It’s the beginning of the end for Henry Cavill’s run as The Witcher, while the rest of the new streaming releases also sees the double-header VOD debuts of Evil Dead Rise and Renfield, Idris Elba’s real-time airplane thriller Hijack, and more!
MOVIES
Evil Dead Rise
Apple TV/Google Play Movies – 22 June 2023
Sam Raimi’s Evil Dead franchise has had a knack for reinventing itself right since it first tore its gory way onto screens back in 1981. Back in 2013 we got a surprisingly good modern reimagining from Fede Alvarez, and now it’s up to writer/director Lee Cronin – who Raimi handpicked for this project – to offer the next chapter in the horrific battle with the Necronomicon. And it’s good! Released in April in cinemas, Evil Dead Rise has been almost universally declared “Groovy!” for its bloody action and thrilling twists as it follows two estranged sisters whose reunion is cut short as they have to fight the dreaded Deadites for the survival of their family. And if you want to check all this out in the safety/comfort of your own home, Evil Dead Rise is now available for purchase on Apple TV and Google Play Movies for R169. If you’re not looking to own the film, rental options should be available in the coming weeks.
Renfield
Apple TV/Google Play Movies – 22 June 2023
Keeping things gory and supernatural – but with a bit of a comedy twist – we also get Renfield available for purchase on Apple TV and Google Play Movies this week. Directed by Chris “The Lego Batman Movie” McKay, Renfield stars Nicholas Hoult as the titular literary character originally created by Bram Stoker who is the bug-eating manservant of none other than Dracula, played by a perfectly-cast, scenery chewing Nicolas Cage. Pitched as a direct sequel to Stoker’s classic tale, it follows Renfield (who has been granted supernatural gifts by his master) getting tired of being the lackey of the vampire lord and trying to find a new lease on life after falling for a feisty traffic cop played by Awkwafina.
iNumber Number: Jozi Gold
Netflix – 23 June 2023
By this point, you should at least be familiar with iNumber Number. Released in 2013, writer-director Donovan Marsh’s crime-drama feature film was a hit on the international film festival circuit. So much so that it didn’t take long a Hollywood remake to be announced, with none other than Fast & Furious franchise writer Chris Morgan attached to produce. Instead of that promised film though, four years later saw the release of a TV series adaptation on Mzansi Magic in its place. However, now a new Netflix production titled iNumber Number: Jozi Gold is here… and honestly I’m not what it is. Marsh is once again writing and directing, with original stars S’Dumo Mtshali and Presley Chweneyagae reprising their respective roles as an undercover cop who finds himself captured by a gang after his cover is blown, and the partner he desperately calls for help. What’s confusing me is that I’ve seen the film billed as a sequel (which sounds about right, after viewing the trailer) and a reboot (don’t you generally change your cast for a reboot?). You’ll just have to watch this one for yourself to find out exactly what it is.
Run Rabbit Run
Netflix – 29 June 2023
If you need more Sarah Snook in your life now that Succession has ended, look no further than Run Rabbit Run. Just don’t expect any Shiv Roy like wheeling and dealing in this Australian psychological horror – quite the opposite, in fact – as Snook plays fertility doctor whose sister disappeared mysteriously when she was seven. Now her own daughter is the same age and is suddenly acting very strange, claiming to be her missing aunt! Yeah, that’s never not creepy!
SERIES
I’m a Virgo S1
Amazon Prime Video – 23 June 2023
Standing 1.9m tall, I know a thing or two about sometimes feeling a bit too big for my environment. But I have nothing on Cootie, Jhareel Jerome’s unbelievable 4-meter-tall young man in this absurdist comedy drama from the mind of acclaimed filmmaker Boots Riley. The seven-episode series also stars Mike Epps and Carmen Ejogo as Cootie’s protective uncle and aunt, who have kept him inside their increasingly-too-small house for his entire life, in fear of what would happen if the public should see him. But when a group of teenage political activists accidentally learn of the sheltered 19-year-old Cootie’s existence, it kicks off a rather… big coming-of-age adventure.
