Still looking for Halloween chills? Well, the gothic reboot of The Crow, Sydney Sweeney’s body horror film Immaculate, and buzzy comedy horror series Hysteria! all lead this week’s streaming release schedule, which also boasts Audrey Plaza comedy My Old Ass, a John Williams documentary, and more!
SERIES
The Diplomat S2
31 October 2024 – Netflix
It’s become a common refrain on the internet that when it comes to Netflix series, it’s maybe better to wait and see if they actually get renewed. Thanks to its opaque and arcane viewership metric, the streamer has surprised audiences by chopping shows after just one season, despite said shows appearing to be popular and/or critical successes. So, even when The Diplomat launched last year to fantastic reviews, and lead Keri Russell saw her performance as a newly appointed US ambassador in the UK who gets caught up in a high-reaching terrorist conspiracy land her Best Actress nominations at the Golden Globes, the Emmy Awards, and the SAG Awards, I still held back. But now The Diplomat is officially back for a second season, so I think it’s safe to finally tick this one off the list.
Hysteria! S1
1 November 2024 – Showmax
If you grew up a kid in the 1980s like I did, then you know all about the “Satanic Panic”. Pretty much everything popular with youngsters was accused of being from the devil. It was a wild time. And it’s in this very era that Hysteria! is set. The new comedy-horror coming-of-age series follows the events set in motion when a beloved varsity quarterback goes missing and rumours immediately begin to swirl of occult interference. Looking to capitalize on all the supernatural hubbub, a group of outcasts start billing their amateur rock group as a “Satanic metal band”, only for all sorts of weird happenings around town to trigger a witch hunt that leads right back to them. Hysteria! debuted in the US with all eight episodes of its first season just two weeks ago and buzz online has been great, so definitely add this one to your watchlist. And besides for the young teenage cast, look out for a talented adult roster featuring the likes of Julie Bowen, Anna Camp, Garret Dillahunt, and Evil Dead horror legend Bruce Campbell.
Citadel: Honey Bunny S1
7 November 2024 – Prime Video
Just a few weeks ago we had the surprise – well it was a surprise to me – launch of Citadel: Diana, the first internationally produced spinoff from the Russo Bros’ Citadel franchise which transplanted the espionage action to Italy. As I mentioned back then, another spinoff had attained the greenlight and here it is. Citadel: Honey Bunny (which has nothing to do with Pulp Fiction, sadly) is the India-set new series masterminded by popular filmmaking duo Raj & DK and starring Indian superstars Samantha Ruth Prabhu and Varun Dhawan as the titular Honey and Bunny, respectively. When stuntman Bunny recruits struggling actress Honey for a side gig, they are hurled into a high-stakes world of action, espionage and betrayal. Years later, as their dangerous past catches up, the estranged Honey and Bunny must reunite and fight to protect their young daughter Nadia.
Countdown: Paul vs. Tyson
7 November 2024 – Netflix
In just a little over two weeks’ time, one of the most high-profile boxing matches in ages will be streamed live globally on Netflix as Youtuber-turned-professional boxer Jake Paul will take on former heavyweight champ and living legend Mike Tyson. This is an event that is already packed with controversy due to the massive age gap between the two fighters, with the match already having been delayed from June due to health issues suffered by the 58-year-old Tyson. And to properly set the scene for this battle, Netflix is launching a three-part documentary series next week. Countdown: Paul vs. Tyson will take viewers behind-the-scenes with intimate access and inside footage into the two fighters’ respective training camps, “giving viewers a close-up look at the grit, determination and physical demands of preparing for the can’t miss boxing mega-event”. The first two episodes debut Thursday, 7 November, with the final episode airing a few days later on Tuesday, 12 November.
MOVIES
Knights of the Zodiac
1 November 2024 – Netflix
Most of the time when I mention a movie here, it’s because I either think it’s a good watch, or it could be something that some of you would enjoy. By all accounts, Knights of the Zodiac doesn’t fall into either of those categories as it was panned by both critics and fans alike and went on to become one of the biggest box office bombs of 2023 when it earned just $7 million globally in its entire theatrical run. However, Knights of the Zodiac is actually the live-action adaptation of long-running and very popular Saint Seiya manga created by Masami Kurumada, and so I kind of still want to see it. At least to see just how much they screwed things up. I was never willing to spend extra money to sate this morbid curiosity though, but now the fantasy-action film is finally making its local streaming debut on Netflix today so we can all see for ourselves just how bad this is.
