Photo: Universal Pictures/DreamWorks
This article will be updated throughout the month as more movies are available to rent on demand.
Since the days of the COVID lockdown, studios have increasingly embraced the idea that people are more comfortable watching their biggest movies at home. Blame it on the pandemic, the high cost of movie tickets, or the bad behavior of fellow patrons, but the fact is that many people are biding their time — and studios aren’t making them wait very long.
So while it used to be half a year before something was available anywhere but theaters, things have changed. This month alone, we have a few of the biggest films of the year, including one that’s still topping the box-office charts. But which ones should you, a busy person with infinite entertainment options, actually watch? We’re here to help. Every month, we’ll highlight around ten of the biggest, most notable, or simply interesting movies available to rent and stream on demand at home via services like Apple TV, Amazon, and Fandango at Home. Make some popcorn, plop down on the couch, and remember that you can take as many bathroom breaks as you’d like.
October 1
Deadpool & Wolverine
Directed by Shawn Levy, 128 minutes
The biggest superhero movie of the year by far, the third Deadpool film is the ultimate outcast mash-up, a thrill ride through the Fox superhero projects that have now basically been incorporated into the MCU. Ryan Reynolds returns as the merc with a mouth, finally partnered with Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine, even though he totally died in Logan. Loaded with references to everything from Blade to the Gambit movie that never happened, Deadpool & Wolverine is designed for superhero-movie fans, and they ate it up. Now you can do the same thing at home, maybe even using this handy guide to find the many, many, too many Easter eggs.
Speak No Evil
Directed by James Watkins, 110 minutes
Less than a month after its release in theaters, James Watkins’s remake of the vicious 2022 Danish film of the same name is already available to terrorize home audiences too. An American couple, played by Scoot McNairy and Mackenzie Davis — Halt and Catch Fire reunion! — befriends a British couple while on holiday, played by James McAvoy and Aisling Franciosi. They take their new friends up on the offer to visit their remote home, and, well, things don’t go well. McAvoy earned raves for his work even if our own Louis Peitzman accused the remake’s ending of being a “cowardly cop-out.”
Strange Darling
Directed by JT Mollner, 96 minutes
Horror fans have become so accustomed to watching genre flicks on streamers like Netflix or Shudder that it can be tough to get them to pay PVOD costs for a new release, but maybe one of the most buzzed scary flicks in years is worth the scratch. JT Mollner’s film premiered at Fantastic Fest in 2023 yet only landed in theaters this past August, telling the story of a murder spree but doing so in a non-linear fashion, keeping viewers on the edge of their seats in a new way. Some interesting trivia about Strange Darling: It was shot on 35 mm by Giovanni Ribisi. Yes, the actor.
October 4
The Killer’s Game
Directed by J.J. Perry, 104 minutes
Dave Bautista headlines this Lionsgate action flick as a hit man named Joe Flood, whose life gets turned upside down when he receives a terminal diagnosis from his doctor. To make sure the love of his life gets the insurance money that she needs, he decides to take a contract out on himself, bringing some of the best assassins in the world out to collect it. Then he finds out the diagnosis was wrong. It’s a clever concept, but this thing died in theaters (seventh place first weekend!), which means most people will have the chance to watch it for the first time at home — or maybe even find out it exists at all!
October 8
Beetlejuice Beetlejuice
Directed by Tim Burton, 104 minutes
If you had any doubt they’re going to remake or legacy-sequel every major property from the ’80s and ’90s, the massive success of this horror-comedy should put that to rest. More than ever, people love the familiar when they open their wallets at the theater, and it doesn’t hurt when that comfort is connected to something they loved when they were younger. Michael Keaton returns to Tim Burton’s twisted world for this sequel that finds Winona Ryder’s Lydia Deetz trying to keep her family together. From its red-carpet premiere at Venice to its confusing ending, this was the biggest movie of September 2024. And it’s already coming to VOD, VOD!
October 11
Never Let Go
Directed by Alexandre Aja, 101 minutes
Halle Berry stars in this thriller as an unnamed mother who must protect her children from the “evil” that surrounds their remote home. Whenever they venture outside for supplies, they’re forced to tether themselves to a rope that will keep them safe — discuss among yourselves whether the rope symbolizes masks or vaccines, if you so desire. COVID allegories aside, Never Let Go is also a study in mental illness and trauma as Berry’s two boys start to question if what Momma has told them about the dangers of the outside world is even true. The director of High Tension and Crawl kind of pulls his punches here, but it’s something that should work for genre nuts during spooky season, especially at home.
October 15
Alien: Romulus
Directed by Fede Alvarez, 119 minutes
It’s been over a generation since there’s been a true Alien sequel, as Ridley Scott’s divisive recent installments took place in a universe before Ripley. Fede Alvarez’s seventh film in the series (nine if you include the ones with a Predator) takes place between Alien and Aliens, unfolding on a space station named Romulus. That’s where a new crew of space truckers encounters face huggers and xenomorphs, allowing the Evil Dead director to show off his skill with tension and production design. It helps to have a killer performance from David Jonsson too. The big swings of the ending divided viewers, while others lamented the absence of Ripley, but this was a pretty sizable hit with a lot of fans.
The Wild Robot
Directed by Chris Sanders, 102 minutes
One of the best animated films of the decade so far has quickly come home right in the middle of a successful theatrical run. Audiences have fallen for the story of a robot named Roz (a wonderful vocal turn from Lupita Nyong’o) who ends up accidentally killing the family of a runt goose named Brightbill (Kit Connor), forcing her to raise it herself. A commentary on the complexity of motherhood and our need for connection, even across species, The Wild Robot is as close to Studio Ghibli as Hollywood has ever gotten, inspired by not just Miyazaki but classic painters like Monet. It’s gorgeous and moving in equal measure, one of the best of 2024, and a title well worth the PVOD price tag.
October 22
Transformers One
Directed by Josh Cooley, 104 minutes
The series about transforming robots has left Michael Bay behind, returning to its roots as a vibrant cartoon. This telling of the early days of Optimus Prime and Megatron had one of the worst trailers in recent history, but the film itself supposedly works. Critics claimed that it brought heart back to the series, and opened the door for more animated adventures for the Transformers crew, which our ranking of all the films in this series argues “makes the prospect of more Transformers movies like this feel like a little treat instead of a chore.”
October 29
The Substance
Directed by Coralie Fargeat, 141 minutes
Movies don’t get nuttier than Coralie Fargeat’s festival hit, a body horror flick like none other, and one that has been dividing audiences since its Cannes premiere back in May. You owe it to yourself to see on which side of the fence you fall regarding one of the most controversial movies of its era. Demi Moore does career-best work as Elisabeth Sparkle, an aging star who is given a second chance by a magical substance that creates a younger doppelgänger of herself, played by Margaret Qualley. A brutal dissection of our image-obsessed world, Fargeat’s film is the kind of fearless gut punch that demands more than one viewing. It’s the perfect background at your Halloween party! (Just make sure everyone eats before the final act.)
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