The Fear Index S1
Showmax – 23 June 2023
Popular British author Robert Harris has a number of his novels adapted to screen already, the most notable being Roman Polankski’s The Ghost Writer in 2010. Now the latest to join that throng is The Fear Index, a four-part miniseries based on Harris’ 2011 psychological thriller novel about the 2010 Flash Crash, a 36-minutes-long US stock market crash in which major stock indices plunged to record lows before bouncing back again, with no real explanation as for why. This adaptation takes place on the day the Flash Crash and stars Josh Hartnett as a hedge fund managing tech expert who finds himself at the centre of a grand conspiracy to destabilize global markets when he activates a new system of computer algorithms designed to perform trades faster than any human can.
Titans S4
Netflix – 25 June 2023
I’ll be honest, I don’t who still really cares about Titans anymore. But for the fans still out there (THERE ARE DOZENS OF YOU! DOZENS!), you’ll be happy to know that fourth and final season of the gritty DC Comics show is finally making its official local debut this coming Sunday, roughly seven months after its premiere on HBO Max. For this last hurrah, the superhero team of Nightwing, Starfire, Raven, Beast Boy, Superboy, and Robin have to face off against both an occult-obsessed Lex Luthor as well other supernatural threats such as the sinister Brother Blood.
Hijack S1
Apple TV+ – 28 June 2023
For many years, I was a devout worshipper at the Church of Jack Bauer. It may be hokey in retrospect now, but at the time there was simply nothing else like 24 on our screens, and its real-time format where each hour of screentime covered an hour of action, made some of the most nail-biting cliffhanger endings around. And now, many, many years later, AppleTV+ is going to try and revive the format with Hijack. Written by Lupin co-creator George Kay and starring Idris Elba (that’s already two steps in the right direction), this seven-part series is set aboard a seven-hour flight to London which gets taken over by hijackers. Elba plays a business negotiator who is forced to use his skills to keep his fellow passengers alive through the entire ordeal. Borrowing another page out of 24’s book though, there appears to a lot more going on than just a simple hijacking though!
Great Expectations S1
Disney+ – 28 June 2023
Charles Dickens’ Great Expectations has been universally loved and acclaimed since it was first published in 1861. In the 162 years since then, the epic story of Pip, a young orphan whose wistful dreams of a great life suddenly become possible due to a mysterious benefactor, has been adapted to just about every medium possible nearly 30 times. So what’s one more? This latest six-part miniseries iteration from BBC does come with the hook of being written by Steven Knight of Peaky Blinders and Eastern Promises fame, and alongside Fionn Whitehead as Pip, also stars Olivia Colman as Miss Havisham, the wealthy spinster in whose twisting schemes Pip finds himself ensnared.
Ōoku: The Inner Chambers S1
Netflix – 29 June 2023
Originally published in 19 volumes from 2004 to 2020, Ōoku: The Inner Chambers was a critically lauded mange written/drawn by Fumi Yoshinaga, that’s already been adapted into two live-action feature films, as well as two live-action TV series. But now, the manga is finally getting an anime adaptation as well! The acclaimed tale is set in an alternate history version of the Edo period in Japan, in which an unknown disease kills off most of the male popular, leading to huge cultural change into a matriarchal society in which harems of men serve the now-female Shogun.
The Witcher S3
Netflix – 29 June 2023
And while The Witcher has already been renewed for a couple more seasons, this is another last hurrah as fan-favourite star Henry Cavill will departing Netflix’s hit fantasy adaptation after the end of this third season. Liam Hemsworth has already been tapped to replace Cavill as the monster-hunting mutant Geralt of Rivia in the currently-in-production fourth season as well as an already-greenlit fifth season. But before any of that comes to pass, it will be time for Cavill to hang up his sword in style. The third season sees Cavill’s Geralt and Anya Chalotra’s Yennefer battling the forces of darkness to protect Freya Allan’s Ciri, the Elder Blood young woman linked to Geralt by destiny, as the Continent becomes engulfed in a brutal war. 29 June will bring us the first batch of five episodes, with another three episodes wrapping up the season on 27 July.