Music by John Williams
1 November 2024 – Disney+
With his iconic work on Superman, Jaws, Star Wars, Indiana Jones, The Towering Inferno, Harry Potter, and much, much more, John Williams is arguably the greatest film composer to ever live. With a career spanning seven decades, he’s provided us with some of the most memorable music in movie history. And this new feature documentary tells the maestro’s story from his humble beginnings in a musically gifted family to the incredible success that would earn him 26 Grammy Awards and five Oscars. You will also gain insights from filmmakers, musicians, and others he has inspired, complete with rare behind-the-scenes looks at the making of movie history.
The Station Strangler
6 November 2024 – Showmax
It’s been over three decades, yet I can still clearly remember the fear that gripped the Cape Flats in the late 1980s/early 1990s as the Station Strangler’s killing spree made headline after headline. The infamous serial killer is believed to have killed 21 young boys and one adult during his reign of terror, but when Norman Simons, a schoolteacher, was eventually arrested, he was only convicted of a single murder. 28 years later, Simons was released on parole, reopening the wounds of families and communities that suffered personal loss at the hands of the Station Strangler. This new true-crime feature documentary (the latest from the team behind Devilsdorp and Tracking Thabo Bester) digs deep into the horror of events during that time, as well interviews with remaining family members, investigators, serial killer profilers, and more to try to make sense of it all.
Immaculate
7 November 2024 – Showmax
Sydney Sweeney had three different projects in 2024, and they couldn’t be more different. On the one hand you had the embarrassingly bad comic book flop Madame Web and on the other you had the star-studded Ron Howard-directed survival thriller Eden (which still needs to get a wide mainstream release). And then sitting somewhere in the middle of those two extremes is Immaculate, a religious-themed horror that found itself releasing around similar times and with similar themes to The First Omen (been a while since Hollywood has done that). That film may have earned the slightly better reviews overall, but by all accounts, Immaculate is not to be dismissed. Sweeney stars as Sister Cecilia, a young nun-in-training, who is invited to reside at a picturesque Italian convent, only to slowly discover that the beautiful setting harbours terrifying mysteries, starting with how she’s suddenly become pregnant when she’s a virgin.
My Old Ass
7 November 2024 – Prime Video
Marvel’s Agatha All Along just wrapped up its season yesterday, but if you’re already pining for some more Audrey Plaza (because why wouldn’t you be?), you’re in luck. My Old Ass is a coming-of-age story with a twist. Or rather, a trip. Maisy Stella stars as free-spirited teen Elliot who decides to consume a bunch of magic mushrooms to celebrate her 18th birthday, only for the psychedelics to conjure up her the wisecracking 39-year-old version of herself (played by Plaza). When Elliott’s “old ass” doesn’t just stick around but also starts handing out warnings about what her younger self should and shouldn’t do, Elliott realizes she has to rethink everything about family, love, and life.
Look Back
7 November 2024 – Prime Video
Tatsuki Fujimoto is known as the creator of the original manga for Chainsaw Man, a hyper-violent tale of demons and men with chainsaws for faces. But the mangaka is also responsible for another title that could not be more different, and now Look Back is following in its predecessors’ footsteps by getting its own anime adaptation (this time as a feature film though). The story follows extroverted Fujino and shut-in Kyomoto, two small town girls who couldn’t be more different but are brought together through their mutual love of drawing manga. But when their shared passion turns to rivalry, a tragedy occurs, kicking off “a heart-wrenching story about the struggles of being an artist, growing up and moving forward”.
VOD RENTALS/PURCHASES
The following movies have recently become available for digital purchase/rental:
The Crow
Purchase: Apple TV – R170
Rental: Apple TV – R45
Remember what I said above about Knights of the Zodiac? Well, this one can maybe also fall in the “morbid curiosity” category as The Crow is making is now available for rental. The original 1994 version is a goth rock classic, not only because of its extra emotional impact as the final movie of the late Brandon Lee who died tragically due to an accident on set in the last days of film. So, when it was revealed that director Rupert Sanders would be rebooting the franchise with Bill Skarsgård in the role of Eric Draven, the rocker who comes back from the dead to avenge his and his love’s murders, we always knew it would be an uphill battle to win fans over. Unfortunately, making a movie that “isn’t terrible, but it is bland all round, and honestly a bit cheap looking” (as Noelle put it in her 4.5/10 review) most definitely didn’t help matters. If you’re still curious though about this reboot, it will only cost you R45 to cure that affliction.