A compelling take an on old celebrity scandal, original horror films and the return of a couple sci-fi series make for a thrilling week of streaming
‘Slapface’ (Shudder)
After the death of his mother, Lucas (August Maturo), a loner who lives in a rundown home with his brother Tom (Mike Manning) regularly seeks solace in the nearby woods. With his only “friends” being a group of female bullies, he keeps to himself most of the time. But, after a strange encounter with an inhuman monster, Lucas begins to withdraw from others. When the two reach a tentative trust, a bizarre friendship is born, and Lucas is swept up in a series of primal adventures. Slapface won the “Best Audience Award” for “Best Horror/Thriller/Sci-Fi” Film at the Cinequest Film Festival in 2021 and was written and directed by Jeremiah Kipp, based on his short film of the same title.
‘Pam & Tommy’ (Hulu)
This series follows the true story of the tumultuous, steamy and dysfunctional relationship between two superstars – Pamela Anderson and Tommy Lee – following the release of their infamous honeymoon sex tape. Paving the way for a slew of other celebrity sex tapes that would follow with the rise of the internet, the scandal blew up the two to new levels of fame – for better and worse. Lily James stars as Pamela the Baywatch star with Sebastian Stan as Tommy Lee the Mötley Crüe rockstar, alongside Seth Rogen playing porn actor turned electrician Rand Gauthier, the man who stole the tape and blackmailed the couple. The series also stars Nick Offerman as porn producer Uncle Miltie, who mass-produced the tape in order to sell it online, as well as Taylor Schilling playing Erica Gauthier.
‘Murderville’ (Netflix)
Will Arnett stars as eccentric detective Terry Seattle in this improvisational comedy crime series. He must team up with clueless celebrity guest stars to investigate a series of murders in his town. None of the guest stars know anything about what it is they’ll be walking into on the set, making for some hilarious genuine reactions from the cast. The list of guests include Annie Murphy, Conan O’Brien, Ken Jeong, Kumail Nanjiani, Marshawn Lynch, and Sharon Stone.
‘Nightmare Alley’ (HBO Max / Hulu)
Based on the 1946 novel of the same name by William Lindsay Gresham, Nightmare Alley marks a significant change for Guillermo del Toro – unlike nearly all of his previous work, this film will feature no supernatural elements. It’s more of a straight psychological thriller than the usual kind of horror fantasy that del Toro is famous for, and it features his most fascinating and star-studded cast yet. The film follows Stan Carlisle (Bradley Cooper), an ambitious carny with a talent for manipulating people with a few well-chosen words, hooks up with Dr. Lilith Ritter (Cate Blanchett), a psychiatrist who is even more dangerous than he is. It also stars Toni Collette, Willem Dafoe, Richard Jenkins, Rooney Mara, Ron Perlman and David Strathairn. It’s one of del Toro’s most nail-bitingly tense films of his career, even without any terrifying monsters or magic.
‘Raising Dion (Season 2)’ (Netflix)
Raising Dion follows the story of Nicole (Alisha Wainwright) and her son Dion (Ja’Siah Young) after Dion starts to manifest several mysterious, superhero-like abilities. Two years after defeating the Crooked Man (Jason Ritter), Season Two follows Dion as he continues honing his powers with the support of his mom and Tevin (Rome Flynn), his Biona trainer who catches Nicole’s eye. After befriending new student Brayden (Griffin Robert Faulkner) – a fellow powered kid – a series of alarming events unfold, and Dion learns that danger is still looming. Navigating twists, turns, and surprise visitors, Dion and Nicole must prevail again — not just to save themselves, but the entire city of Atlanta.
‘Cry Macho’ (HBO Max)
From legendary and relentless filmmaker Clint Eastwood, Cry Macho is based on the book of the same name and stars Eastwood as a one‐time rodeo star and washed up horse breeder who, in 1978, takes a job from an ex‐boss to bring the man’s young son (Eduardo Minett) home and away from his alcoholic mom. Crossing rural Mexico on their back way to Texas, the unlikely pair faces an unexpectedly challenging journey, during which the world‐weary horseman may find his own sense of redemption through teaching the boy what it means to be a good man.
‘The Deep House’ (Hulu)
Deep below the surface of a seemingly tranquil remote lake lies a perfectly preserved family home. When a young influencer couple (Camille Row & James Jagger) sets out to explore the submerged house to capture uncharted content for their social media followers, their dive turns into a nightmare as they discover a sinister presence. With limited oxygen supply and time running against them, the couple must find a way to escape the underwater house of horrors before it’s too late. Part haunted house tale and part underwater nightmare, The Deep House feels refreshingly original despite its horror conventions.
