‘Tis the season to get spooky guys, ghouls and ghosties beyond the binary! Don’t mind me, I’m just creepin’ it real over here. Yes, okay okay, I absolutely love autumn (I’m obviously basic af if you didn’t already know) and October is the ultimate pinnacle of Autumnal basicness.
I’m the girl sweeping armfuls of Halloween snow globes off the shelves in TKMaxx, whilst spilling Pumpkin Spice Latte all over the place. Halloween isn’t just one night for me, it’s a way of life, a month-long celebration of all things spooky, creepy and, yes, cosy. So, you can imagine, I am absolutely buzzing my (woolly, stripy) socks off for the newest releases from Netflix this month.
1st Oct
Addams Family Values
I could talk about this film for literal days. It was one of my highly prized vhs recordings-off-the-telly from when I was a child and so I know it back to front, upside down and inside out. No matter how many times I watch this film, I never fail to experience a little frisson of excitement when I see it’s title on the tv guide or as I scroll through Netflix.
This film’s cast is *chef’s kiss*. The fashion is flawlessly stylish, beautiful and elegant and it is genuinely hilarious. Endlessly quotable and totally timeless, honestly, watch this movie this month. Even if you’ve seen it as many times as I have, watch it again.
The Conjuring
This is a genuinely frightening film. Usually, I am a purveyor of kitchy horror or cosy Americanised seasonal features like Hocus Pocus or the afore mentioned Addam’s Family, but The Conjuring is one of those films that will have you alternately on the edge of your seat, hiding behind the sofa and/or clutching the hand of which ever poor individual has made the mistake of watching this absolutely terrifying film with you.
Realistically, it wouldn’t be Halloween without an inadvisably frightening film, would it. In classic spooky movie tradition, this is set in a haunted (or is it…) house and it capitalises on the gaslighting, double-guessing psychological messiness that makes horror films so effective. You can’t be sure what’s real and what’s not…
The Corpse Bride
This stop motion masterpiece from Halloween king Tim Burton was every Nightmare Before Christmas obsessed myspace teen’s dream film. It strikes that lovely balance between Halloweeny creepiness (anyone else find stop motion animation really disturbing or did I just watch too much Jan Švankmajer as a child?) and cosy children’s film.
It’s very much a film that you can imagine informing a person’s entire aesthetic and personality, but it’s still a great movie. I also love seeing how people interpret aspects of spookiness when they have to recreate it as in a cartoon or a model, The Corpse Bride exemplifies this really well.
9th October
The Haunting of Bly Manor
Following hot on the heels of the absolutely breathtaking and spine-tingling Haunting of Hill House comes this series, based on the ghostly classic The Turn of the Screw by Henry James, which has inspired an almost infinite number of the other classic horror films and books we know and love.
The Haunting of Bly Manor promises to be properly frightening, multi-layered and faceted narrative full of blink and you’ll miss it moments and secret ghosts and all the other exciting bits and bobs we loved from the Haunting of Hill House a couple of years ago. This series will be amazing, I am absolutely sure of it.
21st October
Rebecca
A remake of the Hitchcock original, which itself is an adaptation of the Daphne Du Maurier novel (which itself. Du Maurier said, was inspired by Jane Eyre). Rebecca is one of my absolute favourite books ever and Armie Hammer and Lily James promise to do a typically remarkable job of telling the story for a new generation. Rebecca is a traditional gothic narrative full of moodiness and intrigue, ideal for long dark evenings as mist rolls in and other spooky things happen in the shadows.
Read our review of Rebecca.
Other releases
4th October
David Attenborough: A Life on Our Planet
David Attenborough’s new documentary shines a light on climate change.
15th October
Social Distance (tv series)
This new show was produced remotely and tells a story of people trying to stay connected while isolated.
19th October
Unsolved Mysteries, Volume 2
After a hit first season, Netflix’s rebooted mystery series takes another dive into the unresolved.
21st October
My Next Guest Needs No Introduction With David Letterman, Season 3
Expect more candidly honest moments than you can shake a stick at.
27th October
Sarah Cooper: Everything’s Fine
The woman behind those Donal Trump Tik Tok’s gets her own comedy special this month.
