chore reveals a rigid social order. Executive produced by acclaimed filmmaker Jia Zhangke (A Touch of Sin) and shot by cinematographer Xenia Patricia (100 Nights of Hero), this quietly unsettling drama turns a manicured resort into a sharp study of class, control, and privilege.
📺 On TV This Week
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📺 Minimum Wage
(Mon, Oct 26th — on Netflix)
A crappy minimum-wage job is no laughing matter... or is it? From creators Jeremy Garelick and Will Phelps, this workplace comedy follows a group of teenagers trying to keep a local pizzeria running while juggling school, lousy pay, and a nightmare boss. Starring Aidan Micho, Grace Reiter, Hyde Healy, and Randall Park, this looks like another Tires-style workplace disaster where the jokes are as relatable as they are funny.
📺 The Mob
(Mon, Oct 26th — on Hulu / Disney+)
Parker Posey is making an offer you can’t refuse... as host of Hulu’s new mob-inspired reality competition. 12 celebrities, including Debi Mazar, Bruno Tonioli, and Joe Gorga, head to a lavish Italian villa to compete for up to $250,000. One contestant becomes the Don, controlling the money and deciding who gets whacked. But watch your back, because the family might just turn against you.
📺 Ghosts: Two-Part Halloween Special
(Thurs, Oct 29th — on CBS / Paramount+)
Halloween is coming to Woodstone Mansion, and the gang is in for a few tricks and treats. In this two-part Halloween special, Sam (Rose McIver) is away filming a movie, leaving Jay (Utkarsh Ambudkar) and Kyle (Ben Feldman) in charge. Meanwhile, Hetty (Rebecca Wisocky) gets an unexpected reunion with her estranged sister Margaret (Maria Thayer), while Bela (Punam Patel) decides to throw a rather unconventional Halloween bash. And Pete is still missing. Just another spooky night at Woodstone!
📺 The Fall of El Mayo
(Thurs, Oct 29th — on Netflix)
How do you capture one of the world’s most elusive cartel bosses? And was it even a capture? In this three-part documentary, filmmakers Darren Foster and Miguel Fernández Flores investigate the mysterious downfall of Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada, the Sinaloa Cartel co-founder who evaded authorities for over 30 years. His sudden arrival in U.S. custody in July 2024 raises plenty of questions. Was it a kidnapping, a betrayal, or something else entirely?
📺 Dexter: Resurrection: Season 2
(Fri, Oct 30th — on Paramount+)
Michael C. Hall returns as homicidal vigilante Dexter Morgan, who’s starting to feel the effects of age and wonder whether the next generation of killers is leaving him behind. In this new season, Dexter faces some fresh competition in New York, including a notorious veteran murderer (Brian Cox) and a younger killer (Dan Stevens) making a name for himself. With Uma Thurman returning, Dexter might have to work overtime to keep up with the competition. Because New York might be big, but apparently not big enough for all these killers.
📺 Nocturne
(Fri, Oct 30th — on Apple TV)
Liev Schreiber stars as a veteran homicide detective who has spent years hunting notorious serial killer Jurek Walter (Stephen Graham). But when one of Walter’s missing victims turns up alive, the investigation takes a dangerous turn. Could there be more survivors? Zazie Beetz plays a young FBI agent who goes undercover in a prison cell next to Walter’s, hoping to uncover the truth. But getting close to this master manipulator could come at a devastating psychological price.
📺 Your Dearest, Darkest Friend with Ted Raimi
(Fri, Oct 30th — on Screambox)
Actor Ted Raimi (brother of Sam) has spent decades making a name for himself in horror, so hosting his own creepy talk show seems like a natural fit. Just in time for Halloween, the cult favorite welcomes familiar faces from the horror world into his spooky manor for cocktails, conversation, and a little mischief. And keeping him company? A rather unusual collection of puppet housemates.
📺 A Couple of Lies
(Fri, Oct 30th — on Netflix)
Two wealthy couples, two beautiful homes, and plenty of dirty secrets. Frida Gustavsson, Fares Fares, Emma Appleton, and Jakob Oftebro star in this four-part psychological thriller about a seemingly innocent home swap between Stockholm and Sicily that turns into a twisted game of suspicion, manipulation, and murder.
📺 Beat Luke Littler
(Fri, Oct 30th — Live on Netflix)
Think you can beat a world champion at darts? Easier said than done. Twenty amateur darts players face off against world number one Luke Littler in a single leg of 501, with a whopping £501,000 up for grabs. Gary Lineker hosts this live Netflix special, with Richard Osman crunching the numbers. One night, 20 challengers, and one very big payday. Cheers, mate!
📺 Obsess
(Fri, Oct 30th — on Netflix)
The dead don’t always stay buried... and neither do their secrets. In this Arabic horror series, Talal (Yaqoub Alfarhan) returns to Kuwait after his father’s death, only to find himself haunted by a mysterious woman from his past (Haya Abdulsalam). As disturbing visions and supernatural encounters escalate, Talal must confront old secrets before they destroy his family.
📺 Dead-End Job
(Fri, Oct 30th — on Netflix)
Some jobs pay so well, you really should question why. In this South Korean horror series, Lee Jae-wook plays a debt-ridden young man who signs up with a mysterious staffing agency offering ridiculously high wages. The catch? Employees can’t discuss their assignments. And with each job getting stranger and more terrifying, earning a decent paycheck might just cost him his life. Talk about a dead-end job!
📺 The Gilded Age: Season 4
(Sun, Nov 1st — on HBO / HBO Max)
The more things change, the more they stay the same. HBO’s acclaimed period drama returns for a fourth season, taking us back to 1880s New York, where old money, new fortunes, and social ambition continue to clash. From Downton Abbey creator Julian Fellowes, the series brings back Carrie Coon, Morgan Spector, Christine Baranski, Cynthia Nixon, and more for another round of high-society scheming. Turns out, the rich and powerful haven’t changed all that much.