‘Raised by Wolves (Season 2)’ (HBO Max)
In season two of Raised by Wolves, Android partners Mother (Amanda Collin) and Father (Abubakar Salim), along with their brood of six human children, join a newly formed atheistic colony in Kepler 22 b’s mysterious tropical zone. But navigating this strange new society is only the start of their troubles as Mother’s “natural child” threatens to drive what little remains of the human race to extinction. This strange and fascinating sci-fi series is finally back for its second season of unexpected and exciting storytelling.
‘Censor’ (Shudder)
Censor is inspired by the video nasty era of the UK, which saw a wave of absurdly violent and gory exploitation films flood the video cassette market. Naturally, this brought a harsh crackdown on what kind of content films should be allowed to show, and strict censorship laws swiftly followed. The film follows Enid (Niamh Algar), one of the members of the censorship board who considers her work to be an essential public service. As she pores over countless hours of graphic violence, she believes she’s protecting people from things no one should have to see. But when she views a film that brings back memories of a childhood incident, her entire world comes crashing down. Censor is an exceptionally smart horror film, one that tackles several social topics at once while still supplying plenty of bloody and expertly staged scares.
‘Tales from the Hood’ (Shudder)
It’s chill or be chilled in this edgy horror anthology from iconic filmmaker Spike Lee. The nightmare begins for three drug-dealing friends as an eerie mortician (Clarence Williams III) leads them on a tour of his inner-city funeral home. In a series of four vignettes, he tells them cautionary stories about corrupt cops, a young boy with mysterious bruises, a racist Southern Senator (Corbin Bernsen), and a homicidal psychopath who receives a chance at redemption. Ferocious, frightening, and sometimes funny, Tales from the Hood delivers a distinctive terror that will keep you on the edge of your seat.
CONTINUED WEEKLY EPISODES:
‘The Book of Boba Fett’ (Disney+)
With Boba Fett officially back in Star Wars thanks to The Mandalorian, the legendary bounty hunter (with Temuera Morrison reprising the role) has now received his own spin-off series. Along with mercenary Fennec Shand (Ming-Na Wen), The Book of Boba Fett has the two navigating the galaxy’s underworld when they return to the sands of Tatooine to stake their claim on the territory once ruled by Jabba the Hutt and his crime syndicate. Jon Favreau, Dave Filoni, Robert Rodriguez, Kathleen Kennedy and Colin Wilson are the executive producers. Karen Gilchrist and Carrie Beck serve as co-executive producers, with John Bartnicki producing and John Hampian as co-producer. The first six episodes are now streaming.
‘Peacemaker’ (HBO Max)
A spin-off for John Cena’s popular jingoist character from James Gunn’s The Suicide Squad last year, Peacemaker puts Cena front and center. The series goes into the origins of Christopher Smith AKA Peacemaker, a hero and villain dedicated to achieving peace at any cost. Gunn wrote all eight episodes and directed five of them, so his signature sense of humor is all over it. It’s wacky, shocking, and a ton of fun. The first six episodes are now streaming.
‘Euphoria’ (HBO Max)
This HBO teen drama about love, violence, identity, sex, and drugs returns for a second season to continue the misadventures of Rue (Zendaya), Jules (Hunter Schafer), Cassie (Sydney Sweeney), Nate (Jacob Elordi), and others. The first four episodes of season 2 are now streaming.
‘The Righteous Gemstones’ (HBO Max)
This impeccable and hilarious HBO comedy from Danny McBride follows a world-famous televangelist family with a long tradition of deviance, greed, and charitable work. It stars McBride, John Goodman, Edi Patterson, Adam DeVine, and more. The family seeks to expand their empire of mega churches, no matter who gets crushed along the way. The first five episodes of season 2 are now streaming.
‘The Afterparty’ (AppleTV+)
Christopher Miller and creative partner Phil Lord have become the go-to duo for wildly imaginative, genre-bending meta flair, making everything from 21 Jump Street to The Lego Movie to producing hits like Spider-Man: Into the Spiderverse. Their latest endeavor is The Afterparty, a murder mystery series. When a high school reunion’s afterparty ends in a death, everyone is a suspect. A detective (Tiffany Haddish) grills the former classmates one by one, uncovering potential motives as each tells their version of the story – culminating in the shocking truth. The first four episodes are now streaming.
