October has arrived, impossibly. Yes it’s already fall, and that means it’s getting darker earlier and earlier. Which means the ideal window of time in which to cozy up with a great movie is getting longer and longer. This month has no lack of options for what to watch on streaming, with new movies on Netflix, Max, Prime Video, Peacock and Hulu that are well worth checking out. Below, we’ve rounded up the best of the best, from brand new horror movies to comedies to some of the year’s biggest films that are arriving on your favorite streaming service for the first time.
Check out our picks for the best new movies streaming in October 2024 below.
“¡Casa Bonita Mi Amor!”
Paramount+ – Oct. 2
Produced by Sweet Relief, MTV Documentary Films and the producers of the Emmy-nominated “South Park” making-of “Six Days to Air,” “¡Casa Bonita Mi Amor!” follows Trey Parker and Matt Stone on their most ambitious, foolhardy mission yet – to renovate and reopen a beloved, sprawling Mexican restaurant from their childhood. Casa Bonita, located in Lakewood, Colorado, is more than a restaurant for most – it’s an experience. With a 30-foot indoor waterfall, complete with cliff jumpers, a series of cave-like nooks and different dining areas themed to different regional Mexican architectural styles, Casa Bonita inspired wonder and awe in those who visited, like Parker, who visited the restaurant when he was a child. Together, Parker and Stone put up more than $3 million to buy the restaurant after its owners filed Chapter 11 bankruptcy during the coronavirus epidemic. Together, they put another $40 million into the restaurant, to update and redo the furnishings and to put a new, more contemporary menu together with chef Dana Rodriguez. They also did away with tipping and instead paid the staff $30 an hour for their hard work. (The Colorado minimum wage is $13.65.) And this new documentary details all of their pain and heartache in excruciating detail. Viva Casa Bonita! – Drew Taylor
“Hold Your Breath”
Hulu – Oct. 3
“Hold Your Breath,” a new film by Karrie Crouse and Will Joines, recently played the Toronto International Film Festival, where it was warmly received. And it’s easy to see why – the hook for the movie is pretty undeniable. It follows a young mother (Sarah Paulson) in 1930s Oklahoma who becomes convinced that a malevolent force is hiding in the era’s many dust storms. The movie has a ridiculously wonderful cast that includes Amiah Miller, Annaleigh Ashford, Alona Jane Robbins and Ebon Moss-Bachrach and a score from Arcade Fire and Bon Iver collaborator Colin Stetson (who also scored recent horror favorites like “The Menu” and “Herditary”). This looks very, very scary. – Drew Taylor
“House of Spoils”
Prime Video – Oct. 3
Is it even Halloween without a new Blumhouse movie? “House of Spoils,” written and directed by Bridget Savage Cole and Danielle Krudy, stars recent Oscar winner Ariana DeBose as a chef who is trying desperately to get her new restaurant off the ground. She is up against, as the official synopsis reveals, “kitchen chaos, a dubious investor, crushing self-doubts and the powerful spirit of the estate’s previous owner.” So if “The Bear” was set in the haunted hotel from “The Shining?” The supporting cast includes Barbie Ferreira, Arian Moayed, Marton Csokas and Amara Karan and the trailer made us both incredibly nervous and oddly hungry. Make of that what you will. – Drew Taylor
“Salem’s Lot”
Max – Oct. 3
Welcome (back) to “’Salem’s Lot.” While this new adaptation of Stephen King’s 1975 novel was originally meant for theatrical exhibition, it makes sense that it’s debuting on Max. The two previous adaptations, a two-part 1979 CBS event (that starred David Soul and James Mason) and a 2004 made-for-cable (also two parts, this time starring Rob Lowe and Rutger Hauer), had both aired on television, along with a prequel series on Epix that lasted for a season and elements of “Castle Rock” (more on that later). The only adaptation to actually make the big screen was 1987’s cheap charmer “A Return to ‘Salem’s Lot.” Just as the town of ‘Salem’s Lot is cursed with tragedy, so are the adaptations damned to television. In this latest iteration, Lewis Pullman stars as Ben Mears, the Soul/Lowe character, a novelist who returns to his sleepy (and potentially doomed) home town of Jerusalem’s Lot to work on