This weekend Hocus Pocus 2, the long-awaited sequel to the classic 1993 fantasy comedy starring Bette Midler, Sarah Jessica Parker and Kathy Najimy is finally streaming on Disney Plus. If that doesn’t sound like your particular bag of candy, don’t worry — there are plenty more great scary (and non-scary) movies to rent or stream this weekend.
We have The MunstersRob Zombie’s new comedy film (yes, I’m as surprised by that description as you are) based on the classic 1960s horror sitcom, Andrew Dominik’s biographical drama about Marilyn Monroe starring Ana de Armas, and the special entertainment for adults entergalactic with Scott “Kid Cudi” Mescudi and Jessica Williams (Love life) all premiering on Netflix. There is also the supernatural horror comedy The exorcism of my best friend on Prime Video, and the horror thriller on social media sissy on Frisson. Not to mention the dark horror comedy slasher Body Body Body on VOD. You see, there are so many choices!
Here’s all the new stuff you can watch at home this weekend.
Hocus Pocus 2
Where to watch: Available to stream on Disney Plus
hocuspocus, Hocus Pocus is back! Almost 30 years after the original, Bette Midler, Sarah Jessica Parker and Kathy Najimy reprise their roles as the Sanderson sisters. This time they are joined by Hannah Waddingham (Ted Lasso) and Doug Jones (almost every monster movie you’ve seen in the last decade).
The Munsters
Where to watch: Available to stream on Netflix
If your first reaction to this is “Rob Zombie did a Munsters movie???” – you’re not alone.
The heavy metal singer-songwriter/filmmaker may be best known for his gnarly horror flicks (which deserve a better reputation than them), but he’s returned to his roots for this low-budget comedy adaptation. from the beloved TV series. Zombie was a huge munsters fan since childhood, and there’s nothing like seeing a filmmaker be able to inhabit a world he’s always dreamed of.
Blond
Where to watch: Available to stream on Netflix
Andrew Dominik’s controversial adaptation of Joyce Carol Oates’ controversial Marilyn Monroe book has certainly sparked conversations. It’s Netflix’s first NC-17 movie (although it’s worth noting that Netflix doesn’t always have its movies rated), and it stars Ana de Armas as Monroe.
From Oli Welsh’s analysis of the film’s relationship to its NC-17 rating:
The problem is that Dominik’s mythological streak and his insatiable thirst for striking imagery undermined his own theme with disastrous effect. He doesn’t have enough interest in Norma Jeane to build a personality on her, or a sense of her accomplishments, apart from the incessant miseries that others inflict on her. During this time, he indulges in a superficial fascination with Marilyn iconography, using every tool at his disposal to recreate movie scenes and photo shoots with stunning precision. There are constant changes to the film, aspect ratio, lens, and color treatment, alongside the liberal use of CGI to blend de Armas into the frame or introduce a fantasy dimension to the re-enactment. Dominik’s dazzling technique not only fails to distract from the film’s tiresome lack of tonal variation, but is completely in thrall to the dehumanizing image factory the film is meant to critique.
entergalactic
Where to watch: Available to stream on Netflix
Netflix’s latest animated project comes from the mind of Kid Cudi and promises gorgeous visuals as well as a ground-level story about an aspiring artist falling in love in New York City.
DC League of Super Pets
Where to watch: Available to stream on HBO Max
One of the few DC Comics movies to be released this year, this animated film features many of the Justice League members’ pets. The sprawling voice cast includes Dwayne Johnson as Krypto, Kevin Hart as Ace the Bat-Hound, and Keanu Reeves as Batman, among many others. We always pay one for the animals that didn’t make the movie.
In our opinion:
Like with The Lego Batman Moviethe best part of DC League of Super Pets is the writers’ intimate knowledge and love of the source material, which they use to drive the film forward with clever gags and even brighter callbacks. A highlight is an inexplicable holographic recording of Krypto’s father, Dog-El, dispensing important advice like “Don’t eat chocolate”. There are plenty more gags for savvy comic book fans, like a Justice League hotline asking callers to press buttons depending on whether they’re trying to contact Earth-1 or Earth-2, and a Big Belly Burger in downtown Metropolis. which is destroyed in battle.