Also streaming now:
Netflix – ‘Anaconda’, ‘Batman Begins’, ‘Caddyshack’, ‘Countdown’, ‘Despicable Me’, ‘Despicable Me 2’, ‘Donnie Brasco’, ‘Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga’Hoole’, ‘That’s My Boy’, ‘The Addams Family (1991)’, ‘The Book of Eli’, ‘The Bourne Ultimatum’, ‘The Dark Knight’, ‘The Devil’s Advocate’, ‘The Exorcist’, ‘The Foreigner’, ‘The Hangover’, ‘The Last Samurai’, ‘The One’, ‘The Other Guys’, ‘Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen’, ‘Transformers: Dark of the Moon’, ‘Warrior’, ‘Watchmen’
Hulu – ‘Airplane!’, ‘Ali’, ‘Almost Famous’, ‘The Bank Job’, ‘Batman (1989)’, ‘Batman Returns’, ‘Batman & Robin’, ‘Beautiful Creatures’, ‘Black Swan’, ‘Borat’, ‘Casualties of War’, ‘Charlie’s Angels (2000)’, ‘Cousins’, ‘Crocodile Dundee’, ‘The Curious Case of Benjamin Button’, ‘Fight Club’, ‘The French Connection’, ‘John Carpenter’s Ghosts of Mars’, ‘Lake Placid’, ‘Lucky’, ‘Mirrors’, ‘Miss Bala’, ‘The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor’, ‘Rosemary’s Baby’, ‘Small Soldiers’, ‘The Tree of Life’, ‘Whiplash’, ‘The Beta Test’
Shudder – ‘Tales from the Hood 2’, ‘Tales from the Crypt: Demon Knight’, ‘Tales from the Crypt: Bordello of Blood’, ‘Cherry Falls’, ‘Queen of the Damned’, ‘Roh’, ‘Amulet’, ‘The Initiation’, ‘Battle Royale’, ‘Battle Royale II’, ‘Blood Glacier’, ‘The Last Winter’
HBO Max – ‘3:10 to Yuma’, ’12 Years a Slave’, ‘Airheads’, ‘An American Haunting’, ‘The Butterfly Effect’, ‘Chinatown’, ‘The Dark Half’, ‘Donnie Darko’, ‘The Hunter’, ‘Kick-Ass 2’, ‘Rango’, ‘Red 2’, ‘Riddick’, ‘Santa’s Slay’, ‘The Searchers’, ‘Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street’, ‘The Untouchables’
Amazon Prime Video – ‘(500) Days of Summer’, ‘A Fistful of Dollars’, ‘Die Hard’, ‘Die Hard: With a Vengeance’, ‘Forrest Gump’, ‘Gone in Sixty Seconds’, ‘Half Baked’, ‘Killers’, ‘King Arthur’, ‘Lincoln’, ‘Little Miss Sunshine’, ‘Live Free or Die Hard’, ‘Robocop’, ‘The A-Team’, ‘The Fly’, ‘The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly’, ‘The Impossible’, ‘The Rock’, ‘Walk the Line’, ‘Key & Peele’, ‘Nathan for You’, ‘Workaholics’
COMING NEXT WEEK:
Netflix – ‘Catching Killers (Season 2)’, ‘Disenchantment: Part 4’, ‘The Privilege’, ‘St. Vincent’, ‘Big Bug’, ‘Inventing Anna’, ‘Love and Leashes’, ‘Toy Boy (Season 2)’
Hulu – ‘Rick & Morty (Season 5)’, ‘Clotilda: Last American Slave Ship’, ‘To Catch a Smuggler (Season 3)’
Shudder – ‘Joe Bob’s Heartbreak Trailer Park’, ‘All the Moons’, ‘Rock, Paper, Scissors’, ‘Entwined’, ‘Fragile’, ‘City of the Living Dead’, ‘The Bird with the Crystal Plumage’, ‘I Blame Society’
HBO Max – ‘Rick & Morty (Season 5)’, ‘Shaq Life’, ‘Big Trick Energy’, ‘Backyard Bar Wars’, ‘Smiling Friends (Season 2)’, ‘The Girl Before’, ‘Kimi’, ‘Antlers’, ‘Apple & Onion (Season 2C)’
Amazon Prime Video – ‘I Want You Back’
Paramount+ – ‘Star Trek: Discovery (Season 4B)’
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