a new novel and finds that this hamlet has been taken over by filthy vampires. (Don’t you hate when that happens?) Writer/director Gary Dauberman seems to be updating the original 1979 as much as he is attempting to capture the soul of King’s original novel. The results are somewhat mixed, with the story feeling at times rushed (there was a reason every other adaptation stretched across multiple broadcast nights), but it is also undoubtedly thrilling, with a killer cast that includes Alfre Woodard, King regular William Sadler, Bill Camp, Pilou Asbæk and Makenzie Leigh. And Dauberman and his collaborators (including “The Conjuring” mastermind James Wan) do stage some nifty set pieces, like a climactic vampire battle at the local drive-in (the story’s 1970’s setting is mercifully maintained). This will get you some much-needed, pre-Halloween thrills. Boo! – Drew Taylor
The 40 Best Movies on Netflix Right Now
“Didi”
Peacock – Oct. 4
This coming-of-age dramedy first premiered at the Sundance Film Festival earlier this year where it received rapturous reviews. Written and directed by Sean Wang, the film is an irreverent ode to first-generation teenagers, set in the Bay Area in 2008 and following a 13-year-old Taiwanese American boy, played by Izaac Wang (“Good Boys,” Disney’s “Raya and the Last Dragon”). – Adam Chitwood
“It’s What’s Inside”
Netflix – Oct. 4
“It’s What’s Inside,” which premiered during the midnight line-up at Sundance in January and was promptly snapped by up Netflix for $17 million (the largest deal made at this year’s festival), follows a group of kids (Brittany O’Grady, James Morosini, Gavin Leatherwood, Nina Bloomgarden, Alycia Debnam-Carey, Reina Hardesty, Devon Terrell, David W. Thompson, and Madison Davenport) who play a game that ends up with them switching bodies. You know, that old chestnut. It looks to channel some of the freewheeling, slightly demonic fun of “Talk to Me” and “Ready or Not,” with the Gen Z bite of “Bodies Bodies Bodies” and the body-swapping hijinks of any 1980’s comedy (“Vice Versa,” “Like Father Like Son,” “18 Again,” etc.) The trailer is very engaging and people had a blast with the movie at the festivals. Can’t wait to get a group together and watch this one ourselves. – Drew Taylor
“Bad Boys: Ride or Die”
Netflix – Oct. 8
Yes, it is a huge tragedy that the third film already used the title “Bad Boys for Life,” since that would make the perfect title for the fourth movie. But here we are. “Bad Boys: Ride or Die” sees the franchise, which began way back in 1995 with Michael Bay’s directorial debut (!), veer into “Fast and Furious” territory, with a convoluted storyline that sees Will Smith’s character’s estranged son Armando (Jacob Scipio), introduced in the last film, take center stage. You see, Smith and Martin Lawrence’s Miami cops are being framed. And they have to stay alive and untangle the mystery while doing so. It’s a nifty concept, with the two old friends and partners both bickering with and alongside the younger character. And it allows directors Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah, who also directed the third film, just enough narrative framework to stage big action set pieces like a plane crash and a shootout in a Day-Glo art exhibit and a climactic showdown in a derelict alligator farm, with a kind of reckless abandon. This might not be anything revolutionary (it’s the fourth “Bad Boys” movie for crying out loud) but it is fitfully entertaining, a gleefully violent and profane big budget adventure that ticks all the boxes and gets the job done, something that precious few Hollywood films can actually say. Bring on movie #5. – Drew Taylor
“Caddo Lake”
Max – Oct. 10
Celine Held and Logan George, filmmakers who focused their attention on a young mother and her child living underneath New York City in their debut feature “Topside,” return to profile another marginalized community in “Caddo Lake,” this time adding a lovely genre layer onto what would otherwise be a compelling-enough character piece. “Caddo Lake” follows the path of parallel narratives – in one, a young roughneck oil worker (Dylan O’Brien) searching for answers surrounding his mother’s tragic death; in the other a girl (Eliza Scanlen) frantically searches for her missing half-sister. Both are part of the rural bayou community of Caddo Lake, where you travel by boat to get around and everybody knows everybody else’s business. How the storylines intersect and what happens after is half the fun of “Caddo Lake,” so the less we’re saying about the actual plot, the better. But do know that there is something mysterious – perhaps supernatural – about the lake. And know that M. Night Shyamalan, one of our modern masters of suspense, is a producer, so you’ll probably be on the edge of your seat for most of the runtime. Even stranger than what happens in the movie is the fact that “Caddo Lake,” full of empathy for its characters and ending on an unexpectedly powerful emotional note, is headed straight to Max, where it could easily be forgotten amid the tidal wave of Halloween-centered programming. This deserves more – it’s very special, indeed. Don’t miss a trip to “Caddo Lake.” You won’t regret it. – Drew Taylor
“Mr. Crocket”
Hulu – Oct. 11
As it turns out, Hulu’s “Bite Size Halloween” short film collections were more of an incubator for future feature films as much as they were showcases for up-and-coming genre talent. One of the 2022’s crop of shorts, “Mr. Crocket,” is now getting the feature film treatment. The original short’s director, Brandon Espy, returns to co-write (with Carl Reid) and direct the feature version, which follows a young mother who looks to retrieve her child from a demonic kids’ show host (the titular Mr. Crocket, played by Elvis Nasco). The movie features creatures and characters designed by illustrator Alex Pardee, and recently played Austin, Texas’ premiere genre film festival Fantastic Fest, where it received an enthusiastic response. (One of Pardee’s creations crept down the red carpet.) This is one of the biggest original horror films for this Halloween. Just be sure to keep an eye on your kids. You’ve got to be careful when Mr. Crocket is around. – Drew Taylor
The Best Vampire Movies of All Time
“The Three Musketeers – Part I: D’Artagnan and Part II: Milady”
Hulu – Oct. 15
In 2023, a two-part adaptation of French author Alexandre Dumas’ classic “The Three Musketeers” was released in Europe. Now, the movies are finally streaming in America. This international coproduction (financed by France, Germany, Spain and Belgium) was a critical and commercial smash, with a sensational cast that includes François Civil, Vincent Cassel, Romain Duris, Eva Green, Vicky Krieps and Pio Marmaï and cinematography by early Denis Villeneuve collaborator Nicolas Bolduc. (By contrast, the last time we got a “Three Musketeers” movie, it was directed by the guy who made “Resident Evil,” featured more hammy acting than several days’ worth of soap operas, and featured a number of blimp battles.) “The Three Musketeers – Part I: D’Artagnan” and “The Three Musketeers – Part II: Milady” – all for one and one for all! – Drew Taylor
“Brothers”
Prime Video – Oct. 17
There’s plenty of reasons to get excited about “Brothers.” The film stars Josh Brolin as a reformed (mostly) criminal, whose attempts at a normal life are wildly derailed when he reunites with his twin brother (Peter Dinklage) for a cross-country road trip. Their destination? A big-time score. According to the official synopsis, the pair will be “dodging bullets, the law and an overbearing mother along the way, they must heal their severed family bond before they end up killing each other.” Other reasons to get pumped? The movie also stars Brendan Fraser, Marisa Tomei, Taylour Paige (who starred with Dinklage in the as-yet-unreleased “Toxic Avenger” remake), Glenn Close and M. Emmett Walsh (in his final film performance). Plus, the movie’s script was written by the great Macon Blair (“I Don’t Feel at Home in the World Anymore,” the aforementioned “Toxic Avenger” remake) and directed by Max Barbakow. This is the follow-up to Barbakow’s directorial debut, the wonderful “Palm Springs.” And honestly, we need a “Twins”-style comedy in the world. It’s been too long. – Drew Taylor
“MaXXXine”
Max – Oct. 18
