So it’s Autumn, we all know the drill, leaves fall off trees, the nights draw in, it gets colder, we all feel that little bit more miserable. But to be fair we get a pretty good trade-off – great new chunks of TV and fantastic films.
Especially for those of the Netflix subscription persuasion. They’re delivering an embarrassment of riches this season, but what are the very best shows and movies to dedicate your precious evenings to? Here’s a list of the good and the great, that’ll have you forgetting all about summer and getting cosy on the sofa in front of the TV.
Mindhunter (October 13th)
The fact that brilliant director David Fincher is at the helm of this new series would probably be enough alone for us to watch it. But after hearing about the plot, about an FBI profiler who interviews infamous serial killers, we’re all in. Fincher has a serious track record when it comes to serial killers, Seven & Zodiac anyone. Based on the book Mind Hunter: Inside FBI’s Elite Serial Crime Unit by Mark Olshaker and John E. Douglas, this one should be must watch TV.
1922 (October 20th)
So it’s time to forget about IT and get on the newest Steven King adaptation. The film 1922 is based on the King novella published in Full Dark, No Stars. It stars Thomas Jane as James, a farmer content with his life working the land, his wife on the other hand wants to head to the city, and is willing to take their young son with them.
This leads James to conspiring with his child to help murder his own mother. From the trailer it looks like we might get more than a hint of The Shining with tension between a married couple and the sight of a hefty axe shown stuck in a tree stump. We also get a whole lot of spookiness and rats, lots of rats.
The Death and life of Marsha P. Johnson (October 6th)
The subject of this true crime documentary is the well known trans, gay-rights activist Martha P. Johnson. In 1992 Johnson was found dead in the Hudson River, at the time police ruled the death a suicide and the case was closed, until now. This detective story uses archive footage and interviews to piece together the real truth behind how Martha Johnson lost her life.
American Vandal (September 15th)
With true crime being so popular at the moment it was only a matter of time before the genre got the satire treatment. Step forward the high school set American Vandal. Instead of being locked up for life the biggest threat here is expulsion and the horrific crime being investigated is someone has drawn 27 penises on school goers cars!
It’s attention to detail is spot on and you often find yourself forgetting this is a parody as it draws you into the story. There’s sleuthing and spoofing and plenty of laughs. This one has already dropped so you can watch it right now.
The Meyerowitz Stories (October 13th)
When most people think of Adam Sandler the words acting and ability don’t spring immediately to mind. He’s been in some stinkers over the years, like the beyond terrible Jack and Jill (2011), but he’s also shown some proper acting chops in the likes of the brilliant Punch Drunk Love (2002).
Here under the direction of Noah Baumbach, Sandler plays Danny, one part of an estranged family that includes Ben Stiller and Elizabeth Marvel, who come together in New York for an event celebrating their modern artist father (Dustin Hoffman). It was nominated for the Palme d’Or at Cannes, and there’s even talk of an Oscar for Sandler! Who’d have bet on that after first watching him in Happy Gilmore.
Godless (November 22nd)
In what looks like a nice bit of casting Godless stars the reliable pair of hands that is Jeff Daniels as Frank Griffin, an outlaw chasing his partner turned enemy across the America’s Wild West in the 1880s. The chase leads him to a town in New Mexico that seems only to be inhabited by women. It might not live up to the mighty Westworld but we have hopes this could be a very entertaining ride.
Stranger Things (October 27th)
Ok last but by no means least is one of the most anticipated returns we can remember in a long time. We’re assuming you’ve watched Season 1 already, but if not spoiler alert. So here’s what we know about season 2 from Netflix … It’s 1984 and the citizens of Hawkins, Indiana are still reeling from the horrors of the Demogorgon and the secrets of Hawkins Lab. Will Byers has been rescued from the Upside Down but a bigger, sinister entity still threatens those who survived. So far so intriguing.
The show creators have also offered up tit-bits recently, saying things will start off a bit more sedately than the first series and we’ll actually get to see the kids doing everyday life kid stuff, as opposed to rescuing a friend from a demon in a nightmarish netherworld. Although that does look to be on the cards at some point.
From the trailer, we also know we’ve (thankfully) not seen the last of Eleven, but it’s looking like we definitely won’t be getting anymore Barb after she was snatched up by the Demogorgon way back in the second episode. It’s all looking like an unmissable mix of thrills and chills that’ll have us binge-watching all nine episodes. Take a look at the latest trailer below.
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