The exorcism of my best friend
Where to watch: Available to stream on Prime Video
If you like Jennifer’s bodythen you will love it The exorcism of my best friend, the supernatural horror-comedy based on the 2016 novel of the same name. Elsie Fisher (Eigth year) plays Abby, a high school girl who must fight a demon that possesses her best friend, Gretchen (Amiah Miller).
The greatest beer race of all time
Where to watch: Available to stream on Apple TV Plus
Based on a true story, The greatest beer race of all time stars Zac Efron as Chickie Donohue, a brash New Yorker who leaves the United States in 1967 to embark on a journey to bring beer to his childhood buddies fighting in Vietnam. Chickie’s well-meaning gag turns into a profound, life-changing experience as he confronts the perils and realities of this contentious war, forcing him to reflect on his past, present, and future.
sissy
Where to watch: Available to stream on Shudder
Aisha Dee (Look both ways) stars in the 2022 social media horror thriller sissy as a successful social media influencer who is invited to her ex-best childhood friend’s bachelorette weekend. After being accosted by her childhood bully, who is also on the trip, Sissy is confronted with disturbing memories of her past that rekindle a long-dormant thirst for revenge.
To fall
Where to watch: Available for purchase for $19.99 on Amazon, Apple, Google Play
Acclaimed action filmmaker Scott Mann turned his talents to this confined thriller about two women who find themselves stuck atop a 2,000-foot-tall radio tower. I just wouldn’t go to the top of a 2,000 foot high radio tower, but I guess I’m different.
Body Body Body
Where to watch: Available for purchase for $19.99 on Amazon, Apple, Google Play
A young woman named Bee (Maria Bakalova) and her girlfriend, Sophie (Amandla Stenberg), are invited to a hurricane party at a remote mansion by Sophie’s friends: a spoiled group of wealthy twenties with a penchant for the drama. While playing a murder mystery investigation game, the group quickly learns that a real killer is among them.
In our opinion:
Body Body Body starts playing like a compressed Scream, sped up as if the filmmakers thought they were talking to a generation that can’t keep both eyes on a feature film. The filmmakers make the compelling choice to heighten both the bloodshed and the absurdity. Rather than letting the satire give way to horror movie tension, they make the recriminations and defensiveness increasingly loud and ridiculous as the characters feel more in danger. At one point, the mortal peril is interrupted by the equally shocking betrayal that one friend might hate listening to another’s podcast.
High-speed train
Where to watch: Available for purchase for $19.99 on Amazon, Apple, Google Play
David Leitch is one half of the superstar directing duo that brought us the hugely influential John Wick, and his latest action flick boasts a superstar cast led by Brad Pitt, Brian Tyree Henry, Joey King and Bad Bunny. A good cast means a good blooper reel.
In our opinion:
fights in High-speed train are brief and full of character, with jabs instead of (or alongside) jokes and Jackie Chan-esque props. The inspired staging, like a sit-down brawl between Ladybug and Lemon in the silent train car (a centerpiece of the film’s trailers), is one of the best of what’s ever happened. High-speed train has to offer, with a choreographic precision à la John Wick put to the service of comedy. The worst part of the movie is when it abandons that precision for bombast, like in its wildly destructive finale, which is kind of expected, but still underwhelming.
Vespers
Where to watch: Available to rent for $6.99 on Amazon, Apple, Google Play
The post-apocalyptic indie sci-fi film has received rave reviews, including from us!
In our opinion:
Vespers simultaneously plays like a resourceful low-budget indie in the realm of Double and like Alex Garland’s $50 million hobby project Annihilation. It’s a small-scale story, sometimes so hushed and minimalist that even putting two characters in the same room can feel crowded. But in their first film release since the well-received 2012 sci-fi import leakage waves, [directors Kristina] Buozite and [Bruno] Samper does an impressive job of creating a plausible and tangible world around these quiet spaces. The decor tells the story as effectively as any painstaking exposition could.