Ti West’s ”X” trilogy concludes in typically gonzo, gory fashion. 2022’s “X” was a new horror classic, following a group of charming pornographers (led by Mia Goth’s Maxine Minx) as they attempted to film a smutty movie in a Texas farmhouse sometimes in the 1970’s. (Of course, the farmhouse turned out to be owned by a couple of murderous old coots.) “Pearl,” also released in 2022, focused on the title character (also played by Goth), as her taste for blood developed around World War I. Now, with the third film, the aesthetic particulars have shifted from “Texas Chainsaw Massacre” grindhouse movie to sparkly Technicolor musical to, now, grimy 1980’s direct-to-video slasher movie. In “MaXXXine,” our title character has survived the carnage in Texas and taken to working as an adult actress in the Los Angeles underground. She strives for legitimacy, landing a role in a mainstream horror movie, just as the demons of her past start to show themselves in increasingly brutal ways. While “MaXXXine” wasn’t as lovingly received as the earlier chapters of the saga, it still feels like a fine ending to the unexpected trilogy (A24’s first horror franchise), full of sex and blood and banging soundtrack cuts (Frankie Goes to Hollywood’s “Welcome to the Pleasuredome” is a particular highlight). Kevin Bacon shows up as a sleazy private detective, there’s a chase through the Universal backlot (including the “Psycho” house) and somebody gets murdered in a video store. What more do you want? – Drew Taylor
“Woman of the Hour”
Netflix – Oct. 18
In 1978 a real-life serial killer, Rodney Alcala, appeared on kitschy game show “The Dating Game.” He was in the middle of his murder spree (he was eventually sentenced for five deaths, implicated in two more, but could have killed more than 100 people) and got chosen by one of the contestants. Thankfully, she never went on the date. Could she have been his next victim? “Woman of the Hour,” based on a Black List screenplay called “Rodney and Sheryl,” is directed and produced by its star Anna Kendrick. When the movie premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival last fall, it was an immediate sensation. Netflix, which had developed an earlier version of the movie, reacquired the film. And now we all get to squirm on our couches. Kendrick plays the potentially doomed “Dating Game” contestant and Daniel Zovatto is the murderer. And even if you’ve seen one of the countless true crime documentaries on the subject matter, “Woman of the Hour” feels like it will bring a fresh perspective to the situation. We can’t wait to see what Kendrick does with the material. We’re sure it’s absolutely killer. – Drew Taylor
“Canary Black”
Oct. 24 – Prime Video
Kate Beckinsale plays a tough-as-nails CIA agent working overseas, whose husband is kidnapped, forcing her into a compromising situation. She’s forced to steal a secret document (the titular “Canary Black”) from the agency’s hard drive; otherwise, her civilian sweetie will be killed. And honestly, “Canary Black” looks like a ton of fun – it’s got a pleasingly all-star supporting cast that includes Rupert Friend, Saffron Burrows, Goran Kostić and one of the final performances from the late, great Ray Stevenson; it was shot by legendary French cinematographer Thierry Arbogast; and it was directed by Pierre Morel, a protégé of Luc Besson’s and the filmmaker behind the first “Taken” film. Honestly, we’ll probably never get another “Atomic Blonde” movie. Might as well enjoy what comes our way instead. – Drew Taylor
“Don’t Move”
Netflix – Oct. 25
“Don’t Move” really is the stuff of nightmares. Kelsey Asbille, of “Yellowstone” fame, plays a young woman grappling with the death of her young son. While on a hike where she contemplates taking her own life, she is injected by a paralytic agent by a serial killer (Finn Wittrock from “American Horror Story”). He tells her that she’ll have minutes, then maybe a few seconds, to actually move her body. Then it’ll shut down. Not only can she not run away; she can’t even scream for help. Pretty wild right? Adam Schindler and Brian Netto brilliantly direct from a white knuckler of a script by T.J. Cimfel and David White. And the relatively young team has a genre juggernaut in their corner, with actual legend Sam Raimi producing. It’s the kind of movie that so fully puts you in Asbille’s shoes that you can’t help but spend the entire run time wondering what you would do in a similar situation. Not excessively gory or profane, “Don’t Move” is just a simple thriller that will make your skin crawl, in the best possible way. Don’t miss it. – Drew Taylor
“Trap”
Max – Oct. 25
M. Night Shyamalan returns with one of his oddest and most endearing movies ever. “Trap” follows Cooper (Josh Hartnett) as he takes his young daughter to a concert put on by her favorite artist Lady Raven (Saleka Night Shyamalan). What Cooper doesn’t know is that the concert is an elaborate ruse to catch a notorious serial killer only known as The Butcher. You see, Cooper is The Butcher. And he’s going to squirm. (This is all revealed in the first trailer, don’t worry, we’re not spoiling anything.) From that simple premise, Shyamalan spins an appropriately knotty web for Cooper, as he tries to escape detection – of both the police and his young daughter, who he clearly loves. (Hayley Mills, a veteran of “The Parent Trap,” shows up here as a dogged FBI profiler. She’s trying to trap a parent. Get it?) Sure, it’s occasionally quite silly, but Shyamalan keeps things fun and taut, with gorgeous cinematography by Sayombhu Mukdeeprom and some nifty songs by his daughter as Lady Raven. Does the whole thing hang together? Mostly! Could it have benefitted from an R-rating? Absolutely! (One of Shyamalan’s heroes is clearly Jonathan Demme and this feels like a feature-length version of Lecter’s escape in “The Silence of the Lambs.”) But it’s undeniably wonderful that Shyamalan is still out here, making weird little movies that he bankrolls himself and that always turn a profit. And honestly, we’d love to see the filmmaker return to these characters years down the line, like he did with “Unbreakable.” But you know what they say about nostalgia? It’s a trap. – Drew Taylor
“Road Diary: Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band”
Hulu – Oct 25
Is there such a thing as too many Bruce Springsteen documentaries? This one, which played at the Toronto International Film Festival last month, follows Springsteen and the E Street Band in the wake of the pandemic as they begin rehearsals for a return to live performances, offering an intimate look at the entire process. – Adam Chitwood
“The Exorcism”
Shudder – Oct. 30
Strange but true: Russell Crowe has starred in two exorcism movies in the past two years and they have both been really, really great. Last year he appeared in “The Pope’s Exorcist” (to be clear, he was working for the pope, he wasn’t exorcizing the pope), a gonzo, 1980’s-set chiller based on actual events. This year he shows up in “The Exoricsm,” which was written and directed by Joshua John Miller, whose father Jason Miller played Father Karras in William Friedkin’s immortal “The Exorcist.” (He also appeared briefly in the wonderful, underrated “The Exorcist III.”) In this new film Crowe plays Miller’s stand-in, an actor dealing with substance abuse problems and a tenuous relationship with his child (in this case a daughter played by Ryan Simpkins). “The Exorcism” is, as you can tell, both autobiographical and wildly metatextual, with the movie folding in on itself, becoming a terrifying look at how, to create great art, sometimes you have to feel a little possessed. The movie’s outrageously great supporting cast includes Sam Worthington, Chloe Bailey, Adam Goldberg, Adrian Pasdar, David Hyde Pierce and Samantha Mathis. When it opened this summer, it was overlooked for the flashier, more cannily marketed “Longlegs.” But “The Exorcism” will have its day. It’s just waiting to be a cult sensation. – Drew Taylor
“Time Cut”
Netflix – Oct. 30
Remember “Totally Killer,” the Prime Video movie that starred Kiernan Shipka as a girl who travels back in time 35 years to stop a knife-wielding maniac from murdering her mom? Well, “Time Cut” is very similar. We’re talking very similar. Madison Bailey, a Netflix regular thanks to her work on “Outer Banks,” plays a girl who travels back in time 20 years to stop a knife-wielding maniac from murdering her sister. Both films are built around similar mechanics, with the time-traveling family member forging an emotional bond with their murdered loved one. And even the mask that the killer wears is nearly identical. Of course, while “Totally Killer” traded in 1980’s nostalgia, “Time Cut” instead leans heavily into early-aughts nostalgia, which is odd considering that, for those of us who lived through it, the time was aesthetically bland and not particularly memorable. Another big difference – “Totally Killer” was rated R, while “Time Cut” sticks with a more all-audiences PG-13. But hey, “Time Cut” does have a horror movie pedigree, with a script co-written by Michael Kennedy, who co-wrote 2020’s excellent “Freaky.” And Christopher Landon, who directed “Freaky” and the two “Happy Death Day” movies, produced. (Halyna Hutchins, the cinematographer who was killed on the set of “Rust,” worked on this movie before tragically leaving to work on that western.) Listen, it’s a new horror movie with a great soundtrack, some charming performances and an almost unhealthy amount of nostalgia. You could do worse this Halloween. – Drew Taylor
“Despicable Me 4”
Netflix – Oct. 31
Who doesn’t want to spend Halloween with Gru (Steve Carell) and the gang? In “Despicable Me 4,” Gru and his family (Kristen Wiig, Miranda Cosgrove and the like) are put into witness protection, after running afoul of the villainous Frenchman Maxime Le Mal (Will Ferrell). This means that the very offbeat family finds themselves in a very cookie cutter suburban neighborhood. (Stephen Colbert and Chloe Fineman play their WASP-y neighbors.) While all of this is going on, some of the minions are endowed with superpowers for reasons that still aren’t entirely clear – one can fly, another is super strong, etc. And a young friend of Gru’s kids (Joey King), an aspiring super-villain, tries to lure Gru back into a life of crime. It’s a lot. But it’s also refreshing to watch an animated movie that is exclusively concerned with gags, as opposed to larger social issues or emotional stakes. This is purely silly stuff. And it works surprisingly well as such. In particular, there’s a karaoke dance number towards the end of the movie that will send your entire family into hysterics. You can’t keep a good villain (or minion for that matter) down. – Drew Taylor
“Practical Magic”
Max – Oct. 1
If “Agatha All Along” has you itching for witchy content, you can’t do much better than “Practical Magic.” Part rom-com, part autumnal delight, part witch-fest, the 1998 film stars Nicole Kidman and Sandra Bullock as sisters descended from a long line of witches who attempt to use their magic to destroy the evil spirit of an abusive boyfriend. The vibes are ever-present here, and the top-notch supporting cast includes Stockard Channing, Dianne Wiest, Aidan Quinn and Evan Rachel Wood.
“Psycho”
Netflix – Oct. 1
Alfred Hitchcock’s horror classic “Psycho” holds up tremendously well, 60 years after its release. about a woman (Janet Leigh) on the run who winds up at a nearly abandoned motel called the Bates Motel, where she crosses paths with its mild mannered owner Norman (Anthony Perkis). Then things get very bad. 60 years later, this one still terrifies. – Adam Chitwood
“You’re Next”
Netflix – Oct. 1
If you want to watch something that’s both scary and surprising, get thee to “You’re Next.” This 2011 slasher from filmmaker Adam Wingard – who would go on to direct the “Godzilla vs. Kong” movies – is a twist on both the slasher and home invasion genres. After opening with a shocking kill, the film moves into its main premise: an estranged family is gathering in a home, only to be attacked and killed off one-by-one by a group of assailants wearing creepy masks. We won’t spoil the further twists and turns but this one’s a blast. – Adam Chitwood
“Scream (2022)”
Netflix – Oct. 11
The “Scream” franchise got revitalized in 2022 from “Ready or Not” filmmakers Radio Silence, and while this new film doesn’t reach the heights of Wes Craven’s first two entries in the iconic slasher franchise, it’s a sharp and enjoyable return. The story is split between returning characters played by Neve Campbell, Courteney Cox and David Arquette and new characters played by Melissa Barrera, Jack Quaid and Jenna Ortega. When Ghostface returns to Woodsboro, both groups find themselves intertwined as twist upon twist unfurls with Radio Silence paying deep homage to the original “Scream” both in style and structure.
“A Quiet Place: Part II”
Netflix – Oct. 12
Another spooky season pick, “A Quiet Place: Part II” is John Krasinski’s bold sequel to his unique horror hit about a world overrun by aliens who hunt by sound. “Part II” picks up after the first film left off as Emily Blunt’s character is forced to care for her children alone, and she encounters a stranger played by Cillian Murphy who she’s not so certain she can trust. But what makes “Part II” really sing is Millicent Simmonds, who steps into a lead role here as she ventures out on her own into the dangerous